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I bought a cheap electric pickup truck from Alibaba (2021)

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Re: I bought a cheap electric pickup truck from Alibaba (2021)

#171

Post by Root_Denied »

matsemann wrote: post #130
Root_Denied wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In this case I think the positive reactions a year later are more a result of having a good use case for the NEV/LSV rather than the truck being a good buy for the general public. There's also arguably limited use cases like the article brings up (off road, not street legal, lots of land) - or at least "limited" in comparison with the average / mean vehicle that gets purchased by consumers. Great that it has a use ca…

How many of the trucks you see in the US are actually needed , though? Most of them are only used for commuting, and twice the size of a truck used for actual work.

It's not a matter of needing trucks, or this NEV/LSV, it's a matter of functionality and legality, and whether the purchase makes sense.

Functionally this electric truck has limited use case - low top speed, not street legal, low range, etc. - but there are a few niche cases where it's perfect for the job.

People could buy this small truck and try to make it street legal, but as mentioned by the article that would be prohibitively expensive, defeating the point of buying it because it's cheap. At that point you may as well look into a sedan EV because it's going to be comparable in cost (at least within 2x-3x of the price).

General use vehicles, both trucks and others, have a much broader area of operability. There are also EV trucks coming to market more quickly if that's what you want to spend your money on.

Re: I bought a cheap electric pickup truck from Alibaba (2021)

#172

Post by orev »

albrewer wrote: post #165
bluGill wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A truck used as a truck once per year and for commuting the rest of the year is cheaper than a truck and a small car. some of them could rent, but the restrictions on what you can do with a rental truck combined with the convince of a truck when you want it (rentals are sometimes sold out, and even if not you need to go get it while the truck is right there) mean a truck looks very compelling.

Yeah, renting a truck for, say, 2-3 days was something like $250-300 in my case. If I need one more than 2-3x a year it approaches the price point of a cheap truck vs a family sedan or SUV.

I don’t think you’re accounting for other costs like fuel needed for a truck which is an ongoing cost.

Re: I bought a cheap electric pickup truck from Alibaba (2021)

#173

Post by lproven »

fooker wrote: post #166
lproven wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly! This whole article is so pervasively American that it was just about unreadable to me. It's a fairly rare and quite novel experience: it's in my native language, but so completely based on US assumptions and presumption of shared knowledge that I do not have, that it just... doesn't parse. * His parents apparently live on some plot of land the size of a largish city. Presumably alone? * The vehicle is a perf…

This is a cheap toy truck for pretty much any industrialized country. It’s weird to compare heavy machinery sizes as if it was up to personal preferences. Maybe look past your vitriol towards the US?

It is only toy-sized by US standards. By the standards of pretty much any other country in the world, it's a normal-sized vehicle, even a large one. Go read about tuk-tuks. Visit Asia some time.

Vitriol?

Pity for a culture so dependent on a machine I personally dislike: the motor car.

Distaste and disdain for a culture whose example is destroying the world.

I reserve vitriol for more important things.

Re: I bought a cheap electric pickup truck from Alibaba (2021)

#174

Post by lproven »

CyberDildonics wrote: post #169
lproven wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly! This whole article is so pervasively American that it was just about unreadable to me. It's a fairly rare and quite novel experience: it's in my native language, but so completely based on US assumptions and presumption of shared knowledge that I do not have, that it just... doesn't parse. * His parents apparently live on some plot of land the size of a largish city. Presumably alone? * The vehicle is a perf…

he keeps talking about it as if it were a toy It has a top speed of 25 mph. as if those were everyday things This is something common that children learn about. The rest of your comment seems like incoherent venting.

Google the phrase "tuk-tuk" and learn about how such small vehicles are the backbone of the economies of countries home to an aggregate population about ten times that of the USA.

Re: I bought a cheap electric pickup truck from Alibaba (2021)

#175

Post by fooker »

lproven wrote: post #173
fooker wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a cheap toy truck for pretty much any industrialized country. It’s weird to compare heavy machinery sizes as if it was up to personal preferences. Maybe look past your vitriol towards the US?

It is only toy-sized by US standards. By the standards of pretty much any other country in the world, it's a normal-sized vehicle, even a large one. Go read about tuk-tuks. Visit Asia some time. Vitriol? Pity for a culture so dependent on a machine I personally dislike: the motor car. Distaste and disdain for a culture whose example is destroying the world. I reserve vitriol for more important things.

Tuk-tuks are not used for the same purpose trucks are used for.

I am from a third world country and have seen plenty of trucks on roads and private properties.

Re: I bought a cheap electric pickup truck from Alibaba (2021)

#176

Post by davidbanham »

scatters wrote: post #126
davidbanham wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You seem quite worked up, and seem to be having a discussion about how a motorcycle would perform in a collision with a large car versus a small car colliding with a large car. To be clear, that's not what I'm talking about here. I was picking up on the parent post's question about why a motorcycle should be road legal, and this thing not, when the collision danger was probably equivalent or higher. I'm not saying th…

> It's denoted by the formula E = mc2 which is fairly well known. I don't think a collision between two vehicles results in total mass-to-energy conversion, unless one of them is made of antimatter. You probably meant to write E = 1/2 mv^2.

Haha yeah I’m definitely out of my depth on the actual application of the specific formula here. Thanks for the correction!

Re: I bought a cheap electric pickup truck from Alibaba (2021)

#177

Post by davidbanham »

cjrp wrote: post #124
davidbanham wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A motorcycle has obvious dangers. An unsafe car has non-obvious dangers. A lot of government regulation is about preventing non-obvious dangers or trying to make them obvious.

I wonder if there's a solution similar to experimental aeroplanes, e.g. a massive sticker which essentially says "THIS IS NOT A CERTIFIED PLANE, IT COULD BE DANGEROUS"

Yeah totally! That’s a path that regulators often take rather than banning something. It’s all part of the same root as I see it. Removing non-obvious dangers or turning them into obvious ones.

You’d still need to satisfy the requirement that they don’t pose a threat to non-occupants though. Pedestrian and bystander safety is a thing. Might be taken care of by limiting the max speed.

This post is known by the state of California to contain cancer causing elements.

Re: I bought a cheap electric pickup truck from Alibaba (2021)

#178

Post by R0b0t1 »

ldoughty wrote: post #53
HeyLaughingBoy wrote: post #2

Honestly, I think $7,000 delivered for this is a pretty good price. It would make a nice farm vehicle, especially with that dump bed. It's in the same price range as a lower end UTV and looks like it would be far more comfortable doing, e.g., snow clearing duty. Swap in a set of BFG Mud Terrain tires and you're all set. Some feedback on reliability, the rust issues, etc. would be nice but I'd seriously think about ge…

I really want to agree -- I really want a truck like this in the USA, but unfortunately I need to disagree simply because it is not street legal. I have an old 2001 beater truck I use for the purpose now, but I can't replace it with this EV because it's not street legal. I live in a rural area, but luckily I can drive 2 miles to a dump (transfer station) and 5 miles to a place with bulk mulch, soil, gravel, etc... Bu…

If you assemble it from a kit it becomes legal. No parts requirements iirc, specific cutout for homebuilt machines.

Re: I bought a cheap electric pickup truck from Alibaba (2021)

#179

Post by xattt »

dymk wrote: post #86
xattt wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> large education gap surround EVs These comments are coming from the extrapolation of experience of imported personal electronics, as well as historical crash test results of CDM vehicles. (1) https://www.carscoops.com/2009/03/brilliance-bs4-not-so-bril...

Yeah, I imagine if you're going to use a truck like this, it's for (relatively) slow hauling of stuff around a private property where there's low risk of hitting something. I wouldn't trust this in a collision with another vehicle even at low speed.

The crash test result is a proxy of build and construction quality.

Did they wrap some tin foil around balsa and call it a day (figuratively), or was true thought given to the structure of the vehicle?

Re: I bought a cheap electric pickup truck from Alibaba (2021)

#180

Post by CyberDildonics »

lproven wrote: post #174
CyberDildonics wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

he keeps talking about it as if it were a toy It has a top speed of 25 mph. as if those were everyday things This is something common that children learn about. The rest of your comment seems like incoherent venting.

Google the phrase "tuk-tuk" and learn about how such small vehicles are the backbone of the economies of countries home to an aggregate population about ten times that of the USA.

Tuk Tuks go a lot faster than 25 mph and they aren't trucks. I'm not sure why you are so upset about so many things in an article about a scaled down electric truck. Google polaris and you can see that there have already been things like this sold for years. Your whole meltdown over this is pretty bizarre.
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