Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

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

electrek.co

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

71–80 of 190 posts

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

#71

Post by makeitdouble »

bri3d wrote: post #41
throwaway0a5e wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Millions of things are stamped "not for highway use" not because they don't comply with the relevant FMVSS but because the manufacturer doesn't know, doesn't care and doesn't want to think about it or risk being wrong.

Absolutely, and for the "full" FMVSS this makes sense - the stakes are high and the rules are a byzantine mess in a lot of areas (for example, making sure specific warning lights aren't obscured at each possible angle of a telescoping and tilting steering column). But, for LSV the requirements are so simple that this is much easier, though. https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/tp-500-02.pdf The rules for an LS…

Importing EVs to the US at any decent scale would be a big can of worm. At least until there’s serious US produced competition in that specific segment. Japan cars getting publicly bashed was 40 years ago; times have changed, but touching the auto industry is still a pretty emotional topic for a lot of people (coughTesla fanscough)

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

#72

Post by pedrocr »

happyopossum wrote: post #61
TheRealPomax wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also, what UTV even comes with a dump bed?

Can-Am defender, AC Prowler, Honda Pioneer, any number of John Deere UTVs, etc. Pretty much every line of farm-focused UTV has a dump bed option... I'm guessing when you hear UTV you're thinking of the 60MPH off-road blitzing side by sides that are so popular at the dunes these days, but that's only part of the market for these.

Once you limit to EV the choices are pretty limited though. Toro and Deere have decent options and all the others at most have a retrofitted electric motor to a transmission designed for gas/diesel. Hopefully the ramp up of LFP battery production revamps this market quite a bit.

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

#73

Post by witheld »

TheRealPomax wrote: post #56
OrangeMonkey wrote: post #7

Impressive. At this price point they had to cut some features. I wonder if one of those features is "Safety" and another one is "The front won't fall off".

Safety at a blistering speed of checks article 25 mph? Who in their right mind would design for safety if the thing can't even outpace a professional cyclist?

That’s not professional level I’d say most cyclists can sprint at 25+

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

#74

Post by sjs382 »

olyjohn wrote: post #40
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…

Jason Torchinsky from The Autopian imported a ChangLi a couple of years ago. He has posted regular updates since he got it (his old posts are still up at Jalopnik). I don't know how it compares to this one exactly, but there were a few posts showing some sketchy wiring, and some wires that nearly caught on fire. But it should give you some idea how it's been working.

First thing I thought of when I saw this story. Heres a link to one of the posts: https://jalopnik.com/the-worlds-cheapest-ev-is-genuinely-goo...

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

#78

Post by slg »

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…

>Golf carts, UTV's, ATV's, minibikes, on the roads around here are not at all unusual. Not legal, but I only know of one case of someone getting ticketed.

Although I do wonder if all the conveniences that makes this more carlike combined with its uniqueness in the US would make it more likely to receive legal pushback. Something that clearly isn't even attempting to be a street legal vehicle like a golf cart is easier to excuse. A cop who sees this might be more suspicious of the vehicle and how you actually use it.

Post reply on HN