Ram Updates: What we know so far

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

GTyankee

Senior Member
Supporting Member
Military
Joined
Nov 2, 2020
Posts
10,059
Reaction score
12,600
Location
El Cajon Calif. 92021
Ram Year
2016
Engine
3.0 ecodiesel
You unfortunately would need charging stations closer than 250 miles apart for travelers.

I still say the bigger issue is ...

How do you get the Land for those charging stations ?

If you have noticed, all of the Rest Areas & Truck Weigh Stations are several feet away from the actual roadway , that is for Safety Reasons.

You may have noticed that there is a Barb or Hog Wire Fence X amount of feet from the highway.
That is the Property Line.
In many places, that fence is to darn close to the highway.
So to be safe, the State would need land that is on the other side of that fence.
They will not pay Market Price for that land & the land owner won't sell the land for less then market value, if they even want to see the land at all.
There fore, the State will go to a court & force the property owner to sell, claiming the it is for the Public Good, in other words
Public Domain will come into play.

.............................................................

Fun Fact:

If you have ever been on, or read about the German Autobahn.

There is a stretch of road that the German Engineers wanted to be arrow straight for several miles, but one very important Farmer was told that the paved road would be going real close to the farmers house & barn & that he would have his property basically cut in half.
Apparently he had enough influence that the Engineers were told to re-route around that farm.
One of the top Engineers told everyone that the curve was there, because drivers would tend to fall asleep if the road did not have any distractions & having that curve in the road was needed to keep people awake
 

Docwagon1776

Senior Member
Military
Joined
Mar 16, 2012
Posts
2,175
Reaction score
3,563
Location
Midwest
Ram Year
2012, 2021
Engine
5.7, 6.4
You unfortunately would need charging stations closer than 250 miles apart for travelers.

I still say the bigger issue is ...

How do you get the Land for those charging stations ?

I'm noticing more and more charging stations in existing parking lots. On our last road trip we stopped at a Mexican restaurant that had 3 chargers. In many parts of the country I think you'll not see "gas station but for EV" type businesses. You'll see restaurants, roadside attractions, shopping malls/stand alone stores, etc. install them as a way to get drivers to spend more time there. Jeep has already put a few at some popular trailheads, including solar powered options.

When there's money to be made and there's smart people who want to make money, it'll get solved. I'm not real concerned that people won't figure it out over the coming decades.
 

GTyankee

Senior Member
Supporting Member
Military
Joined
Nov 2, 2020
Posts
10,059
Reaction score
12,600
Location
El Cajon Calif. 92021
Ram Year
2016
Engine
3.0 ecodiesel
I have enough cash to buy my next gas powered vehicle
my current eco diesel is still running good only 62,000 miles on it.
If i get another 2 years of driving out of this vehicle, then i will be over 80,
Then i will buy another gas powered vehicle & drive it until they pull my license

by then they will have trains that hover over the tracks
cars & trucks will pay a fare to use a road that moves vehicles by magnetism & you only have to enter a point on the highway & play cards until you get to that point
 

fireflymedic

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2014
Posts
677
Reaction score
3,142
Location
Fla.
Ram Year
2014
Engine
V6
I don't have a EV so I'm only guessing but with gas pumps you are physically there pumping the gas when you're done you (usually) get in and leave. Must say it's frustrating when you don't. Because charging takes so long I would imagine you wonder off and do something else. So know when your vehicle is done charging it just sits there. Perhaps for hrs this would drive me crazy. Especially at the smaller 2 or 3 station ones. I wonder how big of a generator you need to carry to charge while driving. If they make one it would be the only way I buy a electric pickup so I could carry a generator in the back. Maybe they should make ev cars like the old 1939 dodge that had a rumble seat. You could put a portable generator there for long trips. I love "making good time" while on the road I fear with a ev that would never happen on long trips.
 

68PowerWagon

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2015
Posts
1,666
Reaction score
976
Location
Dayton, Ohio
Ram Year
2022 Laramie 3500
Engine
6.7 CTD
You unfortunately would need charging stations closer than 250 miles apart for travelers.

I still say the bigger issue is ...

How do you get the Land for those charging stations ?

If you have noticed, all of the Rest Areas & Truck Weigh Stations are several feet away from the actual roadway , that is for Safety Reasons.

You may have noticed that there is a Barb or Hog Wire Fence X amount of feet from the highway.
That is the Property Line.
In many places, that fence is to darn close to the highway.
So to be safe, the State would need land that is on the other side of that fence.
They will not pay Market Price for that land & the land owner won't sell the land for less then market value, if they even want to see the land at all.
There fore, the State will go to a court & force the property owner to sell, claiming the it is for the Public Good, in other words
Public Domain will come into play.

.............................................................

Fun Fact:

If you have ever been on, or read about the German Autobahn.

There is a stretch of road that the German Engineers wanted to be arrow straight for several miles, but one very important Farmer was told that the paved road would be going real close to the farmers house & barn & that he would have his property basically cut in half.
Apparently he had enough influence that the Engineers were told to re-route around that farm.
One of the top Engineers told everyone that the curve was there, because drivers would tend to fall asleep if the road did not have any distractions & having that curve in the road was needed to keep people awake
GT I say the bigger issue is even if they get the land to build these, how are they going to run them? The country is already talking about many areas having brown & black outs this summer do to not enough power to run everything. Start adding charging stations & it's only going to get worse. These greenies have put the cart before the horse.
 

Docwagon1776

Senior Member
Military
Joined
Mar 16, 2012
Posts
2,175
Reaction score
3,563
Location
Midwest
Ram Year
2012, 2021
Engine
5.7, 6.4
I don't have a EV so I'm only guessing but with gas pumps you are physically there pumping the gas when you're done you (usually) get in and leave. Must say it's frustrating when you don't. Because charging takes so long I would imagine you wonder off and do something else. So know when your vehicle is done charging it just sits there.

This has been an issue in larger cities were parking is at a premium. Even non-EV cars just parking at the charging station, but of course the property owner can have them towed for this. The successful workaround is built into the app you use as your membership to the charging network. Once the car is charged it notifies you, if you don't come move your car it starts charging you.
 

runamuck

Senior Member
Military
Joined
Sep 4, 2018
Posts
1,688
Reaction score
2,098
Location
dfw
Ram Year
2022
Engine
6.7 dsl
like the senior poster above, I wont have one in my lifetime because I am old and I only see ev's as an option not as the only way to go and also as an old guy I dont have a need for one so will resist it being forced on me. an ev will be a good option for some and for others not so much. most of the driving I do is for travel and an electric vehicle not yet so good for that. we tow a travel trailer or drive to the mountains for snow skiing. best done in my '19 laramie 4x4 ccsb that gets about 20 on the highway and with a 33 gal. tank only need to make one stop between dfw and rocky mountains. no long waits to recharge for me. I would however be interested in the proposed twin turbo straight 6 they are talking about for the 1500's.
 

b-real

Member
Joined
Oct 13, 2020
Posts
44
Reaction score
35
Location
SLC, UT
Ram Year
2020
Engine
5.7 Hemi
I beg to differ on some of your points:
"One day there will be enough infrastructure..." One day is subjective. That undertaking would require charging stations every 250 miles minimum, covering a huge portion of the continental US. Think about the feat of installing charging stations every 250 miles as your driving I-70 through Kansas & Colorado, I-40 through the Arizona dessert, I-80 through Nevada and Utah. Power lines don't even exist on or near long stretches of those highways. And how many charging stations will you install...2, 10, 20? Assume even 50% of the population will have EVs. Now imagine 2 charging stations that take at least an hour. We can barely keep roads paved and lines painted in many parts of the country, let alone stringing tens of thousands of miles of power lines and installing thousands of charging stations. Will all of these charging stations be the more expensive fast-charge units? Or will you have to wait an hour or so? It's monumental in material, labor & cost. It takes 8, 10 months even close to a year to re-route a road and build an overpass. It took years for most states to change out highway lights to LEDs - and they came with an immediate savings. The undertaking is mind-boggling.

"They recycle them, already" They do, but allow me to plagiarize...."another challenge is the many shapes that the batteries come in. Unlike ordinary batteries, EV batteries do not come in uniform sizes and shapes. Rather, individual battery cells are arranged in modules that are themselves organized in a pack sealed with nearly unbreakable glues. With so many different form factors, disassembling and recycling each one can take hours, raising the cost of the materials to the point where it's currently cheaper for manufacturers to buy new materials than recycled ones."

"How do avg. people afford to buy any new vehicle, whether it be EV or ICE?" Many people drive cars until they die, sometimes by choice many times by no choice. When regulations are making oil less attainable and less affordable and eventual penalties almost forcing the use of EV's, you will now force people to buy EV's. How do those that would normally drive a ****** till it dies accomplish that? EV's come with a price tag and maintenance that some cannot afford. That's why only an upper portion of society drives them at this point in time.

EV's are good for relatively local driving, period.
Well, this thread got me to go out and put down a deposit on an EV. Its not replacing my truck, but it is replacing my wife's car. With how much she drives and the majority of that being around town, it just makes too much financial sense, even if gas was $2.50 a gal. 2-3 times per year we do a trip of 400+ miles. Figured worst case we would just take my truck for those trips, but then thinking about how much gas costs in Cali, I mapped out a scenario, and even across rural Utah and Nevada, there are chargers waaaaay closer than every 250 miles, more like less than every 100 miles. The maintenance costs of an EV are much less than a ICE vehicle too.

Guess its good that not everyone on this thread is being forced to replace every vehicle they currently own with an EV right now (an EV truck doesnt make sense for me and I think it will be a while before it will).
 

Wanted33

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 12, 2022
Posts
257
Reaction score
380
Location
Down South in Dixie
Ram Year
2022
Engine
5.7L
GT I say the bigger issue is even if they get the land to build these, how are they going to run them? The country is already talking about many areas having brown & black outs this summer do to not enough power to run everything. Start adding charging stations & it's only going to get worse. These greenies have put the cart before the horse.

My biggest concern is with the extra time, and miles it will be to get to a charging station. And just how long it would take to complete a long road trip of 5K+ miles that we do enjoy.

True story. Some friends just bought a EV Volkswagon. They were so happy with the purchase, and honestly if they are happy I am also. They told us they were heading to NC's Carolina
Beach, and were taking the VW. He said they would stop a little over half way, spend the night, and charge the car to make sure they could get there. It's approx. 215 miles to Carolina Beach from the Charlotte area. I'll just leave it right there. SMH

Disclaimer: I have absolutely no problem with electric cars. But as usual, the fanatics, and the Governement get the cart before the horse. The infrastructure just ain't there yet, and won't be for some time to come.

Jim
 

Wanted33

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 12, 2022
Posts
257
Reaction score
380
Location
Down South in Dixie
Ram Year
2022
Engine
5.7L
My wife wanted a new Grand Cherokee so in March we ordered a new 4XE plug in hybrid version.
Still waiting...

Frank, I couldn't even get an order placed for a GC WL. Every dealer I spoke with has a different reason why. Thankfully, my wife got my head in the right place to stop me from ordering one. They are nice vehicles, and the test drive we took was quite impressive. But after 45 years she knew I wouldn't be happy driving one. I've always had a truck (have a Ranger now that I'll sell before the Ram arrives), and thankfully she made me realize I'd be lost without one. :)

I hope your wife hears something about her's soon. Good luck.
 

Fatbob Frank

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 27, 2018
Posts
2,532
Reaction score
6,909
Location
Mc Gregor, Iowa
Ram Year
2021
Engine
6.4L
She's driving a 2018 GC Trailhawk now so she likes the Jeeps.
It's not the WL though, just the standard 2 row GC but she was interested in the Plug in Hybrid aspect as well.
 

LugsLeadOut84

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2018
Posts
458
Reaction score
662
Location
NYC Suburb
Ram Year
2021
Engine
5.7L Hemi
Well, this thread got me to go out and put down a deposit on an EV. Its not replacing my truck, but it is replacing my wife's car. With how much she drives and the majority of that being around town, it just makes too much financial sense, even if gas was $2.50 a gal. 2-3 times per year we do a trip of 400+ miles. Figured worst case we would just take my truck for those trips, but then thinking about how much gas costs in Cali, I mapped out a scenario, and even across rural Utah and Nevada, there are chargers waaaaay closer than every 250 miles, more like less than every 100 miles. The maintenance costs of an EV are much less than a ICE vehicle too.

Guess its good that not everyone on this thread is being forced to replace every vehicle they currently own with an EV right now (an EV truck doesnt make sense for me and I think it will be a while before it will).
Not trying to beat a dead horse, but the point was you may find charging stations in various parking lots according to your estimate at every 100 miles...but today less than 1% of the US owns EV's. What happens when its 25%, 50% or more? Those 1 or 2 charging stations will surely be occupied on a much more regular basis. Those free charging stations are also a novelty to attract customers and show how progressive the stores are...But surely they will not remain free when the masses have EV's. As demand grows, these will become business opportunities that offer pay-to-charge services. Will it be $10 or $20 per hour of charge? I couldn't see it costing less. And having to wait? Come on.
If EV's fit a lifestyle, then great - buy one. My issue is with forcing the masses to comply by making gas completely uneconomical - it's figuratively strangling people into compliance.
 

b-real

Member
Joined
Oct 13, 2020
Posts
44
Reaction score
35
Location
SLC, UT
Ram Year
2020
Engine
5.7 Hemi
Not trying to beat a dead horse, but the point was you may find charging stations in various parking lots according to your estimate at every 100 miles...but today less than 1% of the US owns EV's. What happens when its 25%, 50% or more? Those 1 or 2 charging stations will surely be occupied on a much more regular basis. Those free charging stations are also a novelty to attract customers and show how progressive the stores are...But surely they will not remain free when the masses have EV's. As demand grows, these will become business opportunities that offer pay-to-charge services. Will it be $10 or $20 per hour of charge? I couldn't see it costing less. And having to wait? Come on.
If EV's fit a lifestyle, then great - buy one. My issue is with forcing the masses to comply by making gas completely uneconomical - it's figuratively strangling people into compliance.
I think forcing anything is bad, but I dont think that current gas prices are some conspiracy theory in forcing adoption of EVs. To buy that theory you have to completely not understand how global economies work and at the same time give a lot of credit to some poltician(s) somewhere, which I think most people would find it hard to believe that ANY politician could be smart enough to pull off something like that. The states like CA and WA that are legislating new vehicles sales after 2030 or so be EV only is not what I want to see. I think we all prefer choice.

Since I have done my part in pulling this thread off topic from its original intent, has anyone heard when '23 order banks will open, and if the new twin turbo engine will be available? That is very intriguing to me.
 

GTyankee

Senior Member
Supporting Member
Military
Joined
Nov 2, 2020
Posts
10,059
Reaction score
12,600
Location
El Cajon Calif. 92021
Ram Year
2016
Engine
3.0 ecodiesel
According to todays news:

OHIO's Electric companies are asking customers to refrain from using their HVAC Systems, so that they don't have to have rolling blackouts !!

Sound familiar ??

soon it will be refrain from using your HVAC or plugging in your vehicle

.....................................................................

Have you ever stood in line at the grocery store & had a lady with a full shopping cart in the line ahead of you.
The register in the next aisle is either just as full as yours or no cashier is working it.
So the lady with a full cart finally gets to the register & you are wondering why you did not go to the 7/11 & get your gallon of milk.

You watch the lady open her purse to pay & you begin to think that you are about to pay & get out of the store,
BUT, the lady breaks out her coupon book & they have not been sorted out yet, not only that, some of the coupons are double.

Have you ever hollered for a store manager & made a fuss.
Just imagine, the EV owner that does not want to stop at 80% charge or they are out in dog walking area with their dog & their vehicle has at least 80% charge.
I would surely make a fuss & i think i am even tempered.
 

MikeinSonoma

Member
Joined
Sep 23, 2021
Posts
38
Reaction score
26
Location
Northern California
Ram Year
2024
Engine
V8 etorque
At least the horse is in front of the cart (car) instead of the cart before the horse like we're trying to do! While I'm thinking about it, the one's comparing going from ICE cars to EV's to back when they were going from horseback to a car with an engine doesn't make sense. First off, we have no one to ask how they looked at that change. Not even an apples to apples comparison so come up with something else! Pretty sure the majority would rather have a car! We'll never know!
Yes it actually is a pretty good comparison. History recorded peoples opinion you don’t need to have them here to ask.


 

HEMIMANN

Senior Member
Supporting Member
Military
Joined
Dec 7, 2020
Posts
6,795
Reaction score
17,078
Location
Minneapolis, MN
Ram Year
2017 2500 Laramie Crew Cab
Engine
6.4L HEMI
I remember reading some history how glad people were not to have horse **** on roads, and have to clean up in town. Except for maybe the guys who got paid to clean up the ****! lol

Plus, maintaining a horse is daily work, multiple times a day. Cars seem damn near maintenance free compared to that. But horses are natural in the environment too - they leave little damage when logging, for example, and employ a sub-economy to care for them. They were native to North America prior to Ice Age.

Sometimes I think we worship productivity at the risk of extincting ourselves. At least the dinosaurs had an asteroid. 8 billion of us is too many.
 
Top