15 Tesla Semi electric trucks are expected to be delivered to PepsiCo this year

[Dcam]

Surely a Tesla Semi was deliver among 308,600 S3XY in Q4

 

[kaffine]

All of that is only sensible rationale for why companies will be producing electric tractors--and they are doing that. It doesn't give any reason to break the tractor/trailer paradigm.

In the US It is common for tractor to haul multiple trailers however in other countries is is common for the tractor to tow the same trailer all the time. Even in the US there are a lot of places that the tractor is always mated to the same trailer. Car haulers for example don't switch trailers. Then there are others that large fleets while the swap trailers have a limited number of trailers if they move the entire fleet to BEV then they could have all the trailers setup for it.

I don't see it happening but I can see benefits of a trailer being able to have regen brakes and if it is a refer having that run on battery vs diesel engine. With how rapidly battery technology is advancing I don't think we will get to the point where it would make sense to have batteries on the trailers other than for the refer unit. Not sure if it would make sense to allow the trailer to have regen braking to help recharge the batteries for that or not.

The other benefit I can see for the trailers having batteries is the trailer is likely to sit at the dock longer than the tractor. The trailer could be charging while it is being unloaded and loaded. With a large fleet that has depots spaced so a tractor goes between 2 depots everyday that could make sense for them. Having Megachargers is nice but if the company is having to pay demand fees for power may be expensive to use, while charging the trailer over a longer time won't have the high demand charges that a Megacharger will. Although that could also be handled by having a battery bank on the charger to reduce the peak demand.

 

[Bouba]

In the US It is common for tractor to haul multiple trailers however in other countries is is common for the tractor to tow the same trailer all the time. Even in the US there are a lot of places that the tractor is always mated to the same trailer. Car haulers for example don't switch trailers. Then there are others that large fleets while the swap trailers have a limited number of trailers if they move the entire fleet to BEV then they could have all the trailers setup for it.

I don't see it happening but I can see benefits of a trailer being able to have regen brakes and if it is a refer having that run on battery vs diesel engine. With how rapidly battery technology is advancing I don't think we will get to the point where it would make sense to have batteries on the trailers other than for the refer unit. Not sure if it would make sense to allow the trailer to have regen braking to help recharge the batteries for that or not.

The other benefit I can see for the trailers having batteries is the trailer is likely to sit at the dock longer than the tractor. The trailer could be charging while it is being unloaded and loaded. With a large fleet that has depots spaced so a tractor goes between 2 depots everyday that could make sense for them. Having Megachargers is nice but if the company is having to pay demand fees for power may be expensive to use, while charging the trailer over a longer time won't have the high demand charges that a Megacharger will. Although that could also be handled by having a battery bank on the charger to reduce the peak demand.

You could go further than having batteries in the trailer, they could have their own electric motors. Then shunting around the yard will be easier, maneuvering in tight spaces or traction in steep or icy conditions would all be enhanced

 

[Rocky_H]

You could go further than having batteries in the trailer, they could have their own electric motors. Then shunting around the yard will be easier, maneuvering in tight spaces or traction in steep or icy conditions would all be enhanced

That definitely can't happen, but it doesn't have to do with whether it's practical or not. It has to do with the fact that it is insanely dangerous for a trailer to have motors in the back PUSHING the vehicle. The physics of it make it way too dangerous and unstable. That had been discussed in a post about Cybertruck towing:

IS Towing with the CT going to be practical?

I have a reservation for the CT (about 445,000 away, based on 112744100). I can wait till next year if I had to. But, I made the "mistake" of test driving the Y. ...and I'm getting the itch. I am hearing some worrisome (low mile) range estimates when it comes to towing (~6000lb camper) with the...

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