Help me decide BEV or EREV

[MaddMatt]

Of course, there is always some magical threshold that changes a trip from "we should drive that" to "we should fly that". And that magic distance changes based on a bunch of stuff.

And it also sort of depends on what you're used to. I've got a buddy won't drive more than about 4hs in a day without stopping at a hotel. On the other hand I have relatives who have worn out multiple freightliner RV's from mileage pretty regularly (travel cross country constantly for racing), who don't even think twice about driving for 12-16hrs in a day.

We fly to my parents house in AZ (2-3 day drive). We drive to my wifes parents in Utah (a long one day drive). We drive to Utah because its just so much cheaper.

Driving is ~$200 in gas, vs $600-1000 in airline tickets. Plus, parking at the airport (~$150-250), maybe rent a car (we stay there for like 2 weeks, and visit tons of family in the area), which would add another ~$500.

Driving at a more leisurely pace would add 2 days off of work + hotel costs. So yeah, we drive :/.

I'm not claiming this is super common thing everyone does, or a blocker for the BEV either mind you. As I said, we're contemplating the trip this summer, and if we'll take the hybrid, or the new larger BEV. But the math shows that the BEV would likely cost more, and take ~1hr or so longer for the trip. And if the BEV doesn't end up working how we want it, the Harvester Traveler might become the road trip vehicle.

I feel this post on a deep level - when the kids were little we made the Denver-Tucson loop many times, 14 hours or so of driving time. Denver to Ely (the MN one, not NV) = 2 10-12 hour days. Grand Canyon, Jackson Hole, Park City - the list goes one, we did all the Griswold stuff. I've done this effectively non-stop in several different vehicles, including a Subaru Outback with two car seats in the back and a 70lb Golden Retriever in the wayback, and all stops were based on fuel: everybody goes to the bathroom, the dog gets a quick walk and right back into the car.

While this created core memories that we all look back on most fondly, one of the things I'm looking forward to, now that the kids are grown, is traveling at a more leisurely pace. Having lived with a BEV for over a year now, I know it can go from 10% to 100% in no more than 45 minutes, which should be plenty of time to have a meal, walk around, etc...

10 years ago I couldn't have imagined feeling this way, so I'll be curious to see if I still feel this way when our Scouts are finally available, if I'll go Harvester just because I'm tired of waiting, or what...

 

[robothero]

This past summer we did Myrtle Beach -> Philly suburbs. With the kids it took about 12 hours, with stops very centered around "gas" and "clean bathrooms"

I know the EV route would have been a bit longer, but I think I'd almost prefer that since the stops wouldn't have been as chaotic and ideally planned around "re-energize both car and body" vs "yeah I guess mcdonalds is the option available"


Edit: actually the more I think about it, it may have ended up being the same time because "gas" and "clean bathrooms" did not always align lol.

 

[J Alynn]

I feel this post on a deep level - when the kids were little we made the Denver-Tucson loop many times, 14 hours or so of driving time. Denver to Ely (the MN one, not NV) = 2 10-12 hour days. Grand Canyon, Jackson Hole, Park City - the list goes one, we did all the Griswold stuff. I've done this effectively non-stop in several different vehicles, including a Subaru Outback with two car seats in the back and a 70lb Golden Retriever in the wayback, and all stops were based on fuel: everybody goes to the bathroom, the dog gets a quick walk and right back into the car.

While this created core memories that we all look back on most fondly, one of the things I'm looking forward to, now that the kids are grown, is traveling at a more leisurely pace. Having lived with a BEV for over a year now, I know it can go from 10% to 100% in no more than 45 minutes, which should be plenty of time to have a meal, walk around, etc...

10 years ago I couldn't have imagined feeling this way, so I'll be curious to see if I still feel this way when our Scouts are finally available, if I'll go Harvester just because I'm tired of waiting, or what...

I genuinely believe those of us on the older range of age are probably more open to the breaks. 20-something’s can go 12-14 hours but just not the same once you are over 50

 

[6-ScoutFamily]

I can remember a 3-week driving trip in 1962. Pocatello, ID for relatives. Seattle for the worlds fair. Down the coast to San-Fran (where the clutch went out). To grandmas house in sacramento. Then back across Utah to home in Denver. This was before Interstates. And the vehicle? Our shiny new 1962 Scout 80 with a whole 4 cylinders. What fun.