

| Subject: | Re: Opinions wanted: Overhaul or Eletric?! |
| From: | Steve Williams |
| Date: | Sat, 3 Jun 2023 06:49:02 -0700 |
Thanks for the link to Cafe Electric. It got me thinking. I sold my '84 Westy some time ago, because it was getting too hard to find people to work on it when traveling around the U.S. And it wasn't very comfortable. And the air conditioner was never gonna work right. Now I'm outfitting a small travel trailer. My tow vehicle is a 2017 Outback 2.5i Limited, much more comfortable than my Westy, and easy to get worked on. Towing the trailer, the Outback gets 18-19 mpg over the road, a little lower than the Westy. I'm hoping I can nurse that up a bit over long distances. But it's still gas! I'd like to see a purpose-built EV tow vehicle. I haven't explored Cafe Electric's list of EV related links, but reading a bit about their motor controller clarified my thinking about my tow vehicle a bit: Cafe Electric seems to be about performance and racing. That's fine, but for the tow vehicle, I wouldn't want high performance, since I'd be limited to 55 mph in many areas. Instead, I need it to tow the trailer up a hill and have good range. Fast charging would be nice. So I'm picturing an old VW Rabbit, souped up with big brakes, tons of batteries, and Recaro seats. (Are there aftermarket electric cabin heaters and air conditioners available, efficient enough for EVs?) I can dream.
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