RIP RAM BEV

[swajames]

Um... No. They make a good van. The rest is why they are likely going out of business.

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[NW Ontario Ford Lightning]

In a few years, new battery technology (Sodium ION for example) will make the range and charging time issues of EVs practically moot.

Why do you think so?
I have two Sodium battery packs, each are 100AH packs, one 12v one24v. I bought these three years ago, and use them for service work to run inverters (before the Lightning I needed small travel 120VAC systems, that could take the winter more or less) The advantage of the sodium packs is low and high temperature tollerance far better than LiFePO4 - BUT the disadvantages are:
Higher weight per kWh stored.
Wider voltage range from low to high SOC which most inverters struggle to use the full range.
Fewer charge cycles during the life of the battery compared with LiFePO4.
Cost were actually higher for the Sodium packs, mostly due to lower volumes of production (then).

From my experience I believe the best use for Sodium Cells is stationary back up power to support utility scale loads, not so much for EV's due to lower energy density, higher weight, and fewer charge cycles.

 

[NW Ontario Ford Lightning]

https://electrek.co/2025/02/25/ram-touts-new-ramcharger-reev-as-ultimate-electric-pickup/

"...Combined with a massive 92 kWh battery, the pickup can drive up to 690 miles, or what Kuniskis calls an “unlimited” range.

Powered solely by electric power, Ram says the pickup has a driving range of around 145 miles. After the battery runs out of juice, the gas engine kicks on to extend its range..."

It's like buying 2 trucks, and EV and an ICE truck...no thanks.

makes me wonder - does the 3.7L engine have enough power to run a 60kW generator?

My comments are not support of the gas-electric drivetrain, just noting that range entension doesn't have to mean unlimited range.
For big trailers I perfer the "idea" of the trailer having it's own battery and motor set up.

But the issue still comes back to the one we face right now - Charging infrastructure was not built with trucks and trailers in mind. Now 100,000 charging stations across N.America need to morph to accomodate. Going to take time.

 

[swajames]

ABRP has, as an aside, just fallen foul of my strict "if you fail to notify that a renewal is upcoming before you charge the card and process the renewal, then I won't do business with you" policy. I had an ABRP premium account and they just renewed the annual subscription without any heads up that it was about to process. So I've canceled it and won't renew again. I used to be something of an ABRP evangelist but that's not something I'll be doing any more.

 

[RLXXI]

ABRP has, as an aside, just fallen foul of my strict "if you fail to notify that a renewal is upcoming before you charge the card and process the renewal, then I won't do business with you" policy. I had an ABRP premium account and they just renewed the annual subscription without any heads up that it was about to process. So I've canceled it and won't renew again. I used to be something of an ABRP evangelist but that's not something I'll be doing any more.

Corporate structure, Had Norton and Acronis do me the same way, was my fault for not checking to see if they automatically check the box for renewal. They do, and I hadn't logged into the accounts in a long while. I should have checked it right then and there but got in a hurry or distracted and didn't until I got the notice from my bank.

Now when I purchase ANYTHING with a subscription style renewal system, (trial versions as well), I go right back into my account and uncheck that damned box.

 

[RLXXI]

makes me wonder - does the 3.7L engine have enough power to run a 60kW generator?

My comments are not support of the gas-electric drivetrain, just noting that range entension doesn't have to mean unlimited range.
For big trailers I perfer the "idea" of the trailer having it's own battery and motor set up.

But the issue still comes back to the one we face right now - Charging infrastructure was not built with trucks and trailers in mind. Now 100,000 charging stations across N.America need to morph to accomodate. Going to take time.

The 18kW Generac whole home genset I have uses a 1.0L v twin engine, basically a motorcycle engine.

 

[Scorpio3d]

When Tesla was coming out with the cyber truck, their version of a range extender was just a battery pack that fit in the bed (I think it was about half of the bed length and height)and I assume it could be taken out?
I think that would be a great idea, for those occasions when you need it!

 

[swajames]

Corporate structure, Had Norton and Acronis do me the same way, was my fault for not checking to see if they automatically check the box for renewal. They do, and I hadn't logged into the accounts in a long while. I should have checked it right then and there but got in a hurry or distracted and didn't until I got the notice from my bank.

Now when I purchase ANYTHING with a subscription style renewal system, (trial versions as well), I go right back into my account and uncheck that damned box.

In California at least ABRP's failure to notify likely breached a legislative change that took effect on 7/1 requiring specific notification before any automatic renewal should be processed (mine was middle of August).

 

[RLXXI]

When Tesla was coming out with the cyber truck, their version of a range extender was just a battery pack that fit in the bed (I think it was about half of the bed length and height)and I assume it could be taken out?
I think that would be a great idea, for those occasions when you need it!

Was canceled for various reasons namely too expensive, takes up half the entire bed space, did I mention expensive? lol.

 

[Joe Dablock]

The cancellation of RAM EV is bad for EVs in general. I believe it is the result of negative political pressure that has been present for anything that doesn’t use fossil fuel. I personally was a MOPAR supporter and finally gave up waiting and bought my 23 Lightning to replace my 2007 RAM 2500 and 2012 Town and Country. I couldn’t use a 3/4 ton as a daily driver but the Lightning can do 90 percent of both the RAM and van.

P.S. I bought a 22MME the year before. My very first Ford!

 

[NW Ontario Ford Lightning]

The 18kW Generac whole home genset I have uses a 1.0L v twin engine, basically a motorcycle engine.

Some generators are 'rated' as stand-by-duty (for back up energy only) while other (more expensive, and efficient) generators are rated as Primary-power, ie designed to run long periods of time instead of occational back-up power units.

As we know, a dedicated 60kW generator in industry is typically a very large disel unit. Far too big to fit in a pick up truck. So I wonder, what would an engine and generator combination look like, that would fit in the Ram pickup plateform?

If our Lightning trucks just had a charging recepticle in the bed as an option {are you listening Ford Motor Co} - some programing to allow: Seperate battery pack auxillary power/generator (your own or dedicated Ford Product)
-you can own or rent or barrow from a buddy...It would open up new options for EV truck use, trailer towing, long back-woods fishing trip stuff.

To my thinking: it makes no sense to drive around every day with the weight (and cost) of a range extender system that you really only need occationally.
But having a dedicated bed receptical that a separate battery can supply or a generator can supply while you are driving - that would be interesting and useful option at low cost.

 

[hturnerfamily]

correct, the 'generator' engine will simply be running at a SET output speed, with no vacillating, since there is no need to do anything but create a CONSTANT output.

with the new Harvester SCOUT's rear mounted engine generator, this 'sound' will be at the rear of the vehicle, which will contribute to even LESS noise while driving : )

 

[RLXXI]

Some generators are 'rated' as stand-by-duty (for back up energy only) while other (more expensive, and efficient) generators are rated as Primary-power, ie designed to run long periods of time instead of occational back-up power units.

As we know, a dedicated 60kW generator in industry is typically a very large disel unit. Far too big to fit in a pick up truck. So I wonder, what would an engine and generator combination look like, that would fit in the Ram pickup plateform?

If our Lightning trucks just had a charging recepticle in the bed as an option {are you listening Ford Motor Co} - some programing to allow: Seperate battery pack auxillary power/generator (your own or dedicated Ford Product)
-you can own or rent or barrow from a buddy...It would open up new options for EV truck use, trailer towing, long back-woods fishing trip stuff.

To my thinking: it makes no sense to drive around every day with the weight (and cost) of a range extender system that you really only need occationally.
But having a dedicated bed receptical that a separate battery can supply or a generator can supply while you are driving - that would be interesting and useful option at low cost.

I have no thoughts on the subject, just answering the question with an example.

 

[Wendy]

I just wanted to comment on renting a truck for those occasional trips perhaps with a trailer.
I would much rather have MY truck, with the stash of napkins in the second glove box, the flat back seat area for the dog and a couple bags, the POWER pulling a trailer, the controls handling views from windows that I am used to … than renting a strange truck.

 

[Someclouddude]

That makes a billion times more sense. That would open up the market to many more people. Like those that stay around town most of the time but like to travel several times a year. That would make for a great marketing commercial too.

This is my use case as well. Drag Boy Scouts camping 8-10 times a year, so about once a month. I could get an external generator for those trips and just load in the bed for charging and use there or emergencies. Tri-fuel generator video here, 30A caps at ~7kwh..



However, I recently drove from TX to CO for summer camp and it was kind of a drag. Trips are normally 1-2 stops max. I was always behind with an average range of about 200 miles at 1.7-1.8 mi/kw.

For me the EV range would still need to be at least 200 real miles at highway speeds for commutes, errands and daily driver for an active family around DFW or I’d be annoyed about gas & engine maintenance again. I’d probably skip it and suffer.

Another thing that would be cool is 50% additional kWh that could be a bed loaded rental at a dealer, or I suppose purchase for more frequent use. But more weight for daily commute could be wasteful. Need an expansion port… I also had an idea for a travel trailer with additional Powhatan a few years ago, I think I checked and Ford already had the patent..? Would also need some sort of rear expansion port. Anyway, I think there are options but mobile integrated generator could solve for some portion of population.

I think I saw that Scout replaces the spare tire area (didn’t Ford remove spare in 2025?) with fuel and smaller generator than Ram so the interior and bed space are not lost and the Frunk remains. Cool video here…

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