When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I tell you all that to say this, the electric vehicles are a good thing for the route carriers but if and when they start to need service, I have zero, zilch, nada faith that the PO will do it correctly or timely. I fully expect to see a lot of laid up electric trucks waiting for parts or someone smart enough to work on them.
If manufacturers don't get their act together and assure backwards compatibility of parts, people are gonna have a rude awakening when their 8-10 year old cars can't get replacement parts due to the digital modules being out of date or if the firmware is no longer supporting the parts. With the poor availability of parts on new, in warranty EVs as well as ICE vehicles with more complexity, it is likely repair and overhaul of NGDV will be a challenge, and we may see the LLV sticking around much longer than we expect as back ups.
If manufacturers don't get their act together and assure backwards compatibility of parts, people are gonna have a rude awakening when their 8-10 year old cars can't get replacement parts due to the digital modules being out of date or if the firmware is no longer supporting the parts. With the poor availability of parts on new, in warranty EVs as well as ICE vehicles with more complexity, it is likely repair and overhaul of NGDV will be a challenge, and we may see the LLV sticking around much longer than we expect as back ups.
I would suspect this is one of the reasons why Oshkosh is going ahead with Ford instead of trying to do it all in house.
I don't know if Oshkosh has ever made their own powertrains. The HEMTT uses Caterpillar engines in front of Allison transmissions. Their new hotness is called the JLTV, which is powered by GM's Duramax engine. It was the Army's choice to replace the aging HMMWV.
It would lug down and be useless. The LLV's are geared incredibly low and they need to be in order to get going. These tough little engines wind up pretty tight and it's partially because of the four speed that's behind them. The LLV is a Chevy S10 with a bread box on the chassis. It replaced to old Postal Jeeps and was a welcome new addition for it's time which was long before my time.
Originally Posted by FishOnOne
It still would be a turd... I think it made ~100hp
100 hp powering a 2700lb LLV is not the end of the world if it has the gears to work with. My compact sedan has just a bit over 100 hp and weighs just a little less than the LLV at 2500 lbs, and with a 5 speed manual it gets up and going just fine. I do recall LLV was saddled with the TH180/3L30 3 speed automatic with I believe a 2.4x:1 first gear and 1.00:1 3rd gear, I am not sure about final drive ratio. A modern 8 speed like a ZF would make it at least tolerable if not somewhat motivated.
Was there a revision to the LLV that upgraded it to a 4 speed?
100 hp powering a 2700lb LLV is not the end of the world if it has the gears to work with. My compact sedan has just a bit over 100 hp and weighs just a little less than the LLV at 2500 lbs, and with a 5 speed manual it gets up and going just fine. I do recall LLV was saddled with the TH180/3L30 3 speed automatic with I believe a 2.4x:1 first gear and 1.00:1 3rd gear, I am not sure about final drive ratio. A modern 8 speed like a ZF would make it at least tolerable if not somewhat motivated.
Was there a revision to the LLV that upgraded it to a 4 speed?
At one time they used a Ford Explorer frame and drivetrain. I sure do miss that 4.0 OHV Cologne engine. Speaking of Cologne, I think that plant has been converted to some sort of EV production.
At one time they used a Ford Explorer frame and drivetrain. I sure do miss that 4.0 OHV Cologne engine. Speaking of Cologne, I think that plant has been converted to some sort of EV production.
At one time they used a Ford Explorer frame and drivetrain. I sure do miss that 4.0 OHV Cologne engine. Speaking of Cologne, I think that plant has been converted to some sort of EV production.
The Explorer version was and is called the FFV, not LLV. 2 Completely different vehicles and that 4.0 engine from Germany is a breakdown waiting to happen. I've worked on many and owned one once upon a time. That engine is far from anything I would consider reliable. The Ford 4.0 engine was as dependable as any engine ever made.
German designed 4.0 SOHC
Ford designed 4.0 OHV.
Why Ford decided to mix it up is anyones guess but hands down if my life depended on it, that Ford 4.0 OHV is under my hood.
The Explorer version was and is called the FFV, not LLV. 2 Completely different vehicles and that 4.0 engine from Germany is a breakdown waiting to happen. I've worked on many and owned one once upon a time. That engine is far from anything I would consider reliable. The Ford 4.0 engine was as dependable as any engine ever made.
German designed 4.0 SOHC
Ford designed 4.0 OHV.
Why Ford decided to mix it up is anyones guess but hands down if my life depended on it, that Ford 4.0 OHV is under my hood.
Speaking of the 4.0L SOHC....I just want an electric pickup the same size as the 2011 Ranger when it went out. I can live with a sub 200 mile range since there was no way one can get much more than that in the city with the 4.0L. Come on Ford!
At one time they used a Ford Explorer frame and drivetrain. I sure do miss that 4.0 OHV Cologne engine. Speaking of Cologne, I think that plant has been converted to some sort of EV production.
Yes, the FFV. No one likes them, not because of the power train but because of the shape of the body and the way the inside was designed. It's narrow and long and doesn't maneuver as well as the LLV. It's only upside is that it doesn't appear to spontaneously combust like the LLV.
Because we've lost so many LLV's to fires and just simply worn out bodies that ultimately be donor vehicles, we ended up with a Frankenstein mix of delivery vehicles such as the Ram Promaster, Mercedes Metris, FFV, LLV and the 2 tons. The NGDV was supposed to solve this entire problem by the end of full integration 4-6 years from launch. But of course other parties got involved and schit a canary because the truck was rated at not much better MPG's than the LLV. Well I'm sorry folks but severe duty requires lots of fuel. So, we wait longer now to get safe vehicles because those who've never carried a letter any distance farther than from the mail box to the house get to decide what's best for those of us who do professionally every day in all weather conditions with little input from the pros.
I remember many... many... many years ago our postman drove a modified jeep. He would park it at the beginning of the street and would walk house to house caring the mail in a very large leather pouch with a strap around his neck.
The main problem I can see with the new vehicle, is trying to cool it in the south with that giant windshield. It needs to be reflective or blacked out across the top above normal viewing angle.
The main problem I can see with the new vehicle, is trying to cool it in the south with that giant windshield. It needs to be reflective or blacked out across the top above normal viewing angle.
The NGDV will be equipped with ac, the LLV has nothing but a fan to move hot air.
Should be interesting to see how well the electric version holds up with that.
Or is the plan to run the EV version in more temperate coastal climates and ICE versions in places with hot/humid summers and cold winters?
I wish I knew that answer but since the article and photo op took place in Atlanta, I'll wager that the intent is to keep them in the south and far west. There will be numerous natural issues that will hamper the EV's operations such as the rolling blackouts, severe flooding, extreme cold, extreme heat. I hope there is a plan to build these to be resistant to some of these issues.
What I'm gleening from the article is the EV's are going to the newly established Sorting and Distribution Centers (S&CD) first as these structures are either all new or newly remodeled and have been built with the infrastructure to support the use of ICE or EV's.
