Question for this community: I currently have a 1998 toyota tacoma and, frankly, love the compact pickup form factor. I’ve been wanting to move to an electric truck for years, but am not seeing many options… am I being an idiot, hoping for a unicorn?
- Slate looks attractive, but I’m hesitant about a first gen model from a brand new company. Maybe wait a year after release?
- Telo also looks good, but same issue.
- Ford Lightning is bigger than I’d prefer.
- There are some smaller builds, like the Pickman, but not being able to get on the highway
- I’ve also thought of paying for an electric conversion of my current truck, but that’s looking like $40k just to convert an already older vehicle that’s not in great shape.
My main needs are to have a full bed, 2 seats, top speed of ~55mph, and hopefully be less than $50k. I don’t care for any other modern amenities, crank windows and dumb systems are perfect, and don’t need much range. Am I hoping for too little for too little?
I think you’re chasing a unicorn. You don’t want a new, untested brand, so among the list you presented the Ford is the reliable option. You say you need a full size bed. What’s the use case? What about the Ford’s size do you not like? If you live in America, is the size really a problem for you? There could be groupthink in this community about what size is acceptable. Are you letting that dictate what will work best for you?
Why do you want manual windows etc? If it’s a price of repair concern, is upgrading right now really within your budget at all? You can find a used Lightning for $50k. How could a 1998 conversion for $40k ever compare?
I personally would go for one of the newer brands for price reasons, but that would be driven by financial necessity and I doubt they come with as good a warranty. That’s the risk I would have to take to go electric. It doesn’t sound like you have that same restriction.
Maybe last month, not this month, or next month. But that makes more sense than a bodged conversion of an old Tesla motor.