I just read a column by Ted Nordhaus which looks at the disappointing market for electric vehicles. It ends up concluding some version of hybrid vehicle is the answer, at least for the foreseeable future. Hat tip to Power Line for the link.
Musing about the range-limitation issue that majorly hinders EV adoption, I imagined a solution which I now share with you. Suppose EVs came standard with a trailer hitch and wiring so a standardized battery trailer could be attached for longer trips. Around town running errands or going to work, no such trailer would be needed.
Repowering stations would have these trailers pre-charged. Heading out on a long trip, an EV driver would stop by a station where a charged trailer would be rented and connected to the vehicle.
Perhaps a couple of hundred miles down the road, they'd stop by another such station where, for a second fee, a charged trailer would be swapped for the now-discharged one and the trip would continue, quickly.
Unlike unmanned charging stations, these trailer-swap stations would be manned so vandalism would be minimized. Drivers of EVs wouldn't need to own a battery trailer but would rent them when needed.
I imagine the trailer's rental cost would be a flat fee for charging plus a daily charge for possession. You'd pay for the juice and for keeping the trailer out of circulation.
If as Nordhaus claims, many owners only make a long trip a handful of times a year, most of the time they'd have no need and no trailer.
The above is a first approximation, refinement would improve the idea. A major concern I have is the extent to which the added weight of the trailer would impede its ability to extend EV range.
A second concern: backing up a vehicle with a pivot-hitched trailer isn't straightforward. If too many couldn't master the skill, perhaps a rigid attach design with caster wheels would be preferable. Small trailers using this system once existed, but I haven't seen one in many years.
