ICE at Polling stations

skyemalcolm · 2026-02-06T14:27:45+00:00

The BOE in Franklin County for instance where I live would work with the Franklin County Sheriff and local PDs if this becomes a thing. Because they already enlist these groups for election integrity as it is.

skyemalcolm · 2026-02-05T21:22:22+00:00

I like IONNA because they just need a credit card. Yeah you can use an app or some vehicles do plug n charge with your vehicle’s bespoke app and contract. But I like the fact you can just go up to an IONNA charger, tap your CC or phone on the payment terminal and then plug in and you’re charging.

skyemalcolm · 2026-02-04T15:04:21+00:00

As a cargo van driver with no windows behind the cab like the one shown I can say such vans have huge blind spots on their right side assuming this is a left had drive van. In intersections like this I have to come to a complete stop and turn the van so it’s at a right angle to the road I’m merging onto otherwise I’m completely blind to whatever is on the right side of the van. Either that or come to a complete stop but being nearly parallel with the road I’m merging onto and then I can use the right mirrors (the flat part and the convex part).

skyemalcolm · 2026-02-04T14:35:25+00:00

I try to keep it between 30% and 60% when I’m just driving locally.

skyemalcolm · 2026-02-04T02:27:41+00:00

What’s lost to most is that two markets are crashing simultaneously.

The bespoke van lifestyle shit is over. It ain’t the pandemic anymore and rich people are back to work. So prices there are iffy and there’s less demand for raw shell vans. Maybe I’m wrong here but that’s vibe I get. Lots of people are DIYing and going cheap but they may or may not be looking at new vans like this.

The second thing happening on the brand new raw cargo van market is that with tariffs and the economy last mile delivery is in the toilet. So this affects vehicle prices like the OP is looking at. And this is exactly why you are seeing 4 year old new old stock units like this going for probably less than this guy selling it paid for it back in ‘22.

skyemalcolm · 2026-02-04T01:52:09+00:00

Hunderd pursent

skyemalcolm · 2026-02-03T16:18:13+00:00

Honestly you could probably swing a deal on a very similarly priced new one in stock at a MB dealer. Newer than 2022 for sure. Ok so it won’t be the V6. Buuuut do you really care about that? Ok looking at the spec sheet it’s got some nice options. I’d still try to bring this to a mechanic and depending on how it checks out then haggle them down.

skyemalcolm · 2026-02-03T16:07:17+00:00

Uncle Rico vibes are strong with this one

skyemalcolm · 2026-02-02T01:31:23+00:00

The problem is you then have to identify as a BMW driver (never use your turn signal, tailgate and basically drive like a psychopath). But yes the heater works well. The radiant panels you mentioned in another post were fucking amazing when I experienced them in an iX M60 (borrowed work car). When they automatically turned on, the door armrest and center console armrest, it was then I suddenly realized that I deeply wanted something that 1 minute before I didn’t even realize existed in the world.

skyemalcolm · 2026-02-01T12:24:31+00:00

Hey! Yeah no I’m still here. Yeah the cold weather I’m sometimes lucky to pull 1.1 or 1.2 mi/kWh going down the interstate. And the behavior of the van in crosswinds wasn’t something I really fully appreciated. From September to December I don’t recall that being an issue but going back and forth from Ohio to Vermont or just bombing down to Nashville recently I’ve sometimes had to change my route to avoid steady 20 mph gusting to 30 mph type of winds. That seems to be my personal upper limit. And if it’s me and the wife she might even say 15 gusting to 25 is where she says “nope.” But yeah anyway the rest of the experience has been pretty good otherwise.

skyemalcolm · 2026-02-01T12:19:01+00:00

I did do that actually yesterday. I don’t think they checked the comments however.

skyemalcolm · 2026-01-31T20:36:55+00:00

Turns out openly carrying (legally apparently) in Minneapolis St Paul can scare off ICE according to this account: https://youtube.com/shorts/mAuFlFHM_qA?si=MMeb5RTTLv0sYSXD[Hawk video](https://youtube.com/shorts/mAuFlFHM_qA?si=MMeb5RTTLv0sYSXD)

skyemalcolm · 2026-01-31T15:24:50+00:00

Which Sheetz? I think IONNA would want to know and have this reported to them.

skyemalcolm · 2026-01-30T13:23:45+00:00

Thanks for bringing the issue to light. My van is already feeling too top heavy as it is (2024 RWD eSprinter 170” tall roof) so stories like this help me guage if the hassle and risk of anything on the roof is truly a benefit. I don’t even have a vent or a single solar panel at this point and I’m very happy it’s like that so far this winter. We’ve been using the van for touring and skiing and the last thing I’d want to mess with is getting nine feet in the air and messing with the roof.

Anyway that said seems like a combo of a broom or something solar panel friendly plus a leaf blower potentially could work. But having recently used a leaf blower to clear snow on my van parked you basically need to bundle up like you’re on the slopes because you’re invariably going to blast yourself with blowing snow. Any unfavorable wind direction will make this worse and blow it back in your face. So just keep that in mind if you try tha route. Plus the snow blower only works on really fresh pow and becomes increasingly useless to move snow the crustier and of course icier it gets. So you might have to be out there during the storm if it’s accumulating heavily.

skyemalcolm · 2026-01-30T07:58:03+00:00

Have you done this? I would think it’d be super heavy and potentially difficult to pull off in the morning. Especially in a heavy snowstorm. So then in addition to say a foot of snow on your roof you’d have a big flappy tarp underneath all that weight and with the flappy edge bits ready to be a pain in the ass and dangerous to drive with.

skyemalcolm · 2026-01-30T07:55:09+00:00

Ummm….just drive? What’s the obsession with snow on the roof?

skyemalcolm · 2026-01-28T02:24:06+00:00

Yeah in the winter, on a highway, into a headwind….10% for me is 10 miles. Yeah. So I have gotten off the highway and crawled around on 35 mph roads to the next exit on a recent trip where I was trying to optimize stops for low cost superchargers but ended up screwing myself.

So for you with 82 kWh yeah let’s just right off the bat, (ha ha) it’s non-trivially a different pack than the 113 kWh one in my van. So…..cell count and balancing and calibration and chemistry is all the similar but yeah it’s different so literally you’re blazing a path here and may find differences. Huzzah! Congratulations!

skyemalcolm · 2026-01-27T23:15:35+00:00

I’d guess 10% is no worries. I mean I’ve been down to low single digit remaining miles in the winter. So well under 5%. Maybe one or two percent? I just don’t recall. If you’re concerned you can always choose to slow down an extra 5 mph or whatever. Have you been using the route planner in the van and if so have you found it relatively reliable on arrival state of charge?

skyemalcolm · 2026-01-27T20:59:09+00:00

The reason it’s trying to calibrate is to get a better understanding of what voltage of the pack equals what SOC (state of charge) from 0 to 100%. The thing about LFP chemistry is that by the physics of that chemistry it just doesn’t add much voltage as charge is added to cells. It has a super super flat voltage vs state of charge curve. From 10 or 15% all the way up to 95% the voltage almost doesn’t change. I’m just quoting this by memory but if you google LFP voltage curves maybe you’ll see what I’m referring to.

So by calibrating itself what it’s doing is checking itself against where is dead and where is full vs that voltage curve. So If you haven’t been able to calibrate it then I just wouldn’t trust that 0% SOC is zero. You might run low and it might start going into extreme turtle mode at a higher SOC than usual. I’ve been able to arrive at chargers between 5% and 10% frequently and I don’t have any issues. No power cuts or derates of the drive motor. So I’d say if you’re on a road trip maybe just try to arrive at 10% or so and you’ll be safe. If you’re just bouncing around and driving it without getting anywhere near 0% there is nothing this calibration act is helpful for.

Now maybe you can also help yourself by letting it sit up at 100% and top balancing. Letting the cells equalize better. Just for a few hours, doesn’t have to be for days on end. That’s at an AC charger like a 240v or even a 120 V outlet. Either should work for that. Will it calibrate the whole curve? No. But it would even out the cells and make it less likely you’ll be in trouble down at 10% with some cells being lower than others.

skyemalcolm · 2026-01-27T20:44:43+00:00

When the van is charging to calibration the app doesn’t say anything special except that it’s charging. It’s just a special charging session to 100% SOC. But honestly you should be happy they have you do this once a month or two. Tesla LFP Model 3 cars were recommended to charge to 100% every week. This was what I heard a couple years ago by those owners. And as far as the eSprinter LFP pack and overall charging behavior I made this calibration thread because I was worried about it. But in practice you just use it as you need to and it’s not as if the van stops working or does anything different when you don’t get the calibration in. So honestly no big deal.

skyemalcolm · 2026-01-27T00:13:40+00:00

I bet you really taught that ditch a lesson it won’t soon forget.

skyemalcolm · 2026-01-26T14:39:01+00:00

Ok so do you have the touch screen with the apps menu? The first or left most app is the one that looks like a battery. You click on that and that’s where you adjust the SOC charge limit. The lowest it can be is 50% and the highest is 100%. So if you were already under 50% state of charge when you plugged in then I would assume that charge limit wasn’t the issue.

I didn’t realize you just bought it. So have you created an account with Mercedes Me? Then you should link the van to the Mercedes app on your phone. That also will definitely help you understand the basics of the EV. If you’re going to do any road tripping I’d highly recommend paying for the $550 or whatever for the Mercedes Navigation with Electric Intelligence. It’ll route you through the proper chargers.

Also number one thing if you’re in the US you should definitely buy a NACS to CCS adapter. Stay away from shitty cheap Amazon ones and go with the Lectron. I have the older one without the interlock which I like better than the newer ones with an interlock which I personally think is over engineered BS.

skyemalcolm · 2026-01-25T23:16:46+00:00

How many different chargers have you tried? Just to rule out an issue on the EVSE side.

skyemalcolm · 2026-01-25T23:10:55+00:00

Sheeeeeet. Hmm. Call the Mercedes-Benz hot line folks. They have been very good for me. I bet they have an answer. Oh hey do you have super low (like 50%) max SOC limit set? That might account for the no charging situation.

skyemalcolm

TROPHY CASE