Low range - is this a concern?

[Gems]

How will the scouts perform in off-road obstacles with low range if there is no transfer case? Or gearing reduction? I understand direct (1000 ft-lbs) to wheels is amazing, but for example, a 100:1 crawl ratio in a jeep can actually throw down thousands for pounds of torque (10-20k) to the wheels even after drievetrain loss.
I’m no expert or engineer, so I’m looking for honest answers. I don’t want to accept “who needs more than 1000ft lbs of torque” because those in the off-road community benefit greatly from low range.

barring that, everything else looks amazing! I have a reservation for both harvester models.

 

[Scout997]

No details obviously so just speculation but I’d think these things would do better than a Rivian due to the live axle and locker. But as these vehicles will be heavy as $hit compared to your standard ICE off roader I’d think that’s the bigger issue.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

You certainly won't be able to cram a Marlin in there anywhere.

This is, apparently, the axle. Technically it's a solid axle and has a lockable differential, but with the motor housing built into the axle, it's likely there's zero chance of increasing the gear ratio inside of that axle.

https://www.theautopian.com/i-crawl...o-look-at-the-engineering-heres-what-i-found/

 

[popo_patty]

You certainly won't be able to cram a Marlin in there anywhere.

This is, apparently, the axle. Technically it's a solid axle and has a lockable differential, but with the motor housing built into the axle, it's likely there's zero chance of increasing the gear ratio inside of that axle.

https://www.theautopian.com/i-crawl...o-look-at-the-engineering-heres-what-i-found/

Correct me if I’m wrong but there is no need for gear ratios with an electric drivetrain

 

[DadSquatchOR]

As long as there is a way to crank up the regen to mimic low-range for downhill the experience should be the same, the mechanical advantage on climbing will be made up for with torque

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

Correct me if I’m wrong but there is no need for gear ratios with an electric drivetrain

You're not wrong. There's no "need."
For most purposes, 1000 ft-lb of torque is going to be plenty. But...well, there are people who don't want to stop at "plenty."

Without the ability to change the gear ratios in the axles/differentials, and without any kind of transfer case, EVs tend to be as close to direct drive as makes no difference (there are few EVs with transmissions).

That said, in the crawler world, some people like to stack several transfer cases in series to crank up their vehicle's gear ratio from 2:1 or 4:1 to... say, 20:1, or 100:1, or 500:1 and some go up to 1500:1. The final torque numbers are such that the vehicles can crawl very difficult terrain at engine idle or can crawl up very steep slopes with minimal engine RPM. The final torque numbers can get up to 10,000 ft-lbs or even higher. It's expensive, it often ends in broken parts, but...it's...a hobby.

It's totally "unnecessary," but so are a lot of things in the car world.

The most likely approach to increasing torque on a Scout will be swapping the entire motor-axle assembly for something with a higher gear ratio in the differential. That will also be expensive, and it's not at all clear that will be possible without some way to reprogram the controllers.

Side Note: The Mars Science Laboratory (Curiosity) is about the size of the classic Mini Cooper. It's driven by relatively small electric motors and has a final gear ratio of 1024:1. It moves very slowly, but it can climb a 45º slope if necessary.