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Comment by icanhackit | Hacker News Reader

Sounds like an opportunity to me. Have a rule that you charge by Km travelled or fuel used, whichever is greatest $-wise. Also have a car where the interior can be quickly converted into a bed...a double bed.

Bonus points for electrochromic glass for privacy. The glass can only be activated when the car is fully stopped with the handbrake engaged.

Uses: sleep, sex, rest, air-conditioned space, heated space, eating space, electrical outlet for phone or laptop, quiet room, change room...oh and a car. Basically anything a hotel can be but also portable.

Add automated driving to the equation and who knows what kind of a beast the industry will be in a decade.

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Decouple the environmental controls and electrical subsystem from the engine by using a separate electricity generator with a separate fuel supply. Use deep-cycle marine batteries as a buffer, and have the generator turn on to top them off when they get below a threshold. Meter the power usage for the generator, and charge for distance travelled and by power used.

A lot of owner-operator truckers have discrete electricity generators, because running the engine just for HVAC and electric power causes unnecessary maintenance costs. There are even truck stops that pipe in electricity, HVAC, and video channels through an umbilical that hangs down to one of the windows.

A miniaturized RV that is basically a stripped-down mobile motel room will also have a decent post-fleet-vehicle secondary market, as people buy them to live in full-time, or use more like a traditional RV, excepting that it can fit into a van-sized parking space.

Also, I'd just use blackout curtains or aluminum shutters instead of the electrochromic glass, and use a removable or retractable privacy barrier between the driver compartment and the private space. I'd rather use simple and reliable tech for simple requirements.

> A miniaturized RV that is basically a stripped-down mobile motel room will also have a decent post-fleet-vehicle secondary market, as people buy them to live in full-time, or use more like a traditional RV, excepting that it can fit into a van-sized parking space.

You're basically describing what used to be called (here in the United States - circa 1970s-80s) a "conversion van". Today, you'd probably use something like one of the larger/tall "Ford Transit Connect" vans; which I wouldn't doubt that some company does conversions on, for sale as mini RVs.

A friend has one of these, a Nissan Elgrand minivan converted into a camper:

http://www.freespiritautos.co.uk/camper-conversions/nissan-e...

Although looking at the numbers, it's a whack bigger than a Transit Connect - 20 cm longer than the long wheelbase version, and weighs half a tonne more.

Mind you, the classic VW bus is about the same length and weight as the short wheelbase Transit Connect!

In fact they are fairly popular with the set of campers who travel to more remote places (I.E. national forest campgrounds instead of large RV parks). For instance, https://sportsmobile.com/sportsmobile-4x4/ offers 4x4 conversion vans for these uses, as well as more traditional 4x2 conversion vans for on-road use.

Those look pretty neat! Do you know if there are similar things that are less off-road geared?

Google for Volkswagen Westfalias. They are, sadly, no longer in production, but they are exactly what you have in mind, and their internal layout was about as good as it gets in terms of comfort/utility per square foot. I had one back in the late 90's/early 2000's, and I regret to this day that I sold it. It was awesome.

Ah yes, I have seen some of those old fellows around here and there! I definitely would love something like this, too bad they look so dated :/.

The company I linked makes 2wd on-road versions as well.

I work a side job doing medical work at events. Often these events go late into the night or even the whole night. I often have to struggle with do I drive home while sleepy and use a caffeine pill to help stay alert/awake, or do I try and sleep in my small car. I am 6'5" and drive a small kia rio so sleeping in my car sucks.

I would definitely consider using something like this! AirBnB and hotels cost much too much when I just want a few hours of sleep before driving home. Not to mention sometimes I finish early in the morning and getting something to sleep in during the day only is usually not possible.

On top of that sometimes I work a shift, then have a few hour gap before another shift. I am in a city an hour or two away from home so going home is not an option. Being able to have a private space I could just rest in or watch a movie would be incredibly nice.

We need private pod systems around cities. Unfortunately I could see them being abused.

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