Technology for electric-powered vehicles has come a long way, and the evolution of that technology is far from over. Take Tesla Motors, for example. Maker of the first fully electric sports car, more recently the car company has been heavily pushing its Model S sedan option. CEO Elon Musk says he expects record sales in 2015, even making the bold projection that production will amp up to 500,000 vehicles a year by 2020.

Electric power for passenger vehicles is one thing, but could the technology ever become a viable option for septic trucks?

Yes, but there are still many questions that would have to be answered, says Brian Amthor of truck builder Amthor International.

Perhaps the No. 1 concern for pumpers would be how long such a truck could run before needing to be recharged.

“These guys are on the road and they may have to go out pretty far [to service customers],” Amthor says. “You don’t want something that has a three-hour charge if you have a bunch of customers that are an hour and a half away. You pump, then you have to stop and charge up before coming back. It’s just not efficient that way. How long can you actually use the truck in a day before you have to stop and plug it in, and how long does it take to charge? Those are probably the two biggest concerns. I don’t know if the technology is there yet to be able to run these trucks all day long on a single charge.”

Vehicle weight is another key factor.

“All the extra equipment required to make it solely electric and all the extra batteries is a concern because everyone has to be weight conscious today with their units,” Amthor says. “If you add, let’s say, an extra 500 pounds to your truck, that may require you to have a smaller tank.”

James Dillard, owner of Dillard’s Septic Service in Annapolis, Maryland, says he thinks many pumpers would likely shy away from electric power if it meant decreased tank size.

“There is not a lot of extra space on septic trucks now. You have areas for tools, so where do you put the batteries? Everyone wants a larger tank so they can make more stops before they have to unload. If batteries are going to take away from that space, I don’t think it would be very popular.”

Dillard says his primary concern would be if a septic truck could generate enough horsepower on electric power.

“When you load up a septic truck it’s a lot heavier going out of a service call than when you’re coming in,” he says. “Naturally it’s going to take more of a charge when it’s loaded.”

Another potential battery-draining concern? The pump. The energy source powering the truck engine is ultimately what is driving the pump via the PTO. Traveling from job to job is one thing, but how would battery life be affected by operating the pump?

"It's probably going to take more power from the batteries. You would have to have a lot of battery somewhere to keep the truck running and keep the pump running," Dillard says.

"I think running the pump would drain the battery, but truthfully I don't know enough about these electric vehicles to be certain on this operation," Amthor says.

Imagine that those issues are addressed: An electric septic truck that can accommodate an adequately sized tank, run effectively on a single charge for a 10-hour workday, and be fully recharged overnight. Electricity is cheaper than diesel fuel, so it’s a no-brainer, right? Not necessarily. Up-front costs as well as maintenance have to be considered.

“Say you can buy a truck for $40,000 running on diesel or an electric truck at a cost of $60,000,” Amthor says. “A.) How long is it going to take to recoup that $20,000 difference? And B.) What can go wrong in a five-year span with the electrical part of the truck? Do you have to replace the batteries? Do the batteries go bad? Do the charging systems go bad? Those are the types of things you have to think about. I’ve heard positive and negative things about the electric cars that are out right now. After so many miles you have to replace this and replace that, and it’s very expensive.”

It’s even doubtful if the expense of diesel fuel versus electricity would be a factor pumpers would consider because in the end it may not affect their bottom line much. Dillard says the cost of diesel fuel is always one of the determining factors in what you charge customers, so an electric truck may just require a pumper to focus less on fuel costs and more on whatever uptick there is on the electric bill.

“You have disposal fees, but then you also have fuel costs and maintenance, then your labor over that,” Dillard says. “If you’re going to run your electric bill up charging the truck, that’s something you have to figure out. I don’t think people are going to be thinking, well, it’s electric, we’re going to save money. I don’t think people are going to look at it that way. There are no shortcuts. You have natural-gas trucks now and you don’t really see a lot of them. People tend to stick with what they know and with a diesel, they know what to expect. You’ve got to be familiar with something before you start figuring your price, labor and profit.”

Despite some of the obstacles, the short answer is: Yes, an electric-powered septic truck could one day become commonplace in the industry. Amthor says his company is currently building a set of electric tank trucks for North Carolina-based Duke Energy to use for oil delivery.

“Obviously the Nissans and Prius, they’ve been around for a number of years, but the hybrid market is still fairly new to the truck market, medium duty and above,” Amthor says. “[An electric septic truck] is a doable option but there are some factors that have to be overcome before it gets there.”

“I’m not saying it won’t work, but it’s going to take quite a few people testing it, trying it out first, and getting real work experience with it,” Dillard says. “People were afraid of automatic transmissions on septic trucks and that seems to be pretty popular now.”

Do you think electric trucks have a future in the septic pumping industry? Post a comment below.