Maintenance of Harvester gas engine range extender

[RMK!]

My understanding is that my Gen 1 Volt mostly uses the engine to drive the generator and only direct couples the engine to the drivetrain above 50mph, presumably for efficiency. If you need to pass it decouples and uses pure electric.

My original point was that the engine/generator is capable of fully operating the vehicle and not just some kind of "booster". You can run the car indefinitely on gas and have full power. Also, the car keeps track of the engine hours and alerts the driver when an oil change is required, not based on miles.

Yep, it was a "smart car" in that my wifes commute was less than 40 miles per day she was always on electric drive. One year she received a warning on the screen that the cars gasoline was nearly a year old and it automatically ran on gas only until that the tank was emptied of the old gas. She would plugin and charge every night and replenish the 40 miles of potential range via a standard 120V outlet. The Volts were beautifully engineered nice little vehicles which never made a profit for Chevy hence their demise.

 

[TreeKiller]

Hopefully with Scout stating that some 80% of the vehicle's systems will be user serviceable, that means the Harvester will be configured in such a way as to make it easy to DIY oil changes, spark plugs, etc.

 

[NukeDukem]

Agree, this sounds much more akin to the i3 REX. We had one and loved it.

Couple interesting facts to note. CA CARB emissions forced BMW to limit the range the generator could go by software limiting the fuel tank size. Only US BMWs had this.

You could hack the car to allow more fuel in the tank and go further. Another amazing hack was the ability to force the generator on. That 600cc scooter engine made noise and it was much better hearing it at highway speeds than in your neighborhood/garage.

Hopefully Scout allows for push-button Harvesting!

P.S. BMW REX maintenance intervals were 5K miles or 12-months.

Why base service intervals on distance rather than time? The engine will run at a constant RPM and not be connected to a transmission or drivetrain. Pretty low stress for a motor.

 

[RMK!]

Chevy volt is kind of technically similar, and that’s how it works.

Since Chevy lost over $40K on each Volt sold, I wouldn't get to excited about a Harvester deployment of that vehicle tech (I bought 3 of them for my wife and she loved the cars (our daughter still drives the 2018).

I understand chasing range but Lucid has demonstrated you can get 4-5 hundred miles from a powerful single motor BEV. The gas generator adds complexity, cost and additional maintenance to what should be a more pure BEV. By utilizing the first principles and vertical integration techniques that were developed by other BEV startups, Scout could be a winning brand. If they rely on old, small brand nostalgia and hyped up range figures, they will almost certainly not succeed. Any US manufacturer that seriously want's to get in the BEV game, needs to build it smarter, cheaper and better. Hybrids and EREV are so 2015 ...

 

[soedesh]

I agree that when cars start getting huge ranges at a lower cost then range anxiety will be mitigated and hybrid electric/gas should be a thing of the past. However, I think that trucks present unique challenges since the power demands can vary wildly depending on the user's habits/needs, particularly for towing. So I could get two trucks, one EV for non-towing and another ICE for towing, but the the scout hybrid might satisfy both.

 

[RMK!]

I agree that when cars start getting huge ranges at a lower cost then range anxiety will be mitigated and hybrid electric/gas should be a thing of the past. However, I think that trucks present unique challenges since the power demands can vary wildly depending on the user's habits/needs, particularly for towing. So I could get two trucks, one EV for non-towing and another ICE for towing, but the the scout hybrid might satisfy both.

You've stated the best argument for the need of a hybrid truck, towing long distances to remote locations. I believe the actual number of truck owners who tow long distance is a very low percentage of all truck owners. Electric vehicle adoption here in the US faces significant headwinds for many reasons but if you believe in climate change as I do, BEV adoption is one of the necessary steps we can and should take. Preferences and convenience should be lesser considerations. That said, charging at home makes the BEV ownership really work but not all people have that capability. The continued build out of charging infrastructure is needed so that everyone can enjoy the many advantages of BEV ownership. .

 

[endlessambition]

You've stated the best argument for the need of a hybrid truck, towing long distances to remote locations. I believe the actual number of truck owners who tow long distance is a very low percentage of all truck owners. Electric vehicle adoption here in the US faces significant headwinds for many reasons but if you believe in climate change as I do, BEV adoption is one of the necessary steps we can and should take. Preferences and convenience should be lesser considerations. That said, charging at home makes the BEV ownership really work but not all people have that capability. The continued build out of charging infrastructure is needed so that everyone can enjoy the many advantages of BEV ownership. .

to me, EV ownership has nothing to do with climate change or global warming.

EV ownership takes a lot of fossil fuel to build and power. From the documentaries I ve seen about kids mining minerals and rare earths in Africa where 80-90% of EV batteries come from, the global warming argument has never resonated with me.

I’m hoping to buy the Scout Terra just bc of the cool innovations and creativity that electric trucks brought to the table.
The rugged looks and engine in the back under the bed really set the Scout Terra above the rest imo

 

[Boilercardinal]

My guess is that its maintenance will be around 4,000-8,000hrs of run. Only because it will most likely run at the most torque made rpm which would in theory create less heat and wear to oil and internals. The reason it would be the torquiest rpm is because it would be connected to some kind of alternator or to a special alternator crankshaft to charge the battery.

I just hope it is low maintenance like a generator: fuel, oil, oil filter and air filter.