Will the range extender charge when the Scout is not running?

[BigFatBalla]

man I am confused,,,if you are running out of battery power when driving can you just flick a switch and go over to the harvester for another 150 miles or so of driving??? TIA

The Harvester will not directly power the vehicle (movement) but is strictly there to top off the battery level. If the battery is depleted the Harvester will not be able to be used to drive the vehicle and from what I have read would not provide enough juice to the battery to simultaneously drive the truck from a depleted state. Essentially you would have to be parked with the Harvester running for a period of time to provide enough of a charge to the battery to then continue on your trip.

This is my understanding. Someone who knows more than me should chime in.

 

[dbkarbo]

The Harvester will not directly power the vehicle (movement) but is strictly there to top off the battery level. If the battery is depleted the Harvester will not be able to be used to drive the vehicle and from what I have read would not provide enough juice to the battery to simultaneously drive the truck from a depleted state. Essentially you would have to be parked with the Harvester running for a period of time to provide enough of a charge to the battery to then continue on your trip.

This is my understanding. Someone who knows more than me should chime in.

I have read a lot of different things about the range extenders. Some people are claiming that the vehicle will run as long as your put gas in them, and you don't have to ever plug them in. I'm not sure whether to believe that or not.

 

[Chuckles]

I have read a lot of different things about the range extenders. Some people are claiming that the vehicle will run as long as your put gas in them, and you don't have to ever plug them in. I'm not sure whether to believe that or not.

No topic is more debated than this. We're all waiting to find out.

 

[joewilk45]

https://apple.news/AlkIx8D-WTjuTCRvPeBuOGg

 

[TwoJacks]

I have read a lot of different things about the range extenders. Some people are claiming that the vehicle will run as long as your put gas in them, and you don't have to ever plug them in. I'm not sure whether to believe that or not.

I keep seeing this coming up and wonder why anyone would buy one of these if you don’t plan on plugging it in. The only reason to get one of these over a full ICE car is if you plug it in and use the battery to power your short daily drives and commutes thereby benefitting from lower per mile driving costs of charging at home. If you never plug it in you’d be better off just getting a full ICE car which will get better mileage and weigh a lot less than the Scout, and won’t have two power plants to maintain. We don’t have specs of course, but it’s highly likely the Scout will get worse mileage while the harvester is running than would a comparable ICE SUV since there are multiple inefficiencies in translating gasoline energy into movement through two systems with all the added weight and complication. I suppose if all you care about is the torque of an EV, or just have to have a Scout, and don’t care about efficiency or cost, then sure, it makes sense.

 

[colinnwn]

I keep seeing this coming up and wonder why anyone would buy one of these if you don’t plan on plugging it in. The only reason to get one of these over a full ICE car is if you plug it in and use the battery to power your short daily drives and commutes thereby benefitting from lower per mile driving costs of charging at home. If you never plug it in you’d be better off just getting a full ICE car which will get better mileage and weigh a lot less than the Scout, and won’t have two power plants to maintain. We don’t have specs of course, but it’s highly likely the Scout will get worse mileage while the harvester is running than would a comparable ICE SUV since there are multiple inefficiencies in translating gasoline energy into movement through two systems with all the added weight and complication. I suppose if all you care about is the torque of an EV, or just have to have a Scout, and don’t care about efficiency or cost, then sure, it makes sense.

You answered a lot of your own questions about why someone might want a hybrid. Some people likely want this specific vehicle for other features it is expected to have, or nostalgia and not be ready for full EV but willing to do hybrid to get it specifically.

I think you overgeneralize trying to compare full ICE versus EREV. The 1st gen Volts and the BMW i3 have shown they can be competitive to or better than ICE efficiency.

Theoretically ICE could be more efficient when running at moderate highway speed most of the time with someone who doesn't have a spastic throttle foot. But in practice not having a fluid coupled transmission, running the generator steady state at its most efficient RPM intstead of accel/decel and regular fuel enrichment required, and getting regenerative braking power back especially in city driving, means EREV hybrids on gas only do quite well from an efficiency perspective to full ICE.

 

[Mr._Bill]

Having a generator on-board to charge the battery is not efficient and does not make economic sense, it is a convenience feature. It is intended primarily for those who plan to use the vehicle in areas where the charging infrastructure is lacking.

 

[TwoJacks]

You answered a lot of your own questions about why someone might want a hybrid. Some people likely want this specific vehicle for other features it is expected to have, or nostalgia and not be ready for full EV but willing to do hybrid to get it specifically.

I think you overgeneralize trying to compare full ICE versus EREV. The 1st gen Volts and the BMW i3 have shown they can be competitive to or better than ICE efficiency.

Theoretically ICE could be more efficient when running at moderate highway speed most of the time with someone who doesn't have a spastic throttle foot. But in practice not having a fluid coupled transmission, running the generator steady state at its most efficient RPM intstead of accel/decel and regular fuel enrichment required, and getting regenerative braking power back especially in city driving, means EREV hybrids on gas only do quite well from an efficiency perspective to full ICE.

obviously impossible to prove the point one way or another, but the information on the Ram Charger indicates its mileage while using the generator is not going to be stellar. Like was pointed out above, the only reason for a generator is for convenience. It probably won’t even extend range once the battery is down because the generator will only provide another 350 miles of range, same as the EV. It’s really about avoiding charging time, and the penalty will be in efficiency. If you really want efficiency and convenience, diesel is still the way to go especially for towing.

 

[SrfnFly227]

This may have been said somewhere in the thread already, but here's how I have pictured the 3 modes working.

EV only. Harvester never comes on and 100% charge to 0% gets you the advertised 150 miles range (or whatever the published is when the vehicle finally comes out).

Auto. Harvester comes on at a certain percentage and works with the battery to extend your range. You leave for a trip with 100% battery and a full tank of gas and 500 miles later, you have 0% charge and an empty gas tank. To keep driving, you have to charge the battery and a gas station is necessary if you want more than the EV only range.

Max. Harvester is on full blast 100% of the time. This may still result in battery charge dropping, but I would think the goal is that battery level remains unchanged while going through a tank of gas. This probably drops the range to 200-250 miles, but when you stop, you are only putting gas in rather than plugging in for the battery and then finding a gas station also. This allows for a longer road trip to happen without the need for charging infrastructure.

Camp Mode. Harvester runs to charge the battery while parked somewhere. This is the cool one to me. The main place I tow my Jeep will not be getting chargers any time soon. But there is a small gas station nearby. I picture filling with gas a few miles from camp and then letting a tank of gas refill the battery while I camp for the weekend. Then I leave the campsite with a full battery, fill up the gas tank, and have max range for the drive home.

 

[BigFatBalla]

I am currently driving a Ford Powerboost. My main usage is a commute of 16 miles each way at 22.3 mpg average. I also have a tent trailer I tow appx 4 times a year at significantly less mpg. What sold me however was the ability to use the onboard power (7.2 kw) to power my trailer/AC, and top off batteries while using the trailer. I intend to use the Terra in EV Only (or Auto somewhat to use the gas as to not go stale) during my commutes but love the Harvester to ease my range anxiety for longer trips and tow.

 

[RyanR]

I have owned multiple Teslas and one of the reasons I got rid of them is the power depletion caused by cold weather. I would love to see a “freezing temperature “ mode that would auto start the generator if the battery drops below xx% while I was snowboarding.