Range anxiety still?
 

EP Tender range extender trailer (proposed for rental use) for those with extra long EV commutes or taking long vacation holidays. When not towed, could also be a handy home backup generator. The engineer has the backup maneuver figured out...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrM1yqVpi6M

Beautiful, but can you turn it around? :D

Why not just get the appropriate Honda or Yamaha generator and put it in the space behind the rear seat?

If they made a pickup there would be no need for a trailer.

The whole thing weighs 440 lbs.

It's supposedly 3500 watt.

A quick Google of 3500 watt gensets shows a rough sizing of 2ft x 2ft x 2ft and 120 lbs.

I'd rather set the genset on a receiver hitch mounted platform and eliminate the extra weight, cost, and complexity of that trailer.

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r...psxxngzyah.jpg

The backing-up solution is clever but I suspect not foolproof. I'm certain the driver can't see it AT ALL (I can't see my Harbor Fright 4x8 trailer); of course a couple safety flags would help (considered putting one or two one that trailer).

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r...pscbvuyaax.jpg

It would be entirely too easy to forget it's there and back it into things. Also it was demonstrated on nice level asphalt; I suspect things would not work as planned on worse surfaces.

A 3.5kw generator is not going to produce enough power to push the vehicle down the road at highway speed. It might reduce battery draw by around 30% at speed.
In stop and go, low speed traffic I bet that smaller generator might be able to keep up.

Yes, 3.5 KW is pointless. I would want one nearer to 10 KW, and diesel. Agree with eliminating the trailer and just carrying it from the hitch, although I'm not sure you could find a 10 KW diesel genset light enough.

FWIW: what voltage battery pack? 3.5 kw into a 260v pack for a 170 v maximum dc motor might actually make sense. My SOL1 controller uses the motor inductance to make huge currents on rather low battery current. Ie: motor sees about 1000 amps fron 260 battery amps at 192 battery volts & about 50% duty cycle pwm.

It's a great IDEA, just needs 1,000% more technical tuning for true usefulness!

The fossil fuel free concept is going out the window.

Brilliant.

Now is that car in the video an EV ? If so, I like the styling.
( And why are they not being sold in the U.S. ? )

How much range could a lithium pack of batteries that weigh as much as the trailer add? Yes, lithium is expensive, but there is mention of renting them.

If I remember correctly the AMP20 cells I use hold a little less than 0.1kwh, weigh 1Kg each and each cell costs up to $100, each.
Which come out to approximately; just use a generator.

The concept is pointless. Trade the EV for a friend or family's gasser for the road trip. I wouldn't want to be in a small Fit, Fiat 500, i-MiEV, Golf, Smart, or any of the small EV cars for such a trip anyhow. Heck, the Prius barely fits everything for a week of camping and rock climbing for 2 people.

A genset makes sense if it serves double-duty as a backup home generator, but that is the only way to justify it.

Not, if it is rented -- ala' UHaul, Penske, etc. -- here and left there. :thumbup:

Seem like the Tesla super charger or 5 minute battery swap is a better option. Shame it only works with the Tesla, but next year an affordable Tesla model is scheduled for release.

What is this "affordable" you speak of?

I agree that, while the towed genset is a neat idea, it may be more economical and comfortable to simply rent the appropriate vehicle for the trip.

Speaking of range anxiety, I tried to test drive a used Focus EV at a local dealer. I was about a quarter mile into the test drive, deciding which route to take, when my son, sitting in the back seat, pointed out that the battery meter was telling us we had only one mile left. I didn't quite make it back to the lot when the "stop and park NOW!!!!!" message popped up, so I did. The Focus was plan B. The Fusion Energi that I had wanted to drive would not even start. Not a particularly inspiring experience.

Another anecdote. I was driving I-15 from Riverside back to Utah when I saw a Leaf limping slowly toward the first exit at Victorville. I was guessing that the driver made the trip assuming that the distance was well within the car's range, but had not factored in the steep grade over Cajon Pass.

I could use an EV, as much of the family driving is less than 5 miles round trip, and most can be under 35 mph, which is a killer on the minivan's efficiency, but my wife won't drive a golf cart or an NEV. Interestingly, used Volts are approaching the price (lowest, around $11,000) of used golf carts and NEV's, and about the same as an EV conversion (With a comfortable amount left on the electric component warranty. Once the warranty expires, the price should drop much further). That would take away the range anxiety.

<5 miles = walk or bike FTW

I think they have been promising an "affordable" car every year for about the last 5 years.

Yeah, I'll just pass that suggestion on to the wife and girls and see how it goes. The boys have almost always walked or taken the bus. I like the idea, and did a lot of walking, biking and public transit when I was their age, but now my back vehemently disagrees.

Wait, Elio?

On the contrary, those are absolutely useless if they don't happen to be in appropriate places on your route, or at your destination.

Likewise, renting a different vehicle quickly becomes uneconomical when you e.g. drive it to a trailhead and leave it parked for a week or so.

Park a genset on a trailer (which might be rented) at a trailhead and see if it is still there after a week or so. Maybe, maybe not.

If the expense of renting is a problem, you can always borrow a car, as suggested by redpoint5, or bum a ride.

Ultimately, a plug-in hybrid, or an EV with an integrated range extending genset, if you prefer to describe it that way, may be the simplest cure for range anxiety in a one-car household.

I like the idea of renting the genset trailer. It should be economical since there isn't too much investment there. EVs would then need to be engineered to not allow driving when plugged into a fixed charger, but allow driving while being plugged into a mobile charger. There would have to be a signal telling the charge circuit which power source it's connected to.

My feeling is that dealerships aren't motivated to sell EVs. There isn't enough maintenance to keep you coming back to the dealership for pricey service and another opportunity to talk to you about trading in for another new car. Also, EVs don't have the same amount of excitement surrounding it that salesmen can use to upsell everything else. Sell a Mustang and you might get an excited buyer to also purchase the sport suspension and the performance wheels. Sell an EV and the buyer might just get the factory floor mats.

As someone who owns cars for longer periods of time and performs my own maintenance/repairs, a big reason why I want to replace my excellent TSX with an EV is to reduce the amount of time I spend maintaining it (which so far has just been oil changes). I don't ever want to see another P0420 code again in my lifetime.

There are such things as locks, you know. Plus your average trailhead isn't likely to see much traffic: it's not like parking on an urban street, you know. Then there's practical experience of leaving vehicles with horse trailers at trailheads.

You must live in an alternate universe to me.

3.5 kw will add about ten miles to the range. You can buy 3.5 kWh of lithium to permanently add to your pack, and that will weigh about 80 pounds. This should be easier to back up and park.

kW and kWh are 2 different things.

3.5 kW will add an infinite range as long as it's supplying 3.5 kW.
3.5 kWh will add about 10 miles of range, as you mention.

Have you guys already discussed this? Researchers developing roads that charge your electric car while you're driving | Computerworld

Yes wireless charging, take a vehicle that is a model for efficiency and make it a lot less efficient.