Terravis Solar Cover and Lightning?

[Sun Devil]

Terravis – by Worksport (goterravis.com)

Terravis opened their reservation system for their solar cover. I figured for $50, I would make a refundable deposit. However, when I select the vehicle, I only see a 2021 F150 5'6" bed as the closest option to the Lightning. My question is do you think it will work for the Lightning? I'm under the impression all accessories for the 5'5" bed works on the Lightning. This is my first truck so I thought I would ask if it is compatible.

By the way, at $2,000 for the cover, inverter and battery, I'm not sure I will pull the trigger, but the option to have a solar source and a back up battery is appealing.

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[GarageMahal]

Terravis – by Worksport (goterravis.com)

Terravis opened their reservation system for their solar cover. I figured for $50, I would make a refundable deposit. However, when I select the vehicle, I only see a 2021 F150 5'6" bed as the closest option to the Lightning. My question is do you think it will work for the Lightning? I'm under the impression all accessories for the 5'5" bed works on the Lightning. This is my first truck so I thought I would ask if it is compatible.

By the way, at $2,000 for the cover, inverter and battery, I'm not sure I will pull the trigger, but the option to have a solar source and a back up battery is appealing.

I expect it will fit as my understanding is the bed is identical to other F-150s and thought about reserving as well.

Holding off for now as they are really pushing the battery and inverter feature and we don't need that on a Lightning. If they offer a solar only option that integrates into the Lightning battery I will very interested. I realize it won't generate a lot of power but I need a cover anyway and it might as well give me a couples of miles of range while parked at work.

 

[Kiggulak]

Terravis – by Worksport (goterravis.com)

Terravis opened their reservation system for their solar cover. I figured for $50, I would make a refundable deposit. However, when I select the vehicle, I only see a 2021 F150 5'6" bed as the closest option to the Lightning. My question is do you think it will work for the Lightning? I'm under the impression all accessories for the 5'5" bed works on the Lightning. This is my first truck so I thought I would ask if it is compatible.

By the way, at $2,000 for the cover, inverter and battery, I'm not sure I will pull the trigger, but the option to have a solar source and a back up battery is appealing.

If you scroll down to the bottom of the reservation vehicle selection they list the F150 Lightning as a vehicle choice.

I didn't know pre-orders were open on the Terravis. Will they be direct tying to vehicle plug for stationary charging? Or do we have to leave the tail open, plug the 120 trickle charger into the battery rail and plug it into the charge port? Is the trickle charger cord even long enough to make the run? Seems like I need to bring some string to the Daytona event to capture some potential cord lengths from passenger side of the bed to the driver side charge port. Also ask about bi-directional charging from the bed power outlet.

$2000 seems like my upper limit and the EV Point of Sale potential credit might factor in to my trim order and getting this cover. I'll ponder this for a few days before dropping my reservation, since I reserved my F150 on 5-29 and may not take delivery in 2022. What happens in Feb when orders start, do I have to take my cover before I get my truck?

I guess the FAQ is also unclear at $1500-2000 for cover only and $2000 for battery and inverter so is it $3500-4000 for the cover plus a battery and inverter or $2000?

 

[Erik]

Will they be direct tying to vehicle plug for stationary charging? Or do we have to leave the tail open, plug the 120 trickle charger into the battery rail and plug it into the charge port? Is the trickle charger cord even long enough to make the run?

I guess the FAQ is also unclear at $1500-2000 for cover only and $2000 for battery and inverter so is it $3500-4000 for the cover plus a battery and inverter or $2000?

You will need the MPPT, battery, and inverter. The panel output will fluctuate between 0 and 350 watts at 48 volt DC. An EV trickle charger usually charges at 1,000 to 1,500 watts at 120 volt AC. The MPPT is needed to optimize the input from the solar panels, the battery is needed to store enough energy to later create a stable output of 1,000 to 1,500 watts that the EV charger expects, and the inverter is needed to convert the DC power to 120 volt AC. Also, the F150 Lightning will probably not drive when plugged in. My current EV at least refuses to drive when plugged in because it assumes the plug is connected to a wall.

The calculations that they make in their spec sheet are overly optimistic.

• Miles per kWh: They assume that a full size pick up truck can drive 300 miles on a 76.1 kWh battery or about 4 miles per kWh. Even a Tesla is not that efficient. The F150 Lighting will probably go 2 miles per kWh.
• Panel capacity rating: They assume a panel capacity of 650 watts for a mid size pick up, even though on the previous page they list the output for a mid size bed (6'6") as 435 watt. The panel capacity for a short bed F150 is 405 watts
• Generation per day. They assume that the panel will provide the max output for 12 hours per day. Generation at sunset and sunrise will be close to 0 and it will peak around noon to maybe 350 watt on very sunny summer days. Solar panels usually don't reach 100% of their theoretical max capacity.

So they assume that you can generate 100% of the theoretical capacity of an 8ft tonneau cover (0.65 kW) for almost 12 hours per day (7.5 kWh) and that the truck goes 4 miles per kWh (30 miles of range added per day)

In reality you may get an average of 33% of the theoretical capacity of a 5ft6 tonneau cover (0.405 kW) during those 12 hours (1.6 kWh) and the truck will go 2 miles per kWh (3.2 miles of range added per day.

You can get 1.6 kWh in less than a minute at a fast charger. If you are worried about not having enough range, this panel is not going to help much.

 

[GarageMahal]

You will need the MPPT, battery, and inverter. The panel output will fluctuate between 0 and 350 watts at 48 volt DC. An EV trickle charger usually charges at 1,000 to 1,500 watts at 120 volt AC. The MPPT is needed to optimize the input from the solar panels, the battery is needed to store enough energy to later create a stable output of 1,000 to 1,500 watts that the EV charger expects, and the inverter is needed to convert the DC power to 120 volt AC. Also, the F150 Lightning will probably not drive when plugged in. My current EV at least refuses to drive when plugged in because it assumes the plug is connected to a wall.

The calculations that they make in their spec sheet are overly optimistic.

• Miles per kWh: They assume that a full size pick up truck can drive 300 miles on a 76.1 kWh battery or about 4 miles per kWh. Even a Tesla is not that efficient. The F150 Lighting will probably go 2 miles per kWh.
• Panel capacity rating: They assume a panel capacity of 650 watts for a mid size pick up, even though on the previous page they list the output for a mid size bed (6'6") as 435 watt. The panel capacity for a short bed F150 is 405 watts
• Generation per day. They assume that the panel will provide the max output for 12 hours per day. Generation at sunset and sunrise will be close to 0 and it will peak around noon to maybe 350 watt on very sunny summer days. Solar panels usually don't reach 100% of their theoretical max capacity.

So they assume that you can generate 100% of the theoretical capacity of an 8ft tonneau cover (0.65 kW) for almost 12 hours per day (7.5 kWh) and that the truck goes 4 miles per kWh (30 miles of range added per day)

In reality you may get an average of 33% of the theoretical capacity of a 5ft6 tonneau cover (0.405 kW) during those 12 hours (1.6 kWh) and the truck will go 2 miles per kWh (3.2 miles of range added per day.

You can get 1.6 kWh in less than a minute at a fast charger. If you are worried about not having enough range, this panel is not going to help much.

Thanks for posting all of the details as I have not studied the site yet. My expectation was to get about 5-10 miles of charge per day. I'm amazed that they are over stating it this much!

 

[Kiggulak]

You will need the MPPT, battery, and inverter. The panel output will fluctuate between 0 and 350 watts at 48 volt DC. An EV trickle charger usually charges at 1,000 to 1,500 watts at 120 volt AC. The MPPT is needed to optimize the input from the solar panels, the battery is needed to store enough energy to later create a stable output of 1,000 to 1,500 watts that the EV charger expects, and the inverter is needed to convert the DC power to 120 volt AC. Also, the F150 Lightning will probably not drive when plugged in. My current EV at least refuses to drive when plugged in because it assumes the plug is connected to a wall.

The calculations that they make in their spec sheet are overly optimistic.

• Miles per kWh: They assume that a full size pick up truck can drive 300 miles on a 76.1 kWh battery or about 4 miles per kWh. Even a Tesla is not that efficient. The F150 Lighting will probably go 2 miles per kWh.
• Panel capacity rating: They assume a panel capacity of 650 watts for a mid size pick up, even though on the previous page they list the output for a mid size bed (6'6") as 435 watt. The panel capacity for a short bed F150 is 405 watts
• Generation per day. They assume that the panel will provide the max output for 12 hours per day. Generation at sunset and sunrise will be close to 0 and it will peak around noon to maybe 350 watt on very sunny summer days. Solar panels usually don't reach 100% of their theoretical max capacity.

So they assume that you can generate 100% of the theoretical capacity of an 8ft tonneau cover (0.65 kW) for almost 12 hours per day (7.5 kWh) and that the truck goes 4 miles per kWh (30 miles of range added per day)

In reality you may get an average of 33% of the theoretical capacity of a 5ft6 tonneau cover (0.405 kW) during those 12 hours (1.6 kWh) and the truck will go 2 miles per kWh (3.2 miles of range added per day.

You can get 1.6 kWh in less than a minute at a fast charger. If you are worried about not having enough range, this panel is not going to help much.

Thanks but the system has the MPPT and each battery is 1.5 Kw and the inverter is built into the pack to power the trickle charger so this system will work to charge the Lighting while parked. Bigger question is can the solar cover charge the rail battery while the pack inverter is running.

For me I'm parked in a clear lot with plenty of sun each day for work. Even alternating days with one day solar charging the packs and the next day recharging the truck will reduce my home/road charging costs. 40 miles round trip I should be able to top off every other day or so. I'm not trying to push my total range and I know the 120 trickle charger will take >12 hours to fully charge the battery. I know my Ford Focus will not engage the traction battery/motor if the plug is engaged so its more about wanting a hard folding tonneau cover with the option to off grid recharge and offset the costs of home charging having additional battery backup capability when the power goes out. Have additional batteries to charge when not needed for topping up.

Questions are do I start with 1 battery and inverter plus the cover or do I scale up with more batteries initially. Is there an early adopter discount on the orders? Also with the batteries/inverter rated to 60C/140F. If my dash thermometer frequently reads 110F+ inside my car when I get in ... how hot will the bed get with the tail closed? With lithium cells in the battery packs is there some internal cooling or am I adding an aftermarket charging/fire hazard to my truck.

Plus there are all of 1 DC fast chargers near me not something I plan on utilizing regularly.

Oh and can I recharge the F150 and use the F150 240V 30A bed output at the same time? New question to ask at Daytona event.

 

[sotek2345]

Thanks but the system has the MPPT and each battery is 1.5 Kw and the inverter is built into the pack to power the trickle charger so this system will work to charge the Lighting while parked. Bigger question is can the solar cover charge the rail battery while the pack inverter is running.

For me I'm parked in a clear lot with plenty of sun each day for work. Even alternating days with one day solar charging the packs and the next day recharging the truck will reduce my home/road charging costs. 40 miles round trip I should be able to top off every other day or so. I'm not trying to push my total range and I know the 120 trickle charger will take >12 hours to fully charge the battery. I know my Ford Focus will not engage the traction battery/motor if the plug is engaged so its more about wanting a hard folding tonneau cover with the option to off grid recharge and offset the costs of home charging having additional battery backup capability when the power goes out. Have additional batteries to charge when not needed for topping up.

Questions are do I start with 1 battery and inverter plus the cover or do I scale up with more batteries initially. Is there an early adopter discount on the orders? Also with the batteries/inverter rated to 60C/140F. If my dash thermometer frequently reads 110F+ inside my car when I get in ... how hot will the bed get with the tail closed? With lithium cells in the battery packs is there some internal cooling or am I adding an aftermarket charging/fire hazard to my truck.

Plus there are all of 1 DC fast chargers near me not something I plan on utilizing regularly.

Oh and can I recharge the F150 and use the F150 240V 30A bed output at the same time? New question to ask at Daytona event.

If you are trying to cover 40 miles of driving (~20Kwhrs), I would plan on ~10 to 15 days of charging (~2-3 Kwhrs/day) from the solar cover (to account for cloudy days and off-nominial conditions.

 

[astricklin]

If the system is generating 3kwh on a nice sunny day and none on many other days, electricity at my house is 9¢/kWh...it's going to take approximately 6000 really sunny days to recoup my $2000 investment.
Let's say I've got 200 nice sunny days a year then that's 30 years to break even at the shortest.
This isn't going to offset the cost of home charging, isn't going to give you any reasonable amount of miles of range and is only going to add an extra 10% (truck has somewhere around a 150kwh pack) battery backup.
This solution honestly is to give someone with an older or other truck the features of the pro power onboard without buying a truck with that feature built in.
To me this doesn't seem like a practical or cost effective solution for what you are attempting to accomplish with the lightning.

 

[Blainestang]

Looks like my original estimate for this thing was darn close : ~400W, meaning max of ~2 kWh/day and 2-4 miles/day of range.

Anyone expecting to get more than that in a Lightning-sized bed will be disappointed... so basically anyone who believes what's on the website.

The Lightning bed is going to be about the size of a normal solar panel 5.5ft x 3.25ft... which can *ideally* do ~400W.

If the cab is blocking any sun, it's less. If the sun is at an angle (which it would be most of the day), it's less.

In Florida, on my system's best days, I get about 6 kWh of energy for each 1 kW of panels. So, for a 0.4 kW panel, that's laid flat, I would expect a best case of ~2 kWh per day.

With the Lightning efficiency at ~2 mi/kWh, you're talking ~4 miles/day, max, often probably 2-3 miles/day.

 

[sotek2345]

If the system is generating 3kwh on a nice sunny day and none on many other days, electricity at my house is 9¢/kWh...it's going to take approximately 6000 really sunny days to recoup my $2000 investment.
Let's say I've got 200 nice sunny days a year then that's 30 years to break even at the shortest.
This isn't going to offset the cost of home charging, isn't going to give you any reasonable amount of miles of range and is only going to add an extra 10% (truck has somewhere around a 150kwh pack) battery backup.
This solution honestly is to give someone with an older or other truck the features of the pro power onboard without buying a truck with that feature built in.
To me this doesn't seem like a practical or cost effective solution for what you are attempting to accomplish with the lightning.

Correct on almost everything except a math error. It gives a ~1% (not 10%) battery backup. (1.5Kwhrs vs 150 Kwhrs)

 

[astricklin]

Correct on almost everything except a math error. It gives a ~1% (not 10%) battery backup. (1.5Kwhrs vs 150 Kwhrs)

Whoops. 1% kind of proves my point even more. This truck already solves the problem that this device is solving and it's not going to provide any meaningful miles to the truck. The range fluctuating based on HVAC usage is going to be greater than the range added by this device.

 

[astricklin]

Oh and can I recharge the F150 and use the F150 240V 30A bed output at the same time? New question to ask at Daytona event.

I believe that this has been asked and yes you can.
I know with the hybrid you can use the outlets in the bed when the truck is driving. But I don't know if they can be used while the vehicle is completely off.

I'd be curious to know if the truck has to be on/ready to drive or if there is some sort of setting to turn on/off the outlet while the truck is parked and off. So if I park my truck outside (or in some other public space) overnight, would my neighbor be able to run an extension cord for his space heaters to the truck and drain my battery?

 

[diesel97]

I would get the extended warranty, solar panels DO NOT LIKE VIBRATION.

 

[Kiggulak]

If the system is generating 3kwh on a nice sunny day and none on many other days, electricity at my house is 9¢/kWh...it's going to take approximately 6000 really sunny days to recoup my $2000 investment.
Let's say I've got 200 nice sunny days a year then that's 30 years to break even at the shortest.
This isn't going to offset the cost of home charging, isn't going to give you any reasonable amount of miles of range and is only going to add an extra 10% (truck has somewhere around a 150kwh pack) battery backup.
This solution honestly is to give someone with an older or other truck the features of the pro power onboard without buying a truck with that feature built in.
To me this doesn't seem like a practical or cost effective solution for what you are attempting to accomplish with the lightning.

But subtract what you would pay for a tri-fold tonneau cover from your original investment.

Not saying this replaces any other charging but it is certainly an interesting additional option for tonneau covers maybe more appealing to ICE trucks without power in the bed.

 

[astricklin]

But subtract what you would pay for a tri-fold tonneau cover from your original investment.

Ok so a nice hard cover is $1000. So it's only 15 years of 2/3 days of good full sun. I doubt you get that much of a year of full sunny days so it'll more than likely be longer than that.

Buy the thing and prove me wrong, but I myself am not convinced that it's worth the money. Even if it does manage to somehow give you 5 miles of range a day.

I see this device as a solution to add the pro power like capabilities to an older/cheaper/not ford truck. The lightning already has these features built in.

If you really want to use solar to power your vehicle it would make a lot more sense to put them onto your house.

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