Charging While Driving Works w/ Gas Generator in Bed (Range Extending for F-150 Lightning)

[CavRider]

Inefficient because generators are wickedly expensive to run. I did some math on this when I got my truck, I called it a hillbilly hybrid, I guess if range at any cost is a thing ...

Stop at a fast charger and have Lobster instead of cheap burger

That sounds great and heck, I would be happy to just eat the fish I catch myself with my own boat up on Rainy Lake on the border of Minnesota and Ontario. Just curious, which one of the zero possible fast chargers should I use up there?

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[CavRider]

If this is truly accomplished, I’m intrigued. The video shows nothing of value, though. It’s just a generator charging a truck while the truck is parked. Show us the view from a go-pro on the side of the vehicle showing the EVSE plugged in while driving, that will at least begin to be believable.

I have zero interest in a gas generator.

I’d install ~120 kWh of additional battery into a camping trailer and use that to charge while on the road. Install a CCS1 charge controller into the trailer and I can DCFC charge both at once when there are enough open stalls or from the truck’s Pro Power while the truck is charging.

How would you then pull a boat trailer?

 

[bsilvertab]

If this solution can be sold- I'm 100% onboard. The range problem is the biggest issue with this truck and if there is a way to get 50-80% more range with the use of a generator I'm willing to pay for it.

 

[rockhead]

That sounds great and heck, I would be happy to just eat the fish I catch myself with my own boat up on Rainy Lake on the border of Minnesota and Ontario. Just curious, which one of the zero possible fast chargers should I use up there?

The same ones you currently use, it's your fantasy irrelevant comparison

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

How would you then pull a boat trailer?

I don’t own a boat, so why would I pull a boat trailer?

 

[CavRider]

I don’t own a boat, so why would I pull a boat trailer?

Well I do and that is the only thing I pull. So, how does your solution work for me?

 

[RickLightning]

If this solution can be sold- I'm 100% onboard. The range problem is the biggest issue with this truck and if there is a way to get 50-80% more range with the use of a generator I'm willing to pay for it.

Biggest issue with this truck? Are you kidding?

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

Well I do and that is the only thing I pull. So, how does your solution work for me?

Why would I produce a solution for you when I’m not selling any solution? Weird demands here.

 

[CavRider]

The same ones you currently use, it's your fantasy irrelevant comparison

What? There are none. That's the point. Your well thought out "solution" is the fantasy as is the thought that the Lightning can pull my boat up to Ash River Visitor Center (it can) and back (it can't.)

So my very workable solution is a '24 Ford Expedition with 3.5L EcoBoost. That can get it done. A range extender for the Lightning might just change that picture.

 

[CavRider]

Why would I produce a solution for you when I’m not selling any solution? Weird demands here.

I'm not demanding anything from you. I'm just highlighting the difference between your very tailored one-off solution and the much more general purpose pursuit of the OP.

 

[bsilvertab]

100%. Public charging is a pain and often not located in great locations. It's slow, expensive, you have to plan your trips around charging. A solution like this takes a lot of pressure off traveling distances especially in rural areas. Not everywhere I drive is along an expressway.

 

[jjupi91897]

Redacted post by Martin from FB:
***Martin Rebuilds Tow Rig Update / Charge While Driving News***

TLDR - In short:
-Charge while driving works

Some of you know me know and know I am huge Ford and particularly Lightning fan. I run Martin Rebuilds and host the Tech Charged podcast with Christopher Bowe and Jace Craft-Miller. Over the last couple years I've have several Lightnings at the shop and have clocked nearly 100k miles towing all over the nation and Canada. The Lightning is hands down the best towing truck (under 10k lbs) I have ever owned. This is coming from owning multiple brands and sizes of every truck made and I still stand behind my belief that the Lightning is the best. In fact, we just bought a "new to us" 23 ER Lariat max tow for the shop but a change is needed.

Charge While Driving News - As some of you know, I have been working with Zachary Scott Carpenter and Patrick Cheung on a generator that can charge the Lightning while driving down the road. Last week Zach had a very successful test logging over 700 miles running a Ford branded generator while running down the highway at 70mph. It was able to move the efficiency from 1.8 mi/kwh to an impressive 2.3 mi/kwh adding 50 miles of range out of a measly 7kw ford mobile charger. With a much larger generator we expect to nearly double the Lightnings range. See the chart below for what to expect at different speeds and generator sizes.

Genset test upside - The range added will only be limited by 2 factors, 1. How much generator you put in. 2. How big the on board charger in the Lightning is. The 2022 and 2023 Lightning have 80 amp charging so you will see up to 19kw added which means over 500 miles of range. The 2024+ Lightning has 48 amp charging so we expect to see 350 miles of range.

Genset test downside - In the interest of honesty and transparency, which is the core value of my YouTube Channel, the biggest downside I have with the generator is the noise level. To be fair, we tested this with a really loud generator and a lot can be done to quiet these things down. Inverter generators are much quieter and sound proofing can be added to reduce the noise.

My Take on Range Extending - With the shop getting more busy, increasing the volume of towing coupled with several long distance vacations a year, the need for a longer distance tow rig is real. For me, the best 2 things about the lightning are the quiet cabin and the incredible power. Those 2 things are THE reasons I have stayed with the lightning for so long. With that said, my opinion is adding a generator to the truck takes away from the Lightning experience so we have decided to change our tow rig. Instead of trying to add a generator to the Lightning or range extending it, we are going to a larger battery truck.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I am Zach the electrical engineer talked about in this post and I met Martin in Joplin the day after this test:


I just got back to Tulsa and put almost 1000mi on my truck driving while charging @ 7kW.

I am not as concerned with the noise as Martin suddenly was when he took a drive with me, but I AM 100% positive that an inverter generator with sound attenuation is a must for this project. We're still not sure how we'll release this to the public, what will be included, what we'll be selling, or what generator we'll be doing the final testing with, but I have ordered this generator:
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Westinghou...ane-Natural-Gas-Inverter-Generator/5016661947

I am also proceeding with programming many features like auto generator start/stop based on speed, modification/real time calculation of the GoM, generator fuel level reporting on the infotainment screen, full control to configure the charging rate at all times, and more. I should have more updates this weekend and more testing.

Please don't clog this thread up with stupid comments and/or safety Karen worries. Martin and I are both engineers and will fully test every aspect of this mod before we release anything to the community. I want this to be a technical brainstorming discussion and hear some other's perspectives. Martin can get on here and post his range extending estimation spreadsheet soon. Thanks, ~Zach

No thanks!

 

[RickLightning]

The CONCEPT of charging while driving is interesting. There is a camper made that generates power while being towed. That's one example.

What's not interesting to 99.9% of the population is running a large gas/diesel generator to gain additional range. If you need that, then you can buy the Dodge truck that has a gas engine for the sole purpose of filling the battery.

 

[Jodokk]

Finally, my little i3 REX is cool again! Thanks for this. (I bet the generator is actually LESS irritating than the noise REX in my Beemer.)

 

[El Duderino]

The CONCEPT of charging while driving is interesting. There is a camper made that generates power while being towed. That's one example.

What's not interesting to 99.9% of the population is running a large gas/diesel generator to gain additional range. If you need that, then you can buy the GM truck that has a gas engine for the sole purpose of filling the battery.

Sweeping assumption... Did you poll a representative group to come up with that number?

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