It would be great if at some point in the future if this was possible; I'd be a buyer for something that could fit in the frunk or bed that added 50-75 miles and charge while driving.Plus you cannot charge a Lightning while driving - at least not without a lot of modification.
3kw of panels would give you maybe 15-20 miles of additional range. You would need about ten times that to have a meaningful impact when towing.The better application of extending range is something you see on electric test cars and what some people have done to their trailers/campers… roof top solar panels. Problem is getting a small surface area of panels to bring around 3kwh for it to really be helpful.
3kw would give you about 6 miles of range at 2.1 mi/kw. But I said 3kwh, meaning it would charge up to 3kwh throughout the day, which would give you between 45-65 miles of range if you capture 10-12hrs of sunlight with the anticipation you don’t always get a full 3kwh charge from them.3kw of panels would give you maybe 15-20 miles of additional range. You would need about ten times that to have a meaningful impact when towing.
3kw, when towing, would be roughly 3 miles for every hour of driving.
Exactly, my home has 3.35kwh capacity from its 7 panels. It’s just not efficient enough at the size and weight to be used in an extender capacity. Not yet at least.Sorry if I burst anybody's bubble but solar range extension is pure fantasy, here is a pic of half of my 3.2kw array being installed, the drag, the weight, the reduction in power when not faced at 90° to the sun. Can you make a glorified bicycle in a streamliner hull run on solar? Yes. A three ton truck with brickwall aerodynamics ? Nope.
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Get a few electricity-generating exercise bikes onto the bed, hook it onto the battery and get heaps of people to pedal for you like the Toronto Pedal Pub and you're set
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The new scout coming in 2027/8 has this. 300 mile range but with the gas generator built in over 500 miles!!It would be great if at some point in the future if this was possible; I'd be a buyer for something that could fit in the frunk or bed that added 50-75 miles and charge while driving.
One can dream...