Frunk Ventilation

[HelloToast]

Yeah this sounds like a dangerous idea as others have said. Maybe a sound box instead https://www.zombiebox.com/shop/z-hut-shelter-noise-barrier

Thanks for the tip. I'll investigate the Zombie Box.

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[HelloToast]

Your Lightning is a silent power station with outlets scattered all around. Use the Lightning to recharge your Bluetti if you can't reach your electric load with an extension cord from directly from the Lightning.



The Pulsar is only a 4000 watt generator. The 30 amp plug is only 120 volt. The Ford charger only charges at 1200 Watts on 120 volt. This will be painfully slow and not worth the hassle.


1. Don't run a generator in your frunk. If you have a shell or cover on your bed, don't run it in there either.

2. Power whatever you need while camping directly from the Lightning power outlets. If that is impractical, use the Lightning to recharge your Bluetti and take the Bluetti where you need it.

3. Charge the Lightning before you head into the wild so that you have battery available to use and get back to civilization. There are very few camping places that you drive to that are far enough away from a DCFC that you can't charge before you hit the campsite. I just powered my travel trailer running everything for my family for three days and only used about 10% of the Lightning battery per day. Recharging your 4000 watt Bluetti or just running your camping load from the Lightning will hardly use anything.

I hear you.

I generally use the vehicle's Pro Power bed outlets for camping while proximate to Level 3 chargers, but shifted to also using a Bluetti Apex 300 (with the DC hub) for more remote camping & travel. That works well as the Apex charges relatively fast from solar. Unfortunatly, that alone wasn't enough to cover all the contingencies I've experienced remote camping/traveling. I needed a geni to solve for several other issues (see above vis hardware/software/satellite coms problems and EV infrastructure issues I've experienced). It's the contingencies I haven't contemplated that concern me.

Thanks

 

[HelloToast]

Agree - don't try it.

Doesn't your Platinum have an ER 131kWh battery? And that isn't enough?

Well, must be a really distant/remote camping area I guess...

A safe alternative would be a portable battery backup system - they don't make noise.

Yes they are more expensive, but safety first.

This one has 2.762kWh energy storage and both 120V and 240V output....not a lot for charging an EV unless you had a bank of them, but 1 might be enough for camping? I have no experience with them just an example from a search on Amazon. Caveat emptor.

https://www.amazon.com/BLUETTI-Apex-300-Simultaneous-Emergencies/dp/B0F42JY551/ref=sr_1_3?crid=362S8LXBKT9MB&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.BKhQdp7DlHcRiTXBDl7B0IEWmbyI_T3-Yn_9682rx0mbqwJsXF7djbAAm_og32uzowu145donEQXLMTz16gA7laRQQGJqh5LNtfy_x1p4pRDkAm-SKAcQON2pp6MBFyOhNN4zdBrZpBFZhqX_U6c2bpl22UKrJk6KGpDd2PhrVrDgkdbzEdMv2oIJe3oeEnadhOOa8kFIRxeJLI0fs6A1BtS6uVlnS3Ib9qkIKZkdZs.RWiRCdbnnWEhUai0ujFCZITHOcMyGqT_1d_YaJ0xBkI&dib_tag=se&keywords=battery+backup+with+240V+output&qid=1786303113&sprefix=battery+backup+with+240v+output,aps,158&sr=8-3&th=1

Thank you. Generally, I agree with you. Using a geni in an enclosed area (e.g. the frunk, bed etc) is a last-ditch option, but if necessary, I would like to make sure the frunk/bed etc are well ventilated for both combustion air, fumes, heat and as applicable, drainage.

No, I rarely need more power than the truck can supply by itself. Ford's recent update to the Pro-Power software (allowing use of bed outlets without leaving the vehicle in the "on" position and running the in-vehicle display 24/7) should help me monitor (and use less) vehicle power.

Unfortunately, I have experienced circumstances that, when occurring in combination, (e.g. software problem + a hardware problem and/or + a satellite outage or prolonged signal loss, and/or other navigation problems + just plain dumb operator errors) resulted in me being stranded (see above for my initial response to this thread responses). I've tested for much of this by traveling to areas prone to multilayer failures & was unsurprisingly presented with several multilayer failures.

If I'm reasonably near a Level 3 charger then I often run appliances etc off the vehicle power. In those cases no added power station or geni is required. I added a Bluetti Apex 300 (with an added battery) to supplement day-to-day power needs & I didn't like having to leave the vehicle in the "on" position with the in-vehicle display on 24/7 . I am also converting as many power use appliances to 12/24v for more efficient power use. Solar (when available) works really well to recharge the Bluetti quickly.

Bottom line, I realized I needed a geni to address other oddball circumstances when travel to/from remote destinations with little to no Level 3 recharging options in proximity. The geni can easily recharge the Bluetti and, in a pinch, can help me limp along to a Level 2 (or even a Level 1) charger and eventually to a Level 3.

Thanks again

 

[DavidS]

From your responses, my suggestion is to go watch Trucked Up EV on YouTube as the creator has been trying to solve the same problems you are and has been working on it awhile.
In California, I had the luxury of L3 charging nearby primitive camping but I’m now in Wisconsin and it too is not uncommon to be camping well over 50 miles from the nearest L3 charging and sometimes without good backup if that’s down.

 

[HelloToast]

From your responses, my suggestion is to go watch Trucked Up EV on YouTube as the creator has been trying to solve the same problems you are and has been working on it awhile.
In California, I had the luxury of L3 charging nearby primitive camping but I’m now in Wisconsin and it too is not uncommon to be camping well over 50 miles from the nearest L3 charging and sometimes without good backup if that’s down.

Thank you. I'm checking the Trucked Up site right now

 

[Runaway Tractor]

You don't need to explain to EV forum why you need electricity to charge your truck. Nobody is telling you not to charge your truck. We're telling not to put a generator in a place a generator does not belong. End.

 

[HelloToast]

I understand that

 

[MrH42]

This is a terrible idea for a ton of reasons. You can't enclose a combustion engine like this at all.

But even if you put it in the bed, you're not going to be able to level 2 charge off of that generator. It looks like it only outputs 120V. You're going to be limited to 120V @ 12 amps. You're adding 2-3 miles per hour of charging. So if you run out of power, you're going to pull over, start up the generator, and sit there for hours to charge to get a few miles of range? And carry extra tanks of gas to power the generator?

Most of your issues you listed before sound like they could have been avoided by just planning your stops better.

 

[Zprime29]

I don't think there's a satisfactory solution for putting the generator in the frunk that includes enough safety and the practicality that you seek. I haven't watched any of the Trucked Up series yet on the EverDrive setup. But I agree that it's probably your best solution. There's a forum thread here with a lot of discussion about it as well:
https://www.f150lightningforum.com/...ed-range-extending-for-f-150-lightning.29842/

 

[HelloToast]

This is a terrible idea for a ton of reasons. You can't enclose a combustion engine like this at all.

But even if you put it in the bed, you're not going to be able to level 2 charge off of that generator. It looks like it only outputs 120V. You're going to be limited to 120V @ 12 amps. You're adding 2-3 miles per hour of charging. So if you run out of power, you're going to pull over, start up the generator, and sit there for hours to charge to get a few miles of range? And carry extra tanks of gas to power the generator?

Most of your issues you listed before sound like they could have been avoided by just planning your stops better.

I understand. I also understand that owners who don't regularly travel off the beaten path are unlikely to understand.

 

[HelloToast]

I don't think there's a satisfactory solution for putting the generator in the frunk that includes enough safety and the practicality that you seek. I haven't watched any of the Trucked Up series yet on the EverDrive setup. But I agree that it's probably your best solution. There's a forum thread here with a lot of discussion about it as well:
https://www.f150lightningforum.com/...ed-range-extending-for-f-150-lightning.29842/

Thank you. I'll check out the forum thread re EverDrive

 

[Runaway Tractor]

I understand. I also understand that owners who don't regularly travel off the beaten path are unlikely to understand.

No sir. We are all acutely aware that our trucks have a limited battery capacity that requires recharging. Your use-case is not special or unique. You have not stumbled upon a one-off edge case that has never before been thought of. You are the one late to the game figuring this out, not the rest of us. If you are going to use the generator to charge the truck, the generator needs to sit outside on the ground. The end, nothing further to discuss.

 

[HelloToast]

No sir. We are all acutely aware that our trucks have a limited battery capacity that requires recharging. Your use-case is not special or unique. You have not stumbled upon a one-off edge case that has never before been thought of. You are the one late to the game figuring this out, not the rest of us. If you are going to use the generator to charge the truck, the generator needs to sit outside on the ground. The end, nothing further to discuss.

Thanks. Very kind of you

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