Ram range extender

[Pioneer74]

Is a gas generator.

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/b...r-will-power-battery-with-engine/69954785007/

"By nature an extender is charging the battery," Tavares said during a trip to New York. "So that's that's how it works. You are on the electric power mode, and you charge the battery with your ICE engine revving at a constant speed."

That will give the truck more range, while substantially reducing carbon emissions, he said.

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[Maquis]

So a Volt Truck!

 

[greenne]

That's not a bad thing to have. People keep confusing range extender with PHEV and they are two different things. I assume with a range extender the RAM would have the same EV range that you could use in normal driving and a range extender you could choose to use if you had to tow or go on a long trip to extend the gap between chargers.

The key thing being this opens up the EV to more people.

Honestly if it offers 300mi range in EV only with a range extender for MORE range when needed.. I'm interested.

 

[vandy1981]

So a Volt Truck!

I think an BMW i3 with range extender (REX) is a better analogy. They The i3 was sold in a battery-only and REX configuration and couldn't maintain highway speeds on gas only unless the terrain was flat and there was no headwind. I think this will be even more true for the Ram REX. The Volt could be driven on gas only when the battery was depleted.

The Ram would need to be a substantial gas engine to add substantial distance at highway speeds, especially when you consider towing which would be the main use case for the Ram Rex.

50 extra miles with towing would be enough to make me consider the Ram Rex.

Let's say that the Rex has a 130 kWh battery.

Assuming 1.0 mi/kWh while towing, you'd need a 50 kWh for the gas range, for a total of 180 kWh combined for gas and range.

If you travel 60 mph, a 180 mile trip will take 3 hours.

50 kWh/3 hours is a 16.7 kW constant load for those three hours. 20 kW generators are not small and 500 pounds minimum, so it's going to mean a smaller battery pack, smaller bed space or smaller frunk.

I still think it would be worth it for those that tow or need to go off grid--the REX would essentially allow you to "self charge" at camp or if you run out of battery range.

 

[COrocket]

So is the "range extender" just a big generator that you can take camping or to remote places and charge while stopped? Or is it meant to replenish the truck as you drive? Problem I see here is you can drain an extended range 130kwh Lightning with about 3.5 hours of highway driving, which is a constant 37kw energy drain from the battery, easily 50+kw towing. At that point the generator would be so heavy and fuel thirsty that you might as well just have a gas/diesel truck to begin with.

 

[Joneii]

I don’t think a standard fossil fuel generator would be worth the effort. Maybe some other fuel would have the kick needed to make it feasible, but I expect that would be really expensive or hazardous (maybe both). The towing range problem may eventually be solved with infrastructure (plentiful, reliable, fast chargers in a pull through configuration). The higher voltage architecture makes a 15-20 min stop every 2 hours tolerable, but only if it is reliable and you don’t have to unhitch every time.

 

[greenne]

I think an BMW i3 with range extender (REX) is a better analogy. They The i3 was sold in a battery-only and REX configuration and couldn't maintain highway speeds on gas only unless the terrain was flat and there was no headwind. I think this will be even more true for the Ram REX. The Volt could be driven on gas only when the battery was depleted.

The Ram would need to be a substantial gas engine to add substantial distance at highway speeds, especially when you consider towing which would be the main use case for the Ram Rex.

50 extra miles with towing would be enough to make me consider the Ram Rex.

Let's say that the Rex has a 130 kWh battery.

Assuming 1.0 mi/kWh while towing, you'd need a 50 kWh for the gas range, for a total of 180 kWh combined for gas and range.

If you travel 60 mph, a 180 mile trip will take 3 hours.

50 kWh/3 hours is a 16.7 kW constant load for those three hours. 20 kW generators are not small and 500 pounds minimum, so it's going to mean a smaller battery pack, smaller bed space or smaller frunk.

I still think it would be worth it for those that tow or need to go off grid--the REX would essentially allow you to "self charge" at camp or if you run out of battery range.

If the Range Extender is only going to offer 50Kwh(or 50mi) a better option may be to skip the REX and get a Silverado EV with the 212KwH battery.

 

[VTbuckeye]

Looking forward to Mr. Fusion.

Where we're going we don't need roads.

 

[Maquis]

I think an BMW i3 with range extender (REX) is a better analogy. They The i3 was sold in a battery-only and REX configuration and couldn't maintain highway speeds on gas only unless the terrain was flat and there was no headwind. I think this will be even more true for the Ram REX. The Volt could be driven on gas only when the battery was depleted.

The Ram would need to be a substantial gas engine to add substantial distance at highway speeds, especially when you consider towing which would be the main use case for the Ram Rex.

50 extra miles with towing would be enough to make me consider the Ram Rex.

Let's say that the Rex has a 130 kWh battery.

Assuming 1.0 mi/kWh while towing, you'd need a 50 kWh for the gas range, for a total of 180 kWh combined for gas and range.

If you travel 60 mph, a 180 mile trip will take 3 hours.

50 kWh/3 hours is a 16.7 kW constant load for those three hours. 20 kW generators are not small and 500 pounds minimum, so it's going to mean a smaller battery pack, smaller bed space or smaller frunk.

I still think it would be worth it for those that tow or need to go off grid--the REX would essentially allow you to "self charge" at camp or if you run out of battery range.

I love it when my 1-line bad joke elicits a 10 paragraph analysis!

 

[vandy1981]

I love it when my 1-line bad joke elicits a 10 paragraph analysis!

It's just my roundabout way of saying that the Ram REX is probably not worth the cost complexity and space compromises of adding an ICE range extender

The only reason I'd consider the REX is for towing and that's going to require a big ole generator and gas tank.

 

[sotek2345]

It's just my roundabout way of saying that the Ram REX is probably not worth the cost complexity and space compromises of adding an ICE range extender

The only reason I'd consider the REX is for towing and that's going to require a big ole generator and gas tank.

And you know folks are going to want to be able to keep towing after the battery is dead, that means the range extender needs to have enough output to support the full tow rating.

Guess they will just put the 6.2 Hemi in the thing!

 

[greenne]

And you know folks are going to want to be able to keep towing after the battery is dead, that means the range extender needs to have enough output to support the full tow rating.

Then is it a range extender..or a PHEV?

 

[vandy1981]

Then is it a range extender..or a PHEV?

The only info we have from Ram is in the OP and their description is most consistent with a battery+range extender (i.e. there is no mechanical connection between the drivetrain and ICE engine).

 

[sotek2345]

Then is it a range extender..or a PHEV?

It think that comes down to how they connect everything. If the gas motor isn't connected to the drivetrain and just charges the battery, it would be a range extender. If it is, then it is a PHEV.

 

[RickKeen]

So is the "range extender" just a big generator that you can take camping or to remote places and charge while stopped? Or is it meant to replenish the truck as you drive? Problem I see here is you can drain an extended range 130kwh Lightning with about 3.5 hours of highway driving, which is a constant 37kw energy drain from the battery, easily 50+kw towing. At that point the generator would be so heavy and fuel thirsty that you might as well just have a gas/diesel truck to begin with.

Ding, Ding, Ding!

Building a truck with both a large/heavy battery and electric motors AND even a moderate-sized internal combustion engine is kind of the worst of both worlds in terms of weight capacity and payload space consumed.

Maybe a convertible truck-drop the heavy battery and replace with an engine when you need the towing range?

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