New RV Trailer for EVs Extends Range & a Bonus Power Wall

[Sun Devil]

First, I apologize if this is old news everyone is aware of. I just came across it. My biggest concern about purchasing the F-150 Lightning over an ICE truck is the suspected heavily diminished range. My wife wants a RV trailer for camping.

Here is an interesting article about a company that is building a RV trailer with battery packs, electric motor and solar panels for recharging: Electric Camper Pulls Its Own Weight, Acts As Powerwall (insideevs.com)

The trailer, albeit small, actually increased the range of the Audi E-tron ( Fully Electric Towing Rig & Audi e-tron Sportback Set New Record (insideevs.com)), but also acts as a power wall when parked at home. It also appears to add a solar panel to your home too. (I believe someone else on this forum mentioned it would be brilliant if the Lightning could provide your home with power during high peak hours and recharge during off peak hours. This would save you money as a battery backup. I would think the trailer could do this too.)

The article is from 2018, so if anyone can find more recent developments on this or something similar, please share. I recognize this is just a concept and an incredibly small RV, but hopefully it will start a trend among more main stream RV manufacturers.

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[Pedaldude]

The motors on the Lightning are plenty powerful enough for towing, the only real advantage of having the motors on the trailer is for regenerative braking. Otherwise the trailer motors are just extra weight to drag around.

Extra batteries weigh more too and it's one of those things you would need to test in real world conditions. It's the same reason why adding extra battery capacity to the truck starts to reach a point of diminishing returns. Really, the best thing for the near future would be an ICE battery extender to take advantage of the energy density of gasoline and the fact you can refill your tank way faster than charging. This would turn the Lightning into a battery EV leaning series hybrid and it would be pretty easy to figure out how much energy the Lightning uses on the highway to size the gas engine.

As far as using the truck or trailer for avoiding peak electrical charges, or even just as storage, it will depend on the durability of the battery and how much you can save by using it.

 

[vandy1981]

The RV industry is not known for their innovation so I'd be surprised if we see anything like this anytime soon. AFAIK, you can't even buy a travel trailer that has a factory installed lithium ion battery bank and a substantial solar array right now.

Lordstown announced that they were going to develop electric RVs with Camping World, but I highly doubt that's going to come to fruition given Lordstown's recent struggles.

 

[don.mullins]

The RV industry is not known for their innovation so I'd be surprised if we see anything like this anytime soon. AFAIK, you can't even buy a travel trailer that has a factory installed lithium ion battery bank and a substantial solar array right now.

Lordstown announced that they were going to develop electric RVs with Camping World, but I highly doubt that's going to come to fruition given Lordstown's recent struggles.

That is changing. My Lance has an whole-trailer automation system installed; Airstreams offer a similar product. Mine controls lights, stabilizers, slides, awnings, water heater, HVAC, etc. It also monitors batteries, water and waste tanks, etc.

Tankless water heaters, more sophisticated heat pump systems, radiant heating systems are all becoming options in travel trailers and motor coaches.

Many RVs are gaining sophisticated battery / solar systems as well.

 

[daemonic3]

That is changing. My Lance has an whole-trailer automation system installed; Airstreams offer a similar product. Mine controls lights, stabilizers, slides, awnings, water heater, HVAC, etc. It also monitors batteries, water and waste tanks, etc.

Tankless water heaters, more sophisticated heat pump systems, radiant heating systems are all becoming options in travel trailers and motor coaches.

Many RVs are gaining sophisticated battery / solar systems as well.

I was gonna say, it's quite the opposite. There are constant innovations going on, but many of these are not in the volume models and trims. Lance, Airstream, and other high end brands have crazy innovative tech but you have to pay the premium and it goes up exponentially compared to entry brands.

 

[dannko58]

The RV industry is not known for their innovation so I'd be surprised if we see anything like this anytime soon. AFAIK, you can't even buy a travel trailer that has a factory installed lithium ion battery bank and a substantial solar array right now.

Lordstown announced that they were going to develop electric RVs with Camping World, but I highly doubt that's going to come to fruition given Lordstown's recent struggles.

you are correct. As an avid RV'er, I have been after them for years to get rid of the browns inside, finally they started with greys, etc...they are definitely lagging behind trends. Plus when they do upgrade and install electronics, it's such garbage you would be better doing it yourself.

 

[EaglesPDX]

Otherwise the trailer motors are just extra weight to drag around.

They provide power to the trailer wheels so that the effective towload is near zero extending the towing range with small travel trailer from 100 to 300 before needing a charge. The trailer batteries can use CCS charging station just like the car. Back the trailer into one, the F150 into the other and 30 minutes later, another 300 miles, well 250 miles keeping to the 75% of battery range (not below 10%, not above 85%)

Plus with solar panels on the F150 tonneau cover adding 10 miles of truck range a day and on the trailer roof adding about 20 miles a day or powering the campsite needs and adding 10 miles a day. Five day camp out adds 50 miles of range.

I'm hoping that one of slide on trailer makers comes up with a all-electric bed camper with solar panels which would produce about 8 kWh on sunny day, enough for probably powering the camper and adding 4 kWh to the truck battery about 10 miles. End of five day camp out, the truck range is boosted 50 miles and camper has powered hot showers, lights, maybe a dose of AC to cool off at night.

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