Harvester owners (future) here! Who's going EREV Electric + Gas Range Extender 🔋⛽️

[soedesh]

Well...depends if the motor that Scout is putting in these can generate enough electricity to charge the battery more than the battery is currently using.

The Ramcharger, with its V6, also has the same question, with I think most people are guessing WILL be able to supply enough power to charge the battery than what the battery will be using, even towing. Though...maybe towing on flat highway, not up a steep incline.

If the generator does provide enough power, then yes, you could drive 500 miles, fill up on gas, and keep going the remaining 200 just on gas.

Though....500 miles is A LOT, like driving nonstop for 7 hours+ on the freeway. Most people would stop at least once, and during that time would fill up on gas for the generator. It would be nice, if there were options where you could selectively use the generator or not...to make sure that all the gas was gone before you wanted to stop (say, at 250 miles).

I hope it’s like my Chevy Volt. At any point you can switch to the generator to save battery. Plus you can just run it on the gas generator indefinitely by filling the gas tank. Non need to charge the battery on long trips.

 

[M^2]

All in on the Terra Harvester. This checks a lot of boxes for me and our adventures. I sold my 4xe Rubicon this year and we replaced my wife's Wagoneer with a R1S. I love the option of extending the range with fuel as needed. I wasn't expecting that!

 

[Scooby24]

I've opted for the Harvester configuration. Based this reservation detail, I suspect the power may be down a bit in addition to the smaller battery. However, having no range or charging anxiety is a win. I also have already suffered the massive depreciation on my Two Mach-E's....I see a EREV as being the sweet spot for giving me what I want with an EV while allowing me to keep value in the vehicle as it would be a more appealing option to a wider audience.

 

[Noremac]

Terra Harvester here.. I went this route because the closest family is 1000 miles away, almost on the dot... If we can get 500 mile range, that would mean stopping for fuel/charge maybe twice on the way to them. That is freaking awesome.

 

[Scooby24]

The key question is: can you just keep filling up the tank on a 12 hour / 700 mile drive, or do you HAVE to stop and recharge?

I don't own a BMW i3 with range extender, but I have seen a number of reviews on it describing how it works so I'll try and make a guess based on that.

The vehicle would use battery only to a set percentage (hopefully customizable), then the harvester kicks on to provide enough power to meet demands and keep the battery level from dropping further.

The gasoline engine would almost certainly vary RPM to change power output to reduce NVH so it's not really trying to charge the battery...it's trying to just match the average power demand you're asking of it.

For your scenario:

Realistically, you won't have 500 miles of range for highway driving...that would be quoted in the most efficient driving scenario, which is city driving....so let's assume you have a total of 400 miles range at highway speeds.

Let's make the assumption you will get 200 miles EV only range with the smaller battery. Then the Harvester gives you another 200 miles of extended range.

We'll say we want the Harvester to maintain battery at 50% SOC.

You start out at 100% SOC and a full tank of gasoline. You make it 100miles, the Harvester kicks on to maintain charge, and you get another 200 miles (300 in total) before you refuel. Now, you're just using the Harvester. You've got 200 more miles before refueling.

For 700 miles you're refueling 4 times (@Start, @300 miles, @500 miles, @700 miles) and reaching your destination with 50% SOC and a full tank.

 

[mataxis]

I don't own a BMW i3 with range extender, but I have seen a number of reviews on it describing how it works so I'll try and make a guess based on that.

The vehicle would use battery only to a set percentage (hopefully customizable), then the harvester kicks on to provide enough power to meet demands and keep the battery level from dropping further.

The gasoline engine would almost certainly vary RPM to change power output to reduce NVH so it's not really trying to charge the battery...it's trying to just match the average power demand you're asking of it.

For your scenario:

Realistically, you won't have 500 miles of range for highway driving...that would be quoted in the most efficient driving scenario, which is city driving....so let's assume you have a total of 400 miles range at highway speeds.

Let's make the assumption you will get 200 miles EV only range with the smaller battery. Then the Harvester gives you another 200 miles of extended range.

We'll say we want the Harvester to maintain battery at 50% SOC.

You start out at 100% SOC and a full tank of gasoline. You make it 100miles, the Harvester kicks on to maintain charge, and you get another 200 miles (300 in total) before you refuel. Now, you're just using the Harvester. You've got 200 more miles before refueling.

For 700 miles you're refueling 4 times (@Start, @300 miles, @500 miles, @700 miles) and reaching your destination with 50% SOC and a full tank.

Thanks so much for the well laid out explanation!

I'm happy to hear that I wouldn't have to park and charge as I'd feared, but a bit disappointed that it would mean 3 fuel stops compared to the one 1 make now with my Grand Highlander Hybrid Limited (4cyl w/battery gets 33MPG).

 

[irefice]

Harvester Traveler SUV pre-ordered! Who else? I'm sooo stoked we got an EREV option. Didn't even expect that as a possibility... I'm dizzy with delight right now

Did anyone here expect Harvester EREV as a possibility? Maybe the rumor was out there but I just wasn't paying attention enough.

I opted for the EREV in the reservation but if they use a wimpy battery for this option I will pull my reservation! Honestly I don’t think the half-ton segment needs to be EREV, but I want to show my support for the concept which I think has more merits in the 3/4 and 1 ton truck segments. Imagine a 1 ton with 400 miles electric range and a gas/diesel range extender? This is what I am really hoping to see soon!

 

[KarlT]

Correct me if I am wrong, the RamRamcharger has a V6, and the Scout I’ve read migh have a 3 cylinder generator? Doesn’t seem like that’s big enough to run on gas only.
appreciate Scooby’s best guess scenario above.

 

[Scooby24]

Correct me if I am wrong, the RamRamcharger has a V6, and the Scout I’ve read might have a 3 cylinder generator? Doesn’t seem like that’s big enough to run on gas only.
appreciate Scooby’s best guess scenario above.

Ramcharger has 130kw generator with that V6 so it's capable of producing up to 175ish hp....I suspect Ram sized the generator to be able to keep up with towing demands.

If the Scout has a 3 cylinder and we very roughly estimate it has a generator half the size as the V6, at 65 kw that's 85hp which is definitely enough as an average to keep speed on the highway for most vehicles NOT towing.

I really think the key to all of this is going to be if we can have a target charge that's customizable. If you have a target charge at 50% you have some room to open up some thresholds for an acceptable variance of like 5%. I would think the system could use some algorithms to determine how much power you're using and scale how much it will let you have on demand to try and maintain that target.

If you can't set that target and it's fixed at like 7% SOC, there's not a lot of room for error there and I would think they would HAVE to limit your power output like they do with the BMW.