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

[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.

 

[myscouttraveler]

I have no idea. Scout Motors is being pretty tight lipped about the Harvester. Perhaps rightly so. The bigger question is can the reservation be cancelled and the $100 refunded?

My understanding is that you don’t have to stick to what you chose in the reservation. It’s likely just for them to get a feel for what people want. The reservations are essentially a spot in line and you can customize to whatever when you place your actual order.

 

[timmyhil]

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 had a feeling we would. Only because the CEO of scout said that gas engines weren't completely out of the equation back when they first started Scout Motors. And I also was talking with a guy from Scout about engine options.

 

[lindseybp]

I'm super stoked about the EREV option. Just wondering why no other car makers have implemented this before...or have they and I just don't pay attention?

 

[Macallan 18]

I'm super stoked about the EREV option. Just wondering why no other car makers have implemented this before...or have they and I just don't pay attention?

Judging by the 80%+ take rate for the Harvester EREV option so far, I'd say LOTS of us are super stoked

The BMW i3 from 2016 had an EREV setup (but horrid battery life). The only other existing vehicle that has it is the 2025 Ram 1500 Ramcharger. That's got a 92 kWh battery, 130 kW generator paired to a 3.6L V6 engine.

 

[mataxis]

Let me help a bit. Hybrids are divided into two architectures: (a) Parallel Hybrid and (b) Series Hybrid.

Parallel means the gas motor (it can be gasoline or diesel) runs in Parallel with the electric drivetrain to power the electric motors and charge the battery and has a mechanical connection to the road wheels. There are several sub-variations of the Parallell hybrid system.

A Series Hybrid means the gas engine operates to create electricity that powers the electric drive motors and charge the battery. The gas engine is not mechanically connected to the road wheels. It's called "series" because the engine-powered electric generator has to make electricity first before the car will move. Make electricity first means the generator either supplies the electric drive motors with power or charges the battery, or both. It appears the Harvester architecture will also be a PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle), which means it can be plugged in to a charger to charge the battery in advance of the engine-generator supplying power to the electric drivetrain. Once the battery reaches a predetermined level of energy depletion the engine-generator starts and begins powering the electric drivetrain.

So, the Harverster hybrid will be able to run indefinitely on the engine-generator as long as there is gasoline in the fuel tank. The impact that results is a lower overall eMPG (equivalent Miles-Per-Gallon) rating because internal combustion engines are not that effective turning the energy stored in gasoline (or diesel) into usable power. They are known in physics/engineering parlance as "heat engines", which results in the power converted during the combustion event in the cylinder being mostly lost as heat. But using a gas engine to generate electricity is more efficient use of gasoline (or diesel) because the EV drivetrain is very efficient and loses little heat as it converts energy in the electricity to motion.

Thank you so much for taking the time to explain that. So, it sounds like I’ll be a-ok to make the 700 mile trip without plugging in, which is a big relief. Love the design, bench seating, retractable roof, etc. but just needed to make sure it won’t make my monthly 12-13 hour journeys unbearable. Thanks again!

 

[Opus]

So here is a question. Say I run the battery to zero and the tank to zero. I fill it up with gas, but *don't* drive it. Can I basically park it and let the generator run to charge the battery up, while sitting, not draining the battery to drive the electric engines (say, it I park at a campground or hotel or whatever), then top off the gas and have the full 500 mile range when I get back on the road?

 

[Stumpy]

I'm hoping Scout does this right and uses a clean sheet design for the engine and generator. I hope the plans are not to repurpose a corporate VW car engine. Powering just a generator can allow for a more efficient combustion cycle and lighter weight engine to maximize heat loss.

That's my hope too, but I think little chance the Harvester engine won't be a VW engine. First, the decision to add an EREV model was made late in development, which means they likely just picked a VW engine off the shelf. Second, it'd cost so much more money to develop a ground-up in-house motor rather than picking an already existing VW engine.