What exactly is Scout Motors’ priority for off-road use

[Todd C]

I’d like to know more about Scout Motors’ intent and prioritization of true off-road and overlanding use of these vehicles. I cut an excerpt from my thread on underbody protection, and raise the following observation. I’d love to hear an official response…

During the Motor Trend interview with CEO Scott Keogh, he spoke extensively of the importance of the Harvester. He went into great detail about why it was important, and stated this was as a means to make the vehicle appealing to a more broad group of vehicle buyers. However, the glaring omission from this entire conversation was any mention of the need to have this extended range capability for extended off-road use, and for off-road buyers.

Not once was this mentioned. To me, an actual off-road buyer, the Harvester is what makes the Scout an actual consideration. Without the Harvester, it’s just not a viable off road or overland vehicle, in any way.

A pure EV would never work for true overland use, or real, extended off-road trips. Only very short day trips, at best, given that slow, technical off-road use will no doubt cause a massive drop in range. ICE vehicles, for example, can easily drop below 4 mpg on the trail. But I can carry extra fuel. Of course, not with an EV. Enter the Harvester- which allows just that, and which in the interview was never mentioned as being necessary for this type of priority.

This definitely had me wondering just how important a priority actual off-road use really is, here. To me, his responses indicate a desire to appeal to more (generic) buyers- which is what was actually stated- but not necessarily to more off-road buyers. So what’s the company’s true intent here? REAL off-roader, or just a vehicle that “harks back to its original,” but in reality only gives some basic actual capability?

If I were asked about the decision to add a range extender, my first answer would have been that this is critical to make this vehicle viable for true off-road use, which is a core priority for these vehicles. However, this didn’t even get a passing mention.

So maybe this type of use isn’t quite the priority that many of us hope it is, after all? I’d love to hear a response from Scott on this.

Thanks in advance!

 

[TwoJacks]

I don’t know if you’ve seen the many tests of EV’s off-road, but your assumption that rock crawling range would drop that much seems a tad pessimistic. Seems like it does drop, but not nearly that much. Here’s a nice write up on a long Rivian overlanding trip. https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/2022-rivian-r1t-ev-off-road-truck-test-capability/

 

[Alanp970]

I think for the vehicle to be viable it has to appeal to the masses and that is their priority. Luckily for us off roaders, I think the Harvester option can be a big plus. I think it will also greatly benefit towing and probably a bunch of things I haven’t even considered. Will these have real off road ability? I’d say yes. Having started my off roading almost 35 years ago in a 1971 FJ40 (that I still own), I can say that modern vehicles are not as tough but are far more capable than the old stuff. Modern traction controls, the availability of electric locking diffs, fantastic crawl ratios and fuel injection have truly elevated modern vehicles. Sure, you can modify old vehicles and improve them but as a factory offering, modern vehicles are better. They also drive like a dream on the road compared to the old stuff. My biggest concern is with all the added complexity. Will the Harvester be reliable? I think that’s the question I’ll be most concerned about when I’m doing the White Rim trail in Moab and I’m a couple days walk from civilization

 

[Todd C]

TwoJacks, that’s a great article, thanks for sharing! Interesting experience and valuable information. The only thing that slightly invalidates the trip as a valid real-world cross-country overland test is that they installed charge stations along the trip, so they could make it. That’s essentially cheating. No consumer has this ability, so it’s a little bit of a falsehood that you or I could do this type of trip anywhere we wanted.

They did also point out the careful planning that was needed. But I will say, their off-road range was better than I expected, no doubt due to the regen that an ICE vehicle can’t do.

Their trip, in general, was quite impressive. I’d love to see Scout Motors do some similar adventures, once there are production or viable PP vehicles available to them.

 

[Todd C]

Alanp970, I agree. I’ve off-roaded a number of older and varying degrees of modern vehicles over the past 39 years. Everything you point out is spot-on, although I’d argue that many modern vehicles are at least as rugged as the vintage stuff.

Regarding the reliability of the Harvester, I think it’ll be at least as reliable as any modern ICE engine, coupled with the required additional pieces (transmissions and transfer cases, for example). Better, I expect.

All it needs to do is run at a steady RPM and power a charger. That’s far less complex than the needs and related mechanical complexity of any ICE powertrain. The larger question is will it provide sufficient power to allow the EV drivetrain to operate at its full, rated power, or at least enough to not limit my off-road capability?

One other Scout advantage over that Rivian test is the ability to bridge those charge station gaps by simply adding gas. Can I go an entire day or more without plugging-in, by just refueling with gas and running on the Harvester? Would Scout be able to do their same test without their “cheat” of installing charge stations and without carefully planning a route around the ability to find charging, to facilitate their trip? That’s what I’m looking forward to finding out.

 

[Alanp970]

You’re correct, there are some modern vehicles that are more robust but I was generalizing. I was also thinking in terms of my Land Cruiser which even back then was built like a tank compared to a Jeep of the same era. You’re probably right about the simplicity of a generator running at one speed but any time you add systems you increase complexity. My bet is the non Harvester Scout will be the most reliable. I wouldn’t be too concerned about the Harvester generating full power off road unless you’re at the dunes or mud bogging most of the time. I think there’s good range potential when traveling at a reasonable pace off road, especially with a Jerry can or two. We need to get together and go wheeling when our Scouts arrive!

 

[Todd C]

Yes, that would be a great idea! What part of the country are you in? Among other destinations, we do a small group trip up through the eastern Sierras, every couple of years. We used to have a guy with a nice FJ40, in the group, too.

 

[Alanp970]

I’m in central Texas but I grew up in Southwestern Colorado and try to get back there at least once a year because there’s almost no place to off road down here. I’m definitely gonna need that 500 mile range if I’m driving to Cali!

 

[TwoJacks]

We definitely can’t add charging stations on our own, but the Rivian route was also pretty uniquely long in the grand scheme of overlanding opportunities in the US. For many US routes, the Rivian range is adequate.

 

[Schubie]

It isn't too early to start talking about a kick-off rally in the San Juans. It'd probably generate some good buzz for the brand...

Who knows, maybe they'd provide some support/swag. In past years, the TRD folks have been there for FJ rallies.

 

[Dive Bar Casanova]

Off highway different than off road.
Tread lightly, stick to the trails IMHO.
Trails differ in difficulty.

 

[Chuckles]

I don’t know if you’ve seen the many tests of EV’s off-road, but your assumption that rock crawling range would drop that much seems a tad pessimistic. Seems like it does drop, but not nearly that much. Here’s a nice write up on a long Rivian overlanding trip. https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/2022-rivian-r1t-ev-off-road-truck-test-capability/

Have you read MT's most recent test of the new tri motor? The rear motors overheated when rock climbing.
https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/2025-rivian-r1t-tri-max-first-test-review/

 

[Todd C]

Chuckles, thanks for sharing! I’m not surprised at this, at all, given the whole physics of how they’re operating during rock crawling. In fact, I’d be a little surprised if that didn’t happen.

So, I suppose that now begs a whole other question to Scout Motors – are these going to be able to handle rock crawling better than the Rivian, and/or as well as an ICE vehicle? This seems like a pretty severe use case for these electric motors, with the extremely slow moving and constant level of required input.

 

[Obababoy]

Rivian motors are oil cooled. There are radiators and they use heat from motors to also heat the battery in the winter. Very few people have over heated the motors. My quad motor R1T has been fine off road. Rock crawling with something so expensive is pretty dumb and should be rare enough where it's a non issue.
I'm curious if that new tri motor needs a software update for rock crawl mode. That is the nice thing about these vehicles. They can be updated and improved and my Rivian has definitely improved. I used to get reduced Regen coming down I70 into Denver. No longer an issue.