[Martin D]

How about one of those European trailers that is a battery for an EV. Don’t think it will charge while driving, but it will transfer when parked. Like for camping in the wild extender.

 

[Vinson]

If it were possible to use solar panels of high efficiency in the future they would probably work like a solar system in that whatever the solar is producing would run the car along with the battery and if there was excess the solar would run the car exclusively and excess would charge the battery. Or instead of solar it could be a generator etc. The battery acts as a backup even though it runs everything when there is no sun or other power.

 

[ArizonaJon]

While I consider this idea a non-starter, if you could tie it into the Regen circuit (with the correct voltage, frequency, etc.) it should be possible.

 

[Anderdd]

No. The inverter used to put in 120 or 240 into the battery is the same inverter that supplies AC to/from the drive motor. Would be a massive conflict there.

Not correct. Propulsion has its own inverter separate from the on board charge controller which injects DC into the vehicle DC BUS

 

[Collin80]

No. The inverter used to put in 120 or 240 into the battery is the same inverter that supplies AC to/from the drive motor. Would be a massive conflict there.

Wrong. There is an on-board charger and there is a motor inverter. They aren't the same thing. The charger on the new cars is 11.5kw while the inverter is 150kw - quite a large difference in power.

The whole discussion about generators is a dead end but there are talks of making charging roads. In that case you'd be charging while driving. The bolt doesn't support such things but it could be added.

 

[ARob]

Not so much with generators, but I can see this being a thing for folks towing a trailer, that the trailer would have added capacity and use some sort of dc connection to increase range. Particularly with that being the stinging point for towing with Electric trucks, but even smaller cars like the Bolt wanting to town a small camper or jetski or what not.

There have been several articles on trailers with electric drive assist, most recently Airstream. But, the idea is to offset the range loss caused by towing a heavy trailer.

The funny part was it was tested with a Model X, but the Airstream has a CCS plug. So, the range of the Tesla was near normal range as if it was not pulling the trailer. But, does that mean two DCFC stops, one at an SuC, and one to charge the trailer? And very few SuC have pul through stalls, so even if the site had CCS plugs, logistically it is not clean.

There was also a German company doing this with semi trailers, effectively making diesel trucks hybrid. The increase MPG for the tractor makes a big difference in operating costs, but it would seem most useful for short-medium range routes because again, charging time at a location other than where the diesel fuel is purchased.

As for a trailer supplying DC power to the EV, the drag of pulling a heavy trailer would probably negate the added capacity.

 

[jefro]

You need a BMW i3 rex.

 

[evtinker]

There was a guy that built a generator trailer for a Nissan Leaf, with a turbine powered generator. It supplied high voltage DC straight to the battery pack connections. Basically, the powertrain acted as if the power was being drawn from the battery, while the battery saw little, or no load perhaps even charged. There is an article about it at:
https://autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoramic/one-inventor-wants-boost-evs-towable-turbine-210057167.html

When I was at the APS Electrics event in Phoenix 1996, Alan Cocconi from AC Propulsion brought a Civic conversion with a range extender generator trailer. I was surprised to find it in the hotel parking lot that morning.

It is possible to build systems like this if you happen to be an electronics genius with deep pockets. Me, I will just look for a charging station. (Yes, I did play with building an ICE pusher trailer for my Civic conversion, I got it kind of working, then I scrapped it.)

 

[Martin D]

There have been several articles on trailers with electric drive assist, most recently Airstream. But, the idea is to offset the range loss caused by towing a heavy trailer.

The funny part was it was tested with a Model X, but the Airstream has a CCS plug. So, the range of the Tesla was near normal range as if it was not pulling the trailer. But, does that mean two DCFC stops, one at an SuC, and one to charge the trailer? And very few SuC have pul through stalls, so even if the site had CCS plugs, logistically it is not clean.

There was also a German company doing this with semi trailers, effectively making diesel trucks hybrid. The increase MPG for the tractor makes a big difference in operating costs, but it would seem most useful for short-medium range routes because again, charging time at a location other than where the diesel fuel is purchased.

As for a trailer supplying DC power to the EV, the drag of pulling a heavy trailer would probably negate the added capacity.

Fast forward a couple decades and the semi trailer drives itself to the destination with no tractor.

There goes another profession, but on a positive note, everyone gets free Amazon Prime 🤔

 

[EV Trek 37604]

Mine can now ….

LOL

 

[TexBolt]

Tesla tried the "towing a generator" idea... It didn't sell very well, so they abandoned the project.

 

[bobr33543]

This is an interesting subject that I have thought about since ordering a 23 Bolt to replace a 17 Volt. Theoretically a 240 volt gas generator being towed behind the Bolt could be used as a range extender, similar to the way the Volt works, but outboard rather than inboard. Both cars are designed to prevent driving the car while the EVSE is plugged in for obvious reasons. But if GM were to add a connection for an outboard source of charging power, a range extender trailer could be an easy reality, and something that would make perfect sense for those longer trips that would help reduce the number of stops at charging stations.

 

[dascslars233]

The issue become how to you charge a battery is being used or electron flow if you could split the battery then it would be possible ,

My theory is that if there is a possibility that the control of electrons are next and if this is possible then the next random option would be materializing and possible worm hole creation

The other good benefit is that charging battery would not be need do to the control of electrons the energy would be drawing thought

or even possible to unfold the charge so some type of electron compression

almost like zipping a file on the computer .

lets say you folded the electrons down 10:1 then decompressed 9.9:1 you justed charged the car in a 10 of the time

so 1 min fully charged

on a quick charger

 

[bobr33543]

Technically the answer is yes, the battery can be charged while driving, the same way the Volt and other PHEVs work. The question should be "Is it practical to charge the Bolt while driving?" An external generator can certainly provide enough current to replace the current being drained for driving. The problem is connecting the generator to the vehicle charging system in such a way that the system does not prevent driving the car while it is "plugged in". For that reason you cannot just plug the generator into the charging port. The computer will not allow the car to be taken out of 'Park'.

 

[bobr33543]

Check out this article on solar-powered EVs. The Aptera and the Lightyear One are close to production. The solar panels are used for range extension while driving and charging the car when it's parked.
Top 5 Solar Powered EV in the World: Electric Car With Solar Panels - (e-vehicleinfo.com)

 

[Electric Personality]

No. The inverter used to put in 120 or 240 into the battery is the same inverter that supplies AC to/from the drive motor. Would be a massive conflict there.

It’s not. The inverter strictly powers the drive motor.

 

[geargrinder123]

This guy did it with his Tesla.

 

[NortonCommando]

.... Can it- will it allow itself to charge while driving? ...

Yes, of course it can.
It's called 'Regen'.
Start at the top of a mountain and ride the brakes going down the mountain.
Blended Brakes allows this without brake pad wear.

As for plugging in while driving with a generator on a trailer, no.

This is such a common noob question. It's been asked since BEV's came out long ago. Sorry....

 

[ked]

Would have to figure out how to over ride interlock that prevents one from driving while plugged in. Charging while driving is a great idea like planes do in flight refueling.

See, I've pondered this (sort of) a couple times since I started waiting (and then driving) our Bolt. It would be great to see an interface for trailers (likely primarily campers), so they could be constructed with a battery in them as well, feeding into the main vehicle. It would need specialized hardware current EVs don't have, and buy-in from most car and trailer manufacturers on a standard to implement it. But it would entirely remove the "lose 90% of our range when you tow anything heavier than a pillow!!!1!1one!" nonsense.

I don't know if there's safety concerns about charging while driving, or the systems preventing you from moving while plugged in are so you don't destroy your charge port/cord/evse trying to drive off.

 

[ARob]

Yes, of course it can.
It's called 'Regen'.
Start at the top of a mountain and ride the brakes going down the mountain.
Blended Brakes allows this without brake pad wear.

As for plugging in while driving with a generator on a trailer, no.

This.

Today, I reached the Eisenhower Tunnels on I-70 at 11,013 feet with 125 miles of range and 95 miles to reach home. When I got to I-25 in Denver, I had 195 miles of range on the GOM, and got home with 95 miles remaining.

Did I regenerate 70 miles of kWh in the 50 mile stretch, nope. But I did add a few kWh, the rest was super efficient driving weighing heavily on the GOM.