Emergency generator

[nomis]

I'm still pretty green into overlanding, but is it practical to carry a portable gas generator for us EVs if we were to get stranded in middle of no where? I understand that planning ahead is the motto of any EV trip, but I'm just asking for those unforeseen situations where you accidentally leave the AC on in middle of camping and the battery drains and now you're at 20 miles of range when its 50 miles from the closest source of electricity.
Something like this seems to be small enough to take around and powerful enough to at least get some charge within 12 hours...
Thoughts?

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[FooF]

you will get maybe 2 miles of range per hour with that generator

 

[nomis]

you will get maybe 2 miles of range per hour with that generator

Well yea I get that its not a fast charger, but just saying during a pure emergency, if all you need is another 20 miles of range to get to an actual charging source. You may need to stay put and run this generator for about 10 hours, but I'll take a 10 hour delay than spending $2000 for off-road recovery.

 

[avigneault]

I recommend the GenMax units, they're internally grounded and dual-fuel (run it on propane). Yes, it'll take ten hours to put any reasonable amount of range in, but it's far more practical to carry one of these guys than, say, solar panels or a gigantic spare battery if you're truly boondocking.

 

[FooF]

Well yea I get that its not a fast charger, but just saying during a pure emergency, if all you need is another 20 miles of range to get to an actual charging source. You may need to stay put and run this generator for about 10 hours, but I'll take a 10 hour delay than spending $2000 for off-road recovery.

Yep for sure slow but a slightly more powerful generator would not take up much more space. And you will have to deal with gasoline as well.

 

[Si.LE.R1S]

I was looking up the exact same thing last night and the consensus seems to be that it is doable, but very quick diminishing returns to plan for this type of emergency. You have to bring the fuel source and generator “just in case,” which will have some impact on range. And best case scenario you could maybe get 1-2 miles per hour. At least for Tesla, generator needs to put out “pure sine wave” or the EV charger will not recognize as clean energy and refuse to start. Would definitely be interested to hear if anyone has actually tried this with a Rivian.

Hopefully vehicle to vehicle charging becomes a reality soon.

Just for scale, you can check out Ewan McGregors “Long Way Up” series and see the giant portable generators they brought in to charge the prototype R1Ts - size of a FedEx Delivery truck. ?

 

[Si.LE.R1S]

Found older thread:

https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/threads/charging-with-a-generator.4504/

 

[Si.LE.R1S]

TL;dr

I can charge mine with my trailer’s built in generator. Inefficient but it works.

This was the final post on that older thread, from @Thedude

Looks like it can and has been done. Just gotta find the right generator.

 

[docwhiz]

Rather than a fossil generator, you might consider a solar generator.
Lots of these with different capacities available at reasonable prices.
For your hypothetical "20 miles of extra range to get out of the boonies", you would need 10 kWh electricity. Larger solar generators have batteries this large or you could choose a smaller battery combined with solar panels. For instance, 500 W of solar panels can generate 2.5 kWh/day (with free electricity deliveries every day).
This way you don't need to deal with NG or gasoline and the solar battery can run your electric kitchen (induction stove, etc.)

 

[Rknb2000]

I'm still pretty green into overlanding, but is it practical to carry a portable gas generator for us EVs if we were to get stranded in middle of no where? I understand that planning ahead is the motto of any EV trip, but I'm just asking for those unforeseen situations where you accidentally leave the AC on in middle of camping and the battery drains and now you're at 20 miles of range when its 50 miles from the closest source of electricity.
Something like this seems to be small enough to take around and powerful enough to at least get some charge within 12 hours...
Thoughts?

You mean like this dual fuel generator? Well yes it’s practical. I am a full time RVer, in Southern GA, about to move Northwest due to storm.

 

[nomis]

Found older thread:

https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/threads/charging-with-a-generator.4504/

Nice one, thanks! So my take away from reading that is in terms of going boondocking, if you must, have your buddy with a ICE rig bring the generator and fuel for you

 

[nomis]

Rather than a fossil generator, you might consider a solar generator.
Lots of these with different capacities available at reasonable prices.
For your hypothetical "20 miles of extra range to get out of the boonies", you would need 10 kWh electricity. Larger solar generators have batteries this large or you could choose a smaller battery combined with solar panels. For instance, 500 W of solar panels can generate 2.5 kWh/day (with free electricity deliveries every day).
This way you don't need to deal with NG or gasoline and the solar battery can run your electric kitchen (induction stove, etc.)

Its crossed my mind, but bringing a battery large enough to hold that kind of charge isn't very practical, and though I can wait about half a day for a slow charge, not sure about several days. 2.0kW/hr vs 0.104kW/hr(2.5kW/day) is quite the difference.
I'm not trying to burn fossil fuels every time I go camp, just in that emergency if/when I have to.

 

[Rknb2000]

You mean like this dual fuel generator? Well yes it’s practical. I am a full time RVer, in Southern GA, about to move Northwest due to storm.

Oh yeah, I only run propane in this. Makes it so much easier!

 

[nomis]

You mean like this dual fuel generator? Well yes it’s practical. I am a full time RVer, in Southern GA, about to move Northwest due to storm.

I was looking for something a wee bit smaller, I got a family of 4, 2 dogs, and camping gear I would have to haul ?

 

[Si.LE.R1S]

You mean like this dual fuel generator? Well yes it’s practical. I am a full time RVer, in Southern GA, about to move Northwest due to storm.

Have you charged the truck successfully from that generator?

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