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F150 Range Extender!!!

BCondrey

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I stopped watching after he plugged the generator into the J1772 charging port, in the bed of the truck.

This isn't at all practical for a Rivian, with an external charge port.
 

Donald Stanfield

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Does anyone want to help out and post a synopsis so the rest of us don't have to watch?
 

Time2Roll

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No need to watch. It is just a fools errand.

Seen plenty of these before. Anywhere from a 30kw turbine engine to a gasoline motorized trailer to help push.

Back in 2011/2012 with virtually no public charging it may have served well a few times. Those days are gone.
 
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Captblue

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Basically he got an extra 1.0 kwh of efficiency. If you want to call it that. He went from 2.1 to 3.1 kW/mi
 

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Time2Roll

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Basically he got an extra 1.0 kwh of efficiency. If you want to call it that. He went from 2.1 to 3.1 kW/mi
That is not more efficient as there is even more gasoline and emissions released compared to a regular gasoline truck.
More range at a very high cost, less efficient when burning fuel is included.
 

Yellow Buddy

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Does anyone want to help out and post a synopsis so the rest of us don't have to watch?
Since I’m on the Lightning forums as well…

- Day to day use is not practical.
- Interesting for towing usage.
- Ad hoc for major road trips has potential
- Noise is a concern that he’s still working on
- He has also managed to relocate the J1772 port.

Extremely interesting the forum differences. Immediately dismissive here, vs curiosity there.
 

LivingInKaos

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I built a rescue trailer a few years back that had a 24kw generator, 2 100# tanks and 2 48a chambers on it. When rubbing both chargers, have to dial them down to 40a, but still.
 
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Captblue

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The reason I posted, was to show an interest that maybe in the future, something like this can be developed for those that need to tow long distances. scout is developing something with similar results for their vehicle. but a removable OEM gas extender could be interesting for some folks.
 

madhat

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Does anyone want to help out and post a synopsis so the rest of us don't have to watch?
Because you're a cool guy I copy-pasted the link into gemini. It's a silly concept that I guess works for the YouTube algorithm but not much else.


This video, titled **"EverDrive - Charge While Driving a Ford Lightning,"** by **Zachary Carpenter**, demonstrates a test of a system designed to charge an electric vehicle's battery while driving using a portable generator.

Here is a summary of the key points from the video:

## EverDrive System Test Overview

The creator performs a continuous runtime test on the **EverDrive** system installed in a Ford F-150 Lightning, using a generator to charge the truck's battery on a trip from Tulsa, Oklahoma, to Texas [[00:06](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZN8at_GE9c&t=6)].

* **Goal of the Test:** To generate 11 kW continuously until the fuel runs out from exactly **3 gallons of gas** and then calculate the net power generated and the energy cost [[06:07](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZN8at_GE9c&t=367)].
* **Charging Setup:**
* **Generator:** **Duromax XP600 IH** V-twin inverter generator, chosen for its smoothness, low vibration, and ability to handle standard 87-octane, 10% ethanol blend gas [[04:32](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZN8at_GE9c&t=272)].
* **Hardware:** Includes an **Emporia charger** and a remote cable tied into the generator's start/stop button [[00:38](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZN8at_GE9c&t=38)]. The exhaust is directed out the driver's side and the generator is positioned against the cab for better rearview mirror visibility [[01:12](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZN8at_GE9c&t=72)].
* **Software:** The system uses **Car Scanner** on a "Magic Box" for a superior user interface, allowing for real-time, accurate efficiency and range calculations, unlike the truck's inaccurate factory Guess-O-Meter (GOM) [[02:26](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZN8at_GE9c&t=146)].

***

## Results and Conclusion

The test successfully demonstrates the ability to significantly extend the Ford Lightning's range:

* **Power Generated:** The generator ran out of the 3 gallons of fuel after generating **18.9 kWh** of net energy [[16:43](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZN8at_GE9c&t=1003)].
* **Financial Efficiency:** The energy cost was calculated to be around **50 cents per kilowatt hour** based on $3/gallon fuel [[16:53](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZN8at_GE9c&t=1013)]. The creator notes this is comparable to Level 3 fast charging in the Midwest but provides the benefit of not having to stop [[19:13](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZN8at_GE9c&t=1153)].
* **Range Extension:** The system was delivering an efficiency of around **3 1/4 miles per kWh** [[14:04](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZN8at_GE9c&t=844)]. The creator estimates that starting at 100%, the overall range for the Standard Range (SR) battery is increased to **well over 300 miles**, which is game-changing for rural travel [[14:23](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZN8at_GE9c&t=863)].
* **Charging Rate:** The creator concludes that **11 kW** is likely the minimum charging rate necessary to effectively increase the vehicle's range while driving [[19:35](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZN8at_GE9c&t=1175)].

The video is available here: [
http://googleusercontent.com/youtube_content/0
 

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CharonPDX

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I stopped watching after he plugged the generator into the J1772 charging port, in the bed of the truck.

This isn't at all practical for a Rivian, with an external charge port.
To be clear - the F-150 Lightning doesn't have a J1772 port in the bed (stock) either. Nor can it (stock) drive while connected to charging.

This guy made some serious modifications to his Lightning to enable this. Presumably similar modification would be possible with a Rivian, too.
 

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To be clear - the F-150 Lightning doesn't have a J1772 port in the bed (stock) either. Nor can it (stock) drive while connected to charging.

This guy made some serious modifications to his Lightning to enable this. Presumably similar modification would be possible with a Rivian, too.
He’s also working on simplifying it to be a sellable kit so that someone can retrofit it without a bunch of know how.

The Lightning forum has a lot of willing experimental guys. Everything from retrofitting BlueCruise into vehicles that didnt come with it, swapping to larger packs, figuring out the programming to enable matrix headlights, range extenders like this. I for one appreciate the willingness to push to see what they can do.
 

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Poster child for handheld distracted driving.
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