gas generator trailer for EV's

My Nissan Leaf Forum

Help Support My Nissan Leaf Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
z0ner said:
Reading that made me throw up a little in my mouth.

I've been toying with the idea of a cross-country tour and was thinking I'd carry a small generator with me in case I was "between" charging stations in the middle of Texas or New Mexico.. I could pull over and run the generator for a few hours and get some more miles of charge. I really had not thought to run the generator while driving (if the Leaf could be coaxed into that)...
 
DrRocket said:
It's a way to convert your 100% EV into a Volt for longer trips.[/url]
The Volt engine produces 53 kW which is not sufficient power for peak situations and 20 kW seems a long way from 53 kW. Does this thing control pollution and emissions?
 
SanDust said:
DrRocket said:
It's a way to convert your 100% EV into a Volt for longer trips.[/url]
The Volt engine produces 53 kW which is not sufficient power for peak situations and 20 kW seems a long way from 53 kW. Does this thing control pollution and emissions?
This is a really clever idea. Think of it as a Volt where you can leave the gas engine, gas, gas tank and exhaust in the garage the 95% of the time you don’t need it. Less weight and more space for batteries or cargo.

As to the 53kw being insufficient, If you could get 3 miles per kW, a 20 kW generator will sustain you at 60 mph until it runs out of gas.

http://www.caranddriver.com/features/11q2/how_audi_hybrids_could_keep_the_wankel_rotary_alive-tech_dept

And to the emissions question, it is easier to control emissions on an engine that runs at a constant speed.
 
And to the emissions question, it is easier to control emissions on an engine that runs at a constant speed.

From a purely engineering standpoint, yes, but given the amount of gasoline burned by cars vs. portable generators, the emissions requirements that cars have to meet are more rigorous. While they may exist, I haven't run across generators with catalytic converters, exhaust gas recirculation, evaporative vapor recapture, O2 sensors, etc. etc.
 
The whole concept seems rather silly to me. For my cross-country trips, I'll drive the Prius. Lifetime mileage is 49.5mpg over 44,000mi. Dragging a 350lb trailer with a noisy gasoline engine certainly can't be good for you or your Leaf. Also, in many states, speed limits are 55mph for autos pulling trailers. Backing up and/or parking will be a PITA. :roll:
 
This is a really clever idea. Think of it as a Volt where you can leave the gas engine, gas, gas tank and exhaust in the garage the 95% of the time you don’t need it. Less weight and more space for batteries or cargo.

My wife and I were talking about this same thing yesterday.
The disadvantage of having to haul around the gas engine when you never need it.
I would go for this as an option.

Better than buying a plug in :)
probably would not cost as much as the DC Port option
 
Not wishing to throw a wet blanket on this topic, but the LEAF Owners Manual, page 9-14, specifically states:
Do not tow a trailer with your vehicle.
while page 9 of the LEAF Warranty includes:
GENERAL EXCLUSIONS
This warranty does not cover damage, failures or corrosion resulting from or caused by...Misuse, such as overloading, using the vehicle to tow, driving over curbs, or using the vehicle as a power source.
Oh, and as others have so succinctly said, "It's silly!"

Glenn
 
derkraut said:
For my cross-country trips, I'll drive the Prius.


If I don't have a Prius, then what? Buy a Prius -or- a tiny trailer than doesn't need insurance, plates, smog checks, etc, and use it for that single digit percentage of the time when I need it?


Also, in many states, speed limits are 55mph for autos pulling trailers. Backing up and/or parking will be a PITA. :roll:


Yes, in the People's Republik of Kalifornia, of course, we have the 55 limit. I got ticketed for it once. Duly noted on the other issues, but, again, for that 1%-5% of the time you might use it, I'm sure a similarly small percentage of folks would adapt.

The simple reality is that an electric is not a long range car any time soon, without some creative thinking like this.
 
JohnOver said:
z0ner said:
Reading that made me throw up a little in my mouth.

I've been toying with the idea of a cross-country tour and was thinking I'd carry a small generator with me in case I was "between" charging stations in the middle of Texas or New Mexico.. I could pull over and run the generator for a few hours and get some more miles of charge. I really had not thought to run the generator while driving (if the Leaf could be coaxed into that)...

I can assure you that there is no way that you could do a cross country tour around here, unless you plan to drive for about 90 minutes at 55mph and then spend 5 hours waiting on a charge. L3 infrastructure is years away from Texas outside of DFW, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio. Probably MANY years away.

I was contemplating a drive from Amarillo to Lubbock. It is 127 miles, mostly on I-27 with the speed limit of 75mph. I would probably need to stop midway for a 3 hour top off at an RV park, which would make it a 5 hour drive.

Two thoughts: The Leaf needs the 6.6kw charger capacity, and we will need lots of L2 chargers at interstate rest stops. But Texas has so much highway to cover, I don't see this happening soon.
 
Glenn said:
Not wishing to throw a wet blanket on this topic, but the LEAF Owners Manual, page 9-14, specifically states:
Do not tow a trailer with your vehicle.
while page 9 of the LEAF Warranty includes:
GENERAL EXCLUSIONS....using the vehicle to tow


Obviously, lots of people use vehicles for purposes other than they were intended. If you were towing, and the windshield wiper failed, I think Nissan will happily cover it. Same for virtually anything else that couldn't be affected by towing.

Now, overheating the car / battery.... eek !! You're going to cry at repair time.
 
Glenn said:
Not wishing to throw a wet blanket on this topic, but the LEAF Owners Manual, page 9-14, specifically states:
Do not tow a trailer with your vehicle.
while page 9 of the LEAF Warranty includes:
GENERAL EXCLUSIONS
This warranty does not cover damage, failures or corrosion resulting from or caused by...Misuse, such as overloading, using the vehicle to tow, driving over curbs, or using the vehicle as a power source.
Oh, and as others have so succinctly said, "It's silly!"

Glenn
Manual says nothing about a roof rack! :lol:
 
Pulling a generator to charge while driving is used on AC propulsion to travel between LA and San Jose so it can be done but on the LEAF there are some implementation issues. An earlier thread on charging while towing also can charge the battery which was -- like this thread -- dismissed as silly. It appears to me that many folks I have met look at an EV vehicle as just as silly :oops: but then I'm all for new and sometimes silly things which turn into useful solutions and products. Some silly examples, Woz's HP computer, Xerox GUI, radio communications, air planes, automobiles... ;)
 
All other considerations aside, the Leaf will not allow you to enter drive if it is charging. To override that would require a software hack.

Nekota said:
Pulling a generator to charge while driving is used on AC propulsion to travel between LA and San Jose so it can be done but on the LEAF there are some implementation issues.
 
This should be the future in one form or another
Being able to remove the engine when you don't need it
Seems like the best answer

In this article they use a rotary engine to supply range extending

"Not counting its peripheral hardware, the E-Tron’s range extender is a 9.4-inch-diameter by 9.8-inch-long cylinder. One shaft serves both the alternator and the engine."

http://www.caranddriver.com/feature..._could_keep_the_wankel_rotary_alive-tech_dept
 
TonyWilliams said:
derkraut said:
For my cross-country trips, I'll drive the Prius.
If I don't have a Prius, then what? Buy a Prius -or- a tiny trailer than doesn't need insurance, plates, smog checks, etc, and use it for that single digit percentage of the time when I need it?
uh, rent a Prius??

mogur said:
All other considerations aside, the Leaf will not allow you to enter drive if it is charging. To override that would require a software hack.

Nekota said:
Pulling a generator to charge while driving is used on AC propulsion to travel between LA and San Jose so it can be done but on the LEAF there are some implementation issues.
Tesla's JB Straubel made these:
Version 1: http://www.jstraubel.com/EVpusher/EVpusher.htm
V.2: http://www.jstraubel.com/EVpusher/EVpusher2.htm
 
mbutter said:
Glenn said:
Not wishing to throw a wet blanket on this topic, but the LEAF Owners Manual, page 9-14, specifically states:
Do not tow a trailer with your vehicle.
while page 9 of the LEAF Warranty includes:
GENERAL EXCLUSIONS
This warranty does not cover damage, failures or corrosion resulting from or caused by...Misuse, such as overloading, using the vehicle to tow, driving over curbs, or using the vehicle as a power source.
Oh, and as others have so succinctly said, "It's silly!"

Glenn
Manual says nothing about a roof rack! :lol:

OR having generator in the trunk or in hitch cargo platform!
Some aviation-grade generators are amazingly lightweight and compact - ~30kW in ~60lbs package!
http://www.rotaxservice.com/rotax_engines/rotax_447ULs.htm
 
KeiJidosha said:
As to the 53kw being insufficient, If you could get 3 miles per kW, a 20 kW generator will sustain you at 60 mph until it runs out of gas.
There is average power and peak power. Yes 20 kW is not a problem when it's flat but you have to accelerate and go up hills. At that point 20 kW would not be enough. In fact I don't see any way that 20 kW would be sufficient for a Leaf pulling a trailer if 53 kW was NOT sufficient for a Volt.

This was BTW why Elon Musk while on national TV said the Volt wouldn't work -- he said the Volt couldn't get enough power because the engine was too small to generate enough electricity for peak demand. His engineers had to pull him aside and explain that it would work because under heavy loads the battery could supplement the engine as needed. (I think the Volt has a Mountain Mode which reserves extra battery power if you're in the Rockies or something).

But this requires significant co-ordination between the Leaf with its battery and the trailer with its genset, and AFAIK that doesn't exist.
 
Back
Top