Re:New two-stroke engine design could help keep internal com...
by wtallis on Tuesday May 26, 2020 @02:43PM
(#23314892)
20-30kW might be a bit higher than needed unless the trailer is oversized to provide extra cargo capacity in addition to carrying the generator. You don't need a generator big enough to prevent the battery from draining at all; you just need to extend the range enough to cover a full day of driving while offsetting the extra drag from the trailer. 10-15kW is probably plenty for a trailer that only carries the generator: that would double the highway range of a Model S and would weigh about 700 lbs while being compact enough to have very little aerodynamic drag. A 30kW generator would be enough to double the range even if the trailer doubled the energy consumed per mile, and that's only going to happen with a pretty large trailer.
Re:New two-stroke engine design could help keep internal com...
by extrapickles on Tuesday May 26, 2020 @07:03PM
(#23317479)
The Model S is fairy efficient and aerodynamic compared to other EVs.
If anyone did this, they probably would offer 15kW and 30kW versions, so both passenger cars and light trucks would be covered.
Like other commentators have mentioned, if a u-haul like network of these were made, if you ran out of charge somewhere, they could drop one of these off to get you going again, as a depleted battery pack will charge slowly, making the van full of batteries potentially more expensive (you would have to pay for an extra 15-30m of their time).