Posted on 11/10/2023 9:53:17 AM PST by old-ager
Sez Uncle Tony: "When we heard that the new for 2025 Ram Ramcharger EV was going to be equipped with a gasoline powered generator to be used as a "range extender", it seemed like a practical and novel answer to the issue of range anxiety. " The reality is they've created an over stuffed, over complicated, oversized Frankenstein that has no accurate classification within the current world of vehicles. It's not an EV, It's not a Hybrid and it's not anything that could ever be considered sustainable."
> relatively small rotating wheel trucks
yeah unlike a car, they have to swivel, not to mention I guess there are just a lot of driving wheels?
Also I assume that there were at least taps in transformers to play with torque conversion? These days I assume that solid state choppers are used, maybe with some capacitors?
Lots of advantages, lots of energy loss.
I still wonder about hydraulics. The plumbing might be similar enough to heavy cables, though a minor breach would cause much bigger problems.
Heh, that made me chuckle...I can see the sign on the truck now!
Exorbitant gouging prices, too...which I am all in on...:)
Dumb enough to buy an EV and run your battery down. Let’s see...could I charge maybe half the towing fee to a charging station?
With 130 kW, you could power about ten of your neighbors’ houses in a pinch. IF you can take the 130 kW off of the machine. Which I really doubt, unless it has a high voltage takeoff. Which I doubt.
I believe the battery on the truck is 92 kW. So you can charge it in about an hour or less. Which is what will happen. So they’re burning gasoline exclusively. See, this government bullshit is part of what I object to. Don’t get me wrong; I love burning gasoline and other things.
There’s a rotating front truck and a rotating rear truck, with two axles each. All four axles have their own drive motor. I’m not clear on how the power to the four traction motors is governed. Any system will have energy loss, of course, it’s part of the trade space.
I think this truck is an interesting concept, but it only exists because of truly idiotic political considerations.
1. To charge the 92 kWh battery.
2. To provide power to the drive motors, in parallel with the 92 kWh battery.
3. The auxiliary power the truck can provide externally, to power your job site, house or camper, is just 7.2 kw.
Under some conditions, like towing uphill, you may need/draw more power than the generator can provide, thus drawing from both the generator and the battery. The question is, how long of a grade can you pull before the battery is drained and you are left with just the 130 kw/174 hp from the generator? At least with such a large generator, you can quickly charge the battery on downhill sections, or at worst, pull over and completely recharge the battery in less than an hour.
It will be interesting to see how RAM does on TFLtruck's Ike Gauntlet.
Thanks for adding some details that I did not.
Real numbers are helpful here.
The 7 kW aux output is pretty ridiculous, but it would be hard to connect much more.
It might make a little sense if no gasoline or diesel engine were available with enough power for all regular usage. The boost from the electrics could help then. But that’s not the case. The damned thing is a joke.
For all I know, the “little” V6 would do fine in most cases if not hampered by the electrical conversion.
I admit that delivery to the front wheels might be a little simpler with electrics, but 4WD mechanicals are pretty mature.
Yes, I understand pickup trucks are passenger vehicles. I think it’s a bad idea. Is that “”real” enough for you?
I was wrong. You are correct.
The first two Prius generations operated like I stated - electric drive only, no engine mechanical connection to the wheels.
But the last two versions of the Prius can have a direct engine to wheels connection.
If its a diesel engine, it could be just a standard diesel-electric. They've been running trains like this for ages. I've supported this idea for a long time. Let the diesel run at it's optimum, and most efficient generating speed, and you really have the best of both worlds. The torque of electric, and the reliability/economy of diesel. No batteries required.
Not a bad use-case. Kinda specific to a particular task, but if that's what you needed, not a bad idea.
The problem is that the govt is forcing manufacturers to come up with solutions to a problem that only exists because of government. Of course, the government is in the process of killing diesel, so I doubt the engine in this pickup is diesel. Were it not for government interference, the battery wouldn’t be required, and it could actually be a very efficient system. I’ll bet my diesel pickup has $15,000 in emissions components that do absolutely nothing to make it more efficient or perform better.
Same platform weren’t they?
Yes. Same rust as well. At one point they were made at the same assembly line, intermixed.
“No. This guy go thru it. Prius is also like a locomotive.”
The Prius ICE is directly coupled to the wheels via planetary gears.
“They should rightfully call us a hybrid,”
Hybrids have small motors and batteries and typically only assist the ICE drive which provides most of the power to the wheels. Also hybrids can not be charged from the grid.
American railway diesel locomotives drive generators that power electric motors
The first two generatins of the Prius had NO direct mechanical connection between the engine and the wheels. (the guy is going thru the transmission and electric drive of gen 2)
The two most recent Prius powertrains do have a mechanical connection.
“The first two generatins of the Prius had NO direct mechanical connection between the engine and the wheels. (the guy is going thru the transmission and electric drive of gen 2)
The two most recent Prius powertrains do have a mechanical connection.”
Incorrect. Later generations are refinements but use same principles. First generation used one planetary gearset while later use two.
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