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Even just a 1-5 mile per day solar panel would be handy

Pherdnut

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I live in an apartment in Chicago. No driving commutes. We have options for charging as we shop, etc. But for the most part, the truck will be about road and camping trips. It could be idle for weeks at a time. Not having that running out of juice anxiety would be a load off and would save me the expense of renting a garage.
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EyeOnRivian

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I wouldn't expect solar on the current R1T/R1S models. Perhaps on upgraded versions or new models altogether, but that would probably be years down the road. If solar is a high in check list item for you, have you checked out the Fisker Ocean? They "claim" the solar roof will produce "1000 free, clean miles per year."
 

EyeOnRivian

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Or the Lightyear One?
Oh yea, forgot about the Lightyear One. Probably because (according to Business Insider) "Lightyear is taking preorders now for the first 500 cars for a reservation price of about $135,000. When the car finally hits Netherland production lines in 2021, the price is expected to start at about $170,000. " :eek:
 
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State11

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Did I read that correctly on the Lightyear? 0-100km in 10 seconds for over $100k........no thanks.
 

cc84

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I know nothing about this product, but I suspect it'll be expensive when available. Not something I would need, but may be of interest to some........Solar Panel Tonneau cover
 

Jehorton

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ajdelange

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Wouldn't cover my vampire drain.

Note that the CT will supposedly offer this as an option.
 

RivFly

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I was just reading about a solar panel tonneau cover yesterday, which seems like a good idea. It saves power to a bed battery and a portable adaptor, almost like a gas can etc. It's basically something that is more about storage and use at a campsite instead of taking or adding power to a vehicle but I'm sure it can be adapted.
 

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ajdelange

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As I noted in #9 something the size of the Rivian toneau wouldn't likely even cover the daily phantom drain (but it could reduce the amount taken from the main battery and thus lengthen the time you could leave it parked unplugged). But it does suggest something that Rivian well could do which is entirely in keeping with its intended appeal to the "adventure" driver and that is to put outlets (or really inlets) in the truck bed that would receive the plugs commonly used by the various portable solar power panels by various manufacturers. A product such as the one linked to in #7 would then plug into one of these receptacles and charge the main battery at whatever rate the array can collect electricity. The electronics behind each solar receptacle would contain a MPPT boost converter which would charge the main battery directly. This would eliminate all the expense and weight of the battery, controller and inverter shown in the link. I think this could be a great adventure selling point for Rivian. And I hope Tesla does it too. You could drive to a campsite and plug in your toneau and some other portable panels and pick up a kWh or so per day for running a fridge or whatever.
 
 




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