It's a hybrid now... R1T charged at 5.2kw with portable generator and charging adapter

[Indy avocado]

I really wish Rivian or Ford or anyone would come up with purpose built range extenders. An integrated 6-7kw generator that fits neatly into the bed with a plug back there (ideally one that can feed pack voltage or at least bypass the [generator Inverter -> AD-DC conversion] steps) would provide 52mi of range over a 4 hr drive - or almost an extra hour of driving at 70mph. Off-road, or accounting for any other stops, you're likely getting half your range from the generator. For overlanding, it would be amazing, as you likely wouldn't need to run the generator overnight, or unattended.

Ideally this could be an industry standard, or otherwise common enough that you could simply rent one - especially if we're talking about towing... Below.

The math doesn't work out to really help for long range towing, unfortunately. You'd need at least 25kw, ideally 40kw to really make a dent in the massive aerodynamic drag. Average draw with a trailer is in the 50-60kw range.

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[Blueassassin]

In case anyone else was looking to buy this. Tis the month to do so if you can find one.

 

[Leonbmx]

So, since I know nothing about generators, for this particular purpose, can I use any generator, or is there a certain type of generator that is best suited to this task?

Since the OP used a inverter generator, I am guessing that is the preferred type.

That particular one is a 9500W one, which is too big to fit under the cover. What wattage is acceptable still, as in, where is the cut-off before it is no longer deemed useful?

I understand that even a low powered generator can be useful in a pinch, but I am talking a scenario where the generator will net you around 5 miles/ hr.

Edit: would this one do, for instance: https://www.harborfreight.com/gener...enerator-with-co-secure-technology-59137.html

Can these lay on their side, or does the fuel spill out that way? I am asking as this one is 17" wide, so if I can transport it on its side, under the cover, it may be a contender.

 

[rivianguy]

Quick update on my experiment with the Honda EU 2200 generators in parallel. So far no luck. I'd ordered the adapter from the OP's link (or something similar) but failed to notice that it had a different connector than the one my generator uses. Ordered this one instead and at least it fits but not getting any juice from the generator to the charger. Did order and try this grounding plug but didn't seem to work. On the advice of another poster in this thread who tried the same unsuccessfully I'm trying this grounding plug instead. Probably a week or so before receiving it and will try again when I get it. Hopefully will be able to get everything working and I'll report back with final setup and charge rates etc.

 

[Thedude]

What does the charger indicate? Red flashing light or no light at all?

 

[jemkewl]

So, since I know nothing about generators, for this particular purpose, can I use any generator, or is there a certain type of generator that is best suited to this task?

Since the OP used a inverter generator, I am guessing that is the preferred type.

That particular one is a 9500W one, which is too big to fit under the cover. What wattage is acceptable still, as in, where is the cut-off before it is no longer deemed useful?

I understand that even a low powered generator can be useful in a pinch, but I am talking a scenario where the generator will net you around 5 miles/ hr.

Edit: would this one do, for instance: https://www.harborfreight.com/gener...enerator-with-co-secure-technology-59137.html

Can these lay on their side, or does the fuel spill out that way? I am asking as this one is 17" wide, so if I can transport it on its side, under the cover, it may be a contender.

Turning generators or any ICE on its side are usually a bad idea - oil, gas, etc.
I would think 240v minimum 6000w to make it viable and worth it.

If all you are looking for is 5mi/hr a 120v 2500w inverter generator should do.

Inverter generators will have less that 2 or 3% THD whereas non-inverters will be 10%+ (generally speaking). Low THD = clean power. High THD = dirty power.

Electronics can be sensitive to dirty power.

 

[Thedude]

Turning generators or any ICE on its side are usually a bad idea - oil, gas, etc.
I would think 240v minimum 6000w to make it viable and worth it.

If all you are looking for is 5mi/hr a 120v 2500w inverter generator should do.

Inverter generators will have less that 2 or 3% THD whereas non-inverters will be 10%+ (generally speaking). Low THD = clean power. High THD = dirty power.

Electronics can be sensitive to dirty power.

The most you’ll get out of almost all sub 3000 watt generators is 12amps at 120v, or standard level 1 charging at 2ish miles an hour. If the generator doesn’t have a 30amp outlet you’re stuck with that slow rate.

 

[rivianguy]

What does the charger indicate? Red flashing light or no light at all?

No light at all at this point. I should try to plug it into the 120v outlet I suppose just to isolate the issue some more, but I was more interested in how it would operate in parallel through the 30A outlet on the companion generator. I powered my home (or at least a good chunk of it) with these during a recent storm using the 30A outlet so I know it/they work so the issue is likely either with the adapter that I bought to go from the 50A charger plug to my 30A twist lock on the generator, or the grounding plug.

 

[carl]

Hmm not sure I agree with the logic on this one to be honest. Perhaps because I grew up in a more rural area the idea of hauling along extra fuel is definitely not a novel one. The fact that it's now electrons and that there aren't great portable options right now doesn't really change the fact that on the odd occasion that you visit an even more remote area you need a bit more juice. Kind of like saying anyone who carries a Jerry can of fuel for their ICE vehicle on a camping trip should be driving a horse and buggy. While I 100 percent agree and wish that there were more and better non gas range extending options available for evs, I respectfully disagree with the premise of your response on this particular thread.

I feel like threads like this are always worth a reminder that fossil fuels are radically better from an energy density point of view than any battery, even despite the intrinsic inefficiency (thermal loss etc.).

I love my EVs and it's easy to want to electrify everything, but for an occasional use range extender it's simply the wrong choice. Batteries are huge, heavy, and have high manufacturing overhead (environmentally speaking).

The tradeoffs are worth it over the lifecycle of an EV, but the marginal utility of a range extender (only a radical minority of miles driven) and the tradeoffs (carrying weight or worse, a trailer that will radically decrease range, at exorbitant cost) mean a generator is simply a better idea, both practically and environmentally speaking.

I'd love to see cleaner generator options (fuel cells/hydrogen/magic), or even a modular hybrid solution (drop a clean generator in the frunk/bed and charge while driving), but for vehicles on the road today, if you truly want to push it off grid, just get an appropriately rated generator and gasoline/diesel. There's really no point getting more exotic than that, and probably won't be for years to come.

I really wish Rivian or Ford or anyone would come up with purpose built range extenders. An integrated 6-7kw generator that fits neatly into the bed with a plug back there (ideally one that can feed pack voltage or at least bypass the [generator Inverter -> AD-DC conversion] steps) would provide 52mi of range over a 4 hr drive - or almost an extra hour of driving at 70mph. Off-road, or accounting for any other stops, you're likely getting half your range from the generator. For overlanding, it would be amazing, as you likely wouldn't need to run the generator overnight, or unattended.

I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one that feels this way!

 

[Indy avocado]

The most you’ll get out of almost all sub 3000 watt generators is 12amps at 120v, or standard level 1 charging at 2ish miles an hour. If the generator doesn’t have a 30amp outlet you’re stuck with that slow rate.

I feel like Rivian needs to hurry up and release at least one more adapter for the portable charger. There's a lot of places with 30A 120v plugs that would let you safely pull double the power and get a meaningful amount of charge over a day or 2. 120v 12A at around 15% per day is painful and almost useless except for short commutes.

120v 24A would at least double that, probably more (considering vampire drain is over 100W). You could get most of a charge over a weekend.

 

[ElectrifiedOverland]

I feel like Rivian needs to hurry up and release at least one more adapter for the portable charger. There's a lot of places with 30A 120v plugs that would let you safely pull double the power and get a meaningful amount of charge over a day or 2. 120v 12A at around 15% per day is painful and almost useless except for short commutes.

120v 24A would at least double that, probably more (considering vampire drain is over 100W). You could get most of a charge over a weekend.

It's not as clean as adapters made specifically for the Rivian mobile charger, but I've purchased a variety of adapters for just this purpose: my generator to 14-50 adapter, a 6-50 to 14-50 and a 120v 30A adapter. They've all come in handy so far.

 

[Indy avocado]

It's not as clean as adapters made specifically for the Rivian mobile charger, but I've purchased a variety of adapters for just this purpose: my generator to 14-50 adapter, a 6-50 to 14-50 and a 120v 30A adapter. They've all come in handy so far.

I actually made my own because I was in a crunch and decided it was going to be cheaper/easier to just throw different ends on rather than buying a bin of "dogbones".

It's a NEMA 14-50R standalone outlet with 18" of 6 gauge THHN that I've got currently conneced to an L6-30P... But if I forget to drop the trucks current limit to 24A I'm gonna have a bad time .

 

[ipadl]

...It powers right up and provides 5.2 kw to the truck...

https://www.harborfreight.com/9500-...enerator-with-co-secure-technology-57080.html

Any idea why you aren't getting 7.2kw charging (30A x 240VAC)? That generator should be able to produce that much power at full (not peak) operation. There is such a thing as generator de-rating...what was the temp and what elevation are you at?

 

[ElectrifiedOverland]

Any idea why you aren't getting 7.2kw charging (30A x 240VAC)? That generator should be able to produce that much power at full (not peak) operation. There is such a thing as generator de-rating...what was the temp and what elevation are you at?

I set the charge amps at 24 to run at 80% of the max amps of the generator.

 

[ipadl]

I set the charge amps at 24 to run at 80% of the max amps of the generator.

That would explain it... Thanks!

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