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If Salida is representative of the future of the RAN, I'm guessing every location will have at least one. If they can do that in a downtown location, including them in new buildouts along open roads should be relatively easier.My personal opinion is that large batteries in the trailer are not optimal. Also, for a family with several kids, this would not be practical. With that said, I hope that trailers do become more aerodynamic. I would prefer to see pull through charging stations become more ubiquitous.
They have a web site that answers a lot of those questions. Might want to look at that.A trailer with a big battery might be a useful as times -however it is something I would want to rent rather than own.
But I would not put any hopes into the company that made that video. I do not believe that the people who made that video own or understand EVs.
First off, in the video they say that you can charge the trailer at the same time you charge your car. They pair that sentence with an animation showing someone charging a Tesla at a supercharger and then also charging the trailer with a J1772 cord. While some supercharger locations do have J1772's nearby, most do not. And a J1772 is not nearly powerful enough to deliver a meaningful charge in the time it would take the Tesla to supercharge. In the 30 minutes you spend fast-charging car you would probably get less than 1% into the trailer (unless the trailer has a tiny battery - and in that case it is still pointless).
And then, again that J1772 they showed. If it can't accept a fast charge there is no way it is going to deliver a fast charge. It would take a full day to charge your car from the trailer.
And they say that after charging your car and the trailer at the same time you can then use that charge on the next leg of your journey as if the trailer is somehow able to charge the car as you drive - not possible. Or that you would stop some place on the way home that didn't have power and charge the car from the trailer (too slow and there is no way it could have charged enough at the pit-stop to fill up the car anyway).
And how many RV spots don't have power? Why charge your car from the trailer when there is a power outlet right there? If it is not useful on the road - and not useful at (most) destinations, what is the point?
And they don't say how big the battery is. I am skeptical that it would be large enough meaningfully extend the range of the car. And the fact that they don't advertise the battery size for something like this is a huge giveaway.
PastyPilgrim,I won't pretend I know enough of the physics at work to discuss the practical effect of the extra juice v. the added weight and distributed placement of weight, but I'd have to imagine that there's some merit to the idea.
I'd be interested to see how it works in practice because if it works out, then that's incredible for adventure EVs. The trailer proposed here would increase the R1T's power availability by 56% while being fairly light (<2000lbs), which would go a very long way in mitigating the hit to aerodynamics.
That said, this particular offering comes off as a bit sketchy. All they have are shitty renders and their sales model is one where the more you pay now, the less you pay later and the better warranty they give you. For $100, the trailer will cost you 54k and come with a 1 year warranty. For $10k, the trailer will cost you 45k and come with a 3 year warranty. And there's three tiers in the middle... ?