As they haven’t actually released the extender yet it’s all guesswork but there are plenty of cases where pure EVs have held up a house for several days, and at a minimum a 5k generator can do the same so I’m not going to waste time doing the math. I’m not sure why this is a bug up your ass but the battery on the truck can provide up to ten days worth of power to your house if you’re careful and an add on power bank is only going to supplement that.
Wow. I assure you that there are no bugs up my ass that aren’t supposed to be there.
I owe you an apology. I was tired when I was responding and that is still no excuse. I got it in my head you were trolling when reading over you were simply questioning whether using an EV this way would actually work.
Based on what I’ve read from accounts that I posted above plus others who have used their Teslas to keep their house lights on during power outages I appreciate the concept of not having to plumb a completely separate and immobile genset to the house and maximizing flexibility.
It seems to me that if you’re thinking of using the vehicle for emergency backup power for the house, you’re better off buying a PHEV.
Well, the thing about the F-150:is that you can run it as a pure electric vehicle, or drop in the generator and run it as a PHEV. You get the best of both worlds.
I could see this being especially useful when towing. Supposedly, at the full rated 10,000 lb towjng capacity the range will drop to under 100 miles. So for cases like that, putting the generator in the back restores your range. As an added bonus, when you get to your destination the truck can then offer unlimited shore power to your trailer.
One thing to note about the F-150 range: As I understand it, the range uses the methodology for trucks which includes a 1000 lb load in the bed. Supposedly, without anything in the bed the range is closer to 450 miles with the extended battery. I’ve seen that comment on several auto review sites, but no official confirmation.
@Dewey_Finn Not really. I’m thinking in addition to it’s primary use as a daily driver and occasional utility considerations the same as every other car I’ve owned. It’s why I have hatchbacks and wagons.
I have the luxury of being able to install a 220V charger in my garage, so for day to day an EV works perfectly. Due to my relatively remote location from a major city (300km),current lack of charging infrastructure, and the realities of Canadian winters ANY EV I bought would have been the long range option and AWD. I never really thought about a pickup as we have the Edge for Touring duties but when the time comes for SWMBO to replace her vehicle we can get her something smaller and I get the larger touring vehicle. Adding a range extender like the i3 already has simply sweetens the deal, and gives me the option of powering the house if the lights go out which a)Happens a few times a year here b) Can be catastophic when it happens in the middle of winter.
ETA: Sam beat me to it.
Not sure this counts, but I purchased a pedal-assist ebike. I commute to work year round by bike, even putting on studded tires in the winter (well, sometimes if the roads are really slushy or deep snow I’ll walk). However, I have increasing sharp knee pains from arthritis that starts off quite bad and then as I warm up, it slowly goes away (I cycle for exercise and have to start off slowly for the first 3-5 miles). With my shorter commute, it just hurts and I don’t have time to warm-up before I get there (worse in winter). Another factor is my commuter bike is end of life: I’ve been riding it for over 20 years and it is shot and I have to replace it.
Had it for a week and it is an absolute hoot! I can’t stop riding the thing. I’m taking it all over the place and heading up forest service roads that I used to do on my mountain bike, but I’m doing the routes in half the time so it’s opening up rides that I might not’ve been able to squeeze in due to time restraints.
I would love to find a cheap electric vehicle with a range of 50 miles (or a bit more) that’s NOT a golf cart or ATV.
Something small but street legal in US, and $15K or less.
The Chinese are producing such vehicles, but they don’t seem to be available here yet.
Apology accepted. I think we all understand that late nights can bring out the cranky sometimes.
That’s because they aren’t street legal in the US. If you want one, you’ll have to pay a couple thousand or so to ship it here and then who knows how much to make it legal.
This reminds me of a regular feature of the website Electrek: Awesomely Weird Alibaba EV of the Week: Every week the guy covers some strange electric vehicle available in China. This week it’s backyard road construction vehicles, but in the past it’s been very short pickups (truck bed being only a foot or two long) and even a submarine. Most of the vehicles covered won’t go more than about 50 km/h.
I’ve been following Arcimoto, who has a 3-wheel two-seater with 100 mile range and 75 mph top speed. It lists at $18K ($20K with an enclosed cabin), so a little more than your price point but close. There are no federal tax incentives but some states have them (my total in Oregon would be under $15K).
If you don’t mind used cars, you should have lots of choices meeting those criteria in the first generation Nissan Leaf, BMW i3, and California compliance vehicles like the Chevy Spark EV, and Ford Focus Electric.
As of yesterday, I’m a Hyundai Kona owner. We turned in our leased Leaf in May and had an order on a Tesla Y, but switched at the last minute. There were many reasons for the switch, none were enough to do it alone, but taken together they were all enough to change our minds.
I was never too excited about giving money to Elon Musk. I didn’t like the trickle of changes that kept coming out - like removing passenger lumbar support, removing radar (effectively making all the new owners beta testers) - with no decrease in price. In fact, the price went up a few times between when we made a decision and when we placed the order in April.
Then they started jacking around with my delivery date, originally scheduled for early June, then pushed to late June, then pushed to September, then moved back to July when I complained. And in the end, I couldn’t justify the $18K difference in price between the Tesla with no tax break and the Kona which still has one.
On the way to deciding on the Kona, I also drove a VW ID.4, and didn’t like it as much as I expected to. The salesguy was trying to sell it by telling me how it drives just like a regular car. That wasn’t a selling point to me. It felt like driving my Outback.
The Kona looks like a fine vehicle. Let us know how you like it and how it fits into the real world once you’ve driven it for a while.
When I first considered electric vehicles, the Kona was definitely on my short list.
One of us! One of us! One of us!
Hah! Comments from you and the other Kona owners in this thread helped me make the final decision.
Woohoo! I hope you love it as much as I do!
I’ve found that big vehicles are more annoying to everyone else. In my 'hood, the big truck drivers don’t seem to get too concerned about the backup caused by a 12-pt J-Turn, or their “space and a half” parking.
But I HATE bells and whistles. I want a car that doesn’t make decisions for me, like when to shift gears, when to drift… And when to brake for a flock of nuns.
Oh, and I love dirty gas stations. Stopping on a road trip for 30-weight coffee and a day-or-maybe-two-old donut… ahhhh…
I agree with you about those kinds of bells and whistles. I was speaking more about things like the 10" screen navigation system, wireless charging for my cell phone, HUD, heated seats, etc.
As for the gas stations, we shall have to agree to disagree 