Interesting concept-but will it work???

[CAJUNLAWYER]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/oth...S&cvid=d40428b23ee74677a7ccb028b756279b&ei=92

This looks good on paper-I'd go one step further and never plug in the truck but instead rely on the gas engine to continually repower the batteries or drive the electric engine. Seems like a new take on the diesel-electric locomotives.
What does the group think?

 

[WardenRoss]

Betcha it's big dollar expensive.

,

 

[djohns6]

Sounds great , in theory . We'll see how it works out in practice .

 

[arjay]

I like it. $100k+?

 

[LVSteve]

This has been done before. Fisker did this with their first cars. As stated, it is similar to the operation of a diesel-electric locomotive. The key is that it keeps the gasoline motor at its optimum RPM for efficiency. You also have that instant electric grunt for acceleration.

 

[llowry61]

I would need to see more data about cost, the amount of fuel used by the gas engine and size of it, life span of engine, batteries and electric drive train.

The technology has been successful in trains for years, so might be viable if affordable, reliable and reasonably durable ie: 150k miles or so.

 

[SweetMK]

Ideally,, ANY engine ( or turbine for that matter) has ONE exact engine speed that is the stochiometric maximum,,

in other words, to burn fuel at the maximum efficiency, there is only one engine speed.

So, it the RAM runs its engine at that RPM ,, (something like what? 3,000 RPM?) you would get maximum mileage.

(They could design the engine to run max efficient at any speed)

BUT,, will you be happy, sitting at a traffic light, with the engine screaming as it charges the battery??

No more "gas" pedal,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[Bekeart]

Diesel Electric Earth Movers

Those Big Bad *** Earth movers you see at some highways construction sites are diesel electric.

Wheels powered by individual electric motor.

Think of:
Biggest Meanest Lamp Dimmer ...
SCR controls for the electric motors.

Bekeart

 

[WardenRoss]

BUT,, will you be happy, sitting at a traffic light, with the engine screaming as it charges the battery??

No more "gas" pedal,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Today's engines are so quiet, doubt it would be too loud.

My V8 Ford has a two-speed electric cooling fan. It actually roars when on high speed. You'd have to hear it. It's louder than the motor.


,

 

[swsig]

That sounds pretty much like the system that GM used in the now-discontinued Chevrolet Volt. The Volt was driven by electric motor only. The onboard ICE only kicked in when the batteries were discharged, and from that point it powered a generator that supplied electricity to the motor.

Chevrolet Volt - Wikipedia

 

[Tom S.]

Already been done:

 

[john17427]

Slightly off topic, but pertinent to this technology and hybrid's in general. I'll admit I'm not super knowledgeable about batteries, more likely not knowledgeable at all. I was just wondering how these cars charge and discharge a battery at the same time. My understanding with locomotives is that they're just big generators powering electric motors with no batteries involved in locomotion, though I could be wrong about this as well. How do you charge and discharge batteries at the same time. Obviously it is happening in a hybrid.

 

[Jon42]

I work on new vehicles. I would stay as far away from this as possible and hopefully I won't see one before I retire in a few years.

 

[pharmer]

Meh, I never buy 1st year anything. I like that in the gas powered truck they "turboed" the old "Slant Six", the most reliable indestructible engine of the 20th century. Maybe it isn't a slant 6, it should be. joe

 

[Protocall_Design]

How is this different from other hybrid vehicles?

 

[djohns6]

How is this different from other hybrid vehicles?

As I understand it , the " engine" is not connected to the drivetrain .

 

[DWalt]

How is this different from other hybrid vehicles?

I believe, at least in principle, not very much. ICE turns a generator which produces electricity which can charge the battery and/or power the electric motors.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

Nah.....I'll keep my 5.3 CI Chevy.........That DOESN'T shut down when I stop......And cranks with a real key.

 

[SweetMK]

Those Big Bad *** Earth movers you see at some highways construction sites are diesel electric.

Wheels powered by individual electric motor.

Think of:
Biggest Meanest Lamp Dimmer ...
SCR controls for the electric motors.

Bekeart

I used to design those controls at a previous job,,
We were designing one for a new shovel,, I got to ride the shovel for 4 days,,
What misery!!

Rather than a diesel engine,, this machine pulled a 6000 volt extension cord,,

When the shovel lifted a full bucket, the lights at a shop 1/4 mile away would dim,,

I wonder what that electric bill was??

I am 6'7" ,, for scale,,

 

[A10]

I used to design those controls at a previous job,,
We were designing one for a new shovel,, I got to ride the shovel for 4 days,,
What misery!!

Rather than a diesel engine,, this machine pulled a 6000 volt extension cord,,

When the shovel lifted a full bucket, the lights at a shop 1/4 mile away would dim,,

I wonder what that electric bill was??

I am 6'7" ,, for scale,,

View attachment 696769


View attachment 696770


View attachment 696771

Big toy....what happens when you make a sharp turn and run over the cord? Could be exhilarating....

 

[SweetMK]

Big toy....what happens when you make a sharp turn and run over the cord? Could be exhilarating....

It was a rule..

ANYONE that ran over the cord was instantly fired,,,,,,,,,,,,,

The machine was fast,, well, relatively,,

one day we "passed" a D9 CAT that was moving to another location (blade up)
I would have thought the machine would be slower.

On the tracks,,
EACH one of the pads weighed 2,000 pounds.

The bucket held 100 tons of overburden (dirt and rock)
The truck that hauled the overburden carried 240 tons.
So it took 2.5 shovel loads to fill the haul truck.
The haul truck was the diesel-electric mentioned in a previous post.
They had two haul trucks,, and they moved FAST!!

After the overburden was removed, a "small" CAT articulated loader would load the coal onto dump trucks.

 

[Pisgah]

How innovative! I remember reading articles in Mother Earth News, 1971, about doing the electric motor/gas generator idea on a VW Bug...

 

[Bekeart]

Retired electric shovel

The post by SweetMK

Reminded me of a visit to see a Retired electric shovel when I lived in Kansas.
When if reached the practical end pf the coal seam it was retired.
Cost to disassemble and remove would have been far in excess of scrap value.
Became a museum piece.


Big Burtus

Big Brutus - Wikipedia

Big Brutus is the nickname of the Bucyrus-Erie model 1850-B electric shovel,
which was the second largest of its type in operation in the 1960s and 1970s.
Big Brutus is the centerpiece of a mining museum in West Mineral, Kansas,
where it was used in coal strip mining operations.

Bekeart

 

[s&wchad]

Interesting...
Estimated price is $60-78K.

Car and Driver - 2025 Ram 1500 Ramcharger Hybrid

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

I think the forum has a product testing fund out there somewhere. Perhaps the moderators can see fit to tap it, buy one of these bad boys for testing purposes, let the various moderators test it in differing terrains, climates and driving styles and provide a comprehensive report to the rest of the members. Kinda like consumer reports, only for old guys who like guns and pick up trucks.

 

[Bekeart]

Sounds like a plan for a well know un-named organization

I think the forum has a product testing fund out there somewhere. Perhaps the moderators can see fit to tap it, buy one of these bad boys for testing purposes, let the various moderators test it in differing terrains, climates and driving styles and provide a comprehensive report to the rest of the members. Kinda like consumer reports, only for old guys who like guns and pick up trucks.

Elected directors get paid to test ...

Bekeart

 

[Pete99004]

It's been done already - BMW i3 had a 9 year run from 2013 to last 2022. Made two models, one straight electric and one with "range extender" which had a small motorcycle engine rear mounted that powered a generator to "extend the range" by charging the battery. Only had a 2.5 gallon fuel tank here in the US to limit the use of the ICE. Read about it on Wikipedia.

BMW i3 - Wikipedia

Hope this helps.
Pete99004

 

[Bald1]

Sooooo it's an electric vehicle with onboard generator. I guess all those memes and funny pics were a sign of the future…….. but the biggest problem is, it's a Dodge

 

[THE PILGRIM]

I tend to Dodge Dodges.
You might want to reconsider that old Favorite,
Tesla with towed Generator.

 

[WR Moore]

Slightly off topic, the other day I saw one of those Tesla trucks. That thing hit every limb off a tall ugly tree on the way down. May have been aerodynamically efficient, but DAMN!

OK, the way diesel electric trains/dump trucks/earth movers run is that the engine turns a generator that powers the wheels. The battery bank is to mitigate surge demands on the generator. Like when starting from a standing stop or pulling a hill. The battery is only involved in the power supply for brief times. Not like many of the hybrids that are electric powered until they need more juice and the engine kicks in. I'd suspect that this is how the hybrid race cars that run at LeMans work.

That's not exactly the way the C&D review describes it, but I have to admit I never had a wiring skematic for the D/E equipment I ran at one point. OTOH, you don't need a V6 engine ( or 4000+ hp diesels in a locomotive) to run a generator unless it's handling serious load.

That the vehicle is built on a standard truck frame may indicate that a battery change might be possible from underneath. Seemed to be the way Ford did it on their etrucks. OTOH, you might have to remove the body to get at the battery tray. My late son indicated that was necessary for some work on todays trucks.

That's pretty much the way I'd build a fuel efficient vehicle. I expect the green weenies will hate it unless they come up with a solar panel to replace the ICE.