Tesla has a new patent for a tow behind range extender.

Imagine pulling a 5th wheel, & a car or boat behind that!

 

Already been done back in the EV1 era.
Rav Long Ranger
It had a steering system to keep it straight while reversing.

Others have patented tow behind batteries for longer range. Don't know what Tesla can add that is new to these concepts.

 

does that mean they are admitting that bevs aren't ready for long range driving?

 

A patent is an idea, not a product, yet.

Is there a patent number I should lookup? I have a specific profile that includes emergency house power and camping.

Bob Wilson

 

I wouldn't need a trailer generator, I'd just throw my Honda portable generator in the trunk. It wouldn't have to run it very long to get me to a faster charger

 

Some don't mind - gasoline in a generator, in a car's trunk. Others? Not so much.

 

Air cooled generators are relatively inefficient compared to water cooled. I don’t know of any that use Atkinson cams. Worse, recoil starters are unreliable and often fail. Then they also make carbon monoxide and noise.

On a trailer, a well designed engine-generator can reduce traction battery aging, charge-discharge cycles. You can go longer segments avoiding charging stops.

Regardless, if it meets your needs, go for it.

Bob Wilson

 

Perhaps tesla patented it to prevent others from bringing one to market and making long range bevs look bad

 

One of the truly brilliant Engineers - Phil Sadow—a Californian electrical engineer (goes by "Ingineer" on forums) rigged up a very clean burning propane-powered Capstone micro-turbine trailer as a range extender.
That was in 2011. He towed this trailer behind his Nissan Leaf. The turbine spins at ~100k rpm, kicks out up to thirty kilowatts to juice the battery while driving—or even quick-charge it via CHAdeMO when parked. No major mods to the car itself, just a custom hitch & software.
It was a proof-of-concept thing, kinda jet-like and noisy, but Nissan engineers even checked it out. Super clever hack for beating range anxiety. Here's a shot of it in all expensiveness



So yea - just because it can be done doesn't mean it should be done. That's why people would rather buy plug-in hybrid vehicles
.

 

For the rare event of finding myself in need of battery charging with a generator, engine efficiency is no concern to me.
If you want to routinely use a portable trailer-mounted range extender, I'd suggest buying a hybrid instead.

Sometimes the add-ons are not worth the trouble. For example, all the cargo-extending add-ons you can get for a smart car defeat the purpose; it makes more sense to buy a larger car.

 

I tend not to alarm myself with imaginary fears.

 

Guess one could also tow a trailer with gasoline, but you have to try real hard to get "out of range" to any 24/7/365 public use gas station.