Cross Country Ev Trip No Charge Stations

[Pinepappl]

Ive been looking to do a cross country (USA) trip in an ev without charging (or at least as few times as possible) at a charging station. I remember seeing a video from somebody (cant remember who) who did it in a Tesla with a whole bunch of panels and an inverter but i cant for the life of me find the guys videos or any real mention of the guy. I would be driving a Ioniq 6 for the trip, currently im looking at Newpow's 100w 12v compact panels but im iffy on if that's the best option. Im also unsure on what inverter/battery would be best for this endeavor.

Any input would be greatly appreciated

 

[yabert]

This?https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-model-y-solar-roof-mod-adds-60-miles-a-day/
Clearly, to me the best way to a cross country trip on solar is with as much as possible solar panel inside an aerodynamic trailer.

 

[42OhmsPA]

Welcome to the forum.

Any input would be greatly appreciated

Plan for a really really long trip.

 

[AntronX]

 

[CaliSunHarvester]

If you have 10 panels rated 300W each, that's 3kWpv and in a day they may deliver 10kWh. That's 50 miles in the Ioniq if you drive conservatively.

Can you fit 10 panels ON the Ioniq? Probably not.

Carry some mobile racking of PVC pipes with you, set them up at sunrise, and by sunset, you can drive your 50 miles to the next parking lot with space for your array.

Cross country trip of 3000 miles = 60 days.

 

[740GLE]

Tow one of those scull boat carriers, they are what 30f long?

 

[Pinepappl]

Thats exactly what i was remembering! thank you very much

 

[TM48]

Rent an ICE

 

[Pinepappl]

Welcome to the forum.

Plan for a really really long trip.

thank you! Im slowly getting stuff ready and ordered. Rn im trying to figure out how much food id need to bring

 

[Pinepappl]

Rent an ICE

I have one. but im trying to prove to both myself and some not so nice neighbors that not only is it posible to do but it can be "free". if i decide to allow myself to charge at charge stations i still woulnt be paying anything bc of the free 2 year charging that the car came with, but to me that feels like cheating

 

[Pinepappl]

If you have 10 panels rated 300W each, that's 3kWpv and in a day they may deliver 10kWh. That's 50 miles in the Ioniq if you drive conservatively.

Can you fit 10 panels ON the Ioniq? Probably not.

Carry some mobile racking of PVC pipes with you, set them up at sunrise, and by sunset, you can drive your 50 miles to the next parking lot with space for your array.

Cross country trip of 3000 miles = 60 days.

the trip i was planing on was closer to 10k miles, and are you aware of any relatively compact 300W? im hoping that i can fit most of the solar stuff in the trunk. I know that its not likely but boy howdy is the ground hard on my back

 

[Pinepappl]

Tow one of those scull boat carriers, they are what 30f long?

hmmmmm. i know that the ioniq 6 doesnt have the greatest tow cap, so im not sure how effective that would be

 

[TM48]

I definitely don't have the patience for such an endeavor.

 

[zanydroid]

the trip i was planing on was closer to 10k miles, and are you aware of any relatively compact 300W? im hoping that i can fit most of the solar stuff in the trunk. I know that its not likely but boy howdy is the ground hard on my back

All 300W of the same efficiency will be the same surface area. You might be able to get smaller with flexible but it costs more and likely to fail

Also note you’re replying to something that says 10x 300W

NGL I would be looking to fast fail this concept (because it really looks like an instant lose with a back of the envelope “engineering” guesstimate) unless somehow I’m getting sponsors or YouTube content from it. But I have different priorities from you.

 

[Crowz]

Your car charges over 200 miles in 18 minutes and you have free charging for 2 years.

If you want to make the trip just make the trip and use the free charging and be happy.

Buy a charge controller and some panels and spend the weekend proving to yourself it can charge the car. Then make the trip like I mentioned above and use the stuff you bought to power your house when you get back home

BTW this is no different than me hopping in my f250 superduty 7.3L diesel truck and making the trip for free by running on waste oil from restaurants and such. Can it done? Sure. Is it worth the effort in the matter. No.

 

[Texas-Mark]

im trying to figure out how much food id need to bring

but im trying to prove to both myself and some not so nice neighbors that not only is it posible to do but it can be "free".

Sort of contradictory statements. Of course it can be done. People have walked across the US. But I would not call it "free".

 

[42OhmsPA]

Rent an ICE

Drive EV to rental place, tow EV to the next rental place and let regenerative braking charge the EV, repeat cycle.

I'm not saying it can't be done, I just don't think it's very practical.
Is it something I'd consider if I were retired, possibly.

I'd definitely utilize the trailer suggestion. Build framework that stores the array vertical and can be easily tilted when parked. Put at least 10KWh of batteries on the trailer and grab any photons you can while driving.
Stay close to the southern coast, warmer climate.

 

[Pinepappl]

Drive EV to rental place, tow EV to the next rental place and let regenerative braking charge the EV, repeat cycle.

I'm not saying it can't be done, I just don't think it's very practical.
Is it something I'd consider if I were retired, possibly.

I'd definitely utilize the trailer suggestion. Build framework that stores the array vertical and can be easily tilted when parked. Put at least 10KWh of batteries on the trailer and grab any photons you can while driving.
Stay close to the southern coast, warmer climate.

Oh i have no doubt that its unpractical, ive just got an excess of time on my hands this summer that i doubt im going to be able to fill. I didnt think about having the trailer be the "stand" for the system but that kinda rocks! I do wonder if that would cause the weight to exceed the tow cap of the car?

 

[AntronX]

Thats exactly what i was remembering! thank you very much

That was entertaining watching his struggles. If you want to do this you have to tap into Tesla's high voltage bus and do direct PV to HVDC charging to avoid ridiculous efficiency losses of DC-AC-AC-DC setup. There is another guy who put gasoline generator in his Tesla by rectifying 3ph AC from permanent magnet generator into HVDC via some custom DC converter circuit.

 

[Pinepappl]

Your car charges over 200 miles in 18 minutes and you have free charging for 2 years.

If you want to make the trip just make the trip and use the free charging and be happy.

Buy a charge controller and some panels and spend the weekend proving to yourself it can charge the car. Then make the trip like I mentioned above and use the stuff you bought to power your house when you get back home

BTW this is no different than me hopping in my f250 superduty 7.3L diesel truck and making the trip for free by running on waste oil from restaurants and such. Can it done? Sure. Is it worth the effort in the matter. No.

True! Thinking about it more i should probably should just charge at the stations, but at the same time I do think it would be a good idea to have some form of backup power for when i enviably want to go off the set path to see some stuff then run out of power (im guessing it would either happen in Colorado/Utah or Montana/south Dakota

 

[42OhmsPA]

Depends on the tow capacity of the car and how big you build the system.
Aluminum trailer for sure.
You also have to consider how much range will be affected by towing.

 

[HRTKD]

but to me that feels like cheating

If you aren't cheating, you aren't winning. Like Tim, I wouldn't have the patience for such a trip. I have a job that I need to be online for.

 

[Zwy]

thank you! Im slowly getting stuff ready and ordered. Rn im trying to figure out how much food id need to bring

Double the amount of food in case it is cloudy for a few weeks.

 

[0truck0]

A fool's errand!

Yes, I saw that vid. he did not go far each day, stopped for days in a row to recharge, then did not go far the next drive effort. Is doable and if the grid were down (no power for stations to pump gas) then you would be king being able to drive 50 miles.

The way to do it is with a small cart built on bicycle wheels, resembling a soap bubble and weighing 80 pounds with solar cells covering every inch of surface, possibly with a smaller trailer that is just solar panels on wheels and one person in supine position operating the handlebars....

 

[BDMN72]

This does not sound like fun.