First real Cybertruck Off Road footage?

[Cybergirl]

You do realize there is no spare in the cybertruck either, right?

Yes, I do. But no carrying a spare is more of a problem for the Hummer. When off-roading, both vehicles will need to carry a spare, bottle jack, and tools which will reduce the weight of other stuff you can carry. Hummer's payload capacity is reduced by 7.7%. Cybertruck's by 4%.

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[Cybergirl]

Test it before you head out for the first time. I don't remember what the grounding situation was that prevented the TFL crew, or was it Ben Sullins? ? but they couldn't just plug in a mobile connector and get a Tesla to charge from a generator. I think it needs a cord that has a grounded neutral wire?

I did test it. Yes, it requires tying neutral and ground together on the generator, or to be safer driving a copper rod into the ground and connecting it to the ground lug on the generator.

 

[Cold.Truth]

I did test it. Yes, it requires tying neutral and ground together on the generator, or to be safer driving a copper rod into the ground and connecting it to the ground lug on the generator.

I searched the forums for this but maybe I missed it. I'm sharing it in case you or others have an interest in some of their ideas. I appreciate how you've been so thorough in your planning (and testing).

https://spacecampers.com/

Cheers.

 

[HaulingAss]

I purchased a CT for travel and off-road adventuring, so these reports interest me. I think CT will be a good off-road, overland vehicle. I'm not particularly interested in extreme rock crawling, but need a vehicle to get through a few tight spots here and there. My main concern is the range driving off road. With tires aired-down and rough terrain efficiency will be cut drastically.

The AWD Foundation Series Cybertruck has an EPA range of 318 miles. The range will be significantly reduced when traveling off road in rocky and hilly terrain with deflated tires. Adding the Range Extender increases the range by 120 miles in ideal conditions, but takes up a third of the bed, weighs ~600 lbs, and costs $16,000.

My solution is to bring along a 100 lb dual-fuel generator and 50 lbs of propane weighing another 100 lbs including tank weight. 50lbs of propane will convert to 50 kWh of charge to the Cybertruck’s battery using the generator accounting for inefficiencies, extending the off-road range by 40%.

I paid $860 for a Westinghouse 4500 dual-fuel generator and $110 for a 30 lb propane cylinder at Tractor Supply. I already have a 20 lb cylinder for a total of 50 lbs of propane. These items can be transported in the vault and taken out at night to charge the battery, freeing up the bed for sleeping. With the generator located 20 feet away, the noise level is about 57 DB at 3.3kW load which is about the same as a Honda EU2200i at 1.8kW load. At 24A @ 120VAC = 2880 watts using the mobile charger, I can add 23 kWh of charge to the battery in 8 hours. That's about 28 miles at 0.800 kWh/mi.

Being dual fuel, one can resort to running the generator on gasoline if the need arises. I’ll avoid doing doing so to eliminate the smell and having to deal with the maintenance of the generator, but it’s a good backup provision if I get stranded on the trail.

When it comes to getting stranded on the trail, I will also have a Starlink antenna and VOIP phone to contact someone for help if the need arises. Starlink Mobile costs $150/month, but can be paused when not being used. Having an internet connection is great for downloading map/trail information, researching points of interest, and keeping loved ones informed about our whereabouts.

Believe it or not, airing down the tires an appropriate amount on irregular terrain can increase your range slightly, not decrease it. A more compliant tire can roll through irregularities rather than over them. I've noticed most off-roaders either fail to air down at all, or they over-do it.

Unless you are in bottomless mud or deep, soft sand, there is no point in airing down to extremely low pressures like 15-20 psi, especially if heavily loaded, because that will cause the tires sidewall to do unatural things and also greatly increase the chances of the bead slipping on the wheel and sidewall cuts and punctures. I'm sure the OEM wheels don't have full beadlock and probably not even ridged beads, so be careful with high torque throttle applications when aired down.

As a general rule, err on the side of too much air in order to increase reliability, but air down as needed to get the flotation or compliance necessary for traction on whatever surfaces you are on. Every tire is a bit different.

 

[HaulingAss]

I did test it. Yes, it requires tying neutral and ground together on the generator, or to be safer driving a copper rod into the ground and connecting it to the ground lug on the generator.

There is no practical safety benefit to driving a ground rod in such situations. Just tie the neutral and ground together if the charge equipment requires it.

 

[Cybergirl]

Believe it or not, airing down the tires an appropriate amount on irregular terrain can increase your range slightly, not decrease it. A more compliant tire can roll through irregularities rather than over them. I've noticed most off-roaders either fail to air down at all, or they over-do it.

Unless you are in bottomless mud or deep, soft sand, there is no point in airing down to extremely low pressures like 15-20 psi, especially if heavily loaded, because that will cause the tires sidewall to do unatural things and also greatly increase the chances of the bead slipping on the wheel and sidewall cuts and punctures. I'm sure the OEM wheels don't have full beadlock and probably not even ridged beads, so be careful with high torque throttle applications when aired down.

As a general rule, err on the side of too much air in order to increase reliability, but air down as needed to get the flotation or compliance necessary for traction on whatever surfaces you are on. Every tire is a bit different.

Thanks for the advice. The Cybertruck tires are inflated to 50 lbs, I think. Airing down to 35 is probably a good general off roading pressure. Agree?

 

[Cybergirl]

There is no practical safety benefit to driving a ground rod in such situations. Just tie the neutral and ground together if the charge equipment requires it.

If that's true, why does the generator manual call for it?

 

[HaulingAss]

Thanks for the advice. The Cybertruck tires are inflated to 50 lbs, I think. Airing down to 35 is probably a good general off roading pressure. Agree?

It completely depends upon the terrain, tires and your load. I'm not familiar with those tires but that sounds reasonable for slower speeds on bumpy surfaces. On hard pack surfaces that are mostly smooth, I might keep them up to 40-45 psi. Just adjust it by feel, you want the tread to work with the terrain. Airing down for too many miles can cause uneven wear, so one more reason to err on the plus side.

 

[HaulingAss]

If that's true, why does the generator manual call for it?

Mostly because that's the kind of society we live in. If your charging equipment is not in tatters, I would just short the nuetral to the ground.

 

[Outdoors]

I would suggest looking at the EcoFlow Delta portable. Maybe two portable units.
They can heat and power tiny homes for weekends. They can also do all the things one could need while not depleting on board range.

https://www.ecoflow.com/us/delta-pro-ultra

This with the fold up panels would be very nice.

My setup is fully of grid now, but I leave from time to time. I plan on two of these with a portable array. So I can leave with 12kwh and supplement with panels.

Nice thing is that these items have multipurpose. Not just a propane or a gas genset, and can also charge back to truck.

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