Solar Charging the Truck

[Cybertruck 1974]

Ok, I was able to use the Jackery 1000 battery system with a total of 400 watts in solar panels connecting my Tesla provided 38 amp mobile charger to the Jackery power bank and charge my truck with about 1000 watts pretty quickly without any issues. Ok then I used the solar to charge back up the battery bank in about 2.5hrs then repeated this process until the sun went down and got about 4kw Into the truck a day......Now that being said is there a "device" where we can just connect or wire the Tesla Charger to the panels and not lose the hours it takes to charge back the battery bank? Or does the truck need a set AMP amount to operate? This is for being remote, camping, stand alone and for emergency use. I know you all are smart and had to have seen something or know of something right?!

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[REM]

The truck is sensitive to power fluctuations, so unless you have a large enough array and battery to act as a buffer, you are pretty much stuck at the charge, dump, repeat. Solar panels need a charge controller to work, so that's what the Jackery is doing. It has a battery bank built into it, so that's your buffer.

You could build a really nice travel system yourself. What's your budget?

If you want to start dabbling into Solar, I highly recommending this channel to get you started: https://www.youtube.com/@WillProwse

 

[Cybertruck 1974]

The truck is sensitive to power fluctuations, so unless you have a large enough array and battery to act as a buffer, you are pretty much stuck at the charge, dump, repeat. Solar panels need a charge controller to work, so that's what the Jackery is doing. It has a battery bank built into it, so that's your buffer.

You could build a really nice travel system yourself. What's your budget?

If you want to start dabbling into Solar, I highly recommending this channel to get you started: https://www.youtube.com/@WillProwse

Agreed. For size, mobility, storage the Jackery seems to be working out great. I did build out my Kammock Canopy with flexible solar panels that roll up with the Canopy and stow away. Which is so cool they finally came out with flexible panels that will roll up into 2 inch diameter rounds.

 

[cybercricket]

The solution to this problem would be a DC charging adapter. Effectively you'd have the panels wired in let's say 400V configuration, and CT would open up the path directly to the battery bypassing AC to DC conversion. Would still need an MPPT controller or similar.

 

[cybercricket]

Here is one [future] product I found that possibly does what I was thinking:

https://electrek.co/2024/08/21/dc-to-dc-solar-powered-ev-charger/

 

[Cybertruck 1974]

Here is one [future] product I found that possibly does what I was thinking:

https://electrek.co/2024/08/21/dc-to-dc-solar-powered-ev-charger/

There's also Go Sun rooftop fold out panels but too bulky and has a battery. Very expensive too. SponsoredGoSunhttps://www.gosun.coYour New Solar Car Charger - Meet GoSun's EV Solar Charger

 

[cybercricket]

There's also Go Sun rooftop fold out panels but too bulky and has a battery. Very expensive too. SponsoredGoSunhttps://www.gosun.coYour New Solar Car Charger - Meet GoSun's EV Solar Charger

That one has an inverter and outputs 120VAC, not quite the same as the one I listed above that is strictly DC.

 

[mongo]

Charging is going to be more efficient if you quickly dump the energy into the truck versus trickle it.

I get 1% SOC in 90 minutes with a 1.44kW charge limit, so 57% efficiency in cold weather.

 

[CT_AZ_4x4]

The Bluetti line of solar chargers can both charge from solar panels and DISCHARGE to your Tesla simultaneously. If you could match the input/output amperage this might be along the lines of what you are attempting.

 

[gadgetmerc]

The "Power of Light" youtube channel went coast to coast across america using only solar in a model 3. Worth a look if you're interested in using solar to power a car. This video covers the whole setup within the first minute or so:

 

[Cybergirl]

Ok, I was able to use the Jackery 1000 battery system with a total of 400 watts in solar panels connecting my Tesla provided 38 amp mobile charger to the Jackery power bank and charge my truck with about 1000 watts pretty quickly without any issues. Ok then I used the solar to charge back up the battery bank in about 2.5hrs then repeated this process until the sun went down and got about 4kw Into the truck a day......Now that being said is there a "device" where we can just connect or wire the Tesla Charger to the panels and not lose the hours it takes to charge back the battery bank? Or does the truck need a set AMP amount to operate? This is for being remote, camping, stand alone and for emergency use. I know you all are smart and had to have seen something or know of something right?!

I have done the same. I used a 420W REC solar panel charging a 2580Wh LFP battery with a Renogy 20W Rover charge controller. I charge my CT using a 1000W inverter at 8A. The battery is constantly being charged from the panel as the truck is being charged. Even on a good sunny day, however, the panel tops out at 320 to 340W so eventually charging stops to recharge the solar battery. The issue I've found is that the efficiency charging this way is very inefficient, less than 50%, making the charging process extremely slow. I use my CT's solar generation to supply power for accessories - refrigerator, tent A/C, electric blanket, Starlink, camp lights, etc.

 

[Trimotor]

Sam Evans in Australia had a Cybertruck on order and has a YouTube Channel with over seven thousand videos and posted this video a few weeks ago with this high powered solar generator.

 

[gadgetmerc]

Sam Evans in Australia had a Cybertruck on order and has a YouTube Channel with over seven thousand videos and posted this video a few weeks ago with this high powered solar generator.

He is the king of making a 3 minute video 20 minutes long. Not a fan myself but I respect it and watch a few from time to time.

 

[Crissa]

Ecoflow Deltas allow you to have the panels out and charge at the same time. You could also set a smart breaker on the EVSE to only turn on when the portable battery is above a certain value and to turn off when it's below a certain other value - which would allow you to charge the truck at a more efficient rate for the truck so the truck can sleep longer.

Another thing the portable setup does is allow your camp to be a bit further from the truck when called for... and to power your camp while the truck sleeps. This will always be slightly more efficient than using the truck's onboard power itself, though right now the truck does seem unusually inefficient itself - comparing it with more mature Tesla models.

The new Delta also offers a version with 240v out.

-Crissa

 

[Cybergirl]

I looked into the EcoFlow Delta Pro 3. It's a capable power source, and I like EcoFlow products (I have two). I took a pass on the Pro 3 for range extending these reasons:
1) Cost $3100. Since I have solar and battery backup at my home already that's a lot to spend for backup power for camping and off road travel.
2) Capacity 4 kWh. At an off road efficiency of 500 Wh/mi the Pro 3 provides 8 miles of extended range. That's hardly enough to relieve range anxiety on an overland trip 200 miles from the nearest charging station. One can add solar panels to recharge the unit, but even a 1000W solar panel would like take at least 5 hours to recharge the Pro 3 under favorable conditions
3) Having ruled it out for off road range extension, I felt it overkill for powering my other camping electrical needs.

Instead, I chose a 3700/3300W dual fuel generator at a third the cost and less weight. A 20 lb bottle of propane will produce 20 kWh of energy to the truck's battery (40 miles of extra range) in 6 hours. The big disadvantage of the generator is noise, but in an emergency situation, I can deal with that.

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