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[Deleted member 5322]

solar isn't that expensive.

Solar is not, Tesla is!

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[jerhenderson]

Solar is not, Tesla is!

compared to a GM Bolt.

 

[tmeyer3]

You run all that off propane? Either way, electricity is not the solution for heating.

I think you might be lowballing what 15 miles / day looks like on the cybertruck. Obviously it will vary greatly from weather, etc. So let's just cut it in half and look at the ball-park estimated numbers, which I hope are also low:
Estimations:
120kWh battery pack for around 285 miles of range (this is a guess!)

120kWh / 285 miles == 421 Wh / mile
(7.5 mile /day) * (421 Wh/mile) == 3.16kWh

3.16kWh / 750W = 4.21 hours
on REALLY cold days, a 750W electric space heater would run on that for 4 hours, in a tiny space like a well insulated Mammoth overland trailer, I'm sooooo happy with that, friend! Just turn it on low to keep the space around 5C and I'm good in a sleeping bag! Reevaluate in the morning. Fortunately when it isn't sunny, it's usually warmer than clear skys at night.

Another way to calculate it is to take the low-end of estimations for what can fit on the truck: 500W of solar. With just 6 hours of charging:
500 W * (6 h / day)== 3kWh / day

Yup, I'm still giddy for that!


And yes, definitely going to run an induction cook top and a water pump on it too! Of course, I plan on adding about 200W of solar to the trailer in addition to whatever the truck has.

Cheers

 

[Crissa]

You run all that off propane? Either way, electricity is not the solution for heating.

A heat pump is more efficient than a resistive heater.

So much so it's more efficient to run a small mini-split off a natural gas generator than to burn that gas for heat.

(But no, the tonneau is not going to keep your toes warm).

-Crissa

 

[Bill906]

A heat pump is more efficient than a resistive heater.

So much so it's more efficient to run a small mini-split off a natural gas generator than to burn that gas for heat.

(But no, the tonneau is not going to keep your toes warm).

-Crissa

True, mostly.

A heat pump CAN be more efficient than a resistive heater.

Resistive heater is 100% efficient always. (Unless something was done very wrong).
Heat pump efficiency varies based on the temperature differential between where the heat is being pulled from (outside), and where it's being pumped into (passenger cabin).
If it's 60°F outside and you want the cabin to be 70°F, the heat pump will most likely be around 400% efficient. But if it's -20°F outside and you want the cabin to be 70°F, the heat pump will probably be 100% efficient.

The colder it is outside, the more you need something to supply heat. Heatpump efficiently is inversely proportional to heat required. If it's a cool 60°F California Morning, heatpump works excellent. If it's a frigid Canadian winter night, there is virtually no benefit to heat pump over resistive heater.

For most of the US a heat pump is a great idea. This conversation is about camping, and in almost all of those cases a heat pump would work fine. (Not many of you are camping in sub zero temps). When I was a kid, we had an old school bus converted into a camper. It had a propane furnace installed that came from a mobile home. We used it for many years as deer camp (Upper Michigan, November). Running a heat pump off a propane powered generator would not have been the the best setup for that scenario. But I freely admit, my experiences are not typical.

 

[TyPope]

You know the solar tonneau will add less than 10 miles with a full day of sun right?

15 per Elon's tweet... Almost a full commute for me. It would be nice if it at least cuts the vampiric drain.

 

[Crissa]

Yes, heat pumps require an operating range and are more weather averse. But some are fine at -20F

Still, at the very worst, they're only slightly less efficient.

Just like 'Why aren't all AC units also a heat pump?' The question should be asked, 'Why doesn't this just have resistor coils for instant/backup heating?'

-Crissa

 

[Ogre]

(But no, the tonneau is not going to keep your toes warm).

IMO this is the big problem with camping in the bed. Adding HVAC to the vault isn’t going to cut it for camping. It works quite well for the cabin because the cabin is fairly well sealed and insulated. Even the cabin glass is designed with laminated panels to insulate it. The vault is not insulated at all. Blowing warm air is damned near like blowing it outside. The vault cover is likely aluminum or steel sheets which have near zero insulation and would likely have a ton of condensation on them if you slept in it with warm air blowing into the vault.

Sounds great… I think in practice it would be a poor experI ence.

 

[anionic1]

15 per Elon's tweet... Almost a full commute for me. It would be nice if it at least cuts the vampiric drain.

He exaggerates.

 

[Ogre]

He exaggerates.

Solar capacity is almost always quoted “Under ideal conditions”. If you park the truck in the hot sun angled south in Southern California… Here in Oregon maybe we’d get half that. A third in the winter.

That’s all aside from the point. Going camping and not having the battery discharging every day is what I’m looking for. Going to the airport and returning to a full battery after 2 weeks in Hawaii. 5 miles per day is fine.

 

[Bill906]

Solar capacity is almost always quoted “Under ideal conditions”. If you park the truck in the hot sun angled south in Southern California… Here in Oregon maybe we’d get half that. A third in the winter.

That’s all aside from the point. Going camping and not having the battery discharging every day is what I’m looking for. Going to the airport and returning to a full battery after 2 weeks in Hawaii. 5 miles per day is fine.

The airport is a good point for most, but typically not me.

• I usually park in the airport parking garage if parking at the airport (covered).
• During the winter, a snowfall would render the solar panels nearly useless. (Snowfall also the reason for the first bullet point.)

But yeah, I guess it would be beneficial in the summer and I part in a lot or top level of the garage.

 

[Ogre]

The airport is a good point for most, but typically not me.

• I usually park in the airport parking garage if parking at the airport (covered).
• During the winter, a snowfall would render the solar panels nearly useless. (Snowfall also the reason for the first bullet point.)

But yeah, I guess it would be beneficial in the summer and I part in a lot or top level of the garage.

Unless it’s an underground garage, you should still get some charge. Particularly if you hunt a little for a south facing outside space.

Maybe not enough to have a full battery when you return, but enough perhaps to offset vampiric drain.

 

[TyPope]

400 Watts per 36"x60" residential panel is 0.185 Watts per square inch.
Bed cover that covers 40" wide x 72" long is 2,880 inches square. 2,880 x 0.185 is just 532.8 Watts.
IF the CT has an efficiency of 400 Watts/mile, an 8 hour day (Yes, ideal conditions) would generate 4,262.4 wH per 8 hour day. That equates to just 10.656 miles per 8 hr. day.

If the CT is more efficient (350 W/Mi), it would make 12.17 miles per 8 hr. day.

Still, I'd take that. I also suspect the CT will be closer to 300 w/mi. in efficiency PLUS, mine will be parked for 9 hours every work day in an open parking lot, so mine will make 4,795 wH/day or 15.98 miles per day.

Probably not the way I'll drive it at first... LOL

 

[Ogre]

I generally only drive 2-3 days a week and my carport (no garage) is south facing. So there is a solid chance I can average 2-5 kWh per day from solar. There is a solid chance I could get away with only plugging in once a week. That means I don‘t need to install a second wall connector. That’s a $1000 savings right there. I would also save about $70-100/ year on charging. Not a ton, but worth another $500 or so.

Essentially if solar is less than $1,500, it’s basically free for me. So the question is how much I would be willing to pay to add solar for camping trips.

 

[TyPope]

I generally only drive 2-3 days a week and my carport (no garage) is south facing. So there is a solid chance I can average 2-5 kWh per day from solar. There is a solid chance I could get away with only plugging in once a week. That means I don‘t need to install a second wall connector. That’s a $1000 savings right there. I would also save about $70-100/ year on charging. Not a ton, but worth another $500 or so.

Essentially if solar is less than $1,500, it’s basically free for me. So the question is how much I would be willing to pay to add solar for camping trips.

Cool. I was watching a Lightyear rep talking about their new car, the Lightyear 2, which is covered in panels. They have a CD of 0.17 which is insanely good. Their car can generate 48 km per day. How long of a day? They didn't say. But they did say that they did an engineering study and said that someone could go 7 months without having to chage up. Now, I'm not expecting THAT level of charging, of course. It'd be neat if they had some clear solar they could put on the roof of the CT. It should be easy enough because it's all flat up there. Anyway, I only commute 17 miles a day so the cost savings for me just won't make it worth paying $1,500 for solar but I'm going to anyway. I'd like to get away from vampiric loss which my wife complains about in her MY.

It's not like I need or will benefit from saving the small amount that I'd spend on gas but I want to try to help eliminate the need to import oil, at least a small little bit that I can. And if I have fun doing it along the way, so be it.

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