Auxiliary Battery in the Cybertruck bed?

[AlDente]

With initial Cybertruck models having rumored <350 mile range, has anyone considered/mentioned an auxiliary battery pack for the Cybertruck? I can imagine either a Tesla or aftermarket battery pack that integrates with the Cybertruck pack. It could be removable (I know very heavy) it could be used for specific purposes (towing?) and removed when not needed.

I would be willing to give up 10"-12" of depth in the bed for this option. Even if it's $10K it would seem to be something that could add mileage. I have two Powerwalls for my Tesla Solar and that concept is what made me think of this. With only 13.5 kWh per PW, two of them would only be at best 1/4 of the Cybertruck pack (assuming 100kWh). WIth those numbers it might be difficult to cost justify. If it could use the CT inverter for charging it would just be batteries and a BMS. I'm way out of my depth here but it seems like a possible option for the CT.

Fire away ...

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[John K]

Are you looking for a permanently installed auxiliary battery or a removable auxiliary battery. Both will need conditioning cool/warm and charging.

My fantasy would have a removable section I could plug into my (nonexistent) solar grid to charge when I do not need for my daily commute and pop in when I need the extended range.

Except, I don’t want to pay for it either.
I have not heard about Any auxiliary battery plans. Note, I live under a rock so it is not surprising for me to miss the latest news.

 

[KHappe]

Yeah, we have talked about it before. Would be awesome to have a connector in the bed that would allow for a auxiliary battery in the bed.

 

[Haopec]

https://www.cybertruckownersclub.co...you-pay-for-a-range-extender.8912/post-167301

Seems like temporary battery packs would be really useful.
Optics-wise, might be an easy thing for ICE lovers to attack BEV on their inadequacy of being a real truck. Personally, I'd take a lower-range truck and rent a battery, or as was mentioned elsewhere, something that can act as my home power wall, but take it with me when I need it for towing/long trips. That would be ideal.

 

[AlDente]

Are you looking for a permanently installed auxiliary battery or a removable auxiliary battery. Both will need conditioning cool/warm and charging.

My fantasy would have a removable section I could plug into my (nonexistent) solar grid to charge when I do not need for my daily commute and pop in when I need the extended range.

Except, I don’t want to pay for it either.
I have not heard about Any auxiliary battery plans. Note, I live under a rock so it is not surprising for me to miss the latest news.

Ideally removable but extra range is the prime motivation.

 

[Frank Mendez]

Besides needing the temperature control, it would be very heavy. Not something you would be removing easily. I think it is a no way.

 

[John K]

Besides needing the temperature control, it would be very heavy. Not something you would be removing easily. I think it is a no way.

I possess the technology. Though, they are manual chain hoists.

 

[Crissa]

While it would be really cool to have a range extending battery, it has a couple drawbacks:

It either has to have the same internal resistance as the current traction battery (or the paired batteries will age poorly).

Or it needs to have the same or more total kWh than the current traction battery (to maintain the same performance).

It would also need more heating/cooling, independent of the rest of the truck's systems. (unless you want to run a coolant flush cycle every time it's plugged in).

All this means that it would be super-heavy, and stupid expensive.

-Crissa

 

[SlegMD]

Just do not think batteries are that efficient (thus, smaller in size) at this time(that seem practical). Unless 50-100 miles is what you’re looking for. Some talk on this forum on various portable generators seem practical.

 

[C T Rick]

Honestly, a simple inverter generator that is relatively quiet and light weight could be used easily when parked. Can it be run while the truck is in motion, I rather doubt it will allow charging while the vehicle is in use.

A 2000 watt Honda inverter could add approx 4 mile per hour of charge time. A larger unit can double or triple that.

Rick

 

[AlDente]

While it would be really cool to have a range extending battery, it has a couple drawbacks:

It either has to have the same internal resistance as the current traction battery (or the paired batteries will age poorly).

Or it needs to have the same or more total kWh than the current traction battery (to maintain the same performance).

It would also need more heating/cooling, independent of the rest of the truck's systems. (unless you want to run a coolant flush cycle every time it's plugged in).

All this means that it would be super-heavy, and stupid expensive.

-Crissa

Party pooper ...

 

[Ryan95738]

While it would be really cool to have a range extending battery, it has a couple drawbacks:

It either has to have the same internal resistance as the current traction battery (or the paired batteries will age poorly).

Or it needs to have the same or more total kWh than the current traction battery (to maintain the same performance).

It would also need more heating/cooling, independent of the rest of the truck's systems. (unless you want to run a coolant flush cycle every time it's plugged in).

All this means that it would be super-heavy, and stupid expensive.

-Crissa

That's why I range extender would probably be a better way of going about it

 

[dwang]

With initial Cybertruck models having rumored <350 mile range, has anyone considered/mentioned an auxiliary battery pack for the Cybertruck? I can imagine either a Tesla or aftermarket battery pack that integrates with the Cybertruck pack. It could be removable (I know very heavy) it could be used for specific purposes (towing?) and removed when not needed.

I would be willing to give up 10"-12" of depth in the bed for this option. Even if it's $10K it would seem to be something that could add mileage. I have two Powerwalls for my Tesla Solar and that concept is what made me think of this. With only 13.5 kWh per PW, two of them would only be at best 1/4 of the Cybertruck pack (assuming 100kWh). WIth those numbers it might be difficult to cost justify. If it could use the CT inverter for charging it would just be batteries and a BMS. I'm way out of my depth here but it seems like a possible option for the CT.

Fire away ...

My suggestion to Telsa: 350 miles Quad CT + portable battery/powerwall extending 500 miles when needed. The portable powerbank/powerwall can be placed into the extra storage under the bed or anywhere in the bed.

 

[Crissa]

That's why I range extender would probably be a better way of going about it

REXes (range extenders) have many of the same problems.

You need the high voltage system to be exposed to really work properly. As pointed out, most generators don't really provide alot of power: the truck at 60mph uses about 21kW of power.

Sure, you have a battery, so the REX can reduce your loss of range a little; but the REX would have to run constantly to do so.

So the impact of a REX is limited. Still, the option to plug in whatever you want would be really cool.

-Crissa

 

[Ranulf]

Just an electrician here, not an engineer.

Really depends on how the charging circuit is set up. UPS (uninterruptible power supply) designs usually send everything through their rectifier/inverter/rectifier circuit, so the AC power out is a nice filtered waveform, protecting your electronics. The battery charging rectifier is designed to prevent over-voltage/over-charging in the battery.
When line power is lost, the UPS automatically switches to battery power (no fancy design is needed here. I’m pretty sure the charging rectifier just reverses power flow and becomes an inverter automatically)

Extra EV battery: With two parallel DC sources, the one with the higher voltage wins, and it will charge the lower voltage pack as well unless something is done to prevent that. (An excellent voltage regulation circuit.) This can cause them to “fight” and waste energy by sending it back and forth to each other as their relative voltages fluctuate. EVs have battery management systems built into their packs (which have several parallel strings of cells) to make sure wasted current flow is minimized.

Supplementary AC source: This would have to be converted to DC at a higher voltage than pack voltage for similar reasons. The higher DC voltage wins, so this supplementary source would need to be able to handle the full load of the truck on its own, or very good voltage regulation would be needed so that it could act as a parallel current source without putting strain on the vehicle battery. The regulation circuit would have to match pack voltage perfectly.



All this being said, the charging and power delivery systems would need to be designed to allow for external power supplying the vehicle while it is in use.

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