Best Gas Generator for Cybertruck range extender??

[HaulingAss]

I can get the more range than the $16K Tesla “range extender” with a $600 genny and a few gallons AND it weighs 60lbs not 800lbs…much easier to grab when needed.

I’m in the Rocky Mtn. region and most Superchargers are only on the interstate…all the great camping and off-roading are in the outback. PLUS, data is not yet available for CT off-road milage. Steep rock crawling for a few miles has got to consumer lots of power, and minimal regen on the way down.

I'm trying to understand the use case you envision:

You want to use a Cybertruck to do multi-day trips of steep rock crawling in remote areas with a gasoline generator in the bed and a bunch of jerry cans of gasoline well-secured in the bed so you can stay out there for extended periods? Even empty, the Cybertruck is not well-suited to steep rock-crawling, that's not what it was designed for.

Why not just buy a gas powered rig more suited to steep rock crawling and extended back-country travel (like a Jeep or a Landcruiser) and some jerry cans with extra gas bolted on the back and a funnel that fits your truck? I mean, this should be obvious.

There is no way I would want to camp anywhere near my truck listening to a generator all night, humming away in the background. Half the reason going to such remote areas is so special is you're in the wildeness, with no background noise. I could hear a generator from a mile away if it was that remote. And when I got home I would have to service the generator and fill my empty jerry cans, they live hard lives and are pretty crude technology. It's not going to save you money over using an ICE vehicle, nor will it have a lower total carbon footprint, so what's the point? Just do it the way people have been doing it since there were Jeeps. This is not what the Cybertruck was designed for (it's a very small market relative to the overall pickup market).

I don't use an elephant gun to hunt squirrels either.

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[Spacenoddle]

I just saw what I believe is the Cybertruck charge rate and it's 18 mph 240V@32A, the max of the mobile connector.
So yes, run the generator during the day, filling it a number of times with Jerry cans and you can indeed get the Cybertruck charged back up in 18 hours and maybe 25 gallons of gas.
The Hinda 10kW generator is only 400 lbs. And running a generator at 100% capacity for long times isn't the best idea.

So go smaller. 120V@15A will add 3 mph. A 3,000 watt generator would be suited for that. You can get about 50 miles added during the day. You'd be charged in a week.

I'm not saying that carrying a generator is a bad thing. I'm just trying to make sure that everyone understands the reality of how much power is needed.

I would take 2 4K watt inverter dual fuel generators with parallel capability to run 240V at 30A, with would be 6kwh to charge the CT. It still gonna take 10 hours to charge 60kw if needed, but it will add 65 mile range if towing with 900+w/mile energy consumption.

each generator will only weight about 60 lb.

 

[Trekboy]

I would take 2 4K watt inverter dual fuel generators with parallel capability to run 240V at 30A, with would be 6kwh to charge the CT. It still gonna take 10 hours to charge 60kw if needed, but it will add 65 mile range if towing with 900+w/mile energy consumption.

each generator will only weight about 60 lb.

I've been looking for a couple of 60 lb dual fuel generators I could parallel together for 240V. I can't find anything like this. The problem I've run into, is that at my 60 lb weight fantasy, all I see are paralleling 2 units together to get a higher amperage 120V.

 

[Truckhaven]

Nothing like going camping and having to run a generator for your electric truck. Just think, a few short years ago we were dreaming about towing the trailer/toy-hauler/camper and being able to power the electric in the trailer once we got to camp. The best think about the Cyber truck was the years of speculation for all the YouTubers to create content. BTW Harbor Frieght is running 20% off there generators.

 

[Spacenoddle]

Nothing like going camping and having to run a generator for your electric truck. Just think, a few short years ago we were dreaming about towing the trailer/toy-hauler/camper and being able to power the electric in the trailer once we got to camp. The best think about the Cyber truck was the years of speculation for all the YouTubers to create content. BTW Harbor Frieght is running 20% off there generators.

I guess it depends where you are going for camping. Anywhere 50 miles further than the closest supercharge, you need a generator for sure. Actually it is still better than ICE TV since you can turn off the generator while in sleep and let the CT to supply your RV. it really doesn't matter the range of the EV TV that much since you always need a generator if out the range. Even CT improve 50% battery performance, you still only get 25 miles further, double the battery performance, you still only 50 miles further.

 

[ÆCIII]

Yep, it might be sacrilege, but I need the range in my camping/off-road vehicle.

I can get the more range than the $16K Tesla “range extender” with a $600 genny and a few gallons AND it weighs 60lbs not 800lbs…much easier to grab when needed.

I’m in the Rocky Mtn. region and most Superchargers are only on the interstate…all the great camping and off-roading are in the outback. PLUS, data is not yet available for CT off-road milage. Steep rock crawling for a few miles has got to consumer lots of power, and minimal regen on the way down.

I can just run a genny overnight to charge up.…now to find the best one. Be great if it could be DC or use 220 for maximum efficiency.

Just look at the map of the Rocky region almost all of the Superchargers are on the Interstate::

Thoughts??

Well this is one way to bring attention to areas with sparse supercharger coverage. Nothing wrong with being practical. I've still been impressed with the growth of the Tesla supercharger network over the past four years. Maybe sometime in the next four years your frequently traveled areas will be more covered, or at least some more places with destination chargers.

I think you'd do well with a generator rated for 14kw in my opinion, since the Cybertruck onboard charger will draw 48 amps or about 11.5 kw max. I'd just be careful to note what the continuous load rating is that the generator can support. @anionic1 covered it pretty well. With a generator rated to a little more than your maximum load and not excessively more, it will be a quieter running generator while using less fuel.

- ÆCIII

 

[Trekboy]

Nothing like going camping and having to run a generator for your electric truck. Just think, a few short years ago we were dreaming about towing the trailer/toy-hauler/camper and being able to power the electric in the trailer once we got to camp. The best think about the Cyber truck was the years of speculation for all the YouTubers to create content. BTW Harbor Frieght is running 20% off there generators.

Couldn't agree more. My initial EV truck fantasies had me camping WAY out in the bush powering my trailer only with my beloved Cybertruck... NO GERNERATOR!

 

[CyberGus]

Solar is pretty quiet

 

[CyberMoose]

I think it's important to remember that while superchargers are on another level and clearly the better choice when available. Other public chargers are available. I know that the place I go backpacking every summer actually has a fast charger only 10-15 minutes away.

With more and more vehicles going electric, I imagine that fast chargers will be everywhere and I personally hope to see even more level 2 chargers in places people frequently park for long periods of time (grocery store, shopping center, gym, college, etc.)

This will be great for camping because you might end up getting to your camping spot with 75-95% battery and you can use anything that isn't required to get you back to that same nearby charger. And if you are going for a long period of time, and you realize your battery is getting low with days left. you could take the truck back to the charger, recharge, then go back to your camping spot.

That way you don't need to run a loud generator in a quiet place.

 

[countryboy]

Lots of reactionary misinformation in here... of course the CT should BE the power while camping, generators are loud, duh. And for a night or two I mostly agree, but bringing a generator as backup when camping for more than a few days makes sense. Or if I have to drive my CT down to 20% to get to campsite, then what? Run gen for a day or so, then enjoy the week of peace and quiet! And no worries being stuck in the middle of nowhere if I run it down with space heaters and cooking appliances or whatever.

Comments about needing a special high-quality generator for Teslas: FALSE. I bought a cheap harbor freight 8500W gen (<$500 with coupon) and it powers my MS/M3 mobile connector at the max capability of 240v/32 amps with no issues. I've charged my MS/M3 during PGE rolling blackouts with this setup for several days in a row, just dump in another 5 gallons of gas once per charge or so. No reason the same mobile connector won't work with CT, although it will take longer to charge. With the awesome factory mounts in the bed of CT, a few ratchet straps will hold the gen secure to the campsite. Hide it behind some bushes to damp the noise and only fire it up when needed.

Hey OP, hope we run into each other boondockin in our CTs one day... holler if you wanna get lost in some EastTN mountains!

 

[TrukduSyber]

New to EV's and charging here so bear with me...

Judging on what everyone is saying here you would need a generator that has the ability to run at 240v /30a in order to charge using the onboard charging...(I know there is a mobile charger that's slow that runs at 120v - forget what the faster level 2 one is called?)

So something like this would be best then If my math is correct?

https://a-ipower.com/products/a-ipower-sua7600ied-inverter-generator

This seems to have a decent weight and I believe it can output 23A~ +/- the fuel youre using at the time. Would this be efficient? Or would it take too long to charge the CT to get anything meaningful out of it?

The idea I guess would be to charge the CT in a power outage or give it an extra 50 or so kWH while camping to get back where you would need to go (to a supercharger - from the boonies)

Model number	SUA7600IED
Running Watt / Starting Watt (Gas)	7600/6100W
Running Watt / Starting Watt (Propane)	6900/5500W

AC Outlets

2x5-20R Duplex (20A, 120V)/L5-30R (30A,120V) /L14-30R (30A,120V/240V)

 

[Bartman]

Yep, it might be sacrilege, but I need the range in my camping/off-road vehicle.

I can get the more range than the $16K Tesla “range extender” with a $600 genny and a few gallons AND it weighs 60lbs not 800lbs…much easier to grab when needed.

I’m in the Rocky Mtn. region and most Superchargers are only on the interstate…all the great camping and off-roading are in the outback. PLUS, data is not yet available for CT off-road milage. Steep rock crawling for a few miles has got to consumer lots of power, and minimal regen on the way down.

I can just run a genny overnight to charge up.…now to find the best one. Be great if it could be DC or use 220 for maximum efficiency.

Just look at the map of the Rocky region almost all of the Superchargers are on the Interstate::

Thoughts??

This is definitely redneck, but would be nice, and range extending, if you could drive and, at the same time, have your generator running in the bed and charging while driving..... need a second charging socket inside the bed, by the other outlets. Also, if better cooling is ever needed, since the Cybertruck can get hot, a window A/C unit could possibly be fitted to go in the rear window, since it's not needed for visibility. And don't worry, since you'll have the generator running, even with the AC window unit running, you'll still be gaining extra miles the whole trip! I'm of course joking...... but I can see some people carrying a small generator in the bed for long trips, because that would be like taking an extra can of gas, or diesel, in an ICE vehicle. Nobody wants to get stranded. Some power plants do burn fuel to make electricity. Guess that would make it a Hybrid though?

 

[Cybertruck 1974]

I will absolutely be using a generator to charge my EV. As of now, if I charge my vehicle I pay PGE at home peak which is most of the time .62 per 1kw is $56 for 90kw and when I run my gasoline generator for 8hrs at 11kwh it costs $31 now that's robbery. I have solar with power walls but can't come close to what EV needs and mostly charge at sun down. Maybe I'll check into running a water wheel charger and use my city water to power it? Wonder what the cost would be? I'll check and post.

 

[Woodrick]

I would take 2 4K watt inverter dual fuel generators with parallel capability to run 240V at 30A, with would be 6kwh to charge the CT. It still gonna take 10 hours to charge 60kw if needed, but it will add 65 mile range if towing with 900+w/mile energy consumption.

each generator will only weight about 60 lb.

That doesn't quite make sense. It may have a 240V 30A plug, but 240V @ 30A is 7200 watts. A 2400 watt generator just isn't going to do 7200 watts.

 

[Woodrick]

New to EV's and charging here so bear with me...

Judging on what everyone is saying here you would need a generator that has the ability to run at 240v /30a in order to charge using the onboard charging...(I know there is a mobile charger that's slow that runs at 120v - forget what the faster level 2 one is called?)

So something like this would be best then If my math is correct?

https://a-ipower.com/products/a-ipower-sua7600ied-inverter-generator

This seems to have a decent weight and I believe it can output 23A~ +/- the fuel youre using at the time. Would this be efficient? Or would it take too long to charge the CT to get anything meaningful out of it?

The idea I guess would be to charge the CT in a power outage or give it an extra 50 or so kWH while camping to get back where you would need to go (to a supercharger - from the boonies)

Model number	SUA7600IED
Running Watt / Starting Watt (Gas)	7600/6100W
Running Watt / Starting Watt (Propane)	6900/5500W

AC Outlets

2x5-20R Duplex (20A, 120V)/L5-30R (30A,120V) /L14-30R (30A,120V/240V)

The Mobile Adapter can use a variety of plugs, they are listed at Gen 2 NEMA Adapters (tesla.com)
The listed speeds are for the cars and expect maybe 70% of those for the Cybertruck.

And how much do you need to charge? Just one more mile than it takes to get out to a faster charger.

Don't forget that as you go into the boonies, that your speed will probably drop, as you speed drops, your range will increase. It just depends on how far out you expect to get.

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