Never Been Done. Solar Panel on a CyberTruck! Charging Station soon.

[Crissa]

Weird that people complain about vampire drain and then call replacing it 'useless'.

No. I don't even think it would do that. Elon said just a solar roof on a car (or CT) is almost worthless, it's not enough surface area.

He said it wouldn't give much range. It totally would relieve vampire drain. He's looking from the use case of gaining miles, your panel on top wouldn't be as efficient as panels on a house somewhere.

But that's nonsensical: More panels is more power, period. And can't be plugged in while off at a jobsite or while driving.

The bigger picture is that the larger rack with solar panel will maintain air flow above expedition trailer, thus improving towing range.

I have a friend who put panels on his RV and they improved his mpg because they were a smooth surface across the top instead of a bubble of rough, low pressure. He hadn't expected the effect!

It's interesting!

-Crissa

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[NotMyTruck]

I feel like at this point, the only “never been done before” is “owner picks up cybertruck. Drives it.”

 

[Crissa]

Im sure it could. May not be cost effective..

Running a truck is often not cost effective! It all depends on how you calculate 'effective'.

-Crissa

 

[the43k]

No. I don't even think it would do that. Elon said just a solar roof on a car (or CT) is almost worthless, it's not enough surface area.

To be clear here. The original question to me was about covering phantom loads. Certainly a solar panel on the roof of just about any car, could provide enough power to cover these minor losses. However, the question for engineers, does it make financial sense for the manufacturer to spend the money and labor to do so. That question is likely no at current costs. What I am doing is completely, different. This one huge panel on the CT, is being used in conjunction with a bunch of other panels on the camper,, in conjunction with a large camper battery and charging system. This too is expensive, however, the cost (in our view) is outweighed by the convenience, user ability, quality of life, lessening range anxiety and the ability to slow walk around the place without having to go to a charging station.

 

[Friday]

I have a Pinzgauer

I have a real soft spot for Pinzie's! So capable, and simple.
I came so, so close to owning a 710M from the Thule auctions a few years back, timing and pricing didn't work out.
There was a Haflinger for sale at an antique tractor show a couple years ago. I was very tempted, but the Cybertruck was on the horizon.

@the43k Nice work, you are indeed a pioneer (Burning Man, solar, etc...). I enjoy your content.

 

[the43k]

Thanks so much Friday!

 

[JackCypher]

I have a real soft spot for Pinzie's! So capable, and simple.
I came so, so close to owning a 710M from the Thule auctions a few years back, timing and pricing didn't work out.
There was a Haflinger for sale at an antique tractor show a couple years ago. I was very tempted, but the Cybertruck was on the horizon.

@the43k Nice work, you are indeed a pioneer (Burning Man, solar, etc...). I enjoy your content.

Driving the Pinz compared to the Cybertruck makes the Pinz feel like a Glockenspiel!..10 gears, 5-up , 5-down and a compound 1st gear.

That said, the Pinz is fun to drive...guys old and young grin at the real-life Tonka Truck!

Here is a few picts of my CT next to the Pinz. [Purely to compare the CT to a offroad vehicle to stay true to the forum! ]

 

[the43k]

Give us a synopsis, I don’t want to watch.

Someone did a folding one too, with a lot more panels.

Hope to have 3000 watts solar, 30KWH Battery Bank and a On board Charging station.

 

[devdrone6]

Hope to have 3000 watts solar, 30KWH Battery Bank and a On board Charging station.

That is a pretty significant amount of potential there. Nice.

 

[JackCypher]

Hope to have 3000 watts solar, 30KWH Battery Bank and a On board Charging station.

I really like the EcoFlow series of batteries. their Delta is in the 3Kwatt range, with built in AC and USB charging. You can charge them directly from solar panels or an AC power cord to a wall plug.

I have a smaller Delta2 Max which is like a beer cooler [6-pack] size: and I've run a toaster oven from it many times. It also has direct solar panel input or AC wall plug charging & USB ports.

They also have a dual fuel generator in a very nice form-factor. Propane is an excellent fuel source, No leaks, does not degrade, safe to store and handle over gasoline. A 40 lbs propane tank will give you about 3K watts of power every day for 10 days!.. that is pretty compact as a 40 lbs propane tank is quite small, one man carry. Here is a image of tank sizes.

[You can buy a 40lbs tank from Home Depot for $140 empty]


...Geek out - complete...

Jack

 

[the43k]

I really like the EcoFlow series of batteries. their Delta is in the 3Kwatt range, with built in AC and USB charging. You can charge them directly from solar panels or an AC power cord to a wall plug.

I have a smaller Delta2 Max which is like a beer cooler [6-pack] size: and I've run a toaster oven from it many times. It also has direct solar panel input or AC wall plug charging & USB ports.

They also have a dual fuel generator in a very nice form-factor. Propane is an excellent fuel source, No leaks, does not degrade, safe to store and handle over gasoline. A 40 lbs propane tank will give you about 3K watts of power every day for 10 days!.. that is pretty compact as a 40 lbs propane tank is quite small, one man carry. Here is a image of tank sizes.

[You can buy a 40lbs tank from Home Depot for $140 empty]


...Geek out - complete...

Jack

We will have a Victron battery system far larger than the eco flow.. As for the dual fuel generator, not against a propane generator. The gasoline just has more BTUs per gallon and can be sourced easier around the country. We will have all types of redundancies on the camper, including backup fossil fuel generator.

 

[K-Tall]

Should be simple to calculate drain while idle, grab these components, add your panels with creative slide out system you are there.

 

[sTv0]

I really like the EcoFlow series of batteries. their Delta is in the 3Kwatt range, with built in AC and USB charging. You can charge them directly from solar panels or an AC power cord to a wall plug.

I have a smaller Delta2 Max which is like a beer cooler [6-pack] size: and I've run a toaster oven from it many times. It also has direct solar panel input or AC wall plug charging & USB ports.

They also have a dual fuel generator in a very nice form-factor. Propane is an excellent fuel source, No leaks, does not degrade, safe to store and handle over gasoline. A 40 lbs propane tank will give you about 3K watts of power every day for 10 days!.. that is pretty compact as a 40 lbs propane tank is quite small, one man carry. Here is a image of tank sizes.

[You can buy a 40lbs tank from Home Depot for $140 empty]


...Geek out - complete...

Jack

Ecoflow Delta Pro? Oh, yeah. 3.6 kWh, tons of connectivity, TT-30 outlet, I stuffed one in the home-made tongue box on my 1980 all-electric Burro fiberglass camper:

 

[Jack27]

Ecoflow Delta Pro? Oh, yeah. 3.6 kWh, tons of connectivity, TT-30 outlet, I stuffed one in the home-made tongue box on my 1980 all-electric Burro fiberglass camper:

The 80s can’t be beat !

 

[Crissa]

However, the question for engineers, does it make financial sense for the manufacturer to spend the money and labor to do so. That question is likely no at current costs.

No, the answer is yes, yes it does pay off.

And it has since amorphous silicon. The modern cells even moreso.

I've been doing it for almost 20 years. Simple solar is just... Not expensive at all. Durable solar is just stupid cheap now. Putting a simple 12W panel on my Sentra saved 1 mpg. Really! It never needed to run the alternator higher to get the voltage up. And I am the sort that decided sometime back in the 90s to always drive with headlights on.

Is it cheaper than plugging in? It works when you can't plug in, and works all the time. Comparing it to plugging in is like saying your vehicle never goes anywhere.

Which like yours, well, you go somewhere ^-^

-Crissa

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