Rent the Range Extender?

[CYBRSMTH]

Would you be interested in renting the Range Extender rather than purchasing it? I think this is a great idea. That way if you needed the extra range for towing or a long trip you could just go to the Service Center, get it installed, and then after you returned get it uninstalled. It’s a shame owners can’t do it themselves, but I’m sure it’s too heavy and dangerous.

The question is how much would you be willing to pay to rent it?

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[Jager]

Pretty sure it doesn't just plug in.

 

[CYBRSMTH]

Pretty sure it doesn't just plug in.

Yeah, definitely not. There are rumors that it weighs 600-700 lbs as well. It’s supposedly about the size of a Standard Model 3’s battery. Speculated at about 50kW.

The Service Center could install/uninstall it though.

 

[Keeney]

Just rent an entire ICE truck for the weekend if you only need to occasionally tow long distances.
About $100 per day with towing and unlimited miles (plus fuel).

For the price of the range extender, you could rent a truck for 80 weekends.
For the price of the CyberTruck plus range extender, you could rant a truck for 600 weekends.

https://www.enterprisetrucks.com/tr...s/ThreeQuarterTon4WDPickupTruck-personal.html

 

[Bluechip506]

Just rent an ICE truck for the weekend when you want ot tow long distances.
https://www.enterprisetrucks.com/tr...s/ThreeQuarterTon4WDPickupTruck-personal.html

I am sure renting a truck would be cheaper than any rental and install/removal fees for the range extender.
It will be interested for sure to see if the range extender actually comes into existence or if it's just to appease the range anxiety club. If it's optional, who wants to always carry around 700 extra pounds and lose space in the bed just to get a bump in range when it's only needed occasionally. I think it will justify the decision to not put in all of those extra batteries in the truck to begin with.

 

[CYBRSMTH]

I am sure renting a truck would be cheaper than any rental and install/removal fees for the range extender.
It will be interested for sure to see if the range extender actually comes into existence or if it's just to appease the range anxiety club. If it's optional, who wants to always carry around 700 extra pounds and lose space in the bed just to get a bump in range when it's only needed occasionally. I think it will justify the decision to not put in all of those extra batteries in the truck to begin with.

I agree. Dragging around all of that weight on a regular basis is unnecessary. Hence why I suggested renting the range extender, but yeah it’s probably more hassle than it’s worth. Once batteries become more dense then maybe a 500-mile truck with awesome towing capabilities can be created.

 

[PES_CT]

I would have preferred that Tesla created the range extender to either:

1) fit in the space under the bed or,

2) been a little more than one battery depth (for cooling, connections, and protection, etc.), but run the length of the bed so that the bed is still useful.

 

[Chris9702L]

Put the range extender in the underbed storage compartment. That space is not ergonomic. You have to have the tailgate down to access it and then do a reach over to take stuff in and out.
9 times out of 10 you are going to have to get in the bed and kneel to utilize the space. Don’t know why they didn’t just copy a Honda Ridgeline tailgate setup?

 

[Bluechip506]

The under bed gear locker would hold about 5 kWh (if that) of batteries and be more exposed in a rear end accident.

 

[Frank Mendez]

I am sure renting a truck would be cheaper than any rental and install/removal fees for the range extender.
It will be interested for sure to see if the range extender actually comes into existence or if it's just to appease the range anxiety club. If it's optional, who wants to always carry around 700 extra pounds and lose space in the bed just to get a bump in range when it's only needed occasionally. I think it will justify the decision to not put in all of those extra batteries in the truck to begin with.

I am not in the range anxiety club but am very disappointed in the range reduction. As I have stated in other posts, I intended this to be my camp trailer towing vehicle. 500-250=250 when towing is not too much to ask for without $16K and loss of the bed space. When camping the 250 would have made the round trip to the hills in Utah feasible. As superchargers only exist on Interstate highways at this point, 320-160=160 does not seem a safe charge distance.
I understand the opinions that nobody needs 500 miles if you're driving around the cities, but it doesn't hold water for the remote areas of this big state.
Also, why spend $100K and still need to rent a truck!!!!!

 

[cvalue13]

Put the range extender in the underbed storage compartment. That space is not ergonomic. You have to have the tailgate down to access it and then do a reach over to take stuff in and out.
9 times out of 10 you are going to have to get in the bed and kneel to utilize the space. Don’t know why they didn’t just copy a Honda Ridgeline tailgate setup?

that space is 3 Cy ft

you could put what, 40-60mi in there?

you just drop your speed by 4mph and get that range

 

[Tiberius]

Put the range extender in the underbed storage compartment. That space is not ergonomic. You have to have the tailgate down to access it and then do a reach over to take stuff in and out.
9 times out of 10 you are going to have to get in the bed and kneel to utilize the space. Don’t know why they didn’t just copy a Honda Ridgeline tailgate setup?

9 times out of 10? From all the videos so far we would have seen that, but as we haven't it would seem it is substantially less than 90% - more like the other way around.

 

[Chris9702L]

that space is 3 Cy ft

you could put what, 40-60mi in there?

you just drop your speed by 4mph and get that range

I would take an extra 60. Give me 400 miles and I’d be very happy. Plus the pack would be less money.
My burning question is if I can tow a small boat ontop of the truck and a medium size camper and make it from my home in Colorado Springs to a supercharger in Salida? It’s 110 miles. I’ve been watching some TFL videos and the F150 and Rivian with similar batteries only get around 120 miles. So I’ll be sweating it

 

[Chris9702L]

9 times out of 10? From all the videos so far we would have seen that, but as we haven't it would seem it is substantially less than 90% - more like the other way around.

I hear ya, but from the videos the storage is kinda deep. Getting something right on top is not bad but something further down you are gonna have to get on top of the bed. I’ve experimented with this in my Ridgeline and it’s a PITA.

 

[MountainRatMatt]

I'd rent one a few times a year for sure. For what price.....hmmmm....$50/day?

If I got an engine hoist and a garage with 10 of these in there I wonder if I could start my own business renting them out. Seems like the overhead would be pretty low. Just need space, a technician to install/remove them, and a business loan to cover the initial capital investment.

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