Travel while towing.

[Cybertruckee]

In the RV forum where I frequent, one member published a photo of a pull-through Tesla charging station.

Don't know how many stateside, it maybe an indication that they will be built extensively here too.

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[charliemagpie]

RVs are not usually made to be as light as possible, and no a powerwall isn't as heavy as an RV, not even a fraction of an RV.

My RV (a 21' travel trailer), is actually made with weight as a major factor, so it is lighter than many in its class at about 3600 lbs dry weight and a GVRW of 5500 lbs. Our traveling weight is about 4500 lbs, leaving 1000lbs of cargo I could add to it.

A Powerwall is about 250 lbs. I've got room for 4!

The major problem I see, is that it is a lot of money for a travel trailer we mostly use for several weeks of summer vacation trips. However if someone is "full timing", the cost/benefit ratio might tilt in favor of something like a powerwall.

1 powerwall is only good for around 25miles of range on a CT...if its not pulling a trailer.

I have considered the configuration I would need for my caravan, and have concluded to have faith in the CT.

Over the last 12 months, a plethora of initiatives have appeared to electrify our roads. Rollout is accelerating, and the issue is diminishing. If desperate, caravan Parks are all over the place.

Initially, I was thinking I needed some super-duper battery setup and huge converter… But no.

I just need to maximise solar panels on the roof. Min 1500 watts. Just one 200ah lithium battery and a 2000w converter.

If I screw up a plan, and if I'm desperate, ( and we get a lot of sun down under)... I could suck out 10kw a day. Keep it up till I have enough to get me to a charging station.

But 99.9% , The caravan needs to sustain itself during the day.. to run Refrigerator or air con, and then when the sun goes down,, keep it all going till I return, At night , plug in the CT.

So the principle, anxiety, will be a thing of the past.

Trust only in the CT Luke. Its got 150-200kw... why on earth do I need another 7 ?

 

[Dave Lyon]

I just need to maximise solar panels on the roof. Min 1500 watts. Just one 200ah lithium battery and a 2000w converter.



But 99.9% , The caravan needs to sustain itself during the day.. to run Refrigerator or air con, and then when the sun goes down,, keep it all going till I return, At night , plug in the CT.

So the principle, anxiety, will be a thing of the past.

Trust only in the CT Luke. Its got 150-200kw... why on earth do I need another 7 ?

I think you're underestimating the power you'll need. I have a 14kwh battery pack, and it will run one AC for about 8 hours. If it's hot outside, one AC won't cut it, I have to run them both. To do that, I'd need full sunlight, and 3000 watts of solar just to break even.

 

[Dave Lyon]

I actually smiled at this idea, but batteries are heavy. And the point of an RV is to be as light as possible. I'm speaking from a point of ignorance here, because I have absolutely no idea how much a Powerwall weighs, but my first though is that they probably outweigh most RVs alone. So even if possible, is it worthwhile? Is the convenience of having it worth the cost in loss of range by towing it?

Again, I have no idea. But it's definitely food for thought!

My 5th wheel weighs 18,000 lbs, and my 14kwh battery pack weighs about 300 lbs. I think your numbers are bit off.

 

[Rozonoe]

I actually smiled at this idea, but batteries are heavy. And the point of an RV is to be as light as possible. I'm speaking from a point of ignorance here, because I have absolutely no idea how much a Powerwall weighs, but my first though is that they probably outweigh most RVs alone. So even if possible, is it worthwhile? Is the convenience of having it worth the cost in loss of range by towing it?

Again, I have no idea. But it's definitely food for thought!

There are a few RV's which has batteries built-in the camper such as Airstream, Pro-Lite Campers, here is a link, New ultra light trailers manufactured in Canada | Roulottes Prolite if you want more informations.

 

[Misterbee]

An extension cord might do the trick. The 14 foot version of this one is advertised as being compatible with Superchargers:

https://www.evseadapters.com/products/tesla-extension-cord/

 

[charliemagpie]

I think you're underestimating the power you'll need. I have a 14kwh battery pack, and it will run one AC for about 8 hours. If it's hot outside, one AC won't cut it, I have to run them both. To do that, I'd need full sunlight, and 3000 watts of solar just to break even.

Yes.. Compromises still have to made.
Without an EV, a big battery bank is needed to supplement big Solar on the roof. It needs to maintain a reasonable level of use once the sun comes down. 900Ah of batteries is the top end these days around here. We can' run the AC on freeze, but we can have it comfortable enough.

But if we have an EV, and go on an outing, a good quality 300ah battery and Solar, can keep the van cool enough to be comfortable when we return. After that, we can use the CT.

The large solar panel setup is mainly to use as contingency to top up over a couple of days if I need to get me to a charger.

In essence, at first I was thinking of a mega system.. Then I realised I have the CT, and a charging network to support it. So I just need balance, no need to overdo it.

Rather than talk about souping up trailers etc. , it's actually the other way around. We don’t need to cart batteries.

I think worth a U turn for some thinking.

As an analogy....
1600wh on the roof is like carrying a Jerry can.
Carting extra batteries is like carrying a 44 gallon drum for no good reason.

 

[JBee]

Yes.. Compromises still have to made.
Without an EV, a big battery bank is needed to supplement big Solar on the roof. It needs to maintain a reasonable level of use once the sun comes down. 900Ah of batteries is the top end these days around here. We can' run the AC on freeze, but we can have it comfortable enough.

But if we have an EV, and go on an outing, a good quality 300ah battery and Solar, can keep the van cool enough to be comfortable when we return. After that, we can use the CT.

The large solar panel setup is mainly to use as contingency to top up over a couple of days if I need to get me to a charger.

In essence, at first I was thinking of a mega system.. Then I realised I have the CT, and a charging network to support it. So I just need balance, no need to overdo it.

Rather than talk about souping up trailers etc. , it's actually the other way around. We don’t need to cart batteries.

I think worth a U turn for some thinking.

As an analogy....
1600wh on the roof is like carrying a Jerry can.
Carting extra batteries is like carrying a 44 gallon drum for no good reason.

You'd have to run some numbers on what loads you have and in what type of weather you want things still to work.

In general if it gets hot it's likely you'll have more solar, which means more power for cooling the RV with a A/C, but conversely when its cold out you'll likely have less solar and less energy to heat. That means you have to add energy from somewhere if you can't plug in. To heat you can use a diesel heater (clones can be had for $300) or LPG gas. Or you can go hydronic and use a heat pump or waste heat recovery from a generator water jacket or exhaust heat exchanger.

In any RV the HVAC loads are the biggest consumer of energy, so the best thing is to actually get a decent insulated version, with double glazed windows etc that is predominantly white in colour. Insulation weighs less than batteries but does more. Sandwich panel ones are ideal.

As for battery size a 300Ah 12V setup is around 3.6kWh so about a quarter of a powerwall. That will do everything in a RV except hot water and HVAC. But a 1600W solar install will only give you 6.4kWh per day on average in WA, so only 2.8kWh or so would be left for other things like CT charging. Thats about 9km of range.

In general I agree with using the CT battery capacity instead of adding large batteries to the trailer, but you need to add some serious solar to make " CT unplugged" work.

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