Range, tow load limits, trailers, and EVs - SOLVED

[Daemoch]

Biggest problem is that no EV allows charging while driving, so it won't matter if you tow batteries if you need it to get somewhere.

Hybrids do. Or, at least my buddies Bolt does. He can set it so the ICE charges the system while it drives on the batteries. Same design concept as diesel electric trains for 100+ years now.

 

[Daemoch]

I've said it for years now, and I'll say it again because I want some company to do it...

U-Haul has a pretty good business model. You can stick one anywhere, really. A gas station, a local grocery store, mechanic shop, you name it. Hook up a trailer, take it from your starting point to destination, and leave it at your destination. It's all one big mesh network, and you can financially incentivize customers to do your dirty transportation work for you (50% off if you drop it off here instead of there!).

What if we had this same model for range-extending batteries? I'm talking as small as the iddy-biddy 4'x8' trailer. Optimize for aerodynamics, since we know that's the biggest range factor for EVs, and you instantly have an extra 500 miles with you, plus maybe a hard-shell topper's volume of extra storage. Decorate it with solar panels to regain ~3 miles of driving per full day of sunlight to make it look "cool." Pick one up at your local "U-Haul Our EV Battery Pack," drive nonstop for 15 hours, drop off your depleted battery pack trailer at your destination, etc.

This should address many of the very valid concerns above. Too expensive? A 26' truck sure is expensive, but renting one isn't (even if it is worn out and smells of wet Ron Mexicos). Too environmentally impactful for a once-a-year use? Rent it out with (ideally) 100% usage either charging or discharging.

Please don't pick apart the fine details of this proposal, I'm painting in broad strokes and I could go on for hours about minute details...

I will concede that, to my knowledge, there is no way to concurrently charge your vehicle while driving. Seems like a good way to nuke the battery, especially with power demands at highway speeds. I'm a biologist, not an engineer, but it would be interesting if you could tell the car you're doing external battery pack shenanigans, and it would cut off maybe a third of the cells and charge them, and switch between which cells are getting charged and used to drive.

Again, please, if someone is reading this and is in a position to happen, please just do it, I promise I won't sue - the world needs a solution like this to ease the "pains" of ICE to EV transition. Thank you for reading!

good idea. Ive been trying to figure out why no ones setup a "universal" battery pack that can be dropped and changed out in a couple minutes. Probably too much money in keeping stuff proprietary. There isnt any technological reason it cant be done.

 

[AKrietzer]

good idea. Ive been trying to figure out why no ones setup a "universal" battery pack that can be dropped and changed out in a couple minutes. Probably too much money in keeping stuff proprietary. There isnt any technological reason it cant be done.

I think Lucid had talked about a changeable battery pack. Rather than waiting to charge, you would go to a Lucid Dealer, they would drop your old battery and put on a charged one. That never went beyond initial talks. Charging your current battery sounds much simpler.

 

[sodamo]

good idea. Ive been trying to figure out why no ones setup a "universal" battery pack that can be dropped and changed out in a couple minutes. Probably too much money in keeping stuff proprietary. There isnt any technological reason it cant be done.

There is a Youtube of a Chinese company doing so, and very fast. Can’t remember link, but as I recall it was about same time as Slate announcement. (Unrelated)

 

[Daemoch]

I think Lucid had talked about a changeable battery pack. Rather than waiting to charge, you would go to a Lucid Dealer, they would drop your old battery and put on a charged one. That never went beyond initial talks. Charging your current battery sounds much simpler.

yah. If filling a gas tank took a day, we would just change out for a full one. Whys a battery any more complicated?

But I do like the specific idea of leveraging U-Hauls. Those places are already ALL OVER and don't have the potential conflict of interests that current gas stations do.

 

[KevinRS]

Some gas stations are rolling out EV chargers.
The problem with a swappable battery is, it has to fit, everyone would have to standardize, and even capacity varies between vehicles, not to mention shape, it has to be very secure, you don't want it dropping out in a car accident, and the electrical connection, that's getting reconnected every time, needs to carry high voltage and current. The connections between battery and motor on EVs are torqued down, and not meant to be connected and disconnected over and over.
None of this to say it can't be done, it's just complicated.

 

[sodamo]

Some gas stations are rolling out EV chargers.
The problem with a swappable battery is, it has to fit, everyone would have to standardize, and even capacity varies between vehicles, not to mention shape, it has to be very secure, you don't want it dropping out in a car accident, and the electrical connection, that's getting reconnected every time, needs to carry high voltage and current. The connections between battery and motor on EVs are torqued down, and not meant to be connected and disconnected over and over.
None of this to say it can't be done, it's just complicated.

I’d say less complicated than it needs to be. Develop standard sizes (physically lxwxh) and connectors and software. All future EVs must conform to the standard. Not like well don’t have standards for other things. True, transitioning from the current missmash would be a challenge, but awesome after that. Imagine pulling into a station and just picking the size you want, no worry.

we have a standard for being able to fill with gas or diesel. Years ago, that standard was changed to accommodate unleaded gas, the old nozzle wouldn’t fit.