Ford electric truck

[colliehauler]

On the upcoming Ford electric truck why couldn't they offer a bed cover made up of solar panels? On commuter vehicles that sit in the sun for 8 hours every day it would surely extend the range?

[FishOnOne]

colliehauler wrote:
On the upcoming Ford electric truck why couldn't they offer a bed cover made up of solar panels? On commuter vehicles that sit in the sun for 8 hours every day it would surely extend the range?

Sounds like a good idea, but I don't know if we know all the details on the truck yet?

[Reisender]

jdc1 wrote:

Dick_B wrote:
How about solar panels instead of a roof or is the smaller area not worth the trouble.

A 1,000 watt Honda generator and all that solar? WOW. Who needs a super charger?

Superchargers or DC fast chargers are generally only used for road trips. Most commuters charge at home or work. Generally a third of the cost.

[Reisender]

A typical North American commute uses about 6 to 8 kw of power. Although I can’t see solar collection on a vehicle getting that much I can see half of that being realistic in the right conditions. There is a local housing project being put in close to us. There are always 2 or 3 half tons sitting there that are doing the driveways, sidewalks etc. Their shop is probably 5 km from here. I can see a scenario like this where all the fuel needed for their daily commute to this project coming from the sun.

Jmho.

[Lwiddis]

Any solar charging is a good thing.

[jdc1]

Dick_B wrote:
How about solar panels instead of a roof or is the smaller area not worth the trouble.

A 1,000 watt Honda generator and all that solar? WOW. Who needs a super charger?

[jdc1]

Dick_B wrote:
How about solar panels instead of a roof or is the smaller area not worth the trouble.

Good idea. That would add 600+ watts to the charging. Add that bed solar charger everyone mentions and you would have about 1200 watts of solar charging.

[time2roll]

colliehauler wrote:
On the upcoming Ford electric truck why couldn't they offer a bed cover made up of solar panels? On commuter vehicles that sit in the sun for 8 hours every day it would surely extend the range?

In perfect sun on a cool day you would be lucky to get 5 miles. Of course in a year's time that does add up.

[Reisender]

I saw this on a Tesla board. Don't know anything about it. Maybe a conceptual drawing?

Depending on its output it could be useful for the contractor bunch who don't travel much. That and a stainless steel maintenance free body, lots of lockable storage, charge at home or the shop etc.

Lots of stuff coming from a bunch of manufacturers in the next two years. Should be fun.





It obviously not the same as the one ELON is standing on here.




No reason Ford couldn't do the same. I believe ford has released images of the front trunk as well although I haven't looked for them.

[carringb]

Dick_B wrote:
How about solar panels instead of a roof or is the smaller area not worth the trouble.

A rooftop solar panel is only good as a battery maintainer, or running low loads like a cabin ventilator to reduce ambient temps when parked (Prius and Leaf have this option). But a bed cover could fit 2x 500w panels. Aftermarket F-150 EV conversions are rated close to 2 miles per kilowatt-hour. That 1Kw bed cover will probably only see full charging about 3 hours a day, but it could be enough to allow most commuters to recharge less often. A bed cover doesn’t increase drag (if its designed right, it can improve it), so onboard solar might have little downside in this application. On a car, you’ll end up adding more drag than an array would make up for, so that’s why you don’t see it.

[Dick_B]

How about solar panels instead of a roof or is the smaller area not worth the trouble.

[gbopp]

I'm sure once electric trucks become more common someone will start manufacturing Solar Bed Covers.

And then the vehicle manufacturers will start building their own covers.