Didn't see this detail till later when I was looking through my photos, but a nice subtle touch with the combine in the field on the Harvester door.
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Harvester Talk: Q&A
- Thread starter Harris005
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@Jamie@ScoutMotors one thing I questioned afterwards regarding the Harvester option was the charging rate. It might be to early to know these details, but at the end of the 500 mile range does the vehicle then require a charge or does the owner have the option to put more gas in it and keep going. After 500 miles it's time for a break either way, but when the overall range is decreased when towing I could see having either option helpful.
I'm interested in learning this as well. What are the conditions that we can go on without charging but with a fuel up?
Would like to see it be extended indefinitely with gas. This is the one reason why I reserved this truck as it will essentially solve towing and boondocking issues forever with an ev truck. Really looking forward to getting my hands on this truck!
So you want to buy an EV to just continually run it on gas??? Is that what you meant?
I believe he is referring mostly to the towing issues with EV's. This was one of my biggest concerns with pulling the trigger getting an EV truck. The Harvester can hopefully bridge that issue. If so, for me I still see 95% of the time for daily driving it would use just batteries. However, the Harvester can hopefully allow the wife and I to hook up the camper and drive as far as we want without worring.
I'd say it's more to ensure I can get home from the way outback when I've exhausted the battery charge.
Can't carry a Jerry can of electrons around. Yet.
For about 90% of my normal driving it will be pure EV. I have a model 3 which I have road tripped Canada, USA, and Mexico. I also have a gas-hybrid truck which I haul a travel trailer in so I am not alien to the ev world. My big three issues with ev roadtripling is this:
1. Relying on superchargers is easy but BORING. The first time road tripping with an ev you get over range anxiety really quick, but you quickly find yourself charging on the same superchargers all the time, in a gas vehicle you can stop when you want, where you want. I suspect once I have the Terra, I will likely stop at fast chargers, but if there is something really interesting to see, it will allow me to skip a charger when I want to. The freedom to choose will be liberating.
2. When I am boon docking in the bsckcountry for a week, an EV will not last, especially if I plan to draw power from it. With a terra equipped with a harvester, the car will become a generator and an ac source, driving down the coa since I don’t need to buy and carry a generator, my car now has one built in. I do that with my hybrid truck, and it is absolutely a game changer.
3. When towing the charging infrastructure is starting but nowhere near where it needs to be. Until we get to the point where every fast charger has pull through stalls and campgrounds allow EVs to fast charge on 30/50 amp plugs, there needs to be a fuel backup for vehicles towing. My gas-hybrid truck efficient is reduced by nearly 75% when towing, those 300 ev miles will vaporize very quickly. When doing a 400 mile day, that is 2-3 charges which is too many. Ideally you stop and charge for lunch and then charge at your final destination. The harvester will allow me to do that with ease.
At the end of the day, I think the scout with a harvester is a great leap for many ev enthusiasts and people sitting on the fence to try an ev. It truly is the best of both worlds! The goal here is to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels, I hope this helps the transition.
Thanks for clarifying. I read it as though you were trying to run it like a hybrid and I was confused.
Tesla owner with Level 2 (two-pole 30 / 50A) charging.
I’m a little concerned at the stated 150 battery only range with the Harvester option.
I DO NOT want a gas engine, but see Harvester as a boon for those times where a destination charger (Level 2) or supercharger are not available, or where stopping to charge is not feasible.
With a Traveler Harvester reserved myself, I think many will start asking how Scout Motors will charge a 150 mile battery to make 500 miles from Harvester. Ostensibly, there is real engineering behind this marketing.
But having a Tesla, and knowing what 60A Level 2 gets me when not under driving load, I have some questions for how this 800V capable platform can recharge as it’s underway?
I’ve had an EV for four years now, and the 150 battery only spec in the Harvester version has my range anxiety palms sweating already.
I’m a little concerned at the stated 150 battery only range with the Harvester option.
I DO NOT want a gas engine, but see Harvester as a boon for those times where a destination charger (Level 2) or supercharger are not available, or where stopping to charge is not feasible.
With a Traveler Harvester reserved myself, I think many will start asking how Scout Motors will charge a 150 mile battery to make 500 miles from Harvester. Ostensibly, there is real engineering behind this marketing.
But having a Tesla, and knowing what 60A Level 2 gets me when not under driving load, I have some questions for how this 800V capable platform can recharge as it’s underway?
I’ve had an EV for four years now, and the 150 battery only spec in the Harvester version has my range anxiety palms sweating already.
150 miles battery only range? Was it mentioned somewhere? As far as I understood, these specs are still in active development
I wonder what the charge rate will be for the gas generator and if it's manually operated by flipping a switch, or will only happen when the EV system deems it necessary as an emergency option.
Scout models with the range extender (Harvester option) give you an estimated 150 miles of pure battery range and 500+ miles total when the engine kicks on.
Our pure BEV Scout models will have estimated 350 miles of range.
Since we have a few years before production starts, our teams will continue on development and we will be able to give more accurate figures
Our pure BEV Scout models will have estimated 350 miles of range.
Since we have a few years before production starts, our teams will continue on development and we will be able to give more accurate figures
Actually that is not true. You can absolutely carry a Jerry can of electrons around. It just doesn't make sense for daily driving. Edge cases do exist, and there will always be companies building solutions to support edge cases. This is a 50KwH Volta low voltage power station that Optima put together for SEMA back in 2022
Realistically, the Harvester option can't be used to tow indefinitely on gas. The generator will simply be too small and not provide enough power to tow a large load. I'm hoping they size it so that a mostly empty vehicle can sustain on its own though.
Think of it this way- if the Harvester puts out 80hp, and ignoring efficiency losses in converting that to electricity, that 80hp would NOT be enough to tow with. On the other hand, 80hp would be enough to drive just the truck/SUV down the road, albeit slowly.
I'm curious what form-factor the engine takes due to space limitations.
Edit: Yes, I understand the generator just charges the battery and that's not the point. The point was whether or not you could just add more gas to get more range. That doesn't work if the generator can't produce at least as much power as the motors are drawing from the battery.
Think of it this way- if the Harvester puts out 80hp, and ignoring efficiency losses in converting that to electricity, that 80hp would NOT be enough to tow with. On the other hand, 80hp would be enough to drive just the truck/SUV down the road, albeit slowly.
I'm curious what form-factor the engine takes due to space limitations.
Edit: Yes, I understand the generator just charges the battery and that's not the point. The point was whether or not you could just add more gas to get more range. That doesn't work if the generator can't produce at least as much power as the motors are drawing from the battery.
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Not sure if @Jamie@ScoutMotors can clarify the design intent of Harvester here (likely again, ha!). I see many posts in the forum already where members are thinking that Harvester generator (gas inverter?) is driving the vehicle. My understanding is that the vehicle is 100% driven only via its two electric motors, and that Harvester is only connected electrically, given over to charging batteries.
You are correct - it is NOT driving any motors, it is generating electricity for the battery.
Personally, I'm hoping/assuming that the gas engine within the Harvester will be sized appropriately for generating the power needed to sustain highway speeds while towing.
It would be interesting to offer cylinder deactivation in the generator. As the power needed to keep the battery at a rough state of charge target while driving on surface streets would be much lower than what is needed towing 7500-10k lbs up a mountain pass. In fact, I also wonder if they'll spec a different gas engine in the Traveler vs the Terra, as the Traveler will be lighter, and tow less weight. So you could potentially get away with a smaller engine on the Terra (or just be "overbuilt" on the Traveler, in the name of manufacturing consistency/simplicity).
Honestly I believe one of the huge reasons that the Harvester option exists, is because of towing range problems with electric vehicles while towing. So putting in an engine that only can let it limp along at 45mph on the highway would be a huge blunder in my opinion.
Again - the harvester engine has nothing to do with making the car move faster or slower with weight. The engine is not connected to the drive train. The engine ONLY exists to provide the battery with energy. The battery powers the electric motors (not the ENGINE). So, provided you have adequate SOC, the vehicle should make the same HP (with or without the range extender ON).
EV's have excellent torque for towing, and I have towed with my R1T (but I only tow locally on occasion, so completely different use case and range isn't even a consideration). I can haul ass towing a boat down the HWY (if I wanted to). I won't and there is no need to, but it can easily be done in an EV (WITH OR WITHOUT A RANGE EXTENDER).
Don't take my word for it though... Google it. Site like TFL have done towing tests up the passes in Colorado on all the EV trucks already.
If you want to go into business long hauling or towing heavy trailers, or you want to travel around the country for the rest of your retirement with a giant camper, I would simply get a diesel. For towing heavy loads over long distances, you aren't going to beat a diesel with any range-extended version of an EV sitting on top of a battery that has 150 miles of range. You will still wind up stopping to charge... Because physics.
EV's have excellent torque for towing, and I have towed with my R1T (but I only tow locally on occasion, so completely different use case and range isn't even a consideration). I can haul ass towing a boat down the HWY (if I wanted to). I won't and there is no need to, but it can easily be done in an EV (WITH OR WITHOUT A RANGE EXTENDER).
Don't take my word for it though... Google it. Site like TFL have done towing tests up the passes in Colorado on all the EV trucks already.
If you want to go into business long hauling or towing heavy trailers, or you want to travel around the country for the rest of your retirement with a giant camper, I would simply get a diesel. For towing heavy loads over long distances, you aren't going to beat a diesel with any range-extended version of an EV sitting on top of a battery that has 150 miles of range. You will still wind up stopping to charge... Because physics.
