1st Test of Tesla Model X and T-Rex Range Extending Camper
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- Опубліковано 4 лип 2020
- This video was filmed in September 2019 shortly after purchasing my brand new Raven Model X. The car had less than 2000 miles on it when I began this project. I have held off releasing this video because I had a ton of issues with Tesla and the Model X. Zero of the issues were related to my project and all of them were 100% Tesla problems. Regardless, in my opinion, they would've given me a hard time about this. So I decided not to release any of this, until now.
I am releasing this video finally, almost a year later, because my Model X has been sent back to home to the mother ship.
I used this trailer dozens of times in the 20,000 miles I owned the X. It always worked flawlessly. My project was a huge success. I wanted to tell you sooner but due to the Tesla problems I was having I reluctantly held this back.
This is my Tesla range extending camper build. I call it the T-Rex Camper. It uses a Tesla 85kwh battery pack with an aluminum trailer built around it and a foamie fiberglass camper built on top of it all. It will extend the range of my 2014 Toyota (Tesla) Rav4 EV AND provide energy storage for my off grid home. Pretty cool stuff! In late 2019 I bought a Tesla Model X and using the T-Rex enabled me to drive 550 miles. (at the time the Model X could only do around 300 miles by itself so it was a huge improvement)
Many of the products I used can be found in my Amazon store by going here.
www.amazon.com/shop/jamesklafehn
Northern Tool Aluminum Trailer. Its shipped in 2 boxes and easy to put together.
amzn.to/2Eqn2OM
Here is the link to the entire T-Rex V1 playlist.
• T-Rex V1 EV Range Exte...
Follow my journey as I build my first foamie camper.
• Foamie Camper Build
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#TRexCamper #epoxyresin #foamiecamper #evrangeextender - Наука та технологія
I met you in Poolesville, MD right after this video was shot. I may be pulling a trailer with my Model X soon. I am looking at buying a car to rebuild on my channel.
Hey Omar! I love your channel! Hey guys, I did an interview with Omar in Poolesville at this event. You should check it out. Omar can you post a link?
James Klafehn had to make activate it again but here it is Poolesville EV Show and Interview with James Klafehn and his T-Rex Camper. ua-cam.com/video/29hCyO9NjE8/v-deo.html
Congratulations on this man! This is amazing!
Thanks a ton!
Right at the end when you were asking Caleb if he is excited didn’t think it was gonna work and he said heck yeah Dad you said it would so I knew it would,congrats buddy
Thanks :)
I been waiting for this video for a long time since you first started building it. Great job man you are a genius 👏. Hope to meet you one day especially since we close by, Boston MA.👍
Thank you so much! Not a genius, just persistent. lol I LOVE Boston. Just not your NFL team. :D
I’m so so happy for you that you are happy with your decisions
Lots of love from me
Thank you! :)
I wish to see the whole building videos. a lot of fun to watch and learn. great job man. 💪👏
Thank you so much!!!
Way to go, James!!!
Thank you Robert. :)
Note: y'all are DEFINITELY no average people, this is amazing and looks really cool.
Thanks!
So cool! Man I wish something like this was available for sale. Loved seeing little Caleb on the journey.
Btw, perhaps I missed it elsewhere but the 85 kWh pack is an old Model S pack I assume?
Yeah it’s from a wrecked Model S. It’s built into the trailer frame and then I built a lightweight camper on top of it.
This is so cool!
Awesome 👏🏻 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻, You MADE IT ‼️‼️‼️. 🎊🎉✨✨💥💥🌟
🎉 :)
cool man! could you show us how you connected the battery to the vehicle?
This is so awesome. You've proven that something like this works. Up until now, it was always an issue to try towing something with an electric car for long trips. This definitely helps solve this problem. Tesla and other electric car manufacturers should make it easier to hook up trailers with integrated batteries like your T-Rex.
Thank you! I loved it. It all worked so well. Glad the car is gone though. On to something new.
Very nice video, congratulations James. I would like to see how did you installed the high voltage cables on the model x.
That is my little secret. I havent told anyone. I spent a lot of time, money and took risk trying to find a place I could tap without voiding my warranty and being safe. IDK if this will ever be a business but Ill keep that info close to the chest. Sorry.
Honestly Tesla should make a trailer with a built in battery pack to prevent range loss when using a trailer
I agree. A partner reached out to them but they didnt respond.
Congratulations! I found your channel as I was looking at a used Rav4 EV. Did the Rav4 BMS behave similar with T-Rex connected? I couldn’t find a specific video. Thanks for posting!
Glad you found me! Yes the battery and BMS in the T-Rex trailers manage those systems identical to the car thats pulling it. I was surprised how close temps always are.
Dude this is cool. You should do a tutorial video! I will totally do my own trailer haha.
I have a whole playlist that shows how I built it. Two in fact.
ua-cam.com/play/PLuMPs5qUmnoTMz2WclNdQCdVMRR9UJ10a.html
ua-cam.com/play/PLuMPs5qUmnoTlBkwedPTYQXe98uv4rsCT.html
Congratulations, and great job!!! I tow a teardrop with my Model 3, range is about 200 miles. How can I add a battery to my teardrop??
You cant add one to an existing trailer. Its a custom job from the ground up. My T-Rex V2, my camper, was built around the battery pack and then up. I have a playlist showing how I did it.
Your work is amazing !! Today's rebels are tomorrow's innovator's!
I have a 2016 X 90D and I was wondering if I could swap the battery for a 2022 X+ that has a way bigger range. Would it be a direct swap?...or is it at least possible?
I doubt it would be. Im sure there would need to be some software updates or modification and Tesla does not give you the software and they wont do it for you.
Congrats! I'm building a EV trailer, not range extended, but this is inspiring me to think about doing so! Definitely worried about tesla banning your car from super charging.
I was worried about that too. That's why I didnt release this until the car was gone. They shouldnt care though, the power is still being used to propel the car.
Is Tesla allowed to ban someone from using supercharger? Never heard of it!
@@judyfree6815 Yes. It is something that they offer and if they dont want you to use it anymore they will definitely block your car from using it.
James Klafehn but it was part of purchase “ lifetime free charge “
Judy Free I have zero doubt they will quickly remove it if they wanted to. I’m sure they can. I’m sure it’s allowed in the fine print.
Hi James, this is fantastic, exactly what I need, I also have a UA-cam channel, I have a Cybertruck on order and I’m in the process of designing a CyberRV which would also be a range extender, the design work you are doing is invaluable, I live in the UK so it might be a couple of years to get my truck. Keep up the good work, I’ve subscribed and am following with great interest! 👍👍
I think we talked before. You designed the image of the cyber camper going around the web arent you?
James Klafehn yes, that’s me, very interested in what you are doing, keep up the good work!
Thanks! I’ll release another video about this in a few weeks.
I very interested in building a small range extender battery for my 85D... something that would fit in the hidden trunk compartment... maybe an extra 10kw to 15kw
Youre welcomed to try it but it wont work. You need 96 cells just to get the voltage you need. Then you need many parallel cells to give you your capacity. It would be a custom built pack and it would be a lot of work. THen you would need a bms. its also super risky. If you were in a car accident your car would blow up.
So cool bro
Thanks :)
how in the actual world did you accomplish this? fascinating stuff man!
Perseverance. I had hundreds of people tell me this wasn’t going to work, including Tesla engineers. I don’t like people telling me I can’t do something. Lol
James Klafehn Sounds like Tesla needs to offer you a position. 😉
@@ChargingForward I only have my GED. They wouldnt hire me. LOL
@@JamesKlafehn Actually Elon has said he doesn't care about degrees, only ability. Not that you'd necessarily want to work for Elon.
@@JRP3 IDK I would assume the treatment level would be a step up from how I was treated with the X, dog shit.
"I love my car..." the early days before it all went to hell. Sad. Nice to see that you got this working though, I didn't really think there would be any reason it wouldn't. I am curious where you tapped into the pack to make the connection.
I know right. I edited this video last year. I thought about taking that out but the video was already on YT just private. I decided not to mess with it and just make it public as is. SOOOOO happy this car is gone! Very thankful for the outcome!
James Klafehn what were your top 3 problems with the car?
Arrowlog Productions ua-cam.com/play/PLuMPs5qUmnoRFg_zUfrbM5gDR1PYahXI8.html
I couldn’t pick just 3
Do you still have 2 running RAV4s? I can’t remember.
Just one and one parts car.
I’m only at the five minute mark and I’m not sure why it’s reading basically half of the normal usage but I love it can this be hooked up to any Tesla with a tow hitch? I think you might be a genius buddy
Great question. Its because the car's computers only know whats happening with the onboard battery. So that is the power that is coming out of the 100kwh pack. At this time I am probably setting off lots of flags back at the mother ship. They monitor all data from all cars at all time.
Yes it’s connected like a normal trailer with the addition of one more plug.
James Klafehn I can’t wait for the next video I’m wondering if there’s a switch where you could leave it off and then when you get down below 10% or so you turn it on almost like a second tank like old pick up trucks used to have
@@John-209 You want to keep them pretty balanced. If one was a different voltage there would be a sudden rush of current flowing to the other. Ive done it. As long as the system is built for it it can handle it but you have to be aware of it. Here is a video where I kinda talk about the voltage difference. ua-cam.com/video/OtYw1JusPp4/v-deo.html
Typically when supercharging, I would hear cooling fans roaring to cool the pack. It doesn’t look like you have a radiator fan on the t-rex. Did the pack temps ever get too high during this session? Thanks
Did you watch the video? The radiator is shown. Its on the front of the camper. Keeps temps perfect. You also have to realize that only half the power is going to each pack so they are each working less. Charging at 140kw means 70 is going to each. Thats nothing.
James Klafehn yes, of course I saw the radiator. That’s why I mentioned the lack of the radiator fan. That makes sense about the pack only seeing half of the kw rate.
@@fatwajim Oh I missed the word fan. I have one to put on but I thought I would test it first to see how it went. I never needed it. Temps never got crazy. I did a lot of testing on this same thing going back to my previous version and my Rav4 EV. With that version it had a much smaller radiator. The battery would warm to about 30c when not moving so I added fans to that one. But this is a much larger radiator and I havent had an issue. With both of them, once youre moving, temps are zero problem.
I’m really looking forward to this, what’s your thoughts on sharing info? I’m UK, want to electrify a small commercial vehicle, and have the Rex trailer as a trailer and power source.
You are welcomed to share. Ill share some more info in upcoming videos too.
James Klafehn I meant you sharing the more intricate details, so I could copy 😁
matthew wood haha. I have a two playlists full of all the boring details. Check those out.
James Klafehn thanks for the speedy reply, will look forward to you posting them
matthew wood I’m at the in-laws. Gives me something to do. Haha
Curious about a couple things: could it be that the Wh/mi calculation is based upon data that is coming from only the model x battery and not the model x/T-Rex battery combo? Just doesn't make sense to me that you'd use less energy to move more mass. If that is indeed the case, I think you may have discovered a flaw in physics that will drawf the already impressive accomplishment of the trailer!
2nd question: can you power 120vac or 12/24vdc appliances in the T-Rex using the higher voltage DC power of trailer battery? Do they make a transformer for that?
Exactly. The car only knows about the onboard battery. So that is the data it is reporting. Same thing happened with my Rav4 EV. I thought the car would eventually compensate and display the correct range with the trailer but it never did. The Rav4 would get fairly accurate but always displayed a lower number than I could actually obtain.
I have a 3000 watt DC to AC inverter in the T-Rex Camper. It powers a flatscreen TV and fridge. It could definitely power more. I could build a trailer with a large inverter to deliver tons of power to a jobsite or to power a house. Possibilities are only limited by your wallet.
@@JamesKlafehn so the inverter can take the higher voltage DC of the Tesla battery? Forgive me if I'm missing something, but aren't Teslas batteries higher than 12/24/48vdc?
@@iansilver-ramp595 the DC to AC is a 12v inverter. I have a deep cycle 12v battery in there too to power stuff. I have a Chevy Volt DC to DC converter that takes the HV DC and charges the 12v DC battery. Its 5000 watts if I remember correctly. Lots of power to do pretty much anything. I could go bigger too if I needed to.
@@JamesKlafehn curious, why is the 12v battery needed? Couldn't you just plug in 12v devices directly to the hvdc to lvDC converter output?
Ian Silver-Ramp back up for stuff while camping, for the HV battery BMS, security system, and more.
tl;dr - the full range was 657km or 407 miles (with a headwind).
Yup. I know I could've done better though.
What are you replacing the X with?
:)
What do you do if the SOC is different between the two batteries? Do you just charge them to equal them out?
You want them to be close before you connect them or a ton of current will suddenly flow between the two. It can be dangerous if the system isnt built for that. I try to keep them each within 40ish volts of each other
@@JamesKlafehn Do you have ideas or plans to make some sort of equalization system or even just a lockout that won't let you connect (contractors engage) unless they are close? Seems like a necessary addition for this idea to become available to the average person, for safety reasons.
Tesla should take this idea and offer it in it's product line. And deliver all Tesla's with a suitable trailer electric connector.
When not using it as a trailer people can use the trailer as a home battery station to store solar power and charge their Tesla at a higher speed when the come home.
Imagine being able to rent a trailer for a long trip......
Is the charging faster when having the trailer connected?
You should start a business in the future because I will be your customer when I got my cybertruck Tri motor.
I have the proof of concept. I have reached out to Tesla and Rivian but neither responded. I thought about taking it to camper companies.
Awesome! Is this just in parallel with the Tesla pack?
Yes
@@JamesKlafehn nice! Thanks for making the video. I'm probably going to follow suit if I can ever have $10k I can part with.
@@kooneek5067 Unfortunately this cost a lot more than $10k. The battery alone was $15,500
@@JamesKlafehn Between the two packs you have backup power for your whole house for like a week if the power ever went out.
@@kooneek5067 yup
the camper looks to low to the ground
Yeah it is. I designed it that way. Its not going off roading but my wife wouldnt be into that anyway. This is a highway cruiser/state park camper. If I was going to build an off roading one, which I could, it would be higher off the ground but that means it would also have less headroom inside the camper. Nice thing with small campers is you can do anything you want when you are building them.
So what if you have to go over speed bumps or up an incline or down a decline
@@lynperk It's not that low, I've seen it in person. You could also change the springs and/or extend the spring mounts to raise it higher if you wanted to do more off roading. Also run taller tires. And use a higher hitch with no drop. There are always solutions.
Are you going to work on making this a business? Could probably sell each camper for a 20% markup on the price of the battery.
I thought about it. I looked into it but I dont have the money to do it.
Not a big market for this.
Espero que seja processado pela tesla. Adulterou todo circuito do carro e ainda devolveu o carro alegando que tinha problemas de fabrica. Essa gambiarra de reboque com energia é a prova da maracutaia desse cidadão
Nothing I did damaged the car. The X was a POS. Tesla wont allow me to talk about details but if you watch my Model X Problems playlist you will see how many issues I had with the car. None of the issues were caused by me. The car just sucked.
@@JamesKlafehn tell this bla bla bla to tesla's lawyers
hopefully it won't be sued by tesla kkkkk. 🇧🇷
I think they have too much going on to bother with me. I hope. The car is gone. Done deal. They never have to deal with me again and I am very happy about that.
This is so wrong, you screwed the car and had the nerve to ask for your money back.
E Hartmann you’re an idiot. So tired of tools like you who know nothing.