A genset trailer is a range extending device for use with battery electric vehicle

Battery electric vehicle

A battery electric vehicle, or BEV, is a type of electric vehicle that uses chemical energy stored in rechargeable battery packs. BEVs use electric motors and motor controllers instead of, or in addition to, internal combustion engines for propulsion.A battery-only electric vehicle or...

s consisting of an internal combustion engine

Internal combustion engine

The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer in a combustion chamber. In an internal combustion engine, the expansion of the high-temperature and high -pressure gases produced by combustion apply direct force to some component of the engine...

 and an electrical generator

Electrical generator

In electricity generation, an electric generator is a device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. A generator forces electric charge to flow through an external electrical circuit. It is analogous to a water pump, which causes water to flow...

 (collectively called a genset

Engine-generator

An engine-generator is the combination of an electrical generator and an engine mounted together to form a single piece of equipment. This combination is also called an engine-generator set or a gen-set...

). They run on traditional fuels such as gasoline or diesel and are sized to provide the continuous power requirements for the vehicle they are used with. Most small to midsized passenger vehicles would require 15 to 20 kW for unlimited freeway travel using fuel. Larger vehicles could require 30 kW or more of power depending on how heavy and/or un-aerodynamic they happen to be.

One such trailer is the AC Propulsion

AC Propulsion

AC Propulsion is a San Dimas, California, USA company founded in 1992 by Alan Cocconi that specialises in alternating current-based drivetrain systems for electric vehicles. Tom Gage is currently the company's CEO. The company produces goods such as electric vehicle drive systems and their top of...

 backtracking Long Ranger range extending gas fueled trailer, making it a gas-electric series plug-in hybrid electric vehicle

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle

A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle , plug-in hybrid vehicle , or plug-in hybrid is a hybrid vehicle which utilizes rechargeable batteries, or another energy storage device, that can be restored to full charge by connecting a plug to an external electric power source...

. This trailer used a 500 cc Kawasaki engine with a 9.5 gallons (40 liter) fuel tank and achieved 30 to 35 mpg (6.72 to 7.84 litres/100 km). It's rated at 20 kW DC output and can maintain 60 to 80 mph (95 to 128 km/h).

The setbacks involved with this system are emissions from running the engine (CO₂

Carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...

 and other gases), as well as the additional cost of gasoline. Another setback with this system is the fact that it has to be a trailer, as these are impractical for some drivers.

External links

• http://www.austinev.org/evalbum/pushers.html - pusher example
• http://www.acpropulsion.com/reports/Low_Emiss_Range_Ext.pdf
• http://evnut.com/rav_longranger.htm - Experimental model, also by ACPropulsion, for the Toyota RAV4 EV
  Toyota RAV4 EV
  The RAV4 EV was an all-electric version of the popular RAV4 SUV produced by Toyota. It was leased from 1997 to 2003, and at the lessees request, many units were sold after the vehicle was discontinued. A total of 1,485 were leased and/or sold in California to meet the state’s mandate for...