On board pickup generators

[Ncdan]

Hey forum friends.
After what happened this winter to our friends in Texas as well as around the country, I’m seriously looking into this.
Im a mopar guy and have been since youth. However after seeing Fords new truck with the optional on board generator I’ll have to highly consider the make when buying my next vehicle.
My research shows there are two sizes offered, the larger one will actually run your entire house, just plug her in and let the truck idle. Now that’s a plus and like 4 wheel drive if you ever go need it, it’s well worth the extra cost.
What day y’all?

[dguzzi]

  Some truck mounted welders have an onboard generator.  Just an option...

[Ncdan]

I read that. Ford was even encouraging dealers to loan out new vehicles to help with power outages. I don't know if that happened or not.

But, depending on how big a hurry you're in, I would guess that MOPAR will come along with a similar setup if Ford starts pulling sales away from them as a result. Then you could have your cake and eat it too.

John Henry

You’re right JH however Ford has another draw card with that 3.6 turbo charged motor with  near 13000 lb tow rating. The Dodge Boys had better tech up or get left behind!

[twowheeladdict]

Unless you need that power elsewhere because you are like say in the construction business, it makes more sense to get a home generator system, or install enough solar to keep the fridge and lights on and have gas heat installed.
 
At the cost of new trucks, why not just buy a used motorhome or trailer with a generator and have a vacation home as well as a second source of power in the off chance the lights go out at home.

Have you ever noticed that the further out in the country someone lives the more prepared they are?

[Perazzimx14]

Seems more realistic to just buy a portable 5 or 10K generator and put a transfer switch on you electrical service. Having a V6/V8 truck idling away for hours or days on end to keep the essentials running would be a waste.

I have a 110V outlet on my Tacoma and though it was a brilliant idea. Turns out it is the worlds most expensive source of 400 watts of 110V power. Using a 289 HP V6 to power one outlet that has marginal output make it useless. I tried powering an electric chainsaw and could count the revolutions. 

[twowheeladdict]

Seems more realistic to just buy a portable 5 or 10K generator and put a transfer switch on you electrical service. Having a V6/V8 truck idling away for hours or days on end to keep the essentials running would be a waste.

I have a 110V outlet on my Tacoma and though it was a brilliant idea. Turns out it is the worlds most expensive source of 400 watts of 110V power. Using a 289 HP V6 to power one outlet that has marginal output make it useless. I tried powering an electric chainsaw and could count the revolutions.

I carry a $40 dollar inverter to power my laptop or whatever in the car.  How much did that option on the truck cost you?

[Perazzimx14]

I carry a $40 dollar inverter to power my laptop or whatever in the car.  How much did that option on the truck cost you?

$36

[kingoffleece]

My understanding is that letting modern truck engines idle for hours at a time (gas) is poor for the motor.  Gas blow by into the oil.  I'm not 100% sure on this but it's what I've been led to believe.  That said, a 7500 watt gas gen runs my home essentials just fine when needed.  I keep 50 gal of stabilized fuel at work at all times and rotate it thru the machines after a while to always keep it fresh.  50 gal will run for a long time-we get lines down with snow every now and again for several days at a time.

[AJ Huff]

After our Derecho which had simar affects that Texas freezing had I'm probably just going to get a portable generator not a whole house one. My thought is to get a propane one because it can sit unused without carburator problems.

-AJ

[Kev m]

My research shows there are two sizes offered, the larger one will actually run your entire house, just plug her in and let the truck idle.

Not sure about whole house, isn't the "big one" (on the hybrid model) like 7Kw or something like that?

It's a neat concept in that it's doing double duty and you don't have a separate unit to fuel or maintain. So that's a convenience factor right there.

We live in a wooded area known for power outages once or twice a year as limbs take out power lines and transformers.

When the power goes out on my small block you immediately hear a cacophany of whole house generators start up. They run on natural gas and are automatic. They start themselves monthly and run a self test etc.

The cost for one of these units around here is about $10-12k installed including panel work. They tend to be in the 12-20 kw range for houses this size.

We looked at it as an option but thought we would be paying a lot for use only once or twice a year for a few days.

We went with a compromise, an 8 Kw portable, petrol fueled model with wiring to a switch panel (basically a sub panel for the house breakers). It runs our sump pump, well pump, furnace (natural gas), fridge, stove (natural gas), microwave, hot water heater (natural gas), and about half the lights and outlets on the ground floor (office, living room, kitchen, and garage).

It is not powerful enough to run the whole house or AC.

It was however, along with switch panel and wiring, a fraction of a whole house unit (~$3.5k). But I do have to siphon the tank and drain the carburetor after each use. I kinda wonder if I should keep a can of fogging spray around too.

YMMV, but I see how the Ford would be handy even if you rarely used that feature.

[kingoffleece]

That's almost exactly what I did-like kev.  Run the essentials.  When I built my house I planned for it and all the wiring from garage where gen is to basement sub panel is concealed in wall.  It takes about 30 seconds to be up and running-wheel generator outside, plug in transfer cord-start-go to basement and flip a few switches.  So easy even the BRIDE can do it!

[Ncdan]

Many good points fellas but let me clarify.
I’m not suggesting going out and purchasing a 50k pickup just to get a generator. Just saying that if one needs to get a new truck that the larger generator offered would be awfully handy if your power goes out.

Kev, the article led the reader to believe the large unit would power the average house.

[Gliderjohn]

We have a Generac 17K auto system. Bought it about seven or eight years ago for a bit over $7K installed. Propane system that is plugged into our propane tank. Expensive yes, but great piece of mind. Had a several hour outage a while back. When power went we had a roast in a crock pot and had just put a load of clothes in the dryer. No problem, life continues unaffected.
GliderJohn

[Wayne Orwig]

Kev, the article led the reader to believe the large unit would power the average house.

The 7kW would do a lot, but you would need to manage it carefully in a total electric home. But then you go to the gas station, and can't pump gasoline due to there being no power.

Alternate fuel sources are a smarter idea many times. Like a propane heater buddy.
 

[twowheeladdict]

Many good points fellas but let me clarify.
I’m not suggesting going out and purchasing a 50k pickup just to get a generator. Just saying that if one needs to get a new truck that the larger generator offered would be awfully handy if your power goes out.

Kev, the article led the reader to believe the large unit would power the average house.

Can you option it on a "work truck" package, or do they make you buy the $50k truck to get it?  I guess it is good if you already want all the other features and have multiple uses for the capability like off-grid camping, working on the farm away from shore power, etc. 

Everything in life can be boiled down to a mathematical calculation that gets thrown out the window when emotions kick in. 

There have been a few devastating tornados in our area over the years with a rise in storm shelter purchases after each event.  The closest a tornado on the ground from our house has been 2 miles with a devastating one about 10 miles away.  Mathematically, the odds of my exact house getting hit make it very hard to justify the cost of one of these shelters, especially when you factor in all the other ways you can be maimed or killed with much higher probabilities. 

If we were to prepare for every potential inconvenience to real disasters with low probability of occurrence we would have a lot of money, time, and energy tied up in all these endeavors.

But peace of mind always has to be factored into every decision made.

There'd be no material for country songs or romantic comedies if we weren't ruled by our emotions. 

[Guzzistajohn]

The Generac like Glider John mentioned makes sense to me. But the wife thinks I'm crazy. In the ice storm of '07 when the power was out for 10 days it would have been nice.

I was talking to the owner local Springfield, Mo. based sporting goods retailer some time ago. He said "I've made MILLIONS and my wife STILL thinks everything I do is the most stupid thing she's ever heard"

[Ncdan]

Can you option it on a "work truck" package, or do they make you buy the $50k truck to get it?  I guess it is good if you already want all the other features and have multiple uses for the capability like off-grid camping, working on the farm away from shore power, etc. 

Everything in life can be boiled down to a mathematical calculation that gets thrown out the window when emotions kick in. 

There have been a few devastating tornados in our area over the years with a rise in storm shelter purchases after each event.  The closest a tornado on the ground from our house has been 2 miles with a devastating one about 10 miles away.  Mathematically, the odds of my exact house getting hit make it very hard to justify the cost of one of these shelters, especially when you factor in all the other ways you can be maimed or killed with much higher probabilities. 

If we were to prepare for every potential inconvenience to real disasters with low probability of occurrence we would have a lot of money, time, and energy tied up in all these endeavors.

But peace of mind always has to be factored into every decision made.

There'd be no material for country songs or romantic comedies if we weren't ruled by our emotions.

Not sure TWA as to which models they offer them on as I just recently saw the advertising.
It may not work well for some, fair in some circumstances and be a marvelous wonder for others.
Either way I thought the concept was intriguing and interesting. If I needed a new pickup I would most definitely consider the largest unit  available if the price was reasonable. From what I read the truck can run the unit at Idle and not using any more fuel than any larger generator unit would.
I fully admit I’m no great source of information on the subject and just saw the art this morning.

[Kev m]

My 8 KW Generac has something like a 7 gallon tank. It can run something like 24 hours or so on that with a decent load.

The few times I've used it I'll run it for hours at a shot and then shut it off for a few hours. The house stays warm and the fridge stays cold shutting it off a few hours at a time.

The only bummer is if it happens in the summer we don't have a good source of cooling. Sure at can run fans which is nice but we don't have a real basement we can cool off in and sleep in if it's that hot out since the water table is so high from the lake.

[Ncdan]

My 8 KW Generac has something like a 7 gallon tank. It can run something like 24 hours or so on that with a decent load.

The few times I've used it I'll run it for hours at a shot and then shut it off for a few hours. The house stays warm and the fridge stays cold shutting it off a few hours at a time.

The only bummer is if it happens in the summer we don't have a good source of cooling. Sure at can run fans which is nice but we don't have a real basement we can cool off in and sleep in if it's that hot out since the water table is so high from the lake.

I didn’t think it ever gets hot in Jersey :)

[LowRyter]

As a travel trailer owner, I've said for years that pickups needed to have built in generators.  I didn't know that Ford had finally come out with one. 

My notion was that an inverter generator could run off the engine and into a hybrid system.  And the truck engine could be run on a supply need bases with cylinder deactivation rather than a redundant engine and generator system mounted somewhere in the truck.  A typical trailer will need a 3-5kw.

I'll have to check out how the Ford system works.

[LowRyter]

Just read about the Ford system and it does use the engine to power a hybrid and generator.  I'll have to send this to a buddy that thought my idea was stupid when I proposed it 10 years ago.

I don't understand why it's only on F150 instead of the Heavy Duty models needed for towing.

[Kev m]

I didn’t think it ever gets hot in Jersey :)

This princess likes the AC set to 68°F in the summer, trust me it gets way hotter than that. 

[Moparnut72]

The women in the office I worked in before I retired would set the thermostat to 75 in the winter. Summertime it would usually be set to 65, I never could figure it out. They would bitch when I would have to open my window. I used to tell them you sit in a 65* office and then go out in 100* heat to wrestle 1,000 weights on a livestock scale.
kk

[Kiwi_Roy]

Speaking of generators, I often see the movie industry set up on our streets, they have a unit that is super quiet, I wonder who makes that.

[bsanorton]

I moved to Florida 13 years ago. My neighbor couldn't seen to keep his generator maintained so I told him I'll maintain it, but if we need it we are sharing it. Maybe 4 years ago during a hurricane we finally were going to use it, set up all the extension cords and had to run for a long 15 minutes. Turns out we our on a shelter grid. Most of the community was out for a week. We lent the generator out to those in need. I did buy my own 3 years ago, never used it. I do like the idea of having one in the truck, could have proved useless during the kids marching band days, LOL...

[Kev m]

I moved to Florida 13 years ago. My neighbor couldn't seen to keep his generator maintained so I told him I'll maintain it, but if we need it we are sharing it. Maybe 4 years ago during a hurricane we finally were going to use it, set up all the extension cords and had to run for a long 15 minutes. Turns out we our on a shelter grid. Most of the community was out for a week. We lent the generator out to those in need. I did buy my own 3 years ago, never used it. I do like the idea of having one in the truck, could have proved useless during the kids marching band days, LOL...

Dude is that really you from CW days?!?

[Rough Edge racing]

 The power distrbution around here is such a mess so when the wind blows, out go the lights. Me and wife treat it like an adventure, candles, a few oil lamps and we heat wood so no problem. If the power stays off for a while we have a 1200 watt generator that will power the fridge, coffe maker or toaster, but not all at once.
 Some inconvience builds character and teachs preperation for emergencies...

[Ncdan]

I did a little more research.
The 7200 only comes in the hybrid model 1500 Ford and as Kev pointed out its probably not a unit that could be hooked up to ones house and run everything. However with a little selective action could do a good job of making life much easier. The smaller unit could be used like I use my 3200 portable unit. Drop  cords could be run to power basic units from the 4 - 120 amp outlets on the unit. Edmonds reported that the truck can run at an idle for days and furnish needed power.
For me personally, I’m still not sure about the Ford thing but would definitely not rule it out if Mopar does not step up and keep up with that Technology however bottom line for me, when and  if I decided that my ole 2005 ram with now only 80k needs replacing m, the replacement will house a generator of this type and the most powerful one offered. As I reach the latter years of my life any steps I can take up make things go better for wife and I is worth the money spent.

[bsanorton]

Dude is that really you from CW days?!?

LMAO, I was wondering when you'd catch on. I wasn't gonna let it go on for much more. How is the family???? Seems a Buell buddy got me looking into a MG. This is on it's way to me from California.

[Siamese]

Run the house off the truck?  Nah. 

The gold standard for power outages is an automatic generator that runs off natural gas. 

But, I've been using the poor man's substitute for the last five years and have been extremely happy with it.  I have a Home Depot 5.7 kw job site generator and a transfer switch next to my main electrical panel.  It'll run the refrigerator, furnace, water heater, some lights, bathroom lights and fans, a few outlets, and the wifi. 

The entire setup was well under a grand. 

Just have to make a point of using stabilized, alcohol free gasoline in it.  It's a little noisy, but when that power's out, we don't suffer. 

It seems to run forever on a full tank, but if it gets low on fuel, I can jump in my Ford F-150 and get another five gallons for it without interrupting power to the house. 

I also have a small, inverter generator from Briggs and Stratton that I use with my travel trailer.  2 kw is enough to keep the batteries charged up, and run the microwave.