Upcoming onboard generator?

Any rumors of Toyota coming out with a onboard generator for Tacomas? I see the Ford F-150 with a generator is a game changer. I was caught in the Texas snow storm, no power for 48hrs. I read an article of someone using it during the snowstorm. supplied his neighbors with power as well. Side note, I splurged on a TRD Off Road 4X4 A couple years ago. Never owned a four wheel drive...Oh my gosh! So worth the money.

 

We already have one just like the Ford except ours is a hell of a lot less powerful. By the way it’s an inverter not a generator, it converts 12volts DC into 120volts AC.

 

Isn't it 10000 watts or something? Power a lot of microwaves.

 

I think I read the F150 has 3 size possibilities.

One getting all the rep is 7.2 KW, but it's on the hybrid model using the motor as a generator.

Easy to look at Ford's site and see the options.

Another thought to ponder.

If a large area is all EV populated and the power goes down for days, what happens to mobility?

 

The same thing that happened when the gas stations closed down for days. The people who didn't fill up/charge up before hand had limited to no mobility.

 

I understand, as I live in hurricane territory.

However, fuel can be delivered and hand pumped in long down times. That's how we keep the restoration crews moving. (ex power company here)

Recharging a town full of EV? Not quite so easy.

 

Where is this mystical town?
If fuel can be delivered then generators can be used for electricity, which means vehicles can be charged.

 

Gotta go off grid

 

What recently happened in Texas is all the more reason why most people should have a portable generator in their garage or shed. I have two which I've never actually used at my house, but have set-up for friends and neighbors who have lost power. If you really want to be hard-core get a dual-fuel generator which can run on gas or Propane.

I live in earthquake country so I spend some time thinking about and preparing for stuff like this.

 

I live in Texas also. Before this week I once did 2.5 weeks of hurricane Ike aftermath. I'll make the argument that some things are better off not being integrated into our trucks.

I keep a 3500 watt camping generator. Weighing in at 85 pounds it will power just the bare minimum of home essentials, but I'm glad to have it for emergencies. Plus it comes in handy driving my camper's AC in the summer. Its portable, I can throw it in the truck when I need it, or it can be carried into the back yard, or over to a neighbor's house if they need it.

600 bucks on sale at Amazon, so it drives a lot more power than most inverters, is more gas efficient than most, and was quite a bit cheaper than an F150 too.

 

From an RV perspective...

Fuel consumption looks comparable (some portables are more efficient than others).

F150 7.2 KW 30.6 gal/32 hours=.956 gal/hr
Portable 7KW 5 gal/10 hours=1.0 gal/hr

It would almost certainly be sustantially less weight against payload than a portable. Elimination of generator maintenance ( oil and filter changes, plugs, etc.) would be nice. You could also run much longer without refueling.

I can't imagine idling my truck though for 30 hours or longer. Also you obviously can't continue to power your RV when you leave with your truck. Like if you want to go fishing and leave your wife at the camper.

The cost looks good at $1k for 2.4 KW vs. $2k for a 2.0 KW Honda portable. Not as cheap as $700 for a 3.5 KW Predator though.

For emergency home power, a portable can be wired to connect it via 30A directly to your fuse box and have a whole house setup. You might also be able to do this with the F150 with a long enough cord, I'm not sure.




Both the hybrid and non-hybrid 2021 F-150s offer Pro Power onboard. With the hybrid, the 2021 Ford F-150 comes standard with 2.4 KW that runs for 85 hours with a full tank of gas. Buyers often upgrade for $750 to a 7.2 KW system, which generates more power, and can run 32 hours at full load.

 

I'll throw a wild question out there. Genuine question, I really don't know. Which system is going to have the lower total cost of ownership, I wonder. Which one will win out with longevity and maintenance?

I could be swayed either way on that one, and it's all arbitrary anyway since most owners won't even put 100 hours on the truck inverter over their entire ownership. So even though I know most users won't ever see a difference in engine longevity or maintenance, I wonder how a theoretical person, who put a thousand plus hours on the engine, would fare.

The big difference for me is that if I foul up my cheap Wen generator it costs me one spark plug, maybe a short length of hose, and a couple hours tinkering in my garage to get it up and running again. Sure, it will break down much more frequently than my truck, but at least I can still go grab groceries when it does.

 

Yep.... been 'wanting' a generator, now have the excuse as a DFW resident. Will probably do a 3500W portable and do a transfer switch in the garage for essentials. We've been planning to build another house in a few years and I planned on installing a 20kW auto transfer generator. It's DEFINITELY on the todo list for that house now.

 

3500 is a good size to cover emergencies, in the north where we see outages a couple of times a year, that will run a furnace and the refridge , and you can change it over to to use other appliances for an hour or two. When your heat goes out at 10 degrees you need to have something.
In my neighborhood north of boston I can tell if the power is out by opening the door. Most of my neighborhood has generators that come on automatically.

 

Yeah....having a 400w inverter that can't make a cup of coffee is not even close to the same thing as a 7200w generator that can power a house.

 

We had an ice storm knock out power for 8 or 9 days and a straight line wind storm knock also knock it out that long so l invested in a 7500W Generator, it will run the furnace, fridge, and basically whatever l need to get through the outage.

 

So which generator did you get, you tease?

I had no issues with power last week - it never went out once, despite rolling blackouts here. Pretty sure I'm on the same circuit as a fire station. But I got lucky, and I don't want to count on luck.

 

When your generator is your truck, what happens to the house you're powering when you have to go somewhere? Depending on what you're trying to keep running, that could be an issue.

 

Wen. Precursor to this model

$847 WEN 3800-Watt Inverter Generator, Electric Start, RV-Ready, Portable and Super Quiet with Fuel Shut-Off (56380i)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PTNTRRJ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_C09D4T1PE4W9FQ858Z4A?psc=1

Had to repair the fuel line right out of the box but it's been a reliable beast ever since.

 

I installed a 6000 watt inverter and a Renogy 100 ah deep cycle gel lithium battery in my toolbox. Then wired 2 receptacles on the outside of the box. Im able to run my tv, cable box , fridge and several lights for hours before cranking the truck to recharge.