I get it, a PHEV that can go “forever” with a gas powered generator, but how far and under what loads? We dog EVs with their range degredation under stress, but has anyone questioned the effectiveness of the 1500s generator to recharge the batteries under heavy, long distance towing? Maybe at Max towing weight?
On a level 2 30A charger I can barely add charge to my Tesla while running the AC blasting in summer time.
https://insideevs.com/news/695276/2025-ramcharger-unlimited-ev-range-no-charging/
level 2 30A is 5.76kW max. I think that Tesla may be using the heat pump AC unit to cool the battery as well as the cabin so when cooling the cabin at full blast the battery may not be getting cooled down enough.
The Ramcharger is using Chryslers 3.6L Pentastar engine which is 292hp or 217kW. I think it will have plenty of power as it is basically a full size truck engine and is already being used in Ram pickups. Of course the drawback with using a full size pickup motor is that the engine is fairly heavier and fuel efficiency in generation mode will be around 20mpg.
Realistically it won’t be running anywhere near peak horsepower. It will be tuned extremely differently to a gasoline engine since the engine’s operating speed is not relevant to wheel speed. Overall efficiency should be ok.
I would have wished to see a small I3 or I4 engine optimized for generating power and reduced weight.
The 3.6L Pentastar engine only weighs like 80lbs more than a Prius engine. Hardly a rounding error in a full size truck.
The weight savings would be about 100lbs. That’s negligible in a 9000lb truck.