110v option like F150

[mtsoxfan]

I've seen the commercial enough times to pique my interest, you know the one, the guy building a cabin using power from his in bed outlet, lights, saw... Has anyone done or looked into the cost of adding that to a Ranger? If it was inexpensive enough, I think it would be a nice option to have. I found the thread on here on adding a 110 outlet to the bed, but a 20a fuse wouldn't run a saw.

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[LoneRNGR]

I believe that inverter will use the truck’s auto start/stop feature to start the engine and run the alternator to keep constant power output. Pretty cool. I would think that if Ford didn’t want to put that feature in future Rangers, it would not be difficult for a third party to offer it.

 

[Texasota]

I believe that inverter will use the truck’s auto start/stop feature to start the engine and run the alternator to keep constant power output. Pretty cool. I would think that if Ford didn’t want to put that feature in future Rangers, it would not be difficult for a third party to offer it.

The Pro Power Onboard generator for the F-150 PowerBoost (the hybrid version) draws power from the high voltage battery pack (not the 12 volt starter battery) and it has the ability to start and stop the ICE depending on the state of charge of the high voltage battery. The PHEV Ranger that is coming will make an even better platform for the Pro Power Onboard generator because the high voltage battery pack will be much large than the battery pack in the F-150 PowerBoost. I don't think it would be a trivial effort for an aftermarket version to duplicate what Ford has done. There is lots of software involved.

For a conventional ICE Ranger the inverter would have to draw from the 12 volt starter battery. The ICE would likely have to run continuously since the battery has very low capacity (much less that a typical deep cycle battery). It probably would provide little (if any) improvement from what you get from the 120 volt outlet that exists on the rear of the console.

 

[RANGER_MARC]

I believe that inverter will use the truck’s auto start/stop feature to start the engine and run the alternator to keep constant power output. Pretty cool. I would think that if Ford didn’t want to put that feature in future Rangers, it would not be difficult for a third party to offer it.

After reading about the F-150 owners in Texas who powered their houses during the recent winter storm, I have been very interested in this option, and I am not the only one. It would not surprise me at all if Ford were to add it to Powerboost or PHEV Rangers/Ranger Raptors of the next generation(s). Sure, I could just buy an F-150 and have it now, but they are just too big for our lifestyle, not to mention our garage!

 

[Texasota]

After reading about the F-150 owners in Texas who powered their houses during the recent winter storm, I have been very interested in this option, and I am not the only one. It would not surprise me at all if Ford were to add it to Powerboost or PHEV Rangers/Ranger Raptors of the next generation(s). Sure, I could just buy an F-150 and have it now, but they are just too big for our lifestyle, not to mention our garage!

Agree. If you install a whole house transfer switch, then your PHEV Ranger with a Pro Power Onboard generator would be a great solution to power outages. I suspect grid brownouts are going to be a part of life in the future as we become more dependent on renewable energy.

 

[LoneRNGR]

the F-150 owners in Texas who powered their houses during the recent winter storm,

I don't think the homeowners in Texas "powered" their houses in the manner that is implied. If you want to power your house with a generator you need to install a cut-off switch so that you don't send voltage into the power grid. Not hard to do, but requires some forethought.

Probably they used the F150 generator/inverter to power appliances in their home during the freeze and power outage.

The Pro Power Onboard generator for the F-150 PowerBoost (the hybrid version) draws power from the high voltage battery pack (not the 12 volt starter battery) and it has the ability to start and stop the ICE depending on the state of charge of the high voltage battery. The PHEV Ranger that is coming will make an even better platform for the Pro Power Onboard generator because the high voltage battery pack will be much large than the battery pack in the F-150 PowerBoost.

I did not realize this was a feature only on the PowerBoost version of the F150. Waiting for PHEV Ranger.

 

[Scooter]

The F150 does not plugin. It uses fuel and kinetic energy to charge the batteries.
The PHEV Ranger will be plugin while also charging through kinetic energy.
It has not been stated if the Ranger will generate power the way the Pro Power F1 50 does.


Pro Power F 150 configuration

 

[Texasota]

I did not realize this was a feature only on the PowerBoost version of the F150. Waiting for PHEV Ranger.

It is available on the ICE versions of the F-150 but at lower capacity. I'm not sure, but they might have a second 12 volt battery as part of this option.

This is a good article: F-150 Pro Power Onboard

 

[RANGER_MARC]

I don't think the homeowners in Texas "powered" their houses in the manner that is implied. If you want to power your house with a generator you need to install a cut-off switch so that you don't send voltage into the power grid. Not hard to do, but requires some forethought.

Probably they used the F150 generator/inverter to power appliances in their home during the freeze and power outage.


I did not realize this was a feature only on the PowerBoost version of the F150. Waiting for PHEV Ranger.

You're right about that first point. The article that I was referring to featured an F-150 owner who ran multiple appliances (and even charged his neighbors' cellphones) from the power generated by his truck. I suspect there probably were some well-prepared DIY Texans who did in fact "power their houses" generally, but I do not know of any specific such case. As you say, that takes foresight.

 

[Texasota]

You're right about that first point. The article that I was referring to featured an F-150 owner who ran multiple appliances (and even charged his neighbors' cellphones) from the power generated by his truck. I suspect there probably were some well-prepared DIY Texans who did in fact "power their houses" generally, but I do not know of any specific such case. As you say, that takes foresight.

Many of those Texans simply used extension cords to power various appliances but that is not a very safe or elegant solution. It also does not work well for your hardwired equipment like a furnace. A whole house transfer switch is a much better solution.

 

[LoneRNGR]

It is available on the ICE versions of the F-150 but at lower capacity.

2 .0 kilowatts. It looks like that would still be helpful during a power outage caused by ice, hurricane, thunderstorm, etc.

 

[RANGER_MARC]

Many of those Texans simply used extension cords to power various appliances but that is not a very safe or elegant solution. It also does not work well for your hardwired equipment like a furnace. A whole house transfer switch is a much better solution.

I am definitely going to look into these options, that is, a new truck with the onboard generator, and a whole house transfer switch for my home. Delaware weather is generally pretty mild, but we get one or two crazy storms per year, and we can be left without power for hours or days. Not to mention all the other situations when you might want to draw power from your truck....

 

[WLFPIR8]

This isn't something "difficult" to do, but some of the hard parts would be bypassing the smart alternator stuff in order to charge a larger, high amp battery pack, how to directly connect (and maybe upgrading the alternator) to run directly, and some other "smart" stuff. I'm working on building some kind of power system that's more than a "dual battery" setup. Using the space where the current spare tire is, I can fit a good amount of LiFePO 4 battery (Lithium Iron Phosphate) and a large inverter for a 24V system overall. The whole thing can be topped off from trickle charge on the Alternator (to avoid issues with the charging circuit) and off solar (panels mounted on a RTT or roof rack).

MONEY and TIME is the issue really. The components are out there, so hopefully I can get it worked out. It would be awesome to have a fully electric campsite, or be able to last a long time off grid (with and extended fuel tank) via Solar for most systems other than locomotion.

 

[MTB-BRUH]

I work out of my truck so I always have a 4000 watt generator in the back, as well as a air compressor and small welder. The easiest solution would be just carry a generator in your truck, they aren’t expensive nor large. I have a camper shell so I don’t have to worry about theft too much but a simple cable and lock would be fairly safe

 

[RogerRanger]

I've been looking at this issue for camping purposes, nothing really heavy duty, I just need about 600 watts. I'm no expert but here's what I've been able to gather:

The Ranger can be ordered with a 110 outlet (plus a couple of USB ports) in the dash, but the outlet is rated at only 400 watts so it's of limited use. Also, it's not a pure sine wave inverter so be careful with delicate electronics.

The next step up would be to wire an inverter off the stock battery, probably need to keep it under 1000 watts. You need to keep the truck running to power the inverter. The risk is that if you exceed the capacity of the stock alternator it will drain your battery so that needs to be monitored.

An inverter in the 1000-2000 range could be installed with an upgraded high output alternator, truck running.

To go beyond that you'd need to install additional batteries or just use a generator.

If any of the above is off base, please feel free to comment, thanks.

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