RAM REV XR ... You can't make this stuff up!

[JediNut]

I enjoy watching these guys, although their videos can be a bit repetitive at times.

Anyway... I think that Chrysler has lost their collective minds on this one... if it's true!

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1003387744871298

If you don't want to watch the video, apparently, RAM is putting a gas engine in the XR ... strictly to CHARGE THE BATTERY WHILE YOU ARE DRIVING!

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[Larrymoe]

Idiocracy was a documentary.

 

[crazywayne311]

Idiocracy was a documentary.

amazing how old that movie is yet accurate

 

[v8440]

I can't imagine why they'd do that vs driving the wheels directly at least under some circumstances. My wife's hybrid accord has a generator attached to the crankshaft of the gas burner, but there's also a clutch the computer engages sometimes to drive the wheels with the gas burner. The instantaneous mileage goes up considerably when that clutch engages, presumably because the losses of converting mechanical power to electricity and then back to mechanical power are no longer happening.

 

[23PB&Me]

Trains have been doing this for a really long time. Super efficient. That concept is what Ford should have done in the first place. You have an electric platform that doesn’t need a transmission(so no way to couple the ICE to the drive. That electric platform has decent range that will handle 90+% of commute driving(pulling a target number out of my ass). Then when you get to the edge of that electric range you have the ICE kick in to take you further than any battery on the market could.

I didn’t get a lightning because of range anxiety for long trips to the mountain, if Ford had an option to reliably extend the range on those trips I would have pulled the trigger when my number was called.

battery tech isn’t there for heavy vehicles and long ranges yet. This should have been done in 2020 as a way to ease us into the electric realm while battery tech evolved.

from there we can argue what powerplant is most efficient to be an onboard generator.

 

[HammaMan]

I enjoy watching these guys, although their videos can be a bit repetitive at times.

Anyway... I think that Chrysler has lost their collective minds on this one... if it's true!

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1003387744871298

If you don't want to watch the video, apparently, RAM is putting a gas engine in the XR ... strictly to CHARGE THE BATTERY WHILE YOU ARE DRIVING!

We have more than one post here discussing this drivetrain and its theories in great detail.
In summary, this is the perfect solution for the US for at least the next decade. The current best all-electric platform is the GM trucks with the large battery -- 450 miles of range and can consume a neighborhood's worth of power when charging. In-fact it's able to eat more power than current chargers output peaking at 363kW. Its upper charging threshold isn't even known -- but if it can hit 2c charge rates, that's ~500kW (yes, half a megawatt)

 

[Samson16]

And yet the
THE 2025 RAMCHARGER
remains a pipe dream on their website

 

[v8440]

You have an electric platform that doesn’t need a transmission(so no way to couple the ICE to the drive.

A transmission in the sense of having shiftable gears isn't strictly necessary for coupling an engine to the wheels. If whatever gear ratio that's present is suitable, the engine can be connected to the wheels with a clutch when conditions are right. That's what my wife's accord hybrid does, at or over 40 mph or so at less than heavy throttle the computer engages a clutch to connect the gas engine to the wheels. There are no shiftable gears, the drive ratio is what it is. If you ask for more power than the gas engine can supply at whatever rpm it's operating at when engaged to the wheels, the clutch is disengaged and the engine is allowed to rev while driving the generator it's permanently connected to. Then the engine screams away running the generator while no longer mechanically connected to the wheels of the car.

 

[780]

Sooooo...... they are discussing the RamCharger.... this is old news.

Never heard it called the REV XR before.

And, IMO I'd have wayyy more interest in a RamCharger than a Lightning.

Actually I have zero interest in a Lightning....

Commute using battery power and not have to worry about range when I want to tow my camper out of town? Sounds good to me.

 

[JediNut]

We have more than one post here discussing this drivetrain and its theories in great detail.

I'm sorry to have wasted your time. I did a search for "RAM REV XR" and didn't find anything.

Thanks for donning the badge and playing "Forum Police."

I'll try to do better next time.

 

[Scotty M.]

There seems to be some confusion on Social Media … shocking !

In the linked video from post #1, the two gentlemen have mistakenly merged the names (models), and perhaps specifications, of two separate vehicles, into one nonexistent vehicle.

The RAM 1500 Revolution or “REV” is supposed to be available by late 2024. It is a BEV - very similar to the Ford F150 Lightning. It has a “frunk” where the engine use to be.

The RAM 1500 Ramcharger is supposed to be available sometime in 2025. It is a hybrid - but Ram is not calling it a hybrid, but rather referring to it as a BEV with an onboard range extender (also known as a gasoline engine) - semantics, and marketing BS.

The RAM 1500 Ramcharger executes hybrid integration in a new way. It is a plugin hybrid, but rather than having two drive systems that can individually send power to the wheels, it streamlines this into a single drive system. This eliminates a traditional transmission and driveshaft - potentially reducing vehicle weight.

The 3.6L V6 gasoline engine operates a 130 kilowatt generator - sending electricity to the drive motors and / or to the 92 kilowatt-hour battery pack.

This type of hybrid system has been in use for decades in locomotives.

If the Ramcharger model does indeed function as described, it should be a terrific hybrid option for people.

 

[HammaMan]

I'm sorry to have wasted your time. I did a search for "RAM REV XR" and didn't find anything.

Thanks for donning the badge and playing "Forum Police."

I'll try to do better next time.

You gave the impression of wanting to learn/discuss. The ramcharger is the hybrid, the REV is the EV. I don't use boomerbook and it and most of meta's sites are blocked at my edge so none of their servers receive responses/inquiries from my machines so I can't even see anything regarding that link.
https://www.f150gen14.com/forum/threads/ramcharger-how-can-ford-respond-a-discussion.20481/

 

[JediNut]

There seems to be some confusion on Social Media … shocking !

In the linked video from post #1, the two gentlemen have mistakenly merged the names (models), and perhaps specifications, of two separate vehicles, into one nonexistent vehicle.

The RAM 1500 Revolution or “REV” is supposed to be available by late 2024. It is a BEV - very similar to the Ford F150 Lightning. It has a “frunk” where the engine use to be.

Apparently, RAM REV XR is the *OLD* name! Doh! Ramcharger is the NEW name.

Unfortunately, you can't tell how old a Facebook reel is.... I am guessing that this one might be close to a year old. (Boy... do I feel stupid.)

I'll just go back to asking questions to the brain trust here regarding my truck and stop trying to poke fun at things that I honestly know little about!

And @HammaMan , I owe you an apology for my snotty response... can I just chalk it up to an overall bad day? I really am sorry.

 

[HammaMan]

Not a problem. A lot of us are quite curious as to how the ramcharger ends up landing. Specs and marketing is one thing, but more often than not these days hype is just that. Cybertruck was supposed to start at $40k, go 500 miles, tow 14klbs, and be bulletproof with high strength glass. In reality it's none of those thing or even close. They couldn't even get a 1% conversion rate of orders at the price they launched it at from those who put down a deposit.

While I don't think the ramcharger will miss the mark as big as cybertruck did, it still makes a lot of promises that won't be cheap to deliver on no matter how you measure it. The $80k price ceiling for the $7500 point-of-sale tax credit has been a big issue for the lightning in trims that exceed it.

 

[Samson16]

Series PHEV. Range Extended BEV.
Whatever you call it where is it?!

Elon will colonize Mars first. Ahrrrg!

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