OK, so here's the "Big Picture" behind my original question. I often think (like most) that it would be Great to have a much larger traction battery, effectively ~doubling the battery/range performance of the Prime as we know it. Every time I plugin at home I look at the right side of the charging port & think: What could have been if Toyota had also installed a DC fast charging port right next to the SAE J1772 port. Typically we all have our special ability's in life, mine is fabrication & electrical. I occasionally build large Li-ion battery packs using 26650's, these are used for things like E-bikes or whatever. Building these large battery packs which sometimes are as large as a gallon of milk is just like what's involved in building a Tesla Wall for homeowner use. So then I start thinking that I could EASILY build a larger scale 26650 Li-ion pack that's the size of let's say a midsize suitcase & just put it in the back of my prime. All I would need now would be some type of connection point, a DC connection would've been golden, but since there isn't one, I asked the question that I did by going through the SAE J1772. Rob43
Several years ago, an add-on battery in the trunk came to my mind as well, followed by what might be called a “battery trailer,” since a suitcase-sized battery in the trunk probably wouldn’t have enough capacity to help much. Then I concluded that specific-energy and energy density is what would ultimately matter for that, so the a gas-generator trailer would probably be more effective. In fact, it would be a lot more efficient if that “gas generator” literally propelled the car forward. Obviously though, the Prius Prime already has a very-efficient version of that, already built-in! In my brain’s defense though, this evolution of thoughts went through my brain with respect to a Nissan LEAF, not a Prius Prime...
In the EV1 era, AC Propulsion - Wikipedia had a genset trailer for their tzero that was self steering. Once read an article about a pusher trailer made from the back end of a VW bug for an EV converted 911. The Porsche looked to be early '80s. These trailer ideas come up every once in a while, and sometimes, someone builds one. The latest I'm aware of was a genset for a Leaf using a Capstone turbine. So for the OP, it is possible to defeat the "plugged in, no go" safety feature.
The modern equivalent of that.....for cars.....is burying wires in the pavement. That isn't economically feasible either.
You mean similar to an external battery charger? My phone has a battery from the factory, but if I want more usage out of it. I plug in this external battery amd it charges the phone as I use it?
Yes, just like that. In a perfect world, there would be an electrical connection port inside everyone's Prime. This would allow the Prime owner to buy a suitcase size Li-ion Toyota branded (or aftermarket) battery pack that mounted in the back & got plugged into this special port. Once this optional Li-ion battery was added to someones Prime, theoretically their Primes battery range would ~double. Rob43
I don't see that working out. A pack large enough to double a Prime's EV range would be over a hundred pounds. Honda is playing around with swappable packs for scooters and ATVs. The make the system usable for everybody, they are aiming for a max weight of 20 pounds, which means it will have a capacity of about 1kWh.
My personal target weight would have been roughly ~100 lbs, I believe this would be a great range extender while being somewhat manageable enough. Realize that for most people, once this theoretical portable battery pack went into place, it would probably stay there indefinitely. Rob43