#HTE

Yea or Nay? A Solar-Power-Harvesting Pickup Truck Tonneau Cover

Worksport is the name of a Canadian company that manufactures tonneau covers for pickup trucks. They’ve got four conventional models on the market, and are taking a very different tack for their fifth model, called the Terravis. The idea is that it will be covered in solar panels and be linked to an in-bed, removable battery system “that will house a 4,000W A/C inverter and provide two 2,000W outlets. The portable pack will provide close to 1 Kilowatt of stored energy. It will fast-charge from the bed mounted battery banks in about 15 - 30 minutes.”

As for which trucks it will fit:

“The TerraVis™ system will be made to fit legacy trucks with internal combustion engines from about 2010 and up. This will electrify those truck beds. We will also make a TerraVis™ model for each EV (Eletric Truck) forthcoming in the North American Market, such as Rivian, Workhorse, Atlis, Bollinger, Tesla, Herculese, as well as GM and Ford trucks.”

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While I’m sure the concept will appeal to truck users sick of hauling a generator around, I’m not sure the fragility of a glass-topped tonneau will be as attractive.

At this point the concept appears to be little more than sketches and renderings; Worksport is currently seeking investors to back the project, and says they can be ready to ship within 12-24 months of funding.

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What say you, yea or nay? Assuming the technology all works, would your average pickup truck user who needs 1,200 watts to power a circular saw be happy driving around with a glass-topped bed?


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https://www.core77.com/posts/102016/Yea-or-Nay-A-Solar-Power-Harvesting-Pickup-Truck-Tonneau-Cover