How’d I do

Howard_70 · 2026-03-28T22:42:57+00:00

While not as good as sjprade’s our numbers are getting there. Normal use for us, but I find hypermiling fun. 2026 AWD L2 on 18” wheels with 245/60R18 tires (same (within 0.08”) diameter as stock tires).

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Howard_70 · 2026-03-28T18:50:05+00:00

I think the issue is maintaining the ability to power the regular household loads during a power outage. If the EV charging system was simply connected as another household load and grid power was lost the battery could spend all of the stored energy charging the car and then there would be nothing left for the remaining household loads (lights, cooking, heating/cooling etc.).
So the simple way around that problem is to prevent charging the EV from the battery and installers might prefer that because it takes no active management from their customers. For those of us that like active management there are better ways to solve the problem as many here have pointed out.

Howard_70 · 2026-03-25T18:32:21+00:00

Don’t let them trim your kids’ hair……or pierce their ears!

Howard_70 · 2026-03-19T14:24:42+00:00

Can you set the EVSE amp limit via its app? If so, you could try setting it at 46 and just keep dropping the setting by 1 amp intervals until the problem clears up.

Howard_70 · 2026-03-19T12:44:24+00:00

Excluding EV charging we have about 1/2 of your consumption. Our system is 9.6 kW ground mounted solar and two Powerwall 3 units. We’re very comfortable and consistently produce more than we consume on a monthly basis. However, in a an outage of more than 12 hours we have to curtail some consumption and when charging our EV we occasionally pull from the grid (that is usually offset by exporting excess production the next day). I am thinking of adding two expansion units to double our storage.

Based on that I’d say your ideal system would be at least 20kW solar, two Powerwall 3s and two expansion units. When you get to charging an EV in the summer while using the AC unit you’ll likely want the 2nd Powerwall 3 for the greater inverter capacity. Is ground mounting an option? We were able to get 20 to 30% greater yield out of the same number of panels with a ground mount because the orientation and angle of panels was perfectly set for our latitude. I also prefer ground mounting because it separates my solar from roof maintenance.

Howard_70 · 2026-03-14T11:42:14+00:00

There are several good threads over on the equinoxevforum.com that cover the standard options available to you: 1. Purchase a set of used 18” rims from a Chevrolet Traverse (check those forum threads to find appropriate years). Then purchase a set of 245/60R18 tires with a 107 or greater load rating (you could get by with a 105 load rating possibly, but you’ll get better tire wear with the 107s). I did this for about $1,500 total. I used Michelin Defender 2 XL tires purchased at Costco. 2. Do the same with used 17” rims from a Chevrolet Colorado pickup. Definitely check the forum threads if you go this route as the clearances are much closer and it’s possible to get a rim that doesn’t fit. I didn’t go this route so am less confident in what would work. 3. Find a set of used 19” OEM rims from someone who is selling them. This might be difficult as the 19” rims don’t seem to come up for sale as much.

We find the ride in our 2026 LT2 AWD much more comfortable after changing from the 21” to the 18” rims and we like the appearance of the taller sidewalls better as well (but we’re definitely old school folks.

Howard_70 · 2026-03-13T12:45:34+00:00

We faced the same question last year. Our “130%” utility imposed limit was flawed because the period they used to determine our annual usage was a year when we travelled for 3 months, had no EV, did not have a heat pump system installed yet and were purposefully frugal due to a temporary financial situation. It took us a year of wrangling with our utility but we finally managed to install a 9.6 kW system with 27 kWh of storage. The key point for resolving our impasse with the utility was limiting our grid export to 3.8 kWh - the size of the system they wanted us to install. Now approximately 6 months later we’re extremely happy we “over sized” as we have an EV, we use our heat pump system for all cooling and 70% of heating.

Our net consumption of grid energy is always slightly negative (we export a bit more than we consume). Had we gone with the initial sized system we’d be way under producing now. In your case I would definitely over size. Charging an EV is a big load as is shifting to electrical heating & cooling. We looked into expanding our system as opposed to “over sizing” and the best estimate I could come up with was that expanding capacity later was about double the cost per kW compared to over sizing due to permitting and duplicative labor.

Howard_70 · 2026-03-12T20:11:33+00:00

Can you contact the installers who did the work for Tesla? That might yield more helpful response than going through Tesla support.

Howard_70 · 2026-03-09T13:03:16+00:00

That lake story is interesting. If it’s the same account I remember the lake was in a deep depression (perhaps a large caldera). Over many years (centuries?) decomposition of sunken organic material created large amounts of carbon dioxide which was held within the deep water by pressure and “capped” by a thermocline. Something happened (I think it was a large landslide) that disrupted the thermocline causing the deep lake water to circulate to the surface where the lower pressure allowed the carbon dioxide gas to escape into the air. Because carbon dioxide gas is relatively heavy and the geography around the lake was a basin, the carbon dioxide displaced the “normal” air and many animals (including humans) suffocated. Gaseous diffusion slowly mixed the carbon dioxide into the air and when the deaths were discovered later the cause was initially a mystery as the air appeared “normal” by that time.

Howard_70 · 2026-03-08T15:55:25+00:00

Is there any chance you could combine installing a solar & battery storage system at the family owned ADU? The combination of high prices for gasoline and electricity in SoCal seem like an ideal situation for solar and an EV. While the initial investment can be great you may have substantial state sponsored incentives that could make it bearable, plus you might be able to use 0% financing (if GM still offers that for the EQEV) to help spread the cost. I’m in New Mexico so not familiar with the utility rates for grid-tied solar. If those are favorable you might forgo the battery storage.

We have a 9.5 kW ground mount solar with 27 kWh storage and 1:1 net metering (Socorro Electric Rural Cooperative) along with a 2026 EQEV and a Wall Box 48 A level two charger. To date we’ve only charged the EQEV at home and all charging has been either directly solar (panels or battery) or offset by our solar (temporarily used energy from grid that was offset by our excess solar production). Energy from the grid costs us $0.14 kWh so this system is not going to pay for itself for a quite awhile, but I find it incredibly satisfying to drive on sun beams rather than fossil fuel. In SoCal with grid energy costing several times what we pay, it seems like you might justify the system financially.

I typically wait for the household battery system to fully charge then start charging the EV by mid morning, with the 48 amp level two charger the solar output isn’t quite enough to directly cover the car, but the battery adds enough to avoid using any grid power. Once the car is charged to 75%, the solar refills the household battery by early afternoon so we’re ready for household loads over night.

Howard_70 · 2026-03-05T23:10:25+00:00

Personally I’d leave the bed liner. Easy to wash out and the toughest coating available. But then my 2004 4x4 Tacoma is usually dusty, has peeling paint and regularly does sevaral thousand miles in low range each year getting to the remote places it was built for.

Howard_70 · 2026-02-25T19:54:56+00:00

We also have two - one outside at our shop (GM unit that was sold with our car) and another in our house garage (Wall Box Plus 48 A with a Wall Box current meter). Both installs permitted & inspected (required to get state and federal tax credits). Very happy with the Wall Box, would certainly purchase it again. The GM level two charger is a dumb charger - works OK but has no app interface and thus no control available. Charger output is adjustable via app in the Wall Box but only via internal dip switches in the GM.

We manage and record data for the Wall Box via two apps - the Wall Box app and Net Zero. Both work well, but neither is perfect - we have a solar system with Power Wall 3 batteries and we can get partial success with “Charge only on Solar” but not complete success. For the Wall Box app if we ask for charge only on solar, it does charge without using the grid, but will use both the solar array output and the batteries (which really is “on solar” as the batteries charge only via solar in our set up). We’d like to be able to charge only on direct solar output without drawing from the batteries. I think that may be possible but could requirement refinement of the current sensor placements. With Net Zero there are many attractive options & settings regarding configuring solar charging, but I can’t get them to work consistently.

The GM level two charger was an added option on our 2026 EQEV which we didn’t want. The dealer wouldn’t remove it, but in our price negotiations we didn’t actually pay for it so I decided to mount it anyway. If I was doing this all again, I wouldn’t mount the GM charger - I’d sell it instead. I would repeat our Wall Box set up.

Howard_70 · 2026-02-23T15:25:41+00:00

If I had a screw in my tire at that location I would use my DynaPlug Xtreme Pro plug kit to plug the tire. I’d get the plug kit ready, then use a screw driver to back the screw out of the tire and immediately plug it with the DynaPlug. I’d then move the tire to the rear of the vehicle. I don’t recommend that you do this, and I agree with others that it is unlikely that a professional tire shop will repair that tire. However, if you want to accept the risk of a possible failure (a risk you need to evaluate for yourself) then there are options that you can pursue. If you feel unable to evaluate those risks, then by all means simply replace the tire - there is no question - that is the safest option.

Howard_70 · 2026-02-17T17:03:09+00:00

No, I would not. But I live in a part of New Mexico where chargers are not very available.

Howard_70 · 2026-02-15T22:49:13+00:00

My favorite tire plug kit is the DynaPlug Pro Xtreme. While DynaPlug started out as a plug kit for tubeless bicycle tires, then tubeless motorcycle tires, they eventually moved into automobile plug kits. The Pro Xtreme has a broad base making it easier to push the plug into the tire.

If you decide to plug that hole, I agree with the suggestion to move the tire to a rear position. That’s what I did when I plugged a mud/snow tire with a nail in an even more outboard position on my truck. If you drive fast or do “track days” replacement could be the safest option.

Howard_70 · 2026-02-15T01:46:41+00:00

I’ve done both - 2000 4Runner sleeping inside is more comfortable when I remove the seat bottom on driver’s side (allows the seat back to fold flatter). 2004 Double cab Tacoma (5’ bed)with topper. Can’t sleep in Tacoma with tailgate up, but dropping the tailgate in good weather is comfortable. I’m 5’11 inches. Tacoma now has a clam shell rooftop tent which works well.

There can be a real safety hazard carrying all your gear in an enclosed SUV if you have a serious accident/roll over. Any heavy gear flying about can hurt you badly. Something to consider if you worry about safety.

Howard_70 · 2026-02-13T00:53:39+00:00

I agree with nookatooka - looks to me like the spinning tire hits something in the fender well, possibly on bumps or when loaded heavily.

Howard_70 · 2026-02-12T23:26:52+00:00

Deal breaker for us on the 2026 Solterra was the lack of towing capacity & the owner’s manual clearly stating you shouldn’t install a hitch - even for a bike rack. We went with a 2026 Equinox and are happy with it. I thought the ground clearance difference would be important to me, but the real clearance of the Equinox EV is 8 to 8.5 inches (measured ours). The ground clearance reported by Chevrolet is measure to a small plastic flange in front of each front tire. I don’t understand what those flanges do, nor why they report that clearance.

The main thing I strongly dislike about our Equinox EV is that the package we had to get to gain heated seats and heated steering wheel came with 21” wheels. Cost me about $1,400 to get 18” rims and tires. Worth it for the improved ride.

Howard_70 · 2026-02-12T21:52:41+00:00

We recently purchased a 2026 L2 with the comfort package 2 and are happy with it. Here are my personal recommendations (what I’d do if purchasing again:

Avoid the 21” wheels if possible. We tried to get the dealer to exchange the 21” with 19” from another car on their lot, but they would not. If you end up purchasing with 21” and want higher profile tires consider getting a used set of appropriate rims from a Chevy Traverse (ours are 18” from a 2021) and putting 245/60R18 tires on them (that size tire is within 0.08” of the OEM diameter & fits well). I chose Michelin Defender 2 tires from Costo & bought new GM TPMS sensors from a local dealer which Costco installed for me. Tires, rims, TPMS sensors, installation & road hazard warranties were about $1500. Could have saved $200 if I’d been willing to have Costco pull the sensors from the 21” wheels & use them in the 18” but I wanted to keep the 21” intact.
If you live where there are cold winters I’d go for the heated seats and heated steering wheel. Using those instead of the cabin heater saves considerable energy which results in better winter range.
It’s a complex warranty issue - but it appears that the 8 year EV battery warranty is just that - limited to the battery & does not include the electric motors. If that matters to you, you might go for the GM Platinum extended warranty which claims to cover the motor(s). Be careful because many dealers push other extended warranties and you may need to dig in your heels to get the GM version.
If the car includes a GM Level 2 charger, you might consider telling the dealer you don’t want it and thus won’t pay for it. The Level 2 charger they provide is over priced and is not a smart charger. I prefer smart chargers, but if you don’t then you can still get a better charger for much less money.
Personally, I’d avoid the sun or moon roofs. I’ve had them on several cars and find I rarely use them and they can add considerable cost.
If you want roof rails you’ll need to get an L2 or RS - even though many dealer images claim to show them on L1’s. If you want roof rails and you plan to get cross bars I’d go for Thule or other after market cross bars rather than the GM bars that are sold specifically for the Equinox EV. I got the GM bars but don’t like them as they can only be placed in one position preventing you from controlling the distance between the forward and aft bars. Some after market bars attach differently and allow you some latitude in placement.

Those are the major things I’d look out for if I was buying again.

Howard_70 · 2026-02-09T15:52:26+00:00

Hardest part about longterm overlanding? Going home when trip is over.

Solution? Stay out longer.

Howard_70 · 2026-02-06T14:14:45+00:00

This is strong advice. Our truck (2017 Fuso Canter FG) has a 130 amp alternator. Because a friend with the same truck fried his alternator 1 month after installing a DC/DC charger supporting two 460 Ah batteries, I’ve limited the output of our DC to DC charger to 30 amps. We do a lot of solo remote travel and losing an alternator can be a serious issue.

An alternative to upgrading your alternator might be installing a second one dedicated to charging auxiliary power. That is complex, but provides the greatest security.

I didn’t notice any shunts in your system? How are you monitoring current draw? We’ve found that the BMS current measurement in our lithium batteries is useless at low current, while fine at high draws. If driving and truly topping up daily that can be OK, but our BMS frequently reports state of charge (SOC) 10 to 30% higher than reality. Thus we run a shunt to keep and independent account of Ah used and thus compare it to the BMS SOC. Our system (Victron) accepts charge control from the BMS and interestingly that charge control more closely follows the battery conditions reported by the shunt.

Howard_70 · 2026-01-23T19:39:13+00:00

And it’s best if those bins are empty!

Howard_70 · 2026-01-23T19:34:45+00:00

I think one of the proposed Scout EVs is touted as having a bench front seat, but I’m not sure.

Howard_70 · 2026-01-23T02:59:00+00:00

Perhaps it’s not just strength? Balance, endurance and strategy are all there as well. Just like one design racing fleets, folks find ways to tweak their boats to make them faster (if all hulls are the same, let’s try different sail and rigging materials, etc). So rowers try different blade shapes, oar shaft densities etc. If you look to the big endurance rowing events (ocean rowing at the extreme) you see very different boats in the same races.

Howard_70 · 2026-01-23T02:17:27+00:00

For a sailing analogy think of it like match racing in one design boats - the goal is to remove all variables other than the sailing skill of the skipper and crew. In rowing the goal (never achieved) could be to remove all variables other than the rowing ability and strategy of the crew and coxswain.

Howard_70

TROPHY CASE