Harvester + V2H Support?

[Edgy]

Hi everyone,

I’m new here and very interested in the upcoming Scout Traveler Harvester, especially for its potential as both a vehicle and an emergency home power solution.

I have a few questions I’m hoping Scout Motors (or anyone with insight) can help clarify — looping in @Jamie@ScoutMotors in case you’re able to tap your engineering team for this:

1. Does the Harvester support V2H (Vehicle-to-Home) or any form of bidirectional charging?
2. Can the onboard generator (gas engine) recharge the battery while the vehicle is parked and stationary?
3. If so, can the generator keep charging the battery while parked as long as there's fuel, and continue doing so again after refueling?
4. Approximately how many kWh can the vehicle regenerate from a full tank of fuel into the battery, if used solely for this purpose?
5. What are the expected service/maintenance intervals on the gas generator (range extender) if used regularly for backup power — e.g., during extended outages?
   • I’ve read that traditional backup generators often require oil changes every 100 hours, but EREVs — like the BMW i3 REx or early Chevy Volt — are designed for light-duty generator use and often follow annual maintenance cycles instead.
   • Is the Harvester’s system optimized for this kind of occasional, standby-duty operation with minimal upkeep?

If the Harvester truly offers V2H support and extended stationary battery regeneration with minimal maintenance, it could be a game-changing solution for those of us thinking beyond the garage — into energy resilience and home backup.

Thanks in advance!
Edgy

 

[cyure]

Hi everyone,

I’m new here and very interested in the upcoming Scout Traveler Harvester, especially for its potential as both a vehicle and an emergency home power solution.

I have a few questions I’m hoping Scout Motors (or anyone with insight) can help clarify — looping in @Jamie@ScoutMotors in case you’re able to tap your engineering team for this:

1. Does the Harvester support V2H (Vehicle-to-Home) or any form of bidirectional charging?
2. Can the onboard generator (gas engine) recharge the battery while the vehicle is parked and stationary?
3. If so, can the generator keep charging the battery while parked as long as there's fuel, and continue doing so again after refueling?
4. Approximately how many kWh can the vehicle regenerate from a full tank of fuel into the battery, if used solely for this purpose?
5. What are the expected service/maintenance intervals on the gas generator (range extender) if used regularly for backup power — e.g., during extended outages?
   • I’ve read that traditional backup generators often require oil changes every 100 hours, but EREVs — like the BMW i3 REx or early Chevy Volt — are designed for light-duty generator use and often follow annual maintenance cycles instead.
   • Is the Harvester’s system optimized for this kind of occasional, standby-duty operation with minimal upkeep?

If the Harvester truly offers V2H support and extended stationary battery regeneration with minimal maintenance, it could be a game-changing solution for those of us thinking beyond the garage — into energy resilience and home backup.

Thanks in advance!
Edgy

Welcome to the community!

 

[Chavannigans]

Hi everyone,

I’m new here and very interested in the upcoming Scout Traveler Harvester, especially for its potential as both a vehicle and an emergency home power solution.

I have a few questions I’m hoping Scout Motors (or anyone with insight) can help clarify — looping in @Jamie@ScoutMotors in case you’re able to tap your engineering team for this:

1. Does the Harvester support V2H (Vehicle-to-Home) or any form of bidirectional charging?
2. Can the onboard generator (gas engine) recharge the battery while the vehicle is parked and stationary?
3. If so, can the generator keep charging the battery while parked as long as there's fuel, and continue doing so again after refueling?
4. Approximately how many kWh can the vehicle regenerate from a full tank of fuel into the battery, if used solely for this purpose?
5. What are the expected service/maintenance intervals on the gas generator (range extender) if used regularly for backup power — e.g., during extended outages?
   • I’ve read that traditional backup generators often require oil changes every 100 hours, but EREVs — like the BMW i3 REx or early Chevy Volt — are designed for light-duty generator use and often follow annual maintenance cycles instead.
   • Is the Harvester’s system optimized for this kind of occasional, standby-duty operation with minimal upkeep?

If the Harvester truly offers V2H support and extended stationary battery regeneration with minimal maintenance, it could be a game-changing solution for those of us thinking beyond the garage — into energy resilience and home backup.

Thanks in advance!
Edgy

Welcome.

All of your questions are fantastic and I look forward to them being answered.

At this time we are waiting for more granular details like this from Scout, so we can only speculate.

Bidirectional charging is confirmed on their website but not many details beyond that.

The factory supplying the Harvester engine is confirmed to be in Silao, Mexico; a plant that produces other VW 4 cylinder engines.

Scout's 'Harvester' Gasoline-Powered EV Range Extender Will Be Built in Mexico

A naturally aspirated four-cylinder VW engine will give the Traveler SUV and Terra pickup truck 500 miles of range, Scout says.

www.thedrive.com

I would hope it could go at least few weeks without needing a service during outages or road trips, but I guess we will need to wait and see on its output figures and service intervals.

Pull up a chair and stay a while as more information trickles in. And be sure to keep asking questions like those!

 

[J Alynn]

Hi everyone,

I’m new here and very interested in the upcoming Scout Traveler Harvester, especially for its potential as both a vehicle and an emergency home power solution.

I have a few questions I’m hoping Scout Motors (or anyone with insight) can help clarify — looping in @Jamie@ScoutMotors in case you’re able to tap your engineering team for this:

1. Does the Harvester support V2H (Vehicle-to-Home) or any form of bidirectional charging?
2. Can the onboard generator (gas engine) recharge the battery while the vehicle is parked and stationary?
3. If so, can the generator keep charging the battery while parked as long as there's fuel, and continue doing so again after refueling?
4. Approximately how many kWh can the vehicle regenerate from a full tank of fuel into the battery, if used solely for this purpose?
5. What are the expected service/maintenance intervals on the gas generator (range extender) if used regularly for backup power — e.g., during extended outages?
   • I’ve read that traditional backup generators often require oil changes every 100 hours, but EREVs — like the BMW i3 REx or early Chevy Volt — are designed for light-duty generator use and often follow annual maintenance cycles instead.
   • Is the Harvester’s system optimized for this kind of occasional, standby-duty operation with minimal upkeep?

If the Harvester truly offers V2H support and extended stationary battery regeneration with minimal maintenance, it could be a game-changing solution for those of us thinking beyond the garage — into energy resilience and home backup.

Thanks in advance!
Edgy

Welcome to the forum. We encourage everyone new to check out the search button as well to help find answers to great questions like this. It also helps pin down any topics you may want to enjoy for hours upon hours of reading . Welcome aboard and enjoy the ride

 

[Time2Roll]

I would not expect Scout to be a comprehensive home energy solution.
Although if Scout can compliment an existing solar+battery system I am all in on that.

 

[JAngley]

Welcome ! Great questions as @Chavannigans mentioned bidirectional is confirmed but I love the added layer of maintenances expectations which I am sure are up in the air as of now due to testing. I will be following this for some answers as well. Be cool for a generator/power source for a small off grid camp..

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

Hi everyone,

I’m new here and very interested in the upcoming Scout Traveler Harvester, especially for its potential as both a vehicle and an emergency home power solution.

I have a few questions I’m hoping Scout Motors (or anyone with insight) can help clarify — looping in @Jamie@ScoutMotors in case you’re able to tap your engineering team for this:

1. Does the Harvester support V2H (Vehicle-to-Home) or any form of bidirectional charging?
2. Can the onboard generator (gas engine) recharge the battery while the vehicle is parked and stationary?
3. If so, can the generator keep charging the battery while parked as long as there's fuel, and continue doing so again after refueling?
4. Approximately how many kWh can the vehicle regenerate from a full tank of fuel into the battery, if used solely for this purpose?
5. What are the expected service/maintenance intervals on the gas generator (range extender) if used regularly for backup power — e.g., during extended outages?
   • I’ve read that traditional backup generators often require oil changes every 100 hours, but EREVs — like the BMW i3 REx or early Chevy Volt — are designed for light-duty generator use and often follow annual maintenance cycles instead.
   • Is the Harvester’s system optimized for this kind of occasional, standby-duty operation with minimal upkeep?

If the Harvester truly offers V2H support and extended stationary battery regeneration with minimal maintenance, it could be a game-changing solution for those of us thinking beyond the garage — into energy resilience and home backup.

Thanks in advance!
Edgy

The Scout is supposedly going to have a 240 V, likely 30 A outlet in the bed. IMO, that’s your best bet.

The rest of my $0.02:

All the EV manufacturers claim V2H from the charge port to the EVSE to the home...until it comes time to support it. Very few have been successful in manufacturing trouble-free operation. The issue is not the bidirectional power. The issue is the hardware bolted to the home communicating with the vehicle that the grid has failed and it’s time to power up the system so it can share power from the charge port in a timely and trouble-free manner.

The standards for V2X are still being completed and every manufacturer who has tried to do V2H has implemented their own proprietary system so V2H inverter/charger companies have to waste valuable R&D trying to figure out yet another system. Nobody is doing a great job of it right now.

If you want emergency failover, I would suggest instead that you get a whole home inverter+battery system that accepts 240V generator input. The system can be bought and installed for about the same price of the V2H system that would sit behind the bidirectional EVSE.

It comes with many benefits over V2H.

With a whole home battery backup, you get a standardized system that everyone knows how to make work—it’s difficult to do this wrong. So when the power goes out, you have a kind of system that’s been tested for several decades and failover just works. When, sometime later, you notice the power outage, you can go plug in your vehicle with the generator connection to recharge the house batteries using the 7.2 kW outlet in the bed. And you can also go out to help your neighbors or go grocery shopping or whatever else you need to do with the capable truck without worrying about the house power being off because you unplugged the truck.

As far as the Harvester being up to the duty. For sometime use, yes, it’ll be fine. I wouldn’t run it for more than about 5 hours before giving it a break, but we’ll see what the duty cycle suggestions from Scout Motors look like. Yes, it’ll need additional maintenance. As a WAG, I would consider every hour spent providing backup power as 60-120 miles added to the ICE odometer. If the Harvester is designed well, it’ll pretty much always operate within a narrow power band. It shouldn't matter much if you’re actually driving or sitting idling, the RPMs will be about the same. So I would assume 1 hour of generator use is equivalent to 60 mph driving. But you won’t have the “free” airflow to help cool the engine, so you’ll want to account for some extra wear-and-tear.

 

[dreamweaver]

Hi everyone,

I’m new here and very interested in the upcoming Scout Traveler Harvester, especially for its potential as both a vehicle and an emergency home power solution.

I have a few questions I’m hoping Scout Motors (or anyone with insight) can help clarify — looping in @Jamie@ScoutMotors in case you’re able to tap your engineering team for this:

1. Does the Harvester support V2H (Vehicle-to-Home) or any form of bidirectional charging?
2. Can the onboard generator (gas engine) recharge the battery while the vehicle is parked and stationary?
3. If so, can the generator keep charging the battery while parked as long as there's fuel, and continue doing so again after refueling?
4. Approximately how many kWh can the vehicle regenerate from a full tank of fuel into the battery, if used solely for this purpose?
5. What are the expected service/maintenance intervals on the gas generator (range extender) if used regularly for backup power — e.g., during extended outages?
   • I’ve read that traditional backup generators often require oil changes every 100 hours, but EREVs — like the BMW i3 REx or early Chevy Volt — are designed for light-duty generator use and often follow annual maintenance cycles instead.
   • Is the Harvester’s system optimized for this kind of occasional, standby-duty operation with minimal upkeep?

If the Harvester truly offers V2H support and extended stationary battery regeneration with minimal maintenance, it could be a game-changing solution for those of us thinking beyond the garage — into energy resilience and home backup.

Thanks in advance!
Edgy

Scout. “People. Connections. Community. Authenticity." Welcome to the Scout community. Enjoy the ride.

 

[Edgy]

The Scout is supposedly going to have a 240 V, likely 30 A outlet in the bed. IMO, that’s your best bet.

The rest of my $0.02:

All the EV manufacturers claim V2H from the charge port to the EVSE to the home...until it comes time to support it. Very few have been successful in manufacturing trouble-free operation. The issue is not the bidirectional power. The issue is the hardware bolted to the home communicating with the vehicle that the grid has failed and it’s time to power up the system so it can share power from the charge port in a timely and trouble-free manner.

The standards for V2X are still being completed and every manufacturer who has tried to do V2H has implemented their own proprietary system so V2H inverter/charger companies have to waste valuable R&D trying to figure out yet another system. Nobody is doing a great job of it right now.

If you want emergency failover, I would suggest instead that you get a whole home inverter+battery system that accepts 240V generator input. The system can be bought and installed for about the same price of the V2H system that would sit behind the bidirectional EVSE.

It comes with many benefits over V2H.

With a whole home battery backup, you get a standardized system that everyone knows how to make work—it’s difficult to do this wrong. So when the power goes out, you have a kind of system that’s been tested for several decades and failover just works. When, sometime later, you notice the power outage, you can go plug in your vehicle with the generator connection to recharge the house batteries using the 7.2 kW outlet in the bed. And you can also go out to help your neighbors or go grocery shopping or whatever else you need to do with the capable truck without worrying about the house power being off because you unplugged the truck.

As far as the Harvester being up to the duty. For sometime use, yes, it’ll be fine. I wouldn’t run it for more than about 5 hours before giving it a break, but we’ll see what the duty cycle suggestions from Scout Motors look like. Yes, it’ll need additional maintenance. As a WAG, I would consider every hour spent providing backup power as 60-120 miles added to the ICE odometer. If the Harvester is designed well, it’ll pretty much always operate within a narrow power band. It shouldn't matter much if you’re actually driving or sitting idling, the RPMs will be about the same. So I would assume 1 hour of generator use is equivalent to 60 mph driving. But you won’t have the “free” airflow to help cool the engine, so you’ll want to account for some extra wear-and-tear.

First of all, thank you for the warm welcome! It’s really great to see such a friendly and open community here.

I also really appreciate your thoughtful and reasonable reply — you made a lot of solid points. I agree that V2H and V2X aren’t quite ready for prime time yet, especially with so many proprietary systems floating around. Standardization is sorely needed.

Getting a dedicated home battery and inverter setup is definitely a solid route, and I see the appeal. But for some folks, especially those trying to keep things within a tight budget, it might not be feasible right away. That’s why I was curious if the Harvester could pull double duty in a pinch — not as a full-time generator, but as a backup option during extended outages.

I admit, I was a bit let down to hear that it may not be ideal for long generator sessions. But it makes sense, especially if cooling becomes a concern while it’s stationary. Maybe Scout’s engineers have baked in some smart venting or thermal safeguards — I’ll leave that part to their expertise!

At the end of the day, we still don’t fully know what the Harvester will be capable of. I’d be thrilled if it ends up outperforming expectations, especially with VW’s engineering behind it. Maintenance will definitely be something to watch, but time will tell.

Thanks again for the thoughtful response — this is exactly the kind of discussion I was hoping for!

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

Getting a dedicated home battery and inverter setup is definitely a solid route, and I see the appeal. But for some folks, especially those trying to keep things within a tight budget, it might not be feasible right away. That’s why I was curious if the Harvester could pull double duty in a pinch — not as a full-time generator, but as a backup option during extended outages.

There are no, nor will there ever likely be, any cheap options to provide whole-home backup from a consumer EV without several pieces of additional hardware at the home.

You will need, at a minimum, a generator transfer switch, installed by a licensed contractor. The cost of a manual switch will be around $100-$200. The cost of permits, installation, and inspection will be around $1k in most of the US, depending on several factors. This will require a manual transfer, including plugging in the truck's AC output from the bed to the generator input at the subpanel on the house. So the power will be off for whatever time it takes to do that transfer.

An automatic transfer switch won't do any good without an additional $5k-$10k worth of hardware to communicate with the truck to tell it to provide power. Plus a $1500 EVSE capable of bidirectional power.

If someone wants cheap emergency power, all they have to do is plug in extension cords to the truck and to the very critical loads like the fridge, etc. But it's not automatic.

 

[Edgy]

There are no, nor will there ever likely be, any cheap options to provide whole-home backup from a consumer EV without several pieces of additional hardware at the home.

You will need, at a minimum, a generator transfer switch, installed by a licensed contractor. The cost of a manual switch will be around $100-$200. The cost of permits, installation, and inspection will be around $1k in most of the US, depending on several factors. This will require a manual transfer, including plugging in the truck's AC output from the bed to the generator input at the subpanel on the house. So the power will be off for whatever time it takes to do that transfer.

An automatic transfer switch won't do any good without an additional $5k-$10k worth of hardware to communicate with the truck to tell it to provide power. Plus a $1500 EVSE capable of bidirectional power.

If someone wants cheap emergency power, all they have to do is plug in extension cords to the truck and to the very critical loads like the fridge, etc. But it's not automatic.

Thanks for the detailed breakdown — you’re absolutely right that the hardware and installation costs add up quickly, which makes full home backup from an EV a tough sell right now.

That said, for a brand like Scout that’s all about adventure and pushing boundaries, the Harvester could really stand out by offering more seamless and powerful backup capabilities right out of the box. I understand the engineering and regulatory challenges, but maybe Scout could consider offering two versions — a practical, budget-friendly EREV for everyday use, and a premium off-grid-ready model designed for reliable emergency power with minimal extra gear.

Also, with the rise of OTA updates, there’s potential for unlocking new features over time — perhaps enabling or improving V2H or backup power capabilities remotely as technology and standards evolve. This could be a smart way to future-proof the vehicle and keep it competitive without requiring costly hardware upgrades.

I’m hopeful Scout’s team will explore these possibilities to make the Harvester more than just “another EREV,” but a true game-changer for outdoor enthusiasts and homeowners alike.

Thanks again for sharing your insights!

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

I'm not sure what you want Scout to offer? The truck will be a mobile generator, with or without the Harvester.

They can provide V2X capabilities.

Then what? How do you connect that to your home?

 

[Edgy]

I'm not sure what you want Scout to offer? The truck will be a mobile generator, with or without the Harvester.

They can provide V2X capabilities.

Then what? How do you connect that to your home?

Thanks for the reply! Let me clear up — I know the Scout Traveler or Terra will offer V2X capabilities, but what I’m really curious about is whether the Harvester specifically will support that functionality. We know the non-Harvester models can provide backup power, but once the battery runs low during an outage, recharging it would require driving to a DC charger.

The Harvester, though, is different in my theory — it could act like a gas generator, feeding power to recharge the battery and power the house at the same time. With a gas can or jerry container, you could keep the generator running during an outage without needing to drive anywhere for a recharge or fuel station.

I’m just wondering how Scout plans to implement this and whether it’ll be as seamless and practical as it sounds. Maybe OTA updates or smart engineering solutions could unlock more of these capabilities down the line.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

I see. We won't know until later. It wouldn't make sense to cut that hardware out of the Harvester unless costs balloon so badly that they have to cut a lot of things. Even then I don't think they would cut this because they would have to source a different charge controller.

 

[dreamweaver]

I see. We won't know until later. It wouldn't make sense to cut that hardware out of the Harvester unless costs balloon so badly that they have to cut a lot of things. Even then I don't think they would cut this because they would have to source a different charge controller.

I am pretty sure they don't want to do that late in the game.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

I am pretty sure they don't want to do that late in the game.

I agree--they don't want to. That said, almost all manufacturers have seen luxury options removed from vehicles admid the chip shortages and other supply chain issues. I would expect to see many other removals before they dropped this from one of the two main vehicles. If anything is cut, I would expect it to be cut from both vehicles instead of just one.

 

[BeerParty]

Thanks for the reply! Let me clear up — I know the Scout Traveler or Terra will offer V2X capabilities, but what I’m really curious about is whether the Harvester specifically will support that functionality. We know the non-Harvester models can provide backup power, but once the battery runs low during an outage, recharging it would require driving to a DC charger.

The Harvester, though, is different in my theory — it could act like a gas generator, feeding power to recharge the battery and power the house at the same time. With a gas can or jerry container, you could keep the generator running during an outage without needing to drive anywhere for a recharge or fuel station.

I’m just wondering how Scout plans to implement this and whether it’ll be as seamless and practical as it sounds. Maybe OTA updates or smart engineering solutions could unlock more of these capabilities down the line.

The EREV (Extended Range Electric Vehicle, aka Scout Harvester) will still have traction batteries and full electric capabilities. Scout has quoted ~150 of total EV range in the EREV versions. So, it will have the same power supply capability that the BEV would. If the industry standardizes on a Vehicle to Home (V2H) solution (not likely in time for the first round of Scouts) you can use the EREV just like the Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) version. Just plug it in and program the V2H.

For a near term whole home backup solution, you just need Vehicle to Load (V2L). Scout has already confirmed V2L in the vehicles (the prototypes showed outlets). For a direct connection you would likely need a 240V 30amp outlet that plugs into a transfer switch of some sort. Both vehicles will likely offer that. If they don't offer a 240V outlet there are options to work around that limitation. So, if you want a solution today, any EV that can do V2L can provide it if you are willing to install the equipment (transfer switch) in your house.

As for running the generator in the Harvester, keep in mind that the generator would not need to run for the entire outage. I likely wouldn't need to run at all for the first couple of days as long as the battery were charged up beforehand. The house would initially use power from the battery. When the battery gets low the generator would turn on fill up the battery. Once the battery is full, the generator turns off and the house continues to use power from the batteries. Rinse and repeat. For an example of how it works I'll refer you to a YouTube video (

).

The battery+generator he set up in that video is basically what the EREV setup is in the Scouts. In the video, he mentions running his whole house for 6 hours just on the battery. That's 8Kwh of battery capacity when you include the expansion battery. So the battery he is using in that video is about 1/8 the size of the battery in the EREV. Using that as a baseline, just the battery in the EREV would be able to power your house for at least a couple of days. The range extension provided by the generator is 350 miles, which means the generator (with a full tank of gas) should be able to fully recharge the battery at least twice. Based on the main use case for the generator, it would need to run for about 2.5 hours to fully recharge the battery. Likely less since you wouldn't run the battery all the way down to 0. So, the EREV could provide power to your house for about 6 days, but the generator would only need to run for about 5 hours during that time.

 

[Hedrock]

While I’d like to use Scout to power my house in emergencies, I’m fine with a manual switch.

I’ve been thinking more along the lines of a supplement for off grid cabin. Manual connection, and a 60kwh battery should be plenty.

 

[JAngley]

While I’d like to use Scout to power my house in emergencies, I’m fine with a manual switch.

I’ve been thinking more along the lines of a supplement for off grid cabin. Manual connection, and a 60kwh battery should be plenty.

Off grid cabin is where my mind went as well and I think it’d be great for that..