Scout Harvester: a truck with its own generator
Electric drive, a small gas generator on board, and a solar roof at home. The most outage-proof Scout there is.
How the Harvester works
A Harvester Scout always drives on its electric motors. Tucked between the rear axle and the bumper is a small gas engine that never turns the wheels — it only spins a generator that recharges the battery. You fill it at an ordinary gas pump through a filler on the front fender. Scout targets more than 500 miles of total range this way, against about 350 for the all-electric Scout.
The name is a nod to International Harvester, the company that built the original Scout from 1961 to 1980.
Bugging Out Solar is independent and not affiliated with Scout Motors. Vehicle facts are as Scout has announced them and can change before the trucks reach customers.
Three layers of power
| Source | What it does for you |
|---|---|
| The sun | The carport's solar roof charges the battery every day, outage or not. |
| The battery | Through a two-way charger and transfer switch, it runs the house when the grid is down. |
| The generator | On the road, gas keeps the truck going long after the battery would have run out — no hunting for a working charger on an evacuation route. |
Why it suits the hurricane coast
Storm country asks two things of a vehicle: carry the house while you ride it out, and get you far inland if you can't. The battery and the sun handle the first. The generator handles the second. Scout hasn't said whether the generator can recharge the battery while the truck sits parked feeding a house, so we don't plan around that — the solar roof does that job.
Harvester questions
What is the Scout Harvester?
Harvester is the range-extended version of the Scout Traveler and Terra. The truck always drives on electric motors, but carries a small gas engine that works only as a generator to recharge the battery. Scout targets more than 500 miles of range with it.
Why is it called Harvester?
The name nods to International Harvester, the company that built the original Scout from 1961 to 1980.
Is a Harvester good for hurricane country?
It's a strong fit. On the road, the generator means a long evacuation drive never depends on finding an open charger. At home, two-way charging and a transfer switch let the battery run the house, and a solar carport refills it on sunny days.
Ready when the lights go out
Tell us about your place and what you drive. We'll tell you straight what a Bugging Out carport would do for you.