Once I met Keith and Melissa Silva at this yr’s King of the Hammers race in dusty Johnson Valley, California, that they had simply 5 days to go earlier than their Tesla-powered Chevrolet truck rig would compete in one in all America’s most brutal off-road competitions. There was only one minor problem: the truck wouldn’t backpedal.
5 minutes later, Keith acquired it sorted out with a technique that’s a cross between basic car-enthusiast elbow grease and “unplug the router.” “I did the identical factor I at all times do,” he instructed me. “Simply kick it within the ass and do a calibration replace and boop, it goes again to regular.”
Such are the fixes once you take the battery and motor from a Tesla Mannequin S and shove them into an previous Chevrolet S10 rock crawler, all with little to no data of EVs, wiring or pc software program. Simply flip it off and switch it again on once more.
And but it labored, proving for the second yr that the Silvas could also be onto one thing right here.
King Of The Huh?
King of the Hammers takes place each January on Means Dry Lake mattress in Johnson Valley, California. Over two weeks the occasion sees a number of races in a number of the gnarliest terrain on the planet with opponents on bikes, UTVs, inventory Jeeps, rock crawlers with 40-inch tires, and within the Silvas’ case, one nasty retrofitted Chevy truck.
Working as No. 2412, the Silvas’ rig has an 85 kWh battery pack whereas a single electrical motor produces 416 horsepower and 443 pound-feet of torque. Even in comparison with the monster V8s that additionally compete, the TesTen—a mix of Tesla and S10—is a pokey little pet. Nonetheless, the Silvas have a bonus with that on the spot electrical torque supply.
They’ve additionally put in a two-speed switch case to maintain the motor from producing an excessive amount of warmth making an attempt to put all that torque down without delay. Beefy 37-inch Mickey Thompson tires and lengthy journey suspension spherical out the package deal.
To be clear, the Silvas aren’t essentially EV fanatics. They simply love the game of rock crawling they usually get pleasure from a problem. They aren’t in it for environmental causes.
“Nothing about this really is eco-friendly,” mentioned Melissa. “We’re utilizing a generator to cost the truck. We simply have on the spot torque. Now we have on the spot energy. There are such a lot of execs.”
That on the spot energy supply is certainly a bonus on the Each Man Problem, a one-day race meant for grassroots opponents. This race consists of a 73-mile high-speed desert loop and one shorter loop by means of the nastiest rocks you’ve ever seen. No matter dimension rocks you’re considering of, double it. These boulders are the scale of a compact automobile. There are sheer drop-offs of six ft or extra, steep climbs and opponents routinely flip over or drive over one another in an effort to attain the highest. This isn’t a race for the faint of coronary heart.
Nevertheless, there’s a contact of inexperienced sensibilities at King of the Hammers. Optima Batteries hosted over 50 EVs on the Optima Oasis, taking the Rivians, Teslas and Ford Lightnings out on curated path runs. When it got here time for them to cost, Optima’s mum or dad firm Clarios partnered with Renewable Improvements to convey off-grid charging as much as 180 kW to the Oasis, powered by “inexperienced” hydrogen. Greater than 100 hybrids and EVs took benefit of the chargers that they had onhand, the corporate mentioned; all of it signifies there’s extra of a future for electrical off-roading than folks assume.
It’s nonetheless no straightforward path. Simply ask the Silvas. The couple tried the race final yr however had been unable to complete with out working their battery too low, risking main harm. Their aim this yr was to complete their desert lap they usually spent all yr ensuring #2412 was as much as the duty.
And They’re Off
The TesTen was the 162nd automobile off the road and inside a number of miles encountered two easy-ish rocky hill climbs. Right here the rig by some means managed to slide into excessive gear within the rear however low gear within the entrance. With the rear wheels desirous to oversteer and the entrance wheels hopping at every flip, Keith furiously jammed the selectors till they determined to behave.
The crew took the primary 37 miles at a sluggish however regular clip, coming into their first pit with 25% or so left of their battery. Now it might be time to attend.
Whereas it’s attainable to get a high-speed cost in the course of the desert—bear in mind Renewable Improvements was doing it on the Optima Oasis—the Silvas had been on their very own for charging options. Apart from that, the TesTen can’t settle for a Stage 3 cost because it lacks the pc bits and bops to speak with a high-speed charger. So the crew put in a 6 kW onboard charger and let a 9,500-watt Harbor Freight generator do the job.
After 4 hours, some meals and a fast snooze, the husband and spouse crew had been charged to 75% and prepared for the following 36 miles of desert terrain.
Thankfully, the remaining miles handed with out a lot incident. The battery administration system acquired confused a number of instances and turned the rig off for security, nevertheless it simply began again up once more. In direction of the top of the race the drivetrain disconnected from the motor they usually had been barreling down a steep rocky path basically in impartial earlier than Keith managed to shove it again in by means of the gear selectors.
After they crossed the end line the very first thing out of my mouth was, “Holy shit, they did it.” Though they didn’t full the rock part and official outcomes have them as a Did Not End, the race group had given the okay for his or her shorter lap. They realized their private aim of finishing the desert lap and went house with a trophy besides.
When the mud cleared the crew ran the numbers and figured they acquired 1.15 miles/kWh. It might sound that common is nice sufficient to finish one 73-mile lap on a single cost, however the Silvas care about battery well being. They don’t wish to cost to 100% or run it all the way down to zero.
For perspective, I’ve had the Hummer EV out in Johnson Valley and wasn’t in a position to get greater than 1 mile/kWh of effectivity, however I’ve achieved higher within the Rivian R1T within the grime. Nevertheless, the Silvas’ effectivity is fairly spectacular when you think about the scale of the tires and their air strain in addition to the terrain. And the truth that that is, basically, a homebrew effort.
If It Was Simple, Everybody Would Do It
The Silvas put in numerous hours within the storage and tens of 1000’s of {dollars} of their very own cash to make the TesTen a actuality. Alongside the way in which, by means of YouTube movies, the beneficiant donation of data and merchandise by people from AEM and Radial Dynamics in addition to loads of trial and error, the TesTen is making off-road historical past.
For King of the Hammers 2025, the crew hopes to have the ability to supply one other battery and swap them out on the pits. The truck is already arrange for swapping with quick-connect cables and Keith says they’ll do it in 10 or quarter-hour. A number of pre-charged batteries would give them the vary to finish your complete Each Man Problem, hopefully attracting extra EV opponents and opening up a complete new class of racing.
“We would like to have the ability to push the truck tougher and attempt to sustain with the pack and never run out of vary by the point we get the rocks,” Keith mentioned. “We’ve acquired lots of R&D nonetheless to do. However I imply, child steps. It is all new.”