EV comes closer......

[martin300662]

Originally Posted by Boom Sounds

You may well be right. I guess it just depends on the set up. My 250 has the higher rating 14500 chassis which gives me quite a bit of play. I'd have to do the calcs on what weight could be ditched and the weight of batteries (which will be key). I hold out some hope that new battery tech will come along sooner than one might think and that would be a game changer for a retro-fit.

Out in the real world, Rivian, Arrival and the like will manufacture lightweight EVs on skate chassis that would be far more practical. It will only be a matter of time before there is some disruption and a new player builds a cracking class C EV Motohome.

GM estimates the Hummer pickup will go up to 350 miles, but with a massive battery in a 9,200-pound beast carrying all kinds of off-roading hardware, it’s difficult to gauge just how efficient it really is. Not sure on the battery weight. This has a 24 module pack but the modules only weigh about 3lbs - that can't be right, can it?? https://www.mining.com/web/gms-ultiu...ic-range-race/

We'll see. Let's try and catch a game this year; it's been ages. COYI.

I fear the weight of the chassis is 'significant' (more than the engine/transmission itself) but I would not ignore the fact that 'the Chinese are coming' to the EV conversion market......

For example there are already direct EV replacements for dually axles.



One things for sure, we have a ton of space for batteries, just means we are carrying more weight with more batteries.

[richard5933]

Wouldn't the weight of the batteries be offset by the loss of the weight of the fuel, engine and transmission? At least to a large degree?

[jcl]

Originally Posted by richard5933

Wouldn't the weight of the batteries be offset by the loss of the weight of the fuel, engine and transmission? At least to a large degree?

Unlikely IMO. Batteries are heavier. If we want to optimize for batteries, we end up with things like structural battery packs, so that the chassis can be lighter. Not likely with a retrofit.

With a motorhome, the issue isn't just going to be weight, but more so aerodynamics, or the lack thereof.

[martin300662]

Originally Posted by richard5933

Wouldn't the weight of the batteries be offset by the loss of the weight of the fuel, engine and transmission? At least to a large degree?

Yes, and that is what happens in a typical EV conversation, they come out weight neutral.

The issue with something like a classic is you need a lot more batteries than the weight save, and unlike (for example) a passenger bus conversion, we want to drive at highway speeds.

Thats why companies like arrival already have 'flat front' delivery vans are more aerodynamic designs for higher speed use.



To Nicks point we already have EV motorhomes based on the little eNV200, and now the modern version of a classic VW T2, but even the ID Buzz is not a Transporter (VW themselves say it will be another 5 years before the T7 'heavy' becomes an EV. So the first 'proper' EV motorhomes are likely to be upfitted Ford Transit's (the current EV Sprinter is woeful - 100mile range, 30mph uphill under load)

My hope is the Arrival 'skates' become available to drop classic bodies onto....for example I know where there is a complete (at least until, Brad starts parting out) 24ft sitting ripe for a swap!

[martin300662]

Heard a couple of companies are working on EV conversion kits for P30 chassis, specifically for vintage motorhomes.

The trigger appears to be the EV West Revolt kit that takes a complete Tesla large motor (including the inverter) and rotates it 90 degrees to drive the standard drive shaft. This was developed for the collector car market.

Even bolts onto the standard engine mounts.



The challenge is re-packaging the Tesla battery packs to stack along the chassis

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by martin300662

Heard a couple of companies are working on EV conversion kits for P30 chassis, specifically for vintage motorhomes.

The trigger appears to be the EV West Revolt kit that takes a complete Tesla large motor (including the inverter) and rotates it 90 degrees to drive the standard drive shaft. This was developed for the collector car market.

Even bolts onto the standard engine mounts.



The challenge is re-packaging the Tesla battery packs to stack along the chassis

That's actually pretty cool looking

[martin300662]

Could be a new career Brad.....all the electronics are high voltage (which no one wants to touch) or CAN, with all the drive characteristics end user configurable via the CAN parameters.

[rmkrum]

Originally Posted by martin300662

Could be a new career Brad.....all the electronics are high voltage (which no one wants to touch) or CAN, with all the drive characteristics end user configurable via the CAN parameters.

Most wise techno folk studiously avoid touching high voltage…it’s too easy to ‘light up your life’ in a bad way…(grin).

[bobzdar]

It's now been over 2 years since all of these supposed crate motors have been announced, still none (realistically) available. The above tesla converted motor is 30k, without batteries. GM crate motor is still vapor ware. Ford's mach-e setup is a transverse making it a non-starter for any RWD unless you want to completely replace the rear suspension and do a ton of fab work. As soon as a sub 10k drop in setup comes along (even excluding batteries) I'll do a conversion on one of my classic cars - my old land rover is ripe for an EV conversion. But they either require you to completely strip out the entire drivetrain and do massive amounts of fabrication, or are wildly expensive just for the motor and controller. An option for a 4x4 could exist with the mach-e setup putting it in the center and having it drive both the front and rear axles, but that also requires a ton of fab. I think we're still 5 years out from any kind of realistic retrofit.

That said, given the space in a motorhome, you could add 300-400kw of batteries and given the low compression tractor motors put in the classics from the factories, almost any of these solutions would be a massive upgrade. Then plug in 50A for a couple of days at the campground and recharge.

[martin300662]

Originally Posted by bobzdar

It's now been over 2 years since all of these supposed crate motors have been announced, still none (realistically) available. The above tesla converted motor is 30k, without batteries. GM crate motor is still vapor ware. Ford's mach-e setup is a transverse making it a non-starter for any RWD unless you want to completely replace the rear suspension and do a ton of fab work. As soon as a sub 10k drop in setup comes along (even excluding batteries) I'll do a conversion on one of my classic cars - my old land rover is ripe for an EV conversion. But they either require you to completely strip out the entire drivetrain and do massive amounts of fabrication, or are wildly expensive just for the motor and controller. An option for a 4x4 could exist with the mach-e setup putting it in the center and having it drive both the front and rear axles, but that also requires a ton of fab. I think we're still 5 years out from any kind of realistic retrofit.

That said, given the space in a motorhome, you could add 300-400kw of batteries and given the low compression tractor motors put in the classics from the factories, almost any of these solutions would be a massive upgrade. Then plug in 50A for a couple of days at the campground and recharge.

There are several bolt in kits for the Land Rover......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoqoL1EyAHk

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by martin300662

Could be a new career Brad.....all the electronics are high voltage (which no one wants to touch) or CAN, with all the drive characteristics end user configurable via the CAN parameters.

Nope, not looking for a new career

I'm just about done with my current career and have no desire in trying to start a new one

[martin300662]

Seems I've missed a piece of news......

It had been claimed EV West development the Revolt, but now the reVolt CR-43 actually has its own separate vendor Revolt Systems (https://revoltsystems.com/)

Here is the specs on the motor

Rated Power: 350-450 kW

Torque: 800+ [lb-ft] at the yoke

RPM: 8000 max at the yoke

Current: 1000 Amps

Weight: 300 Lbs

Input Voltage: 275-400 Volts

Length: 43" Inches

Width: 13.5"

Height: 15”

An immediate 800ftlb torque!

[bobzdar]

Originally Posted by martin300662

There are several bolt in kits for the Land Rover......

As soon as a sub $10k kit (not including batteries) is available, I'll do it. Those are WAY more than $10k, unfortunately, which was what my whole post was about. They're either way too expensive or require way too much fabrication (or both) to be anywhere near practical. The conversion you posted starts at 30k pounds for sub 100 mile range (granted, includes battery, but still nowhere near cost effective). The Ford setup is the closest tbh, I think it could be done in a longer 4x4, but would still require a lot of fabrication.

[martin300662]

Originally Posted by bobzdar

As soon as a sub $10k kit (not including batteries) is available, I'll do it. Those are WAY more than $10k, unfortunately, which was what my whole post was about. They're either way too expensive or require way too much fabrication (or both) to be anywhere near practical. The conversion you posted starts at 30k pounds for sub 100 mile range (granted, includes battery, but still nowhere near cost effective). The Ford setup is the closest tbh, I think it could be done in a longer 4x4, but would still require a lot of fabrication.

Realistically there is zero chance of any of these kits ever coming in at under $10K.

[bobzdar]

Without batteries it should be doable. The ford eluminator is under $4k. Unfortunately, it's transverse and not longitudinal or I'd already have one. The batteries should be the expensive part, but for example the Tesla longitudinal kits are 30k before batteries. That's crazy money when 18k gets you a hellcat crate motor. The GM kit would be almost drop in for these old motorhomes but it's been silent on that front for two years. I have two cars I'd be looking to swap to electric when it's somewhat practical... We're just not there yet.