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Old 04-20-2009, 12:26 AM   #1 (permalink)
bennelson
EV test pilot
 
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Location: Oconomowoc, WI, USA
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Single Wheel Hybrid Trailer concept

With all this talk of EV pusher trailers and other ways of having an "instant-hybrid", it got me thinking.

Today, I was talking with the guys about testing out an EV system, so as to have the whole drivetrain and electrics all worked out before installing it in a vehicle quickly, like doing a weekend conversion.

One thing we joked about was to bolt it to the 2" hitch receiver on the back of a pickup truck. You could just put all the batteries in the bed of the truck, and everything else could just be connected as a single unit into the hitch receiver.

If this was integrated as a one-wheel trailer, it could act as a hybrid system.

It would be similar to the Honda Insight 5th Wheel, only just be a bolt-on system.

Add a couple of turn and stop signals to it, and it would qualify as a trailer.

I think this could work pretty decent on a pickup truck. I am not sure exactly how it would need to be setup for steering and tire wear. I would also imagine perhaps a way to raise or lower the fifth wheel, so that it would not over-rev and EV motor while on the freeway.

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