DIY Electric RV?

[redpoint5]

My concern is just that the standard probably will fall away in the US, as Tesla and CCS are the dominant players. I'm not up on the pros/cons of CAN vs PLC.

[oil pan 4]

Tesla needs chademo if you want to drive one for long distance, for now.

[ksa8907]

Sounds fun, personally I would like to convert a travel/school bus some day.

Any thoughts to removing the box and slapping a short 5th wheel rv on the then flatbed?

[bennelson]

That's another possibility of a truck like this is that the box could be completely removed.

One COULD simply build a custom, from-scratch, RV/Camper/MobileHome on it. As such, aerodynamics could be improved, or a bed could stick out over the cab, or the whole thing could be covered in cedar shakes - however a person wanted to design it!

Straight trucks are just an engine and frame, so anything is possible.

Having that solid straight frame would also make it easy to add outside storage boxes that mount below the deck - like the suitcase compartments on a touring bus.

Lots of possibilities.

[slowmover]

Motorhomes almost never make sense. The drivetrain weight/space penalty CAN’T be overcome. (Meaning, learning to tow so Grandma doesn’t laugh at you any more).

But as to all-electric there are a number of deep-pocket AIRSTREAM owners who have eliminated the defining system (propane) in favor of solar. Some with inverter-generators that will run A/C.

Others with Tesla Wall unit battery.

You can read about (what I find ridiculous) those towing with a Tesla Toaster (“Quick Roast Campers!!”). Sharing tips on how to spend the long waits to re-charge several times daily on a long trip.

[oil pan 4]

I find my self cleaning and vacuuming out the leaf some times when I'm waiting for it to charge.

I think adding a power wall thing to an electric RV would be pointless since it already has a huge traction battery. Why waste several thousand dollars on a battery that doesn't make it go further down the road?

[bennelson]

This past weekend, a friend and I drove from Wisconsin to North Carolina. He purchased an electric truck, using an investor's money.

Here's an interesting bit of the story for you at my blog...
https://300mpg.org/2019/04/13/electric-truck-road-trip/



Long story short, we WERE able to jump start it! It also has power doors (back and side) and we were able to get power to those to open it up and look inside.

The box is 18' long and the interior height varies between 6'8" and 7'2", depending on where you are. An above average height guy could still stand upright and have some headroom even if a couple inches of insulation were put in the ceiling.





The interior has some really nice super heavy duty shelves designed for carrying deliveries. The ones on the left are wider and built in place. The ones on the right fold up and out of the way if needed.

I joked that the truck already could sleep 6 no problem, and demonstrated on one of the shelves.



Anyways...
THIS is the type of truck that I think would be really cool to build out possibly as an RV. It would also be great as some sort of mobile classroom. Perhaps a MakerSpace could really benefit from something like this. Load it up with 3d printers and the like and drive it to local schools, events, libraries, etc.!

Trucks tend to use 24V battery systems. This one has TWO sets of 24V batteries. If a person wanted to install solar on it, the best way to go might just be a simple 24V system and use it to charge the house batteries. That's exactly what many RVs do.

[redpoint5]

Ben- You look ready for hunting season. Cheney wasn't along for the trip was he?

[oil pan 4]

Well there you go.
What's the drive system use?

[bennelson]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

Ben- You look ready for hunting season.

The orange sweatshirt is cozy, and on trips like these, I never know what I'm doing. It was raining cats and dogs at one point, and I was walking around a salvage yard with those giant off-road forklifts getting ready to run me over at any time.

Safety first!