Too Late for a Plug-In Hybrid Pickup Truck?

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by rmay635703

I would argue that if you rebody a crashed
Volt, Prime, Bolt, Smart, iMiev, etc
Into a pickup Priuck style you probably are ahead of the $60k tag by a large margin

Exactly. I remember seeing some posts not too long ago by someone putting Prius guts into a '50s pickup.

[mort]

I remember when you thought this up, a couple years back. If I recall correctly, you were thinking of a small pick-up, Ford Ranger size. I think a full size would be a better choice. There is so much more room to hide the mechanical parts and you have the possibility of big payloads.
The video shows you standing around with a diesel engine and a forklift motor. (Is that the motor that went into your lawn tractor junk parade special?)
I'm for you doing this project. I have an old Dodge pickup that gets about 13 mpg on a good day. While I don't really have time or money to build my own, I'd just feel better knowing I could have a hybrid that got reasonable fuel economy.
-mort

[Ecky]

Originally Posted by mort

I remember when you thought this up, a couple years back. If I recall correctly, you were thinking of a small pick-up, Ford Ranger size. I think a full size would be a better choice. There is so much more room to hide the mechanical parts and you have the possibility of big payloads.
The video shows you standing around with a diesel engine and a forklift motor. (Is that the motor that went into your lawn tractor junk parade special?)
I'm for you doing this project. I have an old Dodge pickup that gets about 13 mpg on a good day. While I don't really have time or money to build my own, I'd just feel better knowing I could have a hybrid that got reasonable fuel economy.
-mort

The new RAM has a hybrid option for the V8 and is only a hybrid with the V6. All of them will be starting next model year. EPA rating is 20 city 25 highway 22 combined, and the reports trickling in are that this is realistic.

It's a very mild hybrid. The battery size is about half that of the G1 Insight's, and the system is there mostly for:
1) Start-stop
2) A large boost in torque for the first second or two from a dead stop
3) Regenerative braking

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by jamesqf

I remember seeing some posts not too long ago by someone putting Prius guts into a '50s pickup.

Actually that truck is from the 40's.
https://ecomodder.com/forum/showthre...uck-34935.html

But anyway, unless the OP would require 4WD, doing a similar project around the guts of a Prius plug-in seems to be a technically-viable approach.

[freebeard]

I like the Open Revolt t-shirt.

What is it you're looking for — series? parallel? through-the-road?

I think the easy route would be a mild hybrid using a Buick/Impala eAssist altermotor. See here. https://ecomodder.com/forum/showthre...tml#post536957

No powertrain mods, minimal battery requirement like Ecky suggested at #13.

edit:
...and teoman at #5.

[teoman]

That was the idea I was referring to. I would love to see a tutorial on that.

[elhigh]

Seeing Hoopie's converted truck just adds validity to the idea - it's literally already been done, at least with a hybrid.

Take a wrecked but running Chrysler Pacifica, hog out its entire drivetrain and build/modify a subframe to stick it under the hood of a pickup. You'll have to learn to live with front wheel drive but hey, FWD trucks are old news.

You can hide all the Pacifica's battery packs under the truck bed.

?????

PROFIT.

Also a viable candidate for organ donors: Toyota and Lexus SUV hybrids. These would provide an electrically driven rear axle, meaning towing would be less likely to affect the handling.

[MetroMPG]

A friend of mine recently asked me if he should buy a particular old sailboat that needed work. It was cheap, but he's the skilled DIY type, and after fixing it up he could join an active racing fleet here and have lots of fun.


As Tim says, it boils down to a pretty simple question: are you juiced enough about the idea that you want to take on a big project?


After thinking about it for 5 seconds, my friend said "YES!" He bought the boat the next day. (He's also a good sailor - looking forward to the added competition next season!)

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by elhigh

it's literally already been done, at least with a hybrid.

Yup!



Or e.g...





What do you call a Prius hybrid combined with a pickup? The Pruck (w/video)



Or...





Meet Sparky, the Nissan Leaf EV pickup truck

Electric Leaf/Frontier combo built for shop duty at Arizona proving grounds

Read more: https://autoweek.com/article/car-new...#ixzz5RYVn95Lt

Maybe not the load capacity you're looking for, but food for thought.

[rmay635703]

We haven’t seen a Pacifica plug in hybrid made into a trucklet yet.

I would think dimensionally that would give the most cargo capacity
And it’s already plug in with some cargo capacity.