HMMMM hydraulic hybrid f150
 

Non-electric Ford F-150 hydraulic hybrid could get 40 mpg

Lets see where this one goes, versus the 60 MPG claim for the "Tonka" version a few years back. I am skeptical since the EPA design uses a pump running at prop shaft speed where higher speed efficiency drops off fairly dramatically. In wheel drives resolve that issue.

regards
Mech

i've been thinking about building a hybrid with Freon instead of hydraulic fluid. The freon gives you a lot more push, and I would use waste heat from exhaust/radiator to heat the freon for higher pressures.

The idea is to keep the size of the tanks small by using liquid freon as the storage medium, but the low pressure of heated freon (500 psi or so) would require a larger motor/pump to work.

Back in the late 70's there was a Granada hydraulic hybrid. It got 38 city mpg.
Weighed 1000 lb's than standard one.

Like this idea too... I'm looking into multiple concepts to some how make a 01 Dodge 3500 4x dually somehow to remain a daily driver.... open to anything that lets me stay out of too small.

Been done before?
 

Google Wally or Wallace Minto. Did something similar back in the mid or late seventies. Worked, too.

Yeah, I read an article in a 70's Popular Mechanics magazine about a similar system in a Cordoba or something, and it worked quite well. It used a hydraulic pump/motor on the driveshaft and a giant accumulator.
You can currently buy a version of this system in one Peterbilt model:
..:: Peterbilt Motors Company ::..

Not familiar with that one. The guy who converted the Granada (as well as a Fiat 500 and probably a few other cars) was named Vincent Carman. A lot has been asked about him here and on countless other sites but no one seems to know exactly what happened to him, though it is reported he passed away in '93 or so. He also had several patents on his hydraulic innovations, including a hydraulic transmission that included all the separate components in one unit. Mid to late 80's. Dunno what became of that. It does seem like he was onto something long before it became vogue in the late 90's and the new millenium. Kind of a shame we don't have him around today. I think he would be in his early to mid seventies.

Been done. UPS has a number of hydraulic hybrid delivery trucks, and there are HH garbage trucks available: Autocar launches E3 hydraulic hybrid garbage truck

The problem with a pickup version is that the big win comes when you have a duty cycle that involves a lot of stop & go.

[Sorry, by the rules I had to remove link in order to reply. When I've posted more I can keep them in or add my own.]

What I'm referring to is the kind of modification that fits the Ecomodder model: small, simple, within the limitations of the "average" garage/shadetree tinkerer. Those Autocar, etc. are trucks with plenty of space and capacity for large, heavy components. To do this kind of modification on a 60's model Fiat 500 (smaller than a Vee-dub) was an achievement...and without the kind of funding companies like those have, both private and taxpayer sourced. In addition, neither Carman nor Ernie Parker (who is still with us today) had access to the engineers, industrial equipment and facilities that Eton, Ford, Autocar, Parker, et al have. Sure like to see a successful duplication of the little guy efforts, like the EV build we see by the multiple dozens. By it's not having been done for quite a long time, it's not easy. It requires a great deal of focus on purpose and commitment, as well as time, though probably about the same amount of money as an EV conversion.