powered trailer idea (EV pusher trailer to make conventional car a hybrid)

[staxmotownjunkie]

Hi thinking in the same line , but for oldtimer and classic cars poluting city , switching engine of and being pushed by a clean electrically only in city trafoc and limited speed at max 50kph /35mph Euro laws soon 2020 ! EV only in city!

anybody ??

[freebeard]

I'm not the person you're looking for. Be patient, traffic on the forum is slow at times.

Maybe you could define the problem a little more:

• One specific vehicle, or anything with a trailer hitch?
• Wired or wireless controls?

[staxmotownjunkie]

freebeard , I am looking for wired plug connection , I know I have to mod the front car with an extra electric vacuumpump for brakes and preferably an electric servo steering aid , but I would like to build kind of a two wheeled pushtrailer that takes some 6 or 8, 100 Amph bats Agm I know they weigh at 30 kilo a piece but that's not the problem . I would try to have a kind of stiff axle with a diff and connect an electric brushles 3 faze Dc regulated motor with a synced device on the trotle pedal .. to push the front vehicle in city on Electric power , normally a 10 Kw( 12 hp ) engine should be able do the job to drive at 35mph or some 50 kmh speed and pushing a midleclass car ,1200/ 1500 kg away , the trailer would be around max 500 kilo maxim weight including bats , engine and 3 faze convertor plus some minor safety electronics ; possibility of swopping cars .. with preinstalled connection system , possibility to have more pushers kind of standard system for some different cars . the aim is not road traffic , only clean green city traffic , once out of city depose the trailer at fixed place , have in an other city a second identical trailer to connect . the idea is for shopping around in town clean , maybe short distances max 50 km or so let's say a few hours for shopping and back on the road with normal petrol or diesel car , but driving clean in town .. is that enough info?? probably some of the drivelines of the high end Golfcarts would do for the mechanical setup , depending what that would cost pricewise. only diff , axle wheels and Ev engine plus controller .. the rest I have , building trailer , bats , connecting and adapting front car , my problem .
regards , Ben

[redpoint5]

If I were building this, I wouldn't integrate the floor pedal with the electric controller. Instead I would have a steering wheel mounted potentiometer and ADC with some sort of wireless communication back to the pusher controller. Or maybe it is easier to just use the existing throttle, especially if it's already throttle by wire. You already have to have the car switched "on" so that turn signals work, so you should be able to read the throttle position.

I've only built a small EV, so I have no experience with trying to integrate one with a conventional car.

[staxmotownjunkie]

The idea is going wireconnected out of safety point of view because it must be possible to integrate also in an oldtimer , so no digital signals , no Computerstuff to start with but safe connect by real wiring . a mechanical coupled controller potmeter connected to the acceleratorpedal nothing else and possibly extra electric steering gear assistance plus electric vacuumpot for the brakes , remember it is just for townshopping or short term use only in the city .or town . it is not the idea to go on faster roads or longer distances . it is only to be running clean in town and to avoid traffic jam idling engines over long time and poluting with older cars or diesels .
the 12 V bat from the car will be used for parkinglights and accesories only . when you enter the city after 1 or 2 miles you stop for shopping around or picking up some stuff;. you do not drive continiously for long time . maybe 10 or 20 minutes effectively driven from one side of town to the other .. while doing your shopping or bussiness.. an afternoon or morning maybe 50 km ? driving for 2 hours effectively ?? that's almost the maximum use before returning to the chargestation . that is more or less my idea ..

[jray3]

This old thread popped to the top of my feed for some reason, and I realized that besides having a confusing title, it doesn't include the articles about my pusher trailer. I used an aircooled VW drivetrain to push an EV down the highway, meaning that all in-town driving was 100% electric, while the engine enabled long range highway travel with 200% of original passing power!
https://insideevs.com/explained-mits...xtender-story/

MPG was a fail, stuck in the low 20's while pushing, but like a Volt, there were about 45 miles of infinite MPG to start off or finish each journey...

[elhigh]

Originally Posted by jray3

This old thread popped to the top of my feed for some reason, and I realized that besides having a confusing title, it doesn't include the articles about my pusher trailer.
https://insideevs.com/explained-mits...xtender-story/

MPG was a fail, stuck in the low 20's while pushing, but like a Volt, there were about 45 miles of infinite MPG to start off or finish each journey...

This thread appears to be about a trailer which is itself an EV, negating its drag on its ICE tow vehicle, or even augmenting the tow vehicle's power.

An ICE pusher like you describe for giving an EV longer range is slightly more familiar ground:

EV Pusher | MrSharkey.Com

[jray3]

Originally Posted by elhigh

This thread appears to be about a trailer which is itself an EV,]

Yup, got that, even attributed Mr Sharkey in my article. Guess I'll be more explicit and say that an electric pusher on a daily-driven ICE vehicle is somewhat backwards. An EV is the 95% solution, and a pusher trailer is the 5% cure (WRT most people's annual mileage profile). An electric pusher trailer or something like this electric 5th wheel project;
Finding The Best Hybrid Mix - MIMA Honda Insight Modified Integrated Motor Assist
reduces the utility of the base vehicle for marginal gains in performance, while
A gas pusher for an EV increases the utility of the base vehicle with huge gains in performance, though so far the result has been no better efficiency than simply driving a dedicated highway gasser instead. As with many ecomodder-style projects, it's more for the fun of trying out a wild idea than practical payback. I maintain that for a single-vehicle household that does not fit with a Volt or Tesla, an EV with an ICE pusher is the one solution that provides fuel-free daily driving and uncompromised road trip ability.

Now someone may prove me wrong with an electric pickup bed trailer that has perfect control for pushing around the efficient family hatchback, I just see this idea as much more problematic than the proven pushing of EVs by ICE.

[jray3]

FrankieC55's idea is very close to a dream of some i-MiEV driving RV vacationers. Tow an electric tadpole that helps the rig climb grades and provides dynamic braking down slopes (regen). The i-MiEV, 500e, Spark EV or Smart ED are top candidates for this job. For instance, the i-MiEV driving modes are controlled by a simple electric switch that can be over-ridden for pushbutton control, and in B Mode, a simple actuator on the accelerator pedal could alternate between 49 kW of pushing, a Neutral setting, and 33 kW of regenerative braking within a second. Nobody's proven it yet, but as our cars' warranties expire, it is just a matter of time!

[freebeard]

At a show-and-shine a few years back, a guy showed up with a Rabbit EV conversion (that had been done by the State of Oregon) with a Rabbit trailer. The trailer was the front clip of a convertible, with the convertible trunk tagged to the back. It was pretty neat.

I don't recall the control mechanism. I think it had an automatic transmission and a bang-bang throttle.