Too Late for a Plug-In Hybrid Pickup Truck?

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by elhigh

You'll have to learn to live with front wheel drive but hey, FWD trucks are old news.

Needless to mention the RAM ProMaster van, but there are a lot of FWD trucklets being effectively used for work in Europe and South America.





Now look at this Fiat Strada (available in Mexico as RAM 700) converted to CNG with underbody-mounted tanks. Might not be too hard to find place for the battery packs in case someone decides to slap a Prius C powertrain into one, for example...

[starmage187]

I'd love to see a DIY hybrid pickup build. I think a project like the originally proposed super truck would be more interesting and more doable then the rebody products like the prius truck.

[ocnorb]

I’ve always wanted to do a full size truck conversion. My idea is to add an electric motor to the existing transfer case. The electric drive would then be blended through the accelerator pedal to assist with take-offs and low speed duties. The goal would be to have 100% electric around town, using fuel only on highway trips.

If I ever take this on I will use salvage Volt battery packs. Finding the ideal electric motor is proving the elusive part.

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by starmage187

I'd love to see a DIY hybrid pickup build. I think a project like the originally proposed super truck would be more interesting and more doable then the rebody products like the prius truck.

A FWD diesel VW Rabbit pickup with a iMiev/Smart ED/ I3
backend would be most interesting to me
Top it with the aero topper for icing on the cake

[freebeard]

Lexus single-speed drivetrain. 98lb and 68hp.

[bennelson]

Right now, I have the possibility of buying an entire crashed Chevy Volt. It's from the mother in law of a guy I know. She ran a light and crashed it, but drove it away from the accident, so even though it looks bad, the driveline is OK. The insurance buyout on it is $2500.

I think I would buy it just for the battery plus the other great parts on it. BUT, I also wonder about using the driveline to build a FRONT-WHEEL DRIVE plug-in hybrid pickup truck.

My S10 is rear-wheel drive, NOT 4x4. I know that front drive hubs are available. Rock auto even carries the front half shafts from the Electric S10 Chevy made. I know the devil would be in the details, as the Volt is complicated and there would be so many sensors, CAN, etc to work with and figure out. A pickup with a Volt drive train would be pretty much EXACTLY what I want. However, it would be complicated...

I DO have access to getting a very inexpensive AC motor and controller appropriate for direct connection to a driveshaft. A friend and I salvaged it off a large van. It worked for an E-350, so it certainly would work for a compact pickup truck. That was a Solectria motor and an Azure Dynamics controller. That may have been the same combo used in some of the Ford delivery truck conversions. https://300mpg.org/2017/11/21/ev-sal...ller-from-van/

I looked at the torque specs and everything for that motor, and it should work pretty well. My existing S10 has 4.11:1 gear reduction at the differential. Based on that and the tire size, 65 MPH is at 3000-3300 rpm. That motor runs peak torque full out until 2000 rpm, so it would always be able to provide maximum torque up to about 45 MPH, which would be perfect for in-town use with NO transmission. Although torque would drop for freeway speed, it would still have enough horsepower for direct-drive power on the freeway.

The big downside of that motor is that it does NOT have a tail shaft. So, I would NOT be able to use the motor IN the driveshaft between the engine/tranny and the differential. I couldn't easily use it to create an inline hybrid.
AC would be great for regenerative breaking too. Could it possibly be belted to the driveshaft? That gets to be more machining and complexity. I love the idea of the simplicity of an inline motor.

I DO also have a 13" double-shafted forklift motor. It's a monster and could easily be used as an inline motor BUT it's DC. I still take a lot of flack on YouTube for using a DC motor in the Electro-Metro videos. (Happy 10 year anniversary, Electro-Metro! You were a great car!) I'd love to be using an AC motor for my next project instead of a DC one. There also get to be issues with things like brush timing when I'd also need to be able to reverse the motor to back the truck up (without turning on the engine!)

A good motor for a hybrid could be a HPEVS AC50 or AC51 with matching controller. There's a double-ended version available and it would have the torque needed for direct-drive to use as an in-line/pass-through motor. I also like that it's a commercially available motor, so whatever I would do in the project could be duplicated by others.
Unfortunately, the motor and controller together would be around $5,000.

I also know a bus company which has a couple of hybrid busses. Last time I talked to the owner, he said the hybrids weren't working as well as he had hoped (in terms of ROI, etc. He also said that the solar they installed to power the busses is FANTASTIC!)
There's a possibility that I could get one of those motors from him. They're HUGE and AC, but I have no idea what they would need for a controller.

One other possibility is to get a 4x4 truck and connect a motor through the front drive axles. I don't have a 4x4, but I do see 4x4 S10s around pretty commonly for not a lot of money. They do tend to be automatic transmissions. One thing I liked about the idea of an inline motor is that I'd use a manual transmission. I could just put the truck in neutral and kill the engine (ignition disable switch) to have the truck on but just running as EV only mode. I even have an old-school manual steering box, so steering would be the same whether or not the engine was on.

I have NO experience with 4x4s, and I'm less experienced with mechanical stuff than I am with electrical.

So, anyways, different ways that I could go to build a PHEV Pickup truck...

• Cram a Volt into an S10 - cheap, would have to figure out front drive axles, complicated sensors/CAN etc. Would be great project though!
• Solectria/Azure Dymamics AC motor - cheap AC, but can NOT do an inline motor, great for an EV only conversion.
• HPEV AC50 - I love that it's commercially available and that other people could repeat what I do. Potentially the best for teaching and getting others to consider something similar, but probably the most expensive option as well.
• DC Monster motor - Cheap, got the part, but DC, issues with brushes, timing, reverse, no regen.
• School Bus motor - massive, unknown requirement for controller. Not even sure I could get one or not.
• 4x4 Hybrid - Four wheel drive would be cool, but I'd need to get a different truck. I know nothing about 4x4. Lots of mechanical things I don't understand.

Perhaps there IS a way I could use the Solectria AC motor with a driveshaft? (belted, etc.) It's a great motor and totally on budget, I just wish it had a tail shaft.

Otherwise, could that same motor be a good candidate for connecting through a transfer case/4x4 system?

What other ways could I build a PHEV truck?
Please, send more thoughts my way. I can't believe how many years it's been since I originally wanted to do a hybrid truck and STILL nobody is doing it. Almost impossible to find any DIY info on one OTHER than guys throwing a generator in the back of an EV pickup truck.

Let's keep this discussion going and figure out the best way to do one!

[jray3]

Yes Ben, please build the SuperTruck while us wage slaves are stuck behind our desks daydreaming.....
I like the simplicity of a motor spliced into the driveline, but again, this is where a full-size pickup will be easier and should offer a greater percentage improvement. My 1987 diesel F250 has a two-piece driveline, and I'd certainly like to splice a motor into that fixed-position intermediate shaft.

Before that though, I need to electrify the accessories like vacuum pump and power steering. I'm thinking of un-modding my electric radiator fans, originally implemented due to a failed viscous clutch that kept the stock fan robbing horsepower all the time and the engine running cold. I've had trouble keeping the engine cool enough while towing under two different electric fan configurations.

With my simple 6.9 IDI engine, there's space to replace the dead AC compressor and/or alternator with a belt-driven boost motor, but I think there's more benefit in powering the driveline directly, (regardless of the tranny, but especially with an automatic). It would be very appealing to me (and I suspect many EcoModders) to be able to reposition the truck without cranking the engine. Whether for loading/unloading, or just jockeying the fleet around my 'estate', the short engine cycles are more painful...

But for my vote on your project, I'd say that the Solectria motor belted to the driveline should stay a contender (Gates polychain). You won't be able to use the motor on the highway much anyway, other than harvesting regen, so losing torque at high RPM isn't a big deal, that's when you'll be relying on the engine anyway.
I have a T-19 tranny and BW1345 transfer case set aside for my truck, but think that using a transfer case for the electric motor is less desirable than the a driveline splice. Despite adding gearing options, the efficiency losses of that extra chain drive should be a net negative.

Lastly, its a shame the EMIS by NetGain a decade ago never took off, but with Curtis AC drives available to replace the series motor that their system used, along with lithium replacing lead, it has potential for much better performance than the 18% improvement over the first 40 miles of each trip that David Hrivnak experienced.

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by bennelson

Right now, I have the possibility of buying an entire crashed Chevy Volt. It's from the mother in law of a guy I know. She ran a light and crashed it, but drove it away from the accident, so even though it looks bad, the driveline is OK. The insurance buyout on it is $2500.

I think I would buy it just for the battery plus the other great parts on it. BUT, I also wonder about using the driveline to build a FRONT-WHEEL DRIVE plug-in hybrid pickup truck.

My S10 is rear-wheel drive, NOT 4x4. I know that front drive hubs are available. Rock auto even carries the front half shafts from the Electric S10 Chevy made. I know the devil would be in the details, as the Volt is complicated and there would be so many sensors, CAN, etc to work with and figure out. A pickup with a Volt drive train would be pretty much EXACTLY what I want. However, it would be complicated

Let's keep this discussion going and figure out the best way to do one!

Personally Ben if the Volts lower unibody is straight I would just make a FWD pickup ala hoopie style, most difficult part will be packaging the dash content so you can see it,

Just remove what you don’t want and sit the s10 cab up top, may have to recycle the volt hood but who knows?

I have seen stock Volts pull large boats so I have no doubt it can handle any load you want in stock form.

Although your cluster could just be replaced by a Dashdaq and just tuck the OEM stuff away, only necessary stuff is the heat (in my mind) unless you live with it always on auto and 8 amps 110vac

Making a 4wd Volt I think would be too frustrating a
FWD pickup is likely fine, better start taking measurements and seeing how wheel wells, cab and other somesuches can fit in.

Good Luck
Ryan

[MetroMPG]

I had the same reaction: Hoopie style pickup truck on the Volt chassis.


Should be able to bang something together in a couple of weekends, eh?

[vskid3]

What about stuffing the Volt's powertrain into a Honda Ridgeline with a dead engine/tranny? It's already setup for FWD. If you want to be really thorough and keep AWD, slap the rear motor from a Highlander hybrid in the back.