Turning a HUGE van into a hypermiling house!

[iveco]

Hello all!

Followed the forums for a long time (despite never having owned a vehicle before)

Finally i have purchased my first "car" a Long wheel base, high top, Iveco Daily mk3 (35s13v) 2.8TD van from 2000! If you were to design the worst aerodynamic frontal area possible, you would design this van!

My plans might be a little bit different from other builds as I am trying to improve the efficiency both as a vehicle and a home. for example using coolant to heat hot water when engine temperature is high.

an early goal is 10L/100km consistant
longer term goal 8L/100km

Initial plans are:
Running on vegetable oil - i will be running on used vegetable oil using a two tank system. vegetable oil has less energy than diesel unfortunately, but is free from my work or very cheap if i collect from other places. i don't care about any downsides to this as i will only drive a carbon neutral vehicle (i'm aware of the embodied carbon and other environmental problems cased by driving). This is just a personal choice.

Scangauge or cheap bluetooth OBD reader

alternator delete - power from 48v house battery with DC-DC step down

experiment with front grill blocking -

air conditioning delete - possibly install 48v electric motor on compressor to use as AC for the home

EU "A rated" van tyres - similar to Continental VanContact Eco, maybe up the diameter to increase gearing and if possible narrower

Total belly pan - maybe it will also help protect against corrosion?

Electric radiator fan -

Install rooftop solar - the roof has space for 4x 350w sunpower PV panels so 1.4kw maximum when i can afford it. this will affect aerodynamics but will replace alternator and possibly AC

Engine preheater - running from house battery and external when needed

Be weight conscious when build the living area -

With a very heavy un-aerodynamic box - DRIVE SLOW!

And any other suggestions you have for me!

Thanks for reading and thanks for making this forum a fantastic online resource!

(not mine but same size)

[California98Civic]

You might consider fairings like these:

[GreenTDI]

Originally Posted by iveco

Hello all!

Followed the forums for a long time (despite never having owned a vehicle before)

Finally i have purchased my first "car" a Long wheel base, high top, Iveco Daily mk3 (35s13v) 2.8TD van from 2000! If you were to design the worst aerodynamic frontal area possible, you would design this van!

Cool project! Good luck!

Big side mirrors could be replaced by smaller ones. And how many tires you have on the rear axle, 4? You could leave out 2.

[iveco]

Originally Posted by California98Civic

You might consider fairings like these:

Cool idea! Would be great for long motorway trips! especially if i can fold them in when not needed.

Originally Posted by GreenTDI

Cool project! Good luck!

Big side mirrors could be replaced by smaller ones. And how many tires you have on the rear axle, 4? You could leave out 2.

I thought about the mirrors too, i will look into options cheers! i bought the version with only 2 wheels at the back for this reason!

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by iveco

Finally i have purchased my first "car" a Long wheel base, high top, Iveco Daily mk3 (35s13v) 2.8TD van from 2000! If you were to design the worst aerodynamic frontal area possible, you would design this van!

An interesting choice for a first "car" to say the least. On a sidenote I also tend to prefer vans.

My plans might be a little bit different from other builds as I am trying to improve the efficiency both as a vehicle and a home. for example using coolant to heat hot water when engine temperature is high.

What about using recovering exhaust heat for hot water?

Running on vegetable oil - i will be running on used vegetable oil using a two tank system.

That sounds nice. I am favorable to vegetable oil usage as a motor fuel too. BTW would you eventually also consider trying water injection? Assuming you might be able to use the residual water released by an air conditioner, seems like a good option to improve fuel savings while it also decreases the NOx emissions, at a relatively low overall cost.

alternator delete - power from 48v house battery with DC-DC step down

I usually take a full alternator delete with a grain of salt. Have you never considered fitting your van with a starter-generator? It may provide auxiliary power under certain conditions, while under others it may also improve the engine-braking which is quite critical on Diesels.

air conditioning delete - possibly install 48v electric motor on compressor to use as AC for the home

It's not so hard to find commercially-available electric rooftop air conditioners usually meant for trucks, either 12-volt or 24-volt. Not sure how easy it might be for you to find a 48-volt compressor there though, but since it would require a lower amp than either 12-volt or 24-volt it may be a good idea. And now with so many cars resorting to the 48-volt mild-hybrid setup, in a few years it might increase the availability in junkyards

Total belly pan - maybe it will also help protect against corrosion?

Not sure if a belly pan would really have any benefit regarding corrosion protection. Probably if it doesn't get any drain plug, if moisture accumulates between it and the stock floorpan it may become a matter of concern. Maybe coating the underbody for some added rustproofing before you fit the belly pan might also be worth.

Electric radiator fan

An electric radiator fan is usually great on a Diesel, and since you plan to use vegetable oil as a fuel this may allow you to switch from regular Diesel to the vegetable oil quicker.

[iveco]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

An interesting choice for a first "car" to say the least. On a sidenote I also tend to prefer vans.




What about using recovering exhaust heat for hot water?




That sounds nice. I am favorable to vegetable oil usage as a motor fuel too. BTW would you eventually also consider trying water injection? Assuming you might be able to use the residual water released by an air conditioner, seems like a good option to improve fuel savings while it also decreases the NOx emissions, at a relatively low overall cost.




I usually take a full alternator delete with a grain of salt. Have you never considered fitting your van with a starter-generator? It may provide auxiliary power under certain conditions, while under others it may also improve the engine-braking which is quite critical on Diesels.




It's not so hard to find commercially-available electric rooftop air conditioners usually meant for trucks, either 12-volt or 24-volt. Not sure how easy it might be for you to find a 48-volt compressor there though, but since it would require a lower amp than either 12-volt or 24-volt it may be a good idea. And now with so many cars resorting to the 48-volt mild-hybrid setup, in a few years it might increase the availability in junkyards




Not sure if a belly pan would really have any benefit regarding corrosion protection. Probably if it doesn't get any drain plug, if moisture accumulates between it and the stock floorpan it may become a matter of concern. Maybe coating the underbody for some added rustproofing before you fit the belly pan might also be worth.




An electric radiator fan is usually great on a Diesel, and since you plan to use vegetable oil as a fuel this may allow you to switch from regular Diesel to the vegetable oil quicker.

Thanks for all the fantastic input!!

i did think about exhaust heat recovery but wasn't sure how to go about it as, unlike the coolant, we are now talking about temperatures above the boiling point of water.

I don't know anything about water injection! i will look into it, it sounds very interesting!

I don't know a lot about motor-generators but i read this very interesting page:
https://efficiencywins.nexperia.com/...generator.html
It would be amazing installing one on the driveshaft and having some motor assistance and regen! seems like it'll be expensive but i will look at what i can find!

Yea i did find some rooftop AC units but i'm not too interested in adding more height to the van and the new ones are incredibly expensive. my other thought was a portable unit with the ducting exiting through the floor.

I agree on the belly-pan. but if i can get some cheap corro-plast i might try it and test it at some point.

Thanks again for your input!

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by iveco

i did think about exhaust heat recovery but wasn't sure how to go about it as, unlike the coolant, we are now talking about temperatures above the boiling point of water.

It's no rocket-science, but it would involve mixing cold water with hot water to trim the right temperature for a comfortable bath.

It would be amazing installing one on the driveshaft and having some motor assistance and regen! seems like it'll be expensive but i will look at what i can find!

That's not exactly what I was considering when I mentioned a starter-generator, but if you manage to place a motor-generator on the driveshaft it might be worth to take a look at the hybrid technologies fitted to trucks and buses instead. I guess you might've seen some hybrid buses with a "pancake" motor between the engine and transmission, replacing the torque converter traditionally fitted to an automatic transmission.

I agree on the belly-pan. but if i can get some cheap corro-plast i might try it and test it at some point.

Sure a belly-pan seems worth the effort, but don't hold your breath for it to provide any rust protection. On a sidenote, if you eventually get one, an exhaust wrap might also be desirable in order to prevent damage to the surrounds, which would include the belly pan depending on which material it would be made of.

[iveco]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

It's no rocket-science, but it would involve mixing cold water with hot water to trim the right temperature for a comfortable bath.




That's not exactly what I was considering when I mentioned a starter-generator, but if you manage to place a motor-generator on the driveshaft it might be worth to take a look at the hybrid technologies fitted to trucks and buses instead. I guess you might've seen some hybrid buses with a "pancake" motor between the engine and transmission, replacing the torque converter traditionally fitted to an automatic transmission.




Sure a belly-pan seems worth the effort, but don't hold your breath for it to provide any rust protection. On a sidenote, if you eventually get one, an exhaust wrap might also be desirable in order to prevent damage to the surrounds, which would include the belly pan depending on which material it would be made of.

I will be not using the heated water directly it will be heating a 100-200 litre hot water tank on an independent loop, so I'm unsure how to stop adding heat to the water with out it running away.

good idea on exhaust wrap too, cheers!

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by iveco

I will be not using the heated water directly it will be heating a 100-200 litre hot water tank on an independent loop, so I'm unsure how to stop adding heat to the water with out it running away.

A thermostatically-controlled bypass valve to regulate the water flow is the way to go.

[iveco]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

A thermostatically-controlled bypass valve to regulate the water flow is the way to go.

But what happens when the value closes (say at 75c). and the water/glycol mixture in the loop is just sitting next to the 150c + exhaust?