Video: Homebuilt Hybrid Pickup truck

[Xringer]

Originally Posted by Chris D.

I'd love to find out how to convert my truck to a hybrid, it would be great for a bolt up and go setup.. but life doesn't seem to work like that

After I looked at the pic (above) of the Rear Differential without the
propeller shaft installed, a little light bulb went on..

It might not be real hard for a RTAWD CRV to be converted to a 4WD Hybrid.

Just take out the propeller shaft and hang a motor in it's place.
And, connect the motor shaft to the shaft plate (4 bolts) on the rear diff.

Once you get the car up to a good speed, you turn on the EV motor.
Nothing will happen until the motor RPMs get high enough to trigger
the pressure-operated valve that controls the diff's clutch.
Once the auto-clutch is engaged, the rear wheels will be driven.

Dang! 60 MPG (while the battery lasts)..

[bennelson]

Perhaps just sticking with rear-wheel drive, but with a motor added in the middle of the drive shaft, may be the simplest way to "hybridize" a pickup truck.

The machinist who helped me with the Electro-Metro conversion builds custom rear-ends for hot rods. I would think that chopping a drive shaft to put a motor in it would be nothing for him.

Battery location would be a little bit harder in a hybrid truck than an EV truck. EV pickups traditionally put the batteries UNDER the bed frame, since there is not gas tank, tail-pipe, etc in the way there.

I think that on my Chevy S10 4-cyclinder, I could likely find enough room under the bed for a few batteries, especially as a hybrid would have less of them than an EV only truck.

How about an engine to transmission to short bit to drive shaft to motor to other short bit of driveshaft to differential system?

This would be similar to the Honda Insight's Integrated Motor Assist, only the motor would be after the transmission instead of before. I suppose the main disadvantage of that is the motor couldn't double as a starter, although you could roll with the electric, and then pop the clutch when up at speed.

Come to think of it, by doing that and then totally removing the starter, would REALLY encourage the driver to use the electric at low speeds A LOT!

Using an appropriate motor, the engine could drive the motor as a generator while driving under load. This would be similar to turning on the air conditioning; you don't get as good gas mileage, but you get something else nice instead.

I don't know much about transmissions and differentials. If the rear wheels are hooked up to the differential, which goes to a motor (think double-shafted), using that motor as a generator, with the transmission in neutral, would apply drag to the wheels, correct?

Seems like a person could rig some fancy electronics to the brake pedal so that when you touch the brake, the motor starts to do some regen braking, although I believe you would need to use either an AC, DC Shunt-wound, or Permanent Magnet motor to work well for regenerating.

No, I am not planning to put my motorcycle's Etek motor on my pickup drive-shaft, although it is tempting.


Sounds like I have NEXT summer's project all planned out....

[Xringer]

I've been looking at a few different ways to convert the CRV
and one idea is to re-install one of the half shafts with a brace, a bearing and a pulley that could be driven by another pulley on a motor mounted to the floorboard between the fuel tank and storage hole. (above the bearing and pulley from the half-shaft).



Maybe a little motor like this one,
Battery Powered Systems
Putting a few HP into one of the rear wheels..

Since I don't have any fancy anti-lock brakes, I don't see a lot of problems with only driving one rear wheel.. (right now)..

[orange_eskimo]

Originally Posted by bennelson

Perhaps just sticking with rear-wheel drive, but with a motor added in the middle of the drive shaft, may be the simplest way to "hybridize" a pickup truck.

The machinist who helped me with the Electro-Metro conversion builds custom rear-ends for hot rods. I would think that chopping a drive shaft to put a motor in it would be nothing for him.

Battery location would be a little bit harder in a hybrid truck than an EV truck. EV pickups traditionally put the batteries UNDER the bed frame, since there is not gas tank, tail-pipe, etc in the way there.

I think that on my Chevy S10 4-cyclinder, I could likely find enough room under the bed for a few batteries, especially as a hybrid would have less of them than an EV only truck.

How about an engine to transmission to short bit to drive shaft to motor to other short bit of driveshaft to differential system?

This would be similar to the Honda Insight's Integrated Motor Assist, only the motor would be after the transmission instead of before. I suppose the main disadvantage of that is the motor couldn't double as a starter, although you could roll with the electric, and then pop the clutch when up at speed.

Come to think of it, by doing that and then totally removing the starter, would REALLY encourage the driver to use the electric at low speeds A LOT!

Using an appropriate motor, the engine could drive the motor as a generator while driving under load. This would be similar to turning on the air conditioning; you don't get as good gas mileage, but you get something else nice instead.

I don't know much about transmissions and differentials. If the rear wheels are hooked up to the differential, which goes to a motor (think double-shafted), using that motor as a generator, with the transmission in neutral, would apply drag to the wheels, correct?

Seems like a person could rig some fancy electronics to the brake pedal so that when you touch the brake, the motor starts to do some regen braking, although I believe you would need to use either an AC, DC Shunt-wound, or Permanent Magnet motor to work well for regenerating.

No, I am not planning to put my motorcycle's Etek motor on my pickup drive-shaft, although it is tempting.


Sounds like I have NEXT summer's project all planned out....

You just described netgain's EMIS system. However they mount the electric motor straight to the trans and have a single drive shaft off of that going to the differential. Its on their website, http://www.go-ev.com/EMIS.html

[joshhh]

it's awesome to see all you smart people working out, in some detail, what I had just been idly wondering: what's the cheapest quickest way to hybridize a normal car?

I see the wisdom of working with RWD, but my line of thinking is FWD since that's what I have ('95 Toyota Celica hatch) right now. I was thinking of putting an electric motor inline with the halfshaft. As all of you note, the problem is connecting the power shafts.

The winning mod, for me, will have these attributes:
- EZ to install (I am a barely competent mechanic)
- not unusually expensive parts or labor
- reliable for say 50k miles
- quiet
- low/zero maintence
- efficient

Here's my (sorry) untested, half-baked thoughts:

1. Put a rubber wheel on the output shaft of the electric motor. mount the motor so the wheel rubs on the shaft itself, or the CV joint case (depending on the gearing and clearance you have).

2. put a small chain drive (say a moped-sized sprocket) sandwiched between the transaxle and the CV joint. I don't like chain drives for maintenence reasons, and noise, but they are efficient.

3. direct rubber/rubber drive on tire. mounting this motor is near-impossible, surely.

-joshhh

[mobilerik]

Here is a silly idea that seems to satisfy all of your requirements except for "efficient", and is one you could do for satirical laughs (at least from FE nerds) just to say you have a "Hybrid".

See, the difficulty with the normal solutions is that you need to somehow attach the electric motor to the transmission. This solution eliminates that hurdle. You don't need to fuss with that at all here.

The "solution" is to connect a fan... yes, a FAN, to the battery. Set yourself up with a switch on the shifter, and engage the fan (pointing backwards, obviously) when you need that extra boost to get going. If you are clever with electronics, you could probably automate it to engage at the appropriate times, just as in a "traditional" hybrid vehicle.

For those eager for a quick-and-dirty ("cardboard & duct tape") way to get started with this dubious hybrid technology, I suggest the easiest would be to simply hold a fan out the window during initial acceleration, or preferably, have a partner do it so that you can safely keep your eyes on the ScanGauge for critical measurements.

Of course any permanent modification begs the question of "Where will I mount it?" Since adding a bulky appendage to a vehicle's surface generally has a negative impact on fuel economy, this mod raises an interesting question of balance that might be answered quite hilariously by sophisticated computer modeling and/or tuft tests.

Regardless, perhaps this seed of an idea can further inspire more innovation in this direction. Pro Modders (as well as amateurs with money to burn) may wish to look into a battery-powered jet-engine hybrid, which has potential to be more efficient, and even more annoying to tailgaters. Not to mention low-power rockets, which might have the slimmest chance of being legalized if their use was restricted to assisting acceleration from 0-5mph. Any takers?

[bennelson]

Originally Posted by akashic

The "solution" is to connect a fan... yes, a FAN, to the battery.

Laugh all you want...It's being done.



This one is a "a jet and hybrid rocket."

[mobilerik]

Ok, so now that we're talking about a External Combustion Engine Hybrid... with turbo...

So, how do you hypermile in one of those? ... Because we can't NICE-On Coast, since there is no need for 'N', and no ICE. There is no 5th gear. There's just a pedal to deliver your fuel/air-mixture directly to the giant blowtorch in back. Pulse-and-Glide? Honestly, that would be kinda like ambling down the road while periodically burning your farts. Which intuitively would seem more energy-efficient than burning one long fart continuously and very slowly... as you would be forced to do going up hill. But I suppose that's where the "Hybrid" part clicks in, since that would be kind of like the aerosol-can-fart-rocket-assist, again very annoying to non-hypermilers, who unfortunately would find it difficult to read your "No, I'm not old, I'm hypermiling" bumper sticker due to the glare. On the other hand, most may find it impressive enough to forgive your cardboard wheel skirts.

[Xringer]

Ulrik Poulsen Plug-In Hybrids Electric Conversion Kits - Plug-In Hybrid Kits - thedailygreen.com


Unless, I can get my own plug-in weak-hybrid project going.
Poulsen says my CRV is too heavy for his system.