Possible to get cheap Chinese cars?

[Hummina Shadeeba]

Still not enough HP for freeway use pushing a heavy vehicle.
No water cooling.
Won't simply bolt to existing brakes or axles.

All modern road going electric cars have liquid cooled motors and controller.
Most (99% ?) have temperature controlled batteries.

How much driving will this DIY creation be expected to do ?

I haven’t even looked. I like to just ask here! .. surely there’s a hub motor that can be added to a standard car, no? Need to replace the axle?


I’d just drive from wherever it could get to next on my summer off. I have no idea. Down to La from Sausalito. Anywhere and everywhere. Slowly. Maybe even just take back roads not the highway would be fine.
I wonder about getting over the “grapevine” mountain to LA. Surely can go around the hills n highways.

 

[Hillhater]

I said earlier, those 8 kW motors have been tried before on small cars (micro ?)
they can move a vehicle , but any incline (driveway, car park, bridge rise, etc,) causes them to struggle and slow to stalling.

 

[gromike]

In answer to Shadeeba 3 posts prior: if an electric truck had 3.5 hp a hundred years ago my 3000w nominal thing is also a truck. A truck defined as a cargo hauler, is it not. To be built from this motor:

This controller:

This battery:

And I just got this today;


It needs to be put together. I originally called it a skid steer cargo trike in another thread. Now I call it a tank steer cargo sledge. Initially it will be just two wheels with batteries and controller mounted on a somewhat square steel frame. To make it work as a vehicle will take some experimentation. I'll start machining the motor mounts (if that is what a drill press, chop saw, and grinder could be considered) sometime soon. It will be a few months before I have the basic square assembled.

 

[Hummina Shadeeba]

Here you can get fedex trucks and lots of ups trucks in brown just without the logo.

Don’t need the writing and any broken step van will do

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[Hummina Shadeeba]

I said earlier, those 8 kW motors have been tried before on small cars (micro ?)
they can move a vehicle , but any incline (driveway, car park, bridge rise, etc,) causes them to struggle and slow to stalling.

What motor you think is best or simplest to use? I assumed hubs but I still don’t see how they attach and they would be attached to a non-fixed axle. I’m thinking maybe mid drive would be best and use the transmission for more torque n efficiency

 

[PaPaSteve]

3 California based EV suppliers that can advise conversions.

EV West - We Sell EV Parts but Service is Our Business San Marcos

Thunderstruck Motors Home Santa Rosa

Electric Motorsport, Inc. San Leandro

You mentioned to hopefully do most of the work inside the vehicle while parked on the street . . .
However
Due to fire risk, batteries or any high power wiring should not be installed inside passenger areas.

Transporting large vehicles cross country adds to the cost.

 

[99t4]

I’d just drive from wherever it could get to next on my summer off. I have no idea. Down to La from Sausalito. Anywhere and everywhere. Slowly. Maybe even just take back roads not the highway would be fine.

Suggest you do a test run first to determine feasibility. Try driving even the speed limit. Highways, freeways, side streets, back roads. Bet you will find it difficult and dangerous. To say nothing of driving anywhere and everywhere in that area slowly.

 

[PaPaSteve]

Box trucks in California are commercial vehicles so registration and insurance are higher.
Converted to a RV can lower both fees but the DMV will have to inspect to ensure it properly functions as a RV before switching vehicle type.
Box trucks ride harsh, are noisy, have minimum creature comforts.
Been there, done that.

The box truck format was nice in that we could still open the big back doors to load lumber or bikes etc.
Once we started doing longer road trips we switched to a small RV.
Wish it was electric power but it's not used enough to justify the cost of conversion.
109HP - 5 cylinder engine, 7,000 pounds.
It was able to climb Pikes Peak . . . slowly.

 

[Hummina Shadeeba]

Box trucks in California are commercial vehicles so registration and insurance are higher.

I’m reading if it’s over 26,000 lbs you need more than a basic drivers license. I’m looking at step vans. Reading what I posted below they seem to be up to a max of 26,000 lbs. convenient.

Pardon Our Interruption

 

[gromike]

Doing a retrofit of a commercial diesel powered vehicle into an RV is going to be a big headache in the Golden State.

 

[Chalo]

I’m looking at step vans. Reading what I posted below they seem to be up to a max of 26,000 lbs.

That's at least 10X the mass required to meet your design criteria. Don't be part of the problem.

 

[neptronix]

It's going to cost a hell of a lot of money to electrify such a huge vehicle for what sounds like a minor use case.
If you cut all the costs you can, buy things used, and have infinite energy to insert elbow grease, you're probably still looking at spending $40k in parts.

..or you could get a Prius V or Nissan Leaf ( people have camped in both ) for 10k.

..if this is a vehicle you won't use often, i'd suggest the cheaper options, for fiscal sanity purposes.

 

[Hummina Shadeeba]

That's at least 10X the mass required to meet your design criteria. Don't be part of the problem.

I’m saying in Cali if it’s under 26,000 you don’t need a commercial license. According to what I read and posted 26,000 is the max weight of any step van made. (I’ve since seen some made that are up to 30,000 lbs).

It's going to cost a hell of a lot of money to electrify such a huge vehicle for what sounds like a minor use case.

I don’t think so. Of course there will be hurdles and I don’t know what they could be but I’m guessing:
I’ll get the broken vehicle for about 3k
Motor(s) for 2k
Battery for 2k
Escs for 2-3k

I don’t even have the parts chosen but it’s seeming possible these could be the costs.

I’m looking for one of the lighter smaller ones. I see them at 10,000 lbs.

Running these heavy vehicles on gas would of course be more money than on electricity. This won’t be competing with other vehicles in any performance category. It will be slow and have a small range ..but great for traveling slowly with lots of stops and not paying for hotels. I don’t like flying

 

[PaPaSteve]

Picked up this box truck for $2500 and changed the original ratty widows and doors in the box to better quality RV windows and door among a host of other work.
Bed, sink, fridge, insulation etc.
Former USAF flight line service vehicle.
Low mileage Detroit diesel V8 with ample power and 18mpg, 1 ton load rating, 7,000lbs as a camper.
California originally saw it as a commercial vehicle so the registration fee was high, until we proved it to be a sudo RV.
Not comfortable to drive long distance.
Took it to Burningman and a big lap around the USA and into Canada.
Since it's not an "official" RV many campgrounds wouldn't accept it.
The Rialta RV only gets 15mpg, way better driving comfort, never rejected at campgrounds.

We have ideas of towing a small, light teardrop trailer with our Chevy Bolt EUV . . .

 

[neptronix]

I don’t think so. Of course there will be hurdles and I don’t know what they could be but I’m guessing:
I’ll get the broken vehicle for about 3k
Motor(s) for under 2k
Battery for under 2k
Escs for 2-3k

That's roughly correct for the cost of a middle quality electric motorcycle build.
A super cheap EV Geo metro will cost more than that ( i know someone who did it on a budget - spent 9k, car had a wimpy 70 mile range )

..but you're proposing a vehicle that weighs a few multiples of that, which uses many multiples of energy to move.
A 100kwhr battery would provide barely acceptable range for a bus.

Keep in mind that commercial vehicles like short buses tend to come with 6-9 liter engines in order to move their weight, and even still, they require the driver to stand on the pedal.
A Geo Metro also forces you to stand on the pedal and has a 1.0-1.3L engine & weighs about 1600lbs stock. A short bus is probably more power deficient though.

So to power something like a short bus, you need some kind of motor-controller combination that's equivalent to a mid level Tesla Model S powertrain. Your case where this bus performs like a Geo Metro probably involves a minimum of 400 horsepower.

I'd chose a smaller vehicle.

 

[jonescg]

Shame you guys can't buy high quality Chinese EVs in the USA. You can get a brand new GWM Ora EV in Australia for AUD$26k drive away. MG4 for just over AUD$30 k.

Not many on the 2nd hand market because they're all still being driven around.

 

[PaPaSteve]

I don’t think so. Of course there will be hurdles and I don’t know what they could be but I’m guessing:
I’ll get the broken vehicle for about 3k
Motor(s) for 2k
Battery for 2k
Escs for 2-3k

Running these heavy vehicles on gas would of course be more money than on electricity. This won’t be competing with other vehicles in any performance category. It will be slow and have a small range ..but great for traveling slowly with lots of stops and not paying for hotels. I don’t like flying

Component estimate is way too low.
Battery pack for a modern EV on the road today is 360V at least 64 kWh and far more costly.
If the build was advance enough for DC fast charging the cost to recharge at some stations around the country can be more costly than fuel. (miles per energy unit)
Cheaper, low voltage (120V) charging for a meaningful distance could be a 18 hour time period or more.
A lot of EV owners have 220V level 2 home chargers, time to charge and price to charge make perfect sense with this strategy.

Maybe try renting an EV and go tent camping to see how feasible the electric car adventure travel concept is.
We recently rented a Ford Mach E at Chicago airport to visit a daughter in Wisconsin.
It's a SUV sized vehicle so it might be big enough to sleep in.
At least it would give an idea of the charging infrastructure.
Plenty of chargers on the west coast, mid America, no so much.