# [EVDL] Subject: Re: EV Winnebago or similar



## EVDL List (Jul 27, 2007)

I'd like to put in a plug for avoiding factory RV chassis and getting a 
used bus or motor coach. I never converted one for electric operation, 
but there is enormous potential and I did a lot of calculations to 
substantiate my thoughts before having to give up my bus conversion 
hobby to move to the Philippines.

Imprimis, there will not likely be any need to reinforce the chassis or 
the undercarriage, except possibly locally for battery trays. These 
machines are designed for long service under conditions verging on abuse.

Secundus, the original diesel powerplant for these monsters is typically 
VERY heavy. Remove it and replace it with lightweight electric motors, 
and you still have a big weight allowance for batteries, switchgear and 
control machinery. The interior appointments of a bus or motor coach, 
which are removed during conversion, typically are heavier than anything 
a SENSIBLE converter would put in (I add the qualifier because I once 
saw a converted motor coach with a marble jacuzzi). And of course, the 
passengers are absent, equivalent to saving five tons or more, on a 
forty-foot coach, counting their luggage.

Tertius (this is technically off-topic because this List is for pure 
electrics), there is hybrid potential. Long-distance motor coaches, 
particularly those equipped for touring rather than point-to-point 
transport, are typically equipped with a small auxiliary diesel plant to 
drive a generator and/or an air conditioning compressor at the halt. 
That is usually removed by converters, but I would leave it in and use 
it in extremis, when stuck far from a recharge point and with a marginal 
battery reserve, to recharge the main battery, totally or just enough to 
avoid warped plates on the journey home.

Quartus (back to pure electrics), it is possible to take advantage of 
the giant roof area and side-panel area to recharge using solar power. 
This would be completely impractical in a commercial coach that is on 
the road, day and night, nearly all the time. But RVs and personal 
coaches spend most of their time at the halt, so the contribution of 
solar could be significant - depending on the site, the season and your 
"hotel" load. I used this principle in very modest form on my partially 
converted coach to keep the starting battery charged and to extend its 
life. I mounted several amorphous solar panels (low efficiency but 
cheap) on the roof of the trailer that I used for storage, which was 
parked next to the bus, and ran a line from the charge controller to the 
starting battery of the bus. It kept the battery alive and ensured that, 
on the rare occasions when I needed to move the bus, it would start 
right away. I did the same in the van that I used for day-to-day 
transportation. A larger array of more efficient panels could be mounted 
on the coach itself and keep a much larger battery charged, feeding 
loads like a burglar alarm with cell link and the like.

There's an economic advantage to this scheme, too. Buses in drivable 
condition are routinely auctioned off for a few hundred dollars per 
unit. Often, for no reason that I can figure out, the engines are 
recently overhauled! If I were doing an electric RV, I would get a motor 
coach or bus at auction, remove and sell the engine to a bus rebuilder 
or owner with a blown engine, and use the money and the weight saving to 
start my conversion.

Of course, not everybody has a need or desire for a forty-foot personal 
coach. Aside from shorter coaches and buses, there are also panel trucks 
to consider. These are also often available cheaply, though their 
engines are more often clapped out when they go on sale. Still, you 
might get something for a worn engine in rebuildable condition, and 
panel truck chassis tend to be tough, while the vehicle is laid out to 
maximize internal space.

Best to all,
Marc de Piolenc
Iligan City, Philippines

-- 
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