# Looking to build "round town" EV light truck



## skooler (Mar 26, 2011)

Winston.justevs.com

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## brian_ (Feb 7, 2017)

I only have four possibly helpful suggestions:

look at some of the pickup conversions which have established workable designs
Solectria E-10 (mid-1990's, conversion of Chevrolet S-10; later ones have interesting rear-mounted motor setup)
Ford Ranger EV (actually done by Ford; interesting deDion suspension to accommodate motor and gearbox)
various home built conversions of S-10's and Rangers here in DIY Electric Car
with the stated payload requirement, any of these would be larger than necessary

consider a Japanese Kei truck to get a light starting point
you need to willing to accept right hand drive
some have a rear-engine or rear/mid-engine design (e.g. Subaru Sambar, Honda Acty), which could adapt to something like a Mitsubishi i-MiEV motor and transmission

consider one of the few small pickups based on compact cars
VW Rabbit Pickup, Subaru Brat, Dodge Rampage
these are all very old so finding a usable one is unlikely; there are current versions, but not sold in Canada or the U.S.

remove the engine and rear suspension of a Smart ForTwo, attach an extension frame with box on it and a drive axle under it
okay, this might be a little silly, but there must be some use for a Smart... and the car would make a small cab for a truck


Of course, if you are willing to go the substantial bodywork effort of turning a car into a pickup, there are many more choices.


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## Duncan (Dec 8, 2008)

Hi Eco

Small pickup truck, -
11 inch forklift motor
Paul & Sabrina Controllers
Batteries from a Chevy Volt

Have a look at my thread 
http://www.diyelectriccar.com/forum...dubious-device-44370p15.html?highlight=duncan

The main difference is that you will want to keep the gearbox and you don't need as much power


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## brian_ (Feb 7, 2017)

Duncan said:


> Hi Eco
> 
> Small pickup truck, -
> 11 inch forklift motor
> ...


This would be the typical small pickup conversion, but with modern battery (many pickups are older, using lead-acid). Keeping the transmission, the motor would be in the location of the stock engine, along with the controller.

Presumably the Volt battery would be reconfigured into two stacks of cells, one down each side of of the truck, under the bed, replacing the fuel tank on one side and the exhaust system on the other.


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## arklan (Dec 10, 2012)

brian_ said:


> remove the engine and rear suspension of a Smart ForTwo, attach an extension frame with box on it and a drive axle under it
> okay, this might be a little silly, but there must be some use for a Smart... and the car would make a small cab for a truck.


 get a smart and put a trailer behind it 

edit: have a look at yaberts smart, that thing could easily tow a 6x4 trailer with 300pound of stuff


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## ECO CUTS (Jun 20, 2017)

Thanks everyone for the responses. I'm definitely going with a pick up, but a kei truck wasn't something I thought of. I was thinking either a ranger or an S 10. Eventually I will have a larger payload...how much of a "range killer" would a trailer be? I mean I tow trailer with a bicycle now and I know it's not much more to pull once you get it going.

I'm going to research these suggestions some more and get back. Again, thank you everyone!


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## madderscience (Jun 28, 2008)

I have a 5x8 enclosed trailer I tow behind my EV. I also previously had a 4x8 open harbor fright trailer.

the harbor freight was quite light (about 300lbs) empty and towed entirely inside the draft of my car (a 2004 scion xb) and so towing was only about a 10% range penalty even at speed.

The 5x8x6' high enclosed trailer weighs about 1200lbs empty and is about a 30-40% range penalty at freeway speeds. Its about half again taller than my xb. a lower profile one would tow substantially easier.

You might keep eyes out for a factory ford ranger, and upgrade it with 1 or 2 leaf batteries. The trucks themselves are somewhat rare but do come on the market, and unless already upgraded don't cost much. A lot of owners of these vehicles are doing this.


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## dain254 (Oct 8, 2015)

I made this in Microsoft Paint a while back, I always though it would be cool to take a Miev and turn it into a little pickup. I've seen them go for $4k in nice shape - then just take a saw to it and get creative with sheet metal! Would easily haul your 300lbs of gear and get your 60 miles.


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## rmay635703 (Oct 23, 2008)

Get a Miles zx40st

It's already got most everything you want just need to fix it up
Usually a $500 ish street legal vehicle on a good day and AC powered.


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## brian_ (Feb 7, 2017)

At least the i-MiEV is rear-wheel-drive, as is the Smart ForTwo. The idea of filling the back of a small car with a massive battery then putting a motor on only the front wheels (as with most production EV versions of conventional cars, and even the designed-as-EV Leaf) seems bizarre to me. It gets worse when cargo and rear-seat passengers are added.


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