# [EVDL] EV Winnebago or similar



## EVDL List (Jul 27, 2007)

'Electric Highway': First Installment Of Cutting-Edge Freeway Inaugurated

CENTRAL POINT, Ore. -- Following a trail blazed by Indians and pioneers in covered wagons, electric car drivers hit the road Friday to inaugurate the first major section of a West Coast "Electric Highway" dotted with stations where they can charge up in 20 minutes.

The stretch of 160 miles of Interstate 5 served by eight stations marks the next big step in developing an infrastructure that until now has been limited primarily to chargers in homes and workplaces.

The stations go from the California border north to the Oregon city of Cottage Grove and are located at gas stations, restaurants and motels just off the nation's second-busiest interstate. One is at an inn that was once a stage coach stop.

Spaced about every 25 miles, the stations allow a Nissan Leaf with a range of about 70 miles to miss one and still make it to the next. Electric car drivers will be able to recharge in about 20 minutes on the fast-chargers. The charge is free for now.

"I would say range-anxiety with these fast chargers will be nearly a non-issue for me," said Justin Denley, who owns a Nissan Leaf and joined the caravan.

Inspired by the stations, his family is planning a trip from Medford to Portland, a distance of about 280 miles. Last summer, he took the family on a 120-mile trip to the coast and had to include an overnight stop at an RV park to charge up.

He expects the trip to Portland to take perhaps three hours longer than in a gas car, because the only chargers available for the last 100 miles are slower, level 2 chargers.

Level 1 car chargers use 110 volts, like a regular home outlet, and it can take an entire night to charge a vehicle. Level 2 uses 240 volts, like a home dryer or range, and can charge a car in three or four hours.

But Level 3, which uses 480 volts of direct current, makes en route charging feasible by boosting a Nissan Leaf's 45-kilowatt battery from a 20 percent charge to 80 percent in less than 30 minutes.


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## EVDL List (Jul 27, 2007)

In 2009, Oregon and Washington signed a memorandum to establish the West Coast Green Highway, which would be a network of DC fast chargers along I-5, the N-S interstate highway that runs from Canada to Mexico. They just dedicated the first L3 fast chargers:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/17/electric-highway_n_1355779.html?ref=green&ir=Green

You can read the projects website here:

http://www.westcoastgreenhighway.com/


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## EVDL List (Jul 27, 2007)

About fifteen months ago, there was an interesting thread on converting
an ice RV to an Electric Bloodmobile
http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/Converting-Bloodmobiles-to-electric-tp3107743p3107743.html

About the same time Winston of Li-ion manufacturer fame, had a $1M 
all Electric RV made for him
http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/MVP-Winston-RV-EV-range-180mi-ts-65-MPH-li-ion-pack-recharge-24hrs-220V-tp3138755p3138755.html

If I remember there was a percentage of evdl members that posted that
with the power demands and inefficiencies, it would be better to make 
a pih RV rather than an Electric RV. If you think about a 
charge-depleted pih RV design (where the ice genset is a undersized 
to climb the CA grapevine but large enough to average out to most RV 
driving needs) a better mpge could be aimed for. But the conversion 
cost would be huge. The li-ion pack cost alone would be a project 
killer (unless you were rich like Winston).

Perhaps one could buy an used hybrid bus from the City of Chatanoga 
Bus fleet, and then the cost would just be the conversion from a Bus 
to a RV (curtains, toilet, showers, stove, beds, etc.). Bus to RV 
conversions are not rare.


{brucedp.150m.com}




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http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/NEW-PIA-Video-tt4480839.html#a4481454


> robert winfield wrote:
> > has anyone done any feasability thinking or studies on converting one of
> > those mobile living rooms/land yachts/Winnebagos to EV?
> > I see both surface area for PV and since there is a L3 electric highway
> ...


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## EVDL List (Jul 27, 2007)

Trade Me shows a valid New Zealand area example.
Looking for used hybrid Buses in North America, a web search gives

http://www.creativebussales.com/alternative_fuels_buses/alternative_fuels_hybrid_buses.php

http://www.absolutebus.com/Hybrid-Buses.html

{brucedp.150m.com}



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> George Tyler wrote:
> > http://www.designlinecorporation.com/
> >
> > hybrid busses, there was one for sale on trademe for $50,000. they used a
> ...


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## EVDL List (Jul 27, 2007)

> robert winfield wrote:
> > has anyone done any feasability thinking or studies on converting one of those mobile living rooms/land yachts/Winnebagos to EV?
> > I see both surface area for PV and since there is a L3 electric highway from Washington to Calif range anxiety should go down, also one in Tenn thats appx 425 miles.
> > The darn things are $$$ anyway and at 5-10mpg @ best.....
> ...


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## EVDL List (Jul 27, 2007)

Willie,
Is this the Mercedes/Dodge/Freightliner Sprinter you are talking about:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodge_Sprinter#North_America 
The excellent consumption tells me that you are probably
talking about the Turbo-Diesel version which usually has
a much higher efficiency than comparable petrol engines.

Cor van de Water
Chief Scientist
Proxim Wireless Corporation http://www.proxim.com
Email: [email protected] Private: http://www.cvandewater.com
Skype: cor_van_de_water XoIP: +31877841130
Tel: +1 408 383 7626 Tel: +91 (040)23117400 x203 

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On
Behalf Of Willie McKemie
Sent: Monday, March 19, 2012 8:51 AM
To: Electric Vehicle Discussion List
Subject: Re: [EVDL] EV Winnebago or similar



> robert winfield wrote:
> > has anyone done any feasability thinking or studies on converting one
> of those mobile living rooms/land yachts/Winnebagos to EV?
> > I see both surface area for PV and since there is a L3 electric
> ...


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## EVDL List (Jul 27, 2007)

> Cor van de Water wrote:
> > Willie,
> > Is this the Mercedes/Dodge/Freightliner Sprinter you are talking about:
> > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodge_Sprinter#North_America
> ...


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## EVDL List (Jul 27, 2007)

Here is an article from Mar 2010 on Transit Connect Electric
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_7-10466379-48.html

Usually Transit Connect Electrics are only sold as a fleet
vehicle (you have to have a business to buy one). I did find
one used for sale
http://www.haroldzeigler.com/new/Ford/2012-Ford-Transit+Connect-848a3dfd0a0d06690105e5600a0143b3.htm
The price seemed way too high.

There are a lot more of these in the UK than the US
http://www.compucars.co.uk/used-cars/ford/transit-connect/

http://vans.autotrader.co.uk/used-vans/ford/transit-connect

It might be a better deal to convert a Transit Connect ice
than buy an used Electric version. But assuming a 6'2" man
might want to crawl in the back to take a nap while it does
a long charge, I think these are too short. 

As posted, the Sprinter Van ice does seem like a better donor
to convert. Its taller and longer where it counts. But 
neither vehicle would be a fully functional RV. 

If you want to convert a small RV to Electric (one that would
have the amenities: toilet, shower, etc.), you could look at 
a used C class RV which is less costly

http://www.rvusa.com/rvs/2006/fleetwood-tioga-24d-24d-with-rear-corner-bed-class-c-used-dublin-california-423683

The above example found on a search is a 24' model. Those 
maybe too heavy for your needs, but they are fairly common
so you could get a good price break on them.

A smaller C class like
http://www.rvtrader.com/listing/2001-TIGER-PROVAN-Tiger-XL---16ft-Class-C-101827828
might be lighter and an easy convert to Electric drive, 
but the donor vehicle would cost you more.

Here are sites to search with
http://www.rv-mart.com/
http://www.rvtrader.com/
http://www.rvusa.com/


{brucedp.150m.com}





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> Willie McKemie wrote:
> > On Sat, Mar 17, 2012 at 06:09:29PM -0700, robert winfield wrote:
> > > has anyone done any feasability thinking or studies on converting one of
> > those mobile living rooms/land yachts/Winnebagos to EV?
> ...


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## EVDL List (Jul 27, 2007)

> brucedp5 wrote:
> 
> > As posted, the Sprinter Van ice does seem like a better donor
> > to convert. Its taller and longer where it counts. But
> ...


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## EVDL List (Jul 27, 2007)

When I sought/was deciding on a donor vehicle, what fit my needs more 
exactly sometimes cost way-more than a less exacting vehicle (cost as 
in price as well as air-drag, weight, etc.)

I was trying to express that C class RV's are produced in large 
amounts, thus their availability brings their price down. One can
verify this by using the links I previously provided and searching 
RVs on the same year and length between B and C class.

IMO B class RV's are nice for short/day trips, but C-class is the 
less expensive (drivable RV, not a trailer) cousin to a full blown 
(heavy and expensive) A-class RV. A smaller (shorter length) C-class 
RV's are close to the appearance of a B-class RV's: the lines of 
distinction get blurred around this size.

I am not sure what your needs are. If it were just a day-tripper RV, 
then perhaps lean toward a B class design. Or if your trips may be a 
couple days or more, a C class would be a better fit (in my case in 
the past, keep the better-half/the one who must be obeyed happier).

An fyi, so people know where I am coming from:
'My' 6'6" size would not be fair to compare with as there are many 
more smaller/shorter people around. Which is why I use a 6'2" sized 
man when checking for roominess/fit (figuring larger/taller people 
can not shrink, and a smaller shorter person can always scoot the 
seat up and re-adjust to fit). Whenever I post about a vehicle's 
accommodation of a person's stature, I have that 6'6" man-size in 
mind (not my size). 
...
http://www.acronymfinder.com/One-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed-%28wife%29-%28OWMBO%29.html


{brucedp.150m.com}

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## EVDL List (Jul 27, 2007)

Correction:
Whenever I post about a vehicle's accommodation of 
a person's stature, I have that 6'2" man-size in 
mind (not my size). 

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## EVDL List (Jul 27, 2007)

> On 19 Mar 2012 at 10:01, brucedp5 wrote:
> 
> > not a trailer ...
> 
> ...


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## EVDL List (Jul 27, 2007)

Now a little bit off topic, but as a follow-up to the story referenced by
the OP, the RV company that was "rescued" by Winston Chung is now in
liquidation:
http://www.pe.com/business/business-headlines/20120221-industry-investor-showdown-shuts-down-mvp-rv.ece




> Mark Grasser <[email protected]>wrote:
> 
> > At highway speeds a motor home is well into the power curve of the drive
> > motor, hence the bad mileage. You could do a conversion to electric motor
> ...


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