# Planning S10 blazer or short bed pickup conversion



## hillbillyrockstar (May 24, 2008)

Well I would like to convert either a S10 blazer/jimmy or a short bed full size pick up to electric. I am complaetly new to this sort of thing but have tons of mecahnical ability, yet hardly any knoweldge of electrical stuff. I design million dollar motor homes and have multiple CADD softwares at my disposal. I also grew up on the farm and still help out occasionally so I have the farmerizing ability if you wanna call it that.

Basically I would like to know where to start. A good place to buy a kit with motor controllers and what not. 

I also had some thoughts of setting up a impeller like setup to drive a bank of alternators to at least extend my range. Is this a viable option? I know that alternators are not efficient at all but if you would harness the power from the wind that is already going by your car/truck then why not take advantage of it.

My other thought was to run a small deisel generator to charge the batteries either in transit or while it is sitting. I have fooled around with making Bio-Diesel awhile back and am able to make it for less than a dollor a gallon including electricity. The question I would need awnsered is what amount of power would i have to put back from the genrator to make it a no charge system.

I dont drive far to and from work less than 10 miles a day but dont want to be charging all the time. I want and kind of need the 4X4 ability of a truck as for one I am a hillbilly and two i live in Indiana and the snow can get really bad at times. I do understand that lighter/smaller is better but I cant stand a small vehicle. If I would get a short bed pick up (late model chevy) and strip her down in weight by fiberglass panels and what not would that be a viable option, or am I stuck with a S-10 like truck platform.

Any and all help would be appriciated, and anyone that happens to be around the Indiana area and would like to let me take a gander at their conversion they would be repaid genrously. If I can help anyone with my design abilities let me know or would like to find out more about Bio-Diesel I would be happy to share the knoweldge.

Thanks,
Andy
02' F350 powerstroke
02' Olds Aurora
& a 208lb Rottwieler


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## Cornelius (Sep 15, 2007)

Hi, welcome to the group! An S-10 pick-up is one of the easier, and thus more popular conversions. You can see a little picture of my S-10 conversion in the upper left corner.

A good place to start is with two books. The first is _Convert it!_ by Michael Brown. This is a well written, but somewhat dated, hands on practical conversion guide. The other book you should read is _Build Your Own Electric Vehicle_ by Bob Brant. This book has more technical data and calculations for converting to an EV. Both books are available at Amazon.com. Reading these will save you a lot of time and expense. You may also wish to read the DIY EV wiki here at this site.

Forget the wind alternator idea. That's not really wind blowing past your car, it's your car moving through the air. You want your vehicle to be aerodynamic as possible. The more air you have to push through, the more energy (fuel - gas, diesel, electricity, CNG, hydrogen, whatever...) will be required. Since any system has energy losses, you will not recover this by using a windmill alternator to recharge. Sorry, but there is no free lunch.

Your 10 mile range is well within the capabilities of an S-10 EV conversion. I have driven mine almost 50 miles on a charge, and could have safely gone further without deeply discharging the batteries. If you want a 4x4 S-10, the added weight will reduce your range slightly, just the same as it does with a gas powered vehicle.

As for charging off a diesel generator, even with homemade bio-diesel, you have have a tough time competing with your electric utility on price. If you want to use a generator as a range extender to allow continuous driving, figure on a 10 to 15 KW generator for that size vehicle. It's really much cheaper and easier to plug in and recharge. Your electric utility is also probably much cleaner for the environment than running a diesel generator. With the short amount of driving you mentioned, recharging should be fairly brief, perhaps even every few days.


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## Caps18 (Jun 8, 2008)

I just started my 1996 S-10 conversion yesterday.  I'm trying to do it as 'cost-effective' as I can. I drive less than 10 miles a day right now also, but I'll have it charge overnight.

I'm still trying to piece together all of the parts right now though.


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## hillbillyrockstar (May 24, 2008)

That is some great advice. Now that you said that its not wind makes alot of sence. I will definetly take a look at the books you mentioned, and keep reading on here. 

With the generator idea I had, will the 12.5 KW generator basically charge the batteries as I drive or just suppliment them for a little while. 

When you say I would have trouble compeating with the electric company, how much does it normally cost to charge Your S-10 conversion. 

Thanks again


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