# Q on the feasibility/possibility/Cost of a Cargo Van conversion?



## Moltenmetal (Mar 20, 2014)

5000 lbs = about 500 Wh/mile, give or take

40 miles x 500 Wh/mile /80% (to keep your batteries alive for more than a few cycles) = 25 kWh, which is a little more than a single Leaf pack or about 1.5 Volt packs.

A big (11") DC motor is probably your best bet.

Possible for $10,000 USD? Perhaps, but it will likely be more than that if you're going to purchase all the parts retail except the wrecker batteries, which are your only option for the batteries.

Others may comment on the possibility of repurposing an OEM drivetrain for such a big vehicle.


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## Duncan (Dec 8, 2008)

Hi asakawa
To Molten's comment - re-purposing an OEM drivetrain

You are talking about a heavy vehicle - BUT we are spoiled these days about performance so the fact that your vehicle is about 50% heavier than a Nissan Leaf does not mean that you can't simply use the whole drivetrain from a Leaf - it will be a little sluggish by modern car standards - which means it will be a high performance vehicle compared to a lot of the old classic cars that we love!

The only issue would be gearing - lower gearing would be nice - but probably too difficult
What size wheels/tires do you intend using? - if you could use smaller radius tires than the Leaf that would help


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## Asakawa (Dec 22, 2016)

===================
-----Tire Sizes----
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Ram Promaster LT225/75R16

Nissan Leaf S P205/55R16
Nissan Leaf SL/SV P215/50R17

The tires sound to be about the same size between the Leaf and the RPM unless you pick a higher leaf trim? The tires on the RPM already look pretty small for such a 'large' van! But I guess we could settle for a smaller tire size. How small are we talking about though? 15" or smaller? Will this affect the odometer reading if we are doing a drive train transfer from say a Nissan leaf?

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-Battery Pack Size-
===================

Sounds like a hopeful option to me since there should be a good amount of packs out there to pick up and only getting larger as time goes by . The only thing that I would prefer is the pack was liquid cooled instead of air cooled but we don't have a lot of choices.

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-OEM Drive Train -
===================


Nissan LEAF/Curb weight: 3,323 to 3,405 lbs

http://insideevs.com/nissan-introduces-leaf-based-driverless-towing-system-at-oppama-plant-wvideo/

http://insideevs.com/wp-content/upl..._driverless_towing_system_at_Oppama_Plant.jpg

Towing doesn't look like an issue with the leaf. In there it is towing x2 nissan leaf and some other car... a juke? Murano? What is it? I think it could/should be able to handle the weight of the Ram Promaster? Plus also it would have Chademo which is something I loved about the Leaf. Really miss it. Rav4 EV doesn't have it. 

The only thing I don't like about the leaf pack is that it is air cooled and I would prefer liquid cooled. Though it could be a temporary fix until a liquid cool version comes out (2018 Nissan Leaf Maybe?) then eventually make the switch if at all possible.



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-Cargo Auto Choices-
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There isn't much of a choice for me in terms of cargo van choices. The RPM looks to be the lightest out of the big cargo van options I listed (Unsure if I missed any others). If I'd want lighter then the next step down is a minivan (I don't think there is anything else in between). So I listed the Minivan weights and they come close to the RPM lightest weight #. Minivans do have upholstery, plastic trimming, and extra seats inside so they could weigh less when stripped. How much less? I'm unsure. Maybe about 500 pounds less fully stripped?

Dodge Grand Caravan 4,321 to 4,483 lbs
RAM C/V Tradesman 4,150 lbs

Difference: 171 to 333 Lbs

The RAM C/V Tradesman is a Dodge Grand Caravan stripped /w panels instead of windows turned into a mini cargo van! I'm unsure if the reinforced the van, but the weight with out the seats doesn't seem to have decreased much when compared to the dodge grand caravan. Since the RAM C/V Tradesman has no rear seats I was hoping its weight would be around 500 lbs less . Like I said though I'm unsure if they added some sort of reinforcement or anything else that could have added weight back in. 


Dodge Grand Caravan/Payload: 1,567 to 1,729 lbs
RAM C/V Tradesman/Payload: 1,900 lbs

Difference: 171 to 333 Lbs

So I guess a fully stripped Dodge Grand Caravan does weigh around the same weight as a RAM C/V Tradesman. Maybe more or less.

http://www.allpar.com/photos/ram/cargo-van/Dave-NYIAS-Ram-Cargo-2.jpg

Looks like some trimming got turned into storage like units but there seems to be different configs . Stil looks minivan fancy like.

"Practical though it may be, the 2015 Ram CV Tradesman does have some drawbacks. A heavy-duty suspension helps it to be a more capable hauler, but results in a stiffer ride,"

And a suspension upgrade it sounds like? The Payload increase doesn't seem so great though.

Anyway, after Minivans it would be the compact cargo vans like NV200/Ram Promaster City/Ford Transit connect, but these are about the same size as my RAV4 EV. Slightly larger in some dimensions, but about the same. A conversion for those just wouldn't be worth it.

The biggest out of these would be the Ford Transit Connect Extended Wheel Base, but it still is smaller than a Dodge Grand Caravan.

Ford Transit Connect/Curb weight: 3,505 to 3,968 lbs <- Extended version is likely close t 4k lbs.

Ford Transit Connect Dimensions: 190″ L x 72″ W x 73″ H
Dodge Grand Caravan Dimensions: 203″ L x 79″ W x 68″ H

Sorry for the long post I'm just sharing my thoughts on the options .


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## piotrsko (Dec 9, 2007)

if you want a E van then build one. it isn't too much different mechanically than a 1/2 ton US pick up of which there are many conversions around. for now don't get too hung up in the details other than battery storage space and ease of conversion, place to do this in for at least a month perhaps a year or two, and guessstimate of final cost.


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