Possible electric conversion

[bloffy13]

Hi guys, I have a 2008 D40 king cab which I have had for about five years or so now and really love.
It came with a pretty crappy canopy which I have been converting into a comfy, insulated and lined camper over the past couple of years.
It has a double bed, good-sized kitchen area, a Brass Monkey 36l fridge in the cab, dual batteries, a 90l water tank, decent light bar, roof racks for kayaks etc. Plastic boxes and Kings travel bags meet the storage needs. Simple and light.
Upgraded the suspension and it came with air bags so it rides pretty well.
I see it as a long-term vehicle and, as such, I am thinking of converting it over to electric.
Has anyone done this and, if so, who, when, where, and how?
Ideally, I would love a 500km range but know that might be pie in the sky stuff.
Any advice would be appreciated.
If this is in the wrong spot, please move appropriately.

Regards
Bloffy

 

[Old.Tony]

This is the sort of topic that deserves its own area, because the issue of EVs as mainstream vehicles is looming quite large.

You can convert the old car. There's at least one mob in Sydney that do it to many different types of vehicles, but they often use cargo space for batteries. Cars like the Tesla have the battery pack built into the structure of the vehicle.

The vehicle weight is going to be the killer. The Navara shipped with a GVM of around 3T. Its kerb weight was around 2200kg, and once you start adding widgets, doohickeys and thinga-mebobs that 800kg of cargo capacity dwindles very quickly.

Now it's very true that you'll recover the weight of the engine (which is significant) minus the weight of the electric motor, but the batteries will be a major killer, especially if you want (need) decent range.

Energy storage capacity is a moving target. Li-ion (eg Tesla) holds around 200Wh per kg of battery, compared to lead acid which stores around 40Wh/kg. Li-ion has the unfortunate chance of catching fire and being extremely difficult to extinguish while lead acid batteries contain acid that will cause damage to skin, paint, crotchless undies etc (yes I'm checking to see how many people read this far into my drivel).

There are now technologies which - although not yet mainstream - are supposed to hold much more. Zinc-air batteries are reporting over 400 watt hours per kg. These new batteries will need significant field testing (not just by the manufacturer, but by people willing to risk putting them in their vehicles whether for business or recreation). Because there's little uptake, the normal economics of scale come right into play.

An example of the problems with new battery technology is on the shelf in many places right now - LiFePO4 batteries. We have just put one in our RV, 300Ah costing us $1300. It weighs 26kg, replacing the 38Kg 130Ah AGM that we could only draw 80% of its capacity before damaging it whereas the LiFePO4 allows use of 100% of the rated capacity. These batteries were far more expensive when they first came out, and they're still quite pricey - a 100Ah battery still costs around $400 compared to an AGM of similar capacity costing around half that. LiFePO4 is not suitable to supply power to a vehicle drivetrain - it can't dump power quickly enough (but makes a fantastic aux battery for the fridge).

To get back to the specific question - can it be done? Maybe. It will cost a motza and you might end up exceeding the weight limit to accommodate a comfortable range. Look at the Rivian ute, the lower ended model has a range of 505km but weighs 3152kg in a machine specifically designed as an electric vehicle (and that's weighed empty without even a spare tyre).

Is it worth looking at? Absolutely. It's the only way forward as more and more electric vehicles come out and dinosaur juice production will taper off. If you have the desire to go that way early, the only thing I think that will hold you back is the weight, and you can get a GVM upgrade from places like ARB in Australia that will give you about 300-350kg of extra plated capacity.

 

[tweak'e]

couple of things to keep in mind.
for best efficiency you need to loose the drivetrain. 2wd is easy enough, 4wd becomes difficult. if you want 4wd you need to keep the existing drivetrain but power/range will take a hit.
also because they do not have selectable gears, you need a motor that has huge amount of torque. think how much torque is generated at the wheels in low range with a normal ute.
of course if its 2wd ute that never goes offroad its a lot simpler.

as a platform, utes are not great. most ev cars use efficiency to get their range. so they are very aerodynamic, light as possible, use special tires etc. utes are heavy, poor aerodynamics and use low efficiency tires. so you need to have bigger batteries to compensate, which increases weight and reduces efficiency.
the weight becomes a big problem if you want to use it like a ute.

so a big part of it will be want you want to do with it.

i think if you want ofroad use, by the time you get big enough batteries to do want you want, make the vehicle big enough to handle the weight, you have a yank tank. also the cost will be huge, you could probably buy another ute.
you might as well just buy one of the yank tank ev's.

don't forget charging. your going to need high charging rates. can you fit fast charging at home?

 

[tweak'e]

btw i forgot about all the safety systems. not sure if abs, traction control, stability control, air bags etc can be used.
all the conversion i've seen over here all use old vehicles that do not have that stuff.

 

[bloffy13]

Thanks Tony and Tweak'e.
Sage advice as ever and all good considerations.
I know it will be expensive. That's a given. But given the price of fuel ATM (It went up 15c/l in the past two weeks,) I figure the savings I make there alone will pay for it. LoL.
I have been following a Kiwi guy on YouTube who has been converting a 2wd N-E-vara and speaking to him recently he will be putting it over the pits in the near future so keen to see how that goes and what the finished weights etc come in like.
One thing I've seen is having a mid-mount motor which can, somehow, drive both diffs. (Too much trickery for my small mind)
Due to the size of the e-motor and having a tray back, it would probably fit where the fuel tank sits to my thinking. (And about the same weight) batteries then go up in the engine bay.
I am only aware of one supplier in WA and they only do classic cars apparently.
An English guy I have been following has converted a LandRover. That thing is a WEAPON. It blows off BMWs and Porsches like no tomorrow and VERY capable of road.
Biggest issue seems to be range. It appears he only gets about 250km.
Re: the cost of a new vehicle. That IS prohibitive ATM.
This is just a thought bubble at the moment and probably won't go anywhere fast but wouldn't it be nice to have a cleaner, quieter, more efficient way of getting around.
Thanks again for your feedback.

 

[tweak'e]

i would never ever do it to try and save money.
it WILL cost more than you will ever hope to save.
as a cool toy yeah why not. get an older ute and one of the turn key ev systems a few places are selling and go to town on it.

the battery is not fitting under the bonnet. even if you did it would drive like a pig. massively front heavy.
they are almost always battery in the tray or centre of the car. we are talking near on a ton of battery weight. motor can go in engine bay unless you go for motor built into the axle. motor in the engine bay makes it easy to connect to existing driveline.

frankly if you can't afford a separate ev, then this project is not for you.

 

[bloffy13]

But a bloke can dream.....

 

[Phunk]

If you want something equivalently borderline reliable and be also Electric, maybe check out the LDV T60 Electric version.. at least it won't need a timing chain replaced

 

[mcguff]

Hi guys, I have a 2008 D40 king cab which I have had for about five years or so now and really love.
It came with a pretty crappy canopy which I have been converting into a comfy, insulated and lined camper over the past couple of years.
It has a double bed, good-sized kitchen area, a Brass Monkey 36l fridge in the cab, dual batteries, a 90l water tank, decent light bar, roof racks for kayaks etc. Plastic boxes and Kings travel bags meet the storage needs. Simple and light.
Upgraded the suspension and it came with air bags so it rides pretty well.
I see it as a long-term vehicle and, as such, I am thinking of converting it over to electric.
Has anyone done this and, if so, who, when, where, and how?
Ideally, I would love a 500km range but know that might be pie in the sky stuff.
Any advice would be appreciated.
If this is in the wrong spot, please move appropriately.

Regards
Bloffy

I would hang back on this EVs are not a one size fits all and I think hydrogen in a ICE or maybe a fuel cell will be the end game
Here in the UK the target date to stop the sale of ICE on fossil fuel in 2030 now seems certain to be put back

 

[Phunk]

I would hang back on this EVs are not a one size fits all and I think hydrogen in a ICE or maybe a fuel cell will be the end game
Here in the UK the target date to stop the sale of ICE on fossil fuel in 2030 now seems certain to be put back

What is ICE?

 

[D40-12-Xtra-Newc]

ICE: Internal Combustion Engine...........