It sounds like range and top speed are not that big a deal for you. Since the truck ice does those plowing/towing tasks now, I would want to know the performance (hp & torques, etc.) the truck ice has, and then calculate what the converted truck EV will have to know if it will still do those tasks to your satisfaction.
Also, I will assume the truck ice has sufficient low gears. If the calculated EV performance was less, I would want to see if more experienced members think lowering the gear ratio would help that. Here is a newswire that I had planned for posting later, but bumped it up as it might be helpful for your project http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/EVLN-Aussies-determine-manual-tranny-more-efficient-tp4665664.html EVLN: Aussies determine manual tranny more efficient Some of the ol' timers might say, "Well we knew that ...", but for others, the piece reaffirms that point. The only personal experience I can share that might relate to having less performance after the conversion than when the vehicle was an ice is: Originally, my 2wd S-10 Blazer donor came from an auto-dismantler, that came without an ice, or the rest of the nasty, unwanted junk. After the conversion, I found out they had given me a differential that had the highest gear ratio of the four available. This was fine and kind of fun if I wanted to wind this 2 ton Blazer conversion EV (a lead sled) to up over 90+mph. But that wasn't the way I drive. I am that guy in the right lane, slowing for merging on-ramp drivers, or driving at a constant 55mph no matter what vehicle I drive (clearly I do not have a need for speed). Also, the shows and EVents I was attending to show off my conversion EV (circa 1990's) would want me to drive up and park on steep grassy locations. That turned out to be difficult with the high differential gear ratio (it would take some clutch burning to achieve). I had the differential swapped out for the lowest one of four gear ratios offered on the model. Then my top speed could be wound-up to over 75mph, but was just fine around 55mph (at the motor rpm sweet spot). Climbing up and down the tight turns and steep grades in the Santa Cruz mountains on China-Grade were a snap for such an EV heavy-weight. And I could put the Blazer EV in 1st and just tractor my way up steep hills, parking pretty-much anywhere I wanted. So, whether it is the differential or the tranny, find out what your performance will be with the EV components you plan to put in, and consider if you need to lower the gear ratios so your low becomes really low, and 2nd becomes like 1st gear is now. {brucedp.150m.com} - On Tue, Oct 8, 2013, at 05:31 PM, Barry wrote: ... > @Bruce > Basically the truck is my spare utility vehicle. Plowing and short > distance hauling and light towing. As you mentioned 4WD is a must. > Range not so much (don't know the last time I took the truck for more > than 20 miles round trip). Speed also not so much (can't remember the > last time I took it over 50 mph). Mainly a low speed, around the town > vehicle with occasional plowing and salting in the winter. Maybe 30-50 > trips/uses a year. > > The current LiFePO4 pack I have is ~30kWH. On my current vehicle > (current curb weight ~3500 lbs) I have easily gone 70miles on occasion > with reserve Ah's to spare. So ~doubling the weight and a proportional > halving the range would be well within the use limits for this vehicle. - -- http://www.fastmail.fm - Access all of your messages and folders wherever you are _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
