The Ultra Van is a unique motor home. Powered by a Corvair engine and trans axle, it was designed by David Peterson (a professional aircraft designer) in the early sixties. These units were produced in limited quantities by Ultra, Inc. of Hutchinson, Kansas until June of 1970. As a true monococque structure, the Ultra Van has no chassis. It is constructed like an airplane with aluminum ribs covered with riveted sheet aluminum on the top and sides. Compound curved areas (front and back corners) are fiberglass. All wheels are independently sprung with coil springs and tubular shock absorbers. These units cruise easily at 60 mph and deliver 15 plus mpg. More than 100 of about 376 units produced are still on the road, many with between 100,000 and 500,000 miles of use. The Corvair Society of America (CORSA) recognizes the Ultra Van as a true Corvair marque.
http://www.corvair.org/chapters/ultravan/#spec http://www.corvair.org/chapters/ultravan/used.html This vehicle came dry at under 3000 pounds. It is built monococque. So no frame. Like an airplane. It is 22 feet long and 8 feet wide. That can fit a lot of solar panels. Maybe 3kw or more. Since the original Corvair(140 hp) motor got 15mpg at 60mph a little aerodynamic modification could be done. Bottom and top side. Bottom cover. Reduced mirrors/and/or video cameras. A Nissan Leaf drive train should work. These motor homes are collector items but may be gotten cheap if they need work. It seems to me it would make a nice project. Charging time on solar should be under 8 hours. Less if bigger more than 3kw panels can fit on the roof. Lawrence Rhodes...... _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org Read EVAngel's EV News at http://evdl.org/evln/ Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
