Electric conversions, are they happening now?

[RegularGuy]

Hey everyone, wondering if electric conversions have started popping up yet. I love my truck but can only imagine I'll need to convert it to electric if it's going to be my daily driver 10-15 years from now.

Overall, everything seems to be in place for an electric conversion.... We already have write-ups on the supporting mods, steering, e-fans, etc. From what I'm seeing, it's just a matter of someone doing the ev specific stuff (battery, motor, charger, motor controller)

Retaining 4x4 should even be possible.... It's certainly got me excited. If you know of any ranger conversions, especially a 4x4 conversion, I'd love to hear about it...

 

[Dirtman]

Conversions already happened at the factory. Ford made the ranger electric back in 2000 for a short run. They are kinda rare now since ford tried to get them all back and destroy them. 20 years ago EV tech kinda sucked so these things had miserable range. (About 60 miles if I recall). There's a guy here on the site who owns a couple of them. They are definitely cool but impractical in my opinion.

Modern EV tech in a old school ranger would be awesome though. If you can make the range at leas 200 miles it would be a functional and practical daily diver.

I found this the other day which would make an amazing ranger EV swap but they cost 30 grand. it is 400hp beast with 800 foot pounds of torque though which is on par with a modern pickup diesel for power. And electric motors don't really have power bands, that power is just there instantly.

https://www.therangerstation.com/forums/index.php?threads/a-crate-motor-for-rusty.191341/#post-1812474

With this setup you could very easily run a divorced t-case for 4x4.

 

[RegularGuy]

My issue with ford's ev ranger is 1, you're stuck with a 98-00 truck and two, without swapping out the ev side of things (motor and accompanying electronics) even with a brand new battery pack you'll have lackluster performance.
Instead, what interests me is swapping a truck (year of choice) with ev hardware meeting the current standard... More acceleration than you'd want, more torque than you need, and a range similar to what the truck is already capable of

 

[Dirtman]

My issue with ford's ev ranger is 1, you're stuck with a 98-00 truck and two, without swapping out the ev side of things (motor and accompanying electronics) even with a brand new battery pack you'll have lackluster performance.
Instead, what interests me is swapping a truck (year of choice) with ev hardware meeting the current standard... More acceleration than you'd want, more torque than you need, and a range similar to what the truck is already capable of

Yup thats where the new tech comes in. When prices drop on these kits I'm sure we will see them done.

 

[RonD]

There are a few options for electric conversion of older vehicles

One is to replace the internal combustion engine and transmission with an electric motor in the engine bay, if its a DC motor then Reverse is done just by swapping poles
You could keep transfer case in this method for 4WD, so would have 2WD, 4H and 4L

Other way is an electric motor rear axle, 2WD, or front axle, or BOTH, AWD

And then there are electric wheels, electric motor is IN the wheel, well you bolt your tire and rim to the motor, you could have 1 to 4 electric wheels
The Luner Rover(Apollo) used 4 electric wheels

The controller is the big deal and the big safety concern, if it shorts out you are "FULL THROTTLE" until vehicle meets an immovable object
A lot of AMPS go thru the controller

 

[pjtoledo]

for those that want something different,,,, full electric fork lifts have been around for a long time.
solid state conversions were happening in the late 70s, I can't imagine how far that technology has advanced since then with the help of computers and lithium ion batteries.

 

[sgtsandman]

A thing to keep in mind is the charging. For faster charging, modern electric vehicles need a special charger to do the job. Fine if all you are going to use the vehicle for is daily driving and going to and from work. If you need a vehicle for a trip out of town, finding compatible charging stations will take some work. I know our local Dunkin Donuts has a charging station. I don't recall seeing one elsewhere around here. Then there is the wait time and how much you have to charge up the battery.

 

[adsm08]

A thing to keep in mind is the charging. For faster charging, modern electric vehicles need a special charger to do the job. Fine if all you are going to use the vehicle for is daily driving and going to and from work. If you need a vehicle for a trip out of town, finding compatible charging stations will take some work. I know our local Dunkin Donuts has a charging station. I don't recall seeing one elsewhere around here. Then there is the wait time and how much you have to charge up the battery.

See that's all I'd do with it. I'd convert my daily commuter, and leave the long-range vehicles gassers.

 

[sgtsandman]

See that's all I'd do with it. I'd convert my daily commuter, and leave the long-range vehicles gassers.

One never knows with mine and it's not like I have a guaranteed work schedule. So, I need the full flexibility of a IC engine.

 

[Eddo Rogue]

There's a TV show about it. Vintage Voltage I think its called. Its British...and meh its alright, I didnt yell bloody hell bollocks or anything...They gut these beautifully restored underpowered old cars and make them electric. Its both awesome and blasphemy. The future is weird.

 

[RegularGuy]

Being that pickup have beds, you could potentially build a removable battery bank for road trips... Not super cost effective as an individual but it'd make for an interesting business (rent a battery from u-haul or whichever when you need to)

 

[Eddo Rogue]

Ive been looking at kits to convert my pit bike, the motors blown. It would cost the same after repairs, less if I sold off the exhaust system and engine core.

 

[Dirtman]

If you're doing this for Gaea the earth godess, keep in mind the plug in your wall doesn't run on magic. An electric car isn't environmentally friendly just because it doesn't burn fossil fuels directly, a dinosaur is still burning somewhere to put juice in an EV.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

If you're doing this for Gaea the earth godess, keep in mind the plug in your wall doesn't run on magic. An electric car isn't environmentally friendly just because it doesn't burn fossil fuels directly, a dinosaur is still burning somewhere to put juice in an EV.

Yes, but the power is produced much more efficiently, so less dinosaurs are burnt compared to ICE.

 

[Roert42]

You also need to also consider the environmental impact of the batteries themself. From what I understand the impact of mining the minerals and building the batteries is bigger then the overall impact of an ICE.

However, as I understand it, the science people are working on that trying to find better ways to build batteries, recycle the materials, ect.