OwnerRichard Pease
LocationOverland Park, Kansas US map
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Vehicle1985 Dodge D-50
Ex-4 wheel drive mini-pickup. I removed all 4wd gear and replaced with 2WD.
MotorAdvanced DC ADC-4001 Series Wound DC
9.13" double shaft
Drivetrain144 V DC system, standard 5 speed no clutch. Would prefer clutch, however.
Controller Re-Volt Cougar sw version 1.11b
Curtis blown when car purchased, rebuilt and repaired six times under warranty. Gave up on Curtis repair, used a borrowed Logisystems for a while, then built and installed Re-volt Cougar kit.
Batteries24 US Battery 2200, 6.00 Volt, Lead-Acid, Flooded
New pack purchased Nov 2009. Used original car-type connector cables with screw-on posts. One came loose, caused battery fire. Now using all new cables with lugs.
System Voltage144 Volts
ChargerQuick Charge
230 volt 30 AMP fixed pack voltage (144) charger.

Backup K & W BC-20 115 volt 10 amp charger, swap voltages using Anderson connectors.

Both on board.
HeaterCame with ceramic heater. Works well, using a 144 V DC to 120 V 20 AMP AC inverter. Being a very small cab helps.
DC/DC Converter
55 AMP originally an AC 12 V charger.
InstrumentationCustom dashboard with round analog gauges. Will be adding homemade custom PIC16F based dash with eight 7-segment LED display output, like I made for my RV, will replace all current gauges.
Top Speed70 MPH (112 KPH)
Had a little more speed to go in 4th, but vehicle is 37% battery weight and is twitchy steering at that speed.
AccelerationWith Logisystems, sparkling up to 35 or so, will smoke tires. Adequate but NOT sparkling above that. Returned to Curtis and Revolt because of unavoidable jackrabbit starts with the Logisystems. Acceleration adequate for a retiree.
Range40 Miles (64 Kilometers)
Most ever actually attained - tested with battery temp 100 F, depth of discharge 80%, 20% of trip using electric cab heater. Measured after 5300 miles on batteries, all seasons. Rarely go over 25 miles (50% depth of discharge) between chargers or at least a top-off chg. At 25 miles no "sagging" or performance degredation. At 25 miles, things begin to slow down a little.
Watt Hours/Mile330 Wh/Mile
Calculated from Re-Volt controller info for around town, highest speed 50, average about 37.
Steady 60 MPH flat ground 409 Whr/Mile.
EV Miles
Start:4,710 Miles (7,578 Kilometers)
Current:12,231 Miles (19,679 Kilometers)
Total:7,521 Miles (12,101 Kilometers)
 
    As of 1/6/2012
Seating CapacityTwo. NOT two people and 55 pound dog, NOT two people and string bass, NOT two people and 3 bags of groceries (unless out in the wind). My one major beef with the vehicle. It is my primary vehicle, and I have to rely on a small homebuilt diesel school-bus-based RV for more than two people or lugging things.
Curb Weight4,380 Pounds (1,990 Kilograms)
Batteries are 1500 pounds of that weight. At or near the driveability limit considering weight. Driveablility might be better if/when I put batteries under bed to lower center of gravity. It is a very small pickup, made by Mitsubishi.
TiresOff the shelf 4WD type tires it came with. I did a coast down test with them at 35 pounds and again at 50 pounds pressure, and the difference is DRAMATIC, both in coasting and in roughness of ride.
Conversion TimeBought barely working. Complete rebuild, batteries, controller(s), high voltage cables, transmission, coupler, drive line, added DC-DC, added electric power steering pump, added onboard charger, new 230 volt outlet on my mail box, about 450 hours (most of last summer's spare time, I'm retired)
Conversion CostVehicle was $3500. Added about $6800 including batteries, Re-volt controller kit.
Additional Features110 V AC 20 amp inverter
MR2 power steering pump
Two onboard chargers, 110v and 220V
The friends at MAEAA car club recommend that if you want to build an EV, buy one first to find out what you like and don't like, it is cheaper than buying new parts and making the mistakes yourself. Very good advice. I find a small pickup isn't adequate as a primary vehicle, even if there is just me and my wife.

The conversion I bought, priced considering a known dead battery pack, however, had numerous other issues, especially trying to rehabilitate a Curtis controller with the end blown out if it. 2 WD drive tranny I installed to replace the 4WD was different size, so I had to fab new engine mounts, new tranny cross member, new crossmember attach scheme, rebuild the driveshaft. Original wiring schematic had all its upgrades colorcoded with felt tip pens, but I got a black and white copy, so wiring has been more time consuming than expected.

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