TheSamba.com :: View topic

Thu Dec 31, 2015 10:17 am

This comes in. . .

It's a "push trailer' built out of a 70s Beetle. What is a pusher trailer you ask?? It's f*ckin' scary that's what, but more on that later. It's used to push an all electric vehicle down the road allowing it to (a) not use battery power (think redneck hybrid) and (b) when on cruise control, the regenerative brakes charge-up the vehicle as you are pushed.

The reason i say it's f*ckin' scary is because you have a VW motor and trans (in 4th gear) held at WOT behind you with no dead-man switch. To stop the car, you have to now brake not only the car you are pushing, but also against a motor at WOT. It's a ready-made law suit on wheels.

Just buy a hybrid if you must. . .

Thu Dec 31, 2015 1:35 pm

Darwin award winner. How does it "push" when going into a corner? That's just a PITT maneuver... won't be long before he hits your evening news about killing himself and/or someone else with it. Don't you have DMV regulations out there?

Fri Jan 01, 2016 1:51 pm

WTF? :shock: Stay far, far away from that rig.

Sat Jan 02, 2016 8:34 am

Scary for me cause it's in my neck of the woods!

Mon Jan 04, 2016 12:44 pm

Nate M. wrote:
What is a pusher trailer you ask?? It's used to push an all electric vehicle down the road allowing it to (a) not use battery power (think redneck hybrid) and (b) when on cruise control, the regenerative brakes charge-up the vehicle as you are pushed.

The reason i say it's f*ckin' scary is because you have a VW motor and trans (in 4th gear) held at WOT behind you with no dead-man switch. To stop the car, you have to now brake not only the car you are pushing, but also against a motor at WOT. It's a ready-made law suit on wheels.

Just buy a hybrid if you must. . .

First, wouldn't the weight of pulling the trailer drag down the batteries (thereby defeating the purpose)
And how is the transition from battery-powered to trailer-powered accomplished? Manually (like stop, get out, start the trailer)?
What happens at stop signs? How does the trailer get to 4th gear, WOT, from the driver's seat?

Lastly, what does the owner want you to do to it? :lol:

Tue Jan 05, 2016 4:41 pm

I think Nate should strap it to the back of the Squarsh. May help with the top end, or a good starter pusher. Add a quick disconnect when you get up to speed. :roll:

Wed Jan 06, 2016 6:28 am

put a 6 kw generator on a trailer, AC to the charging point, same end result.

Sat Jan 09, 2016 5:39 pm

A pusher trailer usually is not set with a wired throttle. Most of then have a cruise control system set up in the pushed vehicle, so they hold a speed and cut off if the driver brakes.

I think they are still a bit unsafe because being pushed through a trailer hitch is less than stable, but I didn't want to leave out the idea that they where without control.

At the front end (EV side) if the vehicle is in neutral it will just coast. If it is an EV with regen braking (most every factory EV, but few home built EVs) then leaving it in "drive" will result in coasting level regen and braking will provide regen based on the EVs designed hydraulic regenn split.

Wed Jan 13, 2016 11:51 am

This guys been doing this for years, EV944 + VW Rabbit Pusher

Fri Feb 05, 2016 7:41 pm

Miked914 wrote:

This guys been doing this for years, EV944 + VW Rabbit Pusher

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Articulated_bus#/media/File:2009_60%27_New_Flyer_DE60LFR_Hybrid.JPG

Articulated city busses have the engine in the rear(trailer), which is what we are seeing here.
But the idea of not having any control of that engine is what scares me.

Fri Feb 05, 2016 8:02 pm

[quote="Air-Cooled Head"] Nate M. wrote:

And how is the transition from battery-powered to trailer-powered accomplished? Manually (like stop, get out, start the trailer)?
What happens at stop signs? How does the trailer get to 4th gear, WOT, from the driver's seat?

Lastly, what does the owner want you to do to it? :lol:

I would say he puts an alligator clip to the coil and pull starts it till he gets pushed, the hope for good brakes to stop it when all hell brakes loose.

That is effin scary even for my nerves!

Sat Feb 25, 2023 2:06 pm

Zombie thread!

So, actually dude does have control of the coil, or did in late 2017 when I encountered this outfit in Los Angeles.

It's light-activated. You notice the 4-pin trailer wiring harness? SO when it gets current, two things happen. One, the coil on the engine gets it's power. I don't recall it being on a separate circuit, though in hindsight seems like pulling coil-driving current out of a circuit fused for lights seems not quite right.

The second thing is an air brake solenoid that works on the clutch arm, which bump starts the engine in 4th gear.

As he described it, it's for freeway cruising only and he DOES have control over the engine running via his light switch.

ach60 wrote: Miked914 wrote:

This guys been doing this for years, EV944 + VW Rabbit Pusher

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Articulated_bus#/media/File:2009_60%27_New_Flyer_DE60LFR_Hybrid.JPG

Articulated city busses have the engine in the rear(trailer), which is what we are seeing here.
But the idea of not having any control of that engine is what scares me.

Tue Mar 07, 2023 3:04 pm

Cool concept! Especially for a VW Bus in the mountain passes. As for it not being legal... I highly doubt any laws have ever been invented that cover that one!

Anyone who thinks it was built and used without any control from the tow vehicle is not firing on all cylinders mentally. You could not even get out of the driveway with it rigged like that!

I can see this working pretty well with an auto stick or better yet a fully automatic transaxle.

Wed Mar 15, 2023 6:52 am

Back in 1975. My father’s wrecker jumped the timing chain while at the track. We pushed the wrecker with the stock car racecar in tow. The racecar did the pushing. And somehow me at 9 years old was sitting on the floor of the loud racecar, while my teenage neighbor worked the gas. It got us to my uncle’s, who lived a lot closer to the track than we did.

Wed Mar 15, 2023 1:27 pm

Got a Prius already. I want one of those.

Hold my beer and watch this!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

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Thu Mar 23, 2023 4:55 am

Dusty1 wrote: Got a Prius already. I want one of those.

Hold my beer and watch this!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

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A couple years ago a stumbled across a group or forum that did this. Just by the shear quantity of pictures it must have been on Facebook.
But the was a lot of chat about set up, what car the use, ect, building a pusher.
Search for it if you are interested. It seemed as if pushing was common knowledge.

Thu Mar 23, 2023 8:38 am

Pardon my lack of imagination, but how the heck does that thing go anywhere without turning into a giant tank-slapper?

It reminds me of trying to drive backwards with a trailer hooked up.