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orbital
Samba Member
Joined: September 17, 2007
Posts: 24
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 Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 2:47 pm Post subject: 1984 Vanagon Electric Conversion = is it worthwhile yet? |
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Okay $50 to go 200 miles is getting waaay to expensive. While I realize that converting anything from gas to electric is also very expensive, I plan on driving my vanagon till the day I die.
Has anyone ever checked out the specs on converting a manual 80s vanagon to electric? Are the darn things too heavy to make it worth while? If overall it cost ~$15k-$20k I'd really consider a conversion.
Thanks for the opinions...
~ J |
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candyman
Samba Trout Slayer
Joined: December 20, 2003
Posts: 2694
Location: Missoula MT
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| Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 4:43 pm Post subject: Re: 1984 Vanagon Electric Conversion = is it worthwhile yet? |
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| orbital wrote: |
Okay $50 to go 200 miles is getting waaay to expensive. While I realize that converting anything from gas to electric is also very expensive, I plan on driving my vanagon till the day I die.
Has anyone ever checked out the specs on converting a manual 80s vanagon to electric? Are the darn things too heavy to make it worth while? If overall it cost ~$15k-$20k I'd really consider a conversion.
Thanks for the opinions...
~ J |
Is it worthwhile yet
short answer: no
long answer: TDI conversion, costs the same as what your are considering and you can run veggie oil with the right set up, get your total costs down to $.45 a gallon if you play your cards right  thats what i am working on. IMO electric may never happen, batteries costs too much and use too much energy to produce, and when they are bad, you can only recycle so much of them, the rest goes to the earth  |
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orbital
Samba Member
Joined: September 17, 2007
Posts: 24
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| Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 5:21 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks candyman.
I was reading this site: http://e-vanagon.blogspot.com/ and found their trials and tribulations interesting. Unfortunate they can barely get 50 miles out of one charge, and each to fully charge it takes about 6 hours. |
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Crankey
Samba Member
Joined: July 11, 2004
Posts: 2659
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| Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 5:33 pm Post subject: |
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| 50 mile range is plenty for me but 20 grand (seems to me that's about what they spent) is too much. for that money I could buy a new electric micro truck. which doesn't sound too bad really |
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orbital
Samba Member
Joined: September 17, 2007
Posts: 24
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Crankey
Samba Member
Joined: July 11, 2004
Posts: 2659
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| Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 6:13 pm Post subject: |
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yep that's the one I saw, looks bad ass. wonder what kinda rims would fit on it...lowering...where the subwoofer will fit ?  |
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vanagonforever
Samba Member
Joined: July 29, 2007
Posts: 211
Location: Baltimore, MD
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| Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 7:06 pm Post subject: |
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Those little trucks look cool but I've got more range and top speed on my bicycle than that thing has. I'm going to need more than 25 mph top speed and a 30 mile radius to make me want to spend $17,000. It looks really cool though.
_________________
1986 2WD 2.1L WBX Vanagon Weekender
1983.5 1.9L WBX Vanagon Westfalia |
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foodeater
Samba Member
Joined: July 13, 2007
Posts: 1318
Location: Newburgh, NY
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| Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 8:33 pm Post subject: |
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If its being "sold" or promised by ZAP! I would run the other way. They have a real bad reputation in the EV world. Burning investors and customers alike, selling cars they dont have..etc. You may want to read this article from wired before giving them any money.http://www.wired.com/cars/futuretransport/magazine/16-04/ff_zapped?currentPage=all
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89 Bluestar-2.5 Subaru Powered-RIP
'84 Westy Tiico-daily driver-sold
'82 Caddy diesel-sold
'87 Vanagon Syncro-RIP
'81 diesel rabbit-sold
'82 Vanagon auto-RIP |
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tencentlife
Samba Member
Joined: May 02, 2006
Posts: 10078
Location: Abiquiu, NM, USA
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| Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 8:35 pm Post subject: |
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| IMO electric may never happen, batteries costs too much and use too much energy to produce, and when they are bad, you can only recycle so much of them, the rest goes to the earth |
Lead-acid batteries, which would likely be used by someone converting a vehicle, are one of the most recyclable and recycled things in our industrial economy. About 94% of what's in a car battery gets reused. Rates of recycling have long been very good due to the long-standing practice of charging for the cores. $6 makes a guy come back and get it, and that was in the good old days; it's more now. Same reason bottle deposit laws are so effective. Wish they'd pass one around here. Our roadsides look like linear landfills.
I do think we'll be moving to mostly electric cars eventually, but battery capacity is the big challenge. And built-electric cars won't be using LA's, they'll be packed with Li's or some as yet undiscovered chemistry. But electricity is too ubiquitous and adaptable not to use it as the power medium. Part of the transpo sector will run on liquid fuels as well, the trucking sector without a doubt. But alas, a Vanagon isn't really a good candidate for electric conversion, unless maybe as just a city car.
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Shop for unique Vanagon accessories at the Vanistan shop:
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Please don't PM here, I will not reply.
Experience is kryptonite to doctrine. |
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busfreak_71
Flat 4 Junkie
Joined: April 29, 2007
Posts: 1191
Location: Sherwood Park, Alberta
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| Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 10:13 pm Post subject: Re: 1984 Vanagon Electric Conversion = is it worthwhile yet? |
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| candyman wrote: |
Is it worthwhile yet
short answer: no
long answer: TDI conversion, costs the same as what your are considering and you can run veggie oil with the right set up, get your total costs down to $.45 a gallon if you play your cards right thats what i am working on. IMO electric may never happen, batteries costs too much and use too much energy to produce, and when they are bad, you can only recycle so much of them, the rest goes to the earth |
Don't run veg oil in a TDI. Direct injection engines don't work well with veg oil, bio-d is a better option. Just make sure you have Viton seals in your pump.
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'71 Tin Top Westfalia
'99.5 Bora TDI
'85 Jetta Coupe
'85 Mercedes 300SD
Resident Off-Grid hippie and diesel advocate. |
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GR-MI-Ken
Samba Member
Joined: May 19, 2009
Posts: 72
Location: Grand Rapids, MI - US
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| Posted: Mon Aug 21, 2017 10:49 am Post subject: Re: 1984 Vanagon Electric Conversion = is it worthwhile yet? |
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| ok - it has been 9 years, has this changed |
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shagginwagon83
Samba Member
Joined: February 07, 2016
Posts: 3800
Location: VA/TN
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| Posted: Mon Aug 21, 2017 11:01 am Post subject: Re: 1984 Vanagon Electric Conversion = is it worthwhile yet? |
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| GR-MI-Ken wrote: |
| ok - it has been 9 years, has this changed |
Here is a more recent thread about this topic
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=680825&highlight=electric
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Brandon
"Jo Ann" - '83.5 Westfalia EJ22e w/Peloquin
Instagram @joannthevan |
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djkeev
Samba Moderator
Joined: September 30, 2007
Posts: 32625
Location: Reading Pennsylvania
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