The only reason I think it will work is because I can lift the front end off the ground, total this thing weighs about 3000lbs fully loaded, and it's 27 ft long 8 foot wide, I was blown away. Cost will hinder me on the battery side of things. 32k just for batteries!!!!and that will weigh more then the rig. I'll update with pics of how I'm doing it (probably wrong) but doing it.
No, battery modules don't work as structure, and none are thin enough to fit in the walls. Real battery modules are thicker, require substantial structural support, and need a protective enclosure.
Certainly start a new thread in the build area when you start, and ideally post a link in this thread to the new one.
Couldn't tell ya about the weiner mobile, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. If you look up finished ones, painted and buffed what do you think of those? When I found the ad I instantly thought the Herkimer battle tank from the movie mystery men.
It's a blob... and a very rough one. By the standards of recreational vehicles, it is unusually plain and rounded, but not exceptionally unattractive - they're all awkward boxes or blobs. Most are shaped primarily for function, and ones which attempt some sort of styling are usually awkward and less attractive than a plain box or blob.
It looks like the tankage has triple duty as tanks, floor support, and beams/ torque tubes as part of the frame structure. Maybe that's four uses. With the fuel tank removed and the remaining tanks unrivited or unbolted(to be reattached later) and slid together fore and/or aft along the side frames, how much space is available? Length, width, and depth. Don't forget to leave space between the tanks for the attachment flanges and plumbing access on the sides of the tanks.
Just with a quick look, I would turn the FW tank on its side and place it up against the bulkhead supporting the front of the rear bed. This would block the step built in for easier access to the upper cabinets and the bed(s) in the rear bedroom. This seems like an acceptable tradeoff for more room for the battery box. (copyrighted photo removed)
I'm willing to bet the first tank behind the driver seat in this model, is a fuel tank. So, it can go.
This vehicle is gutted, so there is probably a lot more flexibility in locating the plumbing.
With this, I agree with you. Unfortunately, this vehicle is very light duty. You'll have to be very careful about adding weight to it with a conversion and other modifications. The front suspension appears to be off of a Chevy II (Nova?). Something heavier duty and more modern could be grafted on. Heavier duty rear suspension? You'll probably want to ditch the auto Corvair set up for all kinds of reasons. Any ideas? Moved back and beefed up Leaf? Tesla?
I think this is an excellent point. It was designed to be as light as possible, using the lightest components available, and was essentially amateur-built in a time when even real production automobiles did not meet the safety and durability standards expected today.
The actual front suspension is really unclear to me. The prototype used a Corvair front suspension with the track widened by cutting the crossmember and splicing in more tube, but the "production" units - which were built in several versions by several companies over the years - could have used anything.
The Ultra Vans generally used first-generation (up to 1964) Corvair/Corvan rear suspensions; later units apparently used the better-handling but essentially unrelated second-generation (1965-) design and some (the ones with V8 engines) may have had Corvette rear suspension (which is similar to the later Corvair). The Corvan/Greenbrier always used the first-generation system - it never made it to the second generation, as it was replaced by the G-van (front-engine Chevy van), so there was no GM vehicle with significant carrying capacity providing a rear suspension after the first generation Corvan.
From a factory photo of the engine/transaxle used in the van (bottom of the page): Ultra Van Factory Photos ⋆ Ultra Van Motor Coach Club , it looks like the Gen 2(double u-joint half shaft) is being used on later models?. Interesting how this design uses the half shaft as the upper control arm - like in the Corvette.
Yes, the second-generation Corvair suspension was used once it became available. It is very similar to the C2 and C3 Corvette.
