Joined
·
72 Posts
I am preparing to convert my 1986 Winnebago LeSharo into an all electric vehicle. I hope to complete this and take it on an extensive cross country road trip this Winter of 2018.
I have been building my electronics skills up to this project, tinkering with batteries and go-karts over the last 8 months. I am hoping to ask for some support from all the people on this forum, with your experience and knowledge! I would like to explain my planned approach and am inviting any and all feedback about how I might be able to improve upon this plan.
I am hoping to find a reasonably priced 2016 or later Nissan Leaf SV for salvage with a smashed up body but working guts. (Suggestions beyond Copart for where to look for this?) The Nissan leaf has a motor rated at 107 hp -- the LeSharo has a 100 hp Renault engine. The Nissan Leaf has a GVWR of 4,431 lbs -- the LeSharo has a GVWR of 5,830 lbs (as close as I can tell, though this may not be exact for my model.) The 2016 Leaf SV has a range of 100 mi. I am hoping to achieve a range of 50-70 miles with a top speed of 50 mph.
Does this seem like a good fit for this conversion? Does anyone have any potentially better or entirely different suggestions to consider for how to proceed?
Some questions I am wondering are. . .
Is there a way I can bypass the 3-speed automatic transmission and hook the electric motor straight up to the drive-train? Or would this be ill-advised? Mainly I would like to remove as many clunky and unreliable parts as possible. . .
Are there any resources for how to break-down a Nissan Leaf and get all the goodies out of it?
Is it possible to salvage the HUD screen and computer system from the Leaf and use it in the LeSharo?
Am I going to run into any brake master cylinder issues, or any other systems that might be tied into the petrol motor?
More thoughts and background, for those who are still interested to read-on
My inspiration for doing this conversion is many-fold. I feel the desperate need to eliminate the petrol addiction from my own life. I have often wanted to make a small RV my daily driver, as it has an appeal of "always carrying my home on my back," and also, that it would be more fun for my kids and family to have an open free space to enjoy and interact while we drive for groceries, etc. The LeSharo is one of the more efficient RVs out there, with a decent aerodynamic profile, and a fuel economy of 17-18 mpg. I've really enjoyed this LeSharo so far, but I don't trust the aluminum french engine for a long cross country trip. There's only 1 place to order parts, and the thought be being stuck in a podunk town at the mercy of a chevy/ford mechanic while I wait for a part in the mail is not appealing. . .
I also intend to put solar panels on the roof of this vehicle. It just seems reasonable to me that there should be solar panels on an electric vehicle with such a large roof. I intend to include a simple and lightweight system for being able to tilt the panels when parked to better catch what sun is available.
I would most love and appreciate any comments, thoughts, suggestions, encouragements, or warnings that you all might have!
Looking forward to sharing this journey with such an amazing community~
~Sean
I have been building my electronics skills up to this project, tinkering with batteries and go-karts over the last 8 months. I am hoping to ask for some support from all the people on this forum, with your experience and knowledge! I would like to explain my planned approach and am inviting any and all feedback about how I might be able to improve upon this plan.
I am hoping to find a reasonably priced 2016 or later Nissan Leaf SV for salvage with a smashed up body but working guts. (Suggestions beyond Copart for where to look for this?) The Nissan leaf has a motor rated at 107 hp -- the LeSharo has a 100 hp Renault engine. The Nissan Leaf has a GVWR of 4,431 lbs -- the LeSharo has a GVWR of 5,830 lbs (as close as I can tell, though this may not be exact for my model.) The 2016 Leaf SV has a range of 100 mi. I am hoping to achieve a range of 50-70 miles with a top speed of 50 mph.
Does this seem like a good fit for this conversion? Does anyone have any potentially better or entirely different suggestions to consider for how to proceed?
Some questions I am wondering are. . .
Is there a way I can bypass the 3-speed automatic transmission and hook the electric motor straight up to the drive-train? Or would this be ill-advised? Mainly I would like to remove as many clunky and unreliable parts as possible. . .
Are there any resources for how to break-down a Nissan Leaf and get all the goodies out of it?
Is it possible to salvage the HUD screen and computer system from the Leaf and use it in the LeSharo?
Am I going to run into any brake master cylinder issues, or any other systems that might be tied into the petrol motor?
More thoughts and background, for those who are still interested to read-on
My inspiration for doing this conversion is many-fold. I feel the desperate need to eliminate the petrol addiction from my own life. I have often wanted to make a small RV my daily driver, as it has an appeal of "always carrying my home on my back," and also, that it would be more fun for my kids and family to have an open free space to enjoy and interact while we drive for groceries, etc. The LeSharo is one of the more efficient RVs out there, with a decent aerodynamic profile, and a fuel economy of 17-18 mpg. I've really enjoyed this LeSharo so far, but I don't trust the aluminum french engine for a long cross country trip. There's only 1 place to order parts, and the thought be being stuck in a podunk town at the mercy of a chevy/ford mechanic while I wait for a part in the mail is not appealing. . .
I also intend to put solar panels on the roof of this vehicle. It just seems reasonable to me that there should be solar panels on an electric vehicle with such a large roof. I intend to include a simple and lightweight system for being able to tilt the panels when parked to better catch what sun is available.
I would most love and appreciate any comments, thoughts, suggestions, encouragements, or warnings that you all might have!
Looking forward to sharing this journey with such an amazing community~
~Sean