A big ol bus

2945 Views 14 Replies 10 Participants Last post by piotrsko, Jan 2, 2020

mortonc

Discussion Starter · Dec 15, 2019

I'm trying to size up the conversion of a bus.

I don't yet have said bus but it's likely to be a double decker or single decker if it has to be. Think Leyland Olympian (bus) or Setra s328 (coach).

Average MPG of these jobbies (diesel) is 8MPG

HP for these busses seems to range from 300-500hp and torque around 700nm - 1500nm

Let's say that when it's loaded up I would expect total mass of between 10 and 15 tonnes

Now for my use I would be looking to achieve a range of around 60 miles between charges, used on mostly flat roads but with the capability to make it's way up a mountain once in a while (who wouldn't want to take their bus skiing!)

50mph would be more than sufficient.

So, where would you begin with finding a motor and batteries to carry out such a project?

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lawrencerhodes

· #9 · Dec 20, 2019

Your project is quite ambitious. Sounds like you are in England. In the USA there was a 22 foot motorhome called the Ultravan which weighed about the same as a Nissan Leaf. It got 18mpg with a flat 6 boxer. You could restomod this using a Bolt or Leaf drivetrain including batteries and wiring harness. You would then have an OEM conversion which could be fast charged and have 50 to 150 mile range depending on the donor. The 22 x 8 foot roof would be capable of at least 3kw of solar panels. I don't know if a similar caravan was made in Brittan but it would be a better candidate for conversion. Also if it was aluminium like the Ultravan it would have less corrosion.

mortonc said:
I'm trying to size up the conversion of a bus.

I don't yet have said bus but it's likely to be a double decker or single decker if it has to be. Think Leyland Olympian (bus) or Setra s328 (coach).

Average MPG of these jobbies (diesel) is 8MPG

HP for these busses seems to range from 300-500hp and torque around 700nm - 1500nm

Let's say that when it's loaded up I would expect total mass of between 10 and 15 tonnes

Now for my use I would be looking to achieve a range of around 60 miles between charges, used on mostly flat roads but with the capability to make it's way up a mountain once in a while (who wouldn't want to take their bus skiing!)

50mph would be more than sufficient.

So, where would you begin with finding a motor and batteries to carry out such a project?

Save

lawrencerhodes

· #14 · Dec 30, 2019

Tremelune said:
Gearing could be your savior. What is the transmission in this bus? Final drive? Tire diameter? If you had 3+ gears designed to max out at 10k RPM at 50mph, even a puny Nissan Leaf motor putting out 280Nm might still be sufficient to get the thing moving. I feel like the "comparison" here is to calculate torque to the axles of the stock drivetrain (including transmission and diff), and see what that looks like if it were geared very tall for a lower top speed.

I dunno what factory BEVs are going for in your neighborhood, but buying one or two Leaf wrecks and salvaging the components is probably the cheapest way in. At 60mi range in a big ol' bus, the optimistic parts cost I would keep in mind is £10-15k just about any way you slice it.

You can buy a running Leaf for 2k dollars if it has a degraded battery. More depending on condition of the battery. I bought my new Leaf in 2016 for $13,550. A wrecked Leaf that is newer might salvage for as much as 6k.

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