[Dsmith4220]

The situations I’ve heard of personally have been trucks purchased from auction in Not Running condition. VIA still has a large inventory of things like the onboard charger and Battery cells if one is needed. Everything else on the truck like the generator and electric motor are built to last. If they are maintained and not dogged out, there is no doubt the trucks will get 250 - 300 maybe more until a battery cell needs replaced. Problem these trucks had honestly were their owners, they were fleet for some big companies. Several of the companies main request acted having trucks for a month or so was to add a no move feature when they were plugged in for charge. Reason for this had to do with employees consistently taking off in the truck with the charger still plugged in. This evidently was a repetitive issue?? On the display issue, I’m only aware of the small 3” screen that lets you know the status of the generator. How much kw and percentage of battery. There are no other displays on mine that were specific to this truck from via. Radio/GPS screen is regular Silverado oem. At the end of the day, you need to check to make sure all of your coolant systems are flowing like they are supposed to. Also, I don’t how they would handle this, but if I had purchased one that had done type of failure I would be trying to get them to honor their 8 year warranty if truck makes the date.

 

[Troy_In_Grovetown]

40miles EV range with a 24KWh battery

Mine gets 25 to 30 regularly (2015 model). This is partially what has brought me to this site, I would love to have time and resources to upgrade the battery pack to use a Tesla LiFePO4 battery.

 

[Troy_In_Grovetown]

The situations I’ve heard of personally have been trucks purchased from auction in Not Running condition. VIA still has a large inventory of things like the onboard charger and Battery cells if one is needed. Everything else on the truck like the generator and electric motor are built to last. If they are maintained and not dogged out, there is no doubt the trucks will get 250 - 300 maybe more until a battery cell needs replaced. Problem these trucks had honestly were their owners, they were fleet for some big companies. Several of the companies main request acted having trucks for a month or so was to add a no move feature when they were plugged in for charge. Reason for this had to do with employees consistently taking off in the truck with the charger still plugged in. This evidently was a repetitive issue?? On the display issue, I’m only aware of the small 3” screen that lets you know the status of the generator. How much kw and percentage of battery. There are no other displays on mine that were specific to this truck from via. Radio/GPS screen is regular Silverado oem. At the end of the day, you need to check to make sure all of your coolant systems are flowing like they are supposed to. Also, I don’t how they would handle this, but if I had purchased one that had done type of failure I would be trying to get them to honor their 8 year warranty if truck makes the date.

I will confirm the off-the-shelf components from REMY and Bel are robust units, my Vtrux has 85k miles (ballpark). I still have not needed to replace the brake pads due to regenerative braking efficiency. These are nice for around town, would be great fit for a general contractor or remote home builder.

The major issue I had was in the A123 Systems battery pack. The charging contactor was only rated for 100A which should have been good but failed at 45k miles. I was able to repair it and install a set of 200A contactors (positive and negative). VIA's solution was to have a Chevy dealership remove and ship the battery to Utah for repair (not under warranty since I bought second-hand).

 

[Dsmith4220]

Mine gets 25 to 30 regularly (2015 model). This is partially what has brought me to this site, I would love to have time and resources to upgrade the battery pack to use a Tesla LiFePO4 battery.

Troy, is your truck a vtrux or one of gm’s hybrids? I can run mine without charging or using any battery and get 50 easy. Didn’t know if we were talking about the same truck.

 

[Dsmith4220]

I will confirm the off-the-shelf components from REMY and Bel are robust units, my Vtrux has 85k miles (ballpark). I still have not needed to replace the brake pads due to regenerative braking efficiency. These are nice for around town, would be great fit for a general contractor or remote home builder.

The major issue I had was in the A123 Systems battery pack. The charging contactor was only rated for 100A which should have been good but failed at 45k miles. I was able to repair it and install a set of 200A contactors (positive and negative). VIA's solution was to have a Chevy dealership remove and ship the battery to Utah for repair (not under warranty since I bought second-hand).

Troy, you got the same truck. I tried reavching out to A123 and got someone in 2 days or so. I was trying to also check to see if a battery was compatible to switch out. I was told by via someone would have to write new code to use a different battery. I really enjoy driving mind in full electric. It would be awesome to increase mileage on the battery and take the governs all the way off the motor.

 

[Dsmith4220]

I will confirm the off-the-shelf components from REMY and Bel are robust units, my Vtrux has 85k miles (ballpark). I still have not needed to replace the brake pads due to regenerative braking efficiency. These are nice for around town, would be great fit for a general contractor or remote home builder.

The major issue I had was in the A123 Systems battery pack. The charging contactor was only rated for 100A which should have been good but failed at 45k miles. I was able to repair it and install a set of 200A contactors (positive and negative). VIA's solution was to have a Chevy dealership remove and ship the battery to Utah for repair (not under warranty since I bought second-hand).

Have you got anywhere with the possibility of installing another bank of batteries in the bed, would lose depth in the bed, I wondered if that would work. Would feed into the existing batteries same kind of way the solar tonneau cover was supposed to do

 

[Troy_In_Grovetown]

Troy, you got the same truck. I tried reavching out to A123 and got someone in 2 days or so. I was trying to also check to see if a battery was compatible to switch out. I was told by via someone would have to write new code to use a different battery. I really enjoy driving mind in full electric. It would be awesome to increase mileage on the battery and take the governs all the way off the motor.

Hi @Dsmith4220,
My range on just electric has not been what I was hoping for, although considering what the truck is carrying around it's still impressive. The A123 Systems Battery Management System should work with any Lithium Iron Phosphate battery but would require removing the original modules and making a conversion harness to the new cell modules (hence the Tesla one once those come available on the salvage market). As far as adding a battery in parallel, you could potentially put one in the bed as you suggested but I would try to match the voltage exactly so their charge/discharge curves align exactly. Also, LiFePO4 would be the chemistry to use for consistency and reliability.

I have also considered taking the standard bed off of the rails and use one of the lightweight aluminum flatbeds like the Home Depot rental pickups use, this would allow more room for battery upgrades.

Before taking the governor off the top end speed I would encourage you to upgrade the cooling systems, I think that's the real bottle neck with this drivetrain. If I remember correctly, my assigned VIA technician said the Dextron IV cooling system is the one that determines the 'System Cooling' indicator on the dash cluster. If you do decide to remove the governor I think you will need a CAN bus interface to change settings in the hybrid brain computer (Honestly, I haven't dug into this far enough to see what they used).

To do the upgrade justice it would be best to reach out to an experienced reverse engineering shop like the wizards at EV West. I imagine they could reprogram the hybrid brain to use a completely different battery (NMC lithium ion) at a higher pack voltage (then you would have some better performance )

Cheers,
Troy

 

[remy_martian]

No third party is going to take on reprogramming the Vtrux hybrid "brain". There aren't enough of them in the wild to justify the effort.

You might trick it, though, but even that is a few hundred hours.

 

[hunter_a]

Via has never intended on doing the actual service. They would and still supply any parts you might need. I have spoken to several of the technicians/engineers and have been surprised with how much time they have spent teaching me about the truck. They all will reply the same on diagnostic repair. 95% of the problems that came about with any of the trucks or vans had to do with the coolant and other required fluids running low or just not checked ever. If you don’t mind plugging in your truck every night you can easily get 80 - 85 miles per gallon just by driving normal. I’m sure you could get 100, but you would have to baby around to much

Hi, I'm interested if the truck

Sorry to jump in years later. Wanted anyone to know that was still interested in buying a like new 2014 VTRUX let me know. I have two that are identical 4wd crew cab, both have under 22,000 miles. I’m going to be pricing them at $25,000 ea. Both are unbelievable trucks

Sorry to jump in years later. Wanted anyone to know that was still interested in buying a like new 2014 VTRUX let me know. I have two that are identical 4wd crew cab, both have under 22,000 miles. I’m going to be pricing them at $25,000 ea. Both are unbelievable trucks

Hi, I'm interested in the 2014 VTRUX if one is still available.

 

[Troy_In_Grovetown]

(Moved comment to reply to @hunter_a )

 

[Troy_In_Grovetown]

Hi, I'm interested if the truck



Hi, I'm interested in the 2014 VTRUX if one is still available.

· a moment ago

Hi @hunter_a, where are you located? I could show you my 2015 Vtrux (also 4X4 crew cab) if you're in the southeast. I've been looking at getting a different vehicle, but I want to make sure the next owner has the full picture.

 

[HybridAutoSales]

Hey all, just found this post. Wanted to let everyone know I have a 2014 VTRUX for sale right now at my dealer. It has 55k miles. I had it online at $22999, and a long list of people who wanted it. I decided a no reserve ebay auction would be best platform to sell it. I have a starting bid of only $15,000, highest bid over takes it. It goes live tomorrow evening, but if someone wants it prior, please reach out to me.

[email protected]

https://www.hybridandelectriccarsales.com/inventory/chevrolet/silverado-1500-crew-cab/peg508502/

I hate to spam a post, but it seems like people are looking for this truck Its located in Nashville, TN. I own the dealership so feel free to ask any questions. I also have a full write up on the truck that is part of the ebay listing I can email you. Again, I don't want to spam this post. So give me a call

 

[Slimsalabim]

Hi Troy,

I saw your post about replacing the contactor on your vtrux. I need to do the same thing and Via is also requesting me to ship the battery to them (no thanks). We're you able to get the battery removal procedure from them? I figured the contactor was easily replaceable (or at least common) based on the Volt and Fisker Karma forums. I'm comfortable replacing the contactor, but don't have a decent way of doing the battery. Any guidance you can provide is greatly appreciated.

Slim

 

[remy_martian]

You shouldn't be comfortable - the contactor is connected hot to the battery pack.

 

[Slimsalabim]

You shouldn't be comfortable - the contactor is connected hot to the battery pack.

Is that what that is 😉

 

[james owens]

Sorry to jump in years later. Wanted anyone to know that was still interested in buying a like new 2014 VTRUX let me know. I have two that are identical 4wd crew cab, both have under 22,000 miles. I’m going to be pricing them at $25,000 ea. Both are unbelievable trucks

so are these sold yet?

 

[mkolluri]

The situations I’ve heard of personally have been trucks purchased from auction in Not Running condition. VIA still has a large inventory of things like the onboard charger and Battery cells if one is needed. Everything else on the truck like the generator and electric motor are built to last. If they are maintained and not dogged out, there is no doubt the trucks will get 250 - 300 maybe more until a battery cell needs replaced. Problem these trucks had honestly were their owners, they were fleet for some big companies. Several of the companies main request acted having trucks for a month or so was to add a no move feature when they were plugged in for charge. Reason for this had to do with employees consistently taking off in the truck with the charger still plugged in. This evidently was a repetitive issue?? On the display issue, I’m only aware of the small 3” screen that lets you know the status of the generator. How much kw and percentage of battery. There are no other displays on mine that were specific to this truck from via. Radio/GPS screen is regular Silverado oem. At the end of the day, you need to check to make sure all of your coolant systems are flowing like they are supposed to. Also, I don’t how they would handle this, but if I had purchased one that had done type of failure I would be trying to get them to honor their 8 year warranty if truck makes the date.

Unfortunately, if you purchase the truck from an Auction Via Motors won't honor the warranty. Apparently, the warranty is only applicable to the initial owner and not the subsequent owners.

 

[clottes]

Where are you located?

Sorry to jump in years later. Wanted anyone to know that was still interested in buying a like new 2014 VTRUX let me know. I have two that are identical 4wd crew cab, both have under 22,000 miles. I’m going to be pricing them at $25,000 ea. Both are unbelievable trucks

I'd really be interested if you could send contact information and photos, etc...

 

[bman]

Sorry to jump in years later. Wanted anyone to know that was still interested in buying a like new 2014 VTRUX let me know. I have two that are identical 4wd crew cab, both have under 22,000 miles. I’m going to be pricing them at $25,000 ea. Both are unbelievable trucks

did you ever sell these? I'm pretty close to you

 

[nkellyw]

I have 2014 Chevy VIA motors for sale. Has 25800 miles and is in great shape. Not fitting my needs but seems like good truck. Will include brand new level 2 charger and a used level 1. Will accept offers, located in East Stroudsburg PA. Call or text 570-460-6939 or call 570-223-9188.