[Arkhamer]

Hello everyone! Newbie here! I'm looking to convert my old hearse into an electric car! I got lots of room and great weight support as you would expect from a hearse but is a heavy car, about 2.5 tons kinda heavy. What do you guys think? How many batteries? Is it feasible?

 

[Arkhamer]

Here's a picture!

 

[Arkhamer]

And again without my late father this time

 

[piotrsko]

There is a guy here in reno that has I believe a '72. Belongs to the local electric car club. Good person to find and ask.

 

[Arkhamer]

Oh that would be good, indeed! I tried findind their website but haven't. I live in Canada myself, how do you reckon I could reach that guy?
Thank you so much!

 

[brian_]

I just did a Google search for "electric hearse Reno" and even the short summary on the search results page provides a name (William Brinsmead), and reading one of them provides a website (electricauto.org). It shouldn't be too tough to track him down.

 

[Arkhamer]

Oh! Sorry about that but thank you very much for that info! I will track him down now and let you guys know how it goes! Thank you for your time

 

[brian_]

Oh! Sorry about that but thank you very much for that info! I will track him down now and let you guys know how it goes! Thank you for your time

No problem... just noting that he seems to is surprisingly easy to find.

 

[Arkhamer]

I got in touch with Mr Brimstead Thank you for the guidance, I can now start working on that and keep you all updated!

 

[brian_]

I got in touch with Mr Brimstead Thank you for the guidance, I can now start working on that and keep you all updated!

That was quick!

Have fun with the project.

 

[Arkhamer]

It will be grand and I can't wait to get started

 

[Jonbickford]

it's definitely very cool and a great idea! but be forewarned you're gonna need a LOT of batteries to move that thing very far at speed. and a lot of batteries is expensive!would make a very cool car though!

 

[Kevin Sharpe]

I got lots of room and great weight support as you would expect from a hearse but is a heavy car, about 2.5 tons kinda heavy.

The Tesla Model S is around 2.5 tons so you'll probably be ok assuming the existing engine and transmission are a significant proportion of your total weight.

How many batteries?

That really depends on your range requirements and budget. How far do you want to drive and how much do you want to spend on the conversion?

 

[Arkhamer]

It's true that most of that weight must come from the engine and all! Plus, I will remove the casket rollers, which weight around 500lbs! It will also free an area about 1ft*4ft*8ft! (roughly!) So I thought it could host quite a lot of batteries if I can somehow fit them there. I would, ideally, in my wildest dreams, like to have a minimum of 300 km range (190 miles or so) and I'm ready to invest around 20-30k depending on what is actually feasible. I'm looking to keep that car for a loooong time and the way I see it, if it ends up costing the same as a brand new car, it'll still be worth it. I paid the hearse a bit more than 1000$ so I can still invest quite a bit

 

[boekel]

Or keep the casket rollers and be able to put a 'longe range' battery on it for long trips....in a casket of course!

 

[Arkhamer]

That's an idea but I thought I could stow batteries where the rollers are now, which would put them underneath the "floorboard" of trunk. What is a long range battery, exactly? Like an extra battery to add range to what I would normally use? But to put batteries in a casket is a cool idea! But I just might put my coffin bed in there instead... Oooor try to do something like those campers

 

[Kevin Sharpe]

I would, ideally, in my wildest dreams, like to have a minimum of 300 km range (190 miles or so) and I'm ready to invest around 20-30k depending on what is actually feasible.

I think we are looking at a Tesla based solution because we know that it can deliver the range and move 2.5 tons easily.

I've no idea what the existing drivetrain looks like but I would follow Damien (here) and Chris (here) examples and install a single Tesla drive unit.

 

[Kevin Sharpe]

What is a long range battery, exactly?

I think many would describe an electric car with a range over 150 miles as "long range".

Here is a typical solution based on Tesla battery modules. In this example I've shown 14 modules but today I'm using 12. In your long range conversion you'd want to install 16 if possible.

Lots more information on the Tesla modules here

 

[Arkhamer]

Yeah, that sounds good. From my brief research, Tesla had the strongest pull and longest range and I won't shy away from trying to get the most I can get since I plan on using the hearse as a camper. I already camp with it, with a SUV tent at the back but I'd like to really turn it into a camper. Of course, I will always have to keep weight in mind and build it as lightweight as possible but I think it's feasible, especially if teslas can push all that stuff. But you know, if I had my way, I'd just drive an electric Gigahorse!

 

[Arkhamer]

I have a semi related question. If I were to go far and camp in the woods let's say without anywhere to plug it, is there anything I could do to be able to leave the next day? Keep an extra battery? Could I charge a battery from outside of town at all? Solar, maybe? Sounds dubious. But I could cover the whole top of the hearse with solar panels... But I wonder if the energy collected would really help. Maybe for the rest of the stuff onboard? Like a mini fridge and laptop and such. I'm just brainstorming aloud
I know my plans are huge, heavy and expensive but eh, what else is life for?