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2 Posts
Hey!
So, I've given thought to becoming a nomad living in a camper conversion so many times that it's starting to be ridiculous that I haven't committed to it. Right now, I'm traveling, but I think once I return to the US, I'll become a nomad.
I've gone back and forth between a lot of different vehicles for a lot of reasons, but ultimately, I'd like to convert a vehicle that's at least the size of a high-top Sprinter. Box Trucks, Buses, delivery (or mail) vans/trucks have all been given consideration, too.
I remember hearing whispers of buses that are made of either aluminum or fiberglass, and I've been trying to track those down. Medium-length city buses are usually low to the ground and seem generally suitable for a camper conversion. When run on fossil fuel, they often have governors that stop them from going over 45-55mph if they're meant for cities, but if we're yanking that out it doesn't really matter.
Same goes for what I think are called "stepvans"? They're meant to hang around cities, so they're often made as light as possible with aluminum, and often have governors installed...
That said, looking it up, it seems like even Stepvans are 10,000+ pounds from the few examples I've found. That's quite heavy...
Basically, I'm wondering if it's feasible or sensible to convert such a heavy vehicle into an EV. If so, does it make sense to combine the camper's battery system and solar with the engine and controller's battery system?
Do you have any thoughts, input, or recommended reading for helping me get perspective on this? I've been trying to do a lot of homework on this by myself, but the scale of it is kind of on a different level since the weight is practically 5x a lot of conversions.
Thanks!
So, I've given thought to becoming a nomad living in a camper conversion so many times that it's starting to be ridiculous that I haven't committed to it. Right now, I'm traveling, but I think once I return to the US, I'll become a nomad.
I've gone back and forth between a lot of different vehicles for a lot of reasons, but ultimately, I'd like to convert a vehicle that's at least the size of a high-top Sprinter. Box Trucks, Buses, delivery (or mail) vans/trucks have all been given consideration, too.
I remember hearing whispers of buses that are made of either aluminum or fiberglass, and I've been trying to track those down. Medium-length city buses are usually low to the ground and seem generally suitable for a camper conversion. When run on fossil fuel, they often have governors that stop them from going over 45-55mph if they're meant for cities, but if we're yanking that out it doesn't really matter.
Same goes for what I think are called "stepvans"? They're meant to hang around cities, so they're often made as light as possible with aluminum, and often have governors installed...
That said, looking it up, it seems like even Stepvans are 10,000+ pounds from the few examples I've found. That's quite heavy...
Basically, I'm wondering if it's feasible or sensible to convert such a heavy vehicle into an EV. If so, does it make sense to combine the camper's battery system and solar with the engine and controller's battery system?
Do you have any thoughts, input, or recommended reading for helping me get perspective on this? I've been trying to do a lot of homework on this by myself, but the scale of it is kind of on a different level since the weight is practically 5x a lot of conversions.
Thanks!