Chevy S10 Electric Truck Conversion

 After a lot of research I have decided the conversion donor vehicle will be a Chevy S-10 extended cab pick up. This is the best choice for space, weight, and most importantly range considerations.

The S-10 is a light weight pickup to start with. There is plenty of room between the rear frame rails to mount enough lead acid batteries (budget consideration) under the bed between the driveshaft and the frame rails.

This conversion has been done many times by many different people. There is a ton of data available on parts and real world range research based on every day drivers.

Here is a range example from

http://www.evamerica.com/eveconomics.pdf – Chevrolet S-10 2700lbs curb weight 120 volt conversion T-145 Golf cart batteries 4100 curb weight after conversion 61 miles per charge average 92 maximum miles on a single charge

Using this setup will exceed my minimum range goals and come close to my desires range goal of 70 miles per charge for everyday use. I wonder if a high voltage AC conversion would increase the range with regenerative braking?

Parts List

I will most likely use the following components

Implse, advanced DC, or WarP9 nine-inch motor.

Soltian Jr controller or Synkromotive controller

So far those are all of the main components I would like to use. I may however end up with a used setup from someone else’s old project.

Here is a detailed parts list of the required components and some prices http://www.evamerica.com/031011120vtruck.pdf This complete kit runs just under $7,000 without batteries. Budgeting $2,000 for batteries and $1000 for a decent 5 speed donor S-10 extended cab. A Blazer would be interesting too, much harder to mount the batteries I would imagine since you cannot have to bed rise up. I wonder what It would take to be able to lift and entire Blazer body?

Converted Chevy S-10 With Tilt Bed

Here is a project in parts that includes all major components except batteries for $5,500. Allowing us to come in at around $8,000 two thousand below buying everything new http://tampa.craigslist.org/pnl/cto/2866107040.html