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Home-Built Electric-Powered Pickup
Eelectric-powered vehicles have been in the news lately as a way to save on the cost of gas. Don Hill, Moose Jaw, Sask., wanted to try the idea himself but he couldn't justify the cost of a commercial electric vehicle. Instead, he converted his 1988 Ford Ranger F-150 pickup.
The pickup now has 20 6-volt batter
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Home-Built Electric-Powered Pickup PICKUPS Miscellaneous 25-2-42 Eelectric-powered vehicles have been in the news lately as a way to save on the cost of gas. Don Hill, Moose Jaw, Sask., wanted to try the idea himself but he couldn't justify the cost of a commercial electric vehicle. Instead, he converted his 1988 Ford Ranger F-150 pickup.
The pickup now has 20 6-volt batteries under the hood and 14 back in the bed. Hill removed the pickup's engine, radiator, exhaust system, and gas tank but left the 5-speed transmission in place. All those components were replaced by a 28 hp DC electric motor, which cost $2,300, and a $1,100 aluminum adapter plate, which couples the motor to the transmission. A $2,000 controller links the motor to all the batteries, which rest inside home-built insulated boxes.
Gauges installed in the cab tell Hill how many amps are being drawn by the motor and how many volts are still left in the batteries. A $1,500 charger is used to charge the batteries.
I call it my ęzero emission vehicle'. It's virtually maintenance-free and eliminates the need for mufflers, fuel and oil filters, fan belts, antifreeze, oil changes, spark plugs, and tune-ups," says Hill, who made the conversion two years ago. "I use it all the time, mainly to run around with and to get parts in town for my tractor or combine. Everyone around here is interested in it.
"I have a meter hooked up to the charger in my garage, so I know exactly how much power I'm using and what the cost is. I figure it costs only about one third as much to operate my electric-powered pickup as it costs to operate my mini van, and that includes the cost of replacing the batteries.
The pickup now weighs 1,200 lbs. more than when I bought it, mainly because of the batteries. I've driven it up to 60 miles on one charge. The batteries will charge on either 220 or 110 volts. They cost about $100 apiece. My total cost for all the components was about $12,000 (Canadian)."
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Don Hill, Box 104 -325 4th Ave. S.W., Moose Jaw, Sask. S6H 5V2 (ph 306 693-2693).
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