Crown Bus Electric Conversion

o1marc said:
There's obviously not a lot of electric vehicle fans here. I would suggest seeking EV forums for many of your answers. While it won't be cheap, I think it's doable. I've built some crazy things in my life because someone said it couldn't be done, or why. I say why not.
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Yes sir!, I can see that. But not because you are not a fan of something you have to hate on others ideas or comments is just insane and ridiculous. I just wanted to know the experience of people who converted a bus into electric and I wanted to know their experience etc.

I am going to do it anyways no matter what. I love crowns and I would love to see that technology into one of them. I'll keep you updated and thanks for the advice.
 
HazMatt said:
Well, no, actually. You are the one needing to do more research!
You started this thread soliciting inputs. You got some.
But you can't seriously expect anyone else to do your homework for you; expending considerable effort performing in-depth research and analysis, to support your underlying thought, the proposition that might make this arcane hobby horse of your rock at a cost/benefit that isn't four or five orders of magnitude into crazy-expensive.
You say you have the wherewithal to make it happen, kudos! Then what's stopping you from buying a couple of MIT post-docs to crunch the numbers for you? Instead of berating us here in Physics for Dummies-land for our lack of desire to not further waste time on a project that is of no conceivable benefit to any regular member of this forum.
After you're done throwing all those piles of money at the problem, why don't you then come back, and altruistically crow about how it may be done?
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I think we could all learn from this project - I have no where near the capital to do a conversion like is being proposed, but learning doesn't cost extra - even the airlines don't charge extra because you know about something - lol - maybe I can swap some dog stories and a few tips on painting if it ever gets to that point in exchange for knowledge that l may or may not ever need - I may be too old and creaky to win any of the big races now, l'll never be named to Team Canada again, but learning is still fun :popcorn:
 
As much as I love the smell and sound of diesels, I feel like the engineering to evolve towards something less polluting is necessary and should be welcomed.
 
peakbus said:
As much as I love the smell and sound of diesels, I feel like the engineering to evolve towards something less polluting is necessary and should be welcomed.
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Excellent, I love racing cars, diesel trucks and you name it. But, I am seeking to combine classic beautiful buses with the best EV technology which is Tesla and create a less polluting mass transit vehicle.
 
prorallydriver said:
Yes sir!, I can see that. But not because you are not a fan of something you have to hate on others ideas or comments is just insane and ridiculous. I just wanted to know the experience of people who converted a bus into electric and I wanted to know their experience etc.

I am going to do it anyways no matter what. I love crowns and I would love to see that technology into one of them. I'll keep you updated and thanks for the advice.
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No one's hating. We're just realistic and actually have buses.
 
Solectria did some Chevy pickup S10 electric conversion around 1995. They used two Ac motors belt driven to the differential. They also did some panel vans for in the city. This was in the long gone lead acid battery days.

We drive solectria cars with retrofitted lithium batteries from Nissan leaf and Chevy volt. The biggest problem for us was the BMS system.

Tesla uses a lot of small cells. My first step would be to see if the Tesla BMS is open and usable for the hobby people.

Cool project. Good luck

Johan
 
joeblack5 said:
Solectria did some Chevy pickup S10 electric conversion around 1995. They used two Ac motors belt driven to the differential. They also did some panel vans for in the city. This was in the long gone lead acid battery days.

We drive solectria cars with retrofitted lithium batteries from Nissan leaf and Chevy volt. The biggest problem for us was the BMS system.

Tesla uses a lot of small cells. My first step would be to see if the Tesla BMS is open and usable for the hobby people.

Cool project. Good luck

Johan
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A friend of mine who owns several Tesla's, has mentioned to me that someone has already gotten into the computer system and figured out how to work with it. This was done using two wrecked Tesla's and putting together one running one. I do believe this guy is making his info available, Tesla of course is not, or at least not that I am aware of.

Prorallydriver not sure if you know about this or not, but can find out more if you need, may well be on the internet somewhere too.

As far as Tesla's overheating I remember one episode of Top Gear they tested one, and it did overheat. However it was the batteries not the motors if I remember right.
 
Prorallydriver, I drive an electric car most of the time, an E-Golf, could not afford a tesla, model S motors will not work, you will need the motors tesla is putting in their semi tractor and you need to look up the company that is converting city buses to electric, 150 mile range and they only cost 400,000 when you supply the old bus. The big question is where are you going to charge this beast with its several hundreds of kilowatts of batteries
 
joeblack5 said:
Solectria did some Chevy pickup S10 electric conversion around 1995. They used two Ac motors belt driven to the differential. They also did some panel vans for in the city. This was in the long gone lead acid battery days.

We drive solectria cars with retrofitted lithium batteries from Nissan leaf and Chevy volt. The biggest problem for us was the BMS system.

Tesla uses a lot of small cells. My first step would be to see if the Tesla BMS is open and usable for the hobby people.

Cool project. Good luck

Johan
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Thank you for the information, Johan. I don't think the Tesla BMS is open for a hobbyist I've seen a ton of videos. Why the problem was the BMS system for you guys?
 
Ronnie said:
A friend of mine who owns several Tesla's, has mentioned to me that someone has already gotten into the computer system and figured out how to work with it. This was done using two wrecked Tesla's and putting together one running one. I do believe this guy is making his info available, Tesla of course is not, or at least not that I am aware of.

Prorallydriver not sure if you know about this or not, but can find out more if you need, may well be on the internet somewhere too.

As far as Tesla's overheating I remember one episode of Top Gear they tested one, and it did overheat. However it was the batteries not the motors if I remember right.
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Yes, there are tons of information out there. The problem is that I haven't seen anyone applying the Tesla Technology into a bus yet or I am not aware of it yet. Yes, Top Gear tested the car but it was in extreme racing conditions and on a track and it was 2 or 3 years ago. Now is different and they even have Track Mode.
 
Kubla said:
Prorallydriver, I drive an electric car most of the time, an E-Golf, could not afford a tesla, model S motors will not work, you will need the motors tesla is putting in their semi tractor and you need to look up the company that is converting city buses to electric, 150 mile range and they only cost 400,000 when you supply the old bus. The big question is where are you going to charge this beast with its several hundreds of kilowatts of batteries
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I think is doable a Tesla motor has 750 HP and I am planning to put 2. One in the front and one in the back but I see your point.

Yes, that is the big question. Because they won't let you use the Supercharger network if not a Tesla. :(
 
prorallydriver said:
Because they won't let you use the Supercharger network if not a Tesla. :(
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So go buy 2 brand new tesla's of whatever flavor you choose. "Harvest" all applicable componentry that you'll need to attach to your bus.
That way you'll have the VIN'S to get factory support for your efforts?

Otherwise develop your own EV drivetrain based on a copy of tesla.

What are the other EV manufacturers using for real world recharging stations?
(assuming that is your issue?)
 
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