This is a "catch-up" post with things that have gone on the past few weeks. No pictures for this one, but I will have some next time! The truck is now drivable, but I still have a considerable punch list of completion items, the big one being a paint job.
Mark Hazen of www.evhelp.com brought my upgraded controller back a couple Saturdays ago. We installed it and took the truck for a short test drive. Everything was working great! I finished that day with a nice EV grin. My longest trip so far has been 17 miles round trip. I had around 75-80 percent charge remaining on the batteries on my return. I will gradually increase the distance to gauge my working range of the truck. It took around 4 1/2 hours to recharge after this trip.
I purchased a kwh meter, single outlet, manufactured by Kill a Watt. One of my 12 chargers is connected through this meter. This will enable me to measure the electricity used for a single charger and multiply by 12 for total power use. More on this later when I have more data to write about. I should be able to calculate my cost per mile.
So, here we are, short and sweet. More to come later, so stay tuned!
Monday, December 7, 2009
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Tilting the Truck Bed (beginnings)
I wanted to write up a quick post without photos, because it has been awhile since my last post. Work is still continuing on the truck, mainly with the bed. A couple weekends ago, we spent most of Sunday welding hinges onto the bed and the truck frame only to have the hinges bend when we attempted to tilt the bed. My analysis determined there were 2 factors that caused the problem. First, the hinges were too far forward and put a lot of stress on them trying to raise the bed. The other issue was the hinges themselves were just not up to the task. Sorry about that Lowes!
I ordered some heavy duty hinges online and the following weekend, we found a different point on the bed to weld the hinges on. A piece of angle iron was welded across the rear of the truck frame, and to this holes were drilled and the hinges were bolted. This is good because I wanted to be able to remove the bed to replace the batteries when necessary. Our test tilt was successful and the next working session will be to remove the bed, finish reinforcing the hinges and welds on the bed side, then install the gas springs and some kind of pins to hold the front of the bed down.
Next post will include photos of the above work. I continue to keep moving forward.
I ordered some heavy duty hinges online and the following weekend, we found a different point on the bed to weld the hinges on. A piece of angle iron was welded across the rear of the truck frame, and to this holes were drilled and the hinges were bolted. This is good because I wanted to be able to remove the bed to replace the batteries when necessary. Our test tilt was successful and the next working session will be to remove the bed, finish reinforcing the hinges and welds on the bed side, then install the gas springs and some kind of pins to hold the front of the bed down.
Next post will include photos of the above work. I continue to keep moving forward.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
Friday, July 3, 2009
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