Decided to convert a Ford E-transit!

1

Initially I assumed there would be too much of a trade off of things that I didn’t understand by choosing an EV Van over Gas Powered.

I am wiling to adjust my lifestyle around the Range and other idiosyncrocies.

However the one that concerned me and still does is: Giving up the Alternator Charging from the Gas Engine. Turns out I really don’t have plans to do that much driving to begin with. And I also plan on putting 1650 Watts on the roof!

I also realized I can charge my Home/Van Batteries at the charging station after my Van is charged. Or at my Mom’s house while parked there for the winter!

So I will have Shure Power and Solar and maybe even trickle E-transit happening as well. With 1650 Watts I could conceiable charge like 15-20 Miles a Day when it is Sunny? Not sure.

I am please asking for advice on what will be being sacrificed by Choosing an EV Van? Also Very nice rebates and incentives are available and It looks like I can get one for around the same 40 Grand I was going to spend on the Ram Promaster.

Of course they are coming out with Their E-van and who knows maybe that one will be more worthy to choose. But the price will be high until used ones are available!

P.S. I do not understand what it would take or the issues with Warrantees etc… To direct my Solar to the E-transits battery for Slow charging while sitting. Great research assignment!

2

Greetings & Welcome!

The problem with EV’s is range and lack of infrastructure. While charging at home might work for many, it doesn’t work if the EV is your home. Finding working charging stations can be a huge problem, and relying on solar or the weather is questionable at best.

I just don’t think EV’s are ready for prime time yet, and have a suspicion they will become obsolete in the not too distant future. Hopfully there are better choices on the horizon. In the meantime, I think hybrids are a far better choice than solely electric.

Cheers!

"Life can be as simple or as complicated as you make it.
Simple is cheaper and more reliable."
~ Off Grid


3

That’s the only problem – that problem is one I will not have. So great, I will definitely be converting one then. Thanks… Your Post sounds very Biased by the way. It is the oppostite of what this country is going toward. I mean out Planet will becoe extinct as well in the distant future. EV’s becoming Obsolete? Interesting. I may need a second opinion. I live in a very small town in the middle of no-where And there is a charging station less then 2 minute drive from my house.

4

Greetings!

Not biased, just realistic. It has been said that our current electrical grid is incapable of supporting masses of electric vehicles, and it will take 50+ years to totally upgrade it.

Since currently EV’s cost more to purchase, own, & operate, they are facing huge challenges. As technology evolves, things are becoming obsolete sooner and sooner.

Hydrogen appears to be the next biggest thing for vehicles. While I think hydrogen is a better choice, big money has no intention of making it consumer friendly. A cheap retrofit for all existing cars, allowing us to fill our fuel tanks with water would be my choice, and far more eco friendly than batteries. Instead, big money wants us to pay for hydrogen like we do for gas or diesel.

It’s not like better solutions don’t exist, they do, but big money is preventing them from being mass produced. People who have tried have met with mysterious & suspicious deaths, and their plans & proof mysteriously disappear.

Additionally, it’s China pushing the EV market, because that’s where all the batteries are coming from. They’re destroying both land & oceans mining for the rare earth minerals needed to manufacture these batteries. I’m not comfortable supporting that.

I’m good with eco friendly, but the idea that EV’s are eco friendly is an outright lie, and the way to promote better choices is to boycott current EV’s. We need to quit being sheeple, quit accepting, supporting, and promoting stupidity, and demand better choices.

Cheers!

"Life can be as simple or as complicated as you make it.
Simple is cheaper and more reliable."
~ Off Grid


5

IF the lithium mines are really what I saw, that alone is something to think about…

6

Greetings!

Exactly! You don’t fix the planet by destroying it, especially when there are so many better choices readily available.

Cheers!

"Life can be as simple or as complicated as you make it.
Simple is cheaper and more reliable."
~ Off Grid


7

Can someone reccomend a Van Building Forum whereby I will not be met by an Activist?

8

Greetings!

An activist who just tries to prevent people from making choices they’ll later regret.

While what you’re trying to accomplish may be possible, your end goal remains somewhat of a mystery.

It is usually best to work backwards on these things. Is your goal to save money, travel, or ???

Vehicles are typically a depreciating asset, and people lose a lot of money on them regularly. It’s one thing if the benefits outweigh the expense, but these things need to be looked at logically, without letting our ego’s or emotions get involved.

While opinions on EV’s may or may not be relevant to you, looking at the bigger picture might be…

Cheers!

"Life can be as simple or as complicated as you make it.
Simple is cheaper and more reliable."
~ Off Grid


9

Some sound advice in there. Now, if I could actually get one other individual to chime in that would be great. Any other forums out there worthy of attempted correspondences? This one seems a lilt e dead???

10

Greetings!

I would say the most active ones are on reddit, they have one called “vandwellers” and another called “vanlife”. Both are overrun by newbies offering terrible advice, and “vandwellers” is annoyingly over moderated. There are other related subs as well.

With reddit & many other forums, they cater to a lot of promoters, who offer poor advice designed to make themselves money. Solid help and advice can be very rare, and the promoters like to get those with actual experience silenced.

Less active forums like this one tend to be higher quality, and more user friendly. Quality over quantity is my preferred choice, even though I keep up on other forums too. You never know what discreet tidbit could be life changing.

There are many RV & camping type forums as well, and much of it can be crossover. Work from home (WFH) forums can help in finding remote jobs.

Gatherings are another great resource, and don’t need to be vandweller specific. Many types of classes are often taught, and free or cheap troubleshooting & repair are often available as well, and occasionally even full build parties. If you’d prefer to travel in a group setting, gatherings can be a great place to find groups you’ll fit in well with too.

Handyman & mechanical services of many types are usually available on Craigslist.

Cheers!

"Life can be as simple or as complicated as you make it.
Simple is cheaper and more reliable."
~ Off Grid


11

Greetings!

I have yet to encounter anyone living in or building an electric van. Many complaints about electric vehicles, and only one person who claimed to be successfully living in a Nissan Leaf. That went from love to hate very quickly though.

Many people are living successfully in hybrids though, especially Toyota Prius’s.

Cheers!

"Life can be as simple or as complicated as you make it.
Simple is cheaper and more reliable."
~ Off Grid


12

I see a lot of EV misinformation posted above.

Hydrogen is a very expensive dead end, do your research to see the disaster it’s been. It’s ok for zero carbon emissions airplanes if the costs come down when oil prices are really high due to depletion. BTW I’m an aerospace engineer.

Solarola has done some amazing solar electric van conversions, but pricey.

A DIY option is to get extra batteries and put solar on the roof to charge them with an inverter that can also power a J1772 charger. The battery capacity has to be enough to be solar charged all day while you are driving. Think of it like a range extender in case you get stuck but when you are camping you can use it to continuously charge up 15-20 miles per day. You could even get a lot more solar power like some have done where they stack them in layers or find some interesting way to them fold up. You just have to be careful to not add too much drag on the roof. Things on the back of the van are a really good place to not add drag.

For back roads or highways without much traffic you can drive an EV really slow to increase your range up to double at 20 Mph. Of course it’s not practical but what you do is slow down just enough to get to your next charging station without getting stuck. Or if you’re really brave you can draft big semi trucks.

What’s really missing for extended range driving van life is something like the new RAM hybrid truck, BYD truck or Ford Maverick where you get the many benefits of electrified drivetrain without as much of a range issue.

The power grid does not really need to be upgraded very much to support fully electrified transportation. Many of the charging stations can have solar power. There is a new transmission cable technology where they have aluminum and carbon fiber that enables much higher power capacity for the same cable weight so you can fairly inexpensively upgrade the grid to handle 5X more power. Studies have shown that we need at most 50% or double. Solar and wind power currently is being built out aggressively. The power companies will have no problem keeping up with the demand and for them it is a big win because of a growing business selling more and more electricity. Biden change the rules to get rid of the roadblock where they used to have a line to upgrade the grid that was based on first in line first approved so it was just a big traffic jam. The new rule is first ready first approved, let’s go!

New battery technology that has double the energy density is well on its way being manufactured currently in China and they are also building factories in the USA. One of the most difficult applications is semi tractor trailers and the Tesla semi is going to be built in massive numbers in a new factory that is currently in construction.

The reduced fuel and maintenance cost of electric vehicles is just so compelling that it’s just a matter of time before people realize it and forget all the misinformation they’ve been fed by the legacy automakers that are slow to change.

I keep up with all the electric vehicle information and I understand most people don’t have the time to really get to know the reality and instead just get fed a bunch of lies.

13

Greetings & Welcome!

While everybody is entitled to their own opinions, I believe the bulk of the lies and misinformation is coming from the electric vehicle promoters. We have been sold out to foreign interests, plain & simple, and those foreign interests only care about themselves.

The legacy auto makers aren’t slow to change, they’ve already lost billions on electric cars. Tesla seems to be a rare exception, but their profits are dwindling rapidly, and even they are moving in a different direction as well. Most EV manufacturers report losing $6k+ per vehicle. Ford says it’s losing over $100k per EV sold. This madness is not sustainable nor practical.

Better options are coming soon, and todays EV’s could become obsolete very quickly.

What we need is a cheap, renewable, non-polluting fuel to run our existing vehicles on. That’s the best and quickest solution.

I do wish you the best of luck though, and hope you’ll keep us updated in the future.

Cheers!

"Old school, cheap, simple, reliable, and easily replaceable for the win!" ~ Traveler@Heart



14

VanDweller, very true.
I personally would not chose EV vehicle under any circumstances.
Poorly tested, expensive (try to replace that battery!) and poorly performing technology with poor infrastructure.
Also: when they try to force something on you, it’s usually bad stuff.

One might think they will need only small range, stay in warm temps, have mom’s house to recharge at, etc, but plans, needs and location may need a change and you are stuck with the junk. No real overlanding can be done with EV vehicles, this is self contained activity in remote areas with little time for refueling stops, and this is the fact.

If they perfect new stuff to the point its reliable, very long range, infrastructure everywhere (talking about remote Alaska as well), recharching takes no more than 15 mins like my current fuel tank ;)) in overcast weather, performing in very cold temps (like for driving through North America in record cold), and cheap I would consider. Otherwise not worth the investment of labor and money into a build.

We are seeing political climate change worldwide, by the way, so I have doubts those electric mandates won’t be limited to few crazy jurisdictions (in Kalifornia they just effectively blocked sales of new diesel motorhomes due to ridiculous mandates, well something is telling me these things and politicians won’t survive for long). The EV tyrants are getting voted out and the individual states are adopting laws to block traditional fuel bans.

Meanwhile, my big gas guzzling rig enjoys very long range in any temps, just fueled for $2.70/gallon in Arizona and crazy jurisdiction of Kalifornia with their deliverately inflated gas prices is avoided except where I can fuel in Oregon and then just camp in CA off that fuel tank refueling back in OR. (and I dk for all the fake “climate change” BS in the world, may be they should reduce population in countries where billions live if they are that concerned, I do not have children and don’t contribute to overpopulation, they better leave us in America alone, huge desolate spaces for real overlanding is where its really worth to dwell in a vehicle and city people wont dictate us how to live! ).

And yes, EVs will become obsolete or hugely depreciated with infrastructure plans abandoned, when the “next best thing” comes along!

15

Greetings!

Yeah, I’m not opposed to newer, provided I can see a benefit for ME…

This whole EV thing seems like a ploy to put money in China’s pocket, while possibly bankrupting the American car manufacturers.

As for the climate change, I tend to believe that we’re just in a 100 year (or however many years) cycle. It was just about 100 years ago that the dustbowl thing happened, and lasted for about a decade. Weather patterns tend to repeat themselves, 10 year floods, 100 year floods, etc.

Should we do our part to cut pollution, sure, but we shouldn’t destroy ourselves in the process, especially when other places like China & Russia literally don’t care. In the end, we need to figure out how to stay competitive in the global marketplace.

Cheers!

"Old school, cheap, simple, reliable, and easily replaceable for the win!" ~ Traveler@Heart



17

Greetings!

I think China & Russia were just the top two on whatever article I was reading about pollution standards, it also included many of the middle eastern countries.

Cheers!

"Old school, cheap, simple, reliable, and easily replaceable for the win!" ~ Traveler@Heart



18

Its a lie about Russia in that particular article.
A simple search on actual data disproves that.
US is on top among the worst polluters, Russia is way below them.
Including per capita.

Russia has only less than 150 million people and not much industry by the way, most goods there are imported, neither its a rich high consumption country, neither its a car dependent country unlike the US and it exports raw material without processing them, also average dwelling is several times smaller than American. Its amusing that media liars from high consumption 330 million car dependent country with 2500 sq feet homes spew lies about it or compare it to 2-billion heavy manufacturing country

Also, a lot of Chinese pollution is industrial pollution that exists solely to supply American consumers.
A lot of manufacturing and refining in the world exists to supply first world countries, moving polluting industries elsewhere does not make these 1st world countries countries “clean”, just like all the mining needed for solar/wind/EV does not make this energy “clean”, same way washing clothes but not underwear does not make one “clean”.

America is #2 at carbon emissions per capita, also, but actually #1 is you brush the typical lies aside and count all the Americans pollution externalized to other countries through manufacturing (US got the highest consumption both per capita and total in the world)

I’m moving to Russia next year and I know the numbers about pollution and the truth overwall. I actually want to live non car dependent rural life and its impossible in America.

19

Greetings!

I’m not actually disagreeing with you… I think that article was about pollution control or standards, not the actual production of pollution. I also agree that outsourcing doesn’t help the overall problem.

I also believe that the problem must be tackled on a global scale.

What really bothers me is that we were forced into fossil fuel dependency while hydrogen was available as a better and cheaper alternative. Since they actually had hydrogen in ancient times, it can’t be that hard or expensive to create it. The ancient water powered lighting, cooking, & heating prove that, yet we have been denied it as a resource. Maybe the technology was lost over the years, but it has had an amazing way of popping up from time to time, like for the blimps & dirigibles… Now their looking into it again, but only because they think they’ve found a way to make money on it.

I honestly believe we are being denied many things due to power & greed.

Cheers!

"Old school, cheap, simple, reliable, and easily replaceable for the win!" ~ Traveler@Heart



20

Not sure what you mean about ancient hydrogen technologies, any links to that?

I dont really like burning fuels because I have asthma and fumes always bother me, I cant even be around a campfire.

On a global scale, cutting consumption would need to happen but the trend goes into the opposite direction so far, and , as stanards of living increase in multi-billion countries, consumption is expected to explode there. Population and consumption reductions are necessary but since the system is setup for profiting off infinite growth no politicians dare to say this. They are talking about circular economy, where every single thing is recycled, but this is far off.

In Russia, people build dwellings with a yard or more wall thickness, by the way, to insulate. When I say how big is average American dwelling people refuse to believe its true. Typical country home in Russia is like 600 sq ft, in America new homes are 2550 sq ft on average now. I found trouble finding acceptable house in America because everything was way too big, for me to heat and cool and repair/maintain it. And then,if you build one, they slam regulations and CC&Rs like minimum 1000sq ft, and even if you build where there are no such rules: then the power company refuses to connect a smaller dwelling, this is contrary to energy conservation goals. I faced so much hostility to my small dwelling plans in a couple of places that I eventually gave up. They force you into fully offgrid situation with s small dwelling, denying electric heat option, and then they try to ban heating stoves/furnaces

In Russia, lots of household electricity comes from hydroelectric from the many big rivers, by the way, nuclear stations too, but its mostly too cold to use electric heat, so Im not seeing them banning wood, oil, diesel and gas, or coal furnaces. In New York they are banning them, not sure how all these remote homesteads will survive there, literally. Even if homestead is on the grid, a power outage can be catastrophic. Not to mention that they plan to raise power utility prices to the sky once they forced people onto electric. NY outlawed full time off grid living, basically.

21

Meanwhile in Alaska:
(comments to the article are very telling)

Alaska’s wintertime: Don’t put your winter gear in the (EV) front luggage compartment, also known as a “frunk.” You could freeze to death.

Scott Hockema, owner of Scott’s Towing & Hauling in Soldotna, came across a Tesla full of young adults shivering in the late night cold, wearing only their t-shirts. Their Tesla was inoperable along the shoulder near Kasilof, on the Kenai Peninsula, and, in frigid nighttime temperatures, they could not get the frunk to open. The insurance company told them they’d send a truck in the morning.

The Tesla was inoperable until the owner could get a technician from Anchorage to get the hood open and jump the 12-volt battery.

Hockema said that the incident was a reminder that electric cars’ batteries are not only drained by cold weather, but also by the amount of weight in the car — in this case four people and luggage, which can make battery life unpredictable. Having to heat the cabin of the vehicle also drains the battery. He pointed out that electric vehicles don’t come with spare tires, as manufacturers try to keep costs down. And since most everything can be run off of an app on a smart phone, you don’t want your phone battery to die as you wait by the side of the road in the middle of an Alaska winter. This group of Alaskans, who were heading to Anchorage over the pass with a winter advisory calling for 8-12” of snow, were actually lucky they broke down in Kasilof.

electric cars cannot be towed without a flatbed.