Hello !
This hackaday blog Electric Jeep With Modified Prius Hardware shows an example of an electrified jeep from this youtube post Boost Charging with the Gen 2 Prius Inverter.
I’d really like to look at examples like this, and now I know the prius inverter is a thing, but I’m also looking for more kind of off road conversion kits, and targeting old but pretty good but sturdy off road champs like different jeep models. And that are not as expensive as buying anew?
The issue with modern vehicles, whether electric or not, is how connected they are, and how they have become like software as a service kind of stuff, so one really doesn’t own the vehicle since one needs to keep paying per month, quarter or year, whatever it is, and with all the dangers on privacy and security of generating location and other personal information that can be gathered from the vehicles. There are people that have found ways to hack modern cars to incorporate kill switches and the like, but that’s risky if in need to apply for guarantee or similar. Besides, Ford, Bollinger, and Rivian, which are all pretty expensive, there’s no much off road options, and maybe converting is the best way moving forward.
Jeremy’s Jeep is a really interesting project. It was really far-gone when he picked it up; without any serviceable panels and with a seized engine.
What he has done is impressive, but it will only be usable on his farm and maybe on some closed trails.
There are a few vintage Kei-Truck EV conversions too, but no bolt-in kits.
Unfortunately, ADAS systems are being forced upon us so that the people who are too incompetent to drive will still be able to/ need to buy a car.
It will be impossible to register a sub-compact modified vehicle for use on public roads.
I was not aware bout ADASs being forced, :( Who is incompetent to drive shouldn’t be allowed to. What is forced upon people is getting weirder every day.
If the incompetent drivers were taken off the road, the roads would be much quieter. Public transport infrastructure would need to be improved though…
As a driving enthusiast, I would love to see those people who can’t drive without ADAS to not have to drive. This includes driver assistance systems all the way from so-called “self driving” all the way down to power steering and automatic transmissions.
I’ve been following Jeremy’s project as well. It looks super clean. I’ve seen an 80 series that’s been converted, and an XJ. Seems like they use prius/nissan leaf parts mostly and they do okay.
Range is the biggest problem though. The way I see it, EVs fit the Rock Crawler use case pretty good (unload from a trailer, run a technical, 10-mile trail with a lot of sitting around and watching other people roll over). Overland is really limited by range though. Towing doesn’t even seem to be an option.
I think Hybrid and PHEVs are the only option for Overlanding, otherwise you will be parking at every single fast charger you see for hours.
Solar might be enough to charge your house-battery, if you have nothing but sunny days and have sufficient panels.
Touring from town to town with a mini-truck camper may be a different way of travelling but if you need to connect to a charger/shore power, but at that point, you may as well drive a compact convertible and stay in accomodation.
