Can I rebuild an old stickshift truck with an electric motor?

crubleigh

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Jun 6, 2013
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We have an old Toyota stake bed truck stick shift. Is it possible or cost effective to rebuild it with an electric motor? We don't know much about cars/trucks so we don't think we (or anyone we know) could do it ourselves, so that would be the most costly part. Thank you.
 

Jaxem

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umm....i didn't know we did this here. I've worked as a mechanic though so i'll try to answer the best i can: 1. It would be possible with lots and lots of time and probably even more money. So cost effective no. 2. A single electric motor probably won't move a truck much, especially if you load it up or tow something. Then there's the battery, i doubt you'd be able to even get one that would work right for it.

Does the truck have a bad/missing motor? because it'll almost certainly be cheaper to find a rebuilt motor to stick in then try an electric conversion...especially with a truck.
 

crubleigh

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Jun 6, 2013
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No, it works, however it's old and is not very fuel efficient. It's just with everybody in the family starting driving and having to go places it might be better to fix the old truck rather than get another car. It's not worthless either. We use it to haul/tow everything often. Is it just one of those things that could never be a cost effective commuter vehicle?
 

Jaxem

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Yeah, commuter vehicles are built as commuter vehicles. Trucks will never get good gas mileage, and an electric conversion would be more than a used honda civic that would get decent mileage. Plus you probably wouldn't be able to tow/haul stuff very well if at all after something like that. Vehicles are purpose built, you'd have either a commuter, or a hauler...you can't really get both out of one vehicle (at this point).
 

karrbass4life

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Jul 13, 2013
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+2 on the used Civic, they just cant be beat.

If you still need a truck for utility reasons get an older Ford Ranger/Mazda B-2300 with the 2.3L Inline four. They get decent gas mileage for a truck, are cheap to own, and easy to repair.
 

wip99gt

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Feb 23, 2008
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It just wouldn't be cost effective to do it. In my opinion we need some sort of higher quality batteries than what can be produced now to do something like that. What engine is in your truck? If it's an older one with a 22r they're not too expensive to rebuild. If you are looking for it as a daily commuter then an old civic or corolla, as mentioned by others, will be the cheapest route to take.
 


It would be a VERY BAD IDEA if you are concerned with cost. You would have to buy a suitable motor, motor cooling system, motor speed controller, battery packs, battery pack cooling system, and then do all of the fabrication to get it to fit in that truck. You would also have to figure out a way to drive the accessory drives (A/C, power steering, vacuum pump for the power brakes and HVAC) as well. Automotive-grade electric motors are many thousands of dollars and battery packs suitable of propelling an electric-only vehicle are approximately $10,000. You are MUCH better off in replacing what's broken in the truck and buying gasoline for the truck. You unfortunately have fallen for the same logical fallacy that many people today do- in spending a ton of money for a new car (usually a $$$$$ hybrid) in order to save a little bit of money at the pump.

The only reason it would make any sort of sense to convert the truck to electric drive is if you really wanted an electric drive truck for some reason. An older body-on-frame truck would be a good choice for such a setup as they are simple and straightforward vehicles with plenty of cargo capacity to haul the heavy batteries. Ironically the type of transmission doesn't matter on an electric vehicle as most use a two-speed planetary gearset or no transmission at all. An AC induction or permanent magnet motor like those used in electric cars develops peak torque at 0 rpm and does not need to be clutched. Also the shaft speed of a typical two-pole AC motor is 3450-3600 rpm which is plenty fast enough for highway speeds unless you have rear gears well into the two-ton truck range (5:1 or deeper.)