Electric 6 wheeler?

[JRP3]

Hi all,
I've been kicking around the idea of taking a project 6x6, (if I can find the right one for the right price) and making it electric drive. Anyone ever done something like this? I figure if I can find one cheep without the motor but with everything else I can drop in an electric motor, controller, and some batteries. I don't need top speed or range, but I've got about 4 acres with a good sized gorge and stream right in the middle. I used a friends 4x4 to haul wood up the gorge but it was a real scramble, plus I had to hug the sides of the stream. I think a 6x6 would be perfect for what I need, and the high torque electric motor would give me the low end power. What do you think? Any brands better than others for this project? I see some units use a snowmobile type clutch setup to let the motor wind up to generate torque, I might need to remove that since the electric motor generates full torque from 1 rpm.

[evil8x8]

If you are going electric you build it so one side can be going forward while the other is in reverse. You could also use a generator as a brake, it will charge the batteries when ever you need to slow down.

[JRP3]

That would require 2 motors and 2 controllers, wouldn't it? I'd like to keep this simple as possible. Instead of mounting a generator I'd rather just carry enough batteries to cover my range needs and use the existing brake and steering system.

[JRP3]

This is all I've come up with when searching for "Electric 6 wheeler"
Not exactly what I was looking for, but pretty neat anyway.
6 Wheel Drive Electric Wheel Chair 6x6 Explorer Wheel Chair Beach Bush Fishing New Zealand Kemcare

[Mike]

There was an electric Amphicat on ebay not too long ago.

I know you say you want to keep it simple but if you only use one motor then you have to still use the transmission and then several chains, jackshafts, etc. If you move up to 2 motors then you can completely eliminate the transmission and you would only need two chains for each side. Talk about simple!

Plus then you could counter-rotate the 6x6 with one side forward and one reverse. Then like evil mentioned instead of using disc brakes, recapture all of that energy to charge your batteries just like hybrid/electric cars do. Best of all, you could have all of your weight extremely low in the 6x6 and distribute it however you choose.

It would definitely be a cool project.

[Don]

Attex built an electric machine in the late 60s or early 70s. I have the Popular Science article somewhere, and I'll find it and send it to Mike. Someday I'm going to straighten all this stuff out so I know where it is!

[jpswift1]

Don, I never knew about that electric Attex.....that's really cool! Mike, I remember that electric Amphicat on ebay.....it was listed 2 or 3 times, I believe. I came across the video of it on Youtube. If I can find it again I will be sure to post it up.

[JRP3]

I guess I'm thinking it would be easier, for me, to have to mount a single motor to the existing transmission and use the existing controls. Also a single motor and controller will be much cheaper, and the electrical hookups would be easier as well. So yes, if starting from scratch two motors may be simpler, but I don't think so in my application. I'm hoping to find a decent 6x6 with a bad or missing motor but with everything else. If the gas tank is missing that's ok too
Anyone know of some project vehicles near central NY state?

[JRP3]

Then like evil mentioned instead of using disc brakes, recapture all of that energy to charge your batteries just like hybrid/electric cars do.

Also, doing regen with brushed DC motors is not that easy, regen controllers are rare and more expensive, and it can be hard on the brushes. AC motors have regen built in but are much too expensive for this type of project. There really isn't that much energy to recapture on ATV's because of the high rolling resistance. I ran a 3 wheeler for years with no brakes at all and just used downshifting. It was rarely a problem

[Mike]

Gotcha!

Here's the electric Attex article that Don was so kind to share with us from the November 1970 edition of Popular Science Magazine.


I also uploaded it to the Attex brochure section here: Attex Brochures and Literature

Talk about a rare 6x6. Could you imagine having an original one of those.

[Beeman]

I've been thinking of doing this too... was thinking of building my own controllers too!

I personally would go with two electric motors (A/C) and chop a DC voltage into pulses (PWM) so that you can control the frequency and therefore speed of the motors.

A couple things to keep in mind:

-With Batterys, you basically want the highest voltage (form serialing them) so that you don't lose out on line loss.

-Motor controllers could be constructed as simple as high amperage relays (solenoids) much like a winch controller.. They are mechanical and wouldn't last too long (they are based on the amount of cycles they go through)... they also wouldn't allow you to have speed control (also, if you go the DC route with DC motors you could control the speed by controlling the voltage... but unfortuantly this would not allow for high torque at no rmp).

-You can construct a controller using high amp mosfets much like the commercial types and control the speed (if DC) with pwm to get the high torque at low speed.. or for AC where your pwm circuit will generate the AC pulse and your mosfets would control the direction.

[JRP3]

Thanks Mike, that's sweet. Gives me some numbers to work off of. I don't need 4 hours of run time so I can use half the batteries, though I'll probably use 4 12V to get 48 volts for more power. Those old GE motors were pretty heavy for their output I think so a modern pancake motor like an E-tek would help with weight and a modern controller should be more efficient than the stepping contacts they used. If the price of lithium batteries ever comes down to earth I could upgrade and lighten it up even more. Can't wait to get my hands on a vehicle. Are some better than others for this? Lighter weight, more room for batteries, etc? I suppose I'll just have to take whatever comes my way and make it work.

[JRP3]

-You can construct a controller using high amp mosfets much like the commercial types and control the speed (if DC) with pwm to get the high torque at low speed.. or for AC where your pwm circuit will generate the AC pulse and your mosfets would control the direction.

Yeah, I don't think I want to get into building my own controller, since I don't know how I should be able to find a used Curtis or something for a good price. 48 volts won't require anything exotic.

[jpswift1]

Here are the three electric Amphicat 6x6 videos that I came across on Youtube.

[JRP3]

Nice! I sent a message to the guy to find out more about what he did, don't know if is account is still active since he was trying to sell it back in Oct.