What's an electric VW Camper really like?

[@jimcabezola3051]

This is perfect! I couldn't ask for anything more. The lack of that nasty air-cooled petrol lump is the best part. Did a 5-hour (each way!) stint behind the wheel of one of these on a trip between Bonn and Basel in the '80s. Memorably miserable going... Thanks for providing the engineering that can banish that bollocks!

[@seattlebeard]

Bless you for saving these beloved vehicles. Wish you lived closer to convert my 74 Bus. I sold it after my mechanic retired. Cheers. :o)

[@georgedaville4662]

Great content as usual Richard. There is no reason for old VW camper vans to be scrapped at all. The conversion completely transforms this iconic vehicle. You will be needing larger premises soon to cope with demand for conversions 👍😎

[@spudproductions7606]

Thanks George 😀

[@arthemis1039]

Gosh I cannot wait for the ID.Buzz as a camper. Same benefits of charging at the campsite, but also a big battery for wild camping and rapid charge capabilities ! Certainly less charming than a classic VW Bus, but a lot more comfortable !

[@olik136]

it will be rediculously expensive though... the buzz already STARTS at 54k€ the camping version will be at about 70k€... those are 3 entire years of net earnings (average income is about 2k€ here) for an incomplete small camper that was supposed to be a budget alternative for big campers..

[@stevezodiac491]

At Caravan and Motorhome camp sites, it is £12 to charge your vehicle abd only through your rig. Not cheap.

[@stevezodiac491]

The id buzz is tiny and not a practical vehicle to convert to a camper van like the Transporter.

[@TheHkluivert]

​@@stevezodiac491 are you suggesting this T2 is big?

[@xxwookey]

@@stevezodiac491 £12 doesn't sound expensive to me and I'm tight.

[@rolandmogle9671]

This literally is my favorite conversion video of all time ! I have been watching conversion videos for over ten years , this one really is fantastic . Thank you very much .

[@spudproductions7606]

Thanks Roland😀

[@silliestduffer]

I love these conversions! I will say, as a Californian, I am always taken aback by camping in the UK; looks a bit like a suburb to me. Most of the camping I do is dispersed camping, so I am generally not going to have a charge point at the campsite, and if I do stay at a maintained site there may just be a three-prong 120v outlet. That being said, a 200 mile range will be more than enough in almost all cases, provided there is public charging in one of the towns along the way before heading into the mountains or the desert.

[@dlittlester]

I think it's a great idea. You'd first have to find a VW van with no rust, which would be difficult. I love the idea though, and electric seems the best way. I worked for a VW dealer back in the mid to late 70s, and you're right. They weren't fast.

[@vincentrobinet2713]

Would love to see a solar set-up for multi day off grid camping.

[@cosgraham534]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/aqerpp-ai9GjfKM

[@markreed9853]

It looks very limited for solar on the roof especially with that pop top but maybe you could add some foldout plugin ones?

[@stevehanlon7627]

@@markreed9853 150W per square meter is the BEST solar can do. a 12kW battery will need roughly 80 square meters of solar.

[@AleOle]

I am thinking of doing this to my camper bus. I can easily install 500W solar panels in my VW T2 camper roof or maybe more...( i currently have 200W). The point of having solar panels in the roof isn't about travelling entirely on solar energy but saving a loooot of energy that you are obligated to pay in a charge station.

[@markreed9853]

@@stevehanlon7627 to power the stuff in a camper fine but not to drive the wheels as these guys show how many panels you need and still only got around 100 miles of range in a full sunny day in South America! kzbin.info/www/bejne/ppTNY5-HrK1qhJY

[@ianross5019]

Really enjoyed watching that. And I’m glad you asked for suggestions. My brother in law runs his own local building business and he has said for a while that an electric pick up would really suit him. he doesn’t need massive range. 100 miles would kill it.

[@MrBigal451]

i am imagining the possibilities when I convert my long bed single cabs 2002 chevy PU and my 1984 Chevy PU. I want to put a pop tent in the bed and store gear under the pop tent. Spud is the best!

[@paulmillard9535]

KEEPING UP WITH MODERN TRAFFIC ! A.Any relative speed accelleration performance figure would be verry appreciated . B.Is the original drive train from a 1.8 or 2 ltr donnor vehicle . C.Battery +motor totall wieght. Bonvoyage

[@howdy7359]

I LOVE this, I have a ‘77 bay and I would love to convert at some point. (My lovely wife still loves the sound of the air cooled).

[@milescoleman910]

Just scrolling through idbuzz videos. They have messed it up. They started ‘vanlife’. 60 years ago. But after checking the dimensions are about the same, I couldn’t figure how they have lost so much space and then I saw it. They have moved the front seats back to where the first rear seat row was. Taken out 1/4 of the interior space. Sacrificing for safety I suppose but as you mention in this. No one wants ‘vanlife’ that can do 0-60 in 4 seconds. VW could have built a 150hp 150ftlbs and a battery that gets you 400 miles. Extended the front a little and basically remake everything but retain the brilliance of basically an apartment on wheels in the space of a car. But no they haven’t and I don’t think even the extended IDBuzz that comes next year with a camper option for 70,000 quid is gonna save them. So what you have here is ultimately a better vehicle than all the great minds at VW can come up with. …in 2025. Gonna be sad to see the company fold.

[@circusfactory]

all fantastic examples of EV conversions. But where are the solutions for end users like me?

[@chrislambert4885]

1960s Grumman Olson or similar would be a fun conversion.

[@marcofecteau]

I was gonna ask about solar pannels, but then I looked at the sky and remembered you're in the UK. Guess you'll have to wait for a rain pannel tec.

[@danielkelly8756]

It's got gears, that's awesome. that's one thing which I think will really put a lot of classic car guys off doing an electric conversion Vs a Honda conversion in something like a mini, is the lack of gears to use. That's such a huge part of the joy of driving and especially an old car. To loose the noise of an old engine AND the changing of gears takes a lot away from the cars. Being able to change gears would be so awesome

[@andytang04]

That range is nice 👍

[@urosrozman1116]

Omg I’d love to see my Mercedes James Cook converted like that 😍😍

[@janewenderby9575]

Brilliant camper. I would love one myself.

[@mattb8734]

Brilliant loved this richard love these campers and think merc 4m sprinter could be a good one to do or a long transit

[@markthomasson5077]

Back in my missspent youff, I nearly gassed myself a few times, exhaust gasses coming in through the the heater.

[@ElectricClassicCars]

Yep. I remember those days we'll. 😁👍

[@billmorr65]

Shame they are still soooo expensive to convert. Got a '69 with a 1776 engine & freeway flyer gearbox....will sit at 70 all day and still overtake. 300 miles on a tankfull and 10mins to refuel. The price of conversion still buys a lot of fuel

[@eekee6034]

Great van, but it couldn't beat that logo at the end! 🤣

[@Mike_Costello]

A FJ40 Toyota Long wheel base Landcruiser from circa 1970 (contemporary to the Series Defenders) with a longitudinal Tesla swap would win many hearts as a camper or a off roader.

[@Simonicusmaximus]

Older 93-2004 Toyota Hiace with the locking wheel hubs for 4wd would be my choice. LWB one if possible 🙂🙂

[@MrMarkuk1]

very nice but you can best the noise from an air cooled vw

[@robertallgeier2109]

I enjoy your shows, SO much. Thanks.

[@ElectricClassicCars]

You're welcome. Thanks for watching. 😎👍

[@TheWinjin]

I agree with everyone here. The classic Bullis are iconic and incredibly cute. Having one that's also powerful enough to keep up with modern cars is a blessing. You said this one is like 70 horsepower, and I found this vid from your VW Beetle in a day, where the same-ish sized engine (from the looks of it) is 140 horsepower, which is honestly more than a lot of modern ICE cars and vans. Of course it's lacking all the modern safeties, but other than that it's really cute and outright almost perfect.

[@dave4803]

I think it's a great idea and clearly better for short hops. The only downside is not being automatic like most EV's (For those limited by having an auto only licence or a disability), although some people will like it still being manual even if you only change gear once or twice a trip.

[@ElectricClassicCars]

This is a conversion we did many years ago. Most of our VW Camper conversions are now automatic, with no gears. 👍

[@dave4803]

@@ElectricClassicCars Thanks for replying and that sounds great. Can I ask, do you use an automatic style gear stick like your mini conversions or is it a push button set up like on your Defenders? I'm not a fan of the push button set up. Love your work.

[@ElectricClassicCars]

@@dave4803 There's 3 solutions we use, push button, twist knob and micro switches on the base of the original gear stick. 👍

[@dave4803]

@@ElectricClassicCars That's perfect and I like the 3rd option best. It also retains the classic look and feel but mixes the best of modern tech. Thanks for explaining it.

[@nicolasbernier6151]

I must be missing something….the last thing we want when we camp in our tiny T2 is to end up in crowded campsites at night. Staying overnight in the wilderness and disconnect from society for the course of the weekend or holidays is the reason of why we choose our vintage camper. I guess different strokes for different folks…

[@nr619]

no problems, take a big petrol generator to recharge your van at night. will not disturbe in the forest... !

[@waynethefridgemanosborne8984]

great video. looking like you had a bit of fun making it. keep up the good work

[@somecallmetimelderberries432]

love it!

[@bobeden5027]

the old ford transit long wheel base would make a good camper, hey?

[@andrewredman4551]

This looks very good and perfect vehicle for an electric conversion. I have had a Toyota IQ from new (2009) and love this little car. It would be interesting to see if it could be converted to an electric vehicle? Would it have enough room for a reasonable set of batteries to give it any kind of range? Would be too small to convert to electric power?

[@mike_reves]

I would love to convert my 72 Westy!

[@terminalpsychosis8022]

Basically lived in a '72 for a few years. my goodness this is infinitely better than the old 2-liter upright motor. Though, they are dependable and I still love them. Awesome upgrade, especially for such a classic. Hmm where's the 914?

[@spudproductions7606]

914 episode coming soon 😀

[@xyredmax]

Nice to see some 'Real world' views. Any chance of addressing the elephant in the room = price? How about, you can buy this van today for xyz. To convert one with modern batteries and motors, ITRO = xyz?? I know tech and conversions would vary hugely, but it would help perspective tyre kickers :)

[@Sandmonmsn]

Those high roof LWB 'vanlife' campers would be awesome to be converted. You could put nearly a whole model S or X pack in them or even a model 3 pack, dump it in the back and build a interior on top of it.

[@xxwookey]

Yep. that'll definitely work, but those vans and big and square and heavy so the question is how much range will you end up with? Not too bad with the big (100kWh) packs. I think there is an outfit in the US that does these conversions commercially.

[@Sandmonmsn]

@@xxwookey If, for example, a Merc Sprinter 4x4 were to be converted. I would have quad motors fitted. I would have the LFP battery mounted inside the vans cargo space to be better insulated from the outside elements, allowing better ground clearance and the water tanks to be under the vehicle, below the battery. With a big high roof long wheelbase van, quad motors all the electrical gubbins for traction and house needs and an camper Interior. I would expect the van to be at or over 3500kg. From that if 100 to 130 year round miles were achievable. I would be happy. Never be able to afford the thing but that's what I'd do. Oh and stick as many thin film solar panels to the roof, back, bonnet and sides of it.

[@mikemchale7639]

I used to own a 72 Ford Econoline with a mattress in the back lol that would be a great conversion stronger everything

[@derektierney1314]

Brilliant way to go as the cost of diesel is going through the roof so what's the cost of the conversation kit ✌️😁🇮🇪

[@marks-0-0]

I'd be more tempted to buy a mid sized electric van than an electric car and use it as an everything vehicle. I love vans but not so interested in the classic stuff, I'm more keen on vans for their utility so something more like the new Transit Custom ev.

[@George_Salt]

Looks great! Have you tried converting anything larger? I would love to see an early '90s Hymer B544 or B564 converted, with a decent amount of solar on the roof for off-grid multi-day charging. Any solution that could work for the generic Sevel van chassis (Fiat Ducato, Citroen C25, Peugeot J5, Talbot Express) has a huge target market and the potential to keep a lot of old motorhomes on the road post-hydrocarbon.

[@alastairwatson3201]

I think it’s a great idea. Unless you live, and want to tour, in Australia. 160 km isn’t even half a day’s driving over here. Greater range and / or faster charging required, with more regular charging points, which isn’t really feasible in the outback.

[@nealm1814]

Did you watch the video? The camper in the vid has 5 year old tech and Moggy said todays conversions have more like 200 miles (320 km) range.

[@francesconicoletti2547]

Let’s see what the new government, with all those greens and teals does about the utterly pathetic Australian charging infrastructure. Not one National park I have visited has any sort of charging even at their visitors stations for instance. It really doesn’t matter what the range of an EV is outside of an Australian capital city as there are almost nowhere to charge, unless you own a Tesla of course in which case it is possible to drive up the east coast. As to feasibility there are towns less then four hours drive apart anywhere that people live everywhere in Australia. A couple of subsidised fast chargers in each town would much ease range anxiety for ev drivers. If we are actually trying to lower our CO2 emissions and not just do some handwringing.

[@nealm1814]

@@alanmay7929 So we should be developing EV campers with 700km ranges just so a few Aussies can drive about in the middle of nowhere. I wish people would stop coming up with these edge cases to somehow "prove" EVs are no good. Just stick to your ICE and leave EV channels alone.

[@nealm1814]

@@alanmay7929 Better get yourself one of these then kzbin.info/www/bejne/aqerpp-ai9GjfKM

[@HelloWorld-ns7gt]

@@alanmay7929 A bloke in the US built a kombi with 1000 mile range. It's on utube but I watched it long ago.

[@EdWelch100]

Great stuff. Got to be the way forward. Keep the good work up. Love it.

[@spudproductions7606]

Thanks 👍

[@andrewgrenville5330]

That was definitely a real night's sleep you had there 😂

[@markbennett6658]

It’d be good to do this particularly if you can make a DIY fit conversion kit on a newer more affordable T4 based camper. The cost of a classic air cooled VW bus plus the conversion would be prohibitive for most people. I could see any US import petrol engines gas guzzling RVs being great candidates for EV swapping as well!

[@xxwookey]

Except that they (US import RVs) are huge and square and heavy, so you'll never get much range out of one. A conversion would be an improvement, but I worry that you would spend a lot of money for an underwhelming vehicle.

[@markbennett6658]

@@xxwookey not great for the aerodynamics but plenty of space to fit batteries. Wouldn’t need to be ‘fast’ so the brick like shape might not be such a big deal. Just smooth and cheap to run. The hardware definitely needs to be more affordable and DIY friendly though!

[@choice9572]

Great video thank you!

[@jossentjens7154]

Which campers to convert.... any and all Transporters(?) Or, a Bedford CF?

[@MrGMawson2438]

Great video mate 👌

[@predragv.365]

This is the Best Electric vehicle. I love vw camper

[@mikelytou]

"It's a Brazilian bus" And there I thought that meant it's waxed...

[@jamiedeprins]

Can you please make a in depth video of that vw baja ? Im very interested in that

[@spudproductions7606]

That’s a future episode 😀

[@jamiedeprins]

@@spudproductions7606 tanks cant wait to see

[@wrightwells]

I think we are in the time like the early eighties when buses didn't have enough value to restore properly and old GTX tins were used. I think its the same with EV conversions, I can see the reasons for professional conversions for a 120K+ SLK Mercedes when adding a £50K power train allow the classic to be future proof, but for a Brazian bus less than half the value of the conversion, isquestionable.. But if you have the spondoolies.

[@sandyhagen9155]

Great video, that electric VW camper looks wonderful! As far as suggestions for conversions, I have a W reg Mazda Bongo camper, currently Petrol/LPG Have you ever considered doing a Bongo?

[@WhamBang]

someone getting passed by this would have to pull over and rethink their life.

[@ElectricClassicCars]

I wish they would pull over. 😆😂😁👍

[@NickFoster]

It will be interesting to see which is cheaper, the ID.Buzz camper or a conversion like this. Given the announced prices for the standard 5-seater ID.Buzz I can't see the camper coming in under £65k-£70k.

[@xxwookey]

Buying the Buzz Cargo and self-converting is my plan. Still waiting for UK pricing but maybe 45 grand? Then it's up to you how much you spend on a conversion. My current fairly basic one (insulation, carpet, bed, cupboards, table, windows, rotating chair, central locking, leisure batts, bike racks, solar fan) (in an expert) cost maybe £1500 and has lasted 20 years. Obviously one can spend a great deal more than that, and I'd go for a pop-top this time. The main catch at this point is that they've said there will be a longer body/bigger battery version. If I'm going to spend 50 or 60 grand on a car then I might as well wait for that one. I gather ECC's conversions are about 20 grand in bits and similar amount in labour. Maybe a bit less for this one, but definitely not cheap.

[@edenviews]

Looks a better idea now than it ever did and with conversions becoming cheaper it will be a great one. Beat the noisy and stinky old VW bus...surely!🤩

[@erikscrase579]

That’s all very and but how much does it cost to convert it

[@SusansRoadLessTraveled]

Last year I spent 7K upgrading my T2 motor on my ‘74 Westy. Just dropped it after 2200 miles, uninstalled all the parts and shipped the block back to mfg due to cylinder fail. Waiting to hear the cost to damage and go forward. Very frustrating she’s dead in the water..again. 😥 That’s VW life.

[@ML-jr1yz]

How much for a convertion in this type of bus on a 200 mile with the new technology?

[@michaelhutcheson9509]

Looks like a brilliant idea can you solar charge camper for off grid camping ?

[@ElectricClassicCars]

You can but you'd need a lot of solar panels to make it worthwhile. 👍

[@xxwookey]

Solar can cover the ancilliaries (fridge, gadgets, lighting maybe even cooking) but not charging or heating unless you have a lot of panels and an extremely efficient vehicle, like the Stella Vita kzbin.info/www/bejne/aqerpp-ai9GjfKM That is clearly the way forward but we have to work out how to build them for less than half a million quid.

[@ctom4932]

Last I camped they had spots with unlimited electric access for an additional $5 a night. I used to take advantage of it, to run a 12v DC charger so my radio didn't kill my battery. 110 isn't ideal for charging an EV. But $5 for overnight charging has got to be cheaper than average.

[@sharonbraselton4302]

wroñgé

[@johnm.withersiv4352]

When my VW Eurovan's motor dies (hopefully no time soon), I'm not sure I'd put another petrol in it. I'd look at Eclectic conversion.

[@colinherd]

Just awesome. If you even need a Mazda bongo with auto lift roof to test out a conversation, let me know. 😉I think it would make a fantastic small electric camper 👍. Either way I’m keeping mine till I can afford to convert it in the future.

[@chrisjarmain]

Lovely stuff. Eerily quiet for an old vw and no trail of engine oil lol. 🤙

[@gbickell]

What's not to love about a VX camper, especially an electric one. Just lovely.

[@benandrews1954]

Looks great. Thinking about converting my more modern T4. Is that something you guys would work on or too new?

[@ryanjacques2007]

I'm also very interested in converting my VW T4!

[@Redf322]

I want to do my T5 but I’m guessing the price will be too high.

[@ryanjacques2007]

@@Redf322 yeah if it's between 25-35k It'll be doable

[@adamwalker1504]

Same here with my T5, would love to do it one day

[@monkeyportions1722]

Brilliant! Is there a limit to the battery capacities or can they be added together if the vehicle allowed it? An xlwb crafter twin wheel has ample space underneath it with loads of ground clearance. Can't help but toy with the fantasy of having massive milage potential and torque

[@simonburleigh5551]

I would live to see a first generation Toyota Previa converted maybe even with high performance

[@cristianfederico2411]

Brilliant!

[@mikesimmonds1916]

Waiting for someone brave to let you modernise a vwt4. Not seen it yet and it lacks cool as a vw for some.

[@whu58]

How long does it take to recharge the vehicle? How long before the batteries drain if you go off grid?...for example; using a tv/lap top, lighting, microwave, Induction hob?

[@Redf322]

How about some idea of price?

[@Sonnensegler.Bayern]

Lov-it. Mhhh, just thought -- maybe use a Kuckoo Camper on an electric car, with lots of batterie as an range extender maybe? Those campers are sustainable, project idea was made while pandemic for fair-trade builders to have an income by building campers. Maybe we can extend the idea by supporting an electric car tow it, no?

[@youxkio]

Way to go Richard. That camper van seems indestructible. It probably may need a new battery in the coming years, but with new types of batteries coming up, the new one may be the last, because it will last forever.

[@MichaelSmith-fn5no]

Where about was the charging point at Nant-yr-Arian? Going there in September with my Ioniq 5, will definitely want to use it.

[@spudproductions7606]

In the main car park 😀

[@ElectricClassicCars]

It's in the corner of the carpark. It's only a 3kW though. There's some rapids in Aberystwyth though if you need them. 👍

[@geraldbly4903]

When camping in the UK do you pay for electric hookups? Here in North America it costs extra for electrical hookups. Europe is ado far ahead of us in terms of available fast charging station availability. We also have to travel greater distances. Range anxiety might be a factor here. Still, I do like the idea of an electric RV. Great video!

[@brianbailey4565]

Some places its an option to have electrical hook up that you pay extra for (£3 to £5 per day), some are also limited to 10A, I am sure if people start charging electric vehicles the cost will have to rise significantly. UK domestic electric price currently is capped at £0.34 kWh, true cost is approx £0.66 kWh so if you charge your vehicle at 2.5 kW for 16 hours you are looking at an addition cost of £26.40 for each charge.

[@jolive3743]

hey Moggy, didn't realise you were on KZbin. I picked up my 1970 Early Bay (South African import) a couple of months back, with conversion in mind to use to travel the world. It appears that the small Model S Tesla or 160kw Leaf Motors are popular due to lack of cutting and the bonus of losing the Trans and on the Battery side, i'm leaning towards LFP, as i will probably need to use superchargers quite often and LFP seem more robust. Just wondering what your choice of set-up would be if you built one today? Thanks for the TV show, it got me through lockdown. John

[@ElectricClassicCars]

The VW Beetle and Bus conversions today we use a Tesla SDU in the rear on a bolt in cradle. 👍

[@jolive3743]

@@ElectricClassicCars if it aint broke i suppose ;) Cheers mate

[@barriepotter3753]

Any thoughts on using in-hub motors, as in the X-Bus?

[@LosZonga]

Charging the bikes will be a nice addition for a premium version.

[@2LaneTraveler]

I am moved to wonder if the addition of a battery pack also lowers the center of gravity, and makes the vehicle more stable in a crosswind. There are bridges in the United States that do not permit VW vans to cross, because they've had those vehicles blown off the bridge deck by high winds in decades past. Also, while it's on charge, I assume that also charges the leisure battery as well? Lastly, how scaleable is the electric drivetrain? I have an old Dodge/Xplorer camper van, and since it's around 8500# (3855 kg) GVWR, I imagine that would require a significantly larger battery pack to have any meaningful range.

[@vitovitale9867]

I wonder if Richard could tell us if he thinks a fully electric camper van is more or less likely to catch fire than an equivalent (in age and model type) internal combustion engine camper?

[@mikosoft]

So when you charge the traction battery it also powers all the camping gear?

[@ethanhawk1915]

Nice vid I’d love to have mine done but the price range was well out of my league Good job tho

[@locknut5382]

A family member had a VW Bus, with the money-to-noise converter for 'power', and a detachable tent and awning. He took it all over Southern England and Northern France on a regular basis, and loved it. (Allegedly.) His wife and son didn't mind being at places, and camping in it, but the journeys to destinations were not good experiences for them. You've brought out its true potential by giving that one a decent power unit. Thanks to you all for the demonstration. 🙂👍

[@dessilverson161]

Hi Moggs, I have a '76, 2 litre auto in the middle of a complete strip restoration. It doesn't suffer from the long tail of traffic behind, by any means, in fact it does well over the speed limits as standard. Just rebuilt the engine but, is it worth looking at an EV conversion using the auto box?

[@marcofecteau]

need manual tranny or tranny deletion with enough power (tesla swap, leaf swap)

[@martinluescher5009]

One question I have about electric campers is how long can you go off grid on them?

[@davidhunternyc1]

Happy Days !!! 😆

[@zapfanzapfan]

Very convenient since most campsites have electric outlets already.

[@Noukz37]

For so many years I've been dreaming of converting a Nissan Atlas camper to full EV and try to live in it for a year.

[@2315mini]

How many Amp does it need to charged? 16?20?32? and was it 110V or 240V?

[@ElectricClassicCars]

Lowest is 4 amps at 240v. Highest depends on what charging system a customer goes with and wether AC or DC charging. Maximum DC CCS charging we do is 150kW.

[@advanceglazingsolutionsinc5527]

Love it! I want to Doit to my van when I move to Spain next year! I would like to work for free at your shop to learn, is that possible?

[@absolutelyaverage4251]

Increasingly camp sites are prohibiting the charging of vehicles via the pitch hook up bollard.

[@nealm1814]

Increasingly camp sites will have to re-think that or lose customers.

[@jezthomas4402]

@@nealm1814 Just what I was thinking! Will be great not to have stinky diesel and petrol fumes, and noises, all over the campsite, while you're trying to relax on your hols :-D

[@In_memory_of_Dad]

I love the idea of an electric camper van. How long does it take to fully charge the batteries from empty?

[@ElectricClassicCars]

Overnight while you sleep if on a campsite hookup. 👍

[@benjaminroot6270]

I love everything about this. But have to laugh about charging at the camp spot. I've never. ever, camped my van somewhere that I could plug in.

[@markreed9853]

I do like it but due to the safety aspects of these old vehicles and costs of conversion (his conversions cost from £17k to £90k for most vehicles), most people would be better with a newer vehicle. I also hear a lot of campsites will charge you to charge an EV and/or the power output may be limited on these hookups? (I had one that kept tripping out in Kent)

[@ElectricClassicCars]

I've never had a campsite charge me but I have had one trip out as it couldn't support 10amps. So we set it to 5amps charging and it worked fine all night. 👍

[@markreed9853]

@@ElectricClassicCars ... I know it's not exactly a classic but could you outfit say a Mercedes sprinter van for less than buying a pre-made electric one? I was thinking with a high roof van you could raise the floor to put battery packs underneath?

[@xxwookey]

@@markreed9853 Battery packs like the same conditions as people so if you have the height putting the battery inside is good for keeping both it and the people at the right temperature. My worry with a sprinter is just how much battery you would need to get it to go a decent distance because it's got so much frontal area, and bumping up against weight limits. I'm sure it's doable, but I reckon something like the Arrival van is a better base for this sort of thing. Depends how long before they actually make them available...

[@markreed9853]

@@xxwookey Funny you just posted as I was watching a video of the new high roof eTransit with a 68Kwh battery. A plumber was testing one with just over 900kg of supplies and tools and he was getting around 130 miles of range, mix of highway and around town. No, not great for a camper but good for MOST use cases for a days work.

[@xxwookey]

@@markreed9853 Indeed. It's pretty easy to satisfy the typical delivery route or local tradies. It's much harder for tradies/inspectors who travel long distances and wild-camping campers. The easy stuff is getting done first.

[@luc_libv_verhaegen]

There's an endless array of fiat ducatos of many generations who could do with bolt in kits.

[@tomdianaks]

Ya! I want one 🤩🤩👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@achmadosman9807]

Can you comment on a theoretical comparison of a conversion. Say you have a smaller, less powerful motor, but you run it through the existing gearbox and clutch. So you have some extra weight and less powerful acceleration. Alternatively, throwing out the old drivetrain and using a model 3 motor/gearbox directly to the wheels. You get the acceleration but I would guess slightly less range. The hypothesis is that the extra gears of the original drivetrain provides range that the single ratio of a pure EV drivetrain cannot. What’s your experience?

[@MrAdopado]

You would almost certainly be more efficient without the gears and with a Model 3 motor. A gearbox actually wastes some power.

[@MrAdopado]

@@alanmay7929 There are always some losses going through a gearbox. There is friction and heat. Straight cut racing boxes have fewer losses but helical boxes used in road cars sacrifice some efficiency in the interests of less noise and increased smoothness.

[@MrAdopado]

@@alanmay7929 When power for a car is quoted you may have noticed informed people asking "is that at the wheels?" The reason they ask that is that the some of the power of the engine is lost through the drive train i.e. gearbox, propshaft, diff, wheel bearings etc. There are quite a few horsepower lost.

[@MrAdopado]

@@alanmay7929 The fewer gears and bearings you have between the motor and the wheels the better. Fewer losses. An ICE has no option because it has a narrow power band and needs a range of gear ratios to optimise the delivery of power and torque. An electric motor develops its torque all the way from zero revs so alternative gear ratios are largely unnecessary. This provides the opportunity to avoid the inevitable losses of a traditional gearbox.

[@MrAdopado]

@@alanmay7929 Source Motortrend: "Drivetrain power loss is a common topic of conversation in the tuner world because any time you strap your car to a chassis dyno, the output being measured is at the wheel, not at the crankshaft or flywheel like the published SAE net horsepower figures used by the auto industry. Strap your 298hp Rev-Up G35 Coupe to the dyno and you may be disappointed to see little more than 220 to 230 horses measured at the rear wheels. Where did that 60-plus horsepower go? It was used up in a variety of ways before it could reach the drive wheels, the primary source being what's broadly described as drivetrain loss."