At what $/gallon would it slow you down?
Not just a B-van question. I've been looking thru videos on RV's overseas. Of course they are much smaller due to fuel costs, road conditions and land values, among other reasons, I'm sure. It's ki...
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For those that don't know, a Volt works like this:
There is a small gas engine that runs essentially like a generator - it runs at a constant speed to generate a set amount of electricity. The efficiency comes from running at a constant speed, along with a small displacement.
This electricity runs the drive motor and charges the onboard battery. You can only go so far on the battery - 30 to 40 miles, depending on conditions, then the engine/generator automatically starts to provide the juice for re-charging and to run the drive motors.
An elegant solution to say the least, and allows long trips just like a conventional car. I suppose you could do a similar thing in a b-class RV, provided there was space for the electric motors, generator, etc. In fact, this engine generator could probably also be sized to provide house power and to charge a battery pack. It took GM billions of dollars and 20 years to develop the Volt, so don't expect a van powered this way to show up anytime soon.
There is a small gas engine that runs essentially like a generator - it runs at a constant speed to generate a set amount of electricity. The efficiency comes from running at a constant speed, along with a small displacement.
This electricity runs the drive motor and charges the onboard battery. You can only go so far on the battery - 30 to 40 miles, depending on conditions, then the engine/generator automatically starts to provide the juice for re-charging and to run the drive motors.
An elegant solution to say the least, and allows long trips just like a conventional car. I suppose you could do a similar thing in a b-class RV, provided there was space for the electric motors, generator, etc. In fact, this engine generator could probably also be sized to provide house power and to charge a battery pack. It took GM billions of dollars and 20 years to develop the Volt, so don't expect a van powered this way to show up anytime soon.
