How to Build a Three-Wheeled Electric Car at Home?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the concept of building a three-wheeled electric car at home, exploring various design ideas, materials, and components. Participants share their thoughts on practicality, performance expectations, and legal considerations for such a project.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant proposes building a three-wheeled electric car with a plywood monocoque body, suggesting that the front and rear suspensions should be modular units that bolt to the body.
  • Another participant mentions the importance of using salvaged parts from other vehicles to keep costs low.
  • Performance targets of 50 miles range and 50 MPH speed are suggested as baseline goals, with anything above seen as a bonus.
  • Concerns about road legality are raised, with one participant indicating a need to investigate local regulations.
  • Some participants reference existing projects, such as the Bugev and the Sinclair C5, suggesting that similar concepts have been attempted before.
  • There are suggestions to consider using an electric motor from a forklift, with discussions on the potential speed capabilities based on chassis weight.
  • One participant expresses interest in building a simple radio telescope and a particle accelerator, indicating a broader interest in DIY engineering projects.
  • Another participant shares their dream of building a Hobbit Hole and a hovercraft, showcasing diverse construction interests.
  • Discussion includes a mention of building a solar water heater as a modest project, indicating varying scales of ambition among participants.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a variety of ideas and suggestions without reaching a consensus on specific designs or methods. Multiple competing views and approaches remain, particularly regarding materials, components, and performance expectations.

Contextual Notes

Participants have not fully explored the implications of using specific materials or components, and there are unresolved questions about local road laws and safety regulations for home-built vehicles.

Who May Find This Useful

Individuals interested in DIY electric vehicle projects, home construction enthusiasts, and those exploring innovative engineering solutions may find this discussion relevant.

wolram
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Post any thing you want to build but have not time/resources to do so,

I want to build a three wheeled electric powered car, i have ideas to make it a practical home build project, first the body will be a monoquoc made from ply wood, the front suspension will be a (unit) that bolts to the body, and the rear suspension/ drive will be a (unit) that bolts to the body, the motor, motor controller and batteries are all ready sorted ,as much as possible i want to use parts salvaged from other vehicles.
A range of 50 miles and 50 MPH would be a base line for performance, any thing over would be a bonus, carrying two people with room for shopping.
Road legal? well i have to look into that.
 
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Jeez... too many to mention. I guess that the hovercraft and the nasty rebuild for the Roadrunner would be tied for second place. First would be my underground home.
 
NeoDevin said:
I think someone else already did that wolram...
http://www.bugev.net/

The Sinclair C5 lives ...
 
NeoDevin said:
I think someone else already did that wolram...
http://www.bugev.net/

That is far to high tec, the idea is to create plans for an electric car that could be put together in ones garage in a couple of weeks, i have the basic ideas, the body would go together like a pre formed aeroplane kit.
 
wolram said:
I am all for cheap but that guy is going no where slowly, i have my eye on a WarP motor.

How much is a WarP motor? I figured if you were able to salvage a motor out a similar forklift and considering your chassis will be lighter, you should be able to hit the 50mph speed mark. Theirs was 40mph with a heavier chassis than you plan on using.

What are the road laws like in your area?
 
wolram said:
Post any thing you want to build but have not time/resources to do so,

A timber framed house. Here's a picture of just the frame:

http://img55.imageshack.us/img55/2619/timberframevv6.jpg

:!)
 
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  • #10
lisab said:
A timber framed house. Here's a picture of just the frame:

http://img55.imageshack.us/img55/2619/timberframevv6.jpg

:!)

Is it an optical illusion or are some of those timbers off vertical.
 
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  • #11
B. Elliott said:
How much is a WarP motor? I figured if you were able to salvage a motor out a similar forklift and considering your chassis will be lighter, you should be able to hit the 50mph speed mark. Theirs was 40mph with a heavier chassis than you plan on using.

What are the road laws like in your area?

Good point, i will reconsider, as for the law i need to look into it.
 
  • #12
wolram said:
Is it an optical illusion or are some of those timbers off vertical.

Hey now! You're knocking my dream here!

Actually, I had to re-size the picture several times...could that have warped it a bit?
 
  • #13
lisab said:
Hey now! You're knocking my dream here!

Actually, I had to re-size the picture several times...could that have warped it a bit?


May be drooling over the photo warped the timbers.

It is a cool looking start.
 
  • #14
I've been dying to build a radio telescope in the backyard using a 12 foot dish as an antenna for long time now. Something simple at first, it would consist of a homebrew hydrogen line receiver at 1.4 GHz to study traces of hydrogen in space. Later I could upgrade it to receive other frequencies.

I've also wanted to build a particle accelerator. Something up to 5 MeV to smash protons into targets. I've actually attempted to build one using a hand held vacuum pump and a cheap high voltage power supply, but the highest energy attained was less than 20 KeV, but it was enough to excite green glowing phosphorus.

Other projects I have in mind is to build a millimeter wave transmitter in 100 GHz range, but that's pushing it.
 
  • #15
I want to build a Hobbit Hole someday. I'll use 11 foot concrete tubes. Which would give 3 feet of crawl space and a standard 8 foot ceiling.

I'd also like to make a hovercraft. I'd use a very large innertube, a lawnmower engine, and a few pieces of plywood.
 
  • #16
I want to build a guitar amp, a bass amp, an electronic drum set, and a PA into a car or van. The drums will be in the passenger seat. One other way to do it would be to just have a computer built in with an audio interface including 2 line ins for the E drum module, two instrument pres, and a mic pre. Then all the sound through one speaker and amp system. That way I could run it through pro tools, and even use VST plugins to shape the sounds of each instrument, and It would also be a recording studio.
 
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  • #17
I also want to build a lab and room to grow mushrooms, and to do plant tissue culture in.
 
  • #18
Lisab, do you notice your the only woman in here? LOL, but that's alright, I think you once said that you wanted to make a hobbit hole as well?
 
  • #19
binzing said:
Lisab, do you notice your the only woman in here? LOL, but that's alright, I think you once said that you wanted to make a hobbit hole as well?

I'm used to it - I'm the only woman at my work, too :smile:.

Yes, I love the hobbit hole idea! One of my ideas is to build a house that has rooms that transition from totally underground to completely outside.

I don't know why but I have obsessions about homes. Timber frame, post and beam, all kinds of construction...and I really like unusual interiors, beyond the traditional family room - kitchen - dining room layout. Is it any wonder I work testing building materials?!? In my job I get to see a lot of new and/or experimental construction. Most won't make it to the marketplace. but there's a lot of inovation going on - very cool to see.
 
  • #20
My dream project is rather modest, to build a solar water heater.
 

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