A Look At The Homebrew Toyota RAV4 EVs Already Out There

by Derek Kreindler

Published: May 10th, 2012

a look at the homebrew toyota rav4 evs already out there

Despite Toyota’s announcement of a new generation of RAV4 EV, mostly for CARB compliance, it seems that RAV4 EV production has never really stopped – at least not on a one-off basis.

Brian Driggs of Gearbox Magazine went looking through EVAlbum’s catalog of enthusiast-created RAV4 EV conversions. Some of them look identical to a standard RAV4, while others are more intricate. Witness the RAV4 EV, that appears to be a Toyota original. The big difference is that this photo, apparently dated in 2001, shows the RAV4 EV towing a trailer. Within the trailer is a Kawasaki 500cc parallel-twin motorcycle engine that powers an A/C generator. Range extender anyone? Yes, it’s a little crude, but also somewhat ingenious.

#BrianDriggs #GearboxMagazine #Range-extender #Toyota #ToyotaRav4 #ToyotaRav4Ev

Derek Kreindler

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12 of 19 comments

Multicam on May 10, 2012

I feel like I'm losing it. An electric vehicle that pulls around an ICE on a trailer to recharge its electric engine... So do they also re-route the RAV4's gas tank to the trailer through a hose? Can the trailer be running and recharge the RAV4 while moving?

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- Alex French on May 10, 2012
  
  The trailer holds its own fuel tank. Engines are most efficient at a certain load, so it ends up being more efficient to use the battery + motor to handle the varying loads encountered in driving, while the engine runs in its sweet spot and spins the generator.
  
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HankScorpio on May 10, 2012

I don't know how you would ever reverse with that trailer. It is too small to see in any of your mirrors and even if you had a rearview camera, it is so short it will still be near impossible to back up. Also, I have always wanted to have a silent electric car that is constantly being followed by a sport bike revved to its peak powerband. It would be even better if it revved up and down while you were at a stoplight. It would be like cruising the strip everywhere you go.

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- Beemernator on May 10, 2012
  
  I was thinking the same thing. Perhaps this combination was so far ahead of its time that it never needed to go backwards.
  
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- Alex French on May 10, 2012
  
  The trailer is "smart" and keeps itself aligned with the vehicle. I'm not sure if that means it has fancy mechanical linkages, or servos (I hope it's not that complex). There is a backup camera installed so the drive can watch and make sure it doesn't jacknife.
  
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- KixStart on May 10, 2012
  
  The trailer is extremely light. If it's otherwise inconvenient to park with it, unhook it and push wherever you like. The car doesn't need the trailer to move. The idea isn't to have this attached to the car 100% of the time, just when you're going out of basic EV range and won't have the opportunity to charge off the grid.
  
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- Redmondjp on May 10, 2012
  
  @KixStart Exactly. With the excellent range of the RAV4EV, this trailer would only be used for single trips of more than 120-150 miles (in other words, cross-state). In my local EV club, a member built a similar trailer and was surprised to find out how much added drag it caused (which partially nullifies the benefits of the trailer). Having fast-chargers stationed along the route (as they are now doing along I5) is a good alternative: http://westcoastgreenhighway.com/electrichighways.htm
  
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- Mic on May 10, 2012
  
  @KixStart You could use one of those single wheel trailers where the single wheel is a swivel caster and the trailer tongue is inserted into the hitch connector instead of on a ball. You could put it on a rack that goes into the hitch also.
  
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- APaGttH on May 11, 2012
  
  @KixStart The average car buying slob would never do this.
  
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Namstrap on May 10, 2012

Seems a long time ago now, but I used to work at a Volvo dealership. I remember seeing pictures of Volvos during the war dragging trailers behind them burning coal (I think) which produced gas to feed the car engine.

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- Safe as milk on May 11, 2012
  
  it's called wood gas. you can read about it here: http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2010/01/wood-gas-cars.html also, i remember a video clip of tom hanks on a talk show bragging that he bought his rav4 ev after it went off lease. i wonder if he still has it.
  
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Dave W on May 12, 2012

How about this for something to chew on. http://www.mrsharkey.com/pusher.htm He took the front of a Rabbit, turned it into a trailer, and uses it to push his EV either for straight range extension, or using the regen to charge the batteries.

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