[ausev] This weekend?

Thu Aug 3 19:12:36 GMT 2006

    What we learned at the first attempt to change out the battery pack 
was the need to do our planning in some detail. We could take a shot at 
removing the pack on Saturday if Roy can make arrangements with his 
friend's shop before then but I would recommend that we meet on Sunday 
strictly to do some detailed measurements, research and planning. It 
would just suit my overly analytical, under achieving nature to wring 
out the thinking and the talking before starting the lifting.
    The thing that bothers me most is the danger associated with lifting 
the truck several feet in the air then having people stoop under it to 
do strenuous work dismantling the battery pack.  Tall tripod jack stands 
are available which have a range of about 55" to 83". If the shop with 
the lift has these stands it would make things more nearly safe although 
I'm still not crazy about the idea. I would prefer to find a way of 
moving the still-loaded battery pack out from under the truck. The pack 
is longer than the fore-aft distance between the tires so it would have 
to come out from the front or rear. We could use the winch to pull it 
out if it were on some casters or if it were on wooden blocks on some 
kind of relatively low friction surface.  Nylon slider pads on sheet 
metal?  If we built a dolly with 2 each, 200 lb rated casters under each 
of the 6 battery pack hard points, we would basically be within the 
caster ratings, not withstanding the heavier loads at the ends where the 
batteries are stacked two high in the pack. If the dolly was on a flat 
concrete floor that was long enough, we could then pull it out pretty 
easily.  Getting the pack and the truck aligned for re-assembly is a 
whole nuther topic.
    I also like the idea of raising the truck in Mark's garage where we 
can take all the time we need. We  could raise it incrementally and 
place the tires on big blocks made of railroad ties or landscaping 
timbers.  Complicated and time consuming and maybe not even safe but I 
find it appealing.

    Which ever approach we use, we should take some measurements to 
answer the following questions before lifting any thing.
    1. Exactly how high does the truck need to be raised in order for 
people to work under it?  How tall are the batteries, how heavy are they 
and how much vertical space is needed for disassembly?
    2. Is there enough Horizontal room under the truck to place tall 
jack stands and still not interfere with the battery pack or with people 
working on it? Take into account the footprint of the jack stand and the 
limited number of hard points where it could attach to the chassis or 
axles.
    3. How high does the truck need to be raised in order for the 
battery pack to be dragged out from under it going out the rear? Going 
out the front?
      4. How much space is under the pack? Current thinking is to put 
blocks (or a dolly) under the pack and deflate the tires enough to rest 
the pack on the blocks.

 From the budget-is-no-object department:
Here is a picture of a portable lift that does exactly what we need. 
Wonder where we can rent one.
http://www.bencostuff.com/images/lifts/alm/we18-2.jpg

Here is a close up view.
http://www.bencostuff.com/images/lifts/alm/we18-1.jpg

Here is how we will end up doing the job.
http://www.bencostuff.com/images/past%20installs/large/Not%20a%20good%20idea.jpg
I have seen the same picture posted elsewhere with the caption "Why 
women live longer than men."

Lots to think about. Any comments? Suggested meeting time?

Derek Bridges

mark witt wrote:
> Hi  all....well the batteries and the NGS tester have arrived at my house. 
> I'm still unwrapping them and charging them up. I am available both Sat. and 
> Sunday. Maybe we could drop the pack on Sat. and transfer the truck and old 
> batteries and case back to my house. On Sunday afternoon we could gather in 
> my garage to check everything out and see what we would need in addition to 
> what I have. I will post some info directly related to the "Ranger 
> Reformation" project so everyone can see the fun we shall be having. (Chris 
> has seen it) I still have the truck loaded on the trailer from Sat. night at 
> the movies.(WKTEC) I'm working on a garage closer to my SE Austin house but 
> the NW Austin one that Roy lined up may be the one we use...Thoughts?
>     I will be out of town from Aug. 11 maybe through Sat. the 19th..so 
> getting the truck going for the Ball prob. wont happen but it would be great 
> to drive it around at the Roundup...Ranger Witt
>
>
>
>   
>> From: "Chris Robison" <eeyore at phototropia.org>
>> Reply-To: eeyore at phototropia.org,        AustinEV announcements list 
>> <ausev at austinev.org>
>> To: ausev at austinev.org
>> Subject: [ausev] This weekend?
>> Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2006 17:36:31 -0500 (CDT)
>>
>> It's looking like my garage is going to be closed this weekend, at least
>> at the normal time on Saturday afternoon.  I'm wondering if there's some
>> alternative venues that might be open instead.
>>
>> As far as I know, the two projects nearest to being on the road right now
>> are Mark Witt's electric Ranger (needs new battery retrofit, Witt has the
>> parts!) and Erik Bigelow's Cabriolet.
>>
>> Either or both of these would be fantastic to have available for show at
>> the Sustainable Shopper's Ball, and/or the Roundup in Fredericksburg.  Do
>> we have a possibility for a work session on these, or any other vehicles
>> this weekend?
>>
>> I'll probably have some time on Sunday to pitch in...
>>
>>   --chris
>>
>>
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>   