Volkswagen Bus camping is in my blood.
From the day I came home from the hospital in the my family’s 1965 Transporter as a newborn, to what is now my second Stretch bus (a Vanagon Westfalia this time) I’ve travelled and camped in many VW busses. I can’t begin to count the number of times my family took the old green bus camping. I bought my first bus in high school. It was also a ’65 Splittie and waited less than a year before I grafted in the frame and drivetrain from a wrecked ’78 loaf. Modifications seem to be one of my favorite creative outlets.
EV’s
Electric vehicles came early as well. Living in Palo Alto I was lucky to have two engineers working on EV’s within a few blocks of my house. At the age of twelve I used their advice to convert my wooden go cart to electric propulsion. It was quite a sight. Surplus lawn mower wheels wobbled, old rope connected to a wooden steering wheel through a broomstick handle gave approximate direction control and the Delco generator wired as a shunt motor had adjustable field and electric reverse. Speed control was courtesy of the guts from a model train transformer. As with most of my EV’s it was a bit too fast to be safe, and it was fun! So naturally I would want to combine my love of VW camping with electric vehicles.
Electric Camping
Many discussions around the campfire were spent speculating on the possibilities of electric camping. Last spring I took my first electric camping trip in my electric 914 with a tent. But EV’s have this one problem, long recharge times have kept them incompatible with road trips. In the past you could drive maybe 100 miles in your EV and then find a place to charge for many hours, it meant a road trip would take extra days with long stops in less than ideal places. Then Tesla changed all that.
Superchargers change the game
In 2012 Tesla announced a true game changing technology; the Supercharger network. At 120 kW charge rate a long range EV can now get half a charge in 20 minutes, that’s on a 260 mile range 85 kWh car. I know I wouldn’t mind stopping for a 20 minute break every few hours on a road trip. This new network makes my long held dream of electric camping possible. Tesla Superchargers are wonderful and keep getting better. They are free to use if you own a Model S, fast and rapidly expanding across the country. They are owned by Tesla and the interface is proprietary. This means they only work on one car, the Tesla Model S. My problem is that the Model S is a bit small to be my favorite camping vehicle and I don’t see a bus in the Tesla roadmap.
The idea takes shape
It was last spring when the Stretchla project started to take shape. It all started when the young TDI engine in the Stretch threw a connecting rod through the block while returning home from California on I5, ironically it happened not long after I passed a car carrier full of new Teslas heading north for delivery. The thought of buying another internal combustion engine and spending a greasy week installing it was depressing to me. I parked the Stretch in the yard. Later I was camping in my electric 914 when my friend Jon suggested converting the Stretch to electric power. After all, he reasoned, most of the camping was within 100 miles and many campsites have power for charging. He was right, but that wasn’t going to get me from my home in Oregon to my favorite winter camping in Death Valley. At some point I noticed that Tesla was planning to put a Supercharger station just outside of Death Valley on Hwy 395. If I could only get the Stretch to plug into Superchargers I’d have it made. As far as I know Tesla has no interest in letting other EV’s use the Supercharger network. I don’t blame them and I didn’t even ask, building the network is a huge investment and a super sales tool for the Model S. If I wanted to use the Supercharger network, I figured I’d have to pay the cost of entry of buying a Tesla Model S. I’m sure you can all see where this is headed now. I love VW bus camping, EV’s and modifying cars. It’s simple really, I’ll buy a Tesla Model S and graft it onto the bottom of the Stretch. Sure the Vanagon brick-like aerodynamics will give less range and efficiency than the slick Model S, but I’ll get a powerful electric drive system with a huge battery, free Supercharging and an amazing dashboard to boot.
Moving forward
No, it won’t be easy. So far it looks like the most difficult modification I’ve attempted. Since it would be a waste to hack up a new Model S for this project I’ve been scouring the insurance auto auctions for a wreck that I can use for parts. I ended up with Vin# 07822. It has almost all the options I would have chosen. For those of you who speak Tesla those are: 2013, 85kWh, Active Air, Tech, Pano, 19″, Obeche, Black Leather and Jump Seats. The only additional option I would have liked is the dual chargers. Clearly it will need some replacement suspension parts in the front as well. As I write this it’s heading here on a truck from New York and I expect it to arrive in about a week.
The adventure begins!
If I knew what I was doing, I’d be bored. 
-Otmar
I’ve always had it in my mind to do a camper like the green 65 you show here. What a great project, and that stretch westy is awesome. Looking forward to seeing it in person when you head down i-5 toward the desert next year.
meet you at the Folsom Supercharger.
Sounds great!
I thought I would announce my trips online so we can all gather at the Superchargers along the way. But first there is much work to be done!
How much did you pay for that at auction???
Mine sold new 9 months ago for $89K plus delivery. I won the auction at $38,100 which came to $42K with fees and transport. I like to say I got it for “half off”, in more ways than one! Mine has all airbags intact which provides a perfect interior, additionally the suspension survived better than many of the accidents with only one corner severely damaged.
I’ve been watching insurance auctions for a few months and this seems to be the going rate for a Model S in this condition. Selling range was from $25K to $51K. All except one of those had salvage or the unrecoverable “Non-Rebuildable” titles.
I have a sprinter diesel van I have thought about doing a similar project and maybe throw in a volt / via truck for top to help with the ice storms or working remotely from the grid.
I install ev stations in mid Atlantic and the range would be great at 85kw.
any thoughts.
Hi Sean,
I’m not sure I understand what you are proposing.
You may want to do a little math on the Sprinter. That’s a lot of weight, and a lot of frontal area. I suppose it all depends on what you call “great” range. I’m already pushing things with the Vanagon. I expect mine will need aerodynamic improvements and added “lightness” to get near my target of 200 miles at 62 MPH on a warm day.
What does the “Non-Rebuildable” title mean and why is it unrecoverable?
“Salvage” means you can’t insure it beyond liability. In short, the insurance company has already paid for the car, so you can’t get them to pay for it again.
Non Rebuildable title means that the vehicle can never be registered for road use again. It’s used as a fraud deterrent when a vehicle is very severely damaged to prevent people from using that VIN on a stolen vehicle.
Salvage titled vehicles can be rebuilt and after inspection can be returned to legal road use, sometimes with a “rebuilt salvage” title. One important issue with salvage branded titles is that the manufacturer warranty is no longer valid. I suspect that you may be able to get collision coverage on a salvage title since insurance companies will insure anything, but it would be a lower value and may require an inspection first.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvage_title
Otmar! Glad to hear you’re moving forwards with this project! Can’t wait to see it come together it should be AWESOME.
Best regards!
Otmar,
Like you I considered buying a salvaged Tesla Model S for all the good parts. But unlike you I do not have the electronic expertise that you possess. So I am going with the known commodity and will be receiving the AMR dual-stack next month for the C6. I still think that Tesla Model S motor would be a perfect candidate for a 6-speed transmission so a C6 Corvette can go 190 m.p.h.. Maybe by then you will have it all figured out for my second build.
I wish you great success.
Mark Yormark
Mark,
I’m looking forward to seeing your project. It sounds like it will be great!
Great Idea !
I am an Austrian Tesla Fan and i am planing to do a Tesla Taxi business .maybe you ad some Photovoltaik on your Bus and tent (3 kw should be possible) . That wont help you much for your range problem, but during a few days in the dessert it would charge your batteries. Back home in Oregon you could plug in your house and use the bus for a 24/7 power suply.(at least in summer) best Regards from Austria
Welcome TF,
My parents immigrated here from Austria and most of my relatives still live there so I feel close even if I never get over there to visit. Tesla Taxi sounds excellent.
Thin light flexible solar is in the plan. I used to run 225W of panels for the freezer and stereo, eventually I’d like to have as much as possible onboard. I often winter camp in the desert for a week without moving, so the solar contribution could be useful. I may use “high efficiency bendable solar” (google image search that) or may go custom. Friends of mine build solar race cars so we have some expertise on lightweight solar.
Tank you for your quick answer ! I am looking forward following your project. Solar power is now cheeper than power from the grid in Ausria so a new bussines is comeing up. batteries to store solar power fore the time After sunset. Neovoltaic is the leading Company at the moment but they are still expensive. As you dont use your bus as an everyday car you could use the battery to store solar energy every day. Liebe Grüße aus Graz
Great and unexpected project, but I suggest you urgently charge the car. As soon as you get it. Some wrecked cars can sit on lots for many weeks, and there’s the risk of your battery being damaged from self discharge. Or have you been able to check the battery before buying it?
I wonder how much assistance you will get from Tesla if there’s a problem with the electronics that you cannot solve by yourself.
Thanks Laurent,
I will of course charge the battery as soon as it arrives. I’ve bought a mobile connecter and am just awaiting arrival of the car. Rest assured I have done some research and my understanding is that the Model S battery has an advanced and robust “hibernation” mode that is active anytime the battery gets too low. The battery should be safe for many months after draining to “empty”.
Tesla support is an unknown. I would expect them to decline work on the completed unit due to liability concerns. If I do run into electrical system issues down the road I hope that they would be willing to share the error messages that they access using the over the air diagnostics. Time will tell.
Fine! Actually, this would be interesting to many Tesla owners. If you could find out for how long the car has been without a charge, and see in what state it will be when you’ll get it. I’ll be watching your updates.
About Tesla support, I wonder if, as the manufacturer, they have been informed of the legal status of the car. It’s possible that if they had official notice of the car getting a salvage title, they would just stop making remote diagnostics… I guess you can check that. When you plug it, you should find a way to check if the car still sends and receives data.
After two and a half months the 12V battery was dead (as expected) but the main traction pack lost practically no charge. It woke up at 68% and had not been charged since the accident. I suspect that the fact that it was unplugged helped it not lose any noticeable energy.
Otmar,
I saw your time lapsed video of the removal of the diesel engine on the last episode of EVTVME. I guess Jack finally sent you the check for your orange DOOKA.
Mark Yormark
I’m looking forward to seeing the DOKA electric, it’s going to be really cool. I know I said I was going to convert it, but access to supercharging won me over and the DOKA is too short to fit a Model S battery pack underneath.
This is a great project Oat. And so you. Best of Luck!
Otmar, my electric VW bus is not as fancy as yours will be but I thought you might enjoy it – http://www.evalbum.com/2843
Hey Fred, Your van looks great!
I’ve always enjoyed the bay window busses. The second VW that my family bought new was a green 1978 seven passenger bus, just like yours!
Great Project Otmar!
Shade tree mechanics are part of American automotive heritage so I have a feeling Elon Musk would view your efforts positively. Other than to order the accessories have you had any contact at all with the factory or your local Tesla store on this project?
I’ll be following your progress with great interest.
Good Luck!
No formal contact with the Tesla factory. I’ve applied to ownership to transfer the car to my account but I have not yet heard back on that. I’m sure they are super busy.
Amazing project!
It’s a treat to see someone else going for it.
I’m in the midst of putting a 2010 Prius drivetrain in our ’64 bus.
See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxHIYlz5JIg and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1YOr94F6rE for details.
Our daily drivers are a 2003 Rav4EV and an ’87 Syncro with a VG-30 V6 in it.
Let me know if I can help with any free machine shop work.
Thanks for the offer Marty.
I love what you are doing with the Prius and the bus, just my kind of thing!
Hi Otmar, I noticed on your Feb 4 post that you potential have access to a salvage with “A 85 kWh battery, Drive unit and rear spring suspension, Charger.” This could be really interesting to me. My idea is a variation of yours, but in my case, I’m wanting to build a kick ass electric motorcycle using parts from a Tesla including the motor, batteries, charger, controller etc, but none of the mechanical parts instead mounting them onto a rolling motorcycle frame. Please let me know what an estimate would be for the parts you mentioned. Thanks, PK
Hi Peter,
That sounds like quite challenge!
The car is now on ebay, you can find it here
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid=m570.l3201&_nkw=271416802383&_sacat=0