Bob undressedsimple drivetrainnew dashboardBob post-makeoverBattery with fuse and connectortraction power circuitrheostat speed controller
OwnerReid Allaway
LocationQuebec Canada map
Web/EmailWebPage email image
Vehicle1985 Taylor-Dunn B2-48
An old warehouse cart burden carrier intended
for indoor use was
updated and improved for outdoor use as a
utility vehicle for our
farm.
MotorGeneral Electric 5BC49JB399 Series Wound DC
original GE motor. major cleanup and rebuild
but otherwise bone
stock though now running at 48V instead of
original 36V.
DrivetrainDC motor mounted piggyback on rear differential
drives diff
through chain in oil bath.
ControllerAlltrax NPX4834
second-hand Alltrax 300A controller, non-
programmable.
Batteries2 Chevrolet Volt 1st Generation (LG Chem batt. mfgr), 48.00 Volt, Lithium-Ion
Two parallel 2kWh battery modules from a
scrapyard Chevrolet
Volt. Each module is 12 "cells" in series
with each "cell" actually
being 3 cells in parallel.

Chemistry is LiMn2O4 apparently. No BMS,
manual monitoring.
System Voltage48 Volts
Charger C600B
generic 600W charger from China set for 50V peak
voltage.
Heaterambient
DC/DC Converter 48/12-20A
48-12V cheap Chinese 240W epoxy-sealed unit to
keep 12V AGM
battery charged for accessories
Instrumentationvoltmeter with numerical and bar-graph display
Top Speed14 MPH (22 KPH)
Top speed unverified. Never driven on pavement
anyway and with
stiff suspension and bumpy farm roads 10 to 14
mph is perfect
max.
Accelerationtotally adequate to snappy.
Rangerange unknown. Bob is not street legal and he
never leaves our
farm. We've not drained the battery in normal
use so far. Maybe
he does 5 or 6 miles in a busy day and often
pulls a trailer,
hauling several hundred pounds to 1000+
Seating Capacity2 adults
Curb Weight1,500 Pounds (681 Kilograms)
Weight indicated is from orig mfr. May or may
not include
batteries. Bob lost almost 300lbs when he
kicked the lead habit
and switched to lithium. As such you can now
spin the rear
wheels in gravel if not carrying a load.
Tires18x8.50-8 turf tires in front (garbage picked
scrap)
18x8.50-8 skid steer tires in rear (BKT Skid
Power HD)
Conversion Time5 to 10 weeks, off and on. This was my first
electric vehicle and I
had a lot to learn.
Conversion Costapprox. $2000 total, including original purchase
of vehicle at
$450.
Additional FeaturesHeight-ajustable trailer hitch for a variety of farm chores.
Improved weatherproofing of bed, body, fenders, etc to allow outdoor
off-road use.
Headlight, horn, LED indicators for Fwd/rev and system on.
Backup beeper Huge empty battery drawer where lead used to decay
I think these are fantastic utility vehicles for small and medium-
sized farms. With a bed payload up to 3000lbs and impressive
towing capacity I can't see why anyone would want a Gator or Mule
for 5 times the money. The stock warehouse carts can often be had
for about $500 at auction and some are ready to go with almost no
modification. Almost all benefit from new wheels and tires and a
battery update using 2nd hand lithium from a scrapyard Volt or
Leaf but the total cost of updating a $500 cart is only about
$1000 to $1500 in most cases.
Ours had no salvageable control or wiring parts other than 4 ga
wire and still total cost was acceptable.

We have 4 tractors and Bob on our organic vegetable farm and Bob
is always the first vehicle to get retrieved in the morning and
the last one put away. He's everyone's favourite Beast of Burden
and provides us a balanced sense of refinement and ridiculousness
every day :-)

code by jerry