iMiEV in a Pickup Truck? Not pretty.

[FiddlerJohn]

Will the US iMiEV fit in the back of an F250SD Pickup Truck?

Roughly:
The iMiEV wheel base is 100" = 8' 2"
iMiEV Rear over hang 16.7"
From rear bumper to front axle is 116.7" ~ 117" = 9' 8"
iMiEV Width =58" = 4' 10"
weight 2447.1 lbs.

That's real close. My Ford F-250SD might handle the weight. The iMiEV front tire would be barely on the tail gate (if I'm lucky and that's too much weight on the gate), but the width doesn't work; unless, I raise the iMiEV to drive it over and passed the F250SD bed rear wheel wells. Not pretty.

Maybe a short ramp and platform inside the bed.

Any ideas?

 

[jennrod12]

How far do you need to take it?

Jenn

 

[FiddlerJohn]

How far do you need to take it?

To be honest, I don't have an iMiEV or any other kind of small car. I'm really just trying to get my head around the small size of the iMiEV.

I've never even seen and iMiEV. None of my local Maryland dealers have any, but a shipment came into Baltimore more than a week ago. They should be through Customs by now. My dealer says he will tell me when he gets one. He says the first shipment is NOT FOR SALE, for Dealers only.

If I finally buy an iMiEV, AND it fits is my pickup, I could carry it to North Carolina. Better would be a small trailer. (But I don't like trailers) I have a small boat trailer, which I could modify to carry an iMiEV. This is really just a thought experiment.

Others here have talked about flat towing the iMiEV. That seems good for short, low speed towing.

What were you thinking?

 

[jennrod12]

I was just wondering if you were trying to get it home from the dealer and weren't sure of the range. I was going to suggest that you could stop and charge somewhere and make it an all-day trip, instead of trying to squeeze it into a truck.

Doesn't sound like that would be any help, though.

Jenn

 

[Quixotix]

You just need a snowmobile deck for your truck.

Just kidding, they seem to be rated for only 2000 lb. And getting the car on it could be a little difficult.

 

[rokeby]

... I've never even seen and iMiEV. None of my local Maryland dealers have any,
but a shipment came into Baltimore more than a week ago. They should be
through Customs by now. My dealer says he will tell me when he gets one.
He says the first shipment is NOT FOR SALE, for Dealers only.

FiddlerJohn,

Like you, I haven't yet seen an i. But I'm trying really hard to correct that.

I'm in NE Baltimore. My nearest Mitsu dealer, Jerry's Mitsubishi, is giving
me the same story on I's being on the ground in the port of Baltimore.
They say they're getting two, one of which will be the dealer test drive car...
The other may be for sale, they were rather ambiguous about this.

They say that the reason they don't have an i is that they don't have chargers
installed yet. They plan to install two, both indoors, one in the service area
and one on the showroom floor. Why the second, I can't fathom.

They are insistent that a test drive car will be available for test drives in March...
and I'm on a short listof folks -- maybe the only one -- to be called when
their test drive car is available.

I'll post up ASAP I hear anything.

 

[FiddlerJohn]

... I'll post up ASAP I hear anything...

I am just getting home from my dealer after seeing his TWO iMiEV cars. The SE had RR of 7 and the ES was 4 miles. The cars were not prepped yet and they have no L2 stations. I asked if the cars were driven from Baltimore and the dealer said "No, they just got off the truck."

Why is the RR so low? Did they just spend a month on the ship and in Customs with a dead Battery? That's bad.

 

[FiddlerJohn]

.....

 

[rokeby]

I am just getting home from my dealer after seeing his TWO iMiEV cars. The SE
had RR of 7 and the ES was 4 miles. The cars were not prepped yet and they have
no L2 stations. I asked if the cars were driven from Baltimore and the dealer said
"No, they just got off the truck."

Why is the RR so low? Did they just spend a month on the ship and in Customs
with a dead Battery? That's bad.

Well, aren't you the lucky one! Did you get to sit in the car?

I've checked with Jerry's and they don't have any cars in yet.

What dealer did you go to? I'll drive to Bowie just to see one...
Are the cars where they can be gotten to, or out back behind a locked fence?

But if I'm going that far, I'd really like to sit in one, so I'd like to call first.

Don't even know what "RR" means.
Are you hinting at possible "bricking" or battery capacity reduction issues?

http://myimiev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=263

 

[jray3]

I'm sure he means Remaining Range (or visa versa). Same story on my i. It was down to single digits by the time it got out of dealer prep, and the service guys were of course drag racing it across the lot from one building to the next... I made sure they parked it on the stock Mitsu 8 amp 120V charger until full the next day. Dunno if the factory is not giving a full charge or the self-discharge rate is that high, as the odometer on my car was also in single digits, while the RR was in single digits.....
I haven't let mine sit still long enough to see the self discharge rate- just passed 2700 on the odometer!
I'm also interested in a pickup truck platform for carrying an i, as I pull my drag racing EV to shows/EVents in a 16' enclosed trailer behind an F250HD, and would love to add the i to my empty bed. At least hat'd be better than stacking it on top of the trailer! :roll:

 

[FiddlerJohn]

...Did you get to sit in the car?... What dealer did you go to? ... battery capacity reduction issues?...

Yes, I sat in it. Fitzgerald gave me the key, but I was not allowed out of my parking space. I drove it a tiny bit right there just to feel the pedals and loved it. The dealer say that next week after the L2 is installed, I can test drive it. I said don't bother. Just let me sign the paper and take it home. It needs somebody to take care of it. At first they said okay, but then said next week.

. I like Joseph at Fitzgerald Mitsubishi. (with a silver ES, $30k and I want the 2 tone SE $35k)
3110 Automobile Blvd.
1930 B. West Street
Annapolis MD 21401 (410)266-5700

. Safford Mitsubishi has a silver ES, $30k and the 2 tone SE $35k
3110 Automobile Blvd.
Silver Spring MD 20904 (888)513-1121

. Lindsay Mitsubishi Alexandria has two.
1605 Fern Street
Alexandria VA 22302 (703)998-5600

Yes, battery capacity reduction was the issue. Safford's silver ES had Remaining Range of 3 with no plans to plug it in. I firmly explained it to them, but they were not really for the lesson.

 

[jray3]

Back to the title of this thread,

You just need a snowmobile deck for your truck.
Just kidding, they seem to be rated for only 2000 lb. And getting the car on it could be a little difficult.

No kidding, there's a different hooklift with 2500 lb capacity that would be right at the limit for our cars (both dimensionally and weight) and would probably require a few little mods..
http://www.powerdecks.com/product_display.aspx?product_guid=SuperDeck-III