[WIP] VW LT28 Florida Campervan

[bejuba]

Hi everyone,

I'm planning an EV conversion of my VW LT28 Florida (Westfalia campervan). The last 4 years I have been travelling full-time with this vehicle and i love everything about this old camper -- but the engine.. In the next couple of months i hope i can change this.

The idea for the conversion is ripening since a couple of years now, the main reasons why i now decided to pull the trigger are the following:

1. I am a very slow traveller: My current travel profile is ~ 7000 km / year, mostly in short trips (max 200 km, often shorter) with longer stays (3-4 days) in between, which makes charging at 220V hookups e.g at campsites feasible. Also, being a camper brings interesting opportunities like solar trickle charging (there is space for ~1kW of solar panels on the roof and one might get creative for adding more panels).
2. The current diesel engine is generally a reliable workhorse, but it slowly shows its age. Especially at higher elevations and in coldish weather conditions it struggles to start and provide enough power and torque. Even as I do not want to travel to winter destinations - in the last years i always rented a place from december to february in whichever country i was and stayed stationary - but in the mountains of Turkey or Georgia i definitely found the limit of the current engine (at an outside temperature of ~ 0-5 C and elevation of 2000+ m). With the perspcetive of more overlanding trips to central Asia in the future i need a drivetrain that handles these conditions better.
3. The LT28 platform can be upgraded to a gross vehicle weight of 3,500 kg by using compatible suspension parts of the LT35, which allows larger battery pack.
4. My wife and i are journalists and photographers, so documenting the conversion and the travel with the converted campervan is a great opportunity to share our experiences and inspire others .

As for my background: Before becoming a "nomadic photographer" i worked in experimental physics building fancy microscopes and quantum computers. So i am not completely new to programming (also a reason why i would like to use as much open source components as possible), electronics, cad design and during the last couple of years while travelling i also (had to) become a hobby car mechanic - so this will be quite a challenge but i hope that i am up for it. The conversion will happen during the next couple of months close to Berlin.

I am aiming for a budget of ~15k EUR. Here's an overview of my current plan:

The Vehicle
- VW LT28 Florida (Westfalia campervan)
- Current engine: Diesel, 55 kW (engine code DW)
- Curb weight: 2,500 kg / GVW: 3,000 kg
- Travel-ready weight: ~2,800 kg
- Can be upgraded to 3,500 kg GVW with LT35 suspension parts

Project Goals
- Uprate GVW to ~3,500 kg
- Range: 250+ km under real-world conditions
- Cruising speed: 80 km/h, top speed: ~100 km/h
- Solar trickle charging capability

Drivetrain
- Nissan Leaf stack
- Zombieverter
- Motor mounted at original engine position, mated to the existing gearbox via adapter plate
- Driveshaft and rear axle remain unchanged

Battery
- Chemistry: LiFePO₄, mainly because it's considered more safe -- we do sleep in the van.
- Prismatic Cells: 230 Ah or 324 Ah depending on approved GVW
- Voltage: 300 V (96s) or 360 V (112s) - has anybody done the Leaf-stack with 96s LiFePO cells?
- Capacity: ~83–112 kWh
- Boxes: left and right of the driveshaft there are two ~ 1,200 × 600 × 250 mm spaces within the ladder frame, 1 more in the engine bay if needed.
- BMS: Flying ADC 16-channel modules
- Thermal Management: Heating pads for really cold weather, passive cooling for now.

Charging
- AC Type 2: 6.6 kW (single phase, 32 A) via Leaf PDU
- DC: CHAdeMO via Leaf PDU ?
- CCS: CHAdeMO adapter or Foccci - have to investigate more.
- Solar trickle charging (12 V aux battery --> 230 V inverter --> AC charger)

Weight & Uprating
- Estimated net weight gain: ~550 kg (removing ~300 kg diesel components, adding ~850 kg EV components)
- Front axle: re-registration from 1500 kg to 1650 kg already prepared with reinforced springs and shock absorbers
- Rear axle: LT35 leaf springs (2+1) already upgraded from original 1+1 LT28 Springs, possibly upgrading to 3+1 or 4+1 for an increase from 1600 kg to 1950 kg.

Brakes
- Bosch iBooster


Next steps:

1. I am currently looking for a TÜV inspector that a) approves the GVW increase and b) has experience with EV conversions - any recommendatiotions in the area around Berlin/Brandenburg?
2. I have to make a final decision for the battery. I really like the idea of LFP chemistry. So far i am planning on buying prismatic cells from NKON.nl or similar, though i am open to reusing modules or packs from other EVs. But havent really found the right ones that give me a total capacity of > 80 kWh.

So much for the plan. Feedback is highly appreciated!
I'll be documenting the build as I go.

[ianlighting]

I’ll just share a part of my experience that relates to your objects as a reference in case it’s useful.

My VW T2 achieves a 150 miles / 250km range with a 60kWh battery. The differences with your VW is that mine is quite a bit lighter - calculated but not weighed after conversion as about 1650kg. You’re talking about 80kWh of battery, so you’ll have the extra energy, but of course also extra weight. And you have a slight wind resistance factor to add

Doing the conversion without experience is do-able, because I did. But took me over a year, so factor in whether it will affect your travel plans if you don’t finish when you plan to.

You may have found this already, but Brat Industries adaptors may help you.

The way I approach the ibooster was to do this as a separate project after I was on the road and everything was settled. I’m glad I did it this way because I found it quite fiddly to work out how to do and it would have been very frustrating if this was part if my main original build.

If it does all work out for you, it is a joy to be able to accelerate instead of decelerate on hills!

Looking forward to seeing your progress.