Recently I saw a segment of MotorWeek highlighting a small company
building 'serial' hybrid conversions.  Serial hybrids are different from
the parallel hybrids being built by the big manufacturers in that the
fueled engine doesn't power the wheels and only charges the batteries
that run the electric drives.

They typically have 2 or 4 electric drive motors directly driving 2 or 4
of the wheels.

The fueled engine can run in it's best RPM range at all times and can be
of any variety...gas, diesel, piston, turbine, sterling, anything that
can create electricity.

It seems to me a serial retrofit of a Vanagon would be simpler and the
thing could run anywhere any fueled vehicle could without depending on
access to electricity.

(...it seems you'd have to swap the fueled motor for one that is paired
with a more powerful charging system, get your batteries, and four drive
motors and adapt whatever wheel hardware to put them in.  The rest is
pretty straight forward.)

--

Wil

-- http://www.charmfx.com/

"Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who
are putting us on, or by imbeciles who really mean it."
-- Mark Twain