ebikes and the Prius

I have a 2013 PIP, bought used with 30 K miles from the local Toy dealer (I am a long time "anything by Toyota" fan) here in Idaho, who tried to skim over the fact it was a plug in, as they were never originally sold in Idaho, so I think anyway. He was almost apologetic when I flipped open the charging port door, like it's presence was going to queer the deal!

I went home that day and read up on them (how I first found this site) and realized I was the perfect owner for one: my job commute (to my crane service yard) is 13 miles, with no traffic lights, only 2 stop signs, the choice to either take the interstate or a lightly traveled 45 mph secondary road, with a 1200' elevation drop. PLUS, I have a large renewable energy system, (solar, wind, and micro hydro) grid tied, which always runs a large surplus year round, so in effect, free electricity. I also have a large PV grid tied array at the crane yard. I went back the next day and bought the car and have loved it ever since. I routinely arrive at the yard with up to 4 miles of EV range remaining.

When I park my 54,000 lb. crane truck at the end of the day, with it's 10 speed transmission (not counting the low range), 2 position Jake Brake, and all the other big truck gear, and get in the Prius for the drive home, the contrast is so dramatic I can't help but laugh. I should mention that the mountainside I live on is a windy 2 lane road that dead ends at a small ski area, and over the 4 decades I've been here I have driven everything from an older Toyota diesel pickup (remember them?) to various pickup trucks, and all had issues with the 12% grade. Either you're wound out in one gear, or lugging the next lower, I absolutely love the CVT tranny, the engine is always "happy", and even with the PIP's modest power, it hauls butt up the mountain, 60 mph if I want. This is all wheel drive country, and being a mountain resident, I am expected to drive a Soob or a 4x4 pickup.....I really enjoy going against type and driving the pristine Blizzard White with dark tinted windows PIP, while I am saving so much money in fuel! I do have an older Toy RAV4 AWD that I call "the gas hog", as it get's only 25-28 mpg. Also a 1 ton flatbed Silverado 4x4 for when I absolutely (dragged kicking and screaming) have to haul loads the the Prius can't, (first choice always) using a light single axle 10' trailer, or the RAV4, (second choice) pulling the same trailer. Town is a 40 mile round trip, so i choose my mode of transport carefully. I hot rod the PIP, and drive the 1 ton, when forced, like most think a typical Prius driver drives like, slow, glacial even, and it STILL gets maybe 15 mpg! In the mornings, my neighbors drive into their town jobs, in their new quad cab pickups, and me in the PIP, I have better things to spend my money on then gas. Michelin IceX tires (left on year round, but rotated religiously, so far so good) handle the winter road conditions fine, ice that is, any snow deeper then a few inches though and it's the RAV4.

The first thing I did was fold the rear seats down, where they stay 99% of the time, then I yanked the passenger seat out (yes I am single), so any passengers sit in the back, and the one on the right has PLENTY of leg room! I did this so I could carry my Montague folding mountain bike, converted to e power with a 750 watt mid drive motor and also a Rohloff hub. This bike is what I built up to carry in my small light sport airplane, a RANS S-7S. It can hit almost 40 mph, has a range of 10 to 40 miles depending on what battery I use, how fast etc., and the Rohloff hub's 14 gears give it rock crawling trail capability and also high speed town zippiness. It loads in the pass door perfectly, no awkward bending or anything, and in less then 3 minutes unfolds and is ready to ride off. I installed an upgraded 30 amp high quality 12 VDC outlet, directly off the the acc. battery (fused of course) that I use to run a small inverter so I can charge the bike while driving (or of course, while parked, with the car left ON, one of my favorite features). As many before me, I quickly realized that I could sleep in the back (5'9" tall, plenty of room) and have 24/7 heat or AC. Black out curtains keep it stealthy, and one large scrap of the dark no sheen material I found is thrown over the bike when needed, hiding it from sight.

I later built up another e bike, a non folding fatbike specifically for the rough trails near my rural home, and a a simple square tube rack (powder coated white of course) plugged into the receiver, allows me to get it out of the main airflow and doesn't hurt the mileage much, only local driving anyway. I cringe when I see a roof mounted bike rack, I could not live with all that drag, it's the pilot in me I guess. The fattie is also charged enroute, and there have been a few times when I've carried both bikes at once. The way I'm set up, I have a 50 + mpg mini motor home, with it's own internal transportation. . When I carry the fattie, on the rear of the aero sleek PIP, I call it "Beauty and the Beast". My first post here, I've always wondered when lurking if any other ebike riding Prius drivers are out there, they compliment each other perfectly.