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Bob Alberston has been working for the past four months at his Alma shop to put an electric motor in a new Ford Ranger given to him in May by members of the United Auto Workers Local 789 in hopes that Albertson’s invention could ultimately save thousands of union jobs.
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Bob Albertson of Alma stands next to a 2007 Ford Ranger, the bed filled with parts taken from the engine compartment, during Albertson's conversion of the truck from gasoline to electric power.
(Photo by Melissa Carlo/Winona Daily News) |
Albertson, 70, is now hoping to market his idea through Ford dealers. He hasn’t talked to Ford about it, but hopes dealers will buy kits from him. He said dealers could make money reselling the engines and other parts they take out and then sell the trucks — which have a stock sticker price of $12,700 — for about $26,000.
The way Albertson figures it, the consumer would recoup more than $20,000 in fuel costs over five years of driving.
He hopes that Ford will like the idea enough to pick it up and build the electric Rangers at the St. Paul plant, which is scheduled to close next year.
Sugar Loaf Ford co-owner Mike Puetz said he likes the idea of an electric truck, but was dubious of the plan to distribute it as an aftermarket kit. While dealers are free to offer modifications, he guessed an electric truck would more likely have to come from the plant.
“I’d be interested in that technology. I think it’s a neat idea,” he said, “provided it works.“
Albertson is still working out some kinks.
Last week, the throttle control wasn’t working. Albertson was expecting a replacement to arrive by FedEx, but agreed to demonstrate anyway.
Wearing his trademark U.S. Air Force cap and a belt full of gadgets, he switched some wires to bypass the throttle, climbed in the truck and flipped a toggle switch under the steering wheel. The motor sounded a little like a vacuum cleaner as it whirred to life at 3,600 rpm.
This is the key to Albertson’s design: His motor is always running at top speed. Same with the motor in the truck.
Rather than speeding up and slowing down, the motor stays at its peak efficiency, and Albertson’s patented magnetic clutch pulls off as much power as needed. This means the motor doesn’t have to start up from zero, where it is less efficient.
Albertson put the truck in gear and fired up the motor again. The truck lurched forward, jostling the gasoline engine, radiator, exhaust system and other obsolete parts sitting in the bed. Albertson grinned as he drove laps around the lot in front of his home south of Alma. Round and round, he passed an assortment of cars, boats, lawnmowers, tractors, the aging bus converted to an RV, and an amphibious vehicle of his own invention that never quite caught on.
On this day, the truck was powered by four lead-acid car batteries. Albertson’s design calls for more powerful, faster charging lithium ion batteries.
About 12:45 p.m., to Albertson’s delight, a FedEx truck rumbled up the road.
Albertson’s helper, Mark Peterson, a welder from Rochester, Minn., used an electric drill to pull the bad throttle and bolt the new one in place. Albertson then set to wiring it. At one point, fumbling to tighten one of the hard-to-reach nuts, Albertson stopped and turned his wrench around. He chastised himself: “I should use my wrench the right way.“
His wrench is a “posi-grip” clutch-drive ratchet of Albertson’s design that works in particularly tight spaces.
Albertson has hundreds of patents to his name and is used to people calling him crazy. Years ago, he put a sewing machine motor on a stick, attached a piece of fishing line, and the weed whacker was born. In the 1980s, he started selling private pay phones, and successfully sued to force AT&T to provide service for them.
With the new throttle installed, Albertson climbed back into the truck and flipped the switch. Silence. Peterson monitored lights on the device as Albertson moved the accelerator pedal up and down. Diagnosis — not working.
“I’m going to have a nice phone call with them again,” Albertson said. “That thing is too sophisticated for me.“
Albertson was waiting for another replacement throttle Wednesday but was upbeat about a new idea for a simpler controller. Either way, he said, the truck would be running when he shows it off today for potential investors.
What the truck won’t yet have is the magic, the lithium batteries and recharging system that Albertson says will convert road vibrations and solar energy into electricity and help give the truck a 300-mile range on a three-hour charge.
He said he needs about $165,000 to finish it.
Last spring, Gary Muenzhuber, a retired autoworker and lobbyist with the UAW Local 789, and some other union members formed a nonprofit called Autoworkers of Minnesota to purchase the truck and lobby the state for startup money. Their plan then was to unveil the prototype at the State Fair and tour it around the state this fall.
Muenzhuber said Wednesday he is confident the state will come through in the coming weeks with a $150,000 grant. Muenzhuber and Albertson both think the prototype truck can be finished within a month or so of getting the money.
But Alberston isn’t waiting. He said he needs to put down payments on orders for batteries and rechargers before others beat him to it. Tesla Motors has been working on an electric sports car that it says will go into production in 2008, and Phoenix Motorcars has announced plans to begin selling an electric SUV as early as the end of this year.
“I’ve been waiting for months already,” he said. “I can’t wait. The race has started.”
If you go
What: Demonstration of electric truck prototype
When: 5:30 p.m. today
Where: Wings Over Alma, 118 N. Main St., Alma
On the Web: see photos and illustrations of Albertson’s electric truck at www.magtransauto.com
