EV Pusher meets the Eco-Trekker
EV Pusher meets the Eco-Trekker
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Why I didn't drive it to SolWest 2003
Okay, third time's a charm, and all that, right? I had every intention of making the pilgrimage to John Day and returning with no breakdowns to report, but July 2003 was a way too hyperactive month for me. A short list of my activities includes having a friend from California visit for the purpose of helping me install a door and windows in my Crown project, the Oregon Country Fair, a property tax appeal to prepare and file, and a multitude of other activities I now can't remember. To top it all off, my horse snagged a low branch in the pasture and ripped half of her forehead off!
Anyway, I did attend SolWest, but considering the amount of overstimulation I was experiencing, I decided to minimize the adventure aspect of the trip and drive my Biodiesel-fueled 1981 VW Rabbit, the one that's mostly factory stock. The trip was pleasant and uneventful, and I took the time in John Day to accomplish something I'd been hoping to get around to for the last year, polishing and waxing the paint on this car. Here's a photo of it in the Sequential Biofuels booth, where I was exhibiting and being part of their alternative fuel vehicle display:
Another reason that I was "saving" the EV and Pusher was that I had been in communication with the research office for an Australian film crew operating in the US who were interested in using the EV and Pusher as part of their "Eco-Trek". Shaun Murphy is making a coast-to-coast trip, starting in San Francisco, traveling to the east coast and back again using only renewable fuels such as Biodiesel, Ethanol, Biogas, etc. You can learn more about the Eco-Trekker at their web site. They were interested in having me provide Shaun transportation from Roseburg, OR to Corvallis, a distance of about 100 miles.
(An edit to clear some things up: The "Eco-Trekker" adventure was renamed "Coolfuel Roadtrip" after the editing was completed and the tale was marketed. It's currently showing on US television as a 13-part series.)
The Sequential crew had also been contacted, and in fact were already supplying the Eco-Trek crew with Biodiesel fuel for their travels in Oregon. I met up with Ian and Tomas of Sequential early on the morning of July 30 so that we could caravan 60 miles south to Roseburg together. Actually, the ET crew was about 40 miles up the Umpqua River at a place called Steamboat, and it's there that the tale begins.
We caught up with Shaun and the crew at the Steamboat Creek Campground, where they had been staying in their custom 38 foot motorhome that has been customized into two sections, one for living, the other a garage for hauling alternative-fueled vehicles. A large, hydraulically-operated lift gate was mounted at the rear, and a Corbin Sparrow electric car, an electric scooter and electric bicycle were stored in the garage part of the RV. Extensive electronics such as satellite internet linkup, photovoltaic panels, inverter/battery system and video taping equipment had also been installed. The roof of the RV held a camera platform for the video crew to use during filming, as well as Shaun's solar-powered kayak.
After a few quick introductions and a quick tour of the Pusher, Ian and Tomas left to go get the Sequential delivery truck set up for the first scene that was to be filmed. I hung about with the remainder of the ET crew, waiting for the two-way radio call that Shaun and the Pusher were needed for the shoot. Shaun described the "setup" of the story to be filmed, which was that he was going to be searching the Internet for a suitable vehicle to complete the next leg of his journey when he comes across the EV and Pusher. A quick phone call to me, I pick him up alongside the road and turn the car and trailer over to him to drive away, leaving me standing on the side of the road waving goodbye. "Oh, it's already been scripted" was my thought, but I carried on, assuming that the information aspect of the car and trailer would come out as the filming progressed.
Right now, though, I have another concern, which is that Shaun is expecting me to actually turn the car and trailer over to him right now to use in the scene about to be shot. I explained that driving the EV and Pusher wasn't very intuitive, and that he would need some instruction before he could solo in the car. We took a fast trip out to the road, where I showed him the basics of starting and accelerating the Pusher. I figured that for the current shoot, which was taking place about a half-mile down the road, he could manage to operate the Pusher in diesel stand-alone mode, with the EV motor shut down and transmission in neutral. This would present him with the fewest number of controls to balance and operate, and would keep him out of trouble for the most part.
Shaun was astounded that the EV was being pushed forward by the trailer, and kept commenting that he had never driven a car that used a knob on the dashboard to accelerate. At the end of our test drive, the filming crew announced that they were ready for Shaun and the Pusher, and I got out of the car, grabbed my bicycle, and chased along to be present for the filming as Shaun drove the car alone towards the turnout in the road where the Sequential truck was waiting.
First Filming
In true Hollywood fashion, the sequences were to be shot out-of-order. What was to be documented today was Shaun driving the pusher up to a roadside stand set up by Ian and Tomas of Sequential Biofuels, filling the Pusher with Biodiesel, and driving off. The whole scene probably lasts a minute or less, but took about an hour to shoot, multiple retakes, close ups, different angles, etc.
Here we see the scene being filmed. Ray catches the action on the Sony DV digital camera (under the silver blanket) in the background, as Eddy mans the sound equipment. Sally is running some auxiliary footage on a small hand held video camera. Tomas gives the Biodiesel rap to Shaun as Ian heads for the back of the Pusher to fill the tank from the Sequential retail fuel delivery truck.
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After the scene was complete, I put the bicycle back on the Pusher and returned to the campground, while Ian headed to Portland with the truck to meet up with the String Cheese Incident concert tour to fill the generators that would power the concert with Biodiesel. Here's a last shot of the four stars of this scene, mugging for the still camera. |
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Back at camp, everyone went for a refreshing swim in Steamboat creek. Being well into summer, the water was quite comfortable, and it was a welcome relief from the 90°+ heat of the day. The Eco-Trek crew held a short meeting and decided what would be next on the agenda. It was decided that they would hire a helicopter and do some fly-over shots at Crater Lake, with Shaun driving the EV and Pusher around the rim of the great crater that forms the bed of the lake. Unfortunately, a fairly severe forest fire at Diamond Lake had closed the only paved road to the entrance of Crater Lake National Park, and the nearest that the helicopter could land was at a makeshift landing site some miles to the west of the park. Looking at the map, I could see that the road that the crew was expecting me to take the EV and Pusher over to meet the helicopter was 14 miles of gravel logging roads. I spoke up and put a damper on the plan, firmly announcing that the homemade hybrid was an on-road-only vehicle. The crew then decided to take the crew 4x4 van over the same road to meet the chopper, and simply take video of the lake without the Pusher. A few minutes before they left, the cell phone rang and they got the news that all air traffic was grounded in the area, and that no helicopter was going to meet them anywhere. Now the plan had dwindled down to taking the van to the lake and shooting some video of the beautiful scenery. Tomas decided to throw in with the part of the crew going to the lake, leaving me with Shaun, Eddy, Marty and Sally.
I got to know a couple of the other residents of the campground and found out that due to a wine tasting convention at the Steamboat Inn, camping at this park was free for the week, and that pitching one's tent on the grassy area was permitted, which it normally isn't. This was welcome news, as the only other remaining vacant camping spaces weren't all that level. I got out my tent and made camp before dark, going for another refreshing dip afterwards.
When packing for this trip, I included enough food and utensils to make a few rudimentary meals, but dinner this night was already taken care of. Eddy, the sound man, has a liking for cooking, and managed to get together all of the makings of a quite good tuna casserole, cooking in the Eco-Trekker RV. We sat about outside the RV eating, having the occasional beer, and taking in the early evening. After the dirty dishes had been piled up on the folding table, and three bowls of chow put aside for the Crater Lake travelers, Shaun produced a Cricket bat and a tennis ball. Several beer case cardboard boxes were put into service as wickets, and a quick game of parking lot Cricket ensued.
This action shot shows Sally providing a throw to Marty, at bat, while Shaun provides duty as "catcher" (I forget the proper name of the catcher in Cricket). Sparky the dog runs after the ball in flight, which became a fairly useful part of the game, as quite a number of the batted balls went over the bank into the creek bed, and he would retrieve them all. Much easier to catch the dog and wrest the ball away from him than to climb down the rocks every other pitch. Marty had the proper Cricket technique, doing a very professional running-wind-up-and-pitch, while Shaun never missed hitting a pitch while at bat.
After another beer for me, night set in, Eddy started complaining about not being able to simply go to bed because he sleeps in the van, which was still on the trip to the lake. Everyone whose beds weren't on a journey somewhere out of the campground found their way between the sheets. Eddy sought some comfort in a bottle of tequila, eventually making a bed on the ground alongside the RV. As the ET crew was still playing their CD machine when I retired, I put in the ear plugs and went quickly to sleep. The ear plugs would be only partially successful at dampening down the racket caused by some inebriated woman who returned to camp early-early in the morning and wouldn't shut up about some subject or another. Someone finally told her to stuff a sock in it and shut the hell up, at which point things got nice and quiet again.
EV Pusher meets the Eco-Trekker 2
EV Pusher meets the Eco-Trekker
Continued
July 31, 2003, Steamboat Springs Campground.
Morning, and I'm the only one up. All of the tents here are occupied by people attending the wine convention at the Inn, and it seems that they all stayed up well past midnight and probably had a wee bit of their trade to drink. The Eco-Trekker RV is silent, and Eddy is still wrapped up in his sleeping bag on the ground.
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Before he left for Crater Lake, I mentioned to Thomas that he should probably put up his tent while it was still light, but the push was on to get to the lake before the light gave out, so when he got back with the rest of the ET crew and the van, it was fully dark. No problem, I found him peacefully asleep in his Honda MiniRV. |
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One-by-one, the crew awakened, organized their brain cells, and turned their attention to coffee and breakfast. 
Apparently, Thomas had been promised some Vegemite, so the electric toaster was brought out, plugged into the RV's electrical system, and white bread toast slathered with butter and flavored yeast extract (Vegemite) was the featured fare. Since Vegemite is vegetarian friendly, I produced some wheat bread and made a few slices for myself. It's not bad, but you have to be careful to not use too much, it's quite salty. Sally showed us the proper technique for spreading it along the top of the toast in just the right amount. Search Google for more information about Vegemite than you could ever want to know...
Ray and Teresa left in the van to scout some locations and Shaun washed the dishes from last night's meal, carefully drying each plate, bowl and pan with his own personal bath towel. Teresa would re-wash the entire lot later when she cleaned up the RV. I remarked that Shaun had already washed them, to which she replied that she needed no other reason to re-wash them, because she had seen before how Shaun washes dishes....
One project that I had not managed to finish before leaving for this trip was getting the cruise control brake interlock circuit working. For some time, I've been concerned about the possibility that I might have to make a panic stop in the EV while using the Pusher, and that I wouldn't have time to turn down the throttle knob to stop the trailer's pushing the car into danger. This concern became even more acute when I learned that Shaun would be driving the EV, so I designed and installed a circuit that cuts the throttle to the Pusher when the brake lights of the Pusher come on. No throttle control commands will function until a "resume" button is pressed on the Pusher's control panel. On the bench, the circuit worked fine, but after installing it in the car, I couldn't get the brake lights to fault the throttle. I had a pretty good idea what the problem was, and brought some resistors of a different value to swap into the control to see if I could get it working.
While Shaun and the crew did some filming in the creek bed (more on this in a moment), I used my AC inverter and soldering iron to change the value of the circuit, and got it working perfectly. Now, touching the brake pedal shuts the Pusher's engine down to an idle, and the oil pressure warning light flashes to indicate that the cruise control is faulted and needs to be reset using the resume button.
While I was putting away my tools, I noticed Marty and Eddy trying to strangle a tree with a length of rope. What they were trying to do was to pull the top of the tree aside so that Ray could get a shot of Shaun down by the creek from the roof of the RV. Although it was a fairly skinny bush of a tree, they weren't having very much luck pulling it aside. The action down in the creek was some footage of Shaun "discovering" the Pusher on the web, using his Mac computer power by a portable PV panel. Of course, the entire thing was staged, not only was there no internet access in the campground due to the steep ravine which prevented the RV's satellite uplink from working, but there was no sun this early in the day to make the solar panel operate. No Problems, mate, both issues will be taken care of in post production. A photo of the car will be chroma-keyed onto Shaun's laptop screen, and the aperture of the camera will make the shadowed creek bed look like mid day sun.
Anyway, after Shaun "discovers" the EV and Pusher on the "web" (insert special effects here), he "calls" me on my "cell phone", walking up and down over the stones of the creek bed, talking animatedly, setting up a "meeting" so that he can use the EV and Pusher to continue his "trip". Are you getting the feeling that this bit of video I'm participating in is a bit less that a fully accredited documentary?
Round about noon, I was in my tent eating a banana or something, when Sally walked up and said that we would be leaving. I stepped out and zipped up the tent fly behind me, and she said we were leaving, as in not coming back, and sent Marty and Eddy to help me carry my stuff, bedding and tent over to the RV to be packed away in the garage, so that the EV could be empty for filming.
Shaun would be riding with me as far as the Steamboat Inn, where I would turn the car over to him for some "driving shots". This would work out well, as I needed to show Shaun how driving the car was different from yesterday, now that the cruise control fault circuit was working.
At the Inn, I switched over to the van, giving Shaun last-minute instructions about the operation of the car. We drove up the road a bit to a place where there was an accessible rock outcropping that overlooked the road, a perfect place to set up the camera and tripod. Eddy and I continued up the road after letting Sally and Ray out, parking the van in a turnout that didn't appear in the camera's view. Shaun drove the EV and pusher past the camera location a number of times, Sally calling on the two-way radio for repeat takes when Shaun had cars following, or traffic approaching from the opposite direction entered the shot. Eventually, Ray was satisfied with the takes, and I got back into the EV with Shaun to travel to the next location.
Shaun was actually doing very well controlling the Pusher, and had picked up on the cruise control's fault function very quickly. He seemed to have the driving of the car figured out, and I snuck a few glances at the temperature gauge to make sure the Pusher wasn't overheating in the mid-day temperature.
The next shot was set up at the end of a long straightaway. I got out of the car at a turnout at about the middle of the long stretch, and hid myself out of the camera's aperture by moving back into the trees. Shaun again made several passes, and at one point, complained that they were "just bloody driving shots" and that Ray should have enough to be satisfied by now.
At the end of this session, Shaun circled back to pick me up, and we continued to the "rendezvous" location, where Shaun and I would "meet up" for the transfer of the car and trailer to him. Remember, this was all being shot out-of-sequence.
The final shooting location was a wide apron of pavement alongside the Umpqua River, where there would be ample room for us to pull the car over, set up the camera, and get all of the angles involved for the shot.
Shaun had made a cardboard sign that read "Mr. Sharkey", which had a cartoon of a diver's legs and feet sticking out of a sharks mouth. The idea here was that Shaun was going to stand alongside the road flashing this sign at passing cars as though he was trying to flag me down. That's exactly what he did too, while Ray filmed the whole thing. Most motorists just stared at this wild-haired, tall Aussie wearing a solar panel on his back, jumping up and down waving a sign at them. None of the stopped. Well, almost none of them, one car did stop to take a picture of the river, and Sally had to go over and shoo them away, as they were in the shot, and Shaun was supposed to be deserted, in the middle of nowhere, trying to hitch a ride from some guy with a weird EV/Hybrid combination.
Now it was time for my "Grand Entrance". Eddy dropped a wireless microphone transmitter into the pocket of my shorts, then taped a small mic inside my shirt using gaffer's tape. Ray piled into the back of the EV with the Sony digital camera, and we drove downriver a mile or so, with Ray taking shots of the instruments on the dash, my hands controlling the Pusher remote, and views out the windshield. As we approached Shaun, standing alongside the road, he went into a frenzy, jumping up and waving his sign at the car. Ray trained the camera on him as I brought the car to a halt alongside him.
We did this several times until Ray was satisfied that he had enough stock to pass the editing process, then he set up the camera in a position to view the EV approaching Shaun, and I repeated the drive-up a couple of more times solo. Each time, I got out of the car, shook hands with Shaun and greeted Sparky the dog as though it was our first meeting.
The next bit was me being filmed while I explained the Pusher to Shaun. What Sally wanted was for Shaun and me to both jump up on the towing tongue of the Pusher and stand up there while Shaun made exclamations about "Look Sparky!! It's an EV Pusher!!!" I kind of thought he whole jumping on the tongue thing was a bit overdone, and just didn't do it. Shaun did though, and while he's already about 6" taller than me, while standing on the trailer, he was about two feet taller, meaning Ray had to pan the camera up and down between us to compensate for the height difference.
They wanted me to show Shaun the engine, the trunk with the fuel tank and shift lever, etc, but DID NOT want me to explain why a pusher trailer was a useful piece of equipment for en electric car driver, the operating modes the hybrid was capable of, total possible range of the vehicle, or anything else about the car. In fact, they didn't want, and did not take any video images of the EV's under-hood electric drive components, batteries, or really, any images of the EV at all, outside of what was necessary to show the trailer. I was told that electric vehicles were covered in the previous segment, this segment was about Biodiesel, and I needn't bother with any EV-related information. Also included in this part of the filming was me turning the car over to Shaun, giving him brief operating instructions, and him driving away, leaving me standing on the side of the road, waving goodbye. I guess that I wasn't a very significant part of the plot after Shaun had the car, as no explanation of what I was supposed to do to get home was given....
A good long bit of time was spent installing a small digital video camera inside the car, using a suction-cup mounting device that was placed on the inside of the windshield. A microphone was taped to the sun visor above the driver's seat, and the cable tucked out of sight. I put the passenger seat back in the reclined position so that Ray would have more room to wield the big camera. We loaded Sparky into the EV, Ray and Shaun got in, and then drove off. Sally, Eddy and I stood around for about 15 minutes in the hot sun, with very little shade to block the July heat. I finally climbed down the slope to the river and soaked my feet, eventually joined by the other two. The temperature of the Umpqua was not nearly as temperate as that of Steamboat Creek a few miles upriver. We splashed about for 40 minutes or so before Shaun, Ray and my car reappeared. I have no clue where they went, what they did, or what the finished video will show while they were gone.
The filming completed, we were now going to go into Roseburg and join up with the rest of the crew and the RV, which had gone into town to offload the Corbin Sparrow EV that was in the RV's garage, and connect to the satellite uplink so they could send some e-mails. Shaun got into the passenger seat, and I started the EV's electric drive for the first time today, running the car in parallel mode. Shaun had been doing all of the driving for the filming using only the Pusher for power, as I was reluctant to turn him loose on the EV's operating modes without a lot more training.
We met up with the RV in town, and then nicked off in the EV to a coffee kiosk for some caffeinated beverages. Once back at the RV, which was parked in the lot of a closed-down industrial building, I attracted the attention of one of the local VW enthusiasts, who couldn't resist the appearance of a vintage VW Rabbit towing an even older VW trailer.
After half an hour or so, the RV was made road-worthy, the satellite uplink dish returned to it's traveling position, and we made our way to Interstate 5 for the trip to Eugene, the EV/Pusher in front, the van following and the RV bringing up the rear.
Antenna flag flapping in the breeze on the RV
EV Pusher meets the Eco-Trekker 3
EV Pusher meets the Eco-Trekker
...Continued
Originally, Shaun was going to ride with me on the trip to Eugene, and we would continue to Corvallis the next day after an overnight at my property. Shaun and Teresa decided that the time on the road would be best spent as a crew conference, so I drove north alone in the EV and Pusher. Since the RV was running on Biodiesel, Shaun's transportation was being provided by renewable fuel, so the trip mission was preserved (coast-to-coast on no petroleum fuel).
The drive was uneventful, although quite hot, mid 90's. I emptied the windshield washer bottle of water into the radiator on the Pusher, misting the front of the radiator using the new system I had installed to help keep the coolant temperature moderate. Eddie and Ray followed in the diesel van, and the rest of the crew tagged along in the RV up the interstate.
After an hour or so of driving, we arrived at my place. The RV was pulled in next to the Crown bus, the satellite dish deployed, the extension cord plugged into the outlet by the back of the bus, and the preparations for the night's activities got started. Tomas arrived with a gas BBQ grille and Eddie and Ray took the van up to the market to purchase steaks, fish, vegetables, and lots of beer and cider. I can't remember now who hatched the idea, but a night of food and fellowship followed.
The back deck/ramp of the RV made a perfect platform to use as a temporary kitchen. I set up a step ladder on the expansive deck with a couple of clamp lights for illumination. Eddy showed off his skills as Chef, and a sumptuous meal followed.
Since the flat-plate water heater had been operating for the entire day, the hot tub was ready for use. Since my tub is actually a very long cast-iron, claw-foot bathtub located behind a hedge of bushes in the yard, it's really only suitable for one person at a time, unless you want to get very friendly with the other user(s). I offered the tub around to the crew, but only Marty seemed interested. I lit the kerosene lamp next to the tub and left him to soak away some cares. Apparently he enjoyed it enough to not hurry, as he was submerged for quite a while, nursing a Hornsby's hard cider to keep the heat bearable.
Things wound down about 10:30PM, and I shut off the lights on the back of the RV and we all slipped off to our respective beds...
August 1, 2003, at home.
During the dinner and conversation last night, Teresa kept reminding everyone that the RV needed to be packed up and ready for the road by no later than 8AM this morning so that they could be on their way to Portland.
I got up about 7AM, and noticed no activity around or within either the RV or the camera van. Took care of some of my morning chores. 8AM, still no signs of life. About a quarter to nine, Ray and Eddy were up and asking to use the shower and wash some clothes in the laundry. They rooted around inside the RV getting some breakfast and stirred the rest of the crew into wakefulness.
After some Vegemite and coffee, a new plan was formulated. With my consent, the crew and vehicles would stay here today, and some catching up would be attempted, along with business calls, e-mails, and production duties. The foray up the valleys of the Umpqua River had limited both cellular telephone use and internet access, and contacting the office in California, as well as making calls ahead to some of the other locations that the crew would visit was planned.
8AM, No lights on inside
Marty had some concerns about a leaking front wheel bearing on the RV and wanted to contact the local Ford dealership to see if it needed to be brought in for service. He was told to keep an eye on the lubricant level, but to not be overly concerned. Working together with my help, we installed some brackets to secure cargo in the garage portion of the RV, coiled and stowed some hoses and a pump used to transfer Biodiesel, and off-loaded a 55 gallon barrel belonging to SeQuential.
Eddy used my shop vacuum to clean up the inside of the camera van, and then he attempted to use some silicone sealant to waterproof an expensive underwater camera enclosure that was supposed to allow the Sony DV camera to be used underwater. Not too far into that project, he called the enclosure's manufacturer and told them he was sending it back. "$5,000 is too bloody much to pay for a camera case that needs caulking to keep it from leaking" was what he decided.
Ray needed to make duplicates (dubs) of the digital film footage that they had shot over the previous few days. I set him up in my home theatre, as it was the coolest, least dusty place available, and as it has actual furniture, it was comfortable as well. Ray watched the video images on a portable DVD player's screen as the copies were made, insuring that they were fit to be sent back to the production company's main studios.
Teresa had expressed some interest in using the bath last night, but Marty beat her to it, so I offered to drain and refill the tub with some fresh water, heated using the LP gas instantaneous heater. I showed her the tub and the sheet of corrugated roofing that an be used as a gate to close the fence for privacy. She decided to add some essential oils and a cup of milk to the water to make a complete beauty bath.
While Teresa soaked, Sally and Shaun needed a quiet place to do some interviews that would be used as voice-overs in the series. About the quietest place on my property is my Housetruck, so I unplugged the phone and left them inside to do some recording with a tape machine and microphone.
Last night's feast and festing had left a lot of debris in the yard. The local yellow jackets had discovered the fish bones, and there was a mighty pile of dirty dishes, glasses and utensils piled on the back deck of the RV. I separated things out, composted the food scraps, and collected the empties (lots of empties). More hands pitched in and everything was cleaned, scrubbed and put away in good time.
Later in the afternoon, I noticed Shaun, talking on the cell phone and being very animated, strutting back and forth in the driveway and obviously "on", or "in character". When asked, Teresa confirmed that he was doing a live interview with a Portland radio station about the next day's arrival of the RV and the Eco-Trekker crew in PDX.
Continued...