Low-Cost Truck with Amazing Design: Man Tunes Mini Chinese Truck Worth R$ 10,000; Check Out the Modifications

Journalist Tunes Cheap Chinese Truck. The Vehicle Costing R$ 10 Thousand Now Has New Accessories and Even a Solar Panel for Charging.

The journalist Micah Toll, from the blog Electrek, started a different journey two years ago. In 2021, Toll acquired a mini electric Chinese truck in China and began making significant modifications to the model, which at that time cost R$ 10 thousand. According to the inventor, the vehicle is in good condition and has little rust, and, most importantly, nothing essential on it has broken down.

Understand the Tuning Process of the Electric Truck from China

The model may not be very large, but it has managed to fulfill its role in six seasons of landscaping, trash transport, hurricane clean-up, furniture moving, among many other tasks. Toll says that although he liked its original design, he realized there was room for improvement and during his tuning journey received several suggestions for enhancements that could be made to the small truck.

Some were implemented along with his own ideas. According to the journalist, the most obvious flaw of the Chinese truck was its suspension, which took a while to update because the original springs were too stiff.

Recomendado para você

Oil and Gas

Major Oil, Gas, and Energy Event Will Take Place in Brazil: Macaé Energy Will Gather Petrobras, Equinor, Prio, Among Other Suppliers and Energy Executives for Business, Networking, and Employment Opportunities

The Technical Agenda and the Fair in the City of Macaé Should Boost Discussions on Investments, Energy Transition, and Development of the Oil, Gas, and Energy Chain in the National...

Paulo Nogueira

1

The ride could even be good on pavement, but since he uses the truck at his parents’ ranch for work in the pasture, he encounters various obstacles. Toll emphasizes that of all the changes he made, this one probably had the greatest impact on the truck’s use.

It has always been a great work vehicle, but now it is much more comfortable as well. Since the vehicle hardly goes on pavement, Toll decided to replace the original tires with off-road tires, which are better suited for the rough terrain where it operates. In fact, he has put 99% of its mileage on grass or sand.

Advantages of the New Tires

It was only used on public roads in Florida after a hurricane, at the beginning of this year, to deliver some supplies. Toll states that it is not a legal vehicle for urban use, but he considered it acceptable under emergency circumstances.

According to the owner of the Chinese truck, the new tires are wider but get stuck inside the front wheel wells on tight turns. Still, the tuning was worth it for improved handling in all rain and dirt conditions in which the truck is used most of the time.

From the factory, the truck did not come with a tow hitch, but Toll needed one, so he initially checked its towing capacity using a static climbing rope to his parents’ minivan and tested towing some weights. Having succeeded, the next step was to find where to install the accessory.

Thus, he ended up welding a U-shaped bracket that he bolted to the rear axle just inside each wheel, as this is the strongest part of the truck.

Chinese Electric Truck is Charged by Solar Energy

Toll imagined that installing solar panels on the cabin roof could assist in charging the vehicle’s batteries. The mini truck’s motor has 3,000 W, which is more than enough to receive a charge from a 50W panel. Depending on the sun’s level, this adds a few kilometers of daily range.

Before installation, it was necessary to charge the truck at the 110 V outlets in the garage about once a week. Now, it is possible to go two to three weeks without recharging, since the Chinese truck is being topped off a little each time the sun sets.