Toyota needs to make an everyday workman's hybrid ... take a cue from the Farm Jeep

After World War II, tons of surplus Jeeps were sold to the public.

But Willy's, maker of the Jeep, wanted to create a domestic market for new Jeeps. So, one of the bold ideas was to market it as a farm vehicle, one that could haul wagons, pull a plow, run belt-driven machines and even have a power-take-off to run mechanized tow-behinds, such as mowers. Learn more at Farmjeep.com.

The marketing pitch was something like ... drive the Jeep to church on Sunday, plow a field Monday morning, haul goods to market on Tuesday. It was really a great idea to get maximum utility out of a vehicle. See a full size version of the above ad here.

That got me thinking about my recent post on using the Prius in lieu of a home generator. With its powerful, long-lasting 200-volt battery, the Prius can run appliances with the gas engine kicking in only occasionally to recharge the battery.

The only problem with doing this is a typical 12-volt DC-AC inverter will only power about 300 watts, or enough to run some lights, a small TV and the like. To run larger appliances like a furnace, refrigerator, etc., you need to tap directly into the 273-volt battery, and this sort of inverter runs up to $1,000. Not only that, but you might void your warranty doing this trick.

So, wouldn't it be great if Toyota offered a Prius with the option of an AC plug-in, as it does with its Tacoma TRD truck? That truck offers 400 watts at 115 volts, with a convenient plug in the truck's bed. Surely Toyota could get some decent watts out of a 273-volt battery.

And that got me thinking more. Why not take the guts of a Prius but make the body more like a small delivery truck? Using an even more powerful engine and battery, this kind of vehicle could function as a mobile workshop. You could run an arc welder. You could run any number of power tools.

Or, the vehicle could be made into a mini refrigerated truck, perfect for deliveries to small restaurants.

There are a number of ways Toyota could go with this, and it's not limited to the Prius body. Put a hybrid system into a truck or van and you've got something that a contractor could use.

The point is, hybrid technology should be extended out to those who can use it in their businesses. Seems like a practical notion to me.

And, by the way, these sorts of practical hybrids shouldn't be limited to Toyota. Bring it on, Detroit!

As a treat, here is a video of an antique farm Jeep in action.



Here's a modern Jeep pulling a plow (I couldn't find video of an old one doing this).



And here's one being used to run an ice-cream maker. Hey, who said it was all about work?

So much for generating power

Two nights ago I wrote about a man who used his Prius as a generator.

Who would believe that just six hours after writing the post, I would need a generator. Strange storms passed through Kansas City, drenching the city in rain and pounding us with gale-force winds. We were under a tornado watch - in December!!!

Around 5 a.m., we lost power. We still don't have it back (I'm typing this at Panera. Thank you Panera for free wifi.).

We waited out yesterday hoping that Kansas City Power & Light would restore power. Around 5 p.m., we realized that probably wasn't going to happen, so I broke out the new-in-the-box Honda generator, filled it with oil and gas, and pulled the cord. And pulled. And pulled. It never started.

So our house got colder and colder. Our poor tropical fish are beginning to ponder climate change in their little world.

If practical, I would have tried running a DC inverter through the Prius. Unfortunately, providence was not on my side. I asked my brother in St. Louis to get on the Internet and look up locations where I could purchase an inverter. There were numerous kinds available, for purchase online only. The only kind available in a physical store would generate only 350 watts, not enough to run very much.

Oh, the irony. I had a brand new generator that wouldn't start. The night before I stumbled upon the brilliant notion of using the Prius as a generator. But the inverter was available only online, and I couldn't go online at the time. And even if I could, it would take days to deliver one.

So I went to a friend's house. He was having a party and he had a warm fireplace. That was nice for a few hours. Then it was back to my cold house, where my wife and I succumbed to EWM - electricity withdrawal madness. Literally, we were getting mad at each other over a situation we couldn't control. I'll quit rambling now and drink my coffee.

Addendum: As for the fish, I boiled some water, put a hot/cold pack in there for a few minutes, put the pack in a freezer bag and put that in the fish tank. I'm about to go home and repeat the process. I'll keep this up until we get power back.

Addendum II: Power was restored at 12:10 p.m. CST. My wife became very excited. Me too. Damn we are weak.

Another plus about the Prius

I might be able to dump my Honda now that we own a Toyota Prius. My Honda home generator, that is.

Needing an emergency generator, a real-life MacGyver got the idea to wire his Prius to a 12-volt DC inverter to power his home appliances and other necessities, according to this blog on NYTimes.

According to a press report, one John Sweeney, "ran his refrigerator, freezer, TV, woodstove fan and several lights through his Prius, for three days, on roughly five gallons of gas."

The hybrid's battery powered Sweeney's home, and the engine kicked on periodically to keep the battery charged. Much more efficient than running a generator 24/7.

Now that's thinking.

Here's a link to a diagram showing how to run a typical furnace through a Prius. Here's a way geekier forum comparing the Prius' output versus several Honda generators.