SP0016: Gault Electric ATV

Status: COMPLETED November 2010 - April 2011

The Gault Nature Reserve (GNR) in Mont-Saint-Hilaire of McGill University is a private conservation reserve that protects the primeval forests of the St. Lawrence Valley. Its multitude of walking trails throughout the reserve is a year-round tourist attraction, receiving up to a few thousand visitors on a given day. Due to its large size, the daily maintenance on the GNR is mostly done by ATV’s.

The GNR wishes to promote its environmental awareness on the reserve by using electric ATV’s as oppose to gas-powered vehicles. With the efficient batteries, motors and controllers on the market today, conversions of vehicles from gas-powered to electric are becoming much more prevalent. With a little bit of knowledge in electronics and proper sizing of the motor and batteries, an electric conversion is highly feasible. Thus, the ultimate goal of this project is to provide the GNR with a functioning converted electric ATV that is capable of performing the daily maintenance tasks year round. Determination of the power requirements of the ATV will be done using topographical maps in order to properly size the batteries and motors that will effectively be able to carry out the demands of the user. The ATV will be charged each night and thus the ultimate goal is for the ATV to be fully functional all day.

See also: Gault Electric ATV 2 (SP0075)

For further information conerning this project, or to get in touch with its members, please contact the krista.houser [at] mcgill.ca (SPF Administration Team).

 

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