New Member Just Bought a Vtrux

[Slimsalabim]

13 minutes ago, David Silver said:

So I jumped in with both feet on this truck. I was able to get it to charge, just needed to push a little harder. I love driving it but so far I've been unable to get it to pass deq. I'm guessing I need to keep driving in M so it runs the engine until the ECU shows ready. Any advice from others who have made it pass? I emailed Vtrux but haven't had a response yet. 

When I bought mine they told me these won't pass because they were made exempt from emissions (I'm assuming that's what you were trying to do?). Others haven't had any luck, but I would put it in M as well and try. They don't do emissions testing here in Minnesota. 

 

Slim

Edited April 17, 2023 by Slimsalabim
Grammar

[Scott Manning]

If anyone in here is interested, I currently have a 2014 Via Vtrux Chevy Express 2500 conversion for sale.  It has 68K miles with the 60amp export on it.  No issues other than some cosmetic issues(this is a work van and has been used as such).  Still gets around 30 miles of all electric.  This is a 4x2, no 4wd.  Makes a great in town delivery/repairman van.  $19K.  This comes with a 4.8L V8(instead of the V6).  If interested, I will post a link to the sale.

[Joshsch]

I recently purchased a 2014 VTRUX Silverado and Express as a package deal. These are very interesting vehicles and this thread has been very helpful to me - Thank you everyone! My truck is not white, which appears to be somewhat rare. It is a LT Z71.

When purchased, both vehicles were inoperable.

 

The van was complete, but had a fault in the battery pack. It may be the contactor, may be a dead cell. I am not very concerned as I plan to convert the Van back to gas.
The truck was incomplete. It appears the bidirectional charger was stolen and the MSD was missing. I took these parts off the van and got the truck driving, albeit with issues. The vaccum pump was dead and the electronics coolant pump was full of dexcool sludge. I replaced both of those as well.

The truck is still having issues. If I drive it 5-10 miles the system temperature on the dash goes into the red, the engine revs to redline and the truck loses power. I read this could be due to a dead generator ATF pump, but it appears to be working, I can hear it running. There is also the exclamation mark light on the dash.

I think at this point I will try to reach out to VIA to try and do diagnostics on the EV side. I see in this thread they have lent out their proprietary tool before. I am happy I brought it back to life, but it is not yet something that can drive farther than the neighborhood.

[Slimsalabim]

14 minutes ago, Joshsch said:

I recently purchased a 2014 VTRUX Silverado and Express as a package deal. These are very interesting vehicles and this thread has been very helpful to me - Thank you everyone! My truck is not white, which appears to be somewhat rare. It is a LT Z71.

When purchased, both vehicles were inoperable.

 

The van was complete, but had a fault in the battery pack. It may be the contactor, may be a dead cell. I am not very concerned as I plan to convert the Van back to gas.
The truck was incomplete. It appears the bidirectional charger was stolen and the MSD was missing. I took these parts off the van and got the truck driving, albeit with issues. The vaccum pump was dead and the electronics coolant pump was full of dexcool sludge. I replaced both of those as well.

The truck is still having issues. If I drive it 5-10 miles the system temperature on the dash goes into the red, the engine revs to redline and the truck loses power. I read this could be due to a dead generator ATF pump, but it appears to be working, I can hear it running. There is also the exclamation mark light on the dash.

I think at this point I will try to reach out to VIA to try and do diagnostics on the EV side. I see in this thread they have lent out their proprietary tool before. I am happy I brought it back to life, but it is not yet something that can drive farther than the neighborhood.

 

I've never seen a grey truck before. That's way cool. I've been fighting a few issues this year that I've failed to document so far. I'm glad you found this thread. 

 

It sounds like one of your oil pumps for the gear box may be failing. I had this happen to me earlier this year and it's easy to test. These are located on either side of the coolant pump. You can unplug the pigtail connection and just supply 12v to it. It should easily spin up. If not, you need a pump. It's $500 from the pump manufacturer or  Via. If you have the time to let it sit, you can have the pump rebuilt for $200. Let me find the documentation for you. 

 

Slim

Edited September 25, 2023 by Slimsalabim
Spelling

[Slimsalabim]

Here's the document on checking the pump. 

 

Slim

Vtrux Running Pumps WIthout Scan Tool (Truck).pdf

[Slimsalabim]

You can send the pump to the address below ATTN-Repair. Besure to include a note inside with your contact info. Assuming all the internal hard parts are in good shape replacing the motor and seals is around $190.00. 

 

 

 

Meziere Enterprises

 

220 S Hale Ave

 

Escondido, Ca 92029

[Joshsch]

Thank you for the reply, you are from my research the most active owner of these trucks. I really appreciate what you do for the community.

Before posting I did apply 12v to each ATF pump and they both spun up without issue so I was able to rule them out.

I did have success this evening with the truck. The vacuum pump was still not firing up, even though it tested good on the bench. I went over the VIA fuse box one last time and found fuse F35 to be blown. When the original vac pump died it must have blown it. I replaced this fuse and it was like magic. The vac pump fired up, the error light on the dash went away, and everything stayed well within operating temp (just at the first green mark on the dash). I took the truck on a significantly longer drive than I have ever had before and it ran flawlessly.

Funny how something so little can cause so much issue. 

Edited September 26, 2023 by Joshsch

[Slimsalabim]

8 minutes ago, Joshsch said:

Thank you for the reply, you are from my research the most active owner of these trucks. I really appreciate what you do for the community.

Before posting I did apply 12v to each ATF pump and they both spun up without issue so I was able to rule them out.

I did have success this evening with the truck. The vacuum pump was still not firing up, even though it tested good on the bench. I went over the VIA fuse box one last time and found fuse F35 to be blown. When the original vac pump died it must have blown it. I replaced this fuse and it was like magic. The vac pump fired up, the error light on the dash went away, and everything stayed well within operating temp (just at the first green mark on the dash). I took the truck on a significantly longer drive than I have ever had before and it ran flawlessly.

Funny how something so little can cause so much issue. 

 

Man, that's great news! I love my truck and I'm glad I can cultivate the growth of information. They have their hiccups, but the company still supports them. The biggest issue is the logistics of your truck being down while you troubleshoot. 

 

My truck has been down a couple months and Via isn't sure why. It would fail to turn on the hybrid portion of the truck, but if you unplugged the hookups at the via fuse box and plugged them back in, the truck would function again. Well, not that doesn't work and the troubleshooting they have on file didn't solve the issue. Not sure if it's a battery issue or what. The system isn't throwing a code either. It sucks. I might have to pedal this down the road due to non related issues and it kills me. 

 

I have a Hail Mary of a fix in play right now. I've sent the hybrid control module into Via for them to test. Hopefully, they find something there and get me rolling again. 

 

Slim 

[Joshsch]

On 9/26/2023 at 12:14 AM, Slimsalabim said:

 

Man, that's great news! I love my truck and I'm glad I can cultivate the growth of information. They have their hiccups, but the company still supports them. The biggest issue is the logistics of your truck being down while you troubleshoot. 

 

My truck has been down a couple months and Via isn't sure why. It would fail to turn on the hybrid portion of the truck, but if you unplugged the hookups at the via fuse box and plugged them back in, the truck would function again. Well, not that doesn't work and the troubleshooting they have on file didn't solve the issue. Not sure if it's a battery issue or what. The system isn't throwing a code either. It sucks. I might have to pedal this down the road due to non related issues and it kills me. 

 

I have a Hail Mary of a fix in play right now. I've sent the hybrid control module into Via for them to test. Hopefully, they find something there and get me rolling again. 

 

Slim 

I have the Distribution box and HCU out of the Van if you would like them to test. I am not sure if the programming is the same for the van and truck. Send me a PM if interested. 

 

[Joshsch]

Finally did an all electric drive. Up until this point I was just driving around with the generator kicking on and off at the 20% threshold. 
It was pretty cool, however i got less than 20 miles on before it depleted back down to 20%. When I unplugged it the light was still blinking, but the gauge showed full. It was charging all night on a level 2 charger. The next day I charged it again, and the light showed solid green (full) after only a few hours of charging. When I checked the gauge it was only 2/3rd full. 

Something is a little off. I suspect the truck sitting for 5 years did not help anything.

Edited October 4, 2023 by Joshsch

[Slimsalabim]

10 minutes ago, Joshsch said:

Finally did an all electric drive. Up until this point I was just driving around with the generator kicking on and off at the 20% threshold. 
It was pretty cool, however i got less than 20 miles on before it depleted back down to 20%. When I unplugged it the light was still blinking, but the gauge showed full. It was charging all night on a level 2 charger. The next day I charged it again, and the light showed solid green (full) after only a few hours of charging. When I checked the gauge it was only 2/3rd full. 

Something is a little off. I suspect the truck sitting for 5 years did not help anything.

The truck has to run an emissions cycle every 5 days if the engine hasn't been ran. Until the engine is driven for about 20 minutes (give or take 5 minutes and it has to be driven and not just idled), it will not charge past about 2/3 (depending on how your gage reads - this shows about 3/4ish on mine). So, if the truck wants to complete the emission cycle, it will not allow a full charge and will not run on ev only until it gets that drive time in. 

 

My truck only takes 2.5 hours to charge from empty on a level 2 charger. It sounds like your truck is functioning well!

 

Slim

Edited October 4, 2023 by Slimsalabim
Grammar

[Joshsch]

Ok that makes sense. After it would only partially charge I went on a drive and the generator kicked in. It eventually shut off and seems to be taking back to a full charge now. But it has been plugged in almost all day and it is still blinking. The gauge shows full. Maybe there is an incompatibility with my charger.

How many miles range do you normally get on yours with a full charge?

[Slimsalabim]

27 minutes ago, Joshsch said:

Ok that makes sense. After it would only partially charge I went on a drive and the generator kicked in. It eventually shut off and seems to be taking back to a full charge now. But it has been plugged in almost all day and it is still blinking. The gauge shows full. Maybe there is an incompatibility with my charger.

How many miles range do you normally get on yours with a full charge?

Highway driving I get about 25 to maybe 30 miles if I really baby it. Just straight up driving 70 (these have an 80mph top speed), I get about 22 miles. For city driving (less than 40mph and lots of stopping), I've gotten as much as 37 miles, but I was really going for the best range I could. Typically, my city mileage is 30 miles.

 

The light should be a steady green when the charging has completed. When the emission cycle begins, the engine turns on almost immediately. If you were charging, the gage would read about 2/3 - 3/4 full because the battery can't regen if it's 100%, so the system limits the power to 80% (I think) so it can regen while the generator (the gas engine) is running. Once the engine has been driven for the required amount of time, the generator will turn off and you should be on EV only. During this time, your battery charge should have remained the same. Once the battery charge reaches 20%, the generator will kick back on.

 

Jim

[Joshsch]

Just to follow up on things - After a few charges all systems seem to be normal. The light will show solid green when charged. As Jim explained, it will not always charge fully if you are not driving the truck much. Every 5 days it will want to kick in the generator to purge the evap system and will not charge any higher than 2/3. However, if go for a drive and charge it after this it will charge fully. A bit concerning at first glance but normal operation.

This is certainly an interesting truck. Have been putting a few miles on it. Cleaned it up with a new set of wheels and tires off of a 2022 Silverado. Even tried out the export panel with my welder, pretty cool.

[cautious optimist]

Hello and thank you to all of you that documented your use with this unique truck! My cousin introduced me to them as he nearly got a job with them in Orem. I'm considering one because it fits the ethos I'm establishing with a new business service. however, I am nervous to pull the trigger on such a truck. I am a tinkerer, and I love to play with new technologies. However, in my recent past I had an event that nearly bankrupted me. I'm doing better financially now, but still digging out of the financial hole. 

 

The pros for wanting one of these:
They are certainly cheaper to get into than a similar full-size truck. I had been considering a Colorado or Canyon before discovering this type of truck.

The electric outputs could easily power the all-electric equipment I'll need. (I'm adding gardening upkeep to my landscape architecture design business.)

I love the idea of cutting one of the biggest expenses of this type of business, fuel.

I live 10 minutes from their office in Orem, Utah and I could somewhat easily get the truck to them for repairs. 

 

Cons of getting this truck:

Reliability. It will be my first truck for this business and if it goes down, especially for weeks, then I'm in trouble. In this situation I could borrow my dad's truck, or one of my FIL's two trucks, but they would likely only be okay with this for 1-2 days. Maybe a week tops. So that isn't ideal, and I don't feel it looks professional. I could also rent, negating the cost savings this truck promises.

It could get expensive real quick. I would need a significant discount to make this worth it to me. (Like in the $10,000-$12,000 range)

Could I find one, that is running, for sale when I need it?

 

Other thoughts:

With solid-state batteries on the horizon, and if the promise that they could be significantly cheaper, could this one last long enough to swap to one of those when this battery dies? Could that kind of swap be mostly simple?

If I could get one cheap enough, would I still be ahead moneywise to do a junkyard swap to a 5.7liter (or the 3.0 diesel) if the price matched the cost of a new battery/other repairs? I could sell off the electric materials from this truck to save on the swap costs. The junkyard vehicle could have everything I need, however those junkyard vehicles from 2015-2018 are getting older and higher mileage now.

 

Other options:

Spend a fortune on the Dodge Ramcharger. (And very likely have the same growing pains of new tech)

Buy an older higher mileage full-size truck that fits my budget. 

Buy a newer lower mileage mid-size truck and add solar panels and electric generator to my trailer to charge my equipment.

 

Just writing this makes me think the Mid-size truck is the best solution for me at this time. I won't be towing more than about 3,000 lbs so that isn't an issue. Many of them with low miles go in the $20,000-$25,000 range where my budget is. The biggest con to a mid-size is I have a family of 6 and I'm 6'-4". So if we ever want to use that truck to go camping, we won't all fit. I know I can fit but only if no one sits behind me. (My kids are all getting tall too.) 

 

So I guess my question for those of you who have experience with these trucks: are my fears overblown? Would this be a good truck for simple landscape garden maintenance? (I'm talking about spending an entire day at a wealthy estate. Maybe 20-30 miles a day tops. Not run from site-to-site mowing, blowing, and going. I intend to have only 3-5 clients with large acreage estates my first year.)

Edited January 15, 2024 by cautious optimist
additional thought