JeremyI'm developing Heartland EV, a modular, open-source low-speed electric vehicle designed to be assembled, fixed, and adapted in a barn, not a dealership.
The goal: a repairable EV platform for rural mobility that prioritizes right-to-repair, accessibility, and swappable utility modules.
I’ve laid the groundwork—concept sketches, basic frame ideas, early design research—and now I’m looking for someone skilled in 3D modeling or CAD to help take the prototype to the next level.
If you’re excited about designing for sustainability, real-world utility, or community-driven hardware, I’d love to collaborate. Open-source values, iterative thinking, and good vibes welcome.
Discussions
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If you're truly serious about his then you need to be building the motors from scratch. The issue is cost. If you aren't buying 1M+ motors then you're going to be paying a HUGE overhead.
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I agree, in the long run, if this project scales meaningfully, I would probably try to produce the motors in-house. For now, I’m trying to design the platform to be motor-agnostic, so motors can be swapped eventually without major frame rework.
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For the mechanical, the next step would be to develop a drivetrain that can be cut on a lathe. For electrical it's making an ESC tailored to your motor. https://hackaday.com/2017/09/11/open-source-high-power-ev-motor-controller/
Then of course next comes the BMS (battery management system) and a trivial ECU to make them work together. Once you can charge the battery and run motor as you wish, the physical integration of components can begin.
I very much recommend using a Nissan Leaf as a reference design because it's design is very straight forward.
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Hub motors seem to be incompatible with what you are trying to build because they will be easily damaged by rough terrain.
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You're correct about that, I must've missed that after a few iterations, I decided to go with golf cart motors instead, as they're a little more robust and you can choose a model with more speed or torque, depending on the intended use.
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