Why not some Poly urethane? Keep the wood finish.
Campers
- Thread starter johnbryanpeters
- Start date
I strongly considered it because the frames turned out nicer than I expected. But the clean white cabinets with butcher block counter will look nice with the stainless fridge, sink, and cooktop. I can hide all my oops with filler.
Speaking of better than expected, sometimes I even impress myself. Cabinet doors made to order were $36 each. I think I have enough wood to do the 4 doors and 3 drawer fronts for $55. Only used my table saw and pocket hole jig.
I assembled the right one first and learned a lot. Took me 2 tries, but it turned out ok. The left looks great and now I know what I am doing.
I assembled the right one first and learned a lot. Took me 2 tries, but it turned out ok. The left looks great and now I know what I am doing.
nice work JimmyDean. those look great!Speaking of better than expected, sometimes I even impress myself. Cabinet doors made to order were $36 each. I think I have enough wood to do the 4 doors and 3 drawer fronts for $55. Only used my table saw and pocket hole jig.View attachment 136718
I assembled the right one first and learned a lot. Took me 2 tries, but it turned out ok. The left looks great and now I know what I am doing.
cabinetmakermonkey.com 
Thanks. I had done a "practice" one last weekend with some scrap I had to test my process. It would be nice to have a miter saw, but my ghetto table saw does ok.
My neighbor right across from me has a full woodshop he does nothing with. I'm out here with my $50 Craigslist portable table saw building like a champ. Ever since he quit his 2 days a week at Sears, I have no idea what he does all damn day.
So without hardware, I will be in about $200 in wood, glue, and screws for the kitchen, power station, and battery box. I might have enough to do one overhead cabinet above the sink, but will need more wood for the doors.
That's about $500 under what I figured. And I will say the quality is nicer than the trailers we looked at.
That's about $500 under what I figured. And I will say the quality is nicer than the trailers we looked at.
You can easily afford a hood scoop and rear spoiler now....So without hardware, I will be in about $200 in wood, glue, and screws for the kitchen, power station, and battery box. I might have enough to do one overhead cabinet above the sink, but will need more wood for the doors.
That's about $500 under what I figured. And I will say the quality is nicer than the trailers we looked at.
Truck camper achievement unlocked.
Now I want to find somewhere giving away a 170Ah Renogy LiFePO battery.
Now I want to find somewhere giving away a 170Ah Renogy LiFePO battery.
I don't know about going the lithium battery route. The NTSB is focusing on a lithium battery explosion as the probable cause that started the fire that killed 34 on the dive boat Conception
Most likely not LiFePO4 if from camera equipment as I saw speculated, and likely related to charging if it proves to be true.
Li-* chemistries have such vastly superior energy density that I can't see why anyone would go with any lead variant these days if given a chance.
Boeing says "Hi!"
Initial costs are a limitation. The batteries are 3x the cost of an AGM equivalent and you have to upgrade your existant charging/ battery management system for both the camper and solar panels. Once past that they are more efficient except in sub freezing temperatures but you can with a little effort work around that.
Ah yes, the dreamliner battery fires
Probably. I've also found that I need at least 3" of clearance between the underside of the cab over and the roof to accomodate camper movement.
Probably as you said to account for different cab to bed heights across different trucks. I think most campers have it unless it's a custom build.
I've learnt that Jackson, WY is the capital of campers. So many campers ... Everywhere.
I haven't been to Jackson for several years, but I thought Crested Butte had that title?
It’s big business here. We thought briefly of buying three badass kitted out camper sprinters, but it would be twelve months of payments and insurance for a five month season. That said, they rent EVERY NIGHT for over $300 a night in those five months (assuming they aren’t crashed or broken down), so they can make money. But the depreciation is a bitch, and it would be 1/2 a mill invested or so.
And yet, nobody around that can fix them...
edit: at least as far as Sprinters are concerned.
Got the whole inside shot with Kilz premium. I got the power station, battery box built and the door for the power station. I have a few more wires to run, then I can mount my last wall panel. The AC plug for the fridge and eventual microwave goes on the floor by the door.
Wife picking out paint colors for walls and cabinets today. I should have the rest filled and sanded ready for paint today. Only thing left to build is the battery drawer front. I have just enough clear cedar to finish it.
Here is the temp countertop with cooktop placement.
You making a closet for the shitter, or is it open air like those Brooklyn apartments where it was in the kitchen 100 years ago? THAT would be hipster-retro.
Once I have the shower tub, I will know how much room I have for the bathroom. Once I have the kitchen done, I am doing the fresh water tank and associated plumbing and the shower comes after.
The wife wanted a pot to piss in now, so that was made functional.
They just all have Texas plates in CB (because they need to get out of Texas), and they all have Colorado plates here due to similar reasons.
Maybe she likes semi-public shitting?
If the ring terminals for power and to the charge controller are all sized for M8 battery terminals, but the battery I'm looking at has M12 terminals. Is there an easy way to achieve connectivity? @Adventurous when are you back in CO to help?
Just drive on out and I can get you squared away!If the ring terminals for power and to the charge controller are all sized for M8 battery terminals, but the battery I'm looking at has M12 terminals. Is there an easy way to achieve connectivity? @Adventurous when are you back in CO to help?
In actuality, you have a few options:
Easiest would be a set of mil-spec battery terminals. Bolts onto the power stud (if the battery also has a stud) and provides another bolted side to connect the smaller terminal.
Also easy, but a bit more involved, might be just cutting off and crimping or soldering on a new set of appropriately sized terminals. I get a lot of terminals from www.bestboatwire.com, or you could take a ride down to your local West Marine. Finish it off with some marine grade heat shrink and you'd be good to go.
Does your charge controller require an inline fuse to be added to the cable before connecting it to the battery? My kit didnt come with one, but I chose to add an inline fuse anyway for safety.
I guess for that option I'd need to find a threaded M12 to stud adapter to put on the battery first. All I've found so far are threaded M8 to post adapters. I'll poke around on the site you linked and see what I can see.
edit: site appears to be more wiring focused, need to find somewhere with those mil-spec adapters and see what I can do to connected to threaded M12 terminals.
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Can't seem to find anything to convert the female threaded M12 battery terminals to post to be able to use that mil-spec adapter.
"Terminal Model:5/16th M12 with 0.75mm"
And no great desire to try and alter the ring terminals on the existing cabling, particularly the one from the power management unit.
"Terminal Model:5/16th M12 with 0.75mm"
And no great desire to try and alter the ring terminals on the existing cabling, particularly the one from the power management unit.
Something like this is currently looking viable, but those are ~4mm screws so I'd need suitable washers of some kind.
www.westmarine.com
Battery Terminal Mount Bus Bars | West Marine
Check out our Battery Terminal Mount Bus Bars and more from West Marine!
www.westmarine.com
Can do that too. ACE hardware has a metric shit ton of metric shit, so you should be able to dredge up some appropriately sized washers.Something like this is currently looking viable, but those are ~4mm screws so I'd need suitable washers of some kind.
Battery Terminal Mount Bus Bars | West Marine
Check out our Battery Terminal Mount Bus Bars and more from West Marine!
Also, dont be intimidated by swapping terminals and splicing wires. Unless your camper is wired differently from almost every other RV on the market, chances are you'll need those skills at some point in the not so distant future.
I almost bought some bus bars, but right now I only have 3 + and 2- connections at the battery. Mine has funky flat posts, so it's just a bolt and nut with a couple washers.