#bugoutcamper did very well at Davidson. #fuckingtowvehicle did less well.
Campers
- Thread starter johnbryanpeters
- Start date
And it's installed.
The process necessarily got into the electrical distribution panel, where I found several AC and DC connections to be loose, notably main battery connection to fuses and AC output from main breaker. I would suggest that it's probably worth checking these connections annually.
I'd love to research and install a small solar panel to power our 18' camper (propane fridge but with the kids along, some power options would be handy).
it is so freaking simple. bought a kit on amazon, some connectors an inline fuse 10g wire and a tube of dicor. within 3 hours i had a 200 watt system installed for $350.. If I did not carry my kayaks up on the camper roof I could easily have put up to 4 more 100 watt panels and sprung for a better controller. I used Z mounts to attach the panels to the roof.
I charge up my 2 Group 31 AGM 12v batteries by mid day even in the winter
https://www.amazon.com/Renogy-Watts-Volts-Monocrystalline-Bundle/dp/B00B8L8MD2
@eric strt6, what was your selection process for the AGM batteries? I started shopping and find that a lot of them are in fact dual purpose, with CCA specified. Only Fullriver seems to be available locally.
I had to have them shipped but I went with these guys in 2010 and the batteries are still going strong. Pricy but so far they have proved their worth
http://lifelinebatteries.com/products/rv-batteries/
http://lifelinebatteries.com/products/rv-batteries/
What do you do for cover/tiedown/lock?
This thread is now much more relevant to my interests.
I got into the electrical last night as I uncovered a pile of wires the other day when ripping up the floor and will re redoing things as I see fit. All wires currently tucked into the insulation under the soon to be plywood sub-floor (accessible only by a hatch from the underside) will be relocated above the floor to a fuse panel and the "short stops" that were placed in series will be eliminated. I'd much rather pop and replace a fuse than have a magic box "reset" if I were to short somehow.
I am also more than happy to get ride of the bundle of ground wires running through the bottom of the trailer to attach to a ground point on the frame as well as replacing the unsealed butt connectors used to wire up the runaway brake controller.
Now to peruse these solar options...
I got into the electrical last night as I uncovered a pile of wires the other day when ripping up the floor and will re redoing things as I see fit. All wires currently tucked into the insulation under the soon to be plywood sub-floor (accessible only by a hatch from the underside) will be relocated above the floor to a fuse panel and the "short stops" that were placed in series will be eliminated. I'd much rather pop and replace a fuse than have a magic box "reset" if I were to short somehow.
I am also more than happy to get ride of the bundle of ground wires running through the bottom of the trailer to attach to a ground point on the frame as well as replacing the unsealed butt connectors used to wire up the runaway brake controller.
Now to peruse these solar options...
I used these connectors for all my exterior exposed and interior hard to reach connections some have been up on the roof in rain. snow and baking heat for 3 years now and appear to be in excellent condition
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DW3A78M/ref=s9_acsd_simh_hd_bw_bisy_c_x_2_w?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-3&pf_rd_r=S24HE8QQ5EEDE1MN39P1&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=3eda9334-3050-5ef9-b759-1edaae8a28e7&pf_rd_i=172544
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DW3A78M/ref=s9_acsd_simh_hd_bw_bisy_c_x_2_w?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-3&pf_rd_r=S24HE8QQ5EEDE1MN39P1&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=3eda9334-3050-5ef9-b759-1edaae8a28e7&pf_rd_i=172544
Frame mount an Airsteam Trailer on the flatbed of this 4x4 Fuso and go for it
^
i have a episode of one of those car/truck type shows where they bought an isuzu cab over truck like that....swapped in a cummins and did a solid axle swap up front and converted to 4WD....to be used ss a toy/rockcrawler hauler.
and for futher camper porn....check out main line overland....
i have a episode of one of those car/truck type shows where they bought an isuzu cab over truck like that....swapped in a cummins and did a solid axle swap up front and converted to 4WD....to be used ss a toy/rockcrawler hauler.
and for futher camper porn....check out main line overland....
January 21st I installed a Bogart Engineering TM-2030RV-F TriMetric battery monitor, in part due to the recommendation of @eric strt6. It took me until a couple of days ago to futz around and understand it enough to get it to read battery capacity.
The first problem was coming up with any estimate of capacity in Ampere hours of my questionable Interstate marine dual purpose batteries, for which no such measure is specified. I finally hooked up a data logger and recorded Voltage as I discharged them from full to 50% with constant load, the result being that I estimate the capacity of the two batteries in parallel to be 40 Ah @ 20 Amperes.
The second was the need to understand the behavior of my WFCO WF-8955PEC converter, which, it turns out, never bothers to charge batteries at more than a hair above 13.7 V, which allowed me to correctly set P1, one of the tuning parameters of the monitor.
The monitor's documentation is, ah, dense, with information scattered throughout the users manual. I don't think that your average high school graduate would do very well with it.
The first problem was coming up with any estimate of capacity in Ampere hours of my questionable Interstate marine dual purpose batteries, for which no such measure is specified. I finally hooked up a data logger and recorded Voltage as I discharged them from full to 50% with constant load, the result being that I estimate the capacity of the two batteries in parallel to be 40 Ah @ 20 Amperes.
The second was the need to understand the behavior of my WFCO WF-8955PEC converter, which, it turns out, never bothers to charge batteries at more than a hair above 13.7 V, which allowed me to correctly set P1, one of the tuning parameters of the monitor.
The monitor's documentation is, ah, dense, with information scattered throughout the users manual. I don't think that your average high school graduate would do very well with it.
Yeah, the WFCO will fully charge, but for my crummy batteries it takes 48 hours. I wish that I could find a 55 Ampere converter that was specifically designed for AGH batteries. If I had to buy one today, it'd probably be a Progressive Industries PD4655MBA,
Out of curiosity, I fired up the van and plugged camper into it yesterday morning. Prior to hookup, batteries were happily being trickle charged by the converter at 13.2 V.
Once plugged in, I recorded a staggering 15.1 VDC. I'm now concerned regarding the van's voltage regulator.
Once plugged in, I recorded a staggering 15.1 VDC. I'm now concerned regarding the van's voltage regulator.
here is a list of solar installs folks have done on their campers, some of the installs in this list have some great technical details with photos. its a very good resource. http://forums.trailerlife.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/28427857.cfm
How do you level it? 2x4's?
Recreational dorker.
Off of a Canter 4x4 chassis. $265k new means a toy for Silicon Valley types only.
Dentist level.
Blocks and chocks... For trailers. it'd be so nice if they were outfitted with parking brakes...RV lego blocks
well they kind of are. in theory if you wire a charge line from your breakaway battery to your onboard solar, generator or are using hookups and run through a converter . then just trigger the break away feature to activate the electric brakes. now how much power that would eat up is a whole different matter.. On twin axle trailers they make an expandable wedge that goes between the tires and prevents them from rolling.
I think the breakaway would use a lot of power, and suspect that electromagnets would overheat in time.
I've seen the dual axle blocks and have thought about ginning up something similar for singles. First approximation would use mechanism from a woodworker's pipe clamp, although I'd like something less bulky...
the other thing you could use is what I carry in the horse trailer for changing tires on the dual axle it would work perfectly to chock the wheels in a second when used in pairs.just pull up into the saddle and you are done.
https://www.amazon.com/Trailer-Helper-Folding-Lug-Wrench/dp/B000O5XC56/ref=pd_lpo_263_tr_t_3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=FKN7EHA5CVTBJNDB6GH6
https://www.amazon.com/Trailer-Helper-Folding-Lug-Wrench/dp/B000O5XC56/ref=pd_lpo_263_tr_t_3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=FKN7EHA5CVTBJNDB6GH6
What does that doohickey do?
So my idea is to design cowling and vents on the exterior of the camper and have a small internal turbine generate power to batteries over the trip to your destination. A system so efficient that positioning the trailer to the wind would even provide energy.
Great, a trailer that's more inefficient to tow. Turn your tow rig into an expensive low efficiency generator!
Westy will design some cool shit and I will take credit for it and make eleventy billion dollars. You'll see....
That's what solar panels do, even when parked
heading to Socal in the camper for a ehibition at Del Mar this weekend then working horse shows the following two weekends staying in my camper. so much for any days off in the next month.
It's just part of my hobbying. I put in a water pressure tank and want to record how the water pressure behaves with and without the tank, in particular how frequently the water pump cycles as water is used.
Finally had the Espar diesel heater installed under passenger seat. Puts out lots of heat with minimal power consumption. Just need to complete the insulation of the van.
Yesterday I picked up some new boots also. Not as mean looking as a set of KO2, but better than the stock Vanco for dirt and gravel roads. Also rated for snow.
Van is all set for a short road trip to Virginia.
Yesterday I picked up some new boots also. Not as mean looking as a set of KO2, but better than the stock Vanco for dirt and gravel roads. Also rated for snow.
Van is all set for a short road trip to Virginia.