zardos Posted October 29, 2018 Share Posted October 29, 2018 So Just a small camper van then 😉, I did half own a volvo BM10 coach as a camper, it was 12m long and a deck and a half and was about 17t GVW and then towing a 6.5m trailer. For a cheap inverter you can use a computer UPS unit, some of them run on 24v, we picked up a 1200w one with duff batteries (not needed) for £16. You just need to snip off the alarm buzzer and put some external battery leads on. A cheap way to get a pure sinewave inverter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arjan Posted October 29, 2018 Share Posted October 29, 2018 Looks good ! Well, Napoleon inveted paperwork and it's an Art form here.... But a more is possible these days, but it is not easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwakers Posted October 30, 2018 Author Share Posted October 30, 2018 so today's plan was to get the gas all plumbed in which was a good plan, and nearly happened so first i decided on where to run the copper hard pipe, ran it along the 5th floor cross-member and up behind the sink cupboard in the end. secured all the way along with p clips and all was well then i measured up and cut the flexi pipes then took them to hydroscand for a boat load of fittings (and the p clips) as my local hydraulic guy couldn't help me. "we don't touch gas!" loads of gas grade ptfe later and it was ready for testing.... only to find out my regulator doesn't. bloody thing lets no gas through. bugger. i know i promised ya'll a load of pics from Sundays work. but the time i got round to it it was dark, so these from today will have to do... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arjan Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 You've been busy ! Hope you don't ming my saying, in Holland & france, crossing gaspipes are frowned upon in vehicles.... But looking good and a lot of hard work ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwakers Posted October 31, 2018 Author Share Posted October 31, 2018 yes its less than ideal but im just copying dads setup and his was built by a coachbuilder. its better than the other option, which is do the whole lot in flexi 😳 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwakers Posted October 31, 2018 Author Share Posted October 31, 2018 or did you mean where the cross under the sink? in which cas, was not intentional i wasnt paying attention, and will be changed later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arjan Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 Yes - the latter. Good idea ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallfry Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 My Brother in Law has had problems with his batteries and the Good old boys on his truck, a very tall 4WD DAF thing So, he moved them to an armoured hard to get at box underneath, and filled some old ones with concrete, which live on the battery tray with dud leads connected. Wont be long ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arjan Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 Pity there is no camer footage for that... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwakers Posted October 31, 2018 Author Share Posted October 31, 2018 3 hours ago, smallfry said: My Brother in Law has had problems with his batteries and the Good old boys on his truck, a very tall 4WD DAF thing So, he moved them to an armoured hard to get at box underneath, and filled some old ones with concrete, which live on the battery tray with dud leads connected. Wont be long ! the batteries have been left alone since they where chained up. if they get interfered with again im going to put them inside with the leisure batteries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnoK Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 A question, if I may... What is your reasoning for using the dark covering on the panels? You will probably end up having to use your lights all the time you are in the vehicle and if you are on battery power, it will soon run them down. Surely, white or lighter would give better ambient conditions and require less use of the lights? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwakers Posted November 1, 2018 Author Share Posted November 1, 2018 (edited) youd be surprised. its quite light in side and also the solar panel is more than capable of keeping the battery fully charged. plus, light coverings need cleaning more often and show stains more. even before i had the solar, and before i had fitted the windows, the lights could be on 5 days in a row and not be significantly discharged. they are LED after all. Edited November 1, 2018 by qwakers 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwakers Posted November 1, 2018 Author Share Posted November 1, 2018 pics from the last few sessions. solar panels (no i'm not climbing a ladder just to take a pic of a solar panel.) gas stuff water tank and then onto today. so, one step forwards, two steps back. decided to take the chequer plate off the floor. that way i can use it to make stuff with and not have to buy more and its not useful in the living area anyway. look what i found.. leading edge of the floor is rotten. GOOD NEWS! someone had cut the floor away in the past to work on the gearbox. probably to do the clutch. which is good. but they didn't bother to properly re seal the floor around the cut, so yeah, the middle is rotten and most of the firs 6" of the floor has gone with it. so out came the seat unit. then up came the rest of the chequer plate, and out came the hammer. its not too bad, should be a nice cheap fix. the fibreglass coated ply that used to be where the door and windows now are is rathe helpfully about the right size. so ill use that. save me a few quid. and when i'm done ill underseal it or something to stop it happening again. grrrrr. oh, and say hello to old smokey, its a bit hard to start when your using contaminated petrol to run it (about 10% diesel) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arjan Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 I think I have " hello to old smokey's " distant cousin here..... 😁 Very usefull when you need to work out in the fields.... Looking good ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwakers Posted November 4, 2018 Author Share Posted November 4, 2018 (edited) today was the flooring and walling day well, today and yesterday. yesterday i repaired and sealed the floor today i fitted the laminate and refitted the seat unit. then finished the back wall of the toilet room. getting there Edited November 4, 2018 by qwakers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwakers Posted November 6, 2018 Author Share Posted November 6, 2018 (edited) so the ceiling of the loo is in, all the walls are done, so its just fit shower tray and hang the sink. slight irritation, the solar panel i bought (not on the cheap either!) has shat itself... 😡 its open circuit voltage has dropped to 11.8v and when connected (minus solar controller) it drains the battery at .8 of a amp. result... batteries resembling a pancake. i know its cloudy but it should be producing SOMETHING! now having spent a little time reading, the open circuit voltage of this panel should be about 14v which is carp! all other panels ive come across show a OCV of about 21v for a 12v panel! bought another on the recommendation of a solar guy and it was only a fiver more expensive. will send the original back. jobs left to do as of this afternoon. Sort solar. fit internal doors finish toilet room finish trimming the walls fit tie down points x8 weld ramps hinges on make ramp longer and folding (ideas here have changed somewhat... will see if it works!) make it look pretty! (de sticker and clean up the outside) getting there. just a few more weeks work, i hope! also got a gas engineer coming out week after next to have a gander at the hob and cooker. they're misbehaving and i'm sure could do with a good service. Edited November 6, 2018 by qwakers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted November 6, 2018 Share Posted November 6, 2018 If the floor is wooden, have you got a way of tying the tie downs through to the chassis? Interested to see what you do with the ramps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwakers Posted November 6, 2018 Author Share Posted November 6, 2018 floor cross members are very well attached and substantial I beam style. the plan is the locate the tie-down hooks over the cross members and bolt straight through the floor into the I beams. should be more than strong enough! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shackleton Posted November 6, 2018 Share Posted November 6, 2018 Great work man, that's a big bus 😎 What watt is your solar wot wot? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwakers Posted November 6, 2018 Author Share Posted November 6, 2018 100watt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwakers Posted November 6, 2018 Author Share Posted November 6, 2018 im currewntly fiddling about on this website to try and decide weather its worth a controller upgrade whilst im at it http://www.enerdrive.com.au/mppt-vs-pwm-solar-controllers/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex Member Posted November 6, 2018 Share Posted November 6, 2018 You want a decent quality MPPT controller to maximum use of the energy. Anything else and you are just wasting the panel(s). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwakers Posted November 6, 2018 Author Share Posted November 6, 2018 in theory i agree with you. but cost vs benefit is my problem right now. sure there are cheap mppt controllers on the bay, but i doubt that (A) they are actually mppt and even of the are then (B) i doubt theyre going to work as well as they should... im having real trouble finding a reliable supplier..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shackleton Posted November 6, 2018 Share Posted November 6, 2018 Been looking into it and there are any number of them, there's so much 'van life' stuff online. Here's a couple I've seen recently; http://www.epsolarpv.com/en/index.php/Product/index/id/571/am_id/134 https://gpelectric.com/products/30-amp-digital-solar-controller/ Know nothing about them other than they seemed to be working well for some people living in their vans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex Member Posted November 6, 2018 Share Posted November 6, 2018 Renogy is a good price and well regarded. https://uk.renogy.com/ https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Garden-Outdoors/Renogy-Monocrystalline-Starter-Charge-Controller/B06WGW485F/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1541542393&sr=8-2&keywords=Renogy%2BRover%2B%2BMPPT%2BSolar%2BCharge%2BController&th=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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