Keith's M1078A1 Project Overland

[coachgeo]

View attachment 881411
Out of the shop and everything running smoothly. Each panel has a peak rated power of 325 watts for a total potential 2,600 watts. But reality is you only get about 80% of the rated power so the most I’ve seen them produce is 2,100 watts. ...

Lot of watts in them thar panels. Right now I got 1000. Thought is to add another good number on the roof over the Jeep will be towning. That way can place jeep in sun if needed.. and or can have power panels with me if I venture further with jeep alone.

all my products are second hand or Alibaba.. or on sale. Can't afford it any other way. should have around 500ah at 24v when done. Mix lithium and Lead

are you 48v or 24v for habitat?

 

[Keith Knight]

The MDF I used is what is commonly used here in Florida for out door kitchens applications.

 

[coachgeo]

What I used is what is commonly used here in Florida for out door kitchens applications.

is that a reply to Chucky about cabinet wood, or to myself about habitat voltage/Solar setup?

 

[Keith Knight]

That was in response to Chucky.
I went with a 12volt system. Solar is 2,600 watts at peak. And 1,600 amp hr of lithium. Currently replacing my inclosed diesel generator for a much quieter predator 3,500 watt generator.

 

[M1078MAN]

View attachment 886847
just fabricated all the aluminum drawers now to attach glides and test fit.View attachment 886848
This drawer uses 300lb drawer glides that lock in and out which doubles as a step to get into the bed. The lid flips up for accessing whatever.
Just finished cutting all of the drawer and cabinet faces out of outdoor waterproof MDF Board.View attachment 886855View attachment 886856 Next, pull everything back out and cut latch hole, router the edges, sand, seal and paint.

Currently replacing my in closed diesel generator for a much quieter predator 3,500 watt generator.

WOW!!! You do some amazing work. I love my predator 2000 (Small, light weight and Electronic throttle control.. low consumption 12 hours on a tank) I would love a predator in diesel

 

[TomTime]

WOW!!! You do some amazing work. I love my predator 2000 (Small, light weight and Electronic throttle control.. low consumption 12 hours on a tank) I would love a predator in diesel

Does predator make a small diesel generator? I know they make a large diesel generator.

 

[Keith Knight]

Not that I’m aware of. I hated doing it but I’ve had to add a 50 gallon gasoline tank to the truck for the generator. I was trying to keep it a single fuel setup but I rather have silence. It will also help ensure I have gad for the motorcycle.

 

[Third From Texas]

I was trying to keep it a single fuel setup but I rather have silence.

I sadly came to the same conclusion, at least for now. I had a little Yanmar air-cooled mounted and you couldn't hear yourself yell when it was running. I was going to enclose it and do some sound deadening, but even then I'm not sure.





My little gas genset is stealthy in comparison (and currently far cheaper to feed). But I'll need to add a tank if I install it.

 

[Keith Knight]

All the drawers after powder coating getting the inside sprayed with bed liner to help wear and tear. Painting the cabinet and drawer faces. Made the plywood backing for the custom leather seats to be attached to.
I sketched this up so the upholsterer had an idea of what I wanted.
Put the final touches on the shower area with the mounting of the quartz and faucet. Everything put back together with the addition of the quartz countertops, sink, faucet, induction cooktop, and stove. Now off to get the seats made. While the seats are getting done I started working on the dining table. Started with a 10’x8”x 1.25” teak board. The groove is for the table leg and integrated lock for when it’s in the up position.

 

[chucky]

Im with ya my kubota diesel gen is noisy but im so impressed with them over 30 yrs of seeing what they will take and keep on working! I just really want it to be the main back up if everything else goes south once all the house batteries have run down if i got into a cloudy week of no sun !

I wired my house agms to take charge from truck altenator/batts or solar or generator or shore power trying to keep lots of options when Murphy shows up !

I want to get one of the 2200 iu quite suitcase gens to put in the sidebox to have some quite generator but the hondas are so high im wondering since there is a harbour freight on every street corner now to get one of the predators at half price and buy the warranty but i havnt spoke with anyone that has one to see if they work well enough cause one of these little gens would run everything on my truck .

 

[chucky]

View attachment 886971
All the drawers after powder coating getting the inside sprayed with bed liner to help wear and tear.View attachment 886973 Painting the cabinet and drawer faces. View attachment 886974Made the plywood backing for the custom leather seats to be attached to. View attachment 886975
I sketched this up so the upholsterer had an idea of what I wanted. View attachment 886976
Put the final touches on the shower area with the mounting of the quartz and faucet.View attachment 886977View attachment 886978 Everything put back together with the addition of the quartz countertops, sink, faucet, induction cooktop, and stove. Now off to get the seats made. View attachment 886979View attachment 886980View attachment 886982While the seats are getting done I started working on the dining table. Started with a 10’x8”x 1.25” teak board. The groove is for the table leg and integrated lock for when it’s in the up position.

Man that looks great ! Great eye for detail and you can never have enough drawers and storage they seem to just fill up over night ! Since you are already using teak WEST MARINE has some killer teak overhead wine glass holders and other teak pieces that would look great in there check em out !

 

[Keith Knight]

Don’t waste your time. I transformed a military 2000 watt generator into a 3,000 watt brushless unit enclosed and insulated it and still stupid loud.

 

[Mavcaster]

Keith Knight is my spirit animal. Seriously dude…exceptional work!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Keith Knight]

I’ll definitely check out west marine. Seats getting made. The aluminum black plate between the seats are for an extra cushion that can go there when the table is up making into a better lounging area for the rainy days.
98% Done on the inside of the habitat. I designed and fabricated the stainless table leg to also be the locking latch while in the up position.

 

[Keith Knight]

Thanks, I wanted it to be nice for my wife….and I wanted to make it a true investment so it’ll be worth way more than I have invested into it.
Lots of long hard work. We are both retiring at the end of next week. I’m 51 years old and my wife turns 50 in April. We figured do it early and enjoy life while we can then go back to work one day if needed but for now….. we are going for it.

 

[Keith Knight]

A rare look, looking at the back door.

 

[chucky]

I’ll definitely check out west marine. View attachment 886984Seats getting made. View attachment 886985View attachment 886986The aluminum black plate between the seats are for an extra cushion that can go there when the table is up making into a better lounging area for the rainy days. View attachment 886987View attachment 886988
98% Done on the inside of the habitat. I designed and fabricated the stainless table leg to also be the locking latch while in the up position. View attachment 886989View attachment 886990

You will be so glad you went with the thickest couch foam you can lay hands on so many folks use thin foam and 5 min later your sitting on plywood ! A bus builder over in Leesburg fl always would stand backed up to the couches and fall back into them and if he felt the base in anyway the cushions got thrown out and new went back in and they were so comfortable for hrs of sitting going down the road . Your cushions look great you should start building yacht interiors !

 

[chucky]

Thanks, I wanted it to be nice for my wife….and I wanted to make it a true investment so it’ll be worth way more than I have invested into it.
Lots of long hard work. We are both retiring at the end of next week. I’m 51 years old and my wife turns 50 in April. We figured do it early and enjoy life while we can then go back to work one day if needed but for now….. we are going for it.

I did it at 53 and have enjoyed every day of it except i didnt start building my truck till i retired i had just been stock pileing bus interior stuff for a few year leading up to the build so it didnt cost 1/4 as much as if i had waited and had to pay for all the stuff now ! After seeing your solar panel aray makes me want to add 2 more panels on my roof i have the room but was thinking of adding one of the Vantastic ceiling fresh air fans over the main bedroom so im still studying on it !

 

[Keith Knight]

Thanks. I based the seat design after our favorite lounging chairs in our home. Funny you say that about the thickness, I brought the cushions from our home to the upholsterer and pick out a nice soft foam. Well the day I go and pick it up and say down on them they were so stiff and in comfortable. Come to find out she didn’t use the foam I asked for by mistake. It was only the next stiffer than what I selected but after see how stiff they were I asked her to order in the softest foam she could get and she redid them. Oh my gosh what a difference so comfortable and cozy absolutely love them now. Ready for long rainy days and a comfy spot after a long hike.

 

[coachgeo]

View attachment 886983
Don’t waste your time. I transformed a military 2000 watt generator into a 3,000 watt brushless unit enclosed and insulated it and still stupid loud.

the secret to a more quiet diesel is use a water cooled engine. Look into a used water cooled diesel Big Rig APU (aux. power unit) and swap the alternator for a 24v one. Use a 12v step down to 12v, to run any 12v things on APU (sensors?). Advantage is you can set it up also to use that 24v alt as a trail welder. Many you can use the little engine to pre-heat big engine with coolant connections.... some have AC units built in you could use while charging the batts in warm weather or the APU engine's hot coolant to warm the habitat if your not going anywhere to need to prewarm drive engine.