Third's Build Discussion

[Third From Texas]

So it begins...

Winter project: time to start putting the piles of stuff sitting in the living room into the hab.

Next step will be to gut the hab, pull the lighting and re-land some of the electrical drops, paint the interior, lay the flooring and radiant heat, then get really busy.

 

[chucky]

Well chop chop!!!! You aint gettin any younger and this thing wont build itself . Maybe you can utilize some of the folks youve had chained in the basement to help like hold the other end of the tape measure and keep all the cordless batteries charged up for ya and maybe point out shat your doin wrong and by all means dont F this build up take all that shat in the box and throw it out the back door and lets do this rite !! First run all the electrical outlets and if u dont fur the walls out you will have to use wire mold and get your 110 panel set if your not building inner walls you will need to put all sorces of water use one the same wall so you can hide the pex plumbing and loose all them 1970 overhead lights and get ya some nice low draw 12v led puck lights that you can put in the ceiling and cabinets with a whole saw let me know when you get this list done and well move foward !

 

[Third From Texas]

Maybe you can utilize some of the folks youve had chained in the basement to help like hold the other end of the tape measure and keep all the cordless batteries charged up for ya and maybe point out shat your doin wrong and by all means dont F this build up take all that shat in the box and throw it out the back door and lets do this rite !! First run all the electrical outlets and if u dont fur the walls out you will have to use wire mold and get your 110 panel set if your not building inner walls you will need to put all sorces of water use one the same wall so you can hide the pex plumbing and loose all them 1970 overhead lights and get ya some nice low draw 12v led puck lights that you can put in the ceiling and cabinets with a whole saw let me know when you get this list done and well move foward !

Hey, I kept them down in "the bunker" for good reason all these years. They ain't getting out (too much to explain if they are ever seen again).

I'm sticking with exposed conduit drops. I want to retain some of the utilitarian feel so the OEM wire channel and drops will remain (with some improvements). I realized a few weeks back that if I did all the mods I wanted to the box, it would be more wise (and easier) to build my own box (if I had the money, which I don't and if I had the time, which I don't). Cutting walls out of the MN1079 box just became silly (I'd originally wanted a kitchen side, and rear slide/bed-aft, and crawl through). Maybe next truck.

My water run comes from under the bed, thru the cabinet to the sink (heater under the stovetop and behind three drawers), then up the shared dividing wall (my only wall) to the shower (shower door is an accordion fabric RV bathroom door). That's it, short and simple run. One 55 gal fresh (room to add a second if needed), 30 gal grey tank (donated from a remodel my nephew did along with shower pan, Domenic fridge, stove, sink, and countertop). No black tank (I've had an RV before and not interested in dealing with dumps). Toilet will be a Laveo (for now I just have a little camp shitter for emergencies).

Overhead cabinets are dodgy. At best they would be only 8" tall due to the OEM windows. I also don't want to be hitting my head on them over the bed (which is pretty high up the walls). There are a few spots I can install some with reasonable dimensions, but they won't be along the side walls (so not at kitchen/shower/above the desk area/and bed). But I've got a plan for some indirect lighting and some additional storage.

Things change of course, but time and budget lean me in this direction. Simple, cheap, and making use of four year's worth of stuff people have donated to the build.

 

[chucky]

Ok the conduit is fine think about this under the bed where you have the water tank put your house batteries just above the truck batteries run some 2/0 thru a whole in the floor with a big push turn disconect switch so you can tie truck and house batts togeather if needed and run #6 from solar panels to controler then to the house batts with another disconect use atleast 3/0 on the house batteries tieing the batteries togeather in the habitat . If your inverter has a batt charger built in it when you run your generator the inverter will charge all the batteries at the same time and if the solar controler senses more voltage from anywhere else it will quit sending juice to the house batteries and protect itself now this will give you redundancy you will be able start truck from house batts solar keeps house charged and truck if you want to leave it parked a lot unatended now you tie your inverter to house batts again with heavy on/off switch with 2/0 or 3/0 you want to isolate everything if one thing quit / shorts out / what ever you can take it out of the mix at the turn of a switch plus you can eliminate the problem quickly ! Grab a couple of the digital displays so at a glance you want to see A your truck 12v B your truck 24v C your house 12v D your inverter 115v and 2 more for the cab of the truck to see 12/24 . Then if you mount the water tank in the center over the frame for better balance and on the tank b sure to have a overflow hose from tank back to floor running out on the ground so when your filling the tank from the outside you know to turn off the water when the overflow starts spitting water out and you know your full .

 

[Third From Texas]

Batteries under a bed are actually pretty dangerous. from what I've read. It's often done, but there are very solid fire/explosion/safety reasons not to.

Of course my only other location is next to the only exit from the habitat, so I suppose there's no perfect solution here. I even thought about having the house batteries in a separate battery box next to the truck batteries. I've been told that's not ideal in colder climates, though (even with heat).

My original plan had the bed aft and all electronics/electrical/battery/shore power in the driver-side front corner. But that all changed.

While most of my travels will be in "nicer" climates, I do still snow ski and would like to spend a few seasons in the mountains. So I'm tryin to plan for extreme cold (ie: CO is as extreme as I'll be getting).

At the end of the day, no space under the bed will go unused.

All that said, I'm still planning stages of solar and electric. But time is ticking.

Appreciate the knowledge share. I've built cars in the past and owned a small 18' motorhome. I've just never built an RV before (nor a house) so ALL of this is a learning experience to me...

 

[Third From Texas]

I have a 10hp Dewey BAPU (24v diesel battery charger). I modified it by changing out the charging head to a 6500k generator head. Sadly, two years later after only 24 hrs of run time, the generator head suffered a catastrophic internal mechanical failure.

I'm debating just putting the 24v charging head back on. There's at least one user on here (I honestly don't recall whom) who was going this route (24v charger w/inverter). A replacement generator head is not only more difficult to locate but much more expensive these days.

I've been using my spare 6K gas-powered genset since the Northstar gen head took a crap.

 

[chucky]

I have a 10hp Dewey BAPU (24v diesel battery charger). I modified it by changing out the charging head to a 6500k generator head. Sadly, two years later after only 24 hrs of run time, the generator head suffered a catastrophic internal mechanical failure.

I'm debating just putting the 24v charging head back on. There's at least one user on here (I honestly don't recall whom) who was going this route (24v charger w/inverter). A replacement generator head is not only more difficult to locate but much more expensive these days.

I've been using my spare 6K gas-powered genset since the Northstar gen head took a crap.

If your doing it to keep your truck 24 side charged just useing your solar to charge the house batteries tied to the 12v side of the truck batteries for some reason dont ask me why keeps my 24 side of the truck charged as well so just runnibg a hot cable from the house to the truck eliminates alot of stuff ! And as far as battery fires as far as i know of we have never had a battery fire on the house batteries on entertainer buses and no matter who the builder was they all put the house batteries under the drivers area behind the front bumper and im talking 1500 to 2000 buses at worst ive had one of the 3 go bad and gas off which smells to me like burnt eggs stinks like shat but lets you know youve got a bad one and i am talking about sealed agm 4D and 8D batteries and a good thing when you buy the solar controler they have a battery temp probe that you put on the battery and you see on the controler the battery info plus it will shut the charging down if the battery gets to warm .

 

[Third From Texas]

I have a Bussmann battery equalizer, so no issue with 24v/12v charges.

Battery fire hazards are a thing from what I've read. Especially with the increase of cheap Chinese lithiums being used w/solar in RVs and "van life" rigs. Remember, when it comes time for batteries I'll be using the cheapest China lithium bunkerbusters can find on sale w/free shipping (not some fancy-pants name brand LifePro4 $3000/ea batteries). Yeah, lead acid batteries "out gas" as well and should be vented (that smell is actually warning you that death awaits, it's poisonous).

 

[chucky]

I have a Bussmann battery equalizer, so no issue with 24v/12v charges.

Battery fire hazards are a thing from what I've read. Especially with the increase of cheap Chinese lithiums being used w/solar in RVs and "van life" rigs. Remember, when it comes time for batteries I'll be using the cheapest China lithium bunkerbusters can find on sale w/free shipping (not some fancy-pants name brand LifePro4 $3000/ea batteries). Yeah, lead acid batteries "out gas" as well and should be vented (that smell is actually warning you that death awaits, it's poisonous).

I remember the time they gased off on me in 05 when my passenger got back on the bus that night and omg i thought they would never shut up about it ! 1 of the 3 under the front bumber went bad . Lucky for me when 1 goes bad they replace all 3 and i keep the other 2

 

[SCM35A2]

Subscribed!

 

[Third From Texas]

Still mocking up stuff. Got the bathroom curtain/door in. And my 55gal fresh tank.

Going to frame the stowage area to the right at entry next. Will have all electrical and batteries in the that module as well as closet storage space.

Demo will begin soon. Replacing the massive breaker box with a small panel. Deleting the overhead lights. Landing an additional outlet drop for the bathroom. Gut, prep, paint...

 

[chucky]

Still mocking up stuff. Got the bathroom curtain/door in. And my 55gal fresh tank.

Going to frame the stowage area to the right at entry next. Will have all electrical and batteries in the that module as well as closet storage space.

Demo will begin soon. Replacing the massive breaker box with a small panel. Deleting the overhead lights. Landing an additional outlet drop for the bathroom. Gut, prep, paint...

View attachment 850898

As you plan out your(CRIME SCENE) think about balancing you heavy stuff so one thing counters the other heavy thing if your not going to mount your fresh water tank in the center so you dont wind up with all your weight on one wall . Are you going to put hvy steel eyelets in the walls to handcuff your NEW freinds to ?

 

[chucky]

Where are you going to mount the generator ? Are you going to have a shore code tied to your 115v panel ?

 

[Third From Texas]

My genset rides in front of the battery box.

I've posted pics in the past and have tons of them but my laptop won't access my recovery drive. The data is all there, it just an crappy old laptop not seeing the drive adaptor.

Yes, I have shore power to the panel. The way I have it for now is the shore power cable is the ONLY way to juice the panel (connected to either the wall outlet of the genset). I don't have cutoffs or bypass switches set up yet to flip from shore to gen and until I properly wire it all, I don't want to running on shore power on and then accidently start the gen (or visa-versa) and see what happens!

 

[Third From Texas]

 

[Third From Texas]

*that Northstar genhead was a POS, btw.

Had ~30 hours on it when it basically exploded.

 

[chucky]

How many amps are you going to need to feed the panel when its all said and done including generator upgrades over the years so build the panel extra big and plugs now instead of not big enough later and instead of a ship/shore switch think about puting a male say 30 amp plug tail coming off the MAIN lugs of the panel so you isolate the panel all by itself then get 3 female 30 amp receptical in seperate gang boxs close enough for the male tail to reach all 3 recepticals on rec 1 will be generator power . rec 2 will be shore power . rec3 will be inverter power ! Now your house batteries will feed your 12v fuse panel and your inverter with fused swing gate inline fuses to isolate each componet seperatly as well as the solar controller to make it easier to troubleshoot problems in the future when some componet shats the bed as it most likely will in just seconds you know what to start working on instead having no idea where to start and it could be the ship shore switch that has coroded contacts or welded contacts but you cant tell ! I HATE THEM

 

[Third From Texas]

Rgr all.

Yeah, the OEM panel in there is about what I would have installed in a commercial warehouse, shop, etc. It's *way* too big.

Currently here's a 100amp main, a 50amp, a 30amp, three 20amp, and three 15amp. I've neutered it so as to delete the 208 phase stuff.

At most I have: 5k BTU a/c, TV, LED lighting, water pump, floor heat (will likely never be used, but it's there). There will be a battery charger or two in the mix. So I could honestly fit what I need in a lunchbox-sized panel. There are no elevators, ceiling fans, chandeliers, or hot tubs in my build. I bet four 15amp breakers would cover the works (remember, 12 foot box here with a one dog, one person, and the occasional hourly rental wench/lot lizard (they don't stay the night).

Cool idea on the way to set it up with plugs instead of a switch.

 

[chucky]

Rgr all.

Yeah, the OEM panel in there is about what I would have installed in a commercial warehouse, shop, etc. It's *way* too big.

Currently here's a 100amp main, a 50amp, a 30amp, three 20amp, and three 15amp. I've neutered it so as to delete the 208 phase stuff.

At most I have: 5k BTU a/c, TV, LED lighting, water pump, floor heat (will likely never be used, but it's there). There will be a battery charger or two in the mix. So I could honestly fit what I need in a lunchbox-sized panel. There are no elevators, ceiling fans, chandeliers, or hot tubs in my build. I bet four 15amp breakers would cover the works (remember, 12 foot box here with a one dog, one person, and the occasional hourly rental wench/lot lizard (they don't stay the night).

Cool idea on the way to set it up with plugs instead of a switch.

So maybe seperate the 2 sidewalls with there own 20 amp breaker the 3rd 20 amp breaker for ac/heat things will change over the years so a breaker for the mini split and 1 outside weatherproff plug 20 amp and of coarse your not going to have that kind of load on them but for the sake of redundancy you lose a wall the other wall will hold the load til repairs can be made ! And as far as the misunderstood romantic rental if you do it rite they do stay all nite! kind of like the old bull young bull joke !

 

[Third From Texas]

Started on the OEM lighting deletes today. Pulled down the conduit and fixtures. Also pulling the micro switches for the blackout shades (I may keep the rear door switch and arm it as an alarm trigger).

I have to mock up the rest of the bathroom so I can land my electrical outlet in there (with GFCI of course).

I'm going to change a few of the conduit drops while I'm at it.

Slowly making progress...