Appreciate it. We lost the lab mix in the first picture almost five years ago. We had him almost 14 years, and it took awhile for us to adopt another pup. Glad we did, but it's tough to lose them.
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Towing the new camper
- Thread starter SnowBlaZR2
- Start date
Some more progress on the electrical system upgrades.
The frame for the inverter is built, and that's mounted and wired in.
It's a tight fit with a lot of heat being generated. I added a 12V computer fan and vent to draw air out of the compartment. This will eventually be wired into the Cerbo GX relay and set to come on and turn off at preset temps.
I have a second fan, but just one moves a lot of air. I'll be monitoring temps, especially when we're out west this summer to see if I need more ventilation, but I think we'll be good.
I wanted to test everything out before I mounted the GX 70 and DMC.
Power Assist good to go:
Charging from shore power and solar (a lot of shade and clouds):
Mounted next to the panel and other controls for the rig:
I still need to tidy some things up, but waiting on some shipments. I'll also be mounting our hotspot, security camera base station, and LevelMatePRO to the left of the distribution panel. This will keep everything hidden behind that door and keep the wife happy.
We also spent a little bit of time at our house. We're between tenants and had some severe weather rolling through, so figured we'd go check out the place.
The frame for the inverter is built, and that's mounted and wired in.
It's a tight fit with a lot of heat being generated. I added a 12V computer fan and vent to draw air out of the compartment. This will eventually be wired into the Cerbo GX relay and set to come on and turn off at preset temps.
I have a second fan, but just one moves a lot of air. I'll be monitoring temps, especially when we're out west this summer to see if I need more ventilation, but I think we'll be good.
I wanted to test everything out before I mounted the GX 70 and DMC.
Power Assist good to go:
Charging from shore power and solar (a lot of shade and clouds):
Mounted next to the panel and other controls for the rig:
I still need to tidy some things up, but waiting on some shipments. I'll also be mounting our hotspot, security camera base station, and LevelMatePRO to the left of the distribution panel. This will keep everything hidden behind that door and keep the wife happy.
We also spent a little bit of time at our house. We're between tenants and had some severe weather rolling through, so figured we'd go check out the place.
Wired in a 12V fuse block and 5V USB ports. Our hotspot, camera base station, and weBoost are all now running on 12V and will be hidden behind a cabinet door.
It was a bit of a PITA working in that cabinet with all the wiring and small access, but I got it in.
Getting closer to wrapping it up.
I have a couple brackets and panels to clean things up, but it's all in and functioning.
It was a bit of a PITA working in that cabinet with all the wiring and small access, but I got it in.
Getting closer to wrapping it up.
I have a couple brackets and panels to clean things up, but it's all in and functioning.
Cleaned it up a bit today and added a gas strut to the cabinet door.
I also mounted the weBoost antenna right below where our hotspot is mounted.
We also got down into the teens for a few days, so wrapped our hose and connections.
I still have a few smaller projects I wanted to wrap up, but we're going to be heading west early so we can make a buddy's retirement party.
I also mounted the weBoost antenna right below where our hotspot is mounted.
We also got down into the teens for a few days, so wrapped our hose and connections.
I still have a few smaller projects I wanted to wrap up, but we're going to be heading west early so we can make a buddy's retirement party.
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Rickyrocket
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I had similar living room furniture one time,lol
We're back moving again, and had our first real test of the solar install.
We did have a couple surprises pop up this weekend. We took off Friday evening, but that morning we had a dead battery when my wife tried starting the truck. We used the GT4000 to get it going ( @Rebelguy2020 this worked great), but she had to jump it again to get back home. I wanted to replace the factory Ford batteries with Odyssey Extremes, but couldn't find any in stock, so went with NAPA Premium AGM.
Friday night, we stayed at a Cr@cker Barrel and used the inverter to watch a movie and run the microwave.
The batteries got down to 86% with everything we had going (TV, microwave, coffee, security cameras, refrigerators, etc.).
Solar bringing them back up:
We picked up a nail along the way somewhere, and our TPMS alerted that we had a rapid leak. We found an awesome shop locally that patched it up for us free of charge.
We did have a couple surprises pop up this weekend. We took off Friday evening, but that morning we had a dead battery when my wife tried starting the truck. We used the GT4000 to get it going ( @Rebelguy2020 this worked great), but she had to jump it again to get back home. I wanted to replace the factory Ford batteries with Odyssey Extremes, but couldn't find any in stock, so went with NAPA Premium AGM.
Friday night, we stayed at a Cr@cker Barrel and used the inverter to watch a movie and run the microwave.
The batteries got down to 86% with everything we had going (TV, microwave, coffee, security cameras, refrigerators, etc.).
Solar bringing them back up:
We picked up a nail along the way somewhere, and our TPMS alerted that we had a rapid leak. We found an awesome shop locally that patched it up for us free of charge.
Harvest Host stay at Fortress BeerWorks in Spring, TX:
Another small project that I did was to add LED lights to our storage compartments.
The solar upgrade has been awesome, and we're excited to get out west and go completely off grid for weeks at a time. Out battery bank was down to 76% this morning, and we were back at 100% in just over an hour.
Another small project that I did was to add LED lights to our storage compartments.
The solar upgrade has been awesome, and we're excited to get out west and go completely off grid for weeks at a time. Out battery bank was down to 76% this morning, and we were back at 100% in just over an hour.
Another mod checked off my to-do list...we added lagun style tables with new tops.
From this:
To this:
We also set up our solar suitcase for a total of 1400 watts of solar. We're staying at our current stop for over a month and monthly rates come with metered electric. With our set up, we haven't used a single watt from the grid.
The suitcase has its own charge controller, but I want it to be integrated with the Cerbo GX, so I ordered a Victron 35 amp charge controller. I went bigger than I need, just in case we decide to pick up another 200 watt suitcase.
From this:
To this:
We also set up our solar suitcase for a total of 1400 watts of solar. We're staying at our current stop for over a month and monthly rates come with metered electric. With our set up, we haven't used a single watt from the grid.
The suitcase has its own charge controller, but I want it to be integrated with the Cerbo GX, so I ordered a Victron 35 amp charge controller. I went bigger than I need, just in case we decide to pick up another 200 watt suitcase.
Table bases adjusted, so we can put them together for games or whatever:
We're visiting some friends in Texas until March, so not a lot of new updates, but we do have a couple.
I did a couple modifications to make the truck a little more secure.
Installed a horn relocation kit from KD Fabworks:
I also removed the lock cylinder from the driver's side door:
And the pull rods for all four doors:
I installed the new Victron SCC for our 200W solar suitcase and a Micro-Air EasyStart on our A/C. We've been using the electrical upgrades pretty heavily, almost exclusively, including running the A/C, convection oven, etc. off-grid. We're plugged in, but I have the current limit set at 0.0 on the DMC. We've used hardly any power from the grid the last couple weeks, and it would be almost nothing, but we ran the A/C from the grid for the dogs because we weren't going to be able to easily come back if there was a problem.
Some usage statistics from this week:
I did a couple modifications to make the truck a little more secure.
Installed a horn relocation kit from KD Fabworks:
I also removed the lock cylinder from the driver's side door:
And the pull rods for all four doors:
I installed the new Victron SCC for our 200W solar suitcase and a Micro-Air EasyStart on our A/C. We've been using the electrical upgrades pretty heavily, almost exclusively, including running the A/C, convection oven, etc. off-grid. We're plugged in, but I have the current limit set at 0.0 on the DMC. We've used hardly any power from the grid the last couple weeks, and it would be almost nothing, but we ran the A/C from the grid for the dogs because we weren't going to be able to easily come back if there was a problem.
Some usage statistics from this week:
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For now, two new batteries and making sure I pay my insurance premium every year.
I'm putting together a plan to install DC-DC charging, which will include an Anderson plug wired directly to one of the batteries. I'm planning to mount a hidden small jump box that I can connect to that to get enough juice to unlock the doors.
Ford's design makes it extremely easy to get in to the truck. We're in Texas where they're a popular target. This hopefully means they'll move on to another truck.
Couple more projects off the list.
Added tail lights, a license plate light, and reverse light to our bike rack. With our electric bikes mounted in the rack and the cover on, this was all obscured. Much better now:
I wired everything to a 7 pin connector that allows the bike rack to be easily removed if we want to put it on the truck.
Added tail lights, a license plate light, and reverse light to our bike rack. With our electric bikes mounted in the rack and the cover on, this was all obscured. Much better now:
I wired everything to a 7 pin connector that allows the bike rack to be easily removed if we want to put it on the truck.
Picked up a Diamondback HD. We were really missing the one we had on our Ram, so glad to have one on the F-350.
Also have one of the crossbin tool boxes from Diamondback. Milwaukee packouts fit great in there.
Also have one of the crossbin tool boxes from Diamondback. Milwaukee packouts fit great in there.
Added some rock lights in the wheel wells and under the front and rear frame sections. Rounds out our lighting for the rig.
Castroville, TX to visit some friends in the area before we head west for the rest of the year.
The campsites were nothing special, but we enjoyed the campground for the river access and the big field where we could let the dogs run.
We're back on the move again, and will probably only be staying most places for a week or two. Feels good to have a lot of projects done, and to be heading west to use our solar a lot more.
The campsites were nothing special, but we enjoyed the campground for the river access and the big field where we could let the dogs run.
We're back on the move again, and will probably only be staying most places for a week or two. Feels good to have a lot of projects done, and to be heading west to use our solar a lot more.
Del Rio at the lake. Bowfishing, hiking, fires, etc.
Been awhile since I've posted an update.
We spent some time in southwest Texas in the Big Bend area.
We rented a Jeep and a Vanderhall Venice to explore the area.
We spent some time in southwest Texas in the Big Bend area.
We rented a Jeep and a Vanderhall Venice to explore the area.
