That looks very tidy. Looking forward to hearing how it performs.
My new fridge has very odd shelf dimensions and a little smaller than before (even though it has a much bigger chassis) so I've had to make some new, custom fit, shelf containers
Drovers new Rig - "Big Mal"
- Thread starter Drover
- Start date
My new fridge has very odd shelf dimensions and a little smaller than before (even though it has a much bigger chassis) so I've had to make some new, custom fit, shelf containers
New fridge been running for a week and 5 of them on the road, I'm very happy with it, only one fail was my auto reset fuse had a hissy so bypassed it, it got bashed during the upgrade , I have found the sweet spot on the tubes for my thermo switch and my insulation job especially on the outer wall has shown to be very much a must do mod on any fridge, with the full arvo sun on that side, the wall where the fridge is was the same temp as the rest, only had a couple of days of warm weather now on the Darling Downs a tad cooler.......the temp setting appears to be quite good as well thouhg its easy to knock the touch pad and shut the damn thing down, looking at a bit of Skinz to stick aorund the touch pad so its harder to brush them, a when I get home job a sthats where the gear is ..... The single seat arrangement is working better than expected, far more comfortable and heaps more room especially with the table folded back ............ Grandkids not impressed, where do we sit Poppy, its BYO kids........... the Invertor now fully set up only been used twice does a good job with no stuffing aorund with the remote controller and remote GPO I fitted inside......... All in all the recent upgrades are working well, the Sat dish rewire and new LNB has certainly improved signal strength, done nothing for the shows though, I just have to invent a self cleaning solar panel system as mine are covered in red dust already.............. Big Mal heading into its 12th year is doing well .............................
Have discovered when I fire up the Inverter the Foxbox drops off line, TV , Vast box work fine so inverter is in the boot, its fully lined so Im thinking its a noisy 12v feed......check wiring they might be run too close to each other...
Not really ,taking the easy route, charge laptop and things when not watching Foxtel...
BLUDDY HELL now the inner door handle broke inside.......................... 
.......... temporary repairs carried out, may require an emergency run to Warwick on Monday, very nice folk at Condamine Caravan Repairs have them in stock, still a long drive in the wrong direction ...................... okky strap holding door shut try to only use latch for lock down.....
So thats 3, anymore and we head for home........................
But a victory, @1DayIll you will be pleased to know I have discovered my invertor/Foxbox problem, the cable from invertor to power point in van ran beside the vans 12v input cable, once I moved it away from the 12v lead everything seems to work, musst be some RF from the line that knocks the Foxbox for six, the other Sat box worked okay........... some whiz kid could explain why but it works so Im happy........................
.......... temporary repairs carried out, may require an emergency run to Warwick on Monday, very nice folk at Condamine Caravan Repairs have them in stock, still a long drive in the wrong direction ...................... okky strap holding door shut try to only use latch for lock down.....So thats 3, anymore and we head for home........................
But a victory, @1DayIll you will be pleased to know I have discovered my invertor/Foxbox problem, the cable from invertor to power point in van ran beside the vans 12v input cable, once I moved it away from the 12v lead everything seems to work, musst be some RF from the line that knocks the Foxbox for six, the other Sat box worked okay........... some whiz kid could explain why but it works so Im happy........................
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Geez Drover...did you walk under a ladder, kill a Chinaman, or cross the path of the dreaded black cat? Let's hope it's all plain sailing and good luck from here on...
Mate I'm starting to wonder........ Council have changed their tap fittings so my key doesnt fit, not surprised, have to get another key set, borrowed one to suit. .....
Well a medical issue meant we are back at home.......... nothing else fell off Van or Jeep.. 
.... Fridge doing well, will have to figure out how to fit a CPU fan inside the fridge , actually picking up power that is live when fridge on, led internal light set up means an outside feed as if I pry the light off I'm sure it won't go back......................., so some probing with the meter around the back in order ......... Chairs, I just can't believe how much better they make things .....................
June looking good now.............................
.... Fridge doing well, will have to figure out how to fit a CPU fan inside the fridge , actually picking up power that is live when fridge on, led internal light set up means an outside feed as if I pry the light off I'm sure it won't go back......................., so some probing with the meter around the back in order ......... Chairs, I just can't believe how much better they make things .....................June looking good now.............................
Very happy for you DroverBLUDDY HELL now the inner door handle broke inside..........................
So thats 3, anymore and we head for home........................
But a victory, @1DayIll you will be pleased to know I have discovered my invertor/Foxbox problem, the cable from invertor to power point in van ran beside the vans 12v input cable, once I moved it away from the 12v lead everything seems to work, musst be some RF from the line that knocks the Foxbox for six, the other Sat box worked okay........... some whiz kid could explain why but it works so Im happy........................
Well I got a new door part from Condamine Caravan Repairs at Warwick, QLD very helpfull, all good now thought the fuel was more than the part but made savings on gas and some shopping................Very happy for you Drover
Retracing our footsteps of the aborted trip a few months back, its a tad colder and the diesel heater has been getting a work out even when on shore power, last night it started making a racket, so shut down, let it cool a bit then did an in chassis repair, thankfully with the chair mods the new housing for the heater is just like lifting the bonnet, undo the clips and lift the box off, seems the plastic housing had come loose so some quick maintenance and its was back in action, this unit has always hpwled a bit on full noise but with hearing aids on the table I can't hear it, must annoy those who camp close to me ................. When we get home it might be time for it to be on the bench for a major service, done a few years now so probably a bit of crud in the chamber, added some Fuel Doctor to see if it cleans itself this run.....
Anyone want to donate 400ah of LiPo4 batteries ????? My Gels are getting on like their owner.
Anyone want to donate 400ah of LiPo4 batteries ????? My Gels are getting on like their owner.
Well @Drover , you have got the heating problem fixed. As for the last paragraph and statement, I would put my money on continuing longevity of yourself, even with less bite. As for the gel batteries, I cannot see them lasting as long as their owner so less than 50% chance there, but with TLC could last for a while yet!. And the last idea has zero chance of happening unless a philanthropist is throwing away money and you happen to pass by and collect. Good luck and keep dreaming!!
Haha mine is doing the same. Getting harder to start to after each day on the GCR. Took the combustion intake pipe off and it's full of dirt. Looks like I have to do a serious clean of the glow plug/wire mesh atomiser as it's still needing 2 goes to fire up. We've had to use the heater everyday for a month now. It was freezing in Laverton today
My intake pipe has a coating of red dust inside, so been there awhile, while its early days yet with only about 3 litres of fuel gone through since I added the Fuel Doctor juice but its starting up quicker and Ive seemed to have lost the aircraft APU howl when on full noise.... I chucked 50ml in for 10lts, give it a few more days and will see what the bottom of the filter looks like...... I think its certainly going to be running every day, as near ) temps while at home at Tin Can Bay it looks like 25 to 29 next week.... Damn I love these recliners I fitted in Big Mal, bluddy beautifull.
Just as it should be for the Captain and Exec Officer on the bridge of their ship "Big Mal" @Drover !!! Reclining, swiveling and well padded high backed chairs!
Its been on the cards for awhile, new batteries as the GELs are getting on in years and last run seemed to be a bit slack in the mornings, the other morning I had left a light on with the vast box/TV running, at 05dark it was showing around the 12.6v, sure sign things aren't going well, 2 new 135 AGM's would set me back $700 and 70kg, only giving me really 135ah usable, in the end I went for a Kings 120ah lithium, $649 but on special with a led torch for $458, and only 16kg, so saved heaps of $$ and heaps Kgs, easy enough to add another one later on if needed, ( soon as someone gets over me spending on this one) originally opted for a 200ah but they are just too big to fit without remodelling things................ the Epever Solar Reg just needs the settings manually changed to suit, I can upgrade the firmware to add lithiums to it but Im suss as if it conks out then its stuffed, so handdraulic will be fine........
The mains charger isn't lithium capable, has hardly been used to date so replacing it will be on hold.................. soon find out if it all works nicely in a few weeks, t least the draw bar will be 50kgs lighter which will be welcomed.
Why Kings ??? .................................... Well I know where their desk is to thump if its no good ...................
The mains charger isn't lithium capable, has hardly been used to date so replacing it will be on hold.................. soon find out if it all works nicely in a few weeks, t least the draw bar will be 50kgs lighter which will be welcomed.
Why Kings ??? .................................... Well I know where their desk is to thump if its no good ...................
Happy so far too with the 3 x 135amp Lithiums I bought from Aussie Batteries...haven't done a lot of off grid since fitting them, and when I have been off grid for 3 days plus, I have had the solar panels out so batteries were fully charged at end of day anyway...plus the little 160w on the roof trickles something in while traveling.
The shunt and commlink I fitted though is a dud so far, communications with BMPro have suggested I should send it back to them for "testing"...it is definitely not communicating as it should.
Not a great lover of BMPro systems myself, if this lithium does a good job I will be lying in wait for the next Kings deal that fits my wallet to add another as in reality the 120ah is really only about 95ah usable if I want to get long life out of it, setting up my Epever to be gentle and I will shut down the panels when Big Mal is parked up at home, flick them on again when the meter shows its under 13.2v sort of thing, so should be off for a few months at a time...... Been doing a lot of study on lithium set ups, far more BS around of course, while the battery composition is the same for type, the variety of BMNS settings and units they come with has a wide variation so research is essential and being Lithium they run like a horse flat chat then drop dead where the old AGM would just slow down, get dim and like solar panels lots of bench data which in the real world doesn't apply........ Lots of chaff to sift thru.
Interesting thing is they don't like the cold, so Snowy winter trips could be a problem and they don't like temps over 40c, while the snow won't be a drama for me, the hot could be, something about Lithium and cold/cold and hot/hot............ may have to put a bit of plumbing from the diesel heater for winter in Canberra and a blower from the fridge for those warm days at Innaminka.... my air con battery compartment a stable 25c.....................
Wonder how those vans I saw at show with battery boxes on the chassis with their lithiums will go when it gets to minus.................
Interesting thing is they don't like the cold, so Snowy winter trips could be a problem and they don't like temps over 40c, while the snow won't be a drama for me, the hot could be, something about Lithium and cold/cold and hot/hot............ may have to put a bit of plumbing from the diesel heater for winter in Canberra and a blower from the fridge for those warm days at Innaminka.... my air con battery compartment a stable 25c.....................
Wonder how those vans I saw at show with battery boxes on the chassis with their lithiums will go when it gets to minus.................
Were those the new Jayco Journeys? I've seen the new Journeys in Christchurch, NZ. They were all fitted with AGMs in the external lockers. The Silverlines all had their LiFePO4 batteries fitted inside under the bed alongside all the other electronic gear (inverters, solar chargers etc) so they wouldn't suffer from <0C temps.