Grandpa Gunna's 17.58.3 OB mods

[Grandpa Gunna]

@Drover, I am waiting on info back from the organization that the wife's trial CPAP machine is from. Just got off the phone, they are talking about a little 300w inverter They say cpap draw is approx 3.5a/hr using humidifier as well!!!

@Boots in Action I'm running a 200w panel on roof and have 200w folding, feeding a single 120ah agm.
Two 135ah agms appear to be the answer. I currently have a VSR with individual andersons for van power and fridge from tug, 2016 Isuzu MUX, would a dc-dc charger give better charge from tug?
(Working out power usage is easy just leave grandkids at home)

 

[Gero]

@Grandpa Gunna I use a CPAP machine (Resmed) and ended up getting an Air10 DC-DC converter to plug into the cigar connection by the bed. Works well and I turn the humidifier off when coming off van batteries. Can't tell you what it draws but have 2 x 100 a/h batteries and have no problems so far.

 

[Boots in Action]

@Drover, I am waiting on info back from the organization that the wife's trial CPAP machine is from. Just got off the phone, they are talking about a little 300w inverter They say cpap draw is approx 3.5a/hr using humidifier as well!!!

@Boots in Action I'm running a 200w panel on roof and have 200w folding, feeding a single 120ah agm.
Two 135ah agms appear to be the answer. I currently have a VSR with individual andersons for van power and fridge from tug, 2016 Isuzu MUX, would a dc-dc charger give better charge from tug?
(Working out power usage is easy just leave grandkids at home)

Well @Grandpa Gunna , you certainly have your hands full. If the cpap is drawing 3.5amps per hour, it is going to use a lot of power overnight. If used for 8 hours, you are down 28 amps to start with. That is 6 hours' harvesting solar at an average of 5 amps per hour every day to recover that alone!! Is that 3.5A per hour at 240 volts from inverter or is that 3.5A at 12 volts? As you are probably aware, inverters are big users of battery power converting 12 volt DC battery power to 240 volt AC. I have recently seen some cpap units advertised using 12 volt power using their own 25ah battery or connected to van electrical system. I admit I am no expert on this subject, so will leave that subject to others.

Yes, 2 X 135 ah batteries will provide more storage, but you still have to keep them charged through good solar days and poor cloudy days.

And yes, a BC-DC charger will definitely provide much better charging from tug alternator as tug alternator does not properly charge multiple batteries like auxiliary in tug and van battery/ies. See below for more info as your late model vehicle will have an electronic controller. Good info on this subject. Hope this helps .

 

[Drover]

If your spending lots of time driving with van behind then upgrading charging from tug is worth it but if camping off grid for days on end then far better to improve the solar capabilities on van ................. A quick yarn with my mate about them, he's been using them for donkeys and has had a few, his each have a portable battery pack, in his van he uses the portable battery pack for one and plugs the other in with the DC-DC convertor unit they come with to run it from van batteries, he says the units DC-DC convertor like a laptop power unit but with a 12v plug draws less than if he used his 240 inverter, he doesn't use humidifiers, unless they really have to.
When van battery is charged up then he charges the battery pack up, he has enough panels so mostly the panels do it while the van battery stays full but he does say they are hungry buggas, if bad weather then its either van park for 240 or runs his genny to get batteries up, he doesn't use the tug as a charger as an old truckie running diesels at idle for hours is a no, no...... I forget what brand he has but they are what DVA uses.............. So many out there would make selection difficult.

 

[Boots in Action]

If your spending lots of time driving with van behind then upgrading charging from tug is worth it but if camping off grid for days on end then far better to improve the solar capabilities on van ................. A quick yarn with my mate about them, he's been using them for donkeys and has had a few, his each have a portable battery pack, in his van he uses the portable battery pack for one and plugs the other in with the DC-DC convertor unit they come with to run it from van batteries, he says the units DC-DC convertor like a laptop power unit but with a 12v plug draws less than if he used his 240 inverter, he doesn't use humidifiers, unless they really have to.
When van battery is charged up then he charges the battery pack up, he has enough panels so mostly the panels do it while the van battery stays full but he does say they are hungry buggas, if bad weather then its either van park for 240 or runs his genny to get batteries up, he doesn't use the tug as a charger as an old truckie running diesels at idle for hours is a no, no...... I forget what brand he has but they are what DVA uses.............. So many out there would make selection difficult.

@Drover , excellent advice in all respects. And yes, running diesel tug to charge batteries, especially without a BC-DC unit , is a last resort action if all other alternatives are not possible. The same applies to avoiding the use of Inverters to charge up cpap batteries.
For @Grandpa Gunna , there is going to be compromises to be made, as it seems impossible to cover ALL contingencies. Flexibility to be able to change things around would be paramount. Unfortunately, your wallet is going to become considerably lighter!

 

[Grandpa Gunna]

An update on a minor mod completed.
Microwave really only used to store bread so now a cupboard

And some new toys for the grand kids & adults
Finally got some time away and was able to try them out.
Long weekend bush camping at Lake Keepit with 2 other families

@Drover you might recognize the main st location. Timed the run to hit the bakery at lunch time

 

[Drover]

@Drover you might recognize the main st location. Timed the run to hit the bakery at lunch time

Thats the place, did you notice the new street scape ???? Wanted to stop at Keepit on our run home at Xmas since it has water but needed to get to the border zone to start our weeks of Twilight Zone Iso at Bingara, a hard task for sure................ looks great with some water..

 

[Grandpa Gunna]

Over the last couple of trips noticed that the roof was stating to misalign when closing, leaning towards awning side.
After researching on the forum found a solution that has done the trick
I'd like to thank @toadskin for his answer to the problem. (although I only went with stage one and am using wooden blocks that just sit there.)
This is what I like about this forum as the members are willing to share their experiences and expertise to assist others.

Before

After

and the block (one at back Clip and one front clip

 

[Drover]

Did you try giving all the moving bits a lube ? I found once I had wiped the ram shafts with some Lannox and gave the knuckle joints a squirt it started to go straight again. Worked that out after a ram popped off.

 

[KECL]

Over the last couple of trips noticed that the roof was stating to misalign when closing, leaning towards awning side.
After researching on the forum found a solution that has done the trick
I'd like to thank @toadskin for his answer to the problem. (although I only went with stage one and am using wooden blocks that just sit there.)
This is what I like about this forum as the members are willing to share their experiences and expertise to assist others.

Before
View attachment 68072
After
View attachment 68073
and the block (one at back Clip and one front clip
View attachment 68074

Is there specific 'dimensions' for the blocks. I will give the lubrication a try as suggested by @Drover but may make a couple of blocks up as well.

 

[Grandpa Gunna]

@KCE I used the dimensions from @toadskin message in the following thread 17' Series PopTop Roof Misaligned

"The width of the locators at the base were about 67mm. The height wasn't critical. The first ones were made of timber so I could pack them out a bit until I got the width right and the roof sat where I wanted it to be. If you start at 67mm you should be pretty close. Mine was 67 at the rear and 69 at the front."

I just fine tuned with sanding.They are not fixed just seat there

 

[Grandpa Gunna]

Sorry meant @ KECL
bloody smart phones or more likely the user

 

[Grandpa Gunna]

How are you finding the blocks working well I'm worried if I don't make them perfect it may put pressure on the pop top even if it want to go over out of line could it crack being forced by timber ....?....but I think I need to do this

@Bluey, it's trial and error, I spent a fair bit of time sanding and shaping to make it so it slides over it without having to force it down. Have also done what @Drover recommend re lannox on rams.

 

[Grandpa Gunna]

Sorry to many "n"
Lanox lubricant

 

[Drover]

Sorry to many "n"
Lanox lubricant

Lanox = Sheep juice.