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#47
Living and travelling... in a van / Re: Health Insurance in Canada
July 19, 2019, 08:56:35 PM
bump to foil spammers
#48
Van Conversion / Re: Yet another battery/solar question
July 19, 2019, 08:54:12 PM
Bump to foil spammers
#49
Van Conversion / Re: Yet another battery/solar question
July 15, 2019, 07:58:02 AM
Greetings!
I'd check the age on the battery. Many of those expensive batteries have sat on the shelf for years before they get sold. A battery shop should be able to give you a free load test on it too.
If the battery checks out, then it either has to be the load, or the charging. If the loads check out okay, then it's the solar or the controller.
Both the panels and the controller should be checkable with a multi-meter, and should be checked close to solar noon ( sun at 12 oclock, regardless of time ) on a bright sunny, cloudless day. Both the panel output and the controller output should be checked at the controller's in and out connections.
Cheers!
I'd check the age on the battery. Many of those expensive batteries have sat on the shelf for years before they get sold. A battery shop should be able to give you a free load test on it too.
If the battery checks out, then it either has to be the load, or the charging. If the loads check out okay, then it's the solar or the controller.
Both the panels and the controller should be checkable with a multi-meter, and should be checked close to solar noon ( sun at 12 oclock, regardless of time ) on a bright sunny, cloudless day. Both the panel output and the controller output should be checked at the controller's in and out connections.
Cheers!
#50
Van Conversion / Re: Yet another battery/solar question
July 15, 2019, 12:52:51 AM
Greetings!
Solar sucks... Most full timers have scrapped it totally, myself included.
There seems to be a huge discrepancy between the shallow charge that you get with solar, and a normal charge while driving or with a battery charger. I spent a lot of time without power when I was relying on solar alone. When I added an isolator to also charge my house battery while driving, my problems soon disappeared. When my solar panels got stolen, it literally made no difference, I still had plenty of power, just like I did in other rigs that never had solar.
Is your house battery a deep cycle one? And how old is it? Part of the problem could be your battery. For that fridge I'd do double your battery capacity, and triple your input power. My cheaper solution was to replace powered fridges with a simple ice chest that require no power, don't break down, and don't add heat to my interior during the summer.
Today, I have 2 deep cycle 100ah batteries, one for a house battery, and the other installed as a starting battery, and I can switch between them to power my house. Each will last roughly a week before the battery protectors will cut them off to prevent over discharging them. Even after shut off, my starting battery still has plenty of juice to start my rig.
As a backup plan, I have a small $99 gas generator, and combined with a $29 battery charger, so I can fully charge either battery from anywhere. If I have shore power, that same battery charger can be used there as well. Relying on the weather for power is a gamble I'm no longer willing to accept, especially since a better solution is also cheaper. Normally, what little driving I do is totally sufficient for keeping my batteries charged.
Cheers!
Solar sucks... Most full timers have scrapped it totally, myself included.
There seems to be a huge discrepancy between the shallow charge that you get with solar, and a normal charge while driving or with a battery charger. I spent a lot of time without power when I was relying on solar alone. When I added an isolator to also charge my house battery while driving, my problems soon disappeared. When my solar panels got stolen, it literally made no difference, I still had plenty of power, just like I did in other rigs that never had solar.
Is your house battery a deep cycle one? And how old is it? Part of the problem could be your battery. For that fridge I'd do double your battery capacity, and triple your input power. My cheaper solution was to replace powered fridges with a simple ice chest that require no power, don't break down, and don't add heat to my interior during the summer.
Today, I have 2 deep cycle 100ah batteries, one for a house battery, and the other installed as a starting battery, and I can switch between them to power my house. Each will last roughly a week before the battery protectors will cut them off to prevent over discharging them. Even after shut off, my starting battery still has plenty of juice to start my rig.
As a backup plan, I have a small $99 gas generator, and combined with a $29 battery charger, so I can fully charge either battery from anywhere. If I have shore power, that same battery charger can be used there as well. Relying on the weather for power is a gamble I'm no longer willing to accept, especially since a better solution is also cheaper. Normally, what little driving I do is totally sufficient for keeping my batteries charged.
Cheers!
#51
Van Conversion / Re: LDV Convoy Fuses
July 04, 2019, 10:23:44 PM
Greetings!
I did a pretty extensive search, but couldn't come up with a fuse diagram for you, sorry...
If your roof has no holes in it, then it's likely window or door seals. If your roof does have holes in it, then that's your likely culprit.
Cheers!
I did a pretty extensive search, but couldn't come up with a fuse diagram for you, sorry...
If your roof has no holes in it, then it's likely window or door seals. If your roof does have holes in it, then that's your likely culprit.
Cheers!
#52
Common Room / Re: insurance conundrum
July 01, 2019, 07:59:58 PM
Greetings & Welcome!
There's a lot of variables involved here that you're not telling us... Like year, make, model, & value of the motorhome, and the value of the contents.
I've never paid over $2500 for a motorhome, and the contents would never be worth over that either, except maybe in sentimental value, which can't be replaced or compensated for anyway. So a $5000 replacement fund is my insurance policy, along with a $5000 emergency fund. Plus I have money in the bank if I need it. So I just have liability insurance, because the insurance company wouldn't pay me diddly anyway. This choice probably saves me two or three hundred dollars a month, and if I need it, the money is available instantly rather than waiting around for some insurance company to screw me over.
Cheers!
There's a lot of variables involved here that you're not telling us... Like year, make, model, & value of the motorhome, and the value of the contents.
I've never paid over $2500 for a motorhome, and the contents would never be worth over that either, except maybe in sentimental value, which can't be replaced or compensated for anyway. So a $5000 replacement fund is my insurance policy, along with a $5000 emergency fund. Plus I have money in the bank if I need it. So I just have liability insurance, because the insurance company wouldn't pay me diddly anyway. This choice probably saves me two or three hundred dollars a month, and if I need it, the money is available instantly rather than waiting around for some insurance company to screw me over.
Cheers!
#53
Common Room / Re: Lwb sprinter vs lwb crafter
June 28, 2019, 06:45:05 PM
Greetings!
Work/cargo vans make for terrible campers, and there is no cheap or easy way to convert them. Unlike passenger vans, they're simply not designed to keep people in the back comfortable.
Too many people convert them, only to find how bad they suck as campers, then lose a ton of money on them when they sell them to upgrade to a better choice.
The first choice should always be a cheap factory camper. That can teach you what you really want or need. Only your personal experiences can teach you that. Test drive a bunch of them, each will drive differently. Pick one that is comfortable for you to drive, and one that has a good floor plan. In the end, it will be much cheaper than building your own, and the resale value will be higher as well.
Use it as it was designed, and don't add stupid stuff like solar panels. All the garbage you read is designed to get you to buy stuff, so somebody gets paid. Don't fall for it, almost all of it is terrible advice.
Cheers!
Work/cargo vans make for terrible campers, and there is no cheap or easy way to convert them. Unlike passenger vans, they're simply not designed to keep people in the back comfortable.
Too many people convert them, only to find how bad they suck as campers, then lose a ton of money on them when they sell them to upgrade to a better choice.
The first choice should always be a cheap factory camper. That can teach you what you really want or need. Only your personal experiences can teach you that. Test drive a bunch of them, each will drive differently. Pick one that is comfortable for you to drive, and one that has a good floor plan. In the end, it will be much cheaper than building your own, and the resale value will be higher as well.
Use it as it was designed, and don't add stupid stuff like solar panels. All the garbage you read is designed to get you to buy stuff, so somebody gets paid. Don't fall for it, almost all of it is terrible advice.
Cheers!
#54
Van Conversion / Re: Insulating Floor
June 27, 2019, 06:14:21 PM
Greetings!
Window covers can definitely come in handy at times. I usually just use a sleep mask myself, if I don't need privacy. I really don't care if someone wants to watch me sleep. My bathroom is private, other than that, not so much...
Cheers!
Window covers can definitely come in handy at times. I usually just use a sleep mask myself, if I don't need privacy. I really don't care if someone wants to watch me sleep. My bathroom is private, other than that, not so much...
Cheers!
#55
Van Conversion / Re: Roof lift on a Ford E150 sanity!?!
June 27, 2019, 06:09:10 PM
Greetings!
Be careful about too much weight up high, it can really mess up your handling.
Yes, you can make an adapter frame fairly easily... Take the boards front and back, and temporarily mount them at securely to roof, as level as possible. Then you take a compass, and open it up to 45°. With the pencil on the board, trace the outline of the roof with the pointed end of the compass, and you will have the exact contour drawn onto your board. Then you cut it with a jigsaw.
Cheers!
Be careful about too much weight up high, it can really mess up your handling.
Yes, you can make an adapter frame fairly easily... Take the boards front and back, and temporarily mount them at securely to roof, as level as possible. Then you take a compass, and open it up to 45°. With the pencil on the board, trace the outline of the roof with the pointed end of the compass, and you will have the exact contour drawn onto your board. Then you cut it with a jigsaw.
Cheers!
#56
Van Conversion / Re: BMW X3 conversion to camper van possible?
June 27, 2019, 04:28:54 AM
Greetings!
Not familiar with yours exactly, but on some of them the seat bottom flips up and forward, then the back folds down to make it flat.
Cheers!
Not familiar with yours exactly, but on some of them the seat bottom flips up and forward, then the back folds down to make it flat.
Cheers!
#57
Van Conversion / Re: Insulating Floor
June 27, 2019, 04:24:15 AM
Greetings!
Sorry to hear about your bad experience with a wick type heater. I've been using them for many years now, including running them all night if it's below freezing out, and never had any trouble. At -60f I could keep my interior in the 70's, with no added insulation and not covering the windows.
When I had a heavily insulated windowless van, the doors and windows got frozen shut, and trapped me inside. Without added insulation, my heater will prevent any snow or ice buildup on the outside of my van or windows. Keeps everything dry inside too.
Cheers!
Sorry to hear about your bad experience with a wick type heater. I've been using them for many years now, including running them all night if it's below freezing out, and never had any trouble. At -60f I could keep my interior in the 70's, with no added insulation and not covering the windows.
When I had a heavily insulated windowless van, the doors and windows got frozen shut, and trapped me inside. Without added insulation, my heater will prevent any snow or ice buildup on the outside of my van or windows. Keeps everything dry inside too.
Cheers!
#58
Common Room / Re: Cornish Introduction
June 27, 2019, 04:11:22 AM
Greetings!
There's different types of swamp coolers. Mine is the indirect type, so it actually dehumidifies the inside air. The damp air is blown outside.
Cheers!
There's different types of swamp coolers. Mine is the indirect type, so it actually dehumidifies the inside air. The damp air is blown outside.
Cheers!
#59
Common Room / Re: Manchester Introduction
June 26, 2019, 09:10:12 PM
Greetings and Welcome!
As an experienced nomad, the more windows the better, and if they're opening windows, thats even better yet.
Cheers!
As an experienced nomad, the more windows the better, and if they're opening windows, thats even better yet.
Cheers!
#60
Van Conversion / Re: Insulating Floor
June 26, 2019, 07:37:33 AM
Greetings!
North of the arctic circle besides insulating the floor, you're going to want carpet or at least thick throw rugs.
That hs2000 is probably only 6500 BTU, and that likely will not be enough. In weather that cold, I use a 23k BTU wick type kerosene heater. In the USA, kerosene winds up being much cheaper than propane, and it's much safer as well. Mine will also burn diesel if kerosene isn't readily available.
Cheers!
North of the arctic circle besides insulating the floor, you're going to want carpet or at least thick throw rugs.
That hs2000 is probably only 6500 BTU, and that likely will not be enough. In weather that cold, I use a 23k BTU wick type kerosene heater. In the USA, kerosene winds up being much cheaper than propane, and it's much safer as well. Mine will also burn diesel if kerosene isn't readily available.
Cheers!