Built on a 2012 chevy e3500 chasis with a duramax 6.6l diesel holy grail of a power plant, this is the next evolution in the vaxrv vanlife. Customizations to come! The only ambo I got with crypto is a dambo!
Solar power is essential to me in a trailer. I went with 2 175 watt panels and four 6v deep cycle trojan 105 batteries. I added a distro box for the DC and the ac is ran independant with the ability to plug it into the xantrex 2000 watt inverter if needed.
wiring coming along (wasnt done yet)
inverter mount and trimetric meter
after insulation
2×4 mounts to the steel girder underneith
the exposed black struts are what the mounts attach to for reference. my wood slats are to attach the insulation
mounts have hinges for future angle tweaking
mounted and 3 way splitters installed for a future panel addition. panels are lag bolted into the 2x4s on custom aluminum L brackets
So I determined that if I’m taking the trailer to burning man I’m adding AC. I’m also retrofitting it with full rmax insulation. I picked up a LG Electronics LP0910WNR 9,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner
that has a hose to vent out the hot air. I set it up to vent out of my existing cable output port and wrapped the hose with Reflectix 6-Inch by 25-Feet Spiral Pipe Wrap
to give it some insulation in addition to making a custom vent cover to keep dust out. this Scotch Aluminum Foil Tape 3311
is great as well for keeping it all together.
the installed unit is ratchet strapped in for easy removal
there is a view of the rear port setup before insulating with bubble foam
heres the custom exit vent
its messy but theres the setup
So I undertook a large remodel of the trailer for burning man. I’m adding a solar rig, wall to wall RMAX insulation and a 9000 BTU AC unit. I’ll be posting a series of blogs in the upcoming days about it.
I’ll be posting back logged blogs about the adventure with links to the various things I’ve added.
The Issue of TV is pretty common in the RV world, and while I dont use it much, I like having the option to watch streaming movies and shows on netflix or amazon prime. In my quest for Energy efficiency I needed a low draw solution and I wanted to keep the space consumption down to a minimum. The obvious choice seemed to be converting one of my existing desktop LCD monitors into a “tv”. I choose my Samsung 22″ LCD as its got a 1080p resolution and has a really nice picture in a package that draws .8 amps when on.
Another appealing aspect was that the bottom stand completely comes off and its standard VESA 100 mountable. I found this arm mount which fit my needs perfectly and was super affordable. Here are some before and after installation shots. I find this mount to be sturdy and the knobs seem to tighten well, but its new so time will tell. I’ll update this post after tripping around with it to let you know the real outcome.
Here is the arm mount installed and a shot of it up on the wall. I had to move my Broom holder to the left to make room for the tv add on, and I have to peek around to see the temperature of my fridge now, but both are pretty minor changes to my routine. The fridge still has clearance to open and if I swing the tv out I can get it open even more. Here is the combo VGA/mini jack 1/8th audio cable I got to run from the screen and speakers to the laptop for video/extended display work.
heres another shot from dead on
I returned home last night to find all my Amazon toys arrived. I set about getting the new stuff installed before heading to work. The coolest new addition has got to be the Cradlepoint 3g router which I got off amazon for about the same price as a usual home router, but its wayyyyy better for mobile applications. It doesnt take hardly any power (and can easily be ran on 12v) It accepts most 3g/4g usb modems and then routes the signal into wifi. It can have a guest and a protected network so you can have one for filesharing/printer sharing and one for friends to pop on when you have guests. It also allows you to take another wifi network signal and use it as your internet source (which was a unique feature and one of the reasons I got it besides enabling sharing my 3g modem). You can even use its built in RJ-45 lan port to network a desktop in, or you can use it to plug in a cable or dsl modem or other internet source.
All those features in a router thats a little bigger than a deck of playing cards. Its pretty amazing and its got alot of bells and whistles built into the netbased setup interface, you can even enable gps tracking/logging/ and periodic reporting in standard GPS formats, which is particularly of interest to me since it will be in the rv and could enable even more geolocation possibilites for the blog.
Here it is mounted on the wall net to the couch (which yes, still needs a paintjob, BAD)
I’ve went ahead and bought some upgrades.
First up is a Alfa 1000mw usb wireless card with a standard screw in antenna port (so later on I can upgrade antennas) Its also got a 15 foot extension cable enroute with it. should improve my ability to find random hotspots = ]
Second upgrade is this lcd tv mount to mount my flat screen samsung lcd to the wall. I’m still debating placement and height, as I want to be able to see it from the bed above the cab but also ideally have it usable as an eternal monitor when working down below from the sofa. will post pictures and a blog on installation once it arrives.
And the website is born.
1975 Dodge Sportsman chassis Tioga Motorhome
360 v8 engine
500 watts of sunmodule solar cells on top
450 amp hours worth of trojan deep cycle batteries in the house
Xantrex (soon to be a mppt) charge controller
Prosine 2000 watt invertor for my 110 needs.
It all starts as a dream. I’ve always wanted independence, it started by leaving home for california on pretty much a whim. I’ll find work, I’ll figure it out. And I did. 8 months of grinding at a 4 star hotel later, and I’m looking at my options. I can keep paying half my take home pay in rent, or I can figure out a way out. After searching craigslist endlessly, I find her, a old beast that needs a bunch of work but is already well on her way to being a boondockers dream. This is the story of fixing her up and the adventures that follow.
