72 replies to this topic

[rich]

Mark Ingalls turned me onto them in his cabinet rebuild: http://www.wanderthe...26/page__st__10 He got his from Lee Valley for a better price: http://www.leevalley...1399,56514&ap=1

I got mine at a local rockler store which cost more but didn't pay shipping, plus I needed some drawer slides, etc: http://www.rockler.c...76&filter=latch

Great thanks, all the door and droor latches on my old fleet don't hold anymore so I am going to order some of these to replace them.

[pods8]

Great thanks, all the door and droor latches on my old fleet don't hold anymore so I am going to order some of these to replace them.

Make sure you're aware of the thickness of the drawer and where the catch is works for you or you are fine with adding/subtracting material as needed.

[b team]

Real nice!

[rich]

Ripped out the old countertop/appliances to make way for my new flush mount units. The stove section is fully installed the remaining counter top is just sitting there while I'm reworking some of the other cabinet internals. I wrapped the propane tank exterior in reflexive while I had things open and replaced the water lines. I'm planning to move my pump out of the sink section and place it underneath the fuse panel where it'll free drain to the tank. I also replaced my propane line which I had kinked so that looks good again, haha.


Here's a shot of the underside of the stove its got those heat sensing valves so you can't accidentally turn on the propane, you have to hold it in for a second till it senses heat like the fridge is set up. The stove also had a built in push ignition which will be handy as well.





Overview




Stove. Eventually I'll make a small heat shield for the left side burner but for now we'll just stick with using the right side which shouldn't need anything.

Hi PODS,
The counter top looks great, I've been looking around for a lightweight material for mine. What is that counter top made of and where did you get the materials?

[pods8]

Hi PODS,
The counter top looks great, I've been looking around for a lightweight material for mine. What is that counter top made of and where did you get the materials?

Just laminate over 1/2" plywood with an oak edge band. Home depot carries all the stuff.

[pods8]

Just a quick update, got my DC-DC charger installed and wired in last night. We're taking off tomorrow morning for 2 weeks so I'll have some feedback when I get back. I build a little shelf that I mounted the DC-DC and shore power chargers under. This will allow us to stack stuff on top of the shelf while still allowing airflow around the chargers and protecting the wiring. The shelf is about 1.5" above the upper step which allows excess wiring to be tucked out of the way up there such as the 120V cord for the shore power which is sort of hard wired in now (there is a female extension cord plug under there for the shore charger to plug into that runs back to the 120V wiring in the back of the fridge).

Basic summary of the DC-DC charger: Its a 7.5amp charger that takes 10-15V input and converts it to a 4 stage charge profile. http://www.powerstream.com/DCC.htm For power I ran 10ga wiring (minimal cost difference compared to 12ga and less voltage drop) with a 15amp breaker from my battery back to a 4pin round trailer connector (rated for 15amp) mounted in the front of my truck bed. The 4pin will accept 12ga barely so I clipped a couple strands on the 10ga to make the connection. (Note: it takes some finagling to get the larger wires into this connector so if someone actually pursues it give me a shout for some tips). Additional the charger takes a remote input wire which was ran to this 4 pin connector as well, thus 3 out of 4 pins were used. For the remote input source I removed my cigarette lighter which I don't use (I have 2 other 12V plugs in the truck so no loss there) and used the ignition hot power source which passes through a switch in the old lighter location. Thus the charger doesn't come on until the truck AND the switch and on. (Note: you may see some duct tape over the switch on the charger, this switch bypasses the remove input and just turns the charger on. Since I don't want that to happen I tapped it in the mode I want to avoid an accident).

I was building the shelf fast you'll have to pardon the slight angle to the bottom brace, I was in a hurry and didn't feel the minor atheistic flaw was an issue.




4pin connectors:

[pods8]

Truck is back in the driveway and there is no need to plug it in to shore power. For my needs the charger worked out great on the trip. Based on our driving it topped off the nights uses each day. It has good voltage profiles as it went through the stages of charging and brought the batteries up to fully charged with the bulk/overcharge and then float mode. If you have high amp usage and low drive times this might not be a good route but if 7.5amp input verse drive time matches your usage rate on average its a nice unit.

[Eldough]

Hey Pods8...wanted to see how your DC-DC charger is holding up? When we switched to our newer truck, the surepower 1314 started cycling due to the voltage drop...I believe the voltage regulator of the alternator in the new truck has a different charge profile then the old truck. We have about 17' of 10 AWG wire from the truck battery to the camper battery and I'm getting about a 1.3 volt drop. Do you know the voltage coming in to your DC-DC charger?...and what gauge wire are you using? Thanks for posting all you mod info!! Cheers.

[pods8]

Hey Pods8...wanted to see how your DC-DC charger is holding up? When we switched to our newer truck, the surepower 1314 started cycling due to the voltage drop...I believe the voltage regulator of the alternator in the new truck has a different charge profile then the old truck. We have about 17' of 10 AWG wire from the truck battery to the camper battery and I'm getting about a 1.3 volt drop. Do you know the voltage coming in to your DC-DC charger?...and what gauge wire are you using? Thanks for posting all you mod info!! Cheers.

Seems fine but we unfortunately haven't been out much this winter/spring (been rushing to get some things done around the house prior to the family addition due in late May). When I checked the voltage at the truck bed connection (front driver side of the box) I was getting around 14V if I recall correctly, only .1V drop. I ran 10ga as well.

That 1.3V seems really high, I'd probably inspect the wiring and connections to have sure something isn't screwy, corroded, etc. off the get go. Assuming all is well though that is the nice thing about the DC-DC charger in that it'll take between 10-15V and convert it to the correct voltage. Only downside on feeding it a lower voltage is assuming it regulates to 7.5amps on input you'll have a bit lower output, however if it regulates on output it'll just pull a little more on the input. Some folks may have concern about the 7.5amp charge rate but it works fine for me at this point when I look at how much juice I use verse drive times on trips (I think most folks likely would find that when you really look at truck run time, esp. when working slowly along back country travel). 210amp hours of battery provide a nice buffer in there if by chance I was dry camping and not moving for an extend period of time. On the flip side I never have to worry about a heavy inrush current when the batteries are depleted, I'll get a steady bulk charge.

I have mine wired via an ignition hot remote input as mentioned so it only turns on when I apply power via a switch back to the remote input terminal. I don't run another isolator setup. Doesn't matter what position the switch is in, if the truck isn't running the charger breaks the connection.

[Eldough]

Thanks for the info Pods8...and congratulations! I'm looking to keep the battery topped off...and I think the 7.5amps would work for our situation...we have a solar panel, but want to make sure we can charge from the truck if need be. Quick note, when the camper battery is not connected, I'm seeing only a 0.1V drop...but when the camper battery is connected, my alternator isn't seeing the 12.5 volts at the camper battery...only the 13.9-14.2 at the truck battery...therefore I think it's not putting out the amps I need to charge my camper battery?? I think I;ll start another thread as not to hijack...Thanks again and cheers!!