209 replies to this topic

[buckland]

A beautiful job Vic... 

Rob

[Mighty Dodge Ram]

Very, very nice!

[rando]

I am curious about the accumulator that you are using with your water pump.    These seem like a great idea to keep the noise and vibration down, but what about winterizing?  Is there a drain or does the pump blow the water out of it?  I am guessing you also use your camper in the winter and/or shoulder season and therefore don't use RV antifreeze? 

[Vic Harder]

A beautiful job Vic... 

Rob

Thanks Rob.  A question for LordWoodCraft - It has been a few weeks since I did the 3 coats of Danish Oil, and it appears to be "drying out" in a few places and I think I will have reapply another coat.  Have you seen that before?

[ski3pin]

Very nice work and interesting use of space! I've thought that chairs like you've used would be great in a small camper so I'm happy to see them incorporated into your camper. Thanks for the time you've taken to do an excellent write up on your build. Get out and enjoy it!

 

*yeah, when we can again.

[Vic Harder]

I am curious about the accumulator that you are using with your water pump.    These seem like a great idea to keep the noise and vibration down, but what about winterizing?  Is there a drain or does the pump blow the water out of it?  I am guessing you also use your camper in the winter and/or shoulder season and therefore don't use RV antifreeze? 

Good question rando.  I am still new to winterizing and winter usage.   I used RV antifreeze in my Hawk, and vowed not to do that again.  Pain in the butt to get the nasty taste out... 3-4 flushes needed.  In the Puma, so far I have not used antifreeze and relied on the pump to fully purge the system.  It didn't freeze up, so I am assuming it was all dry and good to go.

 

It is my understanding that the accumulator doesn't actually hold any water.   It can be plumbed as a "pass through" or single ended.  It uses air pressure in a bladder to keep the water pressure stable.

 

Here are a few pics of the water system:

 

Water inlet in the front passenger corner of the camper.  This custom tank has the fittings all on the passenger side so that the fridge could live over on the drivers' side.

 

This is the initial location of the pump.  It got moved a few times as I tweeked the stuff in this area.  Water fill and vent lines are clearly visible, the water source line is in the dark at the bottom.  The vertical wall of the cabinet and the one covering the water tank are two of the three pieces of fir plywood in the camper.  I also tweeked/trimmed that plywood wall to allow for extracting the water tank if that becomes necessary.

 

Accumulator is placed.  First version of this camper I used a single ended connection to the Accumulator and it worked OK.  Initial use of this pass-through setup has a much smoother feel, and it holds pressure really well.  The pump does not run when turned back on even after several days.  Meaning there is pressure in the lines.  That might be a problem if I spring a leak somewhere.  I may want to turn off the pump and open the faucet for a bit before I leave the camper.

 

Lockable water inlet and power outlet

 

Final positions of the gear.  Picture taken during construction... sorry about the mess!

 

The red doohicky on the left is my WeBoost.

 

This picture shows some bad gaps in the wood work... and a chip in the plywood.  Ugh.  It also shows the little chrome cap for the air inlet on the accumulator.   The piece of wood it goes through is removable with 3 screws for ease of access to the water bits during servicing.

 

 

 

[Vic Harder]

Very nice work and interesting use of space! I've thought that chairs like you've used would be great in a small camper so I'm happy to see them incorporated into your camper. Thanks for the time you've taken to do an excellent write up on your build. Get out and enjoy it!

 

*yeah, when we can again.

Thanks!  I hate wasted space, and the cluttered look of the cabinets the way the factory builds these campers.  The only "wasted" space in this build is behind the AC outlet on the cabinet.

 

 

The area where the cord runs on top of the counter and beside the 3" deep drawer is not directly accessible.  You can get at it via the cabinet below, but that (16*3) 48 cubic inches of wasted space bugs me.  I was contemplating a "hatch" the opened from the top to bury the AC outlet in, but my better half thought it not good to have openings in the counter top for stuff to fall into.  Besides, she likes "perching" up on the counter.  She noticed that she can look out the window from that spot!

[Vic Harder]

Wowza Vic! Such a neat job and great use of space. Perty too! Have fun with that fine camper, when you are allowed to....

Thanks!  It is no Bundutec, but we hope to get a few good years out of this one!

[Vic Harder]

Very, very nice!

[pvstoy]

Vic I'm very impressed with what you have accomplished!  The planning and design work to making it a reality. Looks awesome! The lack of wasted space is wonderful!

 

How many brain cells were harmed or killed in the making of this creation?