7'*18' V-Nose Cargo Trailer Toy Hauler Conversion

[flboy]

I was in Home Depot last night picking up some screws and etc. for today and they had restocked their Exide 31MDC batteries. With coupons and rebates, I got this for $80.00 so I decided to get it anyhow since I am building the dinette this weekend and I need to build the extra battery under it. So I now have 345 Amp Hours. Definitely enough for boon-docking and running a few things.

Would you believe I am running the AC off the batteries right now. It draws about 47 Amp running and Solar is replacing about 10A as I go with the sun low in the Sky at 9:09AM. I can see where I will be able to pull off in a rest stop on a sunny day and crank up the AC and have lunch and take a nap without any generator. This is why I built in the smaller AC that cools the trailer fine and uses lower power. I love it... I don't think I have enough battery capacity to run overnight.. but definitely on a sunny afternoon... when it is the hottest..

[m.colley]

I was in Home Depot last night picking up some screws and etc. for today and they had restocked their Exide 31MDC batteries. With coupons and rebates, I got this for $80.00 so I decided to get it anyhow since I am building the dinette this weekend and I need to build the extra battery under it. So I now have 345Amp Hours. Definitely enough for boon-docking and running a few things.

Would you believe I am running the AC off the batteries right now. It draws about 47Amp running and Solar is replacing about 10A as I go with the sun low in the Sky at 9:09AM. I can see where I will be able to pull off in a rest stop on a sunny day and crank up the AC and have lunch and take a nap without any generator. This is why I built in the smaller AC that cools the trailer fine and uses lower power. I love it... I don't think I have enough battery capacity to run overnight.. but definitely on a sunny afternoon... when it is the hottest..

Sounds good Don. That's one of the same reasons I went with the 8000 BTU window unit I bought. Its energy star rated and pulls 5.4 Amps running. Eventually when I put in solar I can run the AC off grid.


Martin

[CL3]

Hello FLBOY
I'm the guy who bought your last conversion, and am part way rhrough my first. If I had the time, (read that patience) I would have drawn out a design instead of diving in (screwing up) doing and redoing. Anyway, it is going well, and I decided NOT to put any holes in the roof. My AC tower houses microwave, AC unit and batteries, but all venting is through the tower and out the floor. Works great and I'm waterproofing the back side of the tower to be a floor draining shower area For a quick, post ride hose off. It ain't pretty with the occasional first timer "oops" moments, but it has been fun.
Thanks again for turning me on to CTC's.

[flboy]

Hello FLBOY
I'm the guy who bought your last conversion, and am part way rhrough my first. If I had the time, (read that patience) I would have drawn out a design instead of diving in (screwing up) doing and redoing. Anyway, it is going well, and I decided NOT to put any holes in the roof. My AC tower houses microwave, AC unit and batteries, but all venting is through the tower and out the floor. Works great and I'm waterproofing the back side of the tower to be a floor draining shower area For a quick, post ride hose off. It ain't pretty with the occasional first timer "oops" moments, but it has been fun.
Thanks again for turning me on to CTC's.

CL3... Great to hear from you... Glad all is going well. The oopss is how I learn most t hings. I've been at it.. Getting closer. More pics to come today. You should start a build thread and post some pics.

[flboy]

Got the rear cabinets built today and will start the dinette booth tomorrow. After that, I'll start building cabinet doors. My brother has a router table and etc.. He said I could use for this project... it helps to have the right tools for the job.

I do have only one more cabinet to build in the bathroom. I'll get to that tomorrow as well, I hope.

[hankaye]

flboy, Howdy;

Dang Hoss ... you do some purdy work!!! Like what I see!


hank

[flboy]

Sounds good Don. That's one of the same reasons I went with the 8000 BTU window unit I bought. Its energy star rated and pulls 5.4 Amps running. Eventually when I put in solar I can run the AC off grid.

Martin

Yes.. That should work. Mine is a 6,000 BTU which seems to be cooling well in the hottest time of year. Part is the insulation I am sure... This 6,000 BTU Draws 4.9A . The inverter handles it no problem... I can run it for hours during the day with the Solar Panels supplementing the batteries ( I just did today to give the system a good test). Really a nice option to have.

[flboy]

Another day full of interruptions... but I did get the dinette marked off and measured out and started the framing process. In a good position to make quick progress tomorrow since it is all laid out.

I went down to Ace Hardware to get some more screws and they are closing out and moving. Everything in the store was 50% off.. well that was an expense trip! . I did get a nice 2 in 1 First Alert Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm for 50% off along with a lot of other stuff I couldn't pass up. I needed the Alarm ... Now I just need to find an LP detector.

[hankaye]

flboy, Howdy;

I like the "mini work bench" for those times when it's bothersome to have to
get back up just to then get back down again. , !
Us older guys appreciate stuff like that.

hank

[flboy]

Dinette in progress pics... I'll have more time tomorrow to finish it and trim it out. I am going to need to go get some seat foam and cut it to size. My wife will help me get some good fabric to upholster the cushions and make matching curtains.

[flboy]

Not sure if it is any help to anyone, but following is the revised schematic for my electrical system. Updates were to include both Amp meters, the chassis ground, the on/off for the converter, and some other minor tweaks. This is the final form and it is fully tested and functions as intended. Note that the current shunts are in the ground returns where they should be. Generally, they should never be on the hot side as they are exposed in the cabinet and you do not want them with live voltage open in the cabinet like that.

I also replaced all the ANL fuses with DC breakers. ANL fuses are a thermal break (designed to melt) and they were getting hot and they dropped voltage (>.5V in some cases at high current). The advantage to the breakers is that they are also a good disconnect to isolate the system when troubleshooting, but they also can be run near capacity without dropping significant voltage and they do not seem to get hot.

[Hader]

Don,

As of all of your posts, this one is also of great help.

Do you have one with a bit more resolution?

[flboy]

Don,

As of all of your posts, this one is also of great help.

Do you have one with a bit more resolution?

I'll see if I can get a better one... maybe I can atach a file?

[flboy]

I thought I had cleared the beam! Oh well.. when building a CTC... you have to improvise.


The Hole saw just wouldn't go any further.



The table post mount needed another inch of depth.



I took two 1/2 in pieces of plywood and cur them to use as a standoff. It seems to be very secure. I got the table in:

[flboy]

Got the dinette about 80% done today. I still have some more trim, paint, and then cushions.. I cut the dinette table down I got from the donor camper. It looks nice... but I think I am going to paint the surface to match the kitchen counter. I should be painting that soon.

I also remote mounted my VHF/UHF radio head. I still got to get the Cat5 cable to run over to the electrical cabinet.



I tried out the trim router I bought on the top cap for the seat back. It worked well.