dustboy's 6 x 12 conversion

[McDave]

Hey Dustboy,
Would you mind if I asked about what you paid for that solar set up? I would sure like something like that and would like to know what to expect to pay. It's OK if you don't want to say.
By the way, that is turning into a cool RV. Nice work.
McDave

[dustboy]

Hank and Don, I agree that inside the cabin is the best place for it. I am definitely a little obsessed with the stats on the charging system, the Tracer only has a simple LED to show battery/PV status. There is an optional LCD monitor that will tell me detailed stats, I may have to get it someday.

I haven't committed yet to the indoor galley, believe me Hank you would have seen pix by now! We are contemplating moving to a new town, so I didn't want to convert the trailer if we were going to need it for hauling. Outdoor cooking really is the best option for us, so I may just add a small cabinet high on the front wall.

McDave, here's the breakdown. Mind you, this setup is unproven on a real camping trip, but by the end of the weekend I should know if it keeps up with the refrigerator.

Solaria 190 watt PV, craigslist, used. $140
Xantrex X1000 inverter, ebay, refurb. $40 http://www.ebay.com/itm/360914669577?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
Tracer 2210RN MPPT charge controller, amazon, new. $115 http://smile.amazon.com/dp/B008KWPH12
2 AWG welding cables, dumpster dive. $0

[McDave]

Wow!
300.00 +/- seems very reasonable. Thanks for the info. and links. Keep us informed on the performance and Good Luck with your move to a new town. Thanks for sharing your build, I am trying to learn as much as possible before diving in.

[dustboy]

This weekend was a driveway experiment to see how well the solar system keeps up with a typical camping trip. Friday afternoon, I started the pre-chilled fridge on the inverter and pulled the trailer home (charging from TV). At 10pm Saturday night, the battery voltage was still at 12.41V. This morning at 6:30 before the sun came up, it was at 12.15V.

I worked on moving the charge controller into the cabin after dark last night, so I used the 12V lights and even powered my dremel off the inverter for a while. I love being the "weird" neighbor who is out grinding metal at 8:30 pm, while everyone else is watching "reality" TV.

We did have a bright sunny day yesterday, so I'm not sure how the system would keep up if we had a cloudy day. Worst case scenario I guess is I would have to idle the truck for a little while, which is still quieter than your average generator.

I'm not entirely sure this mini-fridge is the right one for our CT. It does run a bit noisy, wife and I are both light sleepers. She has a smaller one at work that we might try out, maybe it's a little more efficient too.

[Rainier70]

Looks like it is going great.

Would you mind going into a little more detail/pictures on your mounting of the solar panels. Are those mounts you made or are they some you bought? Are they screwed into the roof? Where does your wiring go through the roof? What have you done to prevent leaks? And so on.... Thanks!

[dustboy]

Hi Cindy,
the mounting of the panel is far from sophisticated, nor is it pretty. The mounts are L-brackets from HD, screwed into the roof ribs with sheet metal screws. Before I screwed them in, I gobbed a bead of Sikabond adhesive http://www.homedepot.com/p/SikaBond-10-1-fl-oz-Construction-Adhesive-106403/202523828 under the bracket. There's at least a 1" air gap under the panel to keep it cool.

I don't like the idea of penetrating the roof, but the beercan-thin sheetmetal isn't going to hold anything. The construction adhesive is a very good sealant as well. It's on there solid, I can grab ahold of the PV and shake the whole trailer.

I also didn't want to penetrate the roof with the wires, so they run to the front of the trailer and enter through the utility box. Will try to follow up with pics on that.

[Wookie97]

I've been watching your build and it's awesome, great job. Got a question about the water heater. I've seen that model and others like it but how well does it work, does the water heat up pretty fast? Still working on my design but do you think a vent could be fabed up to keep it inside in the shower area or must it go out side? Pitching around some different ideas but thought about using quick couplers and hang it up at the camp site.

[dustboy]

Wookie, the water heater works great. Took a little tweaking to get it to work with the low pressure water pump, just have to adjust the temp and flow controls to the right spot. It kicks on instantly when you start the flow, but if you have it placed far from the faucet, you will waste a lot of your precious water before the cold slug is out of the pipe. It will make near-boiling water.

See below, Mtn. Don rigged a clever valve to divert the cold slug back to the tank:



If you're handy with the tin snips and a pop-rivet gun, you could definitely fabricate a flue for the water heater. Still should make sure you have a window cracked to let in some makeup air.

[dustboy]

Spent the weekend boondocking on the Big Sur coast. Not a bad view, eh? Unfortunately this was as far as my little truck would tow, the really good campsites are a few miles further up. We had plenty of traction but without a low range transfer case, the hills were just too steep. Starting to think pretty seriously about a new TV.

IMG_2116.jpg (40.1 KiB) Viewed 3807 times

All systems worked great, the new fridge was cold, and the new cooktop was hot. Guess I need to post some pics of those items.

The trip was nice but it was soured somewhat by drama with some nearby long-term campers vs. some locals that were trying to run them out. Normally the whole point of boondocking is to not have neighbors, but being spring break, even the boondocking spots were crowded on the coast.

[2Tornadoes]

Thanks for all the descriptions of your build systems as you go. Really helpful. If you have any, would love to see some pics of your setup while traveling now that you've made some interior changes. I'm still on the hunt for ideas while our trailer sits in our side yard. Thanks!

[dustboy]

Hey alls, I promised pix of the latest work, so here goes!

First off, the fridge, it's a Magic Chef 2.6 cu ft. Energy Star rated, it's confusing because the Energy Guide on the unit said something like 236 kW/year but the Energy Star website says 215 kW/year. Not to split hairs but on a solar system every watt counts. Anyway, we were a little disappointed because it's a little noisy at night, especially because it's right next to our heads. Going to try some insulation around the fridge to block the compressor noise, obviously without blocking the heat transfer.

On the right, you will see our new cooktop, an Atwood slide-in that I got cheap on fleabay. Works great, 3 burners is the bees knees when you got the griddle full of pancakes but still need to boil water for more coffee. It's all plumbed in from the big tank, getting the hookup hose to follow the slide-out was a bit of a trick and it binds a little now and then. Need to work on that a bit.


Next I got our Mr. Heater mounted on the wall inside the side door. Weird thing, we started it one night before bed, and I couldn't turn it off...the knob was stuck so I had to go outside and turn off the main gas valve. The next day, it worked just fine, not sure what was wrong. Above is the MPPT solar controller, it's kind of temporarily in that spot until I can build a cabinet around it.


I got some of these clever 12v LED outdoor flood lights, a pair over the galley at the rear and one at the side door. They're like $9 on Amazon and really nice.



Okay, now down to the real nitty gritty, here's a couple of views of the utility box. It's getting to be a bit of a rat's nest now that all the LP plumbing is inside. Eventually I will probably move the inverter (repurposed Porter-Cable router case) indoors next to the charge controller in a cabinet. Bottom photo is a close up of the LP manifold. High pressure gas from the tank goes to a tee which splits to the regulator and the Mr. Heater. After the regulator is the water heater and the cooktop.



I'm on the hunt for a new tow vehicle, seriously bummed that my Ridgeline couldn't get us up the hill (some of you maybe weren't surprised..). Really want diesel, leaning strongly toward an F250. Gonna have to be really nice to my wife for a few weeks to build up to that one.

[dustboy]

OK, a new truck is not in the cards, we need to buy a house first. Which is easier said than done in the Bay Area. Despite its shortcomings as a TV, the Ridgeline is paid for.

I was making rumblings about building a slide-in camper for the Ridgeline, but if I'm realistic I don't have the time for it and I'm pretty sure it would end up too heavy for the truck.

So, the trailer needs to go on a diet. I think that means the galley moves up front, and the bed becomes a lighter, simpler framework. The bed/galley unit is seriously heavy, probably 500 lbs. Drawers will become mostly cubbies. We will leave behind anything that doesn't absolutely need to come on a trip, and we tend to carry a lot of that.

[ZoNiE]

Nice build, You may want to reconsider keeping the battery in the same box as the water heater. Batteries off gas hydrogen when charging... You could end up with a fire long enough to ignite other items in there...

[FIREBALL05]

Very nice build!

We have 2 older kids and a baby on the way, so looking for ideas to hold a family of 5 plus a large dog.

Do you have any photos of the front of the trailer where you keep the pack and play? Would like to see your interior setup with the kid bunk and baby pack'n'play.

Thanks!

[dustboy]

Hey Fireball, I hope you're looking at a bigger trailer than a 6x12...even the 4 of us in there is like a sardine can. Not only is it a tight fit though, when one kid wakes up, everybody wakes up, and sometimes that's the end of the night! I might recommend letting the older kids sleep in a tent?

Our trailer is empty now as we're using it to move. When the dust settles I'll try to get a photo of the pack-n-play in there.