New Build - Lots of questions

[tawright915]

I'm starting a new build. I've been lurking on this site for over a year, and now that I have a frame to build on and am ready to pull the trigger, I have a ton of questions.
1. I want to set up my build so that I can run off or battery or shore line out of the same receptacles. (I was thinking of coming into the camper from shore line to a battery charger, to batteries, to an inverter to the receptacles) Looking through the electrical forum, I am not sure I see a definite way to do this. Can someone point me to a post that would have a diagram showing how this is set up?
2. I'm vlogging this whole build on YouTube. I've covered the breakdown of the old camper (it was the bottom half of a Palomino Mustang) and videoed me cleaning up and painting the frame. I've covered design and ideas, and now I'm ready for the floor. I bough rubberized undercoating to spray on the bottom of the floor and frame. Is this the best way to seal it? I've seen other mention tar, or bed liner.
3. The current frame has a breaking system built into it. Is it possible to remove it and the lines with out switching out the wheels?

Thanks for now and I'll post pictures soon - by the way I'm going with a canned ham style camper.

Tom

[azgreg]

Can you post a link to your YouTube channel?

[JmsCaverly]

1. I want to set up my build so that I can run off or battery or shore line out of the same receptacles. (I was thinking of coming into the camper from shore line to a battery charger, to batteries, to an inverter to the receptacles) Looking through the electrical forum, I am not sure I see a definite way to do this. Can someone point me to a post that would have a diagram showing how this is set up?
Tom

From what your describing it sounds just like what most people have built, including myself.
Heres a link to my build page that talks all about how to set up and trouble shoot a PD4045: http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=63870&start=30

The Progressive Dynamic's PD 4045 gives you the power of taking in 110v (shore power) and it internally converts it to 12v. It also has built in battery charging and battery storage protection when you have to put it away for the winter.

Here's the link to there site
http://www.progressivedyn.com/all_in_one_pd4000.html

I know a lot of people here and myself have used these on our builds.

[KCStudly]

The reason most people don't take their 120v exclusively from an inverter when shore power is available is because it is inefficient. Also, trickle style battery chargers don't typically have enough oomph to keep up with a high demand on a 12v system while under load.

Is it a mechanical parking brake or regular electric drums? If the later, you may want to check the regulations in your area about trailer brakes. I know that in my state (CT) if a trailer is equipped with brakes they must be functioning to be legal.

[tawright915]

The reason most people don't take their 120v exclusively from an inverter when shore power is available is because it is inefficient. Also, trickle style battery chargers don't typically have enough oomph to keep up with a high demand on a 12v system while under load.

Is it a mechanical parking brake or regular electric drums? If the later, you may want to check the regulations in your area about trailer brakes. I know that in my state (CT) if a trailer is equipped with brakes they must be functioning to be legal.

They are mechanical. There is a (sort of) mater cylinder in the tongue of the frame and it has brake lines going to a splitter then to each wheel. I would fix it all, but I am unsure how I would remove the master cylinder. I'll try and post a picture of it this weekend.

[Vedette]

[/quote]

From what your describing it sounds just like what most people have built, including myself.
Heres a link to my build page that talks all about how to set up and trouble shoot a PD4045: http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=63870&start=30

The Progressive Dynamic's PD 4045 gives you the power of taking in 110v (shore power) and it internally converts it to 12v. It also has built in battery charging and battery storage protection when you have to put it away for the winter.

Here's the link to there site
http://www.progressivedyn.com/all_in_one_pd4000.html

I know a lot of people here and myself have used these on our builds.[/quote]
We have this system in Miss Piggy and also bought it for Kermit as it works so slick.
As far a s I am concerned, it is the only way to go!
And the brakes.....if you are building under 1500 lbs you really don't need them! Just take all of the braking crap off of your chassis and remove thebacking plates, shoes, and drums (if they are detachable from the hubs) and throw them all away!!
Good Roads
Brian & Sandi
Where do we watch your video?

[KCStudly]

... or update to electric.

[tawright915]

Can you post a link to your YouTube channel?

Sure, here's a link to the very first video.
https://youtu.be/0YDW36ivOGw

[tawright915]

From what your describing it sounds just like what most people have built, including myself.
Heres a link to my build page that talks all about how to set up and trouble shoot a PD4045: http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=63870&start=30

The Progressive Dynamic's PD 4045 gives you the power of taking in 110v (shore power) and it internally converts it to 12v. It also has built in battery charging and battery storage protection when you have to put it away for the winter.

Here's the link to there site
http://www.progressivedyn.com/all_in_one_pd4000.html

I know a lot of people here and myself have used these on our builds.[/quote]
We have this system in Miss Piggy and also bought it for Kermit as it works so slick.
As far a s I am concerned, it is the only way to go!
And the brakes.....if you are building under 1500 lbs you really don't need them! Just take all of the braking crap off of your chassis and remove thebacking plates, shoes, and drums (if they are detachable from the hubs) and throw them all away!!
Good Roads
Brian & Sandi
Where do we watch your video?[/quote]

Okay I checked this out and I think I am going to go with this in my build. Thanks for the information. The price does not seem that bad.
Now to find some reasonably priced windows and plans on how to build a door and screen for my build.

Tom

[tawright915]

Okay I have a question for all you build gurus. I notice that a large number of you will work on your walls and cut out for the door(s) or windows. Are you purchasing these first then going by those dimensions?

Tom

[KCStudly]

I designed and built my own doors, so framing the door and jamb came down to determining what size I could comfortable sit in and swing my legs thru; and what was an appropriate corner radius for the type of seal I intended to use. As it turned out I was glad I got a sample of the seal before I committed. I ended up using a slightly smaller bulb diameter and used a slightly larger radius than the specified minimum in order to avoid buckling in the trim portion of the seal.

For the windows it was hard to find published specs for RO and corner radius, so I selected windows that I liked at a fair price and bought them in advance. In fact, the windows were my very first item purchased for the build.

Both of these things were figured out very early on in the design/build process.

[les45]

I designed my walls to be 4' high due to the default dimension of my plywood (4X8). I then purchased the largest manufactured door that I could fit that would look right. That turned out to be the 26X36 model sold by Vintage Technologies. I located the door slightly lower than center so that you sit on the mattress instead of the door frame when getting in and out. I used the inside trim ring as the pattern for cutting the hole.

[tawright915]

It's seems that as I move along in this build, more and more questions come up. I'm getting nervous that I do not have all the info I need to do this build, even though I've build a model of my camper, and measured everything out, but I'm still going to move forward with it.

I'm having trouble tracking down reasonably priced windows. Then when I found some on ebay, I pulled the trigger and bought it. I found out it does not come with the interior ring.....ARGH!!!!

So I'm going to finish the floor this weekend, post some pictures and a new video to my youtube channel and then start on the frame for my walls.

Question - I was thinking of buying that cheap Styrofoam and cutting out the wall profile and then laying out my wall frame on it to make sure that I have it right, is this a good road to go down? How did you guys start the wall framing on your first?

Thanks and sorry for the rant.

Tom

[Nobes]

I'm no expert but...

You don't need to buy windows. There are threads about building Wiley Windows. That's my plan.

I think you are better off with a 1/4 ply pattern, not foam. I don't think the foam would hold up, and by having wood you can use it as a pattern for a lot of the build.

[KCStudly]

+1 on a luan or fiber board template. On the wood you can cut close to a line then sand up to it, and that's it. It will stay there, not dent, break or be so easy to sand that you flat spot it, and the foam makes a lousy router template. My experience is with the extruded foam board, not the less stable white bead.

Last time I checked luan underlay was about $11 for a 4x8, whereas the extruded foam was more, IIRC. Not sure about beaded foam.