CapeBuild Build Journal

[tony.latham]

This morning hitched up the trailer and...

Good grief, John! Now, what am I gonna do while sipping my coffee in the morning? No more CapeBuild Journal? It's like reading the last line of a great book -- and just like that, the story is done.

Sheeeeesh.

Tony

[halfdome, Danny]

Excellent job John but then I knew it would be with your attention to detail.
It would be fun in your travels to stop by the Vestibule factory and share building methods.
Safe travels.
Danny

[Capebuild]

Thanks Bruce and Indiana Rambler! Bruce, I was thinking about you this morning as I started to experiment around with the Victron Battery Monitor.... figuring out how to program it... er.... actually just set it up to recognize my battery. Need to read the manual

And Thanks Tony and Danny. You both have freely shared your expertise with me (as you have with many on this site) and it has made all the difference to me. Thank you both, very much!! Danny, it would be fun to go the VB "factory". I think I'd pick up a lot of tips from them if I were to build another. Cosmo's factory tour videos have been very informative. I realize I've never been inside another teardrop and there are not too many you see here on the east coast.

John

[bdosborn]

Bruce, I was thinking about you this morning as I started to experiment around with the Victron Battery Monitor.... figuring out how to program it... er.... actually just set it up to recognize my battery. Need to read the manual

Eazy Peazy. Just download the Victron Connect app to your phone, link the app to the battery monitor via Bluetooth (default pin is 000000), enter the settings menu (little gear in the upper right corner) and set the battery a-hr capacity to match your battery. The default setting for everything else should be fine as is unless you have a Lithium battery. I can post a screen shot of my settings if you do have lithium.

Bruce

[Capebuild]

Eazy Peazy. Just download the Victron Connect app to your phone, link the app to the battery monitor via Bluetooth (default pin is 000000), enter the settings menu (little gear in the upper right corner) and set the battery a-hr capacity to match your battery. The default setting for everything else should be fine as is unless you have a Lithium battery. I can post a screen shot of my settings if you do have lithium.

Thanks a lot, Bruce. I do have a Battleborn 100Ah lithium batt. Yesterday I was trying to just get the readings correct on the monitor (BMV712) and, for some reason, I couldn't get it to settle on 100 Ah battery. It would go to 200 and when I hit the down button it would go back up to 900 (or something like that from what I remember). I haven't even started yet to use the phone app....
I need to spend some time with it tomorrow (out for today). I'll probably come back to you (and Lauren) if I continue to have troubles.
Thanks!

John

[bdosborn]

I haven't even started yet to use the phone app....

Use the phone app, it's *much* easier to navigate.

Here are my settings, be aware that LiFePO4 settings are like opinions, everybody has one. I have my chargers set at a conservatively low maximum voltage but I think Battleborn recommends 14.7 as the charged voltage.



Bruce

[orourkmw]

John, I just want to add my kudos to the results you achieved. You should be really proud. Your work inspires all of us,
Mike
P.S. I’ve been slow on my own project because we just got our new truck camper. I installed LiFePO4 batteries and the BMV712 like you…it works great, and I agree with Bruce’s settings. Also installing a DC-DC charger to charge from the alternator…I didn’t realize there are folks out there without solar, who still never plug in! But I guess there needs to be a fair amount of driving. Sometimes we like to just stay in one place and chill!

[Capebuild]

Bruce, thanks so much for posting the image of your settings. I'm going to tinker with the set up again today. I'll try and set it up on the phone app, like you suggest. I'll get back with you if I run into issues......

Thanks for your comments Mike! Appreciate it. One last thing (Well, one of the last things) I still need to do is install the 2 /100 watt solar panels on the roof. Probably order those this week. I had gone back and forth about utilizing a DC to DC charger from my Outback's alternator. I had read so much about the challenges with that (charging a lithium battery) and wreaking havoc on the car's alternator, I decided to forgo the DC to DC charging. Sterling had a charger that probably would have worked but I just decided to not do it.

John

[lfhoward]

Hi John, I have never charged my trailer battery from the tow vehicle either. I don’t feel like I need it. Solar does the job 99% of the time, and if I can’t get a campsite that isn’t under trees, I can find one with shore power. Never wished I could charge while driving.

[aggie79]

Fantastic job, John! What a beautiful build and fantastic craftsmanship. Thank you for the journey and hope to hear to of your travels.
Take care,
Tom

[Capebuild]

Tom, thanks so much for your comments. I had referred many times to your trailer during my build, so back atcha.

Lauren, good to know and share your thoughts about the DC to DC charging. Ordering the solar panels tomorrow so looking forward to see how they perform.

One thing I wanted to share regarding latches to secure the hatch. My hatch did not close perfectly.... leaving a bit of open space starting in the mid zone and increasing as your eye traveled down to the bottom. It wasn't a lot. I could just see the T molding was not making contact with the seal as it got on towards the bottom of the hatch door. At first I was going to remove all the screws holding the hurricane hinge and put a shim under the hinge to raise the entire hatch door upwards a bit. I really didn't want to do that. What I did was take some extra seal I had, slip a piece of aluminum inside, all the way through the opening of it, and run an exact blade along the aluminum to leave about 3/16 of an inch of seal left (using the aluminum as a stop or guide for the exacto blade). I adhered that seal on the underside of the T molding so it contacted the original seal when the hatch was closed. Worked fairly well but left the space I referred to earlier.

I had ordered some latches from a vendor. They were about 3 inches long. When I received them I could see they were way too small. Sent them back.

So the main purpose of my writing all this...... These new latches I ordered worked great. The are the perfect size for working with the hatch (I imagine most people's hatches are probably similar sizes). They are manufactured by Southco. The model number is TL-60-102-07. The catch is model #TL-17-601-07. Because where I mounted the latches is on a curved area, I machined a couple of shims. The curved side matches the curve on the trailer leaving the other side flat to mount the latch. It's kind of difficult to tell in the photo but when the latches are closed they just pull the hatch closed a bit more to create an effective contact between the two seals. I'm just so happy with the way they worked, I wanted to give them a shout out in case anyone was looking for a good latch product.

John

[JasenC]

That's the tricky part of building curved stuff out of wood, getting it all to fit right, the damn stuff just moves around however it sees fit. I've built a few curved hutches and the like, I start with the curved doors and build the case to fit them.

Sounds like you came up with a relatively easy fix though.

I have to say I've picked up on some good stuff reading through your build, as well as others builds, I've made some changes to my design because of it.
I may have spent 30+ years remodel/building houses for a living, but a camp trailer has it's own quirks.

[Capebuild]

Just got back from the Registry. GOT MY PLATE AND READY TO GO CAMPING!!!

It was actually pretty easy. I called my insurance agent to insure it and she sent me the Title and Registration paperwork with the insurance stamp on it.
Took that to the registry with some pictures of the trailer. 5 minutes later I was done, registration, Vin# and plate in hand. (that 5 minutes doesn't include the wait time of 25 minutes). All in all.... went smoothly.

John

[pchast]

Great!

[JasenC]

Sweet!!!
So when's the the first full on outing planned for?