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Ford Transit conversion to camper MKII
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The inverter will need at least 3X the fridge's rated running load in surge capability to start the motor. Low frequency are much better at this than lightweight High frequency. Don't believe the hype HF inverters are shyte compared to LF. Cheaper to manufacture and ship that's what the propaganda is really about.Buford T Justice wrote: »Can't all be buying fancy ones like the one you have. :P
Ya can if ya pick up a used wan. I've no problem with €600 fridges when they're €150Buford T Justice wrote: »I have sockets in the old van but were only wired to the 240 hookup.
I have a mind for a switched system which goes to 240 when plugged in but switches over to the inverter when the power is unplugged.
There's a few ways to do this of varying complexity and expense.
A manual ChangeOver is probably the cheapest and easiest.
Kraus and Naimer make the best changover cam switches and bargain used ones pop up on ebay all the time.
You can Double Up on sockets but this is a bit untidy.
You can use a 2PDT or 3PDT relay but it's very cowboy and might cost ya an inverter if it goes wrong which is a reasonable possibility when running inductive loads like a fridge. My van is setup this way but my inverter is only a wee 300VA that mostly powers a toothbrush.
You can make an interlocking system with Relays and delay timers this is the best affordable automated way.
Remember don't put the battery charger on the changeOver!!!0 -
There's two more methods as well come to think of it. If the inverter is big enough to power everything you will ever use then you can just make everything (except the battery charger) an inverter only outlet and size the mains charger to indirectly power everything through the inverter.
If yer going high end inverter-combi charger then the transfer is automatic and built in.
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Back to work after a weekend sabbatical last week. Time away made me forget how rank this van was when I bought it.
I took out the headliner and the plastics on the A & B pillars to give them a clean.
They're black with dirt and need a good scrub. As expected there was a load of filth behind the plastic on the B pillar too.
I also have a reversing camera to fit, so I can do this before the liner goes back in.
I also took out the seatbelts. The drivers one needs a good ironing since it's all twisted, and the passenger one looks bolloxed. it won't allow the belt to pull out now, only inwards and the roll is full.0 -
Figured I'd start the interior behind the drivers seat. Since the seatbelt mechanism is out, I stuffed the B pillar with some recycled plastic to get some insulation. Stopped at the bottom opening, since I don't want to foul on the belt mechanism when it's backin.
I ran a 20mm2 cable for power to this opening from the back of the van inside flexi conduit. This kit came with glands so inside the panel there's a gland where the conduit is fixed and screwed through the hole that was drilled. Doing this now so I can install a panel on the wall now and have it insulated and donezo so to speak.
I'm sure Sir Liam will tell me that the cable is under rated, but at €18 a meter for 40mm2 I said I'd go with the smaller dimension. It's inside conduit so I can always replace it in the future easily if I need to.
Also, hat tip to Liam, I've bought 15m of that led light for something like €15 euro, and should be here before I'm ready to do anything with the lighting so that's a win.
I've asked about the shipping on the b2b charger before I low ball them. At this point I'll either buy this one or keep with the split charge that i already have and do a retro fit at a later time0 -
Buford T Justice wrote: »I ran a 20mm2 cable for power to this opening from the back of the van inside flexi conduit. ...
I'm sure Sir Liam will tell me that the cable is under rated
Nope.
Yer putting the battery too far away from the alternator instead! :pac:
€10 €7.50 per m of 35mm²Buford T Justice wrote: »but at €18 a meter for 40mm2 I said I'd go with the smaller dimension.Buford T Justice wrote: »I've asked about the shipping on the b2b charger before I low ball them.
Make offer €150 + shipping to ireland in comments.
I'll buy that other wan so..let me kno if you want it in the Spring it'll be 25% extra...mate's rates
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Built a frame around the drivers side window today. It took an exceptionally long time to do - one of the more fiddlier jobs really. I imagine it'll make all the difference in the end. I mean honestly, it's almost as if I saw someone else to this before and copied it.
Since the timber I used is 2 x 1, I had to add additional strips to it to fill out the dimensions needed. Added to that, I made the genius move of not bringing my chisels or box of screws with me so I ended up bodging with whatever screws I could find to do the job
I added a self adhesive draught excluder to the bit sitting against the window.
You can't see because of the darkness but the frame is only over the black sections of the glass so I can still get them tinted if I want to at a later stage
There is a considerable amount of condensation built up on the roof, so it's dripping down whenever I move the van. Confuses the situation wit regards to leaks, though if it was leaking the floor would be soaked after a shower which doesn't happen. I might pick up a cheap de-humidifier and get it dried out, since it's only going to keep building up in the cold.0 -
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Buford T Justice wrote: »Built a frame around the drivers side window today. It took an exceptionally long time to do - one of the more fiddlier jobs really. I imagine it'll make all the difference in the end. I mean honestly, it's almost as if I saw someone else to this before and copied it.
Since the timber I used is 2 x 1, I had to add additional strips to it to fill out the dimensions needed. Added to that, I made the genius move of not bringing my chisels or box of screws with me so I ended up bodging with whatever screws I could find to do the job
You can't see because of the darkness but the frame is only over the black sections of the glass so I can still get them tinted if I want to at a later stage
That frame looks familiar
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Added some insulation to the panels. Its 100 mm insulation. Used spray glue at the top of the panels to hold the insulation up to prevent sagging over time.. and y'know...... gravity. I also waxoyled the bottom of the interior panels as I was at it, primarily since I had it left over and it couldn't hurt right?
Have added vapour barrier over the insulation as it seems to be the done thing these days.
Used a completely original idea of getting a router to smarten up the edges of the window frame so it would looks smart.
Finished product so far. I have to run conduit and stuff for wiring at the back and I don't necessarily want to fix the panels in as of yet. Still the electrical ins and outs to figure out.
I may start with the bed and the toilet next, depends on my mood I guess.
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Fitted the reversing camera today. Not because its a priority or anything, but since the roof liner is going back in this week it makes sense to hide the wiring loom while I'm at it. There's no power to it yet. I want to see if there a wire in the dash that can tell me if the van is in reverse to switch the camera on yet. I know it's at the gearbox, not sure if it makes it all the way into the dash
The cable is too short to reach into the back door. I initially thought I'd just cut and solder in some wire to extend it, but then I figured I couldn't be arsed with it since I can buy an extender for €7. No point in making needless work for myself.
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I started to look at the passenger seat today too. The old base I have is from a transit, but an older model one. Ideally I wanted the new base to fit in the same holes that the one from the existing base seat had since they're already threaded with bolts.
Sadly it didn't happen - the bolt holes don't match.
I got my thinking cap on to see what I could do and since the old bench seat is scrap, I cut the base off it with the plan to re-use it. There was already on lateral piece of steel in the frame and I just needed another one but didn't have one... Or did I? As luck would have it the seat is made of the same tubular steel that the base is, so I cut the seat open and took a bar from it. Needs some welding and painting and we're all good. I'll tackle this welding myself, since it doesn't require any sort of finessing or that. It's ok if it looks like vomit.
Base all cut down.
New piece in situ
Mock fit of the base sitting on top. It will need a piece cutting out of it so it doesn't obscure the bolt holes but it looks as though it'll be a straight forward enough build
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Tried my hand at welding this evening. Figured it's not panel steel so I couldn't cock it up too much
Once I got into it and used proper welding gloves it was a lot easier to get a decent bead going
Though I knew it wouldn't be long before I ballsed something up. I planned to leave the bar I was welding in back far enough so as not to obscure the bolt hole. Naturally I was covering it slightly. So I cut the bar, hammered it down a bit and welded it back up. Jobs a Good'un
Also welded the fixing point in for the seat belt to bolt into.
Lick of paint now before install0 -
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I finished the passenger seat earlier in the week, but since it was dark I didn't bother with any photos at the time.
Notice that the seat belt is fixed to the bottom of the bracket. As it would happen there are mounting points on the swivel bases for seatbelts and they're the same thread as the existing ones, so I've moved the mount to there. Its a pity I didn't see that earlier in fairness, as I wouldn't have bothered welding the bracket to the base that I did earlier.
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I also noticed that the B2B charger that I bought has a temperature sensor for the device, so I suddenly had a need for additional cables where I had run the cable previously. Since I had flexi conduit and glands left over I ran another length of it with two runs of two core cable inside.
I cut a hole in the bottom of the B pillar so I could properly feed the cables through and out at the bottom of the pillar via glands.
Patched up & painted
Finished product. Note the seatbelt at the top where it's fixed to the seat base. It's the same on the passenger side too.
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So this is interesting.
Where is this coming from I wonder?
Its not a leak at the top of the glass since it's not running down the glass on the inside, and after the weather we've been having it's not a lot of moisture to correspond with a leak.
There is a 2x1 baton behind this join sandwiching it together, but it's behind the vapour barrier. I wonder should the barrier be behind the batons.
The only other thing I can think of is there was a few drips of water on the back of the barrier when I took the panel off to re-run wires. It could be those drops have hit the screw and run out through to the front, though I'm not completely convinced.
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I did a dry run of the layout today. Marked out the depth of the bed and using 1 meter for the toilet (since that's what the last one was) and I put the seat in front of it. There's some things to notice.
There seems to be ample space between the drivers seat and the back seats to have a table in the middle though it's dubious as to if it can be fixed to the side of the van because of the window. Maybe, maybe not. Added bonus, the seats seem to all be the same height.
It's also occurred to me that the cables I've run are directly in the line of the cassette door when it comes to removing the cassette. I'll need to mingle around that when it comes time.0 -
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This came today, my new battery charger. It's larger than I imagined it would be, so here's a remote beside it for scale
My B2B charger that I stole bought on ebay was delivered to parcel motel on the 23rd December, before their brexit cutoff date but as of yet I've not had any notification from them. I'm hoping it's due to volume but I fear it could be a lost cause.0 -
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Buford T Justice wrote: »This came today, my new battery charger. It's larger than I imagined it would be, so here's a remote beside it for scale
Shiney. Wanna take it apart so we can see what's inside?
Buford T Justice wrote: »My B2B charger that I stole bought on ebay was delivered to parcel motel on the 23rd December, before their brexit cutoff date but as of yet I've not had any notification from them. I'm hoping it's due to volume but I fear it could be a lost cause.
Don't give up so easy.
Use this "find my parcel"
Enter the original british tracking number. Most private sellers just ignore the virtual address identifier code. As with a lottov things if they don't understand it then it's probably not relevent. You can ask the seller for the tracking number if you can't find it.0 -
Buford T Justice wrote: »Is it worth my while getting the leisure batteries, or will the starter ones that I can get do?
Those "leisure batteries" are starting batteries with expensive stickers, if you want genuine ones then try here
I'm rockin' Crowns and I'm here after 5 years as a 6month annual live-aboard.
Battery Odometer: 11300Ah since install.
People say you need a leisure battery because it gives you 300 more cycles. Those same people kill it after 20. The problem is the charger not the battery but people never fix the charging system they just throw batteries at it and then complain they're junk.
You oughta be fine for 5 years easy with whatever you choose, the use yours will see as long as you keep them charged/get solar.
I'm playing with LiFePO4 atm....what a waste of money..:rolleyes:0 -
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