Eco-Roamer - F650 based Expedition Vehicle
- Thread starter jayshapiro
- Start date
Did I read that right? You are having all this done to the cab AFTER the camper is done? Seems to me it'd be easier to do the cab stretch first, no?
jayshapiro
Adventurer
I think you're reading the thread backwards. That posting was from well over a year ago...
jayshapiro
Adventurer
It WORKS!!
The Pop-top is done and it's AWESOME!!! It adds a whole other 'ROOM' to the truck. I'm so happy with how it has turned out.
It took a LOT of bizarre engineering and aluminum, but it all works...
I've posted up lots of new pictures of the shutter door in it's various positions in the Photos section (recently reorganized as well) at: www.EcoRoamer.com
Here's one of what it looks like:
We're down to the final 2 weeks of the build now. Changes and updates are happening fast & furious as all of the various sub-assemblies (cabinets, plumbing, electrical, pop-top) come together.
If you're interested in following the progress in a more 'real-time' fashion, then follow @EcoRoamer on www.Twitter.com I will be updating pics and news there first throughout the coming days, and then make larger posts here when I can. (...or search for #EcoRoamer for the latest Tweets)
VERY excited now. We're working towards "The Great ShakeDown II" at the end of the month to Burning Man in Nevada. 7 Days in the desert should be a good test of the various systems...
Stay tuned!
Jay.
The Pop-top is done and it's AWESOME!!! It adds a whole other 'ROOM' to the truck. I'm so happy with how it has turned out.
It took a LOT of bizarre engineering and aluminum, but it all works...
I've posted up lots of new pictures of the shutter door in it's various positions in the Photos section (recently reorganized as well) at: www.EcoRoamer.com
Here's one of what it looks like:
We're down to the final 2 weeks of the build now. Changes and updates are happening fast & furious as all of the various sub-assemblies (cabinets, plumbing, electrical, pop-top) come together.
If you're interested in following the progress in a more 'real-time' fashion, then follow @EcoRoamer on www.Twitter.com I will be updating pics and news there first throughout the coming days, and then make larger posts here when I can. (...or search for #EcoRoamer for the latest Tweets)
VERY excited now. We're working towards "The Great ShakeDown II" at the end of the month to Burning Man in Nevada. 7 Days in the desert should be a good test of the various systems...
Stay tuned!
Jay.
jasonL_031
Adventurer
omg great work i wish i had your budget lol great work
jayshapiro
Adventurer
Approaching the 'finish' line
We made a lot of great progress over the past week. While most of Elkhart county are working "4-10's" these days, Jeff & the guys have been working almost "7-12's" for the past 3+ weeks.
The good news is that the end is almost in sight...
We got the entire camper insulated now. Most of it was done with spray polyeurethane "Handi Foam":
It is pretty great stuff, that expands to fill every single crevice and give a tight seal of 2" thick insulation.
(NOTE: Handi Foam is within the international guidelines for protection
of the ozone layer, and with respect to the Montreal Protocol,
1987, and other environmental guidelines, utilizing a nonflammable
HFC (not-CFC) blowing agent)
After it is blown in (wall on the LEFT), we trim the excess with a sawz-all so it looks like this (wall on the RIGHT):
At the same time, Paul took my Napkin scratches and started fabb'ing the entrance steps:
Here they are - Less than 4in thick when stored, and over 30" drop when deployed:
We can make them any length if anyone wants a set for their truck! Very light, very strong, very thin, very cool.
Then Leon & his guys at Home & Mobile Energy finished up all the wiring, and installed the breaker panels and controllers for the solar panels.
I agree with Jason's comment above that it looks like there's loads of gadgetry in the truck. Much more than I initially wanted actually... but our goal was to power the entire truck, remotely, with minimal use of the generator.
So we wound up with:
- Dual 200A alternators
- 8.5 kW diesel generator (for shady days & if we need to run the washer - yes, there is a washer - remember 2 kids full-timing for 2 years = a lot of laundry)
- 8 Lifeline 12V batteries, ganged in 4 pairs of 24v each
- 8 Sanyo 195W solar panels
- 2 Outback 2kW inverters
- 1 60Hz 120v shore power transfer switch & battery charger
- 1 50Hz 240v shore power transfer switch & battery charger
It looks something like this:
I'll post final pics when I have them. (it's now done, I just don't have pics yet)
...and finally, at long last the furniture/cabinetry is starting to go in. Today, they installed the kids beds and cabinets!
Stay tuned for more updates over the next few days.
OR, follow along for the full scoop and up to the minute pictures on Twitter via @ecoroamer.
Cheers,
Jay.
We made a lot of great progress over the past week. While most of Elkhart county are working "4-10's" these days, Jeff & the guys have been working almost "7-12's" for the past 3+ weeks.
The good news is that the end is almost in sight...
We got the entire camper insulated now. Most of it was done with spray polyeurethane "Handi Foam":
It is pretty great stuff, that expands to fill every single crevice and give a tight seal of 2" thick insulation.
(NOTE: Handi Foam is within the international guidelines for protection
of the ozone layer, and with respect to the Montreal Protocol,
1987, and other environmental guidelines, utilizing a nonflammable
HFC (not-CFC) blowing agent)
After it is blown in (wall on the LEFT), we trim the excess with a sawz-all so it looks like this (wall on the RIGHT):
At the same time, Paul took my Napkin scratches and started fabb'ing the entrance steps:
Here they are - Less than 4in thick when stored, and over 30" drop when deployed:
We can make them any length if anyone wants a set for their truck! Very light, very strong, very thin, very cool.
Then Leon & his guys at Home & Mobile Energy finished up all the wiring, and installed the breaker panels and controllers for the solar panels.
I agree with Jason's comment above that it looks like there's loads of gadgetry in the truck. Much more than I initially wanted actually... but our goal was to power the entire truck, remotely, with minimal use of the generator.
So we wound up with:
- Dual 200A alternators
- 8.5 kW diesel generator (for shady days & if we need to run the washer - yes, there is a washer - remember 2 kids full-timing for 2 years = a lot of laundry)
- 8 Lifeline 12V batteries, ganged in 4 pairs of 24v each
- 8 Sanyo 195W solar panels
- 2 Outback 2kW inverters
- 1 60Hz 120v shore power transfer switch & battery charger
- 1 50Hz 240v shore power transfer switch & battery charger
It looks something like this:
I'll post final pics when I have them. (it's now done, I just don't have pics yet)
...and finally, at long last the furniture/cabinetry is starting to go in. Today, they installed the kids beds and cabinets!
Stay tuned for more updates over the next few days.
OR, follow along for the full scoop and up to the minute pictures on Twitter via @ecoroamer.
Cheers,
Jay.
chris_the_wrench
Fixer & Builder of Things
We made a lot of great progress over the past week. While most of Elkhart county are working "4-10's" these days, Jeff & the guys have been working almost "7-12's" for the past 3+ weeks.
The good news is that the end is almost in sight...
We got the entire camper insulated now. Most of it was done with spray polyeurethane "Handi Foam":
It is pretty great stuff, that expands to fill every single crevice and give a tight seal of 2" thick insulation.
(NOTE: Handi Foam is within the international guidelines for protection
of the ozone layer, and with respect to the Montreal Protocol,
1987, and other environmental guidelines, utilizing a nonflammable
HFC (not-CFC) blowing agent)
After it is blown in (wall on the LEFT), we trim the excess with a sawz-all so it looks like this (wall on the RIGHT):
I'm curious if you have any idea of an r value for this insulation? Im also trying to picture how you trimmed these "panels" of sprayed in insulation flat w/ a sawz-all.
Looks great, it's been fun watching the build!
-Chris
winkosmosis
Explorer
Have you considered armoring the solar cells with Lexan?
How about Lexan windows for that matter?
How about Lexan windows for that matter?
Travelmore
Adventurer
The roll up door is brilliant. Does it allow you to close off the area when the poptop is down, preventing items stored up there from falling? Access to the roof also has to be a great advantage when you need to clean the solar panels.
dzzz
™
shortbusadventure
Adventurer
I saw this rig, pretty much complete in September. I just happened upon it in Truckee, California. We were on our way back from BurningMan Festival. They had apparently been there as well. Got a quick tour, Amazing. Hope to see it again.
jayshapiro
Adventurer
Long Overdue... again!
Nothing like a bit of peer pressure to kick a chronic procrastinator into action!
SORRY GUYS! I have been very delinquent in my ExPo duties over the past few months. I know that there are a lot of you out there that have invested a lot of time into following our build, and want to know what's happening. I can't believe this thread has over 100,000 views! THANK YOU!
For the past 4 months we've really been focusing almost entirely on just getting The Muskoka Foundation really off the ground. (Did you know you can get a FREE Horizon Adventure Trailer through volunteering on your next Overland Trip?)
If you're interested in learning about what we're doing, and why every Overland / Expedition trip think about it, please watch our overland travelers' slide show:
...OK, sorry - Momentarily distracted there. What you really want to know is: "What about the truck!?"
Well, when I last posted we were madly getting the truck ready to go to BurningMan in the Nevada Desert for a shakedown trip. We worked until midnight the night before the trip, but we (almost) got it done, and and headed out on the 2,500 mile trek to the desert.
(that's my 4yr old Kurt on his Desert Tricycle!)
We wound up hosting 8 people for 7 days, with no access to water, electricity, etc.
MOSTLY, everything worked, and we had a fantastic time.
The interior stayed cool and was a nice refuge for the two kids to hide away in when it got too hot / dusty outside, although the beautiful cabinetry that we had just spent 3 weeks installing did not come out too well!
Luckily, it all eventually came clean...
As a shakedown trip, it was a fantastic success, and highlighted several of the (small) flaws, that I knew had to be in the design given my relative newness to this game. (mostly plumbing, which was the last system to be installed)
For example:
We build great little triangular grey water tanks above the wheel wells:
However, when we installed them, we did not vent them. So within a couple of days the pressure built up in the tanks and the sinks / shower wouldn't drain. I drilled in some interim vents into the tanks, some very smelly air came hissing out, and then everything was fine.
Similarly, the fresh water fill valve...
(that's: TAP/LAKE water IN on the left, FILTERED water OUT on the right)
...Fills the pre-filter tanks on the back deck, and then they in turn push water up to the kitchen and the forward tank:
(that's the fwd tank, ignore the missing camper behind it!)
...BUT, the T-junction in front of the pump was installed too low, so it just sucks air from the front tank and I had to manually pump it back to the rear tanks. Not a big deal, but also not a permanent fixture.
All in though, I think the bathroom (and plumbing) worked out very nice!
That's the composting toilet, and the countertop is a recycled piece of redwood from a barn in California. (ignore the missing window and doors in this pic!)
The truck is now in San Francisco. We are flying out there next Sunday to drive it through AZ, NM, TX, AL & FLA before heading back up to Michigan for the final touches. If you are along that path and interested in exchanging a hot coffee for a free tour, we'd be happy to meet you!
I'll be sure to take lot's of interior pics this time, to post here so you can see what a (clean) interior looks like. We love it!
Ever since we hit the road, and EarthRoamer's bankruptcy, we have been getting A LOT of inquiries about building EcoRoamers for people. We are upholding our earlier promises on ExPo:
1 - The final plans will be posted for free on our website, for anyone to use.
2 - We will sell finished EcoRoamers, on a non-profit basis, with any proceeds being donated to our charity development programs through The Muskoka Foundation.
We're also working on two smaller versions of similar designs. One for standard 4x4 pickups, and one based on a 4x4 Sprinter chassis. - Stay tuned!
Anyhow, thanks again for all the interest and great questions / suggestions over the past TWO YEARS! This project is what it is today because of the ExPo community, there's no way I could have done it without your input on so many parts. THANK YOU!
Cheers,
Jay.
Nothing like a bit of peer pressure to kick a chronic procrastinator into action!
SORRY GUYS! I have been very delinquent in my ExPo duties over the past few months. I know that there are a lot of you out there that have invested a lot of time into following our build, and want to know what's happening. I can't believe this thread has over 100,000 views! THANK YOU!
For the past 4 months we've really been focusing almost entirely on just getting The Muskoka Foundation really off the ground. (Did you know you can get a FREE Horizon Adventure Trailer through volunteering on your next Overland Trip?)
If you're interested in learning about what we're doing, and why every Overland / Expedition trip think about it, please watch our overland travelers' slide show:
...OK, sorry - Momentarily distracted there. What you really want to know is: "What about the truck!?"
Well, when I last posted we were madly getting the truck ready to go to BurningMan in the Nevada Desert for a shakedown trip. We worked until midnight the night before the trip, but we (almost) got it done, and and headed out on the 2,500 mile trek to the desert.
(that's my 4yr old Kurt on his Desert Tricycle!)
We wound up hosting 8 people for 7 days, with no access to water, electricity, etc.
MOSTLY, everything worked, and we had a fantastic time.
The interior stayed cool and was a nice refuge for the two kids to hide away in when it got too hot / dusty outside, although the beautiful cabinetry that we had just spent 3 weeks installing did not come out too well!
Luckily, it all eventually came clean...
As a shakedown trip, it was a fantastic success, and highlighted several of the (small) flaws, that I knew had to be in the design given my relative newness to this game. (mostly plumbing, which was the last system to be installed)
For example:
We build great little triangular grey water tanks above the wheel wells:
However, when we installed them, we did not vent them. So within a couple of days the pressure built up in the tanks and the sinks / shower wouldn't drain. I drilled in some interim vents into the tanks, some very smelly air came hissing out, and then everything was fine.
Similarly, the fresh water fill valve...
(that's: TAP/LAKE water IN on the left, FILTERED water OUT on the right)
...Fills the pre-filter tanks on the back deck, and then they in turn push water up to the kitchen and the forward tank:
(that's the fwd tank, ignore the missing camper behind it!)
...BUT, the T-junction in front of the pump was installed too low, so it just sucks air from the front tank and I had to manually pump it back to the rear tanks. Not a big deal, but also not a permanent fixture.
All in though, I think the bathroom (and plumbing) worked out very nice!
That's the composting toilet, and the countertop is a recycled piece of redwood from a barn in California. (ignore the missing window and doors in this pic!)
The truck is now in San Francisco. We are flying out there next Sunday to drive it through AZ, NM, TX, AL & FLA before heading back up to Michigan for the final touches. If you are along that path and interested in exchanging a hot coffee for a free tour, we'd be happy to meet you!
I'll be sure to take lot's of interior pics this time, to post here so you can see what a (clean) interior looks like. We love it!
Ever since we hit the road, and EarthRoamer's bankruptcy, we have been getting A LOT of inquiries about building EcoRoamers for people. We are upholding our earlier promises on ExPo:
1 - The final plans will be posted for free on our website, for anyone to use.
2 - We will sell finished EcoRoamers, on a non-profit basis, with any proceeds being donated to our charity development programs through The Muskoka Foundation.
We're also working on two smaller versions of similar designs. One for standard 4x4 pickups, and one based on a 4x4 Sprinter chassis. - Stay tuned!
Anyhow, thanks again for all the interest and great questions / suggestions over the past TWO YEARS! This project is what it is today because of the ExPo community, there's no way I could have done it without your input on so many parts. THANK YOU!
Cheers,
Jay.
jayshapiro
Adventurer
Shortbus no more!?
Thanks for chiming in. I remember our Truckee conversation very well, and loved your bus. Just read that you're getting a Tiger, congrats but sorry to hear that the bus will be gone...
Send me a PM with your contact details, we'd love to stay in touch.
Cheers,
Jay.
Thanks for chiming in. I remember our Truckee conversation very well, and loved your bus. Just read that you're getting a Tiger, congrats but sorry to hear that the bus will be gone...
Send me a PM with your contact details, we'd love to stay in touch.
Cheers,
Jay.