New Four Wheel Camper owner

[Stan@FourWheel]

Hey Northern Explorer


are you sure you even need the exterior vents cut on the outside of your four wheel camper for that particular refrigerator ??

most of the "12v only" compressor refrigerators I have seen, and that we have installed here in the shop, don't require exterior vents to be cut in the side of the camper (they usually cool to the inside of the camper).

you might be able to save yourself some time, hassle, and $$.

Try calling Chicali in our shop when you have time and ask him what they are doing.

If your refrigerator has a "propane" mode then you will need to vent it for sure ! But if it is only 12V, you might not need to.

They are open Monday - Friday 8:00am - 3:30pm (California Time)

800-242-1442

Ask for Chicali


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The rest of the install will come later this spring when it warms up. I still need to cut holes on the outside of my camper for the vents, frame in the refrigerator, and fit the second battery that I have on order.

.

 

[Northern Explorer]

Hey Northern Explorer


are you sure you even need the exterior vents cut on the outside of your four wheel camper for that particular refrigerator ??

most of the "12v only" compressor refrigerators I have seen, and that we have installed here in the shop, don't require exterior vents to be cut in the side of the camper (they usually cool to the inside of the camper).

you might be able to save yourself some time, hassle, and $$.

Try calling Chicali in our shop when you have time and ask him what they are doing.

If your refrigerator has a "propane" mode then you will need to vent it for sure ! But if it is only 12V, you might not need to.

They are open Monday - Friday 8:00am - 3:30pm (California Time)

800-242-1442

Ask for Chicali


=================================================








.

I've been going back and forth on this.

pros and cons

Venting to the outside:

1. Better venting because wind while driving will create air flow over condenser.

2. If I vent to the inside I would essentually be venting from a small dead air space to a large dead air space assuming my windows, doors and vents were closed.

3. In hot weather I would be venting the heat to the outside of the camper.

4. In cold weather I would have the benefit of the cold outside air cooling the condenser.

Venting to the inside:

1. No outside vents means less chance of water or dust getting into the camper.

2. No cuts are perminant since I would only be cutting wood and I can easily replace wood.

3. The outside vents I have are super flimsy.

I am probably overthinking this. I am leaning toward having the vents on the inside. I really don't think this refrigerator gives off that much heat anyway. The installation instructions say I only need 50 square inches of venting. This is the same recommendation for some of the larger units.

 

[Northern Explorer]

After weighing all the options, venting to the inside wins out.

It was a nice sunny weekend here in the lower 50's. Time to work on the camper.

I went to Menards and purchased two indoor vents that would fit the job nicely. The actual vent opening measures 2 inches by 10 inches. Using two of these vents puts me just under the Dometics suggestion of having 50 square inches of venting. To remedy this I went to Radio Shack and purchased a small cooling fan that runs off 12 volts. When I got it home I realized that it's the exact same fan that Dometic has mounted on the back of my refrigerator but manufactured under the Radio Shack brand name.


This refrigerator is a little more narrow then the original ice box. The extra space left room for one of the vents. Some trimming was required. You can also see the 12 volt outlet I installed. FWC already comes pre-wired for 12 volts in this area for an optional 3 way refrigerator. I just had to add the 12 volt outlet and install a fuse in the fuse box.

A little extra insulation down below. I started with a piece of foam insulation that I salvaged from the ice box door but it ended up being just a little to thick to fit the refrigerator in.

Showing the placement of the exhaust fan that I purchased at Radio Shack. The vent opening is a little to thin for the fan but there still seemed to be plenty of air flow. I wired the fan up in parallel with the existing refrigerator fan so that they both turn on and off at the same time. The amp draw for this fan is only .16 amps.

The end results. Not to shabby looking I purchased a cheap indoor outdoor digital thermometer from Wal-Mart in order to keep an eye on the refrigerator temperature. I mounted it on Velcro so I can take it into the cab of the truck when I'm driving.

 

[ScottBailey]

Anxiously waiting to find out what actual power consumption for the refer is....

I'm seriously considering dumping my 3 way for DC only with Solar.

 

[Bella PSD]

I think with the Danfoss compressor, this fridge will have the same consumption as my 12v Norcold 60L. I am still thinking this is the way I should go as far as fridge set up. I will be waiting on results as well.

 

[Northern Explorer]

I am hopeful that the power consumption will be low. The biggest problem with this type of refrigerator is that every time you open the door, all the cool air basically falls out. I think a chest style/top load design (like this) would be better. The one I chose was an easy retrofit.

 

[Northern Explorer]

Indoor Shower

Idea stolen from DLN over at the Wander the West forum. See his write-up here (post # 35).

I figured if the Earthroamer XV-JP shower looks like this,

Picture thanks to cshontz

then this setup isn't going to be too bad.

The two main differences between this setup and the Earthroamer setup is that the Earthroamer has a shower pan built into the floor and a built in water heater.

This setup consists of a Sterilite tote that will need to be emptied after each use. A small kettle is used to heat water over the stove. The very hot water is then mixed with cool water in a Reliance water jug to get just the right temperature. I plan on picking up a thermometer to make this easier.

Picture showing Reliance 7 gallon jug, kettel used for heating the water and the Reliance shower plugged into the 12 volt outlet.

A Reliance 12 volt shower is used which plugs right into the 12 volt outlet that came standard on my FWC. The shower nozzle has a spray adjuster that enables you to increase or decrease the amount of water being used. I decided to use zip ties to position the switch next to the showerhead to enable the water to be completely turned off to save water.

I used bungee cord and twine to hang the shower curtain from the ceiling of the camper. I could not for the life of me figure out how one shower curtain was used in DLN's example. I ended up overlaping two 72" curtains. To take it down, all I have to do is slide the bungee cords off the ends of the wood supports.

Everthing breaks down and fits into the Sterilite tote.

I plan on getting a 4 gallon jug instead of the 7 gallon jug in order to make a little more room in the tote when everything is stored away. Also, 7 gallons is way more water then what's required for two people to take an efficient camp shower. I am going to drill some large holes in the top of the tote so it can air out a bit when not in use.

So why didn't I just get an outside shower enclosure?
1: air temperature can be regulated inside.
2: no insects inside
3: a little more privacy

Things that could go wrong.
1: catastrophic water leak inside
2: damage from humidity...notice I located the shower directly below the roof vent in order to minimize this

Now FWC just needs to come up with a built in shower pan

 

[upcruiser]

Wow! That looks slick! Nice work, the touches that you've added to that FWC are pretty impressive. I'm getting camper envy. As tough as I like to think I am, that is looking pretty darn nice. Where do you store that setup during transport and when set up to camp?

 

[Northern Explorer]

Wow! That looks slick! Nice work, the touches that you've added to that FWC are pretty impressive. I'm getting camper envy. As tough as I like to think I am, that is looking pretty darn nice. Where do you store that setup during transport and when set up to camp?

If we don't have the dog with us it will just go in the back seat of the crew cab. Otherwise it would just store on the floor of the camper while in transit and then in the back seat at night. I was thinking about taking out the back seat for the summer in order to increase storage while traveling. We'll see...to much going on right now.

 

[Northern Explorer]

Inverter and second 75 amp hour AGM battery install

Big upgrade to the electrical system. I purchased a second Interstate 75 amp hour AGM battery, along with an Xpower 1750 watt inverter.

I know you're not supposed to mix old and new batteries together, but my original was only a year old, never had a deep discharge, and was kept on a trickle charger all winter. It's as close to new as a one year old battery can get.

Original location of single 75 amp hour battery

In this location the battery took up a lot of storage space. Also, each battery weighs in at about 54 pounds. My idea was to have the new location as far forward as possible and in a place that would allow this space to be used for storage of other items.

Components of the build

Frame for battery box in new location

I was a little hesitant about putting the batteries in this location because I wasn't sure if I wanted to give up floor space on the second smallest truck camper on the market. I have come to realize that elbow and shoulder room is more important and I hardly even realized it was there on our test trip this weekend.

I had to make a slight modification to one of the cabinet doors in order for it to swing open.

The end result (Pay no attention to the cluster of DC wires. I plan on upgrading to the proper size, color and length in the near future)

Remote switch and ac outlet

 

[YourMileageMayVary]

Just wanted to send you a quick thank you for posting your build and your mods. It's great to see you adapting your FWC for your needs and sharing your ideas with the community.

It's also wonderful to see Stan at FWC helping you after the sale!

I'm looking forward to reading more about your project.

 

[Northern Explorer]

Just wanted to send you a quick thank you for posting your build and your mods. It's great to see you adapting your FWC for your needs and sharing your ideas with the community.

It's also wonderful to see Stan at FWC helping you after the sale!

I'm looking forward to reading more about your project.

Thanks....I'm just down to a few last minor details now (I think). So far everything has worked out great and I'm planning on another short camping trip next weekend.

 

[JetMech]

Looking good!!...... here's another option for your shower setup. I have always used a solar shower bag but this looks like a good option to keep mama happy.

http://www.cabelas.com/link-12/product/0006339512343a.shtml

 

[Northern Explorer]

Looking good!!...... here's another option for your shower setup. I have always used a solar shower bag but this looks like a good option to keep mama happy.

http://www.cabelas.com/link-12/product/0006339512343a.shtml

Thanks for the link. I looked into that unit. A friend has one. It's nice but it wasn't for me.

 

[Northern Explorer]

A few upgrades

Digital thermostat
I purchased a digital thermostat in an effort to minimize temperature swings and also to more precisely set the temperature. The old analog thermostat just had a series of lines (no numbers) to set the temperature to. There also seemed to be a wide temperature swing with the old thermostat. The furnace wouldn't turn on until the temperature was quite cold and then by the time it turned off I felt like I was sitting in a kiln. Both problems seemed to have been significantly minimized when I tested it out. It's been to warm around here to give it a thorough test. I believe part of the problem is that the furnace heats the air faster than the thermostat can read the temperature change. By the time the furnace shuts off the thermostat temperature reading will continue to go up for at least another three degrees. I think having a less powerful furnace would solve this problem. But that's just a guess.

One pound tank adapter
Twenty pound propane tank trade-ins are popping up all over the place now. Wal-Mart, gas stations, grocery stores, hardware stores all have them now. Unfortunately this doesn't help me. The tank I have is a horizontal mount tank. If it runs dry I will need to get it refilled. My solution was to get a one pound tank adapter and to just carry a couple of smaller tanks that I can use until I am able to find a place to fill up my twenty pound tank.

Mounting points
I decided to reinforce my bolt through mounting points by placing a 2 inch wide by 3/16 piece of steel on the underside of my truck bed. It extends from the driver's side front bolt to the passenger's side front bolt and then another 5 inches on each side. I only have this on the front for now. To further minimize creaking and minor shifting noises I decided to use turnbuckles for a fifth and sixth mounting point. This is probably overkill but it has eliminated 99.9% of all unwanted noises/shifting.

I know the S hooks aren't the strongest options but as a redundent mounting point it should work just fine.