Not much in the way of updates recently, so here is a quick overview of the progress so far.
The mog had a problem when we first got it, you could not open the pass through into the cab. The reason was the batteries, the original german batteries fit under the raised floor. When these were replaced with US batteries, which are about an inch higher, the previous own made a wooden cover which ultimately raised the floor another inch and stopped the door opening. The quest to move these batteries has turned into a complete refit..
I relocated the batteries under the table, you don't walk on this part of the floor so if its raised an inch or so it doesn't matter. Under the table used to be storage but it was very difficult to access, the batteries don't need much access so its an ideal place. The original aux batteries were 2 group 31's, the area under the table perfectly fits 6 group 31's. As of now I have 870A/hours or 1320 minutes reserve cap.
The batteries vent to the outside and to the external toolbox, when the tool box is open a nice air flow is obtained and any nasty fumes are pushed outside.
The weight of the batteries is about 450 pounds, the truck does not sit uneven. When the water tanks on the opposite side are full its very well balanced. We also have 100 gallons of diesel on each side which can be used for ballast if necessary.
The area that used to be located by the batteries is now an underfloor storage area and when combined with the storage that used to be there we have a 5 foot, by 2 foot by 10 inch area. Its at floor level so is great for heavy things and its very easy to access, we are considerng using it as a pantry.
The truck is entirely 12V but we did fit a 2000W inverter so we can run a real 110v blender and misc chargers for which we can't get 12V versions (our 12v blender is not as good as even the cheapest 110v blender). There is potential for a small AC air con system in the future. There are 4 110 outlets, one under the table, one in the 'reading area' opposite the table, one in the kitchen and the final one is in the external tool box which can be accessed from outside. Also on the electrical front an external 110 hookup was added and an Ioto Engineering 90A charger was installed (highly recommended). The only 110v available is via the inverter, there is no transfer switch to switch over to incomming 110v.
All the lights have been replaced with 6W florescent strips and an exterior led light added.
Locking 12V sockets are all over the truck and our laptops have 12V power supplies. My laptop has a Verizon air data card which is shared via wifi to any other laptops near by. The airdata has a fitted booster and external antenna.
A 12v 14inch flatpanel HDTV with built in DVD player has been mounted so it can be seen from the table or the bed. The unit only consumes about 1.5A so is excellent for evening entertainment, especially with kids. The old casette radio has been replaced with a radio CD, XM and Ipod controller, the radio has a worldwide tuner. The XM atenna is permanently mounted to the roof, it may need to be moved because its shadowed by the solar panels. A secondary GPS has been mounted in the rear as a backup unit and for downloading tracks to a PC, if anybody is riding in the back they can see where they are.
300 watts of solar replaced the older solar system which keeps the batteries charged and still has enough power to run the fridge, lights, dvd, radio etc
The vents for the furnace have been redone and all the under floor areas are heated (optional for the main storage area). The water and the batteries are already indoors so there are minimal freezing issues but the extra heating vent ensures they stay at an optimal termperature.
The water tanks have been cleaned out and a probeless measuring kit installed. The expedition water filter has a new ceramic cartridge and carbon filter. A proper and permanent shower head has been installed in the bathroom. The truck always had an external water faucet with a hot/cold mixer. The faucet has been replaced with a quick connect system allowing it to be used for multiple purposes including an outside shower.
The gas appliances have individual shutoffs and the spare shutoff is routed outside to a quick connect valve which can be used by an external grill or heater and still use the trucks gas bottle. The main gas shutoff is controlled by an electro-magnetic valve so I never have to physically touch the gas bottle.
The old lino floor has been removed an replaced with Marmolium tiles. The table is now moveable and can be dropped down to span the gap between the benches making it an extra bed. Where the 'reading area' is located opposite the table there used to be a wood trunk which was used for storage and also as a seat. We replaced this with a Engel MT35 and made a cushion for the top, this will be used as a chest freezer and as a backup to the fitted Danfoss frdige. The frige was a few inches too wide so 2 of the existing cupboards were removed and slighly reconfigured to make enough room (this was the hardest part as we didn't want to damage anything and have to make something which didn't match the remainder of the truck). The fridge can be moved over to the table to act as a third seat if necessry.
Finally all the seats have been recovered and the curtains remade with light block to keep the pesky sun out in the mornings. All the windows also have solar blocks to keep the internal temperature down.
Things remaining: upgrade the aux alternator so it can handle charging 6 batteries. Replace the remainder of the floor. Devise some system to hold the fridge down but allow it to still be movable. Fit the cabin seatbelts. Install a fantastic fan in the roof (this may not happen due to the solar panels, it looks like I need to replace one of the existing vents which is far more difficult). Replace the rear aux/reverse light as the current one has water damage and only works 25% of the time. I am considering a rear view camera as you can't see anything behind you.
We are hopfully going to be heading south for a month long tour of Baja in the new year. We shall be taking it to mogfest in October and testing it during the winter around CA.
I hope to work by normal job part time while on the road, all I need is a laptop and internet access.
Pics to follow.
Rob
! sweet!
