Unimogadventures - Our build and travel thread

[Iain_U1250]

We just got back from a 3000km trip around the Outback in our truck. It was very hot, 40-45C most of the time. We saw some great places. We left late in the afternoon, and drove 600km into the night. Our headlights are all pretty good, giving us around 600-800m clear visibility. We had no problems with cows or kangaroos and there was virtually no traffic, I would not recommend driving at night in something smaller, our bull bar is pretty solid, not like that of a car.

There are some great places we still have to visit, like this gorge, it is a bit dry at the moment, it would be spectacular after some rain. This is Copperfield Gorge, the result of a volcano some time in the distance past, the dark rock is all lava, and there are various sheets of it, we took some great photos, and flew our new drone around as well. Spot the Mog




Our solar system is showing it's age - these panels used to put out 6A each, but now all three are only producing about 7A. We got them in Melbourne, and they worked quite well in the begining, but have steadily been reducing in output. It is about time we upgraded our power systems anyway, they are around 6-7 years old as a minimum, and the batteries are also showing their age. Time to look at some new lithium batteries.




One thing we also found was that the fridge ventilation needs an upgrade. It was over 40C, and we had a hot wind blowing on the side of the truck with the fridge vents, and the wind trapped the heat, poor fridges were struggling, but they still kept the freezer at -15C and 0C on the fridge, they just seldom cycled in and out. I think some fan forced ventilation is the go, so I'm going to add a duct and some silent computer fans to help get the heat out of the fridge cabinet. We will also as some extra insualtion to the fridges, as using my thermal heat gun, I measure the fridge out shells at around 28C, and the interior of the fridge cabinet was 48C, so that is a lot of cold leaking out.

It was very hot the whole way, over 45C on the way home and the engine was running at around 98C, quite warm, but then diesels like running hot, too cold is bad for them. The aircon worked great, kept the inside of the truck a pleasant 28C all the time, getting out to stretch our legs and quick photo shoot was shock. It was a very dry heat, the sweat dried instantly, and we were constantly drinking water, we went through at least 7 litres as day each.






We also gave the truck a bit of a facelift before we left, we added some purple stripes to the truck, which turn pink at night under headlights. This trip was special for us, one of the reasons we went back to Lawn Hill was it was where we went 7 years previously after my wife had completed her cancer treatments and reconstructions. Here's hoping we can go back there time and time again.

 

[loonwheeler]

Looking good Iain, thanks for the update.

I would love to hear about your power system upgrades as I am just finishing up a few on our truck. If you have the time, please keep posting!

 

[762X39]

We also gave the truck a bit of a facelift before we left, we added some purple stripes to the truck, which turn pink at night under headlights. This trip was special for us, one of the reasons we went back to Lawn Hill was it was where we went 7 years previously after my wife had completed her cancer treatments and reconstructions. Here's hoping we can go back there time and time again.

I am so happy she made it through. I interrupted my life last year while Katherine had her cancer surgery (she is down to 1/2 of 1 kidney, a tumour took the first one when she was 5). I got really good at giving her sponge baths and changing her dressings when we couldn't get to a hospital up north or had to show the nurse how to do it. I am about 4 years from retirement and am looking forward to working on the Mog as well as spending time in the bush with Katherine.

 

[CragMog]

Hi Iain - How do you manage the heat in the camper? I know you have good insulation, but must assume the insides gets warm if it's 45°C outside? How much heat do you get through the windows?

 

[Iain_U1250]

I am so happy she made it through. I interrupted my life last year while Katherine had her cancer surgery (she is down to 1/2 of 1 kidney, a tumour took the first one when she was 5). I got really good at giving her sponge baths and changing her dressings when we couldn't get to a hospital up north or had to show the nurse how to do it. I am about 4 years from retirement and am looking forward to working on the Mog as well as spending time in the bush with Katherine.

Hope all is going well with your wife John, it a difficult thing when the most imnportant person in your life gets sick. It really puts the rest of it in perspective. Wishing you safe travels in the future.

Hi Iain - How do you manage the heat in the camper? I know you have good insulation, but must assume the insides gets warm if it's 45°C outside? How much heat do you get through the windows?

Nothing much you can so other than try and keep the heat out using shade sails and awnings. Inside would be around 3 degrees cooler at best, so we would retreat to the water during the afternoon, swimming or just sitting under a tree. If all else fails, we would just use the outside shower and wet our shirts every 1/2 hour. evaporative cooling works great in dry heat.

It shows how long since we have been camping in hot weather, we made the mistake of choosing the site where were parked almost directly facing east, this mean the back of the truck was facing the afternoon sun. We have the rear window blinds down, but one day forgot and came back to the truck it was 47C inside. What we usually do is park with the side door facing west, then the shade sail keeps that side of the truck in shade during the afternoon. We are looking at making some side extensions to the shade sail, to help when it is really hot.

 

[Jostt]

Nice pics Ian, I had this summer the same problem whit the fridge under 40c°...the fan would be the solution

 

[Wyuna]

It’s good to see the mog out and about,

the fans will help the fridge, look for the magnetic lev fans, longer life span, less noise, and can be used with a variable voltage reducer.

I have mine set down at 9 volts as 12 volts is too loud for me.

i also connected up fans for the charger and inverte, to reduce the heat.

i have mine on a switch, but I should have wired up with a thermostat at the time.

what are you thinking for your lithium setup?, from memory you had spiral agm’s in set in the floor?

 

[Iain_U1250]

Thanks, I have a couple of magnetic bearing fans already for cooling over compartments already. They are really quiet, I'll get a couple of the same ones. I will set up a thermostat, I have some spare ones still.

Just starting my research into Lithium, the spiral AGM are coming to the end of their life, and I might as well get some nuew technology, as they will be a lot lighter and should last a bit longer as well. I'll need to upgrade the solar and charging systems, either with Sterling Power systems or something similar.

 

[Iain_U1250]

Time for another truck build update. I decided to go with a full Lithium battery swap to replace all the Optima AGMs I had been using. This is what I had in the truck - 7 x Optima 31As. The weight 28kg each, and with the various battery boxes, clamps and supports, the whole lot came in at around 230kg. The 31A were rated at 75AH, so all six had a total of 450AH, but since you can't let them discharge to less than 60% without damaging them, it meant we had around 270A/hr of usable capacity.



I have replacement them all with this lot.



The whole lot weights only 56kg. 4 x 120AHs which weigh 12kgs each. The are rated at 120A/hrs each, so a total of 480A/hr, but since you can discharge them down to 20% with damage, that gives a usable 400A/hr. In addition, I have 60AH Lithium starting battery that weigh only 8kg yet puts out 1450CCA., which is 50% more than the 900CCA of the Optima 31A it replaced. The starter motor now spins the truck so much faster, and whilst it normally starts first turn anyway, it just seems to start so much easier.

I have also rewired the whole heavy current system, quite a radical change in that now, the Lithium starter only starts the truck, and the other four batteries run all the electrical bits (instruments, head lights, fans, wipes, radios etc). The starter is charged by the OEM 90A alternator, and the other ones are charged by the 120A alternator ( + solar).

This is more or less the wiring diagram.



The starter now lives under my seat - and has it's own isolator switch and voltage monitor.





The new batteries were just 5mm longer than the Optima batteries, which was fine for the centre battery box, but the front battery box was designed as a tight fit for the Optima, so they would not move around, but that meant the new batteries just did not fit through the hatch. I had to fit the new batteries in the rear battery box instead. Still the front battery box is right over the transmission, so gets a bit hotter than the centre one and is a lot hotter than the rear one. The rear box is also heated by the heating system, so should be warm enough. The centre box is right in front of the heater matrix, so should remain above freezing as well, as lithium batteries should not be charged when below freezing. I added a temperature sensor to the centre batteries, so I can monitor how hot or cold they get.

I also have fitted more remote battery switches, which I can switch on and off from the dash. I can isolate all the batteries with the touch of a switch. I can also run them in parallel - both alternator and both batteries, or I can run both alternators onto one battery bank ( either one or both). This give me quite few redundancy options, and I can potentially even run the truck off the solar panels if necessary

The solar controllers had to be re-programmed for lithium batteries, which the Morningstar Duos can be, I had to reduce the maximum voltage and the float voltage to meet the requirments of the new batteries. I also have to replace the CTEK 25A battery charger, as it had a "rejuventation mode" on startup which damages the Lithium batteries as well. I got a Victron "Smart Charger" Victron IP22. It has a proper lithium mode and can be controlled by Bluetooth.

I have also built the Mk3 version of our centre console. This time I have split the main box into two compartments, as the Mk2 version was way to big and deep. Things would just disapear for week in the black hole. I also added another box, which can hold quite a lot, but is shallow, so should be easier to find things. It is also strong enough to stand on. Trish made the covers for the lids from motocycle seat material, so should be quite hard wearing. I added a USB charger to the console as well, so we can charge the phones. There are five other USB chargers in the truck so we should never run out of USB ports now.




I also added a shelf on top of the subwoofer, with a pair of cupholders as well. I made it quite substantial, so Trish can hold onto to it when the going gets rough. The RAM mount for the Ipad works well in that position. I run the HEMA maps when were are traveling, less chance of getting the wrong directions from my Navigator You can just see the new battery switches on the dash behind the steering wheel as well.



Next little gadget was a foot ( or ankle) switch for the main beam headlights. We have quite substantial headlights and spotlights on the truck. Two of the 9" LED light rated at 1 Lux at 1000m, and the lower ones are rated at 1 Lux at 1600m. They light up the road like daylight for at least 700m in front of us. However, on our last trip I found that I would be blinding the oncoming drivers for a second or two until I could take my hand off the wheel to pull the stalk back. This would happen a lot on corners, when I have both hands on the wheel around the bend, and would have to grab the stalk to stop blinding them. I came up with the idea of using a footswitch, something I had on my first car.



I found a push button switch at Jaycar and fitted it low down on the subwoofer. I can push the switch with my foot or ankle, and switch of the main beam. I've tested it with shoes,, sandals, boot and bare feet, and it works great. It doesn't get in the way and so far I have not found a way to hit it accidentally.




I have also done a few more thing I have been meaning to do, like changing the main interior light to dual mode LED which is a lot brighter in the high mode, and has a more softer light in low mode. I added another pair of 6x9 speakers that were in the shed into the roof lining of the truck, as I found the lower ones behind the seat where just not that audible on the move, and I had a spare channel on the amp as well.

I still have a few more things to sort out, now that the external battery box is gone, I can fit a jerry can holder in that space for a 20lt and a 10lt Jerry can - so I can carry another 30lt of fuel if we need to. I will also be adding a couple of lights into the various compartments to make it easier to find stuff at night, and replacing the sideways mounted light on the cab with the LED lights we got free when I got the big spotlights.

I have also got another new toy to play with

 

[Ozjourney]

Not sure of what BMS you have but if the batteries are the type that disconnect when over charged that might mean the alternator is running without a battery and could max out.
Also as lithium can take a lot of current there is a risk of the alternator over heating.

I’m no expert but going lithium is very different and requires more control management.
Steve

 

[Iain_U1250]

Not sure of what BMS you have but if the batteries are the type that disconnect when over charged that might mean the alternator is running without a battery and could max out.
Also as lithium can take a lot of current there is a risk of the alternator over heating.

I’m no expert but going lithium is very different and requires more control management.
Steve

The ones I have have all have a built in BMS, but I was going to look into the options for an external regulator anyway.

I like how they reduce speed of the alternator down to 1500rpm in their test. I don't many cars that idle below 800rpm for IIf you look at the pulley size on the crank and that of an alternator, it will always be a ratio of 3 or 4, so taking an an idle speed of 800rpm, you will always get around 2400rpm as a mimimum, and usually more closer to the 3000rpm the alternator is stable at.

 

[Sitec]

The ones I have have all have a built in BMS, but I was going to look into the options for an external regulator anyway.

I like how they reduce speed of the alternator down to 1500rpm in their test. I don't many cars that idle below 800rpm for IIf you look at the pulley size on the crank and that of an alternator, it will always be a ratio of 3 or 4, so taking an an idle speed of 800rpm, you will always get around 2400rpm as a mimimum, and usually more closer to the 3000rpm the alternator is stable at.

Then when they tested the second alternator, they ran it at higher speeds, so there was no comparison... Hmmm.

 

[Iain_U1250]

Did a few tests on the batteries today. I have two ARB Twin motor compressors in the rear compartment to give a backup for the engine compressor and a a way of charging the air system without running the engine. They are supposed to draw 60A each, so today I tested them using just the rear battery pair by themselves. The battery monitor showed it drawing 120A, and the voltage dropped from 13.6V to only 13.4V. That is pretty impressive as before, with all 6 AGM batteries in parallel, the voltage dropped down to 12.6V and it would only draw 100A.

 

[Iain_U1250]

Then when they tested the second alternator, they ran it at higher speeds, so there was no comparison... Hmmm.

and that alternator got very hot as well, they just didn't burn it out.

 

[Ozjourney]

and that alternator got very hot as well, they just didn't burn it out.

It would be nice to monitor the Alt temp and get an idea of what’s really going on.

I like the option to turn off the alternator feed, if your on a long trip and with solar there is no need to burn diesel.