Recent content by DiploStrat

Yes. Took the truck to them when we first arrived in UK. First time that the truck got a good worker with people who work on these beasts all day. Have gone back every year since for a "spa day." Heading back now to take care of some rotting air lines and worn out bushings. Great people.

We use these cats. A lot. https://www.unimogs.co.uk/

Looks like a fun project! I crossed the Sahara in a Blazer, but now that I am older and uglier, I want a bit more long term sustainability. All the best on your build!

While you are at it, you probably want to rethink your decision not to charge from the alternator. My experience is that you can't have too many charge sources. It is 105F at 8:30PM and, after about four hours of air conditioning, I am going to have to plug in. I'm down to about 70%.

I'll play. Composite box, batteries in the box, inverter/charger mounted outside the box, in an aluminum box. Solar charging works perfectly. Shore power charging works perfectly. Engine/alternator charging was poor, almost nothing. Looked at the batteries - nice big positive and negative...

I'll play. The very first, and most important question is, where are you going? -- North America -- Pan Am Highway -- Europe/North Africa -- Subsaharan Africa -- Silk Road/Asia Each of these has different requirements for water, fresh and grey, and power. Examples: -- For North America...

FWIW, AEONRV use a variation of this idea. 1kw+ inverter feeding the built in 3kW Victron Inverter/Charger. Been using this for a about 50 campers.

My current rig has the spare below the garage. As the spare is really heavy, this requires a heavy steel frame and a winch to lift it. Put it at the bottom/front/side of the garage and use a ramp to lower. A simple hand/electric winch will handle lifting. Lay it on the floor and the tie down...

Actually, internal mounting is much easier and lighter and length is length. Less weight and lower. (Actually, you want the spare up front, as the military do it, but that might interfere with a pass through. But it is your truck and your money. I have a rear mount and know what I would do if...

Free comment: Don't hang your spare tire on the back. Extend the box and put the spare inside. Your overall length will be the same and you can avoid all the weight of reinforcing the back wall and mounting a winch or similar. Likewise bicycles, etc. - put 'em all inside. The extra panel length...

I have found fuel, oil, and air filters to be easy. Take the actual filters into an auto parts shop I used Advance Auto, and they can find the actual filters. (They won't be able to find by vehicle.) The filters come up as made in Mexico filters for Massey Ferguson tractors, etc. Typically not...

Since we are spending yer money ... -- Batteries are made up of cells, typically about 3v each. Put 'em together in series, ya get 12v. Need more amps, put groups in parallel. Connecting batteries in series or parallel is not a problem, but, as noted, there are rules and best practices. -- I...

The short answer is that two batteries in parallel act as one battery. So your charger only needs one output. The broader question is the wire distance implicit in your setup. -- The batteries in parallel should be charged (and discharged) "diagonally." That means that the charger and the...

So, problem solved?

Quick scan of the specs ticks all the right boxes!