2000 Ford 7.3L Motovan build (225's build cont'd)

[Bbasso]

Still have my #?

 

[CaptainBuilt]

Since the solar panels are in, I installed the ceiling. Still need to trim it out, but the hard part is done.

Drove 900 miles to work, and dropped the van off at the shop to get some minor stuff fixed.

Took a pic of the mileage.

I also stopped by ikea and pulled the trigger on the new bed base. Next time I’m home, I wanna be done with the bed and solar batteries, and generator setup.

 

[CaptainBuilt]

Back home, and another 1700 miles. Never misses a beat. Glad I have AC again.

Yea buddy. Now I have to just install it.... booooo....

Motive 4.10's and a ARB air locker.

 

[wanderer-rrorc]

Back home, and another 1700 miles. Never misses a beat. Glad I have AC again.

Yea buddy. Now I have to just install it.... booooo....

Motive 4.10's and a ARB air locker.

I just got my AC working and need to swap to 4:10 with a locker too!! Lol

Sent from my VS987 using Tapatalk

 

[CaptainBuilt]

I just got my AC working and need to swap to 4:10 with a locker too!! Lol

My van had a few issues that needed fixing. Minor stuff, like the AC.

I know HOW to install gears and locker, just don't WANNA. But I'm gonna do it anyway.

 

[CaptainBuilt]

More Deal's Gap camping. Man, it was hot. Can't wait to get that AC up and going.

No van pics, just gear and cool stuff. Trying to see what works and what doesn't.

One of my buddies Lotus.

New stove and pot set works good:

My scooter:

Back to reality and time to get some work done on the van.

 

[CaptainBuilt]

I STILL haven't got to install the gears yet. Maybe next month....

I had to tackle a more important issue. Power.

I travel to South Louisiana for work. And it's hotter than hell, even at night time.

After a few days of busting my butt, even tho it didn't look like I did much, here you go:

Ghetto AC. It work great, and with it painted black, it doesn't seem as noticeable.

I had to rebuild my wheel well boxes for the bed I'm building. I used OSB, cuz the wife likes it. I also routed the AC power cord to stay plugged in with the door open and closed.

Battery:

Lights on and fan running. Been a long time coming:

Is this normal to have low wattage for solar?

 

[Bbasso]

What size pv do you have?

 

[CaptainBuilt]

What size pv do you have?

2 100w panels w/ a Victronon 75/15 charge controller.

 

[Bbasso]

A few factors need to be accounted, SOC is one and how to clear the skies were...
With my current setup which I changed yesterday from parallel to series my three 100wt panels are putting out very low amps because of the very cloudy day with light rain.
(Victron 100/30 charge controller)

 

[CaptainBuilt]

A few factors need to be accounted, SOC is one and how to clear the skies were...
With my current setup which I changed yesterday from parallel to series my three 100wt panels are putting out very low amps because of the very cloudy day with light rain.
(Victron 100/30 charge controller)

I ran my fan and lights all day yesterday and the solar panels kept up with them. When I turned them off, within an hour the charger was back to "float". I'm guessing that maybe they are only pulling what they need? And that shows on the wattage?

I dunno.

I have a small generator I'm bringing with me down south. That way I have something to power the window unit.

 

[Bbasso]

Typically hitting float only means you've in the 80 to 85% range of full capacity, the longer it sits at float the closer it will be 100% I've heard that its needs at float 4 to 7 hours to complete fill the battery. If you've done the basic math for your solar system and the draw of your appliances, you should have a reasonable amount of surplus left over to power some items while on float and still putting in enough to top off the batteries serious.
Hope that makes sense ...

 

[Bbasso]

To truly know what all your appliances individual power needs are you would have to use a power meter such as victron bmv-712. You might get an approximation using a SCC, but it won't be precise.

 

[CaptainBuilt]

To truly know what all your appliances individual power needs are you would have to use a power meter such as victron bmv-712. You might get an approximation using a SCC, but it won't be precise.

I'm gonna buy a few meters and see what they do.

Did a little beach tour before work:

USS Alabama:

A view from work. I need more solar panels!

 

[CaptainBuilt]

I have the free Carfax account that tells you the last time a shop serviced your vehicle, and the mileage it was at. You can also add service intervals, etc....I was curious about when was the last time my mileage was reported. Bill Walker Tire in Asheville reported at the time of my wheel alignment when I added 4WD, 11/2/18 - 361,819 miles.The last report before that was in 2010. It was reported at 294,146 miles. With the difference of 67,673 miles. It took 8 YEARS. That's an average of 8,500 a year.

Right now I think I'm around 372,000ish miles. My van is my daily driver, and camper, and bike hauler. So it seems like the first few years it took a quick beating, then hasn't since then. I'm always curious about the engine. I'm so high up in miles that it will scare anyone when it comes to resell value, but I wonder how many miles it has left. Honestly, it seems very strong. Nothing wrong with it other than accessories around the engine nickel and dimeing me to death. But I have most of those replaced.

I really wanna bump the hp up some, and add a intercooler.