4 season camper project

[Gentleman]

Battery for cabin installation

Hello:

Status update. I now have fridge and charger (100% certain that fridge will work with both temp and proper campers, Charger is 12v so not so certain that I can get it to work with mogs)

Now looking at batteries and installation.

I understand that for leisure battery my practical choices are deep cycle batteries. I am bit confused about 'sealed lead acid' batteries and how suitable they are for cabin installations.

open lead-acid batteries are not to be used - right?

sealed lead-acid, agm and geal batteris (to best of my understanding) all can release gases when charged /over charged and each have safty valve to release excess gasses. Now which of these are acceptable for cabin useage? is there a significant difference in safety between them?

I am green hand in electrics. I understand that heavy cable and fuses are a good way to go (efficiency and safety). How should I select the size of fuse? I have Dacia Logan MCV with original alternator. I do not know exact amps it can produce (google showed replacement alternators). My charger unit is rated for 160 amps with heat sensor for battery and alternator. I am thinking of 100A fuses but that is more or less guess work.

second basic questions. Should I get black for negative and red for positive for the wires? (by default I think I should - based on the fact that hassle and material loss of getting two cables is outweigh by benefits of clearly identifiable cabling) I have no knowledge if there is legal aspects for car wiring as there is for house mains wiring.

Hoping to get this (and other things) sorted out by late May (Planned departure date)

Cheers!
Janne

PS I realize that this is bit off section to talk about modifying my station wagon modifications.. I see this as a step toward my final goal and so prefer to keep it as single thread. Please pm me if you feel that this is flooding unimog section with ot posts.. I am trying to keep some grip on how to keep everything in check (I just started another thread on different forum which focuses on my aspirations of covering the hole this will make to my bank account)

 

[Anton2k3]

Hi, take a look at Trojan T-105's. They are traction batteries, can handle running nearly flat. I have 4 6v Trojan T-605's, two wired in series to make 12v bank, then those two banks wired in parallel to create one 420ah 12v bank. I have a generator, and run a 20a 240v charger which allows the gen to just idle to run it. However, i think charge rate is a little slow, so looking at investing in a 60a charger, this should reduce gen run time to 30 mins, couple of times a day in winter, or in summer when have solar panels, probably once every few days and for the wifes hair dryer. I'd certainly recommend running 240v charger, my 20a pulls something like 400w + efficiency loss.

 

[Gentleman]

Oi Mates!

Updates:
I have fridge/freezer now in the boot of my station wagon. 2*90 Ah DC battery (connected with 70mm2 cable). Generator (700w; not pure sin wave). 12v-24A && 24v-12A outlet charger.

I opted to buy batteries from local store. They gave me nice service and shipping would have ~eaten up the cost. All in all I think that if I paid small premium .. it was acceptable.

Lots of stuff in RL has pushed my departure. Summer cold has forced me to sleep without pressure mask -- I feel worse than I recalled I would so I am second guessing my option of sleeping without it (as I cant get humidifier to work on 12v).. we shall see.. I do not think that time allows me to hook the 12v setup (nor to figure out how to draw the line to my tent.)

my old satnav is working on borrowed time. it can not get electricity from the cigaret outlet. I think the cause is in the female mini-usb connection on the device. I have failed to charge the device on two different cable from 12v outlet but the unit charges fine with one of these cables while connected to my computer. Any ideas on what I could try to do to fix this? I am considering to buy a satnav app for my android phone. Any experience on these or recommendations on which software to buy?

Desired features: condition of roads - ability to allow or disallow minor (bad condition) roads.
option to 'continue from last know location' when powering up the unit (from stand by).
Ability to search POI (gas station) with 'shortest additional distance to route' option -- preferably with 'within next xx km' option

Any pointers on getting a large set of padlocks that work on single key? Our local stores seem to have only sets of 3 and using ones that can be configured when bought are horribly expensive. I will try to manage this trip without but I think I will need these later on to secure stuff with wire to my cars roof rack and to secure the whole roof rack. I understand that these 'small' padlocks are breakable with bolt cutters.. I just do not think that I can get anything heavy enough that it would stand bolt cutters so I will accept that I can only make stealing harder but that I can not completely prevent the risk.

 

[southpier]

try the combination lock route: http://www.1st-in-padlocks.com/175-combination-padlock-p-712.html ?

 

[Gentleman]

USA Driving licence question..

What kind of a licence is needed in USA if one wishes to drive a heavy vehicle (=fire truck)? For private/personal use.. not commercial

Camper, 4 wheels, vehicle weight 9000kg or ~17500 lbs. What is the term/name for the licence that enables one to drive such (and what is the term for regular licence?) ... if there is a difference?

Here one can drive whicles up to 3500kg or ~6500lbs with "B" class driverslicence. To drive heavier one needs "C" class licence.

I tried to look at DMV and google but this info eludes me.. if there is a distinction by weight in USA.

 

[ianc]

Gentleman
You can drive almost all campers/RVs with a standard EU car driving license. The US distinction is more on commercial (needing a Commercial Driving License - CDL) verses non-commercial. I'm sure some US guys can give more detail.
FYI - My wife was ok to drive our 8000kg RV in the US on a EU "B" license.

I hope that helps

I

 

[Gentleman]

Thanks Ianc,

I was actually thinking about getting a US driving licence for heavy vehicle "class C" and then using that licence within EU while driving 8000kg+ vehicle..

The licence situation here in finland is bit mixed (have changed and will (?) change more) up so as twisted as it sounds... it might be easier and cheaper to get a US licence and start working from there. (I do not have heavy vehicle yet .. but I need the licence before I can start looking for one).

I will get a membership in our local atomotive assosiation next year so I guess I will get definitive advice regarding Finnish situation then.. my current understanding is that it might be easier to get another countries licence to drive such vehicle

 

[tacr2man]

Finland being in EU will have same licence requirements as all other EU countries as its a EU standard regulation . HTSH

 

[Joe917]

In Canada you can drive a motor home up to 11000 kgs on your regular license ( as long as you are under 75' total length and towing only 2 trailers!). I believe the US is similar although the GVW may be even higher. Most vehicles in this weight class have air brakes however, you must have an air brake endorsement on your license if this is the case. If you are legally licensed to drive your vehicle in your home country you are legal with an international driving permit any where in the world except Brazil, Burundi,Iraq,Nigeria and Somalia.

 

[charlieaarons]

Perhaps true but I was told that in order to be completely legal in Australia w/my 12 ton Unimog with air brakes I should have a Class B (straight truck, any weight) license. So I got one.

Charlie

 

[Gentleman]

I do not have a truck. I do not have a licence to drive a truck in any country. only below 3500kg / ~7000lbs

I am considering my options on which country to get my licence in. I do believe I have an option to do it in Finland, other EU country or in USA.
I need the licence to drive it before I can buy one. (still testing concept with my station wagon)

Juggling cross boarders can be a hassle, my gut feeling is that it is a shot worth considering. Yes. I really think things are that bad here.. Fire departments are starting to have trouble getting people with adequate licence to drive trucks. This is due to price hike few years back .. there was one more change made (compulsory commercial licence bundled in = serious money) done 2013 (?) and I think one change is now in pipeline ..

As things stand I am considering english speaking countries (or where I can take the test in english) + sweden. so USA is on top of my list and uk as second. Australia and canada are also options but I do not have travel plans to either country.

I imagine that in germany, austria, slovenia one has to take the test in german so that bloks those countries out.

PS yes.. this is long hard road ahead of me

 

[ianc]

Gentleman,
I'm pretty sure a US CDL license cannot be traded in for a European one. I know that's definitely the case for a bike license. Doing the test should be the same in almost all EU countries at this stage. Keep in mind that you will "just" need a class C license and will not require a CPC (Certificate in Professional Competence).

See https://www.gov.uk/exchange-a-foreign-driving-licence for swapping licenses from "other" to UK. Not really relevant for you but it is informative.

This give the reciprocal arrangements the UK has with other countries. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/law-on-driving-licence-exchange-tightened-to-improve-road-safety

Again - its worth noting that the US is not included.

Also note that most EU countries insist that you are resident before you can do the test there.

10 hours of lessons are about €500 here in Ireland. I think that's about what it takes for an average person to pass. There are also costs for doing the test and issuing the license - but they are small.

 

[rblackwell]

This (drivers licenses) is an interesting question and perhaps somewhat of a problem for folks with US drivers licenses and large RVs like my Unimog GXV

My South Dakota drivers license which in the US permits me to drive my RV even though it weights over 26000 lbs is very unhelpful as printed on the back of the plastic license is says "permitted to drive car and light truck". It says nothing about motor homes and RVs ...

Fortunately when I went to the AAA to get an international drivers permit or what ever it is called the lady that prepared the document endorsed it for every possible combination of vehicle the document identifies.

The international drivers permit is interesting in itself in that the categories of vehicles that a driver can be endorsed for does not include motor home or RV. This document like almost every country in the world other than the US categorizes vehicle by weight, passenger carry capacity and whether articulated. Hence once outside the US (maybe North America) I am not driving a motor home but I am driving a rigid chassis truck weighing 12000kg

In Russia a few transport police officers looked at my SD license with that question on their face .. "Where does this license say you can drive a truck"

In Europe where the police are more likely to be able to read English that stupid endorsement on the back of my SD license may cause me problems.

Hence after a few experiences with Russian police (who were generally friendly and did not ask fr money) I started showing my Austalian heavy vehicle license which allows me to drive a cargo carry vehicle of any weight.

Now there are apparently international agreements that (as I understand it) say that "if a vehicle is legal in its home country it is legal in another country and if your license allows you to drive a vehicle in your home country it allows you to drive that vehicle in another country"
But try explaining that to the Kazak officer who wants to inform you that window tinting is not allowed in Kazakstan

Or the Chilean officer who wants to point out that it is illegal (in Chile) to carry a spare tire attached to the front

So what license to get and carry is an issue that has to be considered if u plan on taking a large RV on an over landing trip

 

[Iain_U1250]

I'm really interested to hear what the various international conditions/regulations are for both drivers and vehicles. I have an Australian "MR" licence, two axle trucks up to 12,000kg. When we move to Australia, I had a South African licence for any two axle truck, but that was not transferable to Australia and I had to re-sit both the car and truck tests. I could however drive on my international permit for 3 months here in Australia. The international permit seem to cover most countries, but it would be best to have a proper licence for whatever weight the vehicle is you are driving - just one less thing to worry about.

In regards what is legal on the truck in each country, no doubt that is a minefield as well. Even here in Australia, different states have different regulations, and what may be legal in one State could be illegal in another, but most cops here turn a blind eye unless you have done something to make them throw the book at you. I understand bull bars (roo bars) are not legal in most of Europe, but you would be mad to travel around Australia without one. Does anyone know of a resource for all the various regulations for each country?

There are other regulations that are more of a worry, like it being illegal to possess a Sat Phone in India without a proper permit which is pretty difficult to get. The Thuraya system is completely illegal. This is "go directly to jail" stuff in India, and then wait a year or two for you case to be heard.

 

[Heering80]

Moro Janne,

Just dropping in to say hello to a fellow finn

I took my driver's licence teaching through Maken Autokoulu in Espoo. It cost me something like €1500 all together. I don't think the procedures are that complicated. You just have to renew the card every five years, but this doesn't require any additional education. I guess the idea is just to make sure that only people with genuine need for a heavy licence have one, and the unused ones die off. I don't say that this practice is good, but it's tolerable.

Riku