Belafonte Reboot....Ambulance to 4x4 Camper Conversion
- Thread starter tgreening
- Start date
Bikersmurf
Expedition Leader
Marine batteries don't deep cycle as well as true deep cycle batteries... That said, deep cycles won't be happy if you hit the SureStart switch.
I'm running 65 series batteries because the warranty is 3x longer than the marine batteries. For what I'm doing, the rarely get thoroughly drained. When they do, I want batteries that can handle the 175+ amps I see the alternator putting out. Deep cycles wouldn't be happy being rapid charged... Which is likely why my last set didn't last long.
I'm running 65 series batteries because the warranty is 3x longer than the marine batteries. For what I'm doing, the rarely get thoroughly drained. When they do, I want batteries that can handle the 175+ amps I see the alternator putting out. Deep cycles wouldn't be happy being rapid charged... Which is likely why my last set didn't last long.
rlrenz
Explorer
I installed a pair of Xantrex Echo Charge units to handle my future deep cycle batteries - each Echo Charge unit will charge a separate battery at up to 15 amps. One Echo Charge unit will be connected permanently to the deep cycle batteries, and the other unit can be off, or connected to the deep cycle (30 amps max charge with both on line), or to the starting battery for the Onan generator.
The Onan only charges its starting battery at about 1 amp, so I figure that it will need a heavier charge at times - this should handle it nicely.
The Onan only charges its starting battery at about 1 amp, so I figure that it will need a heavier charge at times - this should handle it nicely.
I needed to flip a tire on the rim, which sounds simple on the surface considering you can take the rim apart, but by the time this was done I was seriously reconsidering my decision to go with these tires and rims. I was in love with the idea of the internal double beadlock, and the fact that you could put a new tire on the rim in the field without and specialized equipment. Yeahhhhh.
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Taking this apart is no huge big deal. The problem arises from the PVC ring used as the internal portion of the beadlock, which of course I failed to photograph when this was all apart. It's essentially just a piece of PVC tube about 17" ID and the width of the rim minus the thickness of the tire beads. These tires are supposed to be non-directional but I've noticed if the tread direction on the steer axle isn't the same things get a bit funky. So, if you're only toting one spare and you need to use it the tread direction may or may not match the tire you're swapping out, necessitating flipping the tire on the rim. It also means flipping the PVC insert within the tire because one side of it has a hole drilled and clearance notch ground out for the fill valve on the rim.
A pic I stole from Trail Worthy Fab...
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And that's the trouble. These tires have sidewalls hard as a rock and about as flexible as cast iron. Getting that PVC insert to roll over within the tire was dang near impossible to do by hand only. I ended up with a strap around the insert, hooked to a chainfall on my gantry crane, which i cranked on while standing on the sidewall of the tire.
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Once I got the insert to rotate that first 90 deg I could force it around the rest of the way by hand, but getting it to pop past the bead for that first 90 deg rotation was crazy hard. This tool made the process a whole lot easier. It busted the nuts loose easy-peasy and spun them suckers off quick. I still had to do the whole incremental torque thing when putting it back together which blew great big goats, but it was still a lot easier with this. I was going to go for the Milwaukee version but this one was a whole bunch cheaper, and I've been relatively impressed with the quality of the Kobalt hand tools so decided to give one of their power tools a try. So far so good.
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Vibration with this combo is a thing so I'm going to give the BBs in the rim balancing trick a try. When I do I'll get some better pictures of the insert and the disassembled rim. In the meantime....my Expo East camping buddy.
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Taking this apart is no huge big deal. The problem arises from the PVC ring used as the internal portion of the beadlock, which of course I failed to photograph when this was all apart. It's essentially just a piece of PVC tube about 17" ID and the width of the rim minus the thickness of the tire beads. These tires are supposed to be non-directional but I've noticed if the tread direction on the steer axle isn't the same things get a bit funky. So, if you're only toting one spare and you need to use it the tread direction may or may not match the tire you're swapping out, necessitating flipping the tire on the rim. It also means flipping the PVC insert within the tire because one side of it has a hole drilled and clearance notch ground out for the fill valve on the rim.
A pic I stole from Trail Worthy Fab...
And that's the trouble. These tires have sidewalls hard as a rock and about as flexible as cast iron. Getting that PVC insert to roll over within the tire was dang near impossible to do by hand only. I ended up with a strap around the insert, hooked to a chainfall on my gantry crane, which i cranked on while standing on the sidewall of the tire.
Once I got the insert to rotate that first 90 deg I could force it around the rest of the way by hand, but getting it to pop past the bead for that first 90 deg rotation was crazy hard. This tool made the process a whole lot easier. It busted the nuts loose easy-peasy and spun them suckers off quick. I still had to do the whole incremental torque thing when putting it back together which blew great big goats, but it was still a lot easier with this. I was going to go for the Milwaukee version but this one was a whole bunch cheaper, and I've been relatively impressed with the quality of the Kobalt hand tools so decided to give one of their power tools a try. So far so good.
Vibration with this combo is a thing so I'm going to give the BBs in the rim balancing trick a try. When I do I'll get some better pictures of the insert and the disassembled rim. In the meantime....my Expo East camping buddy.
patoz
Expedition Leader
This is a little off-topic Tom, but is that a Mr. Buddy propane heater, and if so what BTU rating is it? I haven't seen one with a yellow front before, just red. Have you used it in very cold weather, and did it keep you comfortable?
I was thinking of getting one of the Mr. Buddy heaters, but wasn't sure what size to get.
I was thinking of getting one of the Mr. Buddy heaters, but wasn't sure what size to get.
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That's the Mr Buddy Big Buddy (I think they call it). I have no idea the BTU rating but I know that on it's medium setting it'll bake you right out of that module in about 10 minutes. I usually fire it up on medium for that 10 minutes then back it off to low. Turn it off when I hit the rack. I've not used it in REALLY cold weather but I don't doubt it would still bake you out. I believe it's supposed to be indoor safe, and I have a carbon monoxide monitor in the module, but I'm not super comfortable going to sleep with it on. More because I don't need the heat when in my bed and to save the fuel. Not concerned about fumes.
And sweet baby jesus! I just noticed I failed to black out my license plate. I would imagine the black helicopters are on their way, along with all manner of people of ill intent bent on my destruction and/or financial ruin.
patoz
Expedition Leader
That's what we get for posting after midnight!
I just went back and edited my original post before I saw your reply, because I saw the word Coleman on the side of it and it was yellow instead of red. Then I realized I was seeing the Coleman propane cylinder through a vent, and it was in fact a Mr. Buddy heater. Old eyes, old brain, just old and tired!
Yeah, they are supposed to be vent free and safe to use indoors, but like you I don't think I would take the chance. If it was so cold I had to leave it going through the night, I would probably set the alarm on my phone so it went off every 2 hours, just to make sure I didn't wake up dead.
I just went back and edited my original post before I saw your reply, because I saw the word Coleman on the side of it and it was yellow instead of red. Then I realized I was seeing the Coleman propane cylinder through a vent, and it was in fact a Mr. Buddy heater. Old eyes, old brain, just old and tired!
Yeah, they are supposed to be vent free and safe to use indoors, but like you I don't think I would take the chance. If it was so cold I had to leave it going through the night, I would probably set the alarm on my phone so it went off every 2 hours, just to make sure I didn't wake up dead.
Hmmm. Whats next?
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I bought these local because I'm impatient and they were the only thing available, and they kind of suck. I wanted, but couldn't get, the brass metal kind that slip together so you can form a word. These I had to punch out all the centers, try to line them up using a ruler as a straight edge, and tape them all together. Rinse and repeat for every word. Pain in the ********. If I end up happy with the results of what I want to do I'll go ahead and order up the brass set.
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I bought these local because I'm impatient and they were the only thing available, and they kind of suck. I wanted, but couldn't get, the brass metal kind that slip together so you can form a word. These I had to punch out all the centers, try to line them up using a ruler as a straight edge, and tape them all together. Rinse and repeat for every word. Pain in the ********. If I end up happy with the results of what I want to do I'll go ahead and order up the brass set.
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huskyhauler
Adventurer
If I may jump into the battery conversation, NAPA sells an emergency vehicle battery. There's probably more NAPA stores out there than Costco or Sams Club, but Napa's has more limited hours than the warehouse stores. https://www.napaonline.com/p/NBE9165
Bikersmurf
Expedition Leader
The NAPA Emergency Bat is a 750 CCA/140 min res cap, starting battery. I'd not switch to them. I'd want 1000 CCA or at least something close to it for a diesel.
I've bought 1050 CCA/195 CCA batteries before, and I'd go that way first if I was looking for a battery in that price range.
That said, OEM was 750, and that's what the Costco ones I've got are,,, but for about $80 usd vs $167 for the NAPA ones. Since I've got 4, that should make up for any shortage of CCA.
I've bought 1050 CCA/195 CCA batteries before, and I'd go that way first if I was looking for a battery in that price range.
That said, OEM was 750, and that's what the Costco ones I've got are,,, but for about $80 usd vs $167 for the NAPA ones. Since I've got 4, that should make up for any shortage of CCA.
NOW he tells me.
. Seriously though, how exactly does your machine work? Does it just punch out like single words, or multiple words on a single line, or does it do multi-word multi-line stuff? I've no idea how such a machine works but I do know this much, the way I'm doing it blows great big goats so another option would be great.I did do a couple compartments and like usual pics will follow. I got my stencils all taped up on one door and was getting ready to shoot when I figured I better give it one more look, and discovered that "TATCTICAL" was not exactly the word I was looking for, so I decided to change it to the more appropriate "TACTICAL". That rolled off the tongue just a bit better.
After I shot that door and pulled the stencils I stood back to admire my work, and after a good 5 minutes of staring with a feeling of something not quite right it suddenly dawned on me that "TRUNCK" looked much much better when it was spelled "TRUNK".
MOTHER Puss Bucket!!
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rlrenz
Explorer
Here's what a stencil machine looks like. It has a rotary table of all the letters and numbers, with I used as 1, and 0 used as o -- all capitals. To use it, you insert a piece of stencil card, file folder, Pendaflex folder, or similar into the machine. When it's aligned, you drop the feed roller, and start typing by rotating the handwheel to line up the next letter you want, then press the lever to punch the letter out. A space only requires that the handle go down part way. It can be challenging to center several lines, so you usually wind up getting as close as possible, then cutting the stencil between lines and taping it back together.
patoz
Expedition Leader
I've used one of those machines many times, both large and small. When you work on a Navy Base that rebuilds aircraft, every shop has at least one machine. The paint shops had all sizes of the machines. After many years of begging other shops to make stencils for us (the FD) we finally got a machine of our own. I think it came from DRMO (salvage) or maybe a dumpster, but it sure saved us a lot of time when we needed to label some equipment or something.
Out there, they had stencil card stock that was linked together accordion style, with perforated cut lines in the folds. You could make a 10' long stencil if you needed to.
Out there, they had stencil card stock that was linked together accordion style, with perforated cut lines in the folds. You could make a 10' long stencil if you needed to.
yurtdweller
Observer
Super nice rig! Are you still in Canton? Would love to see it in action sometime, I'm in Akron! Found your thread through the UJOR build thread