Black Friday Ambo
- Thread starter flightcancled
- Start date
flightcancled
Explorer
Thanks! Less holes to plug in very noticeable places too I guess. We will see.
Not a super productive day, wrestled with pulling the cabinet or not for a while, insulated some things, and got the wires to pull for the house battery bank. After getting quoted $100 for 20 ft 4 gauge jumper cables I decided I would just double run 8 gauge. It should be fine right?
In the process of trying to figure out how to run the wires I managed to figure out that the fan for the box heater is built in and WORKS! I didn't pull out the multimeter, but the dash gauges didn't even budge as I flicked it from off/low/med/hi so the draw might even be decent.
For now I have the cables running right along the box heater and then I will drill into the compartment on the right. I have them running behind a panel in the electrical compartment in case I want to add a solar panel/ maintainer/whatever.
Following the theme of random things getting figured out, I fixed a connection under the dash and now the open door system is working. Pretty cool to see it run, but I am going to have to find and destroy the open door buzzer. I am also going to move the power source to a cab fuse that only operates when the engine is running, not when sitting around.
So far my plan to tie in the battery bank has been simple, take the two stock batteries and combine them on the selector switch on 1, then run the bank to spot 2. The stock batteries could be selected to start the engine, then flip the switch to BOTH to let the alternators charge up the house batteries. Camping I could run off 2 and to jump I would start on both.
-Then I saw this and got really worried.
I have to sit down and figure this all out at some point now.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Not a super productive day, wrestled with pulling the cabinet or not for a while, insulated some things, and got the wires to pull for the house battery bank. After getting quoted $100 for 20 ft 4 gauge jumper cables I decided I would just double run 8 gauge. It should be fine right?
In the process of trying to figure out how to run the wires I managed to figure out that the fan for the box heater is built in and WORKS! I didn't pull out the multimeter, but the dash gauges didn't even budge as I flicked it from off/low/med/hi so the draw might even be decent.
For now I have the cables running right along the box heater and then I will drill into the compartment on the right. I have them running behind a panel in the electrical compartment in case I want to add a solar panel/ maintainer/whatever.
Following the theme of random things getting figured out, I fixed a connection under the dash and now the open door system is working. Pretty cool to see it run, but I am going to have to find and destroy the open door buzzer. I am also going to move the power source to a cab fuse that only operates when the engine is running, not when sitting around.
So far my plan to tie in the battery bank has been simple, take the two stock batteries and combine them on the selector switch on 1, then run the bank to spot 2. The stock batteries could be selected to start the engine, then flip the switch to BOTH to let the alternators charge up the house batteries. Camping I could run off 2 and to jump I would start on both.
-Then I saw this and got really worried.
I have to sit down and figure this all out at some point now.
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Abitibi
Explorer
I wouldn't worry too much. After pulling out the entire electrical panel from my AmbuLand box I realized there were not that many essential circuits and most of the wirings were for units I didn't care for ie. siren, strobe lights, vacuum (puke) pump... At the end I was left with a box full of fuses, mini breakers, relays and tons of marked wires that I could all re-use as needed.
I kept all the dual battery system, battery isolator, battery charger and inverter although I re-wired it a bit different, kept all the side lights wiring, interior lights wiring, AC/shore power system, signal/brakes... To be honest there's not that much more needed.
All the switches that were at the front (on the doghouse) will be re-organized/moved.
Just saying, when I first got going it freaked me out but once I started cleaning the spaghetti nightmare I ended up with a manageable project
Thanks for posting and keep at it!
Cheers
Mr. D
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I kept all the dual battery system, battery isolator, battery charger and inverter although I re-wired it a bit different, kept all the side lights wiring, interior lights wiring, AC/shore power system, signal/brakes... To be honest there's not that much more needed.
All the switches that were at the front (on the doghouse) will be re-organized/moved.
Just saying, when I first got going it freaked me out but once I started cleaning the spaghetti nightmare I ended up with a manageable project
Thanks for posting and keep at it!
Cheers
Mr. D
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
flightcancled
Explorer
polksfinest
Observer
ditch that battery isolater and go with a constant duty solenoid they tend to have a voltage drop i have a ambulance that i used for a mobile mech truck for 4 years and i would go threw deep cycle battery's it seemed like every year then a rv guy told me to switch to a the solenoid and i have been using the same battery for almost three years now. when i retired the truck 2 years ago i started do a camper conversion on it and am now in the process of rebuilding it better i have 4 deep cycle group 31 105 amphr battery's and am going to 8 4 31 and 4 group 27 all agm
flightcancled
Explorer
patoz
Expedition Leader
Hey, since we were just discussing sofa/beds over on tgreening's thread, I thought I would check out your build also. I read the whole thing, and so far and the project is looking GOOD! It's funny though, we all seem to run into the same problems, and have the same questions. And speaking of which, I have a couple of questions and comments myself.
1. Once your sofa/bed is deployed, how wide is it? Does it make a standard size bed and if so, what size?
2. I would keep the grab handles by the doors for sure, unless you're planning on doing some seriously close quarters four wheeling and you're worried about them snagging on something. Mine doesn't have any and I'm looking for some now.
3. Those door switches on the back module not only notify the driver if a door is open, they normally turn on the overhead lights when a door is opened, just like the ones in any vehicle turn on the dome lights. I would probably disconnect the buzzer also, but keep the rest.
4. Just FYI, the battery selector switch and battery isolator are two different things. The problems with the older isolators are, (1) They require constant power to operate (engine running) from one of the batteries, usually the house bank, and (2) They don't allow the batteries to come up to a full charge, which an alternator will not provide anyway, but they make it even worse. Think of it as a 'wye' adapter in a water hose, with a one-way check valve in each side of the 'wye'. Even though it prevents one battery from dragging down the other battery, it still causes a lot of resistance in the system.
Blue Sea Systems has come out with something called an 'ACR' or Automatic Charging Relay, which is something I'm considering for my tow vehicle since my ambo is being converted into a camper trailer with no engine. They have a good write up on it here. If you can afford it, Blue Sea components are top of the line and the way to go IMO. Their website also has good load calculators, guides, and wiring diagrams for just about every type of configuration.
I just checked and Amazon has a pretty good section of Blue Sea Systems stuff here. If you're a Prime member, that means no tax and two day shipping!
I hope this helps some and I subscribed to this thread, so I'll be following it to see how everything goes.
~ Pat
1. Once your sofa/bed is deployed, how wide is it? Does it make a standard size bed and if so, what size?
2. I would keep the grab handles by the doors for sure, unless you're planning on doing some seriously close quarters four wheeling and you're worried about them snagging on something. Mine doesn't have any and I'm looking for some now.
3. Those door switches on the back module not only notify the driver if a door is open, they normally turn on the overhead lights when a door is opened, just like the ones in any vehicle turn on the dome lights. I would probably disconnect the buzzer also, but keep the rest.
4. Just FYI, the battery selector switch and battery isolator are two different things. The problems with the older isolators are, (1) They require constant power to operate (engine running) from one of the batteries, usually the house bank, and (2) They don't allow the batteries to come up to a full charge, which an alternator will not provide anyway, but they make it even worse. Think of it as a 'wye' adapter in a water hose, with a one-way check valve in each side of the 'wye'. Even though it prevents one battery from dragging down the other battery, it still causes a lot of resistance in the system.
Blue Sea Systems has come out with something called an 'ACR' or Automatic Charging Relay, which is something I'm considering for my tow vehicle since my ambo is being converted into a camper trailer with no engine. They have a good write up on it here. If you can afford it, Blue Sea components are top of the line and the way to go IMO. Their website also has good load calculators, guides, and wiring diagrams for just about every type of configuration.
I just checked and Amazon has a pretty good section of Blue Sea Systems stuff here. If you're a Prime member, that means no tax and two day shipping!
I hope this helps some and I subscribed to this thread, so I'll be following it to see how everything goes.
~ Pat
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flightcancled
Explorer
Interesting, I'll check that out in the next few days. ARB is totally rebranding something else for a big margin so I can probably find it cheaper.
I am building the bed to fit a standard futon mattress (6ft x 53in). As it turns out the width of the conversion bed is perfect, the problems will come with supporting the length. I am stopping the frame a few inches short of the mattress length so there will be an extra inch or so all the way around. This should make it more comfy than exposed hard edges.
I am taking a breather, but here's where I am at with the frame at the moment. At this point the shown figment isn't perfect, but I know what I am doing on the full length cuts. These bits are just left over from ripping the 8 ft sheets down to 70" (1 inch less than the 72" mattress on both sides.)
Most of my time today went into getting the cab back together. The back wall is now all grey utility carpet so the Velcro can hold up the curtain. I was going to do everything but the floor, but I literally can't open the drivers side door because its frozen shut. Hopefully the snow that fell off the roof melts soon!
I also spent a bunch of time trying to sort out where the turn signal lights were running in the box before concluding they are supposed to be under the truck somewhere. Not sure I am thrilled about that, but after pulling the signals off today I have decided I despise everything about them and will replace them as soon as I find a nice set.
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I am building the bed to fit a standard futon mattress (6ft x 53in). As it turns out the width of the conversion bed is perfect, the problems will come with supporting the length. I am stopping the frame a few inches short of the mattress length so there will be an extra inch or so all the way around. This should make it more comfy than exposed hard edges.
I am taking a breather, but here's where I am at with the frame at the moment. At this point the shown figment isn't perfect, but I know what I am doing on the full length cuts. These bits are just left over from ripping the 8 ft sheets down to 70" (1 inch less than the 72" mattress on both sides.)
Most of my time today went into getting the cab back together. The back wall is now all grey utility carpet so the Velcro can hold up the curtain. I was going to do everything but the floor, but I literally can't open the drivers side door because its frozen shut. Hopefully the snow that fell off the roof melts soon!
I also spent a bunch of time trying to sort out where the turn signal lights were running in the box before concluding they are supposed to be under the truck somewhere. Not sure I am thrilled about that, but after pulling the signals off today I have decided I despise everything about them and will replace them as soon as I find a nice set.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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polksfinest
Observer
I bought mine from Grainger i have two on mine one for the starting batteries to power the box and one to charge the house batteries the one for the box does not come on unless the key is switched on and the master switch is turned on the only thing that has power is the lights in the inside the one for the house batteries also comes on when the key is on but has an override switch. on my wheeled coach the tail lights and turns signal wiring had a multi-plex module mounted right behind the bumper to the floor that used the factory wiring to trigger relays for the lights if you don't plan on keeping all of the lights or switch LED's like i did you can take out a bunch of wiring
patoz
Expedition Leader
Are you saying this box is mounted behind the rear bumper under the floor of the box?
Abitibi
Explorer
Looking at your couch/bed pictures, seems like a very comfy bed (opened up) but also a bit of a waste of space in couch mode?
Might be because the couch looks to be in the middle of the floor area with a big opened space behind it? Just curious if you have plans to fill that gap or something clever that I don't see yet... Regardless, I still enjoy going over your thread
Cheers
Mr. D
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Might be because the couch looks to be in the middle of the floor area with a big opened space behind it? Just curious if you have plans to fill that gap or something clever that I don't see yet... Regardless, I still enjoy going over your thread
Cheers
Mr. D
Sent from my iPorn using Tapachat HD
polksfinest
Observer
yes
patoz
Expedition Leader
Thanks, I'll check it out.
flightcancled
Explorer
Looking at your couch/bed pictures, seems like a very comfy bed (opened up) but also a bit of a waste of space in couch mode?
Might be because the couch looks to be in the middle of the floor area with a big opened space behind it? Just curious if you have plans to fill that gap or something clever that I don't see yet... Regardless, I still enjoy going over your thread
Cheers
Mr. D
Sent from my iPorn using Tapachat HD
It actually pushes quite tight to the wall.
You're the second person to say something about squeezing in storage. Basically this is a weekend rig to support whitewater kayaking and bum around. Since paddling usually involves crappy weather I am really more interested in a spot where I can hide out than cramming stuff into every nook and cranny for a long expedition. I am not planning on a bathroom or shower, and only a small gravity fed sink so I am not really going to need a ton of storage.
Here is the "dry fit"
I am definitely pushing what the limit of what the motors are capable of.
And the walk through curtain in place.
So far it does seem to make a difference, hopefully it will be big enough to justify the effort I put into it.
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Skooter_Built
Observer
Not sure what happened with the photos there. Guess this is a good time to mention cell service is cut in half in the ambo.
Here are those again
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What are you sheeting your walls with?