Dreadlocks outfitting of InTech Discover

[shade]

yeah I'm planning on putting redundant alarms in the slide out cabinet area where the furnace, electrical, and LP lines are all spiderwebbed.. if I get a fire it'll start in there..

I'll be mounting a piece of ply on the surface where the Smart Solar and BP are in my previous pics.. run it all the way to the floor.. then both sides of it I can use for a wiring base.. gonna put em down there.

One thing I'm trying to avoid tho is buying a bunch of alarms at same time, cuz then the'll all expire at same time.. if going for redundancy I'd like to stagger the expiration dates, so start of next season will be a great time to put em in.

My house is split level and I upgraded to networked alarms since I'm sleeping like 4 floors from basement, unfortunately I bought em all at same time and all the co2 alarms expired right after eachother and they are not cheap..

You could buy alarms with replaceable batteries, change the batteries once a year, and the alarms all at whatever multi-year interval makes sense at the first of the year. Put the change dates on your calendar and on the device. I use Nest Protects at home for the ease of use, but I'm guessing there are cheaper options with wireless networking.

 

[Alloy]

I've upraded the propane hoses from Type 2 to Type 3 and running a double sensor propane alarm that shuts off the propane if the alarm isn't silenced in 30 seconds.

Also do a blead down (pressure) test once a year.

 

[dreadlocks]

how much power does your LP valve take? or is it normally open? Ive thought about adding an electronic shut off just cuz Ive got to have a piece of flexible rubber hose for the slideout kitchen.. and I dont like leaving that pressurized when not needed.. I just dont want a half amp load running all the time Ive got gas on.

@shade, the problem is CO2 alarms, and most gas alarms have a relatively short life.. like 6 years or something, smoke alarms are like 10yr+.. so now I'll add another on my 3rd season and they will not need to be repalced at the same time.. also keeps one fresher, cleaner, less dusty than the other because lets admit it, camping life is a rough life.. 140F sealed off summers, -20F winters.. the good co2 alarms will start beeping at yeh when they age out, so yeh dont have much choice but replace em.

 

[dreadlocks]

Quick Update, it's been confirmed.. the Discover Flyer is coming back to the InTech lineup later this year.. seems they moved the kitchen indoors and updated some things, If you call em up they seem happy to talk about it.

So I didn't make any progress on the new control cabinetry over the off season, turned my focus and funds towards my tow vehicle instead.. My Diesel Audi went in and got its #dieselgate fix in late February @ 72k miles, I got a >$10k check from VW for the trouble, then I took it in and utilized the warranty to have the engine removed and the rear main seal repaired, they also found EGR was leaking and fixed that, tossed in a new water pump, all new fluids, and an alignment at no cost to me.. I then threw away the warranty and put a Malone Stage 2 tune on it w/straight pipes which bumped me up >300hp and ~500ft tq and increased my highway fuel economy to ~31mpg, and towing FE to ~16mpg, previously I was at ~26mpg unladen and ~13mpg towing on the interstates.

And finally I retrofitted a OEM Webasto Parking heater to it, was an expensive european option not available in North America.. now I've got a remote keyfob now that will fire up the Webasto and start heating the cabin up within ~10mins.. It also comes on under 41F to help the engine reach operating temps quicker.. going to make winters with a diesel so much better.

Found a great new secret campsite on Fathers Day weekend, ************ views, pretty close to home, fixed solar panel is more than enough, kinda hard to get into, no other camps for quite a while, and has great LTE coverage so we can "Work From Home" here.. We almost found this site last year but we stopped one site short and didnt explore further up the road, doh..

 

[GkraneTX]

Im not really feeling the indoor kitchen thing.

 

[dreadlocks]

the outdoor kitchen thing is not that brilliant either, has some room for improvement.. the stove top is for indoor use so its BTU is way less than my portable stove I was used too, boiling water is considerably more time and gets blown out easy in high winds even w/a guard.. and yeh cant level it, so if getting trailer perfectly level is not an option like in the photo above then cooking can suck.. its also not covered by the awning so it needs an umbrella holder or something for cooking in the rain.

I've got plans on redoing the slide out to be pretty much all cabinets and a counter top w/a partner stove that I can level independently.. put the ice maker, toaster, and coffee maker in slide out drawers.. also going to add a high pressure LP quick connect for hooking up a jet stove for boiling a pressurized water container quickly.. and of course an umbrella holder so it dont rain on my burgers.

 

[Grassland]

Still haven't seen anything on their site about the trailer coming back.

A batwing awning would make the current slide kitchen more functional.

 

[dreadlocks]

I thought about that but its really friggin high up in the air and would make it kinda a pain to bag up and stuff.. my solar panel is like 11ft high, the beach sized Umbrella has proven to be nice and cheap alternative, right now I'm taking a bungee and strapping it to my lantern tripod.. which is nice and portable, we've used it at picnic table, and kitchen, should just get an portable awning but I try to avoid a bunch of crap that takes forever to setup and tear down, tis why I went to a big trailer in the first place.. but then every once and a while we're tailgating at red rocks or something and kinda wish I coulda grabbed one outta the camper.

Think I'd be more likely to put a batwing on my Audi and then just park it so it can cover the kitchen.. and use it tailgating, picnicking, fishing.. its rather expensive but I'm slowly turning into a desert rat, and finding shade can be a total pita.

 

[taliv]

great thread!

These are what I bought: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Panasonic-...-Black-Solar-PNL-NEW-40-MM-FRAME/264253263164

I'm loving em, the fixed roof top one has been pretty much adequate here in Colorado for weekending, just need a few hours of sun at any point of the day and i'm golden.. still havent mounted the rear panel yet, its going to take a bit more engineering than I had originally anticipated... need to get ahold of inTech and get some drawings for the rear gate structure.

Going from running the GenSet every other day to not even needing it has been a nice relief..

are these still what you'd buy if you were buying today? i'm looking for something super high quality, but need a smaller size (26.5" x 52")

 

[dreadlocks]

I'm loving em, they perform far better than any other solar panels I've had my hands on.. always cranking out amps, dont think you'll find house panels in that size tho.

 

[taliv]

that's what size my panel is that came with my camper, and more importantly, the bracket that holds it. it's just 120 watt though, and quite expensive to buy another one in terms of $/w. i can stack them and have 240 or possibly 360w but that would be pushing it. I could potentially put a 58"x52" on the roof. (maybe not the end of the world if it sticks out a wee bit) and those are like 320-340w.

i'll start a different thread on that so as not to derail this one.

great work on the camper! looking forward to seeing the automation with the RPI. It's low on my priority list, but I may do something like that, with grafana later too. Ham radio is high on my priority list. I'd like to put a 2m repeater in my rig, but am not familiar with portable ones. i'd like to see what products you used and how you get APRS etc. a regular HF rig with crossband to 2m would be cool too. I have an old icom7000 in my truck and used to run a tarheel and a AH4 tuner. I plan to mount the AH4 on the camper at some point, and maybe buy a new icom 7300 or something that will run it and do digital stuff. oddly enough, despite being a CCIE, i have only ever done analog ham stuff.

 

[RandyP]

The ebay listing for that panasonic panel has ended, but there is a panasonic link with specs and info

N325K Photovoltaic Module HIT® BLACK, 40mm

The 96-cell high-efficiency HIT® N325, 40mm solar panel provides your home with a powerful combination of immediate energy savings, long term performance, and sleek beauty. A remarkably low temperature coefficient of -0.258%/°C helps generate greater electricity output even on the hottest days...

na.panasonic.com

and several other seller links, one being

https://tandem-solar-systems.com/buy-solar-products/panasonic-vbhn325ka03-325w-blackblack-usa-made/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwudb3BRC9ARIsAEa-vUsWepSfHvVexlgl3DYW4T7EJMvHthVAsBnKcT5oRd7YqNKNnkqJmnoaApgCEALw_wcB

$295.75
You always come up with the best stuff Dreadlocks.

 

[dreadlocks]

Looks like the store I bought em from is temporarily closed, apparently guy is taking a year sabbatical.. https://www.ebay.com/str/henrystonersales

 

[dreadlocks]

Almost done w/the portable panel install, put some boat handles on the panel so my wife and I can carry it around and bolt it back down more easy out in the field.. also to add support when traveling and aid in removal/install I added a small shelf we can sit the bottom on.. its nice and sug.

Now I need to make a bracket to padlock the bottom to the trailer, paint all the aluminum angle, and get some security bolts.


I'm thinking about putting gas struts on it to lift it, I can get some 36in ones and it'd pop it out at about a 45 degree angle from the bottom, mebe more.. would make deploying it and folding it down super quick.. I'm limited on where I can put struts and mount em due to the framing.. if its winter and I park it right or i'm scavenging for extra photons it'll be ideal so thats most use, otherwise its coming off and taking the struts off are super quick.

 

[dreadlocks]

All done and ready to hit the road, I decided I wanted more strength so I drilled out the M8 Rivnuts I installed earlier, drilled all the way through to the inside and put an M10 Rivnut in.. then got some 60mm Stainless Steel full thread bolts and locking nuts.. this thing has no chance of coming off on even the roughest roads now.




Then on the bottom side, I fitted two M6 bolts to keep it firm on the road and not flopping about.. the two seen in the photo below are just temporary, I got some Wing Bolts coming in a few days that will let me take those out w/out needing any tools.

Also added a locking system to it, Rivnuts in both the panel and the camper mean the eye bolts won't come out unless you can spin em freely, no security bolts needed this isn't coming off without cutters.. this will be handy for chaining it to a tree when in portable mode too.



And when viewed from afar, I doubt I'mna get gas struts on this any time soon.. its just not a priority like getting this panel out from inside the trailer was.


Ive taken the panel on and off a dozen times now all by my self, super easy.. All mounted and ready for road its solid as a rock, you can shake the trailer with those boat handles and the panel won't budge.. When I add the 2nd Solar Charger I'll run an external port under the panel so it can be plugged in all the time when its attached with no visible wiring.