Overland Hadley
on a journey
Three cheers Mike! That was quite the job!
EarthRoamer XV-JP "Northwest Edition"
- Thread starter WhereTheHellIsJames?
- Start date
mhiscox
Expedition Leader
It sure went every which way, for sure; there were so many false starts. Now that I know the parts I need and how to run the plumbing, I could do the job in about twenty minutes. Projects like this sure help keep me from thinking I'm slick.
mhiscox
Expedition Leader
An update on the water heater . . .
It's looking good. The water gets plenty hot, even at the middle setting of the thermostat. I'm guessing that the ten liters of hot water from the tank will get me over double that amount of plenty-hot-enough water for dishes, hand washing and the somewhat-rare shower. In the summer, when the incoming water is warmer, I might get as much as eight or ten gallons of usable mixed water. So I'm feeling good that the drop from the 16 liter Isotemp to this 10 liter unit is not going to be a problem.
As for the electrical issues, I think I'm going to come out better than expected. The battery suck is fierce when you take in a full tank of cold water (though nothing so bad as a microwave or air conditioner), but if you are only using a cup or two of hot water at a time, the situation may be tolerable. The current draw of about 20 amps doesn't vary--the heating element is either on or off--but if all that's happening is keeping the water in the tank warm and heating a small amount of new water, I'm thinking I can live with the situation. I'm leaning toward charging my original plan to only have the heater on when I had alternator or shore power and instead leave the heater on if I expect to be recharging the batteries pretty soon.
It's too early to tell for sure, but I'm starting to think that having the electric unit they sent by mistake might actually become one of those "lemons into lemonade" things that provides a usability improvement over ER's original tactic of heating water only with the engine coolant.
It's looking good. The water gets plenty hot, even at the middle setting of the thermostat. I'm guessing that the ten liters of hot water from the tank will get me over double that amount of plenty-hot-enough water for dishes, hand washing and the somewhat-rare shower. In the summer, when the incoming water is warmer, I might get as much as eight or ten gallons of usable mixed water. So I'm feeling good that the drop from the 16 liter Isotemp to this 10 liter unit is not going to be a problem.
As for the electrical issues, I think I'm going to come out better than expected. The battery suck is fierce when you take in a full tank of cold water (though nothing so bad as a microwave or air conditioner), but if you are only using a cup or two of hot water at a time, the situation may be tolerable. The current draw of about 20 amps doesn't vary--the heating element is either on or off--but if all that's happening is keeping the water in the tank warm and heating a small amount of new water, I'm thinking I can live with the situation. I'm leaning toward charging my original plan to only have the heater on when I had alternator or shore power and instead leave the heater on if I expect to be recharging the batteries pretty soon.
It's too early to tell for sure, but I'm starting to think that having the electric unit they sent by mistake might actually become one of those "lemons into lemonade" things that provides a usability improvement over ER's original tactic of heating water only with the engine coolant.
Northern Explorer
Explorer
One thing to consider is how well the tank and lines are insulated. Do you have any room to wrap some reflectix around the tank?
PaulJensen
Custom Builder
That, is funny...!!!...
mhiscox
Expedition Leader
As is your witty reply.
Jeeez, Paul. it's not like things are that tight in the cabin. In fact, just last week I found a couple of cubic inches of open space where we failed to put anything. :sombrero:
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mhiscox
Expedition Leader
Sadly, there's no opportunity to do anything along those lines. The tank is factory insulated in foam rubber, but there's no room to add any additional installation, and almost the entire length of the hot water line is buried.
JRhetts
Adventurer
mhiscox
Expedition Leader
Jeez, John, cut me some slack, will ya? I've got a lot of pointless responsibilities to attend to on a daily basis. I'll get rid of that empty area soon enough.
And, besides, what would you know about cramped spaces? Your truck has storage bins with more volume than my cabin.
Hope all is well, you annoying role model, you.
:sombrero:
mhiscox
Expedition Leader
Hey, it's lonesome here at the Expedition Portal XV-JP Owner's Group, and I just noticed that the (almost certainly) last EarthRoamer XV-JP, on sale in the EarthRoamer consignment section:
http://www.earthroamer.com/consignment/xv-jp-011/
has been reduced to $99,000.
That's certainly not an insignificant amount of money, but it's relatively a bargain and, additionally, this is the only XV-JP to have the benefits of the 3.6 liter engine and its big power boost. Plus, the design and systems are as evolved as they are going to get.
So if this is the sort of thing you might like, probably best to grab it now. I suspect this one is probably both the last and the best one ever made.
And then the EPXVJPOG can have two members. :sombrero:
http://www.earthroamer.com/consignment/xv-jp-011/
has been reduced to $99,000.
That's certainly not an insignificant amount of money, but it's relatively a bargain and, additionally, this is the only XV-JP to have the benefits of the 3.6 liter engine and its big power boost. Plus, the design and systems are as evolved as they are going to get.
So if this is the sort of thing you might like, probably best to grab it now. I suspect this one is probably both the last and the best one ever made.
And then the EPXVJPOG can have two members. :sombrero:
Hey Mike, I'm still here!
Yes, that is the last one made. It is a very nice jeep with the nicer 2011 Jeep interior. But, and I may be wrong, I think it still has the 3.8. 3.6 didn't start till 2012.
It is definitely a bargain for someone. I know there are a lot of varying opinions about the XV-JP's out there, but I love mine. Hopefully it will also go to a good home, then we will be three!
Good luck in your travels.
Eric
Yes, that is the last one made. It is a very nice jeep with the nicer 2011 Jeep interior. But, and I may be wrong, I think it still has the 3.8. 3.6 didn't start till 2012.
It is definitely a bargain for someone. I know there are a lot of varying opinions about the XV-JP's out there, but I love mine. Hopefully it will also go to a good home, then we will be three!
Good luck in your travels.
Eric
mhiscox
Expedition Leader
Whoa, color me dumb. I got my interior facelift year confused with my engine upgrade year. I know perfectly well it was the 2012 model year that got the covet-worthy engine.
Good news, though, in that Eric and I (and everyone else with one) will still own the fastest XV-JPs around. (Unless someone bought a supercharger and didn't tell us.)