Here Until There
Observer
We bought gas. It was rough just finding a three quarter ton truck with an extra cab in our price range so we just rolled with what we found.
FWC Purchase and Camper Prep for Tennessee To Argentina Road Trip
- Thread starter Here Until There
- Start date
We bought gas. It was rough just finding a three quarter ton truck with an extra cab in our price range so we just rolled with what we found.
Here Until There
Observer
How feasible is it to have a compressor fridge when we will NEVER be plugged into shore power? We have a 90 watt solar panel and 200 amp hours from our 2 AGM golf cart batteries which essentially leaves us with 100 usable amp hours.
Here Until There
Observer
Installing second Fantastic Fan
Last time we were in Baja the temperature reached 107 degrees so we decided it might be a good idea to get a second fantastic fan.We had read on another overlander's blog that the FWCs were prewired for this. We contacted Brenda at Four Wheel and she confirmed it. She's an awesome resource BTW.Always answers any questions promptly and politely. After the fan arrived we cut a hole in the roof and found the mount and wires right were they should be. Installing the fan was crazy easy. Works like a champ!
First cut to camper. Scary stuff
Wires
Roof cut. Still Scary
Attaching wires after applying Dicor seal tape
Placing screws
Applying self leveling sealant
All done.
On a side note our original Fantastic Fan's lid lift motor was giving us problems. We contacted Fantastic Fan and they sent us a new motor for free. We read that they no longer cover their fans for life but it seems as if they still do.
http://hereuntilthere.com
Last time we were in Baja the temperature reached 107 degrees so we decided it might be a good idea to get a second fantastic fan.We had read on another overlander's blog that the FWCs were prewired for this. We contacted Brenda at Four Wheel and she confirmed it. She's an awesome resource BTW.Always answers any questions promptly and politely. After the fan arrived we cut a hole in the roof and found the mount and wires right were they should be. Installing the fan was crazy easy. Works like a champ!
First cut to camper. Scary stuff
Wires
Roof cut. Still Scary
Attaching wires after applying Dicor seal tape
Placing screws
Applying self leveling sealant
All done.
On a side note our original Fantastic Fan's lid lift motor was giving us problems. We contacted Fantastic Fan and they sent us a new motor for free. We read that they no longer cover their fans for life but it seems as if they still do.
http://hereuntilthere.com
Ramblinman
Observer
Looking back my fridge in my 2010 Hawk was a little tricky to start when I first got it. We drove around with it for a couple of days. I think the rocking and rolling got it going. I have not had a problem with it since. Something to consider before you spend at least another 800 for a 3 way or way more for a compressor.
I have 2 rvs (one Titan with a Hawk pop up and a larger Ford Transit 4x4 with a custom made cabin) with compressor fridges. One is an Engel fridge with the door at the front and one is a TruckFridge box with a lid on the top. The box uses less than half the power of the fridge because the cold air stays in the box when you open the lid. I would definitely choose a box in the future. Both my vehicles have no shore power and with 160 Watts of solar and 160 Ah of battery capacity even with the power hungry fridge I can manage about 2-3 days without driving and without sun. The Ford we are using about 4-5 months a year for traveling in the southern hemisphere, first 2 years in Africa and now on the PanAm. Especially in Africa, a 3 way is not really an option because it has problems with the extreme heat and the dust which is sucked in through the big outside ventilation openings you need for a 3 way fridge. The PanAm is far less demanding because most of the time it is not as hot and you mostly use paved roads. A 3 way fridge will do, but they use a lot of propane and finding propane is not always easy. My advise is to get a compressor box and about 200watts of solar and abouut 200 Ah battery. With that you will have ample power in any conceivable situation if you avoid power guzzlers like microwaves etc.
Regards
Regards
Camelfilter
Explorer
If your thinking of adding a bit more solar, check out renogy flexible panels. Although they state to have a 1/2" standoff rather than direct mounting, I would imagine it shouldn't matter as much given our application.
I'm thinking of this one here:
http://www.renogy-store.com/mobile/Product.aspx?id=38038
No affiliation to them, but I did own one of the ones I linked to...until it flew of my roof because I forgot it was there. My setup was not hard mounted, but portable. Ooopsies!
I would "think" you could mount these with some type of reasonably strong adhesive.
As for a fridge, I have no experience with a 3 way. However on a trip like your planning I'd go with a straight compressor top opening type as others have suggested. If you do go that route an insulating sleeve really helps further lower power consumption & evens out/maintains temp better (least it does on my Dometic).
Given your allready setup for the front - door type fridge, I'm honestly not sure how you'd go about swapping over to a top opening compressor type. It would likely take a bit of a remodel, hopefully not too much.
Easiest would be to place the new portable fridge in the back of the cab & run wires for it. Not very convenient though for cooking & such in the camper.
?if you pull the current fridge maybe you'll have space (with further modification to adjacent cabinetry) for a sideways pull out draw?
Just make sure you have space for air circulation around the compressor area. you'd see where to leave space for any model you get, the hard case itself would have venting cut outs.
Anyways by swapping over the fridge, you'll have plenty of propane for cooking. Weeks at a time I would imagine.
I suppose if you up your solar & perhaps house battery reserve you could replace the 3 way with a straight compressor type front door type. I don't know anything about them price/size wise, but it can't be too hard to find one that would fit in the current space you'd be replacing. I "think" long haul truckers also use them, so you may have to expand where you normally might search.
Plus you might have decent luck on here used if it fits...
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/145894-Norcold-Fridge-Freezer
I'm thinking of this one here:
http://www.renogy-store.com/mobile/Product.aspx?id=38038
No affiliation to them, but I did own one of the ones I linked to...until it flew of my roof because I forgot it was there. My setup was not hard mounted, but portable. Ooopsies!
I would "think" you could mount these with some type of reasonably strong adhesive.
As for a fridge, I have no experience with a 3 way. However on a trip like your planning I'd go with a straight compressor top opening type as others have suggested. If you do go that route an insulating sleeve really helps further lower power consumption & evens out/maintains temp better (least it does on my Dometic).
Given your allready setup for the front - door type fridge, I'm honestly not sure how you'd go about swapping over to a top opening compressor type. It would likely take a bit of a remodel, hopefully not too much.
Easiest would be to place the new portable fridge in the back of the cab & run wires for it. Not very convenient though for cooking & such in the camper.
?if you pull the current fridge maybe you'll have space (with further modification to adjacent cabinetry) for a sideways pull out draw?
Just make sure you have space for air circulation around the compressor area. you'd see where to leave space for any model you get, the hard case itself would have venting cut outs.
Anyways by swapping over the fridge, you'll have plenty of propane for cooking. Weeks at a time I would imagine.
I suppose if you up your solar & perhaps house battery reserve you could replace the 3 way with a straight compressor type front door type. I don't know anything about them price/size wise, but it can't be too hard to find one that would fit in the current space you'd be replacing. I "think" long haul truckers also use them, so you may have to expand where you normally might search.
Plus you might have decent luck on here used if it fits...
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/145894-Norcold-Fridge-Freezer
Last edited:
Camelfilter
Explorer
Extra fuel & propane? I have no idea if you'd need to haul them or not, but I believe folks have mounted up carriers to the outside back wall of FWC's. Or perhaps just an extra storage locker?
One more opinion here FOR throwing out the 3-way and getting a compressor (we have an 51qt IndelB box, on a slideout, at the spot where the FWC icebox was, i.e. the original freezer spot). They're just better than that old technology, and you'll always have sun or a driving car nearby, while propane might be hard to refill in some places.
90W Solar should do it, if you're going around in summer/sunshine, AND your batteries are also charged by the truck when it's running. Get a CTEK Dual, seriously. It's a 3-bolt solution that charges with 15-20A, that's about as much as 200W of Solar will do under non-perfect conditions (i.e. everytime - sun angle, temp rising, etc). It has an input from the truck's battery + and auto-disconnects and autocharges. It should do it as long as you're no longer than maybe 3-4 days on one spot and sun doesn't show up (you can do more more elaborate calculations, and also please tell us what else you run off the battery - how about laptops or other goodies?
How is your 200Ah battery charged at the moment? Make sure you have a good charger, otherwise you're driving around lead ballast without any use. The CTEK is such a thing... and by far the easiest setup for a dual battery with alternator+solar charging.
If I were you, I'd get one of the already mentioned flexible Renogy to add another 100W. They're 200$, we have one on our FWC and it works perfectly. You already have solar wired, so it's more than easy. It just adds a little peace of mind that you'll be able to trad ea cold beer for fish even on the 5th day of standing on that beautiful beach.
I now have our panel on a DIY-wind fairing based on Thule racks (and chair+table storage underneath), but for about 9 months, I did a temporary mount (since I knew the fairing would come on day): just use the outdoor 3M foam mount tape (the red one). I had a total of about 15 inch (3/4" broad or so) for the panel mounted on the truck roof, and it was a serious PITA to get it off again. No truck on earth has a top speed where this panel would have gone off.
It shouldn't be less able on the FWC roof. Use more tape (or get the 3M 4991, that's the stuff that GoPro gives you for camera mounting), and you'll tear apart the camper before tearing off the panel. Please don't drill, it's just not necessary with glue/bonding technology nowadays, and it will just give you leaking. If not now, then later some time.
For gas mounts: I have a friend who mounted two Jerry can holders to the back of his Hawk. A good time to do this is when you have the fridge out, since you can add big washers and 3M 5200 on the inside.
I would trust glueing stuff down (our vanagon back in Europe has a solar panel and a LED bar glued to the top, Sikaflex 252), but I wouldn't trust the exterior aluminum of the FWC to hold it.
Goodluck!
Best,
Michael
90W Solar should do it, if you're going around in summer/sunshine, AND your batteries are also charged by the truck when it's running. Get a CTEK Dual, seriously. It's a 3-bolt solution that charges with 15-20A, that's about as much as 200W of Solar will do under non-perfect conditions (i.e. everytime - sun angle, temp rising, etc). It has an input from the truck's battery + and auto-disconnects and autocharges. It should do it as long as you're no longer than maybe 3-4 days on one spot and sun doesn't show up (you can do more more elaborate calculations, and also please tell us what else you run off the battery - how about laptops or other goodies?
How is your 200Ah battery charged at the moment? Make sure you have a good charger, otherwise you're driving around lead ballast without any use. The CTEK is such a thing... and by far the easiest setup for a dual battery with alternator+solar charging.
If I were you, I'd get one of the already mentioned flexible Renogy to add another 100W. They're 200$, we have one on our FWC and it works perfectly. You already have solar wired, so it's more than easy. It just adds a little peace of mind that you'll be able to trad ea cold beer for fish even on the 5th day of standing on that beautiful beach.
I now have our panel on a DIY-wind fairing based on Thule racks (and chair+table storage underneath), but for about 9 months, I did a temporary mount (since I knew the fairing would come on day): just use the outdoor 3M foam mount tape (the red one). I had a total of about 15 inch (3/4" broad or so) for the panel mounted on the truck roof, and it was a serious PITA to get it off again. No truck on earth has a top speed where this panel would have gone off.
It shouldn't be less able on the FWC roof. Use more tape (or get the 3M 4991, that's the stuff that GoPro gives you for camera mounting), and you'll tear apart the camper before tearing off the panel. Please don't drill, it's just not necessary with glue/bonding technology nowadays, and it will just give you leaking. If not now, then later some time.
For gas mounts: I have a friend who mounted two Jerry can holders to the back of his Hawk. A good time to do this is when you have the fridge out, since you can add big washers and 3M 5200 on the inside.
I would trust glueing stuff down (our vanagon back in Europe has a solar panel and a LED bar glued to the top, Sikaflex 252), but I wouldn't trust the exterior aluminum of the FWC to hold it.
Goodluck!
Best,
Michael
So which "CTEK Dual" would you get, Michael? Or is there only one? Why do you recommend them over other units? (I keep hearing the word "Tri-metric" pop up.)
I am functionally illiterate electronically and need some one to take me by the hand and guide me on speccing my new Hawk flat bed. Just imagine! A blank canvas re: batteries, solar panels, monitors, charging, etc!
Not trying to hi-jack the thread. Both campers are FWC's, after all!
I am functionally illiterate electronically and need some one to take me by the hand and guide me on speccing my new Hawk flat bed. Just imagine! A blank canvas re: batteries, solar panels, monitors, charging, etc!
Not trying to hi-jack the thread. Both campers are FWC's, after all!
There is only one CTEK Dual 250, which charges with a max of 20A (actually measuring the + line, I always saw closer to 15A). The SmartPass -simply said - can do more amperes (i.e. recharging your 2nd bat faster on the alternator), but in my opinion, you don't really need it in a camper of that size (i.e. small fridge, some lamps, maybe a tablet or a laptop occasionally), especially not when you also have solar. You need that when you only drive 2-3h and then want a fully charged 2nd battery because you stand at a beach for another 3 days (and your solar doesn't work because it's too cloudy). Or when you need your insulin to be cold, so your life depends on that fridge (because then you can recharge all with 1-2h of engine running). Other than that, I'd rather put the money in 2 extra weeks of roadtrip or another solar panel.
More elaborate monitors (I guess that's what a trimetric is) will just tell you more exactly how full your battery is. The CTEK doesn't do that. On the other hand, as far as I quickly googled it, the trimetric doesn't have a alternator input, which makes you rely only on solar. Fair enough, but the guys here sound as if they'd drive the car pretty regularly - so I'd always go for a system that charges from the alternator once the engine is running. The CTEK is the simplest setup for these both inputs, but (as a downside, if you see it so) without having the many fancy gimmicks of some other solar chargers. I always thought the alternator source is as a big bonus and don't need fancy monitors.
The fact that the guys asked questions about how long their fridge runs on a given setup (page 2 or so) tells me they aren't too experienced in 12V, solar, etc. Given that they want to leave sooner than later, I doubt that they want to setup a fancy solar system and fieldtest it (I doubt they get a good repair facility in Honduras etc) , but rather have a KISS (at least for mounting) system to get their power into the truck. That's what the CTEK is.
I'm using it since about 4 years (pretty much when it came out), including half a year on the road; and now in the 2nd camper.
Best,
Michael
More elaborate monitors (I guess that's what a trimetric is) will just tell you more exactly how full your battery is. The CTEK doesn't do that. On the other hand, as far as I quickly googled it, the trimetric doesn't have a alternator input, which makes you rely only on solar. Fair enough, but the guys here sound as if they'd drive the car pretty regularly - so I'd always go for a system that charges from the alternator once the engine is running. The CTEK is the simplest setup for these both inputs, but (as a downside, if you see it so) without having the many fancy gimmicks of some other solar chargers. I always thought the alternator source is as a big bonus and don't need fancy monitors.
The fact that the guys asked questions about how long their fridge runs on a given setup (page 2 or so) tells me they aren't too experienced in 12V, solar, etc. Given that they want to leave sooner than later, I doubt that they want to setup a fancy solar system and fieldtest it (I doubt they get a good repair facility in Honduras etc) , but rather have a KISS (at least for mounting) system to get their power into the truck. That's what the CTEK is.
I'm using it since about 4 years (pretty much when it came out), including half a year on the road; and now in the 2nd camper.
Best,
Michael
LandCruiserPhil
Expedition Leader
A 12v/110v fridge would be a big upgrade but if not in the budget you can mod the 3way to easily freeze in 110° weather. The popup forum has tons of info on modding a 3way to get much better performance than stock. In the end a 12v/110v would be a better choice.
In BAJA using a 12v/110v fridge you can keep beverages at 29° using 100w of solar power and 95AH battery without ever starting your vehicle. I use a Grape Solar (out of Oregon) 100w ultra thin flexible panel that attaches with 3M 2 sided tape to eliminate any attachment concerns down the road.
In BAJA using a 12v/110v fridge you can keep beverages at 29° using 100w of solar power and 95AH battery without ever starting your vehicle. I use a Grape Solar (out of Oregon) 100w ultra thin flexible panel that attaches with 3M 2 sided tape to eliminate any attachment concerns down the road.
When you are modifying your FWC make sure that you put as much weight as possible on or in front of the rear axle. You will be driving on a lot of bumpy roads and overlook topes (speed bumps). If you have too much weight behind the rear axle it puts a lot of strain on your rear suspension. The further the weight is behind your rear axle the bigger the force on your rear axle when the car moves up and down. Remember Physics 101 the Law of Lever (http://physics.weber.edu/carroll/archimedes/lever.htm)? Suddenly 10 lbs of weight 3 ft behind the rear axle have an impact like 23 lbs directly over the axle.
Reagrds Stefan
Reagrds Stefan
Supergringo
New member
You will learn to curse the topes in latin america... Pinche topes!
Keep theft in mind. Items on your rig, or perhaps your whole rig its self, are susceptible to theft. Make some smart choices to reduce the risk and you'll sleep much easier.
And from my 6.5 month motorcycle version of what you plan to do - you made the right choice in taking 15 months for your trip.
Keep theft in mind. Items on your rig, or perhaps your whole rig its self, are susceptible to theft. Make some smart choices to reduce the risk and you'll sleep much easier.
And from my 6.5 month motorcycle version of what you plan to do - you made the right choice in taking 15 months for your trip.
Here Until There
Observer
After everyones suggestions we did a lot of research and really considered buying a compressor fridge and extra solar. We figured it would cost us about one months trip budget. Not wanting to give up a month of our trip, we made one last effort to have our fridge looked at. We'd had a terrible experience with the previous service center (Camping World). They told us they "serviced" the fridge and it worked fine. The next guy we found cleaned out the flu and baffle and replaced the regulator valve and VOILA works like a champ!! Its 32 degrees in our fridge at this moment! Thanks a lot for all the advice and suggestions. I now see a compressor fridge in our future
Here Until There
Observer
Michael, You mentioned having a friend that put their Jerry can on the back of their camper. That was our plan and I wish we had done it when we had the fridge out for repair. We didn't realize that a full can would be so heavy that we needed to drill all the way through and attach bolts. Now we are unsure where to put it. Do you (or anyone else who is an informed FWC owner) know how much weight the roof can hold? I've read its 1000 pounds dispersed weight (i.e. snow), but I'm unsure of storage weight. We will already have a very full rocket box and possible recovery tracks.
Thanks!
Thanks!