38snubby
Active member
His threads are legendary. Go find some of his older build threads. The level of detail he provides is unmatched.
Hodakaguy's 4x4 Sprinter Build
- Thread starter Hodakaguy
- Start date
His threads are legendary. Go find some of his older build threads. The level of detail he provides is unmatched.
VanIsle_Greg
I think I need a bigger truck!
That new 50A DC/DC is surprisingly small compared to the 30A I have. The heat sink on the 30 is massive.
Beautiful work as always friend. Looks killer in there...nice and compact and clean. LOVE the fuse / power dist block access under that OE banel.
Beautiful work as always friend. Looks killer in there...nice and compact and clean. LOVE the fuse / power dist block access under that OE banel.
Hodakaguy
Adventurer
Yeah it's a really big update in both size, efficiency and heat reduction. Crazy how small it is for a 50A unit.
Hodakaguy
Hodakaguy
Adventurer
Sprinter & Starlink Mini....Awesome!
We do a lot of off grid traveling with our van, often camping in remote areas without any cell service. Starlink will allow us to stay connected everywhere we go...providing an enhanced layer of safety while allowing me to run multiple different on/off road mapping softwares on my tablet, upload pictures of our travels, search Google Earth, receive current weather forecasts etc...all while out in the middle of nowhere!
I purchased a Starlink Mini which can be powered from 12v, using about 22 watts of power...Nice! The unit has the router built in, is super small/compact and only requires a single power wire to be installed. The unit itself is the size of a piece of paper and not very thick. Amazing piece of technology!
I installed the Mini into a TRIO Flat Mount with rare earth magnets on the base. I like that the mount is injected molded versus 3D printed for added durability and that the mount itself hides the white Starlink, making it completely stealth from the ground level or sides. The mount is very low profile with the magnets being recessed into the body. To attach the mount to the van I ordered a set of powder coated steel mounting plates along with the TRIO mount and modified them to accept tapered head bolts so I can bolt them to my aluminum roof rack. The plates come supplied with VHB tape on the back side but I feel better knowing they are bolted in place. Once the mounting plates are installed the mount itself just snaps onto the plates with the rare earth magnets. The holding power is impressive and will keep the unit securely in place while driving down the road. Coupled with the SAE power connector that I installed I can take the entire unit off the roof in about 10 seconds
TRIO Flat Mount.
Attaching the rubber coated rare earth magnets to the bottom of the mount using a bit of Loctite 243. The mount is low profile and the magnets recess into the mount, nice touch.
Starlink Mini in the TRIO Mount.
TRIO Lexan cover - Will be installed shortly
My rack is all aluminum so I will need something metal for the magnets to attach to. I ordered a set of powder coated metal disks with the TRIO mount to install on the roof rack, the disks come with VHB tape per-installed on the back side of the disks. I've had poor luck with VHB tape holding up over time in the desert heat so I'll be modifying these so I can also bolt them in place. Here I'm adding a taper so I can install tapered head bolts to the disks, the bolts will be flush once installed and won't interfere with the magnets.
Using a wrench taped to a piece of tubing to install the nut in place so I can get the bolt started....have to think outside the box sometimes
Water drain holes on the TRIO mount. These drain holes are located on each side of the mount, the seam where the two body halves come together also act as a water drains. These will drain off any water that gets on the top of the Starlink Mini.
Continued below....
We do a lot of off grid traveling with our van, often camping in remote areas without any cell service. Starlink will allow us to stay connected everywhere we go...providing an enhanced layer of safety while allowing me to run multiple different on/off road mapping softwares on my tablet, upload pictures of our travels, search Google Earth, receive current weather forecasts etc...all while out in the middle of nowhere!
I purchased a Starlink Mini which can be powered from 12v, using about 22 watts of power...Nice! The unit has the router built in, is super small/compact and only requires a single power wire to be installed. The unit itself is the size of a piece of paper and not very thick. Amazing piece of technology!
I installed the Mini into a TRIO Flat Mount with rare earth magnets on the base. I like that the mount is injected molded versus 3D printed for added durability and that the mount itself hides the white Starlink, making it completely stealth from the ground level or sides. The mount is very low profile with the magnets being recessed into the body. To attach the mount to the van I ordered a set of powder coated steel mounting plates along with the TRIO mount and modified them to accept tapered head bolts so I can bolt them to my aluminum roof rack. The plates come supplied with VHB tape on the back side but I feel better knowing they are bolted in place. Once the mounting plates are installed the mount itself just snaps onto the plates with the rare earth magnets. The holding power is impressive and will keep the unit securely in place while driving down the road. Coupled with the SAE power connector that I installed I can take the entire unit off the roof in about 10 seconds
TRIO Flat Mount.
Attaching the rubber coated rare earth magnets to the bottom of the mount using a bit of Loctite 243. The mount is low profile and the magnets recess into the mount, nice touch.
Starlink Mini in the TRIO Mount.
TRIO Lexan cover - Will be installed shortly
My rack is all aluminum so I will need something metal for the magnets to attach to. I ordered a set of powder coated metal disks with the TRIO mount to install on the roof rack, the disks come with VHB tape per-installed on the back side of the disks. I've had poor luck with VHB tape holding up over time in the desert heat so I'll be modifying these so I can also bolt them in place. Here I'm adding a taper so I can install tapered head bolts to the disks, the bolts will be flush once installed and won't interfere with the magnets.
Using a wrench taped to a piece of tubing to install the nut in place so I can get the bolt started....have to think outside the box sometimes
Water drain holes on the TRIO mount. These drain holes are located on each side of the mount, the seam where the two body halves come together also act as a water drains. These will drain off any water that gets on the top of the Starlink Mini.
Continued below....
Hodakaguy
Adventurer
Continued from above...
Test Fitting...Holds super secure...Nice!
Installing the TRIO Lexan top shield. I like the idea of the Lexan shield to protect the Starlink from tree branches, hail storms, etc. The shield is made to bolt flat against the TRIO mount and comes with the hardware to bolt the unit in place. Since I live and often travel in the hot desert I decided I wanted to add some spacers and elevate the shield away from the mount to create and air gap and allow the Starlink to breath and run cooler.
Spacers Installed....That's suppose to say Cooling lol.
Fabricating an aluminum mount for an SAE connector that I will use to connect/disconnect the Starlink to power.
Continued below...
Test Fitting...Holds super secure...Nice!
Installing the TRIO Lexan top shield. I like the idea of the Lexan shield to protect the Starlink from tree branches, hail storms, etc. The shield is made to bolt flat against the TRIO mount and comes with the hardware to bolt the unit in place. Since I live and often travel in the hot desert I decided I wanted to add some spacers and elevate the shield away from the mount to create and air gap and allow the Starlink to breath and run cooler.
Spacers Installed....That's suppose to say Cooling lol.
Fabricating an aluminum mount for an SAE connector that I will use to connect/disconnect the Starlink to power.
Continued below...
Hodakaguy
Adventurer
Continued from above...
Drilling and Tapping the roof rack to accept the SAE mount
Using Aviation Permatex to seal the threads going into the roof rack. This will prevent water from getting into the tubing.
Wiring up the roof harness. Here I'm using a hot knife to cut some braiding, the hot knife prevents the ends from unraveling when cut.
What a mess lol. This represents many trips up and down the rear ladder
Gotta have a Hodaka shirt on when your HodakaGuy lol
This is the short harness I built up for the Starlink, it will tie the Starlink into the SAE connector.
Close up on one of the mounting pads.
Mounted in place.
Continued below....
Drilling and Tapping the roof rack to accept the SAE mount
Using Aviation Permatex to seal the threads going into the roof rack. This will prevent water from getting into the tubing.
Wiring up the roof harness. Here I'm using a hot knife to cut some braiding, the hot knife prevents the ends from unraveling when cut.
What a mess lol. This represents many trips up and down the rear ladder
Gotta have a Hodaka shirt on when your HodakaGuy lol
This is the short harness I built up for the Starlink, it will tie the Starlink into the SAE connector.
Close up on one of the mounting pads.
Mounted in place.
Continued below....
Hodakaguy
Adventurer
Continued from above...
Wiring in a relay for the Starlink Power under the passenger side seat base. I had previously installed a light up recessed power switch in the same seat base but don't want the main power running through the switch. I had already installed spare wiring that runs from the passenger seat base to the roof rack several years ago, came in handy today!
Not bad at all for a flat mount and living pretty far up north.
SAE power connector, out of the way and easy to access.
Continued below....
Wiring in a relay for the Starlink Power under the passenger side seat base. I had previously installed a light up recessed power switch in the same seat base but don't want the main power running through the switch. I had already installed spare wiring that runs from the passenger seat base to the roof rack several years ago, came in handy today!
Not bad at all for a flat mount and living pretty far up north.
SAE power connector, out of the way and easy to access.
Continued below....
VanIsle_Greg
I think I need a bigger truck!
Man, that starlink mini mount is sleek. I like it.
As always it looks great.
As always it looks great.