JK130 | Custom TDI Diesel Parallel Hybrid Jeep Wrangler with composite camper build.

[straypoet]

one that i will buy when your done lol

the solar is barely enough to Temp control in south florida....and that process has driven alot of my mania with my camping needs.
mini split system would be INTENSE and it will be the most effective

LOL, I sometimes wonder about that myself.

Here is my solar AC plan of attack:

First, I will have a roughly 6x10 camper box. I used an online calculator to figure the needed BTUs to warm, or cool a 60 square foot badly insulated space:
Note, that this particular calculator estimates higher than most.
A commonly used formula is 30 BTU per square foot, so that would be 1800 BTU.... but lets go with the larger number anyway.

(reference: https://www.pickhvac.com/faq/ac-size/)


Looks like I need somewhere around 2,000BTU, so the AC needs of my small space are fairly low.
I am looking at this:

https://truckshop.lv/en/auto-air-co...nditioner-12v-sleeping-well-cube-indel-b.html

The specs are:
Compressor: SECOP single compressor BD350GH
Voltage: DC 12V
Refrigerant Gas: R134A
Refrigerant power: 3250 BTU/h (950 Watt) max*
Max consumption 12 Volt: 36 Amp/h max*
Maximum ventilating power: 6 speeds (450 m3)
External dimensions (HxWxD): 400 x 360 x 370 mm
Weight: 19,5 kg + 2,8 kg Packing
Heating function: Yes
Remote control: Yes
Battery protection system: Yes

So, since this draws 36 amps @12v, (at maximum cooling) I would need 432 watts of solar to keep it running. keep in mind that this at max draw. assuming that it ran at 2/3cycle, (based on the calculation of needing 2,000BTUs to keep it cooled) that drops to an average of 288 watts. ( I should note that a 2/3 cycle is high, the Ac should really only need to run about half the time, but lets go with the higher estimate.

If I run this at 288 watts for the full 24 hours, I need to have 6.9kwhr of total energy. (288x24=6912)

How much solar will I have available? My plan for 3x380watt panels would be an ideal (not obtainable) 1.14kw array.
Estimates for solar output is that you should only expect 0.75% of rated power, so at that rate I would theoretically be able to generate 0.855kw from this array.
Lets assume 8hrs of sun in the summer, and keep in-mind my roof is a tilting roof, if I park with the solar slanted towards the sun-arc, I think I will have better performance than a flat array. But lets just assume 8 hours @0.855kw that would give me a total of: 6.84kwhr Giving me just under what I need to keep the AC on for 24 hours straight.

Now, I know that there will be losses, there will be rain storms, there will be shade. So I really don't expect to able to generate enough to keep the AC on at all times, and I also realize that I will need power for other things, (mostly the 2 Refrigerators) and that there will be losses in charging my battery array.

But I think some of that will be offset by not being in the camper the whole day, (I don't think I could stay in a 6x10 box all day) by better insulation, by increasing the set temperature ect. ect.
In short I think that the solar array can just barely keep up with solar AC in the summer, and some solar AC is better than none.

If my result is that I can only use the AC for a few hours when the sun isn't shining, I will be happier than if I could only use it when driving.
I would take the 'guts' out of this AC unit, and mount it where the condensate can drain, and the hot air easily vent, and so that I can direct the AC to the cab when driving, and be able to direct it to the camper when camped.
(my current plan is to mount it half-above the cab, just in front of the leading edge of the solar, into the cab roof.

The other option is to buy the compressor used in the Indel cube: (or similar)
https://www.secop.com/fileadmin/use..._r134a_12vdc_101n08xx_06-2013_desd100i402.pdf
And then build my own.

Another option is to use a 120vac mini-split, but if I do this, I will have some additional inverter losses. This might be compensated by a more efficient mini-split, and might be enough efficiency to push me that direction. We will see.

 

[straypoet]

It might not look like much; but that was a weekend of work.
A word to the wise: make sure you are powering the ECM with at-least 13v and be able to supply a couple of amps.
It would have saved me abunch of headaches had I realized the power supply I was using was too weak at the beginning.
Between finishing up the frame extensions, and hopefully the first short test-run of the engine; I should be pretty productive this week.

I wanted to order the coil-overs, and apparently King Coilovers are 6 months back-ordered..... So I guess I won't be moving from the frame extension directly to the suspension. Anyone have an extra set of 4 2.5"x12" King coil-overs they want to part with do they? lol

I am going to look into other manufacturers, and/or just wait on the suspension until I can get the ones I want.

 

[straypoet]

I just ordered the B-pillars that I will need: $250
Saved $100 in shipping by finding them at a good price with local pickup. (the dealership is near where I work)

I need these as I am using a 2door JK as the base. If I had started with a 4door model, I wouldn't need to buy them.
They are the B-pillars that are behind the front doors on a JKU.
I am only buying the outer sections, and don't think I will need the inner. I plan to cut these right behind the door, and mate them to the tubular steel roll-bar that will form the rear of the truncated tub. I plan to make this out of 2x2 tubular steel. It will form the arch, that the front of the camper will butt against on the back, and the new roof section in front.
I won't start the tub body modifications for a few weeks, but I wanted to get these now, so that I have them on hand when I need them.
I need to make a template from these, so that I can match the curve of the doors in the tubular steel.

Also ordered 3 open box Mammoth Boulder Charcoal 17x9 wheels for $80/each... $240 I wasn't planning on buying any wheels today, but I knew I wanted these particular wheels, and since a few scuffs don't bother me at all (they won't stay pristine for long anyway) I grabbed them. I still need 2 more, and even if I end up getting them at full price at-least I saved a few bucks on these three.) I was actually only on the site so I could get the offset to calculate the width of the tread so I could model the right wheel width in 3D... so looks like I have some wheels on the way.. haha

 

[b dkw1]

OK, couple of things and I'm not smart enough to multi quote.....

35X10.5 tires, Which ones?

Did you call King direct? Lot's of times order times can be really scaled down by going with one of their vendors like Accutune. Also, ADS makes some very nice shocks.

I have 1.6KW on the roof of my motorhome. flat mounted panels really give up a lot in efficiency, I rarely see over 900W. It's got to be noon in AZ to get those numbers.

Having stuffed a ALH TDI in my Samurai, I can relate to all the work going on.

Great build so far, keep it up.

 

[straypoet]

35X10.5 tires, Which ones?

Did you call King direct? Lot's of times order times can be really scaled down by going with one of their vendors like Accutune. Also, ADS makes some very nice shocks.

I have 1.6KW on the roof of my motorhome. flat mounted panels really give up a lot in efficiency, I rarely see over 900W. It's got to be noon in AZ to get those numbers.

Having stuffed a ALH TDI in my Samurai, I can relate to all the work going on.

My apologies.... the 35x10.5 was a typo, that should have been 35x12.5 R17.

I have been running Nitto Terragrappler G2s for the last 50,000 miles, and the treadwear is very good, but they lack a bit in the traction department when it gets slick. they float pretty well in the sand, and in the dry dirt, but they don't like rain or mud. I am leaning towards the BFG K02s at the moment. Though I am not locked into them.
I want to balance durability with a reasonably lightweight design.
the K02s weigh 66 lbs, so they are the ones to beat for me right now. If you or anyone has any other suggestions, please tell me.
Incidentally the Mammoth Boulder wheels I bought are 25 lbs, so that will give me a wheel weight of 91 lbs, which is fairly lightweight for a 35x12.5 combo. I would love to be lighter, but I want durability as well. If I did the 35x12.5 G2s, that would put me a couple pounds heavier.
Does anyone know of any lighter weight 35x12.5 R17s that can handle more than pavement?

I didn't call King directly, though that is an excellent idea. I will be doing that. If they tell me I have to wait, it isn't the end of the world, I will have to just work around not having them on-hand for the suspension design work. I considered just mocking up one out of some pipe pieces at the ride height I want to run, and use that to figure out the placement.
Or, I can just wait until the body mods are done, and then use a lift to pull the body back off the frame for the modifications later.

I would be willing to consider other coil-over manufacturers, which might be cheaper, and with faster delivery. The reason I had decided on King was that I want to be able to rebuild these myself, and/or send them out for rebuild, and King seems like in 20 years they will still be around, so the seals etc. should still be available. I want to stay away from anything that isn't likely to be rebuildable over the long duration. If I can't replace the oil and seals and keep on using them for 10, 15, 20 years years, then I really don't think they make financial sense.

As to the solar, do you run any kind of solar AC? or attempt it? Have you ever totaled up the solar production for a full day in summer?

An ALH in a Samurai seems like the ideal swap for that body. Lightweight engine, tons of torque, simple wiring harness, and probably goes forever on one tank. Do you have a build thread? or pictures? Sounds like an awesome woods-toy!

thanks for the comments

 

[TrailWhalePowerwagon]

you need to incorporate a window ac....you can get twice the BTU for the same wattage...cheap to buy, cheap to replace, can find them in nearly every country...

 

[straypoet]

you need to incorporate a window ac....you can get twice the BTU for the same wattage...cheap to buy, cheap to replace, can find them in nearly every country...

I can see incorporating the compressor, condenser and evap from one of those little 'window shakers'
You are right that they are easy to get, and cost effective. I remain unconvinced (so far) on their wattage efficiency once I take into account the inverter losses; but I need to do further research, so you might be right.

Right now I am still thinking a DC compressor would be the way to go. either at 12v, or at the pack voltage. (48v)
I can see maybe spending $150 to get the window shaker, and then cutting out the compressor and replacing with a DC compressor. (Would save a bunch compared to commercial DC AC systems) then reconfiguring the evap and condenser arrangement to fit the space.

 

[b dkw1]

Shocks, Any of the major brands can be rebuilt. They are all about the same level of difficulty. Personal preference would be Fox's, I like a few of the details on them and the 17-4 shafts. I have rebuilt just about every brand of shock there is out there. If you need seals and such for anything, www.shockseals.com Kris supply's most of the race teams that do their own rebuilds. His kits contain OEM hardware or better in most cases.

ADS took the best features of King and Fox and mixed them into their own product. They work well and currently have a pretty short lead time.

Not running AC yet. Looking into options as one of the original roof top units is dead.

 

[TrailWhalePowerwagon]

someone on youtube actually split the condenser and evap and added additional coil/gas capacity and radiator fans.

the window shaker hole in your box can be generic sized and any replacement, upsizing or downsizing can be done with prefit templates to mount differnet size ACs...

the new window ACs are super efficient and i highly suggest the ease of incorporating this over any other hvac system. RigidHVAC has cool micro DC systems that i wanted to fit out into a pickup truck cab for no idle AC...

288 watts is spot cooler capacity... it would work in a small completely insulated and shaded box, but it wont be operating at such low draw in Florida...just havent seen that accomplished.

 

[straypoet]

Shocks, Any of the major brands can be rebuilt. They are all about the same level of difficulty. Personal preference would be Fox's, I like a few of the details on them and the 17-4 shafts. I have rebuilt just about every brand of shock there is out there. If you need seals and such for anything, www.shockseals.com Kris supply's most of the race teams that do their own rebuilds. His kits contain OEM hardware or better in most cases.

ADS took the best features of King and Fox and mixed them into their own product. They work well and currently have a pretty short lead time.

Not running AC yet. Looking into options as one of the original roof top units is dead.

Thank you, I will look into ADS, I knew only Swayaway, King, and Fox from some light looking. (other than the cheap ones made in china)

 

[straypoet]

someone on youtube actually split the condenser and evap and added additional coil/gas capacity and radiator fans.

the window shaker hole in your box can be generic sized and any replacement, upsizing or downsizing can be done with prefit templates to mount differnet size ACs...

the new window ACs are super efficient and i highly suggest the ease of incorporating this over any other hvac system. RigidHVAC has cool micro DC systems that i wanted to fit out into a pickup truck cab for no idle AC...

288 watts is spot cooler capacity... it would work in a small completely insulated and shaded box, but it wont be operating at such low draw in Florida...just havent seen that accomplished.

Once I have the camper body built, and am ready for the AC, It should be late summer, and so can do a test of how many BTU I actually need to cool the space, by using a window unit with a known BTU rating, and then letting it run and recording how many minutes per hour it has to run to maintain a set temp.

I am just going to max out the solar for the space I have, and insulate the space as best I can, and then get the most efficient AC I can get for the wattage.

Window unit, mini-split, or DC system, who knows what I will end up with, but by my estimate I will be able to temp-control with about 2,000 BTU of AC. If I can get that with the solar array I have, then great. If not, I will be no worse off than I am now.

Have you watched the video on YouTube by 'Everlanders' on their solar AC? (they use a small mini-split on an inverter)

They are able to keep up with their larger, but flat-mounted solar array (1.40 KW). their rig is larger than mine will be, and has a lot more vertical space, so my AC needs should be less than theirs is. (hopefully by about the same percentage that my solar array will be smaller)
Given that their array is flat, and mine will be tilting; I think my 1.14KW will output at a higher efficiency percentage than their 1.40Kw, and my camper box will be smaller, though not as well insulated.

I will just have to try it and see where I end up

 

[straypoet]

Ordered my starter.. or is it a 48v Generator?...... nope, it is BOTH.

Spent $250 for a pair of used ones.
( they are about $800 new) I will keep one for a spare, or use for another project.

I specifically chose this type because it is Air Cooled.

For reference, the part is 68438054AC. I got them from a junkyard, taken from two 2019 Ram 1500 light hybrid trucks.
I will spend a couple of months working out how to control it via CAN bus. For now it will be a side project while I work on the frame and the engine. Just posting it for the record.

EDIT: Also ordered a CANable.io adapter, $40 as I will need to be able to sniff the CAN-Bus of a running Ram 1500 with E-torque to get the codes needed to control this. ( I did already order a CAN Bus dev kit, but that is for building into the dash, this is a small USB device that I will use with my laptop to 'listen' to the CAN Bus)

Unless someone volunteers to let me listen to theirs; I will just rent one of these trucks for a day and figure out the codes. I will record the CAN communication while operating the vehicle, and then 'replay' those communications to the BSG (Belt-driven Starter Generator) and that way I will be able to figure out how to control it as a starter ect..
Another Photo of the BSG as originally mounted on the Hemi:

 

[pith helmet]

View attachment 645683

Side note: this build planning sketch book looks like it will be a nice artifact. ?

 

[Johnboyy]

Maybe a crazy suggestion but given the extent of your plans maybe not.....


Rather than the epas system which I think is an electric hydraulic pump ditch the hydraulics altogether?

A manual box with an electrically assisted column might be even lighter. People use them in all sorts of machines these days

 

[straypoet]

A manual box with an electrically assisted column might be even lighter. People use them in all sorts of machines these days

I haven't been able to find one of these that can handle a heavy JK. All of the ones I have found so far seem to be for vehicles under 4Klbs.
I would be interested if I could find one that will do around 6Klbs, as that is my target max weight.

Thank you for the suggestion.