MAN 6x6 camper

[egn]

Sorry, I have no birds eye view image. But you wouldn't see much between cabin and truck cab because the space is only about 12" wide. It contains the exhaust at the drivers side, some cable connections at the passenger side, and below the space for the stairs. There is no fixed connection between cabin and truck cab.

One image from the inside of the truck cab is at the builders web site:

You see, the inside still has some military green and is not yet fully renovated. We intend to isolate the cab and use leather for the surface. We have just put in two air suspended chairs and a seating for a total of four. The seating space in the middle is fine for two childs.

I attach some older images:

 

[Lynn]

Thanks. Very informative. I'm very jealous.

 

[kerry]

Here's a way to solve the jealousy:

http://suchen.mobile.de/fahrzeuge/s...ED&customerIdsAsString=&lang=en&pageNumber=12

 

[egn]

http://suchen.mobile.de/fahrzeuge/s...ED&customerIdsAsString=&lang=en&pageNumber=12

This is a very nice rig! The price is certainly ok. Actionmobil is one of the top builders.

The truck, a KAT 1A1 normally goes alone for about 50 k€. It is a more modern version of my KAT with a water-cooled MAN engine. It has a hydropneumatik suspension and a longer wheel base for larger cabins. Only a few of this 6x6 are on the market. Most of them were prototypes.

Of course, there is more electronic in this car. Some people had problems with it. I decided against this base two years ago because of higher price, more electronics and only two seats in truck cab.

http://www.actionmobil.at/page31/page31_assets/Verkauf.pdf

If someone wants an english version of the pdf then drop me a PM with your email address.

 

[mog]

MAN 8x8 (3 each) in the U.S.
http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=173887#post173887

 

[Jacob7963]

Emil,

I see in your signature that you have an electric cooktop. I'd be interested in hearing if you are happy with this system. I am considering a similar setup for my Mitsubishi Fuso camper. Does it drain the batteries quickly? Looks like you have a large (21.6 kWh) battery bank, that should help.

 

[egn]

Hi Jacob,

my wife :sombrero: is totally happy with this setup. Electric cooking is just like at home. Of course, you have to have enough energy and a very capable inverter in order to do that.

Currently we use about 2 - 2.5 kWh electricity per day. This gives us a maximum of about 1 week on the batteries. This includes everything including fridge, freezer, hot water maker, toaster, electric contact grill, ...

You certainly can reduce this to about 2-3 days, if you have a generator on board, or you don't stay as long at a place. So about 10 kWh battery capacity would be ok. The reason why you should have at least this amount of capacity is that you also have to support the necessary power. A rule of thumb is that you should have at least 2 times the power als capacity. This means if the cooking uses a maximum of 3 kW, you should have at least a battery capacity of 6 kWh. Otherwise you loose to much capacity because of the so called "peukert effect". This means that with high current discharge you are not able to get all the energy out of a lead acid battery. If you discharge a 5 kWh battery with 5 kW you get only about 2.5 kWh out. If you discharge it with only 2.5 kW, you get about 3.5 kWh out. Of course, this also depends on the type of battery. Some behave better at high currents and others are worse.

A minimal solution would be:
induction cooktop with two fields and a maximum of about 3 kW power
sine wave inverter with about 4 kW power (some reserve for higher temperature)
Concorde AGM Lifeline Deep Cycle battery with at least 8 kWh energy

This gives enough energy for 2-3 days. You can extent this by having solar installed and/or using a generator to charge the battery.

When my AGM batteries are dead in about 8-10 years I probably will install a lithium battery. They should be much cheaper by then and save at least half the weight.

Emil

 

[Jacob7963]

Cool. I was thinking of using 8-10 kWh of batteries with solar, wind, and the vehicle alternator to keep the batteries charged. Keeping everything electrical seems a lot easier than plumbing for LP or diesel.

 

[egn]

Here are some images of the electrical system:

Battery, Power Distribution and Inverter:

Switch panel left to right:
- External power Voltage, Ampere, Switch
- control panels for charger 1 and 2
- battery computer, main key switch, power mode switch, panel lumination on/off
- automatic fuse/switch 12/24 V for permanent supply
- automatic fuse/switch 12/24 V for switched supply (power mode switch)

Switch panel left to right and from top to down:
- inverter ampere, control lights and switch
- 230 V fuse/switch for each appliance, appliance can be switched between both inverters
- monitors for 3 drinking water tanks, grey and black water tanks
- control panel for Webasto diesel furnace
- fuses and switches for fresh water pumps and UV disinfection
- fuses and switches for vacuum toilet, discharge pumps and air for grey and black water
- moniceiver with DVD, MP3, FM, ...

 

[Cody1771]

OH PLEASE tell me you have an xbox 360 or PS3 for that :sombrero:

 

[egn]

OH PLEASE tell me you have an xbox 360 or PS3 for that :sombrero:

No - we have a WII.

But use this not very often, because we all like to enjoy nature outside more.

 

[whatcharterboat]

Hi Emil,

Any details or pics of the induction cooktop. They are really only just arriving here for domestic use and 2 burner models for motorhomes or expedition campers are non-existent. We had a portable single element (I suppose ythat a better term than "burner") unit a couple of years ago that was great for camping with a van but it wouldn't really suit an up market "expo" type vehicle. I've been thinking seriously about these ever since.

On our bigger vehicles we use a 2.5kva @ 24v smart diesel battery charger so keeping power up to the inverter wouldn't be a problem.

Very interested in any other comments/pros/cons you could give. I'm sure induction cookers have been commonplace in Germany for years so your opinion would be highly appreciated.

John.

 

[egn]

Howdi John, sorry I just saw that you are an Aussie. This changes some of my comments.

Since a long time in Germany and other countries in Europe there are so called "Domino" fields for cooking available. They are standardized in size (30 cm wide) and can be combined to make up a large cooking center. All kind of appliances are available, like electric hob, gas hob, grill, ...

I currently use a standard electric hob (no induction), because of simplicity and avoidance of to much electronics. The energy savings through induction wasn't necessary because of the large capacity. Most of the saving can be compensated by using an electrical water cooker for large amounts of water, and an inverter microwave for heating smaller amounts in cups.

Anyway, if you have to look careful on your energy resources the investment in induction cooking may be worthwhile. The added benefit is that you can cook like with gas, together with a lot more comfort regarding temperatur control.

It did look around to find an english language website with an induction hob and did find one. My standard field is from Bosch and looks similar. I took the simplest I could get with standard dials and no electronic, just to be able to repair it in the field. When we are going on our long journey, I will take an additional induction burner with me. This will then also be used for outdoor cooking.

[I didn't find a supply for this in the USA, sorry. It really seams that the states are a bit behind in this regard. The european models will not work with a 120 V inverter. It would need 240 V. Whether 60 Hz is ok, I don't know. You may also run into problems, if you don't have a true sine wave inverter.]

You should be able to order such a induction hob in the UK.

Here you find an article that summarizes the infos about induction cooking.

PS: We were on travel in Australia 1987 (Sydney, Graften, Brisbane, Cairns, Alice, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney by airplane), 1989 (South QLD, NSW, SA, VIC, CT by campervan we bought) and 1993 (WA by car/motel, Indian Pacific, NSW) each time for several months and enjoyed it very much. I have an uncle near Grafton, NSW, and we certainly come back with our truck.

 

[egn]

I just found a supplier in Australia:
http://www.messenger.com.au/

The interesting touch cooktop is sold out.

Domino cooktop (no induction):
http://www.delonghi.com.au/products/product_details.asp?Model=DE30C
http://www.delonghi.com.au/products/product_details.asp?Model=DS30C

Bingo, Siemens sells it:
http://www.siemensappliances.com.au/content.asp?document_id=520
http://www.siemensappliances.com.au/content.asp?document_id=524

Here is one that is sold only to California:
http://theinductionsite.com/buy-induction/buy-ct15i.php

 

[kerry]

EGN:
On a similar topic; on my Euro motorhomes I have had an eye level under cabinet mounted gas grill. I really liked it for making toast and grilling small items. They are not available in the US and I have looked on line for a supplier and on European Ebay sites to find one. Do you know what I am talking about and do you know any suppliers?

Kerry