MB 1120 Coming to America! Purchase, Build and Now Travel!

[gregmchugh]

Been hard at work trying to get some of the finishing touches completed along with systems work. The dinette table is now complete and bolted in. It is birds eye maple with walnut ends. We used table top epoxy on it. The second pic is a needlepoint that my mom gave us a few years ago. It used to hang at the head of the bed on Evergreen and made it all the way around the world. Seemed fitting that it would be at the head of the bed for the second trip around. Now boring systems stuff, the rear motorbike/tire lift needed some adjustment to get it to work better. Glad to say it is now working as hoped! Also on the systems side we are getting close to completing the Webasto diesel furnace. Can't wait. And Charlie (our welder) also welded up our stainless steelsand track mounts for the rear wall. I still need to polish them, but after that they are ready to bolt/bond to the rear wall. And lastly our entry grab bar is "ordered". Will see how that works out as it is supposed to be done by a very talented welder (Charlie does not have a pipe bender so he could not do it for us), who also happens to be very busy.

A few smaller projects
- a cabinet to protect the shower sump pump and related plumbing in the storage area
- a couple removable shelves in one of our cabinets
- and trying to order anything we might need as we hope to hit the slow road to Mexico early next week (nope, all the projects will not be done, but they will be done enough .

As you can see I am not 100% happy the the cushions. Might mess with them if I get a bit of time.

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Interested in your power outlets with USBs, do those take standard 120v US plugs or are they something different?

 

[VerMonsterRV]

I agree about the Amazon (and other retailer stuff). Plan is to slowly head west stopping for a bit in Texas (Big Bend NP) and relax a bit and do some hiking. We still have a bit of a large project todo before heading south of the border. We need to replace the rear leaf springs, they are just worn out and are sagging (we are at 10k lbs in the rear and have 7800kg leaf springs). After literally spending months trying to get some custom ones built in the US I have given up and will likely order some from Germany this week. Should get them in a month (we will use the same shipping agent as our truck and rims). Thinking we will try the parabolic springs as the German company recommends them for trucks that are converted to RV's. Plus they are a bit lighter overall than traditional springs and are reported to give a better ride.

Interested in your power outlets with USBs, do those take standard 120v US plugs or are they something different?

They are 120v and take any plug I can think of. We traveled a bit on our (well it is now someone else's) sailboat. Ended up with a box of adapters for the various electronics we accumulated from other countries. These outlets eliminate the adapters. I have to say the outlets are just ok though, and given our Renogy inverter sucks 4 amps just idling (not my favorite inverter and may change it out down the road) the USB charger plugs are not really being used (no plan for being plugged in often).

 

[Sitec]

We need to replace the rear leaf springs, they are just worn out and are sagging (we are at 10k lbs in the rear and have 7800kg leaf springs). After literally spending months trying to get some custom ones built in the US I have given up and will likely order some from Germany this week. Should get them in a month (we will use the same shipping agent as our truck and rims). Thinking we will try the parabolic springs as the German company recommends them for trucks that are converted to RV's. Plus they are a bit lighter overall than traditional springs and are reported to give a better ride.

Looking good! Re your springs, look up 'Traveling Babo' (Simon and Joan) on Faceplant. They have a platform similar to you and have just changed their rear springs too here in Oz. Not sure if they have any info or recommendations, but always worth the ask!

 

[gregmchugh]

They are 120v and take any plug I can think of. We traveled a bit on our (well it is now someone else's) sailboat. Ended up with a box of adapters for the various electronics we accumulated from other countries. These outlets eliminate the adapters. I have to say the outlets are just ok though, and given our Renogy inverter sucks 4 amps just idling (not my favorite inverter and may change it out down the road) the USB charger plugs are not really being used (no plan for being plugged in often).

Very good, are you setting the truck up for 120v only or also have the capability to plug into 220v?

Our GXV truck is all Mastervolt but a that is pretty expensive way to go. The inverter no load draw is only 18 watts so we usually just leave it on all the time but we have 720 AH of lithium batteries.

 

[VerMonsterRV]

Very good, are you setting the truck up for 120v only or also have the capability to plug into 220v?

Our GXV truck is all Mastervolt but a that is pretty expensive way to go. The inverter no load draw is only 18 watts so we usually just leave it on all the time but we have 720 AH of lithium batteries.

On our sailboat we had a Xantrex Freedom 15 from years ago. Although it was a modified sine wave inverter/charger the idle current was also negligible. Guess I was lulled into not checking the idle current of the Renogy.

 

[DiploStrat]

... our Renogy inverter sucks 4 amps just idling (not my favorite inverter and may change it out down the road) the USB charger plugs are not really being used (no plan for being plugged in often).

FWIW, my 2000w Magnum pulls at least as much. It does have a "Power Save" setting which, if I can figure it out, may cut the idle current when not actually supplying power.

 

[luthj]

Power saving mode is typically called "search" mode. The inverter sends a brief pulse of voltage every so many seconds. If there is a load present, the inverter powers up. It will stay powered up until the load disconnects. With so many electronics (and even some GFCI outlets) pulling a small but constant load, the inverter may never actually go into sleep/search. A way around this is to have a manual switch for each device, which will allow the inverter to go into search/sleep/power save mode.

FYI most GFCI outlets have a 1-2 watt constant parasitic draw.

 

[C p weinberger]

“FYI most GFCI outlets have a 1-2 watt constant parasitic draw.”

love reading these threads, always helpful, I had forgotten completely about GFCI Draw.

 

[luthj]

On my outback inverter, I can set the minimum load required to bring the inverter out of search mode (IIRC). I think I have it set to 20W or so.

 

[Joe917]

The best option for an inverter is an off switch. The Magnum remote has one, the MorningStar suresine has one too. Need AC power, flick the switch.

 

[loonwheeler]

While a few year old, our Trace / Xantrex DR Series inverter has both the search mode as well as a remote switch option that can be installed. The search mode can be adjusted to turn the inverter on depending on the current draw threshold you set. Both nice features.

 

[VerMonsterRV]

We very well may end up getting rid of the Renogy, specs look good on paper but has a couple major flaws that really bug me.

Projects roll on, got the sand tracks mounted (required custom stainless brackets that are bonded/bolted to the rear wall which has embedded steel straps), entry grab bar mounted (custom welded aluminum), interior door trim (long story but finally figured out what to do because the door is not supplied with interior trim that worked with our panel thickness) and custom trim ring for cab AC (I did not like the one from Dometic, it was huge and took up way too much headliner space).





Today's tasks, deliver motorbike to mechanic to get new tires and chain put on and continue work on the furnace (which with any luck we will finish the habitat heating side, still will need to complete the engine pre-heat circiut).

 

[Joe917]

You might want additional protection around that awning, something sticking out like would have been ripped off our truck many times!

 

[Arjan]

Very nice !!

 

[lvivier]

That door trim looks perfect! I'm just wrestling with this on my own truck. The rough opening for my entry door was, let's say, cut generously. Two questions: what is it, and does the supplied bug screen fit over it?

The fit and finish on your project is top notch.