Mercedes 1222A.. The beginning!

[Madoxen]

Roll on the weekend

 

[Simon dix]

It’s all coming on nicely.........not shy of man hours ??

 

[Sitec]

Man hours!! Yup, far too many of them. As I get older I feel it more too!! Well, the weekend came... and went!! I do at least have the cylinder rack mounted in place... With the rack in, I could work out thee door frame and get my head around how tight it all is!

 

[Sitec]

Once I had a door frame in place, I could start to tack the skirt parts together. This has to be reasonably accurate as the next part ties in with the fold out steps.

 

[Sitec]

The cylinders are a snug fit but at least we have plenty of storage for gas on board. I figure that a larger locker with removable cylinders allows plenty of room for smaller cylinders if we do manage to get to foreign shores! As I left it this eve!

 

[Sitec]

Another weekend in the workshop (no surprises there!). I managed to fold the gas locker door, weld the corners and get it hung this morning. I've also made and mounted the shallower skirt section that goes under the steps and hides the original battery/air tank tray.

 

[Sitec]

Next was the new double decker battery tray as there's now an air tank in where the batteries were, along with the PAX door footwell. I've made it so the batteries are staggered. All terminals are reachable, and I plan to put the battery isolator with the key side in the body foot well....

Two questions... 1. Is there any reason the isolator can't be on the lead between the first and second battery? Would work well with position...
2. I have spare space under the kitchen floor behind the gearbox... Any reason why my leisure batteries can't be outside?

 

[shade]

With regard to the location, as long as it won't freeze, I see no problem with an exterior location. You may want to install a watering system so you can top them off without much trouble. As hot as it can be where you may go, that might be nice.

For electrical questions, you may want to post here:

Power Systems: 12v, Solar, Gen.

Discussion of auxiliary power systems as they relate to expedition travel.

www.expeditionportal.com

 

[Joe917]

All six of our batteries are outside in a similar position. Freezing is not an issue for lead acid as long as you keep them charged.
Our batteries are in sliding trays, this makes watering easy, I suggest you make sure you have access to your leisure batteries for that purpose.

 

[DiploStrat]

We had externally mounted AGM on our last truck. Not a problem with a proper charge regime. Our lead acid starter batteries are externally mounted and subjected to freezing weather all the time.

That said, if you have dreams of lithium for your camper batteries, consider internal (i.e. below freezing) mounting. Much better than trying to fool with heaters, etc.

 

[shade]

When I mentioned freezing, I was referring to the batteries freezing, not the ambient temperature dropping below 0C. I don't think it's possible for lead batteries to freeze in Australian weather, but I don't know where else this truck will roam.

I'd definitely house lithium based batteries inside.

 

[Sitec]

All six of our batteries are outside in a similar position. Freezing is not an issue for lead acid as long as you keep them charged.
Our batteries are in sliding trays, this makes watering easy, I suggest you make sure you have access to your leisure batteries for that purpose.

Great thanks. Think that was the answer I was after. I'd be going with lead acid for ease, cost and availability. You have covered big distance in your truck and in many temps, so proven that outside is fine long term. I have a nice large empty 1m x 1m x 0.5m deep space under the floor ********** in the middle of the truck. The batteries would sit between the chassis rails under the body, but be accessed through the floor easily. Thanks!!

 

[Sitec]

If its two batteries series connected, (example, 24V system ?) and "isolator" means bigazz master disconnect switch.
Yes, it can be fitted into the jumper lead between batteries.

Yup! Exactly that! Cheers!

 

[Sitec]

Hi all. Small amount of progress here. I now have an aluminium drop door hung off the new battery box. I had to go back and re align the skirt under the door, as somehow I'd started to creep upwards by 5 mm... The skirts should have 100mm clearance from the body. I made the battery tray to suit this and the door wasn't lining up. This morn was spent rectifying that. One of those jobs that you wouldn't notice but that I'd see every time I looked at it!! Once I had rectified it, I was able to fit the rubber cover tabs to the body and cut and hang the rubber 'gap filler/hider' in place. This should allow 'seamless' movement between the body and skirts.

 

[Sitec]

Here it all is with the steps down and the door closed. It all seems to work quite well. I have 'Traveling Babo' and 'Pepita' visiting in March for a few days of 'truck talk', so it'll be interesting to see what two well traveled truck families think of my antics so far. I'm now waiting on the water tanks for the next step of skirting, so might make a start on the rear lockers!