westyss
Explorer
I really like the new look with the added roof rack. I say keep it.
An Overland Hadley approval was exactly what I was looking for! Thanks!
out with the old in with the new
- Thread starter westyss
- Start date
An Overland Hadley approval was exactly what I was looking for! Thanks!
sarconcepts
Adventurer
funny, these big animals seem to like camping just as much as we do, and they seem to get pissed when we leave them all alone for a couple months in the winter, & they let us know
Overland Hadley
on a journey
VanIsle_Greg
I think I need a bigger truck!
Looks great as usual...rack look super. My XJ has been sitting for much of the winter, I try to drive it once a week or so, it still doesn't like that even. Brakes get crusty, steering box is nasty-er now too... vehicles like to be driven tis true.
westyss
Explorer
Thanks greg! Any piece of equipment does not like to sit, but I did get out this past weekend, a solo trip up west harrison lake with very few humans about, I might post up a mini trip report.
westyss
Explorer
A little report from last weekend posted on another site and re-posted here.
Quick little trip report getting away from the salt mines for a weekend solo trip. A little boring but better than nothing.
Not much planning involved in this one, up Harrison west and camp!
I left Friday after work and didn't get too far, was a late start and really didn't feel like driving at night so set up for the night somewhere under the power lines, woke up to this view.
On the way hit some fresh snow and ice, this was on the steepest bit of the pass and had some indications of a few unable to climb any further.
This was all gone by Sunday.
Some of the herd that was met on the way.
Found a camp spot around the 48 km mark and set up, I hiked both ways on the beach as far as I could go and took this artsy fartsy picture!
The last campers were kind enough to leave me some rounds which my 8lb maul made short work of for firewood for the night, looking around the place I found a football with air still in it!
First fire of the year is always something I really look forward to!
And just an awesome night, closest humanoid was 8 kilometers away, perfect............
Next day was much drier and all the mountains were exposed with fresh snow on the caps, I hung around till noon and started heading back.
On the way stopped in at Twenty mile bay and hiked through the closed rec site, drove up to check Weaver lake out and hiked around the lake and home.
Quick little trip report getting away from the salt mines for a weekend solo trip. A little boring but better than nothing.
Not much planning involved in this one, up Harrison west and camp!
I left Friday after work and didn't get too far, was a late start and really didn't feel like driving at night so set up for the night somewhere under the power lines, woke up to this view.
On the way hit some fresh snow and ice, this was on the steepest bit of the pass and had some indications of a few unable to climb any further.
This was all gone by Sunday.
Some of the herd that was met on the way.
Found a camp spot around the 48 km mark and set up, I hiked both ways on the beach as far as I could go and took this artsy fartsy picture!
The last campers were kind enough to leave me some rounds which my 8lb maul made short work of for firewood for the night, looking around the place I found a football with air still in it!
First fire of the year is always something I really look forward to!
And just an awesome night, closest humanoid was 8 kilometers away, perfect............
Next day was much drier and all the mountains were exposed with fresh snow on the caps, I hung around till noon and started heading back.
On the way stopped in at Twenty mile bay and hiked through the closed rec site, drove up to check Weaver lake out and hiked around the lake and home.
Overland Hadley
on a journey
Thanks for the trip report, looks like a nice area. I need to remember to get out on some "A little boring but better than nothing" nights out.
westyss
Explorer
Yeah its hard to get out but a reminder is always good.
This trip was good in that I was by myself and didn't need to worry about keeping my wife warm and got to do some testing out of the stuff I have been working on. So........... the hydronic system is really nice to have. When operating as heat it is a little too loud, I will look into rheostats for the fans to tone them down a bit, and that Espar unit when on high uses a good 5-6 amp when on so I most likely will continue to use the Wave catalytic heater at night, its like a little fire place! The hydronic is great at bringing the temps up quickly and the added benefit of heating up the calorifier water. Another nice part now is the camper can be pre heated while driving, with the fans on and coolant flowing through everything that once I get to camp I have lots of hot water and a warm camper. Down side to the system right now is the hot rubber hose smell after driving which I hope goes away.
A bypass valve will need to be installed in the coolant flow to stop coolant going to the engine, that is a big block of cold mass that doesnt need to be heated up while camped. I knew I should have listened to Owen!
The solar is totally adequate, I consumed 38 amp/hr at night and the sun peaked over the mountains around 8:00Am and by 10:45 it was in float mode, the amps going in even with the sun low on the horizon was impressive to me, must be the unisolar panels that create power in diffused light well it seems. So that system is good to go and appears that I dont need to do any additional work to it.
I had re-installed the slide out BBQ and had it operational prior to heading out with the intention of cooking up a steak on it to see if it works but I ended up cooking over the fire instead (much better) I have a Smev single burner cook top waiting for me at UPS to pick up for the outside slide out kitchen, that will be nice so when the weather is Okay we can cook outside.
Upon getting to camp and doing some hiking around in unseasonally warm temperatures I got to have an outside shower which is just one of the best things when hot and sticky, so that is a great asset to have, but I am looking for a wand shower head with a shut off on it to make things easier and not waste water.
I need some mud guards for the front tires, it got to a point where the side mirrors would get so mudded up that if I needed to back up I would have to go clean them up first, that sucks!
Also waiting at the UPS store are some thermoswitches to turn the fans on the hydronic heater on and off once the temperature of the coolant reaches 80'F and off at 65'F, there is already a power switch for them.
My outside Smart Light is now mentally challenged! Last year it was acting up, only would go on during the day and never would go on at night!! I was starting to get some info from the company but before getting any help from them a tree branch poked a hole in the sensor on the side so I was now on my own, I decided to just remove the smart bits to the light and hard wire the bulb directly and use the switch inside the camper to turn it on and off. Well I did that and it worked at home but on the first night out it wouldnt turn on!!! Wierd?? In the morning when I got out of the camper there it was on!!!!! I just dont get it?? There are no internal bits to the light anymore and its still doing funny things! I think it is possessed and will need to do an exorcism to fix.
This trip was good in that I was by myself and didn't need to worry about keeping my wife warm and got to do some testing out of the stuff I have been working on. So........... the hydronic system is really nice to have. When operating as heat it is a little too loud, I will look into rheostats for the fans to tone them down a bit, and that Espar unit when on high uses a good 5-6 amp when on so I most likely will continue to use the Wave catalytic heater at night, its like a little fire place! The hydronic is great at bringing the temps up quickly and the added benefit of heating up the calorifier water. Another nice part now is the camper can be pre heated while driving, with the fans on and coolant flowing through everything that once I get to camp I have lots of hot water and a warm camper. Down side to the system right now is the hot rubber hose smell after driving which I hope goes away.
A bypass valve will need to be installed in the coolant flow to stop coolant going to the engine, that is a big block of cold mass that doesnt need to be heated up while camped. I knew I should have listened to Owen!
The solar is totally adequate, I consumed 38 amp/hr at night and the sun peaked over the mountains around 8:00Am and by 10:45 it was in float mode, the amps going in even with the sun low on the horizon was impressive to me, must be the unisolar panels that create power in diffused light well it seems. So that system is good to go and appears that I dont need to do any additional work to it.
I had re-installed the slide out BBQ and had it operational prior to heading out with the intention of cooking up a steak on it to see if it works but I ended up cooking over the fire instead (much better) I have a Smev single burner cook top waiting for me at UPS to pick up for the outside slide out kitchen, that will be nice so when the weather is Okay we can cook outside.
Upon getting to camp and doing some hiking around in unseasonally warm temperatures I got to have an outside shower which is just one of the best things when hot and sticky, so that is a great asset to have, but I am looking for a wand shower head with a shut off on it to make things easier and not waste water.
I need some mud guards for the front tires, it got to a point where the side mirrors would get so mudded up that if I needed to back up I would have to go clean them up first, that sucks!
Also waiting at the UPS store are some thermoswitches to turn the fans on the hydronic heater on and off once the temperature of the coolant reaches 80'F and off at 65'F, there is already a power switch for them.
My outside Smart Light is now mentally challenged! Last year it was acting up, only would go on during the day and never would go on at night!! I was starting to get some info from the company but before getting any help from them a tree branch poked a hole in the sensor on the side so I was now on my own, I decided to just remove the smart bits to the light and hard wire the bulb directly and use the switch inside the camper to turn it on and off. Well I did that and it worked at home but on the first night out it wouldnt turn on!!! Wierd?? In the morning when I got out of the camper there it was on!!!!! I just dont get it?? There are no internal bits to the light anymore and its still doing funny things! I think it is possessed and will need to do an exorcism to fix.
VanIsle_Greg
I think I need a bigger truck!
Ha ha... a light exorcism... nice.
Glad to hear it went well, and sounds like after a few tweaks you will be GTG. Heat sure is nice in the winter, I wanted to do some winter camping, but am still somewhat ill prepared, so thought better of it. Soon though...might see you out on the trails one day soon, we seem to know some of the same people.
Greg
Glad to hear it went well, and sounds like after a few tweaks you will be GTG. Heat sure is nice in the winter, I wanted to do some winter camping, but am still somewhat ill prepared, so thought better of it. Soon though...might see you out on the trails one day soon, we seem to know some of the same people.
Greg
fluffyprinceton
Adventurer
Nice quality on this one and a very clean mount - small hole in your wall...Nice on/off switch. No temp adjust though...I have interior valves to run hot/cold/mix.
http://www.fisheriessupply.com/scandvik-recessed-shower-with-on-off-vertical-mount-11750
Don't know the coolant capacity of your hydronic system - I have a 5 gal holding tank in mine so the air exchange fans run on quiet low for 30 -45 minutes or so till they bleed the stored heat out of the system - then the burners fire up again. It would be one thing if we didn't camp in such silent places...so sleep can be a bit on/off. I think your Wave solution makes sense.Moe
westyss
Explorer
Yeah I like the size of that wand but the image is poor so I cant tell the quality of it, will the switch stay in the on position without constantly holding it? I also dont need the valves as I have taps in the area already.
Is your hydronic system plumbed into the trucks coolant? I put a gallon of coolant into my system and whatever the truck holds and no other separate tank, sounds like you have some fans that may change speeds with temperature, is that right? My fans are noisy but they are pushing more air than I feel I need so a slower fan speed will quieten it down.
For sure the cat heater is quiet but if its really cold out with two humans inside the water vapour produced by it all is great and with the hydronic its a drier heat so most likely would use that primarily when its super cold out.
thanks for the link!
Yves
westyss
Explorer
A few images from the past few months:
Lots of logging all over the place up west Harrison FSR
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Brother in laws new ride, 65 chevy panel van 4x4 with mechanical winch off the power takeoff.
I was rotating some rubber.
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Lots of logging all over the place up west Harrison FSR
Brother in laws new ride, 65 chevy panel van 4x4 with mechanical winch off the power takeoff.
I was rotating some rubber.
westyss
Explorer
I did finally finish the slide out kitchen, I like cooking outside much better than inside so look forward to using this.
Here it is all nestled inside. Ignore the messy other stuff, the white hose is a shower wand on an internal bracket that we take and put on the bracket mounted on the door for our outside shower.
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Slide it out..............I am using a hiking pole as the leg, adjustable height and a basket at the bottom for softer ground, it swings down when the unit is flipped.
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Flipped......making a work surface above, this can be slid inward so that the lower deck sits snug on the side of the camper if its windy and raining or when not in use and if its nice move it out.
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Quick disconnect feeding the BBQ and SMEV single burner cook top.
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Front side, still need a small clasp to hold the BBq lid in place and trim some sealant from the corners but it is now operational!
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There is already running hot and cold water, still need to mount the light better and set up and finish the shelves.
Here it is all nestled inside. Ignore the messy other stuff, the white hose is a shower wand on an internal bracket that we take and put on the bracket mounted on the door for our outside shower.
Slide it out..............I am using a hiking pole as the leg, adjustable height and a basket at the bottom for softer ground, it swings down when the unit is flipped.
Flipped......making a work surface above, this can be slid inward so that the lower deck sits snug on the side of the camper if its windy and raining or when not in use and if its nice move it out.
Quick disconnect feeding the BBQ and SMEV single burner cook top.
Front side, still need a small clasp to hold the BBq lid in place and trim some sealant from the corners but it is now operational!
There is already running hot and cold water, still need to mount the light better and set up and finish the shelves.