Overland Sprinter Build

[luthj]

I decided to break out the AC unit build over here.

Building a Micro-Split AC System

Initial work on this subject is over here. https://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/overland-sprinter-build.156260/page-10 The short of it, I am trying to build a Split AC system in the ~5,000btu range. Limited space, cost, and running occasionally from battery power drove me towards...

www.expeditionportal.com

 

[luthj]

Galley is out.







Working out clearance for the new window shade assembly.




Replacement is coming along. Still a bit heavy at 60lbs.

 

[luthj]

Almost ready to order parts. I am somewhat scared on what the cost will be though.

 

[TantoTrailers]

Almost ready to order parts. I am somewhat scared on what the cost will be though.

View attachment 599888

Looks awesome and well thought out I can’t wait to see it come to life!


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[Alloy]

Almost ready to order parts. I am somewhat scared on what the cost will be though.

View attachment 599888

What material will it be?

 

[luthj]

What material will it be?

I am thinking 5052 AL.

 

[Alloy]

I am thinking 5052 AL.

1/8"? ....maybe .100" for the drawers?

The way it is now you could park a truck on it. To reduce weight you could join the triangles to make rectangular. Most of the bottom could be cut out to.

Line the verticals in the center divider up with the bolt holes in the drawer slides then only top bottom and 2 middle horizontal bars are needed. The drawer slides will provide most the strength.

Are those lightening holes I see in the drawers?.....won't the the hole allow things to be fall out/stick out and jamb the drawers.

Flush mounting the sink/stove? That's a good idea but I wonder about cleaning around them.

 

[luthj]

Counter is 0.25. Most of the body is 0.1. Drawer faces are 0.1, sides vary from 0.065 to 0.1 depending on bin size. I still have some material I can remove to save weight. Its a balancing act, removing too much material will make it prone to warping when I start welding. Though I probably only need 20-50% weld coverage on most joints. I expect I will need to make a jig to clamp the bins when welding them though.

I am going with no slides on the bins. They will have UHMW PE on the bottom and top contact edges for friction, and a lip will prevent them for extending pas 90% unless you lift the front up 2-3"

won't the the hole allow things to be fall out/stick out and jamb the drawers.

I discussed those with my wife. There are not really for lightening. She wants to store canned and boxed goods in those drawers, and they are hard to lift from above. She wanted to be able to lift from the sides. I am 50/50 on whether they will work. The shorter bins don't have any. If they don't work I will just make them without, or cover the holes with some fiber tape.

Flush mounting the sink/stove? That's a good idea but I wonder about cleaning around them.

My current plan is to fill the gap around them with some windshield urethane or similar, and tool it flat. That should make it easier to clean I think. Its frustrating trying to chop or prep foods without a nice flat area to work. With the induction cooktop being super flat, and cooling down quickly, it makes a nice continuous surface. Plus the aluminum is heat resistant, so I don't have to work about hot pans damaging it.

 

[Alloy]

Might try 3/16" for the top. The Stove/Sink will clamp it flat. With .250 you'll need to make sure the pcs has been rolled flat. I looked at some .250 yesterday that had roll marks from poor flattening. Better chance of getting 5086 flat than 5052.....or 6061 T6 $$ tooling plate will be flat

Aluminum doesn't mix well with UHMW. Bare alum will always have the grey oxidiation powder. Powder coated alum on UHMW or bare alum on Acetal/Delin is best. From my experince I like drawer slides.

I'd go .125 or .156 for the faces or you'll have allot of weld print through. The wide drawer on the bottom with a center pull might need a flange bent/welded at the top to keep the face straight.

With .063 it is best to bend bottom/sides and add the end caps

Urethane will remain sticky....fyi using Acetone on Urethane prevents the surface from curing.

You'll need a min of weld. 1/2"-3/4" stich welds usng .030/.035 5356 grade wire. Make the slots say 1" and fill in 1/2 of it with weld. The secret to stich welding alum like this with min distortion is an high heat and extremely fast wire speed (opposite of what people think). Have the gun moving before pulling the trigger. More of roll of the wrists than movement of the arms.

 

[luthj]

Good info, thanks. I don't have access to a break right now, almost bought one, almost... We did some testing on 0.06 stock and the spoolgun. I set it up so the voltage was just below the spray transfer threshold, with high feed rates. If I move quick like you mention I get minimum bleed through. I can only weld about 2-3" before I need to stop and turn down the volts. As the part warms up it gets to hot at the puddle. I can start 20% lower if I preheat, but its tough to preheat a 20-36" long part.

For the bins I was planning to put 1/16" UHMW strips on the bottom and top edges of the galley itself. The bins will then have 0.005-0.01" UHMW film/tape at the contact points. This should eliminate the dust generation as the oxide exfoliates. I really like the push to open slides, but they eat up too much space on each side. The space adds up to 100-160 cubic inches per bin/drawer. If these bins don't work, I can always install smaller ones with slides. Always in the prototype stage!

Got my order uploaded. Cheaper than I expected, and UPS shipping isn't bad either! Solidworks says its around 90lbs, which would be several boxes. Not sure how they will handle the 45x36" back brace...

 

[Alloy]

Preheating will mess things up.

Hope you're not planning on a continuous weld around the top.

I cut 1/4" x 1 1/2H x 1" W L shapes when I made UHMW slide before. With 1/16 UHMW I'd be worried about what temp I installed it at or cut slots to accommodate the thermal movement.

Acetal tape on UHMW is better than UHMW on UHMW

There are alum clear coat sprays that will keep the alum looking new

 

[luthj]

Preheating will mess things up.

Hope you're not planning on a continuous weld around the top.

I cut 1/4" x 1 1/2H x 1" W L shapes when I made UHMW slide before. With 1/16 UHMW I'd be worried about what temp I installed it at or cut slots to accommodate the thermal movement.

Acetal tape on UHMW is better than UHMW on UHMW

There are alum clear coat sprays that will keep the alum looking new

I am not sure, but maybe 4-6 strips with a gap will work I think. Otherwise I will just anchor one end, and let the float. Some experimentation to do.

I am not doing continuous welds, likely just stitch welding between 25-50% of any given joint.

 

[luthj]

Did the deed.















Quite a bit of Australian terra firma was sequestered inside the floor support. I have no idea how it got in there, as the biggest hole is only 0.45"...

IMG_20200722_122203037_HDR

 

[Kmrtnsn]

No worries, just explaining why I came to my decision.

You can have two of the following in overland vehicles, pick wisely.

Lightweight
Easy to Use
Inexpensive

Like the "triangle dilemma" of flying, range/airspeed/payload, increasing one comes at the expense of the other two.

 

[Alloy]

Did the deed.
Quite a bit of Australian terra firma was sequestered inside the floor support. I have no idea how it got in there, as the biggest hole is only 0.45"...

IMG_20200722_122203037_HDR

-Did you fill it with water to check for leaks through the welds?

-Might be an idea to cut the cross member back to completely seal bottom of the floor.