Overland Sprinter Build
- Thread starter luthj
- Start date
luthj
Engineer In Residence
Yeah, we had the same fan in our previous Westy. It was a lifesaver. It was mounted behind the front seats, so it could be rotated to cool the driver, passenger, or rear bed(s). The only real issue we had with it, was that we rotated it past the stop a few times over the years. Somewhere in Guatemala it rotated the final time. The twisting added up and broke the small wire that powers the fan. It was an hour fix with my soldering iron thankfully.
I am surprised how well the monstaliner held up. Despite all the bending it held fast and didn't crack at all.
Hopefully the new anti-wildlife front bumper will arrive soon. That way I can finish up the front end.
Nice build! Thanks for sharing all the details. Can I ask how the Blum hinges are doing? I mean the ones that incorporate the "hold the door up" mechanisms in the sides. I have some upper cabinet doors that use the typical concealed hinges plus separate struts to hold them up. Am doing some re-working and was considering those hinges. My two questions are 1) Will they alone hold the doors closed underway (the struts do this very well, but you have to be careful not the let the doors "slam" and also they wear out after a while). I don't have heavy loads up there to push on them - clothing and lightweight stainless dishes. And 2) Whether they will hold the doors closed on a more-than-vertical angle. In other words, my doors angle out/up at about 15º sort of like the overhead doors on an airplane might. I will likely try to contact Blum, but am interested in your real world, going-down-the-road experience.
Thanks,
Vanaroo
Thanks,
Vanaroo
luthj
Engineer In Residence
They have been great. They have no problem holding the doors closed while driving. Keep in mind that my doors are not very tall. Taller doors may not stay closed as well. The pull closed force is a few pounds at least. Since the doors stay closed is sharp turns, I see no reason why another 15 degrees would make a difference. If for some reason you need additional hold closed force an extra "powered" hinge can be added to each door. Normally only one hinge per door has the soft close hardware. Another option is magnetic catches.
In fact after some testing on forest service roads, I am not going to put any other latching on these doors. I am going to put a few elastic straps across the openings, but that is just to keep items from falling out when opening the doors.
Thanks for the info. I hadn't realized that only one of the set was "powered." So as you say a second active one could be an ace in the hole if needed. My doors are around 12" tall and 24" long - reasonably but not super light (sort of shaker style with 3/4" maple rails/stiles and 1/4" ply panels). I saw where they had a formula for determining which size hinge to get. I'll get in touch with Blum, but I knew they weren't going to be able to tell me about bouncing down Forest Service roads :sombrero: so thanks for your review.
luthj
Engineer In Residence
They do have several different levels/sizes of hinge. I would assume the heavier units have more hold closed force to accommodate larger doors. It can be a bit fiddly to get the correct mounting measurements. The included instructions are not the easiest method. Instead the Blum website has a calculator which is easier to use. I strongly suggest making templates for mounting/drilling. One for the hinge and one for the door mounts. Note that the hinges do not come with door mounts (they are quick release). Instead you need to purchase mounts to match the door, as they have several varieties available.
luthj
Engineer In Residence
More finishing touches on their way; Seatbelts for the bench seat were first on the list as we may need to carry passengers in the near future.
Next up is the galley lighting and under body lights. I ordered these switches. They have a nice flush fit, and are long enough for mounting in plywood.
http://amzn.to/1RXk6SE
We also had the front windows tinted with 3M crystalline material. It is pretty amazing stuff IMHO, and worth the cost.
I placed an order for about $700 in spare parts. Mostly electrical bits that could leave the van stranded. Also included were belt drive parts and hoses (coolant, intake etc).
Jen has started working on the curtains. We have some fairly novel ideas, hopefully they will pan out. I am also planning on a roll down shade for the rear windows, maybe the galley as well? They are cheap, and the cabinets make a great mounting location.
We have also been discussing a small AC unit for the rear, either 12VDC or 120VAC. The cheapest route seems to be the Webasto FCF units and an underbody mounted radiator. For less than $1500 (including installation hardware) I can get 5k BTU of cooling at 4.4AAC load. I could feasibly run this unit for a night to cool the van and dehumidify as it consumes 50AH per hour when running continuously (not counting radiator fan/pump).
http://www.webasto.com/fileadmin/we...arine/Data-Sheet/usa-marine-datasheet-fcf.pdf
In theory the unit would fit under the bed or bench seat. I could use a detachable duct to route cooling air into the van or sleeping area. Cutting the cooled area down would likely have a significant impact on power consumption.
Next up is the galley lighting and under body lights. I ordered these switches. They have a nice flush fit, and are long enough for mounting in plywood.
http://amzn.to/1RXk6SE
We also had the front windows tinted with 3M crystalline material. It is pretty amazing stuff IMHO, and worth the cost.
I placed an order for about $700 in spare parts. Mostly electrical bits that could leave the van stranded. Also included were belt drive parts and hoses (coolant, intake etc).
Jen has started working on the curtains. We have some fairly novel ideas, hopefully they will pan out. I am also planning on a roll down shade for the rear windows, maybe the galley as well? They are cheap, and the cabinets make a great mounting location.
We have also been discussing a small AC unit for the rear, either 12VDC or 120VAC. The cheapest route seems to be the Webasto FCF units and an underbody mounted radiator. For less than $1500 (including installation hardware) I can get 5k BTU of cooling at 4.4AAC load. I could feasibly run this unit for a night to cool the van and dehumidify as it consumes 50AH per hour when running continuously (not counting radiator fan/pump).
http://www.webasto.com/fileadmin/we...arine/Data-Sheet/usa-marine-datasheet-fcf.pdf
In theory the unit would fit under the bed or bench seat. I could use a detachable duct to route cooling air into the van or sleeping area. Cutting the cooled area down would likely have a significant impact on power consumption.
scottishpinz
Adventurer
This is great. Did I miss it along the way, but what is the textured paint?
luthj
Engineer In Residence
It is Monstaliner coating. Monstaliner is a urethane based tintable bedliner type coating. Its texture comes completely from the application method, and can be varied accordingly. What is really nice is that it can be applied and touched up with a roller. Given the size of my van I opted to spray it on. At 40mils thick it also appears to be quite durable. The stuff is quite hard to damage actually.
http://www.monstaliner.com/
luthj
Engineer In Residence
Thanks. :victory: Lots more build details, materials/products used, and esoteric conversion conversation on the Sprinter-source thread in my OP.
The van is really coming together. Now I just need to win the lottery so I can afford a 4WD conversion. :wings:
luthj
Engineer In Residence
Good news on the cracked solar cell front.
I tested the array at solar noon last week and was only able to get 480W or so at 77F. The logs show peaks around 500-510 for the last few weeks, so the array seems to be down 10-15% overall (not counting system losses which are around 5-8%). I cooled the array with water to see if lower panel temps would improve the output. The water had minimal affect. Shading each panel results in about the same reduction (about 120W) Surprisingly, even though there are 2 panels in each string, shading one does not have a huge impact on the other? The bypass diode configuration on these panels must be very good.
For comparison when testing the array in 100F temps last year I was able to get ~500W continuously (at solar noon, almost zero incident angle).
While this is not ideal, it shows the array continues to function despite the damage.
I have been talking with a customer service manager at Grape Solar. He has been helpful, and after discussing the array output with him, I may be eligible for warranty replacement. :wings: He also says that the 160W panels are commonly used in RV applications, and that this is the first time he has seen this issue.
I am going to get detailed photos and serial numbers for him this evening.
I have read that cell cracking can sometimes be caused by improperly calibrated soldering machines during production. The rapid heat/cool cycle creates micro cracks in the silicon wafers which them propagate during thermal cycling in the field.
I tested the array at solar noon last week and was only able to get 480W or so at 77F. The logs show peaks around 500-510 for the last few weeks, so the array seems to be down 10-15% overall (not counting system losses which are around 5-8%). I cooled the array with water to see if lower panel temps would improve the output. The water had minimal affect. Shading each panel results in about the same reduction (about 120W) Surprisingly, even though there are 2 panels in each string, shading one does not have a huge impact on the other? The bypass diode configuration on these panels must be very good.
For comparison when testing the array in 100F temps last year I was able to get ~500W continuously (at solar noon, almost zero incident angle).
While this is not ideal, it shows the array continues to function despite the damage.
I have been talking with a customer service manager at Grape Solar. He has been helpful, and after discussing the array output with him, I may be eligible for warranty replacement. :wings: He also says that the 160W panels are commonly used in RV applications, and that this is the first time he has seen this issue.
I am going to get detailed photos and serial numbers for him this evening.
I have read that cell cracking can sometimes be caused by improperly calibrated soldering machines during production. The rapid heat/cool cycle creates micro cracks in the silicon wafers which them propagate during thermal cycling in the field.
luthj
Engineer In Residence
The inevitable progress towards completion continues. Although, the more items I complete, the longer the list becomes? I keep finding more small (but time consuming) things to do.
At the top of my list is fixing the maddening rattling of the Maxxair fan. In the closed position it is quiet when driving under 65mph or when there are no cross winds. However, any substantial cross wind, or high speed driving makes it rattle excessively. My fan has the plastic bushings on the mechanism arms, so this is not the cause. Instead the wind over the van roof causes the top to shake. It's not much motion, but it makes the rain guard and hardware rattle loudly.
Upon disassembly I discovered three sources of noise. The first is the forward pivot. It is plastic on plastic; some heat shrink tubing fixed this rattle.
The second is contact between the lid and a mounting screw. Some judicious trimming fixed this one.
The third is the aft hinge. This unit has tons of slop and is very poor quality. I pressed the pin out and covered it with heat shrink tubing to increase its diameter. Hopefully this will stop the rattling completely.
I replaced the lower sliding door roller. I was astonished how easy to operate and quite the slider is now! It even latches better!
I have added some insulation to the fridge drip tray. The freezer is not as cold as I would like. Hopefully this will increase the temperature differential between the fridge and freezer.
One of the reading lights is installed.
Finally the over-cab door has been installed. A Blum assist bar keeps it open.
I ordered a Webasto FCF 5000 unit yesterday. After some budget analysis and consideration it made sense. We will likely run it off the batteries occasionally to keep the sleeping area cool/dehumidified at night. When we are driving it can be run from the alternator. It will fit under or behind the bench seat. A radiator, pump, and lines still need to be sourced. One more thing to mount under the van…
http://amzn.to/28xg0N9
At the top of my list is fixing the maddening rattling of the Maxxair fan. In the closed position it is quiet when driving under 65mph or when there are no cross winds. However, any substantial cross wind, or high speed driving makes it rattle excessively. My fan has the plastic bushings on the mechanism arms, so this is not the cause. Instead the wind over the van roof causes the top to shake. It's not much motion, but it makes the rain guard and hardware rattle loudly.
Upon disassembly I discovered three sources of noise. The first is the forward pivot. It is plastic on plastic; some heat shrink tubing fixed this rattle.
The second is contact between the lid and a mounting screw. Some judicious trimming fixed this one.
The third is the aft hinge. This unit has tons of slop and is very poor quality. I pressed the pin out and covered it with heat shrink tubing to increase its diameter. Hopefully this will stop the rattling completely.
I replaced the lower sliding door roller. I was astonished how easy to operate and quite the slider is now! It even latches better!
I have added some insulation to the fridge drip tray. The freezer is not as cold as I would like. Hopefully this will increase the temperature differential between the fridge and freezer.
One of the reading lights is installed.
Finally the over-cab door has been installed. A Blum assist bar keeps it open.
I ordered a Webasto FCF 5000 unit yesterday. After some budget analysis and consideration it made sense. We will likely run it off the batteries occasionally to keep the sleeping area cool/dehumidified at night. When we are driving it can be run from the alternator. It will fit under or behind the bench seat. A radiator, pump, and lines still need to be sourced. One more thing to mount under the van…
http://amzn.to/28xg0N9
Seems like that should be against physics, doesn't it? And yet it keeps happening
Sorry to ask you yet another Blum question, but that assist bar looks very interesting and I didn't see it when Googling "Blum assist bar." Do you have a part number I could check into?
Thanks!
Vanaroo