We picked up a 2000 7.3l diesel mini-modd today. More pictures and long-term build thread coming soon.
Well, Not much happened in the last 10 months, really. I noticed after getting it home and doing through it, that there were no house batteries and now inverter/charger. I added a Harbor freight power converter and two car batteries for now. I had to remove the light bar and black out all the red emergency lights to get it through inspection when I got it home. I install a PS3 and TV, and made a bed out of 2x4s and a futon frame/mattress and used it for camping all last summer/fall. This winter, has been an issue. It appears to have either a bad MAP sensor, issues with the vacuum lines, or both. It refuses to idle until warmed up for about 15 minutes. I'm working on that and I've stripped out the bed to rebuild it into a working futon that folds up and down. And some local hoodlum was nice enough to remove the PS3 so I can upgrade the entertainment. I need to get rolling so I can use it again this year.
I've also done a good bit of research. I'm trying to keep it off-grid capable. I've researched into how to keep it livable without having to run the engine, or plug in. I'm looking into plans for about 600W of solar. I want to keep power draw to a minimum. RV A/C units run on 110Vac and draw just as much power as a house window unit. It would take up most of the power that the solar is providing, plus converting from DC to A/C is inefficient any way. I've started looking into No Idle systems for Semi trucks. They run on D/C power, and come with there own power source. Some claim you be able to run for 10 hours on their power pack, and have a vehicle battery protection system that will only charge to pack if you vehicles is running with it's batteries fully charged. They also have an optional plug in charging adapter.
