Pre birth of a camper - No laughing!

[Redd]

Ian did you ever think about buying a high roof version like this and planking it on your chassis? i think they're the same wheelbase/basic van (i could be wrong)

http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/campers/3352924

 

[ianc]

Nope! As per Nigels comment above - Size would be too restrictive.

 

[Nigel Evans]

Redd, 308D That's the baby version! 3tonne GVW I think. The 814D is 7.5 tonne!

 

[Redd]

yeah i realized my mistake pretty quickly ) as sweet as the vario is i couldnt go through the trauma of getting another licence, the first one was hellish i thought. so ive shifted my attention to smaller rigs, im looking at iveco daily 4x4's at the mo, some of them are under 3.5 tons. this low speed lark is eating at me though, - under 100kmph... agghhh

 

[Redd]

theyre prob not even in theyre comfort zone at 100? eating through fuel... 75-80 green zone. im not an impatient man, i drove through northern spain (all of it) at 15 - 20 kmph in an overheating ball of ****, but damn, not having the option to push it a bit is annoying.

 

[Anton2k3]

ianc, thats an amazing price for a 4x4 vario! I paid a lot more than that for 2X4. Nigel, check out Travel Vans by John Speed for inspiration for fitting out (and getting everything into) a Vario panel van.

 

[ianc]

Okay - so I've finally started to make some progress. I hired a mechanic from the ESB (the Irish Electricity Board) to check it over, do a proper service and get it through the DoE test. It initially failed on some very minor stuff (bulb blown, no red triangle, bald and damaged tyres) but then passed.

I've since taken the back off while fully adhering to all health and safety legislation. No people or animals were harmed during this procedure (by sheer luck).






That box was over 2000kg.
Then I cut the cab in half!




I decided I needed to fit a second alternator because a) the current one is only 80amps and b) its 24v which would be a pain for sourcing much of the electrical equipment. So I’ve stripped the front off to get access and a friend is making up a bracket to mount a 200amp Bosch alternator (sourced from a diesel Mercedes saloon).



This is where it will go.


The I've identified a company to construct the shell/box and mount it. This has taken a few months! It's due to go to them in the next couple of weeks so I have to have the chassis ready for them. They’re also going to spray paint everything including the cab, but I have to do the strip down and prep.

 

[redthies]

One of the things I would want out of a build like yours, would be the ability to access the cab from the camper area. If you have plans to go to "interesting" places, it is nice to have the ability to jump out of bed and straight into the drivers seat for that very rare time when "interesting" things are happening!

 

[Expedition.Report]

One of the things I would want out of a build like yours, would be the ability to access the cab from the camper area. If you have plans to go to "interesting" places, it is nice to have the ability to jump out of bed and straight into the drivers seat for that very rare time when "interesting" things are happening!

I agree!

Looks like there is no going back from here! Good luck on the build and I'll be watching!

 

[Iain_U1250]

Hi, looks like you are really committed now - Nothing like cutting a large bit of sheet metal away to really get things going.

Just curious what belt system you are using for the 200A alternator - I have a 140A second alternator and a/c compressor on my Unimog and have a fitted dual 13A v-belts based on the maximum power you can get out of a single v-belt being of the order of 100-120A. Are you going to run a serpentine belt for the second alternator as well?

 

[Nigel Evans]

Did you consider a 24/12v step down converter? My sparks said they were unreliable, then he realised it would save him a shed load of work and changed his mind. Since then I've been scouring the forums for someone who has made it work successfully.

 

[ianc]

One of the things I would want out of a build like yours, would be the ability to access the cab from the camper area. If you have plans to go to "interesting" places, it is nice to have the ability to jump out of bed and straight into the drivers seat for that very rare time when "interesting" things are happening!

If you look at the drawings earlier in this thread you'll see that it will be integrated to the cab and there will be access through to the cab. The challange is integrating in a sufficiently secure manner while still allowing enough flex so it doesn't "disintegrate" when the going gets tough.

The back of the cab will be closed off with snug fitting sheets of ply (2 by 10mm thick) into the opening and glued in with Sikaflex.
The box subframe will come right up and "hard" fix to the chassis just bebhind the cab. By "hard" fix - I mean using rubber mounts similar to those used to mount the cab. The chassis mounts from there back will be spring mounts to allow flex.

A small access will then be cut through the box sandwich (50mm) and the two ply layers for cab access.

Just curious what belt system you are using for the 200A alternator - I have a 140A second alternator and a/c compressor on my Unimog and have a fitted dual 13A v-belts based on the maximum power you can get out of a single v-belt being of the order of 100-120A. Are you going to run a serpentine belt for the second alternator as well

The main belt is an 8 groove Poly V and is designed to drive the existing Alternator, waterpump and an AirCon compressor. Mine has no compressor so I'm putting the 2nd alternator there. I think that should be ok.

Did you consider a 24/12v step down converter

I'd also heard 24V->12V were a PIA plus I wanted seperation from the chassis eletrics because I wanted to use a Sterling regulator for charging the house batteries and the van electronics might not like that (it pushes the voltage higher tham soem circuits like).

 

[Anton2k3]

I've got a Sterling 24-12v 30amp battery to battery charger. It works a treat, and put out the full 30 amps even when the engine is idling. I'd certainly recommend it, and its much simpler than having dual alternators.

 

[ianc]

Anton - I should have mentions that one of the things I'd like to be able to do is run a small 220v AirCon unit while driving. This will take about 80-90amps @ 12v. So a second alternator was the best way to go I think.

 

[nick disjunkt]

I too have the 30a sterling battery to battery charger. Mine charges a 24v leisure battery in the box. 90% of the low voltage DC electrical equipment I am installing is 24v, the only exceptions being the thetford toilet flush valve, the waste-water dump valve, the piezo ignition on the cooker, and the fan in the cooker hood. 24v to 12v voltage droppers are cheap and simple, I don;t know why your spark thought they were unreliable. Viictron and the like do nice ones, but even the cheapies will do fine for low power stuff. Even if they do break, you can buy them anywhere and they will be cheap.

24v to 12v droppers do not work well to charge 12v batteries from a 24v supply.