Project "Autonomous" F-350

[rayra]

Hope it works as advertised.

manwhile I'm still improving my sewing skillz, so if you decide you want that fabric cover...

http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...compact-flexible-design?p=1868600#post1868600

 

[pappawheely]

It has electrolytes

 

[rayra]

It's what moving truck conversions crave.

 

[NorthernWoodsman]

Is this meant for the outside of the vehicle then?

I ordered a gallon of this:



I have to install some roof vents and then I will coat the roof. I better do it in the a.m. or evening so I don't get burned from the roof.

 

[Cytocycle]

It has electrolytes

It's what moving truck conversions crave.

Such a great movie if anyone hasn't seen it http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387808/ - perfect for a brain dead night

 

[pappawheely]

Is this meant for the outside of the vehicle then?

Yes, I have some roof vents that need to be installed first.

Such a great movie if anyone hasn't seen it http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387808/ - perfect for a brain dead night

Getting truer every day.

I had the camera out today. Went to the Petersen museum for a car show this morning. When the sun went down later, the light was striking.

















Brought to you by Brawndo, the thirst mutilator!

 

[pappawheely]

I prepped my roof vents for installation. I wanted to put some bug screens in there. I am using them to vent hot air out. I am mounting solar powered fans to blow air out the vents. (crappy cell phone pics, sorry)

 

[rayra]

Those are cool (no pun intended). Functionally ugly. Are they out of the RV world? They've make a great way to vent a shipping container turned into a storage shed.

switch or thermostat controlled? what about heat loss in the winter, is there a cover plate inside?

 

[pappawheely]

Ugly? lol. Just your average RV parts; made by camco. I will probably wire the fans to a switch. My main use was to leave them running during the day while I'm out. They will need some type of cover to keep dust out when not in use too.

 

[rayra]

'functionally ugly'. Backhanded compliment. It's there to do a job and honey vent don't give a damn how it looks while it does it.

Interesting. Gives me ideas for a retractable / pop up vent of a similar design. push up on the core from inside and twist to lock in the open position. Bevel the base / shape the merge of base and cap so water has an uphill battle to get in when the vent is closed.

wire 12v near-silent computer fans and wire them to a small right-sized 12v output solar panel and they'll just run whenever the sun is up, in a passive mode, akin to those solar-powered attic vents. Get fancy with a 3 position switch and you can shut them off, or feed them from battery power instead.


/ha have the same Spyderco Endura (serrated blade) in my pocket all the time.



Quick idea sketch

 

[pappawheely]

'functionally ugly'. Backhanded compliment. It's there to do a job and honey vent don't give a damn how it looks while it does it.

Interesting. Gives me ideas for a retractable / pop up vent of a similar design. push up on the core from inside and twist to lock in the open position. Bevel the base / shape the merge of base and cap so water has an uphill battle to get in when the vent is closed.

wire 12v near-silent computer fans and wire them to a small right-sized 12v output solar panel and they'll just run whenever the sun is up, in a passive mode, akin to those solar-powered attic vents. Get fancy with a 3 position switch and you can shut them off, or feed them from battery power instead.


/ha have the same Spyderco Endura (serrated blade) in my pocket all the time.



Quick idea sketch

That's how my system will be without the pop-up vents. I like your idea, I'll take 4.

 

[rayra]

'I'm just an idea guy'. But seriously, I come up with all sorts of ideas, most of them workable, but also most never come to completion. I'd like to try to patent some of them, bring them to market, but I've got no resources to bring them to a prototype / marketable stage. Maybe it's time to get all up in 'crowd funding'.


eta hmm, my idea would work better with a compression coupling akin to under-sink plastic plumbing. The rotating color / compression band would be on the roof-mounted base. The pop-top would just be a simple core that slides up and down within it. Twist the collar to unlock, push it up, twist the collar back to lock it in place. Loosen again and pull the core down firmly while tightening the collar, all closed up. The curved slope with a final interlocking v-groove at the top should prevent any water infiltration when closed up.

These days with simple CAD-like programs like Google SketchUp, 3D printers and rapid prototyping, really ought to be chasing these sorts of revenue mini-streams.

 

[pappawheely]

Thanks for the input Rayra. I installed the first of 4 vents. The aluminum roof is very thin (.125?) So I wanted to back it up under the vent. I cut some wood squares, drilled a 4" hole in them and painted them to seal everything. I slopped on a liberal dose of Dicor sealer on the vent and then screwed through the roof into the wood block inside the box.



I didn't want to compromise the roof too much so I drilled several small holes instead of a big one to let the air pass.



The fan will then screw into the wood block inside. The whole assembly can still move with the top but has additional integrity in case the roof vent wants to pull out from the wind or I hit something. It will be much better if the vent breaks rather than the screws pulling out of the roof.



The fans are going to be wired to a solar panel and to the house batteries so I can run them at night.

 

[pricey]

When you operate these vents papawheely have you got other vents lower down to draw in fresh air? Otherwise they'll suck in air through seals etc. as they'll need to draw air from somewhere. Which is an issue if you are using them whilst driving or in a dusty environment. Specially on dusty roads where they will be quite good at sucking in dust through door and window seals. I suppose you could just leave a window open a crack but then there might be associated security issues.

 

[rayra]

'Think you used enough dynamite there, Butch'? I don't thing that'll leak.

a flat wall-mounted furnace filter on the wall would be a good solution for that. On the outside, say behind the cab. Drop in from the top. Like the side panel on a swamp cooler. In a common cheaply-available size, like 20x24.

\btw, when you mount the computer fans, the air comes out the side the label is on.


\\Used to mess with computer case modding many years ago, had some fun with fans