Rise of the Adventure Toaster

[Kottonwood]

Ps.... Admit it....

Whenever you were riding around in those things, you thought to yourself "this thing oughta be 4x4"

 

[iggi]

Ah, I misunderstood you. Thought you'd already put a turbo on it.

Well, ya gotta do both. If you add more air then you need more fuel and vice versa. I could probably get away with turning up the fuel a bit but I'm also at high altitude, so I'm already lacking air a bit anyways.

 

[Kottonwood]

Ah, I misunderstood you. Thought you'd already put a turbo on it.

Yeah..... Not so easy on this one.... Easiest way is to replace the block entirely with a rear mount turbo.....way I'll probably do it if I ever do is a lotta custom piping and a turbo up front.... Unfortunately can't just swap a pickup turbo on this badboy .... It don't fit.

 

[iggi]

Not a serious suggestion.

 

[Kottonwood]

So the 12v ac.....

I have confirmed I can pretty much run it indefinitely as long as there is full sun. I can also run it all night and still have enough juice to cook breakfast in the morning. However, it really only cools the driver compartment, it is not enough for the living cabin too.

I am thinking about adding a 12v mini split for the cabin or maybe just a 5k btu portable ac.... Options options

First things first though.... I need another tranny cooler, it is still getting over 230 on long climbs.

Otherwise the van performed amazingly! it handles absolutely wonderfully off road! As expected it is quite slow on the highway but we are very ok with that. I might still add a turbo someday.... But we'll see.

 

[Fredricksen]

Regarding your slide-out solar panel idea.. I have seen that a few different ways, and there is a youtube video with pneumatic actuators too..

I am changing the panels on the top of my E350 ambulance to several 250 watt residential panels I got a deal too good to pass on.

My idea, which may fail spectacularly, is to mount three panels across, with the two outer panels having piano hinges along the outer edges mated to two more panels, (photosensitive part to photosensitive part) which I would flip "open" when parked.

When closed, I would have one (center) panel exposed (250 watts), when the outer panels are 'open', I would have five panels operating with "1250 potential watts"

My brain says it will look like some sort Roger Moore era James Bond "doomsday satellite death laser" device.

 

[Kottonwood]

Regarding your slide-out solar panel idea.. I have seen that a few different ways, and there is a youtube video with pneumatic actuators too..

I am changing the panels on the top of my E350 ambulance to several 250 watt residential panels I got a deal too good to pass on.

My idea, which may fail spectacularly, is to mount three panels across, with the two outer panels having piano hinges along the outer edges mated to two more panels, (photosensitive part to photosensitive part) which I would flip "open" when parked.

When closed, I would have one (center) panel exposed (250 watts), when the outer panels are 'open', I would have five panels operating with "1250 potential watts"

My brain says it will look like some sort Roger Moore era James Bond "doomsday satellite death laser" device.

Sounds like an interesting idea, but I am not sure why you wouldn't just build a double rack with an electronic actuator slide out. I find that the vast majority of the time I don't need/want my awning out. What is your purpose of having so much solar power? For me a big reason is keeping the dog in the van. When I was traveling Central America in my truck I found I often wanted to keep my dog in my truck, but couldn't because it would get to hot. Also stealth camping in parking lots and such... not really gonna put the awning out there. I guess if your sole purpose is to build it cheap and with minimal effort then a piano hinge is the answer... seems like even if you're gonna put that effort in it is not a great leap to just make a slide out. With the slide out you would gain immensely in efficiency by haveing 3 panels (750 watt) always active, and have the availability to double your power when set up in a nice campsite. My idea would be to double the functionality of if by sealing in-between the panes so it would effectively act as an awning as well.

 

[Fredricksen]

I have a window a/c mounted in one of the compartments. I want to see if I can run it off the solar... and I want to keep the installation cheap and simple, at this point.

 

[AeroNautiCal]

I really like your compact Travel Cabin, especially the patina, which I agree is best to keep for the reasons you said.

That compact size should fit anywhere you might want to go and the cabin sliding door is another great space saving idea.

Your meticulously thorough approach to stripping everything and rebuilding it for reliability is very sound.

Congratulations on falling in love and becoming a Father.

 

[Kottonwood]

I have been loving the van. I added some great outdoor lighting and a few other upgrades that I will show later.

However, I wanted to mention about the ac. I ended up getting another one for the back cabin as the front one wasn't enough. I will link the one I got below. I must say, I am VERY impressed with this unit, it puts out a lot more cool air than my other one. It also sucks power, the compressor basically runs constantly. I think I would get about 4-6 hours out of it even with good solar, and that would kill my batteries completely dead. When driving I have been running them both and it seems my 200 amp alternator can barely keep up.... Either way, I've got AC and I am happy. I would not hesitate to install one of these in any vehicle with a robust electrical system.

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