Van Camp Trip - Round 1

[coolfeet]

I have an old E150 that I converted to stealth camper with dual platform beds that sleep 4. Our only problem is that we often run 2 Macbooks and a DVD player. We killed the battery once and need a basic house battery set up. I plan on buying the rail mount battery bracket from eBay. How did you configure your dual battery? I don't want to steal your thread. Just interested in what you did and open to suggestions. We want an inverter to run our toys that is isolated from the main. At the same time, we want to charge the battery from the alternator when we are driving.

Here's photo of the front folding bed. It's hinged, so we fold it back while driving. The rear is similar, but we never fold when on the road.

 

[TBS]

On this trip I was in a pinch for time and money, so I didnt get to finish the "house" battery charging system. I just got a separate deep cycle marine battery that I mounted under the sleep platform in the rear to run our inverter(i'll have to look back at what model I got) and ran everything separate from the starting battery.

I plan to get an automatic switch to connect the "house" battery to the charging system only when the engine is running so that it doesnt get drained overnight. Short term for the trip, I got a small harbor freight batt charger and an extension cord, and plugged in every chance I got.....even at hwy rest stops. lol.

 

[cowboy4x4]

FYI...... for all the nay sayers........ While out at my dads place in the desert (on his property) we took a full propane bottle and shot it several times with a 223 round and guess what, no kaboom all it did was spew out the propane...... no spark no boom.... just my physical observation.

 

[dcguillory]

Ah, scientific testing the old fashioned way. Good Job!

 

[FurthurOnTheFly]

I was just reading through this forum and saw my name in the title and thought "******"....hey guy! I retain all rights to my last name!! Cool van, post an update.

 

[Wiley]

Awesome pics, great to see more families out enjoying this planet. I am fine with a tank on the back, do what your gonna do, that said, you only need a leak and a spark (static electricity) to end up with this problem.

 

[TBS]

Yup! See what happens when you don't have a proper mount for your tanks and just let them roll around in your truck with all the other loose items and sharp objects....shoulda had it secured. Tisk tisk, lol.

I call poppy-cock anywho, probably trying to smuggle baby dragons around in a plastic kennel. Happens....

 

[bdog1]

That's the coffee at Mickey D's..... Super hot!


Sent by wing, prayer & ATT

 

[John W]

I've heard from firemen that those steel gasoline cans will act this way in a fire.
My guess is this video may be one of those.
The fireman told me they have found steel gas cans intact in buildings that were burned down.
What happens is the fire heats the fuel in the can, pressure builds, and then it is released through the check valve.
Unless propane tanks have the same type of valve my guess is that this could be gasoline.
Seems like a cylindrical propane tank may have rolled around while intermittently spewing, whereas the round flat steel cans would stay put.
Just a guess.