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RE: Euro motorhomes... why don't we have these in the USA?
Asking the question is a bit like asking why we don't live in 400-600 sq ft Euro houses ....
My friends have been living in various cities in Germany for nearly 10 years, and have always lived in suburban neighborhoods -- their houses have been 2 or more stories, and had 1200 square feet or more... 2 baths, 3 bedrooms, sometimes a bonus room in the finished attic area, etc, and were typical for the neighborhoods.
Anyway, the class C's built on the Sprinter chassis come close to what I am thinking about, but they are way overpriced (in my opinion) for what they are... if they would get the price down to a reasonable price range (say around $50k to $50k rather than $80k plus) I think they would really sell. As it is now, you can get a decent 30' plus Class A for nearly the same as one of those Sprinter Class C's.
My smallish Class C weighs over 10,000 pounds, is built like a tank, and struggles to get over 10 mpg. A rig with the same basic space could easily be built at under 7000 pounds.
The problems mentioned about lack of service and support is a big one... it will take a large US manufacturer and a very popular design to overcome that.
Anyway, I believe that small and light motorhomes designed on the principles of that Hymermobile rig will eventually get popular in the US.... It would be so nice to have a small and nimble rig, with lots of storage, that would get 14 or 15 mpg.
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NetBoy
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05/24/12 12:00pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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Euro motorhomes... why don't we have these in the USA?
My friends are living in Germany, and they just rented this for a vacation to Denmark:
http://s17.postimage.org/pnonq3vzz/Lori_Motorhome.jpg
I looked up "Hymermobile" on the internet, and it looks like the one they rented is built on is on a Fiat chassis, with a 130hp engine. They said it gets really decent mileage, has adequate power, and has a great layout with lots of storage. Click HERE for the website for these motorhomes. They call them B Class, but they look like a mini-Class A. It appears that Hymermobile also makes a similar looking MH on a Mercedes chassis, with larger engine.
I wonder why we don't see similar mini Class A rigs in this country? With fuel prices, and the "cool factor" of how these look, I would think they would be quite popular.
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NetBoy
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05/24/12 10:45am |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: TT Tv swivel mount mod
Beautiful work, and clever thinking!
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NetBoy
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05/23/12 12:35pm |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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RE: COUNTERTOP EDGING
You could also upgrade, and put nice hardwood moldings along the back splash areas. There are hundreds of designs out there... Lowes and Home Depot have some.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21XxIReK56L._SL500_AA300_.jpg
Or for a less decorative look, you could use oak quarter-round.
Have fun....
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NetBoy
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05/23/12 12:20pm |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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RE: Converting non ducted to ducted a/c
If it turns out that adding the ductwork gets too difficult, I wonder if you could suspend a flat panel a few inches below the air conditioner to spread/diffuse the air from blowing right on your faces at night. The panel could be say 24" to 30" square, and have a bit of sound deadening insulation on the top side. You would still need to figure out your thermostat wiring.
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NetBoy
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05/22/12 07:33am |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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RE: 36 LED dome light $6.99 ea.
LED prices are coming down. I just purchased 4 of These The quality looks quite good. They measure 4"x8"x1 1/4". I plan on replacing some of our under counter incandescent lights. I think I will go back and buy a few more. Great price.
Those look really neat! I have already replaced all my RV interior lights with 36 & 48 led panels (even including the range hood light) and added several new fixtures.... however, that is a heck of a good price for a complete fixture with a switch, so I think I will grab a couple of these, perhaps to use in storage areas.
To those who say they won't buy until seeing: what the heck, it is only $7 and these have the recommendation of dalehelman. To those who won't buy because they come from China: Sadly, virtually all the ones you pay more for in the US have come from China.
Thanks for sharing dalehelman...
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NetBoy
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05/20/12 03:01pm |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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RE: Floor & Ceiling construction methods?
Does anybody know how the floor and ceilings of RVs are usually constructed? I'm getting ready to drill through both for running wires from a solar system. I'm wondering what I'm going to run into. Based on the fact that I can walk all over the entire roof and not have it sag, says that it's at least 3/4" plywood for the whole thing, and that the membrane is over that. Based on the thickness of the hole at the vent, I think it then has the 1.5" foam core that the RV walls have. Is that likely to be correct? So as long as I don't hit any cross-members, drilling through should be now problem, right? The floor...is the same?
You will not find 3/4" plywood on the roof. To keep the weight down, most manufacturers build the wall and ceiling framing out of metal tubing. The space between the frame members is totally filled with rigid foam insulation, and then thin luan wood paneling is glued on each side. The luan on the inside of the RV has the finished wall/ceiling material bonded to it (often a white or colored vinyl material)... higher-end RV's will have a thicker ceiling to accommodate ducted AC and other features, but the extra thickness will be mostly rigid foam. If you have rubber roofing, it will normally just be applied over the top piece of luan. The glued-up section of luan-foam-luan, reinforced with metal tube framing every 16" to 24", is very strong yet light in weight.
Most flooring is plywood or (more likely) strand board (most likely 1/2" thick) over a layer of rigid foam insulation, with a thin metal skin on the bottom to protect it from damage under the RV.
When drilling thru the ceiling you should try to avoid hitting the metal tube framing members (which you can anticipate running along the edges of the roof, on the front and back sides of AC units and ceiling vents, etc). Be aware that some manufacturers route some wiring inside of some ceiling framing tubes to supply power to AC units, ceiling lights, etc). An electronic stud finder should be able to detect the location of framing members.
On the floor, not too much to worry about.... just do some measuring under your RV to make sure you won't be drilling down into some place where main framing or suspension components are located, or your propane tank or other equipment.
AND, and you already probably know, use big wire for your solar, and mount your controller as close to your batteries as possible. Although this is a long document, I recommend you spend some time reading HandyBobsSolarBlog -- this guy lives in a RV and runs full time off-grid on solar.
Have fun....
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NetBoy
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05/17/12 09:27am |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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RE: Solar/inverter ?
Hi, Actually most inverters do use some power when they are turned on and waiting to power up items. For mine it is about 0.5 of an amp, or about 7 watts.
Yes, inverters DO use power while sitting idle waiting for loads, and according to HandyBobsSolarBlog, many large inverters use 2 amps or more when idle. I'd be cautious about believing the manufacturer's specs until I measured the current used myself. Bottom line, you will not want a big inverter left connected when you are not planning to use it.
You will also want to make sure that large 120v loads are switched off before connecting the inverter. Resistive loads such as your water heater and refirgerator use a lot of power, so need to be switched to propane.
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NetBoy
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05/17/12 08:48am |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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RE: How to convert to LED lighting
Beware of some those cheap LED panels. I have had several fail after a few hours (or be DOA on arrival.)
While I hear your comment, my experience has been different. I have used literally dozens of 36 and 48 LED panels, and over 2 dozen of the round panels with 12 each 5050 LEDs, and have only had one failure of 3 LEDs on one of the 48 LED panels (the LED are wired 3 in a series, so if they fail, they fail in 3's). You don't even notice 3 LEDs being out. Some of my panels have hundreds of hours on them. So spending $25 for a single bulb from that company, compared to $1 to $3 each on eBay with free shipping, is a no brainer to me.
Cheers....
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NetBoy
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05/10/12 12:49pm |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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RE: Converter/Charger Upgrade Install Question
In fact, they make kits specifically for replacing the converter in the Magnatek units:
http://www.bestconverter.com/45-Amp-Converter-Replacement-Kit_p_46.html
Yeah, I can second that.... Randy at Best Converter is a great guy, and will help you out if you have technical questions.
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NetBoy
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05/10/12 12:16pm |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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RE: Solar/inverter ?
OK,about to start my new solar system in the coach. My question is, if you had a big enough inverter, lets say 2500 Watts. Couldn't you just treat it as a campground plug, ie just plug your shore power into the unit.
I don't know how much solar you plan to add, but I imagine you have done the math. But just in case: Using 2500 watts for an hour on a 12 volt system uses over 200 amp-hours - that will take your average two battery bank down to ZERO in about an hour, and a 4 battery bank in about two hours.
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NetBoy
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05/10/12 09:53am |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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RE: Another LED Question....
I'm trying to figure that out. So I have a board with lights that has double sided tape and I would stick that in the dome lights. Then there's an adapther that would plug into where a regualar bulb. Then, both the adapter and the light board have cables that I connect. Is that it?
Here is a the typical eBay 48 LED panel with adapters, which you can buy for less than $3 including shipping:
http://home.comcast.net/~curt503/RV/LEDPanel.jpg width=600
Here is what I did:
http://home.comcast.net/~curt503/RV/LEDLight.jpg width=600
The bulb base in my fixtures are the older big bayonet style, and none of the adapters included with the panel fit, so I just soldered the wires on to the fixture's bulb bases.
The blue stuff you can see in the photo is silicone adhesive, which I added because the double sided foam tape supplied with the LED panels does not hold when it gets warm.
To find these panels on eBay, search for: led panel smd (36,48) and then use the "Sort By" pull-down menu to sort by Price + Shipping: Lowest First. That search should find all 36 and 48 SMD (Surface Mounted Device) LED light panels. The panels are typically available in bright white, warm white, cool white (slightly bluish in color), occasionally in red or blue... I bought mostly warm white and like them a lot.
NOTE: LEDs are polarity sensitive, meaning they will only work when positive voltage is applied to the proper wire or pin. Installing them with the wrong polarity won't hurt them... so if they don't work when you first install them, simply reverse the polarity.
Cheers...
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NetBoy
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05/09/12 07:26am |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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RE: Pulse charger
The pulse charger was able to put life back into the good one which I married up to a new one from Costco.
That was nearly two years ago, and I finally got around to buying my own pulse charger. When I pulled the cover off the batteries, I was met with a carpet of fuzz over the older battery. I considered trying to revive it after I cleaned it up, but it was over four years old, so I opted for another Costco replacement. We do a lot of desert camping and dead batteries can be a big problem.
Normally the experts recommend replacing all batteries at once with matched sets (same brand, capacity, and age). Here is a posting by Trojan Battery on that topic:
Trojan:
"Ideally, the entire set of batteries should be replaced. The behavior of batteries during discharging and charging varies throughout their lifespan and if all the batteries are the same age, then they all will have similar responses. You can, however, replace just the one bad battery with a new battery, but you will have to keep a close eye on the new battery as it will consume more water than the older batteries. The danger with replacing only one battery is that the older batteries tend to require more charge than newer batteries, and since the new batteries are in the same circuit, they too will be overcharged. There is also the chance that the older batteries will be undercharged since the overall voltage response of all the batteries (old and new) will not be a good representation of either group. The charging system might erroneously think that ALL the batteries have reached the desired voltage and it may stop the charging of the batteries prematurely. Simply make sure that you keep a close eye on your batteries and you should be okay."
Cheers....
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NetBoy
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05/09/12 03:07am |
Tech Issues
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RE: Charging battery with generator/stand-alone charger
Thanks for the info. My converter/charger is a WFCO WF-9800 series.
When I run the generator with the stand-alone charger attached to the batteries, the WFCO converter/charger should also be providing its normal level of charging capacity. Good to know that I can use both at the same time. Hopefully this combination will result in a useful reduction in charging time.
You didn't say which converter you have (the 9800 series includes 35, 35, 55, 65, and 75 amp models).... but even the smallest one puts out more charging current than your 20 amp stand-alone charger.
When you run both chargers, only the one putting out the highest voltage will be charging your battery, and the other one will think the battery is already charged (due to sensing the higher voltage from the other charger) and will drop to "float" mode. So most likely running 2 chargers is not doing a thing to reduce your charging time. In the worst case it will lengthen your charging time (if the WFCO converter sees a higher voltage from the 20 amp charger and drops to float mode).
The best way to make sure your charging time is fast is to just buy a bigger converter... for example, if your WFCO is a 35 amp model, just upsize to say a 55 amp model (Randy at bestconverter.com has the 55 amp model on sale now for $120). If you only have a single house battery, a 55 amp converter is about as big as you should go... but if you have multiple house batteries, you could go bigger for faster charging.
Cheers.....
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NetBoy
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05/09/12 02:19am |
Tech Issues
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RE: LED Help!
So it would have been hooked up backwards from the factory? Is that normal?
Yes
I ordered a bunch, and some were wired with the polarity reversed. But the ones I got had a little 2-pin plug inline between the light panel and the adapter, and I was able to just reverse the plug (so red went to black and black went to red wire, instead of red to red, black to black)
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NetBoy
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05/08/12 09:22am |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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RE: Converter/Charger Upgrade Install Question
My main question is: Can I mount the Iota DLS-45 as close to batteries as I can get and just run A/C power to the DLS-45 and connect it’s leads (#4 size) to the batteries and disconnect the Magnetek? I wasn’t sure if anything in the Magnetek distribution panel or circuit board needed to be wired to the DLS-45 converter.
You are on the right track. The old Magnetek converters were very popular and were used by nearly every RV manufacturered up until about the mid 2000's. But they are terrible pieces of equipment, and if you leave your rig plugged in a lot they will fry your batteries. They also do not charge your batteries nearly as rapidly as the newer smart converters.
It is fine to re-position the new smart converter near your batteries, but you still need to make sure the wiring between the batteries and your distribution panel is of adequate size to handle the maximum DC load of your RV. If your Magnetek converter is built into the bottom of a Magnetek distribution panel, you may also consider gutting the converter section and putting your new converter in there (assuming you make sure your wiring between the batteries and panel is of adequate capacity).
Here are a couple of photos from this site, where a new smart converter has been mounted inside a Magnetek distribution panel.
http://home.earthlink.net/~whemme/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/parallax_magnetekphoto1.jpg width=600
http://home.earthlink.net/~whemme/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/parallax_magnetekphoto16.jpg width=600
Have fun....
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NetBoy
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05/08/12 09:15am |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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RE: Solar power project on class C
If if you don't think of anything better, you could put some of that plastic split loom wiring cover stuff over the wires.... white would kind of blend into the wall color. Amazon has some - for example THIS
In my rig, much of the factory wiring is pushed tight into the inside corner between ceiling and wall (or wall and wall for vertical runs) and then covered to hide it with a strip of paneling a few inches wide installed on a 45 degree angle between the wall and ceiling (or wall and wall for vertical runs). They used color-matched paneling, and just stapled it in along the edges - but you could use small screws so you could get at it easier. I've removed various pieces of it to modify wiring, and then stapled it back when done. They have plastic trim slipped over the edges of the paneling strips, but you could just cap the edges with white or colored electrical tape and it would look fine.
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NetBoy
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05/01/12 09:17am |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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RE: Led Lights
*Current draw-The main reason these were purchased , was to increase my dry camping time. The old bulbs had a draw of roughly 1.3-1.5 amps each when lit. The LEDs are .02amps each. Not counting the 2 florescent fixtures and the stove lights(which will be done as well) I have knocked back the power amazingly.
Nice work bcrewcaptain -- very sanitary looking install!!!
There is an error in the amperage rating of the LED panels you used.... those LED disks use roughly 0.2 amps each instead of 0.02 amps. You used two to replace one incandescent bulb, for a total of about 0.4 amps per side. The original incandescent bulb used about 1.5 amp, so you are using about one forth the power, but you have a lot more light with those two disks.
For anyone that is interested, here is a little technical information. The disk LED panels bcrewcaptain used have twelve 5050 smd leds each. Each 5050 SMD LED actually contains 3 individual LEDs inside their package (if you look closely, you can see 6 leads soldered to the circuit board -- 2 for each of the 3 LEDs), while the 1210 SMDs used on the most common 36 or 48 LED rectangular panels have only a single LED inside their package. So the panels bcrewcaptain used put out about the same amount of light as a comon 36 LED rectangular panel. Since bcrewcaptain used 4 disks in each of his double sided fixtures, that is equivalent to 4 of the 36 LED rectangular panels. That is putting out nice light for sure!
I recently converted a florescent twin tube fixture to LED, as reported in this thread.
I used 6 each 36 LED rectangular panels, and have the switches set up so either 3 or 6 panels light up. This is my main ceiling light, and it is plenty bright for everyday use with just 3 panels lit (3 panels are actually brighter than the original double tube florescent). But when I need a really bright light for some reason, I kick on the 2nd three panels.
http://home.comcast.net/~curt503/RV/LEDFlorLight.jpg width=600
The florescent fixture was rated at 16 watts, and had a current draw of about 1.5 amps. Now, when I run the converted fixture with 3 panels lit, I am using only about 0.6 amps and have more light.
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NetBoy
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04/22/12 09:59am |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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Low Voltage Under Cabinet Puck Light Set Converted to LED
Hi, I just converted a 5-light low voltage halogen puck light set (the kind you see mounted under kitchen cabinets in home kitchens) to LED. Here is a picture of the light kit I started with:
http://home.comcast.net/~curt503/RV/UnderCabLightKit.jpg width=640
I got this kit on eBay with shipping for $19. It came with 5 fixtures with 10w halogen bulbs, wiring, a 12v AC (alternating current) power supply, and mounting hardware. The bulbs have G4 base.
I thought it would be fun to try to convert this set to LED "bulbs", so I ordered some round (flat disk) G4 LED bulbs on eBay for less than $2 each with free shipping - the bulbs have 12 each warm white 5050 SMD LEDs. These bulbs run only on 12v DC (direct current).:
//home.comcast.net/~curt503/RV/LEDCabinetLights00.jpg width=640
The LED bulbs turned out to be marginally too big to fit in the fixture... but it turns out by removing the black plastic spacer on the two pins, and cutting about 3/16" off the pins, the bulbs fit perfectly.
The following pictures show the steps to the conversion:
//home.comcast.net/~curt503/RV/LEDCabinetLights01.jpg width=640
//home.comcast.net/~curt503/RV/LEDCabinetLights02.jpg width=640
Removing the black plastic spacer...
//home.comcast.net/~curt503/RV/LEDCabinetLights03.jpg width=640
Clipping off the pins...
//home.comcast.net/~curt503/RV/LEDCabinetLights04.jpg width=640
LED bulb installed...
//home.comcast.net/~curt503/RV/LEDCabinetLights05.jpg width=640
Testing the lights with a 12v DC power source. The bulbs are polarity sensitive, I colored the ends of the positive leads red...
//home.comcast.net/~curt503/RV/LEDCabinetLights09.jpg width=640
The light set came with a 12v power supply (left), but as expected it puts out AC rather than DC. However, I had a 1.25A 12v DC power supply laying in a drawer (right) which I wired to the light-set.
//home.comcast.net/~curt503/RV/LEDCabinetLights10.jpg width=640
Completed conversion. In real life these are blindingly bright (I had to mess with the camera settings to get this picture).
//home.comcast.net/~curt503/RV/LEDCabinetLights11.jpg width=640
The original light kit used 50 watts; the converted set uses about 10 watts. I was going to use this converted set in my motorhome, but I'm now thinking I may put it in my home kitchen, and do another one later on for the motorhome.
Best wishes....
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NetBoy
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04/03/12 06:15pm |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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RE: Need Solar Panel Mounting Advice
Hi, I too think you are headed in the right direction. I agree with others that it would be best NOT to mount it above the AC. The mounting bracket becomes considerably more elaborate than a normal mounting, plus it would have made the solar panel the highest part of your RV, meaning if you were to hit something (such as a tree limb when backing in somewhere) the panel would get raked off or damaged. And I think having a panel up that high would have looked quite odd.
I also wouldn't worry about shadows on the panel from the AC. The sun would have to be on a low angle towards the front of your vehicle in order for a small shadow to even hit the solar panel.
I would be inclined to lift the panel up just a tad (say a half inch or so) so it doesn't touch the roof in the center - that will prevent it from abrading the roof due to vibration while traveling. I think it would be best to have the support brackets be the only thing touching the roof.
I wouldn't consider trading it for a smaller panel -- I think it fits OK in the space you have it, and it looks OK. Hanging off the back 3 or 4 inches is no big deal (it is probably still inside your bumper line). Once you get suitable mounts figured out, it is going to be a nice install. I think those standoffs someone else suggested may be a good thing. Those bolt thru the roof into the interior, increasing the mounting strength. I would bolt up thru the ceiling, using big fender washers under the bolt heads (paint the bolt heads and fender washers first to match the ceiling). You would of course need to do some pre-measuring to make sure you can bolt thru in an un-obstructed area.
Good luck on your install -- that looks like a great panel. I assume you have a suitable controller/regulator for it.
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NetBoy
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04/03/12 02:07pm |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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