As One Door Closes . . .

This is one of those things which kept getting put off as it didn't stop anything else from being done and I couldn't decide if I wanted to cover the doors with the same material as the rest of the wall. I wasn't sure of how well it would stand up to the inevitable rubbing and bumping the doors are likely to get.
However while looking for some other "bits" the other day I saw an outdoor carpet material which looked like it may do the job so I bought a couple of metres (at about $35/m).
The process is quite similar to covering the walls.
I wanted to have the inside of the door quite flat and flush so a hard lining was required to which the carpet could be glued.
So all around the inside edge of the door a strip of timber about 19mm x 19mm was glued (liquid nails seemed to be quite appropriate for this purpose).


















Another piece was put right down the middle as I wanted to stop any buckling which may occur and I could also use up some offcuts of ply which may otherwise just have been wasted.























Some 12mm lightweight ply panels were then cut to fit and as I didn't have the thickness to play with to squash the insulation it was cut to size to fit in between the battens and taped to the panels.























The panels were then turned over and screwed onto the battens.























Both the carpet and the door were sprayed with contact adhesive and the carpet placed in position. It was about 40 deg.C that day and working in a closed space made my head spin until I realised that open windows and hot air was better than cool air from the air conditioner.
























Then it was a case of working the carpet well into the edges of the door frame before trimming off the excess.























A piece of 3mm laminate was fitted around the door lock as a "bash plate".























Quite happy with the result.
In some ways I would have preferred this material as wall covering all over. It has a flatter finish than the other material, doesn't mark as easily and has a little more "character".
If the other material doesn't wear well it could still be a possibility . . .

Sorry . . . I think I had a small brain malfunction there . . .

Putting on Weight . . .

Me and the truck.
The truck and I.

It doesn't matter which way you put it - this Xmas season is punishing the waistline!

I can't understand how I got it quite so wrong!

I think was just a little blase (sorry I can't figure out how to do the accent on that "e") about the ability of the truck to carry any amount of weight I cared to put on board.
After all the other trailer campers I have built only weighed less than 1.5 tonnes each. Surely an 11 tonne truck can carry anything I want to put on it.

I think it may all be part of the "old timers" disease - I can't even remember whether I mentioned some of this stuff elsewhere. So if I have just ignore it . . .

Some time back not long after the skin went on I weighed the truck. The tare was originally 5 tonne and the gross is 11 tonne so I have about 6 tonne to play with.
On this weighing there was 2.8 tonne on the front axle and 3.2 tonne on the rear axle and I still had about 50mm before the secondary springs (on the rear) made contact.
Seemed fine to me.
Gradually the back end began to sink as more and more work was done, and not quite equally side to side either.
And I haven't filled the tanks, finished the cupboards, put in the fridges, installed the bed, made the bike rack, spare tire rack and the list just keeps on going !!!
So I went and weighed it again the other day: 2.9 tonne on the front and 4.4 tonne on the rear giving a total of 7.3 tonne. ( I still haven't figured out how to weigh each wheel yet!)
The problem seems to be that the majority of the weight ends up on the rear wheels. Legally I am allowed 6 tonne on the rear but it's beginning to visually drag the rear end a little already. The pivot mounting of the body allows it to "rock and roll" in the most alarming manner when going over rough ground and I'm beginning to think that maybe I should have mounted the pivot at the rear rather than at the front (there are arguments for both arrangements). Still the European built versions are this way around and they seem to have the most experience and I have some video which shows them moving around about the same.

Don't you hate it when you start questioning your own decisions??

Still I have had a quote for new uprated rear springs (let's face it - the truck will probably be loaded at 90-100% of it's capacity for the rest of it's days) and I should just carry on and finish it and then do what ever I need to when it's all done.

So in that vein . . .

The fridge slide cut, rewelded, repainted and now fitted.

It carries my weight fine . . .

















































All the door and drawer fronts are made and painted so I thought I might see what they look like installed.
















The first ones fitted and looked good. Then I thought about the amount of damage the rest might get while finishing all the inside work so they are staying out until everything else is done inside.

I had also temporarily fitted some gauges in the bathroom wall. Unfortunately the tank gauge was longer than the wall was thick so that was never going to work. Also they looked very different which was merely annoying so a rearrangement was necessary.
The hot water system switch was moved into the bathroom near the toilet tank gauge as there is some visual similarity to them and hot water in the bathroom seemed logical . . .





















The tank gauge and the airconditioning control were also moved to the air return duct face which allowed plenty of room behind for them to fit into and made them slightly less visually intrusive at the same time. Bonus.
















A new piece of laminate will cover the old hole and leave plenty of room for the light/fan switch for the bathroom.

Now I just have to move the Xmas lard arse out to the workshop for the next bit . . .

Never Tempt the Devil . . .

Some people liken life to standing in a sewer up to our noses in sh*t . . .
and every now and again the devil goes water skiing . . .

Seems like he was out single skiing something chronic on Monday!

The day started OK with the technician sorting out all the little jobs to be done and I was able to help by doing things like installing all battery linking cables to create banks of 24Vdc from 4 by 6Vdc batteries while he got on with the serious work of making up and installing all the main cables from the battery bank to the Quattro.
These were 70 sqmm cables doubled up !!
















Main switch/fuse box and DC shunt installed, some ducting installed and all seemed to be progressing well until lunch time.

Then I happened to overhear someone, whose position I did not know, giving the tech. an instruction to do some other work and he didn't give a proverbial f*ck about my job.
This of course put the tech. in a very unenviable position as he had to inform me that he could do no further work on my truck until the 11th January next year!
I can't blame him for this happening and I didn't know who this other person was so I concluded that I had no other choice but to speak to the managing director.
Some little while later I was assured that my job would recommence on that date and would progress without delay or interruption until complete.
Then we will have a little discussion about the balance of monies owing and a few of my other concerns!!

In the mean time the tech. and I had worked out we needed another panel installed alongside the Quattro on which to mount a few of the other devices and we needed to make space for another couple of 24Vdc circuit breakers so Tues. morning I am once again at Sich's workshop to deal with these items and all the other work outstanding until the 11th.
















The old front panel was removed and a new one made up with the extra components
















So - on to other work . . .
I thought I may as well begin installing the heavy duty slides and support frame for the main Engel fridge . . .
Whooops - the devil just made another run . . .
Sich said make the frame to suit the fridge and he would make the cabinets to suit the frame including slides fitted to the frame.
Unfortunately neither he nor I realised that the heavy duty slides were another 5mm thicker per slide.
So now it would appear that my first job for Wed. morning is to cut 10mm out of the frame and weld it back together, and he has made such a nice job painting it too. . .
















Can't you just hear that V8 ski boat engine revving up ????

Getting Wired . . .

The rules and regulations are quite strict with regard to 240Vac installations and have to be signed off by a qualified electrician. Fortunately I know a few of these so I can organise all this work and one of them will inspect it before signing off. Unfortunately in this type of installation the AC and DC circuits interact through the inverter/charger and it's a bit tricky drawing the lines of responsibility . . .

Never the less I have had the truck booked in for Monday with the main (DC) suppliers for their first pass at the main wiring for some time. Their responsibility is to do everything up to the DC and AC distribution/switch panels and the electrician and I can do everything from here on.

So 8am Monday morning I arrived with the truck at their premises . . .

"What are you doing here ?"

"Err? Ummm?? I thought you were going to start on the wiring!"

"No. That's next week. Isn't it??"

"Ahhrrggg. . . . Isn't next week Xmas??"

and things went downhill from there . . .

actually the technician seems to be nice guy (the sales guys make the arrangements and the stuff ups) until he starts talking about things that aren't to do with electricity . . . then it gets a little spooky.

Never the less after some considerable discussion I go away with a list of things to do and a new appointment for the following Monday ( a bit like groundhog day).

First thing I guess is to get the responsibility transition points (ie the switchboards) in place.

There is a vast difference between planning the first one (for me) of these campers on paper and actually constructing one. On paper there is plenty of room for everything - in reality it's a little different when all the components are whatever you can buy at the time - a sort of mix and mis-match!

240Vac first ....

All components in 240Vac have to be double pole switching - make sure you have a second mortgage available . . .

I need at this time an RCD and 6 circuit breakers.
As I understand it the RCD is a "residual current device) which detects any current leakage between the active and the earth (which happens when you electrocute yourself) and instantly switches off the power.
A circuit breaker is like a switch with a current limiter in it - too much current and it switches itself off. A fuse is a very primitive current limiter but you cant turn it back on you have to replace it as it gets destroyed doing its job.
The RCD is also a circuit breaker and can do both jobs so rather than one RCD and 6 circuit breakers I have used 6 mini-series RCDs - one for each distribution circuit ie hot water system, air conditioner etc. - which saves a small amount of space.
To mount them I need a distribution board so - one board and six RCDs and my wallet is $500 lighter (and I get good trade discount!)





















The front panel is removed from the board and the RCD's installed on the DIN rail mounting supplied in the box. At the top you can see the earth and neutral busses.
















When the cover is finally installed again it will look like this.
















I actually got a 12 position box as I may have overlooked something and may need to add another circuit . . . Hmmm . . . just saying that made me think of two other circuits I need. Thankfully they are under the floor so I don't need to run wires through the walls . . . phhheww!!
I originally intended to locate the panels in the end of one of the seats but now it appears that they will need to be split across both seats 240Vac one side and 12/24Vdc the other.
The 240Vac panel is quite deep and will stick out from the end of the seat quite a lot so I need to recess it somehow.
A box had to be made with a false back and a cutout for the switchboard to protrude through - this allowed all the wires access to the back and the front to be behind the face of the seat.
















The switchboard is installed and all the circuits connected.
All we need now is power to be supplied!
















And, of course, all the edges will be finished with polished Beech timber trim.


12/24Vdc

Under the other seat things are even tighter!
This is the area in which the "heart" of the system is installed - the Quattro.
I refer you to the Victron Energy site for the details.
















In here I have to install both 12Vdc and 24Vdc breakers.
Of course they are quite different from each other so a different type of mounting box has to be made. First a frame to allow for the Beech timber trim to be mounted
















Then a panel which is hinged to allow access to the quattro when necessary, a cutout for the 12Vdc distribution/fuse panel and a mini recessed false back to mount the 24Vdc circuit breakers - similar to the 240Vac arrangement.
















Which looks like this from the other side
















and like this with the devices mounted

















I still have a couple of other electronic controlling/monitoring devices to mount from the front in the spare space so it wont be going to waste.

Now if the electrical guys are really going to be ready tomorrow we might make some progress . . .

Do It Now . . . .

Doing it now has as much to do with keeping this blog up to date as it has with getting work done on the truck . . .
Fitting out was to start on Thursday so the intervening time has been spent on small jobs which have been put off up 'til now.
The main hatch/fan in the centre of the roof has been waiting for me to make an extension for the raising and lowering mechanism.
The box in which the fan came makes mention of a "thick roof kit" but of course when enquiries are made of the supplier one is greeted with the too hard stare and a "Never heard of it mate ." response.
There is a small "D" shaped hole in the handle and a "D" shaped shaft protrudes from the winding mechanism but there is a gap between them when assembled . . . so a small extension is needed to bridge the gap . . .
















Half an hour on the lathe, mill and a soldering iron produced from a scrap piece of brass a suitable device (ready to be fitted).
















It can just be seen at the back while the wiring is contemplated
















This device was fitted with a tricky little connector for the wiring which required no tools (hmmm . . . good theory).
The small pad on the underside of each hole is pressed in, the wire inserted and the pad released. Try doing that while holding up the fan so it doesn't pull all the wiring out in the process!!

















Finally however all installed and seems to function OK.
















While I was at it the kitchen flouro was temporarily installed to give a bit of light.

















Finally Thurs arrived and cupboards start to go in . . .
Not much explanation required here . . . most things are made as boxes and are just screwed into place . . . easy to say - more difficult in practice to get it to fit together properly.
Drawers and cupboards opposite sink and stove.





















There is a finishing panel at each end which is also screwed into place.
Far end . . .





















and near end . . .





















Then the "desk" box on top of that followed by the micro-wave box and some small cupboards . . .





















Leaving a small shelf along the top . . .

and then the start of the kitchen bench which will have a laminate top fitted with a stove and sink (later)





















Fri. I have a few other obligations so it looks like Sat. will be work day . . .

Everything Takes Longer and Longer and . . . .

I really can't understand it sometimes.
The equipment supplied and knowledge of the people in the organisation supplying the electrical system seems to be excellent . . . however . . . I have paid in advance approx. 90% of the total costs of the system in order to be able to pick up the equipment but they seem to think that it is then acceptable to say "We have been terribly busy with new projects and haven't had time to complete your circuit diagrams"!!!
I don't care if mine is "only" a $20,000 project - I know what would have happened to my business if I had put some body's work aside to talk to new customers. We always did warranty (fortunately very seldom), regular customers, occasional customers and new work in that order.
Never the less "do what can be done" so - the batteries to be installed . . .
















I originally intended to install them in the side bays below the doors as those bins would be the least convenient for every day use (which didn't matter as far as the batteries were concerned as they don't need to be accessed at regular intervals) but these bins proved to be awkward to reach into to secure and connect the batteries once they were installed.
So I decided to sacrifice the space under the table which is part of the limited internally accessible storage. The compensation for this is that I would not need to make table as easily movable as first thought.





















I decided to reinforce the floor with another layer of 18mm thick plywood to help distribute the load so this was first glued and screwed down over the original sheet.
The batteries were then tried in several configurations to determine the best positioning. When being charged at full rate the batteries tend to heat up and expand and in order to dissipate the heat they need air flow all around so it is important to have gaps in between.
I prefer non-metallic things around when dealing with batteries for all the obvious reasons so a wooden "egg-crate" system was constructed to hold each battery in position with gaps all round.
















In order to protect the batteries from any unevenness either in their construction or my floor a layer of 16mm high density foam was placed underneath all of them and series of strap guides and retainers screwed down to the crate system and a ratchet tensioner fed under each loop and over the battery and finally a block of foam placed between the top of each battery and the strap led back over the top holding it all in place and tensioned up.





















This seems to work quite well and the batteries have not moved in subsequent testing so all seemed well enough to finish installing them all.





















I don't wish to get excited too soon however as while demonstrating the air conditioner to an interested spectator during the week I was appalled to hear them ask "What's all that water running down the inside?"
You may remember that the whole air conditioner installation is not exactly as I had hoped it would be and that I decided to re-route the condensation drain to prevent it running down the outside of the body from the dinky little outlet provided on the front face.
















Well it appears that this is not functioning correctly so out with the air conditioner to correct the problem.
This required dismantling the unit and drying out all the electrics.
I am also going to put in a single new drain hose with no joins while I am at it and ensure that the new hose routing will not cause kinks or constrictions.
While I am at it I am going to fit some foam gap sealing blocks to ensure there are no extraneous air leaks. I found one earlier where the cool outlet air was leaking straight back into the inlet side and I suspect a few more given the convoluted nature of the air path.
From this photo you can imagine how with the unit in place the air is conducted back over the top of the unit and up through the hollow wall. All the gaps need sealing for it to work at maximum efficiency.

















So while waiting for cupboards and drawings there is still more than enough to keep me busy full time . . .

Making Haste Slowly . . .

While waiting for Sich to complete my cupboards for the interior fit-out I have been doing a few things at my place.
Both solar panels are now fitted and awaiting connection.
















I also discovered (the expensive way) that is a good idea to have a checklist of all the things to do before driving off . . .
No. 1 on the list is "Close the roof vents"!!!

Finally the rest of my electrical components have arrived from Victron in Holland and I can begin to install the electrical system. I am still waiting for the circuit diagrams from the local supplier for the system so I don't put things which belong together on different sides of the truck but there are a few major things whose position has been determined.

The main component of the whole system is the 24Vdc 5kW inverter / 120 amp charger called a Quattro ( I refer you to the Victron site for full details if you are interested).
This is mounted in a central position for all the wiring and switching but was a real bastard to actually fit into the space allocated for it. I just hope I don't need to take it out ever again.
As all the wiring goes in from the bottom and the air circulates via a fan in the bottom it has been raised up on a stand.





















Similarly on the opposite side of the truck an isolation transformer for the 240vAC has been fitted so that the required RCDs will function properly when connected to shore power.





















And because someone commented he other day that "all work and no play makes Silama a dull fellow" I decided to address that issue . . .

So the Prado I hated (purely prejudice I prefer Patrols ) was traded (before the new model is released and the second hand prices go down) and a new Commodore sedan ordered (prejudice again) and for the first time in my life I got some cash back.
So I just couldn't resist . . .
















Honda ST1100 (second hand but great condition).
The first 2000km has proved what a great bike it is . . . should have had one years ago.
Only pity is I won't be able to take it with me . . .

Home Furnishing . . .

I think some little time ago I mentioned that he air brakes leaked somewhat and that the truck needed to run for about 5 mins. each morning before it could be moved. There is certainly enough air for the brakes during normal driving but it's mildly annoying if you want a quick start after an overnight stop. A really easy thing to do was to replace some bleed valves in the tanks which showed some minor leaks when sprayed with soapy water.
















Easy, but not inexpensive at about $50 each . . . but it seems to have diminished the problem a bit (and every bit helps).
Some time ago I came across some very cheap mini-step ladders at about $30 each.





















I bought one which has turned out to be quite useful for that little extra bit of height on occasion. But lurking in the back of my mind was the problem of access stairs because of the significant height of the "house".
The construction was pretty basic but the actual treads were pressed and would be much lighter than I could fabricate.
So I bought another couple of sets and pulled them apart for the treads. A couple of side rails were drilled and the treads mounted at a slightly wider spacing to allow for the decreased angle at which I intended to use them.





















A couple of detachable support tubes were positioned off the mudguard support frame without too much trouble and the steps offered up.





















Not too bad. The angle works out about right and they are quite comfortable to walk up and down. They have been left overlong at the moment until I have worked out just how long they need to be to connect them comfortably.
















Next problem is the landing platform between the steps and the door entrance. This is needed as I want to run the steps alongside the truck rather than at right angles. This is so they can be used in tighter places and the truck can be used as a steadying hand hold while going up and down.
This has been bugging me for a couple of days. I can make "something" easily but it would be quite awkward to mount and then store while travelling and I don't want to to waste effort making stuff I will inevitably alter later.
Fortunately a friend dropping past to see how I was going has come up with what looks to be a great solution so that will be implemented ASAP.

In the mean time the truck is back from the upholsterer ...
How is it that in 24 hours from instruction to execution that so much information gets lost??
Never the less - after a few small issues were tidied up the overall result is quite satisfactory.




































Some cushions of a style (but not colour) which I think will work were temporarily purloined and placed in position.
A few minor size adjustments and I think they will do the trick!!
















I have delivered the wrought iron I am doing as a "contra" and can't wait to see the cupboards take shape.