Welcome
You will find tons of info here
Consider using this post on developing your build
Question:
have you been inside more than one SMB?
If not, post here and go see some first hand
Build stuff:
All electric/12 volt with 2 batteries & 2000W inverter
- most of us have this
- batteries- the key is how many "amp hours" you will need
- think of electricty storage as a water tank
- an appliance or light will need water from the tank
- a LED light will need just a sip every day
- a microwave will gulp
- a fridge will take a good swallow every hour
- your water tank (amp hours stored in your batteries) must not go below 1/2 full
- if you let a battery go below 1/2 charge, you kill the battery
Charging batteries
- they can charge from the engine, shore power or solar
- engin, takes awhile and condider a bigger alternatior
- shore power- will be handled by a combo unit inverter/charger
- solar- great way to go, more later
Ex:
i have 3 batteries, one large, two smaller (done for space issues)
400 amp hours
i run my fridge, lights, tv/dvd, laptop, charge cell phones, radio and microwave and propane heater
no problem for two days with no sun and no engin
with 4-6 hours of sun, i can go indefinatly
driving to a couple of hours also tops up my batteries
Danhard inside mount air conditioner
dont know about this, i have a roof top Coleman Polar Cub
only runs off shore power or generator
i am pretty sure thei is the same for the danhard
someone will let you know
Manual pop-top with bed
most of the folks here have pop tops
i have had two pop top rigs, this is my 6th rig (vw, campers etc)
1) make sure you get the electric one
2) consider what you are going to put up top (rack, boats, solar, stuff)
3) remember when i said go see some rigs?
stand in side a pop top and a cruiser and a voyager
will you be rain or winter camping?
do you wanna be warm all the time? (warm is subjective
having had pop tops and fixed tops, for my 6th rig i chose a cruiser top
tons of room not clutters, i park and i am camped
4) if you are building this for off road trails that have small spaces, then a pop top will be indicated
4E (3.6CF) refrigerator, does freezer work well - keep ice cream okay?
I have a truck fridge 12v/110v 4.2 cf fridge
i love having ice and ice cream
get the largest fridge you can IMHO
TV and stealth antennae - reception & ease of use w/o cable or satellite near city
i dont have antenna or satellite
some guys here do have satellite and will post
i have a tv/dvd
works great
i record of Tivo and take a portable hard drive
also we use redbox and net flix
Back-up camera - viewing range & clarity, blind spots with it
dont have one
want one
on my to do list
however, i have found it is not a high piority
i walk my rig before i get in and am good with mirrors
i back slowly and give my self space
Dinette L - storage space in benches, width & height
i am a Goucho guy, so cant help
however my Goucho (bed along wall) does have storage under,
but take with water tank, inverter, two batteries and portible air compressor
Awning windows, especially over dinette seat/beds
i have sliders
Living without water system and tanks
dont know a good reason to not have
having a small tank, draining to out side(i use a collapsable jug to catch)
exterior shower mount
small sink, no hot water
this set up will make your life easy and not suck up room and can be freeze proof
tell us why you dont want water on board, we can give you our experiance
LED vs other lights, haven't had luck with LED flashlights
i am also a flashlight junky
tons of great LED flashlights
some real expensive some in the 30-75 range, some less
i like em
as for the rig, i am FINALLY moving to LED lights
have found the replacement bulbs and will order soon
- rememeber what i said about water/electicity?
a regular bulb takes steady drinks, a led takes a tiny trickle, well worth it
Anyone use portable solar? Can prewire make compatibility an issue?
Solar- you need it IMHO
portible- small ones ok, but too small to do much good, bigger become a storage problem
if you make the roof ones portable or tiltable, it is also a problem
get the biggest one you can and put it up top
- pre wire- i would pre wire at factory (YOU have to spec wire size!!!)
then get and mount your own panels (you will save alot)
What's your system
- my system:
two 180 watt kyocera
blue sky controller with MMPTT (does some vodoo to make more juice go into battery)
remote display
400 amp hours of battey storage
FLoor
- i have laminate and will do again
Marine deck upgrade, is cleaning hard for lon
deck or should I go for the loncoin?
Compressor
- i have a Viaair 100% duty cycle (means i can run it without stopping for all tires)
- i have never aired down...yet
again, welcom
tons to learn
temper what you get here with factory and what YOU need
and have FUN
Is having a small portable air compressor okay, or only larger ones worthwhile and how do they work?