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Old 03-26-2015, 06:09 PM   #21
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Re: The body and paint work

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Originally Posted by wadewaydo
I was lucky to find an old Subaru hood that had roughly the same contours. I just had to pound the metal on a piece of strapping to fabricate the body line. I then used panel adhesive and spot welds to permanently affix the hood in the opening.


Up next comes the interior build out....

Wow. Impressive!


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Old 03-27-2015, 07:06 AM   #22
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Re: The body and paint work

Quote:
Originally Posted by boywonder
Quote:
Originally Posted by wadewaydo
I was lucky to find an old Subaru hood that had roughly the same contours. I just had to pound the metal on a piece of strapping to fabricate the body line. I then used panel adhesive and spot welds to permanently affix the hood in the opening.


Up next comes the interior build out....

Wow. Impressive!

No doubt! Handy to have access to that body shop, and the skills of course.

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Old 04-01-2015, 09:58 AM   #23
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Interior: insulation

Thanks for tuning in for the next installment...

As you can see the interior is totally gutted, but not ready quite yet to insulate. There was a whole bunch of glue and foam residue from the old carpet pad. The conversion company used copious amounts of spray glue to adhere the foam pad and that had to come off. I used an angle grinder and a wire wheel for a few hours, then vacuumed and wiped off the rest as best as I could. Now I did spend some time here on the forum researching all the different ways to insulate your ride. Lot of different products, and price points. It seemed to me the consensus was that fiberglass insulation was out because of the tendency for it to become laden with water and promote rust, should it come in contact with it. Spray foam, too. (Although it is used in some automotive applications) I decided to use HushMat Ultra http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001VKT9NM/...332200_TE_item. It is self adhesive, and guaranteed to stick! A mix of aluminum facing and petroleum based product commonly used in restorations for sound deadening and heat prevention, HushMat Ultra seemed like a good product. I bought a 30 piece bundle and installed it in a couple of hours.


I put it all on the floor, and into the step wells. I did run out with a quarter of the back of the van left, so I had to order another 20 pieces. I was then able to continue up and around the wheel houses and fuel filler housing. It was pretty expensive, but really easy to work with. It contoured nicely with any surface it was applied to, and as advertized stuck like a bee-otch. Continuing with the insulation I purchased a couple rolls of EZ-Cool automotive insulation. Its aluminum backed and faced closed-cell foam. http://www.ebay.com/itm/331113135984...S:3160&vxp=mtr This product was much more affordable, and the roll went a long way, so I was able to add a couple of layers on the wall and ceiling for more insulation. It was applied with generous coats of 3M spray adhesive 90, both sides. I laid Ez-Cool on the floor in one layer, so along with the Ultra Mat, Ez-cool and plywood I felt there was enough insulation there. I stuffed all the crevasses with remnants as well. It looks pretty cool all silver and spacy inside. If I were to do it again, I would use Weldwood Contact Cement for the walls and brush it on. The spray just wasn't enough in spots, and I had to reapply with contact cement anyway. The 5/8" CDX plywood was cut and installed side to side to span the floor ribbing. I counter sunk the self-drilling screws spaced the same as the ribbing.



After that I sealed the plywood with some left over polyurethane I had on the shelf.
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Old 04-01-2015, 03:54 PM   #24
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Re: Meet Jupiter- a Homebrew thread

Looking amazing, enjoying your thread and skills, to see the transformation! Great pics too. Thanks
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Old 04-02-2015, 12:22 PM   #25
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Interior: Propane and essentials

A lot of research and thinking was going on about this time. All the decisions from here on out had to be made, measured and mapped. I had been familiar with different configurations, but never really considered anything other than a Volkswagen layout, since I was already intimately familiar with it. It so happens that layout has been proven and adopted by SMB in their RB50 layout. There were two major decisions that had to be made first. What bed and refrigerator? Other considerations were propane and Solar, water holding and furnace. After looking in the wrecking yards and considering fabricating a fold down bed, I decided to order a 'Princess' manual fold down bed from Discount truck and van: http://www.discountvantruck.com/rvva...ansofabeds.htm. After much deliberation, and discussion, I decided to go with a 3-way Dometic refrigerator RM2354:http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/r...dge-single.htm It's not the most popular with SMBs, but I decided that a solar array was expensive and I was wary of installing them on the pop top for cosmetic, and functionality reasons. It might be just too heavy to lift the top, and as it was my Girlfriend could barely lift it. That means we're going all propane, which in my experience was extremely efficient. It's kind of old school, but has been a proven platform for decades. We're more of a cook top cookers than microwave cookers at home anyway. The LP fridge will allow us to boondock longer without having to worry about the house batteries dying in the first eight hours. With the fridge and bed ordered, I could now take measurements and begin to to draft a design for the cabinets.
In the weeks that followed I started working on the infrastructure. I had ordered this 5.5 gal 'Van' mount Manchester tank http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/l...opane-tank.htm and this access door from Sportsmobile http://www.sportsmobilestore.com/pro...partment-door/.

From my research this is the combination that they install on their vans. After taking tons of measurements I realized there was pretty much one place that the tank and door could fit. The same place SMB installs them. I drilled through the plywood and floor to install the brackets. I used large carriage bolts and nylon lock nuts. I could set the tank up there but without the hole in the side of the van couldn't be sure how well it fit. Time to cut a hole. I used some cardboard to create a template then cut a huge hole with a Jig saw and die cutter in the inner panel. I painted the access door black, and installed that and the tank. I used a thin layer of butyl tape to seal the door frame to the body. Some corrosion protection on the bare metal edges was necessary, plus some additional seam sealer at the bottom sill to further prevent rust. While I was at it I cut the hole for the lower vent for the fridge, and installed it the same way.



Phew, it all fits. A nail biter for sure. As you can also see I ordered some Bushwackers from SMB at the same time as the access door. I really couldn't find them anywhere any cheaper.

Up next: House Batteries and wiring
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Old 04-02-2015, 02:13 PM   #26
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Re: Meet Jupiter- a Homebrew thread

Your build looks great, just so you know in case you already did not RVIA code calls for at least 36" from edge of an LP Gas appliance vent to the fuel fill (for gasoline chassis). It looks like your vent for your propane refrigerator is very close to your fuel filler.

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Old 04-02-2015, 03:30 PM   #27
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Re: Meet Jupiter- a Homebrew thread

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It looks like your vent for your propane refrigerator is very close to your fuel filler.
Makes sense for obvious safety reasons. I did have the local RV shop inspect and advise me to correct a number of code type issues. I followed their instructions, and the installation instructions exactly, that one didn't come up...Yes the burden is on us not to light the fridge or fill up at the gas station with the pilot light lit. Our best practice is to turn off the propane tank before driving as well. Thanks for the heads up.
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Old 04-03-2015, 10:30 AM   #28
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Homebrew Caveat

Some important issues have been brought up here that do require some caveats. This thread is not a how-to thread. This thread is simply a documentation of a build, and simply a 'how I did it'. I make no claims that the information supplied here is correct, sane, or by the book. I look at it as an experiment with cowboy engineering. Safety is first, however, and there is no substitute for plain common sense. Every build is different, and every decision has to be made with safety in mind. Building codes are important, and are designed to protect people from themselves. Codes are also best practices for safety and serve as litigation deflection. Even the best codes cannot prevent every accident. Annual inspections and testing can help prevent your rig from becoming that toasty marshmallow we've all seen at the side of the road. When installing any component, follow the instructions from the manufacturer and refer to your local codes. RVIA standards can be found here: http://www.rvia.org/?ESID=adopted and if you want to do it by the book, it can be purchased here: http://www.rvia.org/?ESID=store&Dept=CODES

We now return to our regularly scheduled program....
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Old 04-03-2015, 06:36 PM   #29
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Interior: House Battery

Now that the bed and fridge are special ordered, I thought I'd start on the House Battery set up. This forum has really great resources on the different options, and how to-s. The different products that are out there really will make your head spin. Since I opted not to do a solar array, I chose a rather basic configuration. I went to NAPA and got about 30 feet of #2 red wire and a $30 battery isolator. Then it was to Amazon to order some Blue-Sea goodies: Blue Sea Systems 6007 m-Series (Mini) Battery Switch Selector, 3 Blue Sea Systems Class T 225 to 400A Fuse Blocks with Insulating Cover, 3 Blue Sea Systems 225A Class T Fuses, and one Blue Sea Systems PowerBar Dual BusBar with Two 3/8-Inch 16 Stud and Insulator. Sam's club had a screaming deal on deep cycle batteries Energizers 29HMs. Then I visited our friendly local metal vendor for some 3/8 thick 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 angle iron.



Research told me that the most common place for auxiliary batteries to be installed is on the frame rail between the body and side loading door cargo step. Ford even puts the extra Diesel's starting battery there. Using the batteries for measurements, I welded up a battery bracket assembly, then checked and rechecked the tolerances between the floor and the top of the batteries. I could use one hole that was already drilled, but had to drill three more holes in the frame.



I then cut some wire at various lengths using a die grinder to start building the isolator and switch panel, as well as the wiring to wire the two deep cycle batteries in series. A ground wire was added from the batteries to the stock ground wire already located on the chassis.



So the idea here is to run the wire from the starting battery across the cowl to the first fuse block, then into the Blue Sea switch position 2, then run wire from position 1 to the isolator input. I then ran a wire from the isolator output back to the switch in position 1+2. The final wire to the house batteries is installed to the output of the isolator. The idea here is with the switch position to '0' the system is physically isolated, the switch in position '1' is electronically isolated, the switch in position '2' is isolated physically too, but position '1+2' is physically connected. So you can either use the isolator, or the switch as redundant systems. The beauty of '1+2' would be if you needed a battery boost should the starting battery get too weak, or to charge the house batteries should the isolator fail.



The wire from the isolator then runs to another fuse block close to the house batteries and installed on the rail. The third fuse block was installed just after the house batteries, also on the rail. If there were a dead short the fuse closest to the battery would blow then isolating the batteries from the system.






Seeing the photos helps make more sense, I hope. Some additional research told me that the batteries sitting in the battery bracket assembly shouldn't be allowed to flop around. I've heard cases where the batteries jumped up and struck the floor over big bumps. My solution was to use some wire cable and turnbuckles as battery tie downs, as you can see in the image. I had to use two floor jacks to lift the batteries into position, then grade 8 bolts and nylon lock nuts were used to secure the deal.



Now the batteries do hang down below the frame, but not any further than the transmission cross-member, and still above the bottom of the running board. Since I have a short wheel based van, I don't think clearance will be an issue. Looks like were good to go...
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Old 04-03-2015, 06:45 PM   #30
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Re: Meet Jupiter- a Homebrew thread

My only comment about your wiring is don't you think that you might run into problems with moisture affecting the class T fuse mounted by the batteries? I was told not to let water get at them. Just wondering.
Cheers
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