04 E350 EB Build Thread

[kbeefy]

whew... I have to say I'm not the best carpenter. Scribing and trimming all these things 100 times each sucked.














I still need to remove everything, countersink all the mounting holes for the 'studs', paint everything, then install insulation before re-installation. I also need to run some wiring.

[kbeefy]

We had a camping trip come up and I had to scramble and get the van sleep able.
I skipped alot of steps to fast-trac the bed and fridge for the weekend.
Sorry, no pictures.


I wound up getting my batteries (2x 200Ah LiPo), 2000w Inverter, Renogy battery monitor, 110v charger, fridge and microwave installed. Also the couch/bed. And I wired the maxair. Plus an additional power port for my ARB.


Camping trip went pretty well, electrical system performed spectacularly, as I expected. This is basically 8x the capacity of my last van, so I expected it to perform awesome.


I ran the fridge and ARB for 4+ days, and also ran the microwave for about 10 minutes total. On the 5th day my battery bank was still at 12.9v, which equates to about 50%. Even with 2 lipo's in parallel voltage when the microwave was running (about 100A draw) dropped below 12.5v. It did recover very quickly afterwards.


Enough about the electrical system.


Driving this van is pretty OK. I have to assume people complaining about poor handling just have a high mile, wore out van. One finger at 70mph, AC blasting. And the ride is acceptable, but I will be working on that. My perspective might be a bit skewed, as the nearest comparison is my 4x4 F350, and the van is way better than that.


We did have 2 leaks. A couple drips from the maxair, and a couple drips from one corner of the pop-top. I haven't investigated them any further, but I assume the 40 year old top and DIY install are the culprit.


On another note, my Chinese coolant heater finally showed up.





I mocked up an install and did a test run before installing as I feel these things are a crap-shoot.


It fired and got hot pretty easy. Then it shut down via overheat.


I figured out the coolant pump was DOA. Since it wasn't circulating the combustion chamber overheated very quickly.
If anyone else is wondering, the coolant pump should start running as soon as the heater starts. I didn't know when it should start so I had to do a few extra troubleshooting steps to figure out what was going on.


I replaced the chinesium pump with a bosch coolant pump. Turns out it is slightly smaller than the chinese part. I wired it up (plug was different) and it worked flawlessly.


It heated a 5g reservoir from 65*f to 130*f in about 20-25 minutes. Default shutoff is about 175* but I stopped it early because I didn't have enough fuel and I aborted it.


My F350 was making some sounds I didn't like, so I did a front end shakedown.





Decided it was a front wheel bearing.





Seems better.


Also, this happened...





6 miles away, brush fire. It wasn't windy and they had is under control in about 2 hours.


Also noticed this guy in the back yard. He was moving with the shadows to stay cool, as I would.

[kbeefy]

Took the wall panels back down to paint them.
Ran a bunch of wire from the 'galley' by the side doors thru the roof, around the back to the 'electrical bay' behind the fridge.
Packed a bunch of gaps behind the wall panels with insulation.
Installed a fresh water inlet.







Got to work on the galley, cut out some side panels and a countertop, test fit the sink and faucet, Fresh water tank is bolted down, installed water pump and accumulator, fresh water filter.... ran out of pex tee fittings and short on clamps.

[marret]

Nice, looking good.

[kbeefy]

Shipping delays left me in a bit of a parts stoppage for miscellaneous small hardware, poor planning on my part.


Chose this spot under the rear taillight for a shore power pass thru.








Got the drivers side insulation in and panels back up. Some fasteners missing in this picture.





Also got most of the electrical installed after this pic... 2 x 200aH of LiPo, 2000w inverter, solar charge controller, DC-DC charger, Shore power charger, Automatic transfer switch, battery buss bars and shunt, switches for the shore power charger and 110v element in hot water heater.

[kbeefy]

Originally Posted by marret

Nice, looking good.

Thanks!






more letters to meet minimum....

[JWA]

Did you protect the raw metal edges of the shore power connector box you installed? That'll be a huge rust hole in time without some sort of protector.

Otherwise looking good on the progress so far!

[kbeefy]

Originally Posted by JWA

Did you protect the raw metal edges of the shore power connector box you installed? That'll be a huge rust hole in time without some sort of protector.

Otherwise looking good on the progress so far!

I did on the fresh water fill with POR. I didn't do the shore power yet as I will be putting a solar plug right next to it and an external power plug on the other side in the near future and will POR all 3 of them at the same time.

Fortunately where I live is very arid, and I keep the van inside when it not being used so I've got some time. Rust comes here to die (rust never dies, but it does slow down alot around here).

[JWA]

^^^Good on ya then---hate to see rust beginning to form on those bare surfaces.