Clifford - 1998 E350 Build

[bemerritt]

Yeah, I am hoping to stand in some high tops at the valley of the fire meetup before making the decision. the van will only need to sleep two until kids show up and the high top seems nice for the shorter day trips as well. Hoping to squeeze a bed in the 30" super camper. Should be doable, especially for small kids.

decisions decisions. luckily there are only 50 threads on the matter discussing it. And the beauty of it is there is always a different outcome!

[mikracer]

When you head out to Pismo, let me know! I'd love to mob the dunes with you...I'm only about 5 mins away.

[boywonder]

Originally Posted by bemerritt

1. I see that there is an aluminess front bumper that has square holes for LED's. Is this the way to go?


- Samelex solar EVO-2212 with remote
- Still deciding on what isolator/separator solution I want
- 200 watt solar
- Solar charge controller
- Fridge, lights, etc


- Brian

There are some pretty cool round LED solutions.....1der has a pair of round LEDs he bought from Tuff Stuff 4WD that work quite well......at least in the limited testing we did against the neighbor's garage door.

The Samlex is a great choice for inverter.....

I'm using the Samlex 30 amp solar controller and I like it...works well, basic info. It's a PWM unit, if you want an MPPT controller, the Midnite Solar Kid has a zillion features, one of which is the ability to configure a diversion/dump load. Ray/1der has this controller and is going to configure the diversion load feature to heat his water heater element when the batteries are topped off.

Consider a separator over an isolator...isolators suffer from a roughly .7Vdc forward voltage drop that is inherent to diodes...although they have no moving parts. That .7 volts is significant when you are trying to top off your batteries with a smart charger/controller.

As far as separators go, the Surepower stuff has large relay coils that get warm (suck power) when they are energized...if you want to do a bi-directional separator with your solar (recommended!) so that solar will also keep the van battery charged, in low light conditions a good chunk of the solar power gets used heating the surepower relay.

Many folks here are using the Blue Sea 7622 ..a really nice solid state unit that has lots of features. I used a less expensive Blue Sea ACR that works great....it's part of an "add-a-battey" kit from blue sea and comes with a manual switch.

[2xplore]

Hey there... you already know my position on the high top vs pop top decision so I'll go right to the shore power plug. I went with the standard plug and picked up a 30 amp adapter for a few bucks for the limited number of times I've stayed at a place that required it.

I like your to do list... looking forward to seeing the finished product! Actually these things never seem to be finished so I'll just follow the progress...

[boywonder]

Originally Posted by 2xplore

I went with the standard plug and picked up a 30 amp adapter for a few bucks for the limited number of times I've stayed at a place that required it.

I did the exact same thing...used a project leftover marinco panel mount male plug....inside the van for 100% homeowner's association stealth..and a short 30A adapter for shore power. haven't used the adapter yet.

[bemerritt]

Originally Posted by mikracer

When you head out to Pismo, let me know! I'd love to mob the dunes with you...I'm only about 5 mins away.

Absolutely! I might be with a big group but would love to learn from a local. I'm bound to get stuck out there but it will be quite the learning experience.

[bemerritt]

Originally Posted by boywonder

There are some pretty cool round LED solutions.....1der has a pair of round LEDs he bought from Tuff Stuff 4WD that work quite well......at least in the limited testing we did against the neighbor's garage door.

The Samlex is a great choice for inverter.....

I'm using the Samlex 30 amp solar controller and I like it...works well, basic info. It's a PWM unit, if you want an MPPT controller, the Midnite Solar Kid has a zillion features, one of which is the ability to configure a diversion/dump load. Ray/1der has this controller and is going to configure the diversion load feature to heat his water heater element when the batteries are topped off.

Consider a separator over an isolator...isolators suffer from a roughly .7Vdc forward voltage drop that is inherent to diodes...although they have no moving parts. That .7 volts is significant when you are trying to top off your batteries with a smart charger/controller.

As far as separators go, the Surepower stuff has large relay coils that get warm (suck power) when they are energized...if you want to do a bi-directional separator with your solar (recommended!) so that solar will also keep the van battery charged, in low light conditions a good chunk of the solar power gets used heating the surepower relay.

Many folks here are using the Blue Sea 7622 ..a really nice solid state unit that has lots of features. I used a less expensive Blue Sea ACR that works great....it's part of an "add-a-battey" kit from blue sea and comes with a manual switch.

Thanks for the abundance of info. I have probably read way too much about isolators and separators that I am over thinking it. I originally didn't want bidirectional because my starters are lead acid and my house are agm, and like you said, you lose some of your solar power powering the separator. However, if it's good enough for most, I'll probably go that way and stop thinking about it.

I'm bummed samelex doesn't appear to have a panel mount mppt controller. I think I'll stick with my current cheap-ish mppt that seems to be working well with my 200 watt panels at the moment. But it will be nice to have the samelex charger/inverter as the central hub of the whole system. And sounds like the stadard entry plug for shore power makes the most sense, seeing as 99% of the time it will be connected to my honda or garage outlet.

[bemerritt]

Originally Posted by 2xplore

Hey there... you already know my position on the high top vs pop top decision so I'll go right to the shore power plug. I went with the standard plug and picked up a 30 amp adapter for a few bucks for the limited number of times I've stayed at a place that required it.

I like your to do list... looking forward to seeing the finished product! Actually these things never seem to be finished so I'll just follow the progress...

Your build is about 50% of the reason I am on the supercamper route as of now! The build is predominantly for 2 people and i think it makes sense. In your opinion, do you think there is enough headroom for a bed under that 30" top? Mainly used as a secondary bed if others join us, or for kids down the line.

[2xplore]

Originally Posted by bemerritt

Your build is about 50% of the reason I am on the supercamper route as of now! The build is predominantly for 2 people and i think it makes sense. In your opinion, do you think there is enough headroom for a bed under that 30" top? Mainly used as a secondary bed if others join us, or for kids down the line.

I think 2 small kids could fit crossways in the cabover section no problem. Make a fold down panel where I have this storage (first photo). I'm away from my van so can't take a photo of the inside but you get the idea.
If you wanted a full size bed you could certainly build a platform that rests on the seam between the top high top and van wall. The second photo is of the back part where the roof is lowest. I would say about 3 feet of it being low which would be fine for your legs to be that direction, then it raises to the full height so nobody would feel claustrophobic. If you would only have adult guests part time I can imagine just a few cross supports and base that you take in or out as needed.
I have a very high bed which is that way to allow for very large storage underneath for bikes and other gear. If you have a lower bed the space between the low bed and the temp "top bunk" would be sufficiently comfortable.

[boywonder]

Originally Posted by bemerritt

I originally didn't want bidirectional because my starters are lead acid and my house are agm, and like you said, you lose some of your solar power powering the separator.

My house batts are AGM and the van battery is flooded....so far so good...the blue sea separator is bi-directional, solid state so no relay heating.