Must-Have Home Built Add Ons?

[Sandi]

Originally Posted by billwilson

Xtra battery and isolator to charge when driving is a easy deal
easy to add solar in the future
also there are some "trickle chargers" solar that are a no brainer
i for sure would get one, belive plugs into cig lighter, and stick on dash when parked

also w/ a built in fridge, or mounted engle, it does NOT flop around....... in the air hocky rink

Thanks for batting around the ideas with me. DH returned home last night after a week away, and we had fun going through this thread.

Surprisingly, he was intrigued with the solar panel suggestions. There's a guy over on http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/

who showed the portable panel spread on his FJ Cruiser,and that was something that started DH's brain ticking.

We also talked over the idea of a fridge, which we'd never considered before. THanks for the tip on the Engels - we checked them out, along with ARB's and some of the other 12V, and it's possible that we'll go for that.

Darn, you guys are expensive to hang out with!



Sandi

[billwilson]

Originally Posted by Sandi

Thanks for batting around the ideas with me. DH returned home last night after a week away, and we had fun going through this thread.

Surprisingly, he was intrigued with the solar panel suggestions. There's a guy over on http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/

who showed the portable panel spread on his FJ Cruiser,and that was something that started DH's brain ticking.

We also talked over the idea of a fridge, which we'd never considered before. THanks for the tip on the Engels - we checked them out, along with ARB's and some of the other 12V, and it's possible that we'll go for that.

Darn, you guys are expensive to hang out with!



Sandi

My Two Cents
1) portibles are goovey, but ya gotta match the power requirements
having a cool portible solar panel that does not do much
2) potibles have a storage/breakage problem
3) one hard mounted 130 watt panel on the roof will work
dont know the cost of a similar portable
4) hard mounted does not allow for moving to the sun
5) there is a post somewere here of a adjustable mount
6) for me, less stuff to move, plug in, set up the better
therefore i have a hard mount
if and when i build another rig, still will prob do only a hard mount
7) engles are groovey, remember they make a bracket deal to hold em in place
however, a built in saves your floor space
8) engle @ $1,000 vs. truckfridge $500
engle can take outside
truck fridge hard mounted
9) just went to truck fridge website, they now have portibles also
1.6cuft/48qt cubic foot $475 free shipping
thats
$475 vs $800 shipped
1 yr warrentty vs 2 yr

I found by putting all options and prices on a spreadsheet including
cost, shipping, warrenty it helped me clarify my thoughts

fyi
warrenties
if you have to package item and ship to Lower Mongolia, kind of worthless IMHO

[Sandi]

Bill, I understand what you're saying about the portable solar cells. I didn't say that's what we'd do, but that it stimulated DH's brain about it. He REALLY doesn't want a rack on top of the van.

We would also add a second battery, should we decide to do this. The Engel 40Q fridge draws ~ 1.7-2.5 Amps, depending on setting. For us, it would be at the lower end, since we don't see frozen food as a necessity while traveling.

Again, I just want a clear idea of what we MIGHT be interested in, for the long term, since I don't want to have to revisit power load and wiring decisions after the interior is finished.

FYI, the ARB 50Q fridge has a 3 year warranty. The compressor is made by the same company is Engel's. The cheaper ones are thermoelectric, they don't have the "swing" compressor setup, and draw a lot more amperage. They also are made in Taiwan or China, which DH finds distasteful. The reviews on them are also lukewarm - problems with broken hinges, loose latches, broken handles even while unloaded....

Check out http://www.compactappliance.com - they have a decent selection.


If we're going to buy a fridge, I'd rather get equipment that will last a decade or more, and have lower power needs. So we're likely to get the ARB or Engel.

Sandi

[billwilson]

Originally Posted by Sandi

Bill, I understand what you're saying about the portable solar cells. I didn't say that's what we'd do, but that it stimulated DH's brain about it. He REALLY doesn't want a rack on top of the van.

Just a question, understand no rack, why not flush mount?

We would also add a second battery, should we decide to do this. The Engel 40Q fridge draws ~ 1.7-2.5 Amps, depending on setting. For us, it would be at the lower end, since we don't see frozen food as a necessity while traveling.

Again, I just want a clear idea of what we MIGHT be interested in, for the long term, since I don't want to have to revisit power load and wiring decisions after the interior is finished.

Real smart, that why i prewired abunch and over built

FYI, the ARB 50Q fridge has a 3 year warranty. The compressor is made by the same company is Engel's. The cheaper ones are thermoelectric, they don't have the "swing" compressor setup, and draw a lot more amperage. They also are made in Taiwan or China, which DH finds distasteful. The reviews on them are also lukewarm - problems with broken hinges, loose latches, broken handles even while unloaded....

Check out http://www.compactappliance.com - they have a decent selection.

will ck it out, thanx, understand about quality etc, however w/ my experiance w/ Westy's, getting parts for older stuff is not always fun...

If we're going to buy a fridge, I'd rather get equipment that will last a decade or more, and have lower power needs. So we're likely to get the ARB or Engel.

Sandi