The Camel Conversion Project

[PDBreske]

Originally Posted by Accordion

Sorry to hear about your ailments.

That is some massive insulation. You will be glad that you have it during the summer.

I think I'll be glad to have it during the summer and the winter!

[bansil]

[inkblots84]

Originally Posted by PDBreske

Today I installed R14 fiberglass insulation between the ceiling joists. This was one of the few jobs that was easier than I thought it would be and took only a few hours. Now that it's done, I can relax for week, per doctor's orders. Tomorrow I have another resection procedure to remove a few new bladder tumors, so I'll be out of commission until at least next Friday. Also, a few weeks back I injured a toe and today it was confirmed that I broke it, so I'll be resting while that heals, too. I'm just all full of good health!

I hope you get to feeling better man! Amazing progress on your rig! Thanks for posting the video also, really neat to get a "live view" of sorts.

[PDBreske]

Originally Posted by inkblots84

I hope you get to feeling better man! Amazing progress on your rig! Thanks for posting the video also, really neat to get a "live view" of sorts.

Thanks! I recently bought a new camcorder, so I'll be sharing more videos as work progresses.

[TourTech]

I have a question going back to the original post, and your plans to put the Jeep in the rear garage.

I am building my bus with a small roll up door on the back so that the rear 2 meters can be used for cargo (PA and stage gear in my case) which puts a fair abount of weight behind the drive wheels - probably a tonne or so. Currently, when if I load up a cube van, and make the mistake of loading the heaviest gear at the back of the truck, the nose 'floats'. Your steering is compromised and headlights can end up pointing too high. The light steering isn't too bad in good weather, but in the rain and the snow it makes for an interesting ride, also when you come to a stop the weight transfer from rear to front can be a little dramatic.

I'm trying to avoid this with my own bus, so I was just wondering if it was something that you considered or have tested and found to be a non issue.

[PDBreske]

Originally Posted by TourTech

I have a question going back to the original post, and your plans to put the Jeep in the rear garage.

I am building my bus with a small roll up door on the back so that the rear 2 meters can be used for cargo (PA and stage gear in my case) which puts a fair abount of weight behind the drive wheels - probably a tonne or so. Currently, when if I load up a cube van, and make the mistake of loading the heaviest gear at the back of the truck, the nose 'floats'. Your steering is compromised and headlights can end up pointing too high. The light steering isn't too bad in good weather, but in the rain and the snow it makes for an interesting ride, also when you come to a stop the weight transfer from rear to front can be a little dramatic.

I'm trying to avoid this with my own bus, so I was just wondering if it was something that you considered or have tested and found to be a non issue.

In fact, I did do a lot of calculations on this subject and posted about it somewhere on this thread. I'm still a little groggy after my surgery today, or I'd find it for you. Maybe tomorrow.

[sdwarf36]

Originally Posted by TourTech

I have a question going back to the original post, and your plans to put the Jeep in the rear garage.

I am building my bus with a small roll up door on the back so that the rear 2 meters can be used for cargo (PA and stage gear in my case) which puts a fair abount of weight behind the drive wheels - probably a tonne or so. Currently, when if I load up a cube van, and make the mistake of loading the heaviest gear at the back of the truck, the nose 'floats'. Your steering is compromised and headlights can end up pointing too high. The light steering isn't too bad in good weather, but in the rain and the snow it makes for an interesting ride, also when you come to a stop the weight transfer from rear to front can be a little dramatic.

I'm trying to avoid this with my own bus, so I was just wondering if it was something that you considered or have tested and found to be a non issue.

I hauled with a cube van for 20 years. (85 gmc-10.k gross) I had my race car is the back (1000) lbs pretty even over the rear wheels. I now have a 96 Ford shuttle bus (14k) gross. (apx 12k total loaded )The rear 5 ft is my shop area-toolbox-cabinets filled with parts + supplies-spare engine-genny-etc. add up to maybe 1300-1500 lbs. I don't notice it at all. One long trip, I had a whole bunch of veggie oil in the back-500 lbs or so. Thats the only time I noticed any "pendulum effect."
Put the amps in front of the rear wheels-speakers towards the back-you should be ok.

[PDBreske]

Found it:

Originally Posted by PDBreske

Today I got the rig weighed on a local truck scale. The scale was located at a bulk mulch retailer and he was kind enough to let me drive it over the scale for free. I weighed the front and rear axles separately so I could figure out the vehicle's center-of-gravity.

At this point, the rig is as close to an empty weight as it ever will be. Based on these numbers I'll figure how much I can add or how much more I need to remove.

Front axle = 7820 pounds. Rear axle = 9860 pounds. This puts the current CG at 155 inches behind the front axle (wheelbase is 278 inches).

Adding the Jeep's CG to a point about 24 inches behind the bus rear axle moves the bus CG to 180 inches behind the bus front axle. Still one hundred inches ahead of the rear axle, and that's before I remove the rear and side walls from the garage area (removing the 1/8" thick aluminum sheets will probably cut another 200 pounds from the weight behind the rear axle).

The fresh water will eventually be located near or slightly in front of the bus CG.

So far, so good!

I googled "how do I calculate my vehicle's center of gravity" and found this link: Jeepaholics Anonymous. I just inserted my own numbers and arrived at the results above.

[TourTech]

That's a great relief guys, thanks for pulling out the post as well.

[PDBreske]

Here's what's happening:

Finished installing the ceiling throughout the interior. I'm planning to use aluminum angles for trim around the hatch opening.

These are pictures of the process:




And I installed and wired the AC main breaker panel. I need to buy three more breakers to finish (the box came with four) and then install the inverter so I can begin using the interior outlets instead of running an extension cord through the door. The burn marks on either side are where I ground off the points of the wood screws that hold the box to the bulkhead with a few L-brackets. The marks will be covered with a surrounding border of paint and the rest of the wood will be treated with tung oil or some other light stain.


If anyone has any tips or suggestions for the AC panel, I'm listening. I think I've made it as clean and neat as I can, but I'd be open to hearing about what can go wrong in a RV environment.

[bansil]

Okay you only wired for 30 amp,did you tie ground in too panel?it looks isolated in pic

[PDBreske]

Originally Posted by bansil

Okay you only wired for 30 amp,did you tie ground in too panel?it looks isolated in pic

You can't see it from this angle, but I bridged the power between the two incoming breakers. That's the only way I could think of to distribute the single power wire to both left and right bus bars.

The ground wire and bus are bonded to the box by the green screw on the right; it goes all the way through the back of the box.

[PDBreske]

Everything works!

Today I finished the wall behind the passenger seat and mounted the inverter. Once I got everything wired up, I plugged an extension cord into the shore power connection and watched for smoke. I gradually turned on the main breaker followed by the individual circuits and everything seems to be okay. No unusual smells or sparks, only the sound of the few GFCI outlets popping their safeties as the power came on. All the outlets work, including the exterior plugs on either side and the roof, and the outside light over the side door also works fine. I can finally work on the interior with the door closed instead of running an extension cord through the gap, and I can leave the AC running all day while the door is locked. I can even chill a few things in the freezer (soon to be converted to a refrigerator) so I can have something cool to drink as I work.

[bansil]

Your going to get spoiled

Good show on plug in,have you double checked polarity yet?

[PDBreske]

Originally Posted by bansil

Your going to get spoiled

Good show on plug in,have you double checked polarity yet?

Yes, I did and everything is as it should be.

Couldn't get anything done today, other than some housekeeping chores in the bus. The rain started about lunchtime and hasn't stopped since. I need to cut panels for the walls and for that I need to be outside.

[PDBreske]

I did manage to get one thing accomplished today: I installed this nifty low-profile LED light on the ceiling above where the computer desk will be. It draws only 10 watts and puts out the equivalent of a 60-watt incandescent bulb.



I also added a pull chain to this light, but after it was installed the light was flickering and getting very hot—unusual for an LED. I removed the pull chain and it went back to what I would call normal operation, so I'm going to take the chain back to Lowes for a replacement.

[Redbear]

Originally Posted by PDBreske

You can't see it from this angle, but I bridged the power between the two incoming breakers. That's the only way I could think of to distribute the single power wire to both left and right bus bars.

The ground wire and bus are bonded to the box by the green screw on the right; it goes all the way through the back of the box.

I see a bus bar on the right and on the left. The safety grounds and their buss should be bonded to the box, but the neutrals (white wires) should all be insulated from the box. When you plug in to someone's electrical service, you are a sub-feed of their system. The ground and neutral are only supposed to be bonded together at their disconnect. You would only provide a bond if switching to generator or inverter power.

Also, if you plug into a GFCI-protected (ground fault) outlet or circuit, a neutral-ground bond on the bus will make the GFCI trip.

[ol trunt]

PD, Your LED ceiling light looks like the best I've seen so far. How do you evaluate it? If you were trying to light a room in a house would you be Ok with it etc? Where did you get it etc. Thanks

[PDBreske]

Originally Posted by Redbear

I see a bus bar on the right and on the left. The safety grounds and their buss should be bonded to the box, but the neutrals (white wires) should all be insulated from the box. When you plug in to someone's electrical service, you are a sub-feed of their system. The ground and neutral are only supposed to be bonded together at their disconnect. You would only provide a bond if switching to generator or inverter power.

Also, if you plug into a GFCI-protected (ground fault) outlet or circuit, a neutral-ground bond on the bus will make the GFCI trip.

You are correct. Those two bus bars are separate and the left (neutral) bar is not bonded to the box or ground. Trust me, I've checked and double-checked the switches and outlets and everything is as it should be.

[PDBreske]

Originally Posted by ol trunt

PD, Your LED ceiling light looks like the best I've seen so far. How do you evaluate it? If you were trying to light a room in a house would you be Ok with it etc? Where did you get it etc. Thanks

I found it at Home Depot (link coming soon). It has a cast aluminum base and heavy acrylic diffuser. It appears to be very well made.

For a small room or closet, it's perfect. At $34, it's not cheap, and the LED isn't a replaceable part, but as long as it isn't physically damaged, it should last as long as you own the room in which you install the light. The light is very even around the room, but I don't think I'd try to light a space bigger than a hundred square feet.

The light is very white, what most people would call "daylight" balanced. If you're looking for a "soft white" color, this isn't it.

Installation is straightforward and the same as any standard 3-wire, 120VAC light fixture.