The Miller Express

[La Camioneta]

Sun N Fun '24 or bust!
Bare minimum for SnF is bunks, a/c and batteries/genset. Sleeping under a wing in a tent in Florida is fun and all, but been there and done that.

Now onto the interior conversion.

Struggled for a couple weeks with a 48v dc air conditioning option, seems none are really suitable at this point. Found the shortest outside 115v mini split unit https://www.rovsun.com/products/rov...organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&gad_source=1
Looks like they won't be super visible tucked in close to the frame rails, so that's what's going to happen. I think mount 2 units side by side with the inside heads pointing front and rear from either side of a midship closet.

Since the a/c dilemma is settled, Dan the electro-wizard man is getting the 46kW batteries and whatever Victron gear it takes to make it work together.

Decided on the travel cinderella incinolet to skip the black tank entirely.

For clearance, the Onan QG7000 is much shorter than the QD models. At 20% charge it'll take 6 hours to top off the batteries. Hopefully under heavy a/c use the bank will last 2-3 days, so that's <15 generator hours per week. 40 gallons of gas should cover three weeks off-grid.

Thinking 200 gallons of fresh water and 50-75 gray. Can always put drums on the roof for extra capacity, which I doubt will be needed.

 

[La Camioneta]

46kw of batteries, charger-inverter, all the goodies are in and paid for.

Trying to source a QG7000 locally, if not will get one online somewhere.

Bus is at the shop for service and turbo upgrade.

 

[ewo1]

Struggled for a couple weeks with a 48v dc air conditioning option, seems none are really suitable at this point. Found the shortest outside 115v mini split unit https://www.rovsun.com/products/rov...organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&gad_source=1

Have you taken a look at the EG4 Hybrid Solar Mini-Split Air Conditioner ?

https://signaturesolar.com/eg4-hybr...TrFklrFbCu3Rqm9y4q6WbAGM88PqDT6xoCvy8QAvD_BwE

If anything, it will run straight from the solar panels during the day, saving/extending your batteries for nights and low sun days?

 

[La Camioneta]

For my house for sure. A buddy has one at his home and it runs all day for free in the sunshine with a few panels.

The bus won't have solar, just a QG7000 to top off the house bank. Hoping to get 2-3 days power from 8 hours of generator use. Rough math works out to 25 gallons of gas for a week's power. Will put better numbers to it when its all installed and running.

 

[nikitis]

43kw's! That could power my house for a week! You better have the best suspension on that bus with all the weight you're adding.

 

[La Camioneta]

43kw's! That could power my house for a week! You better have the best suspension on that bus with all the weight you're adding.

Its only 900# for three of these https://trophybattery.com/index.php/product/51-2v300e-3ul/

The company is in Augusta, GA and Dan the owner set me up with a plug and play package. Buy once, cry once.

 

[nikitis]

Only $14,085 Plus shipping for just the batteries. They don't even throw in the dolly with it.

 

[La Camioneta]

Only $14,085 Plus shipping for just the batteries. They don't even throw in the dolly with it.

I'm picking them up, so there's that.

10 year full warranty, Dan has the batteries built to his specs, pretty low cost per kWh.

Prowse has great things to say about them too: https://diysolarforum.com/threads/trophy-battery-will-prowse-yt-review-teardown.53296/

Dan even drove me home from Augusta after I dropped the bus off for a service and turbo swap - super guy!

 

[La Camioneta]

Cummins - Onan QG7000 from https://rvparts.visonerv.com/ is on the way. No one locally seemed to stock them, Visone - the E is silent - is crating mine up to ship now. Standard evap model, no efi units available.

And two https://a.co/d/5tvCVrJ which also have heat, hopefully saving me from parking heaters.

Need to source a gas tank for the generator.

 

[La Camioneta]

Bus Parts and Truck Parts

The only place I could find tie-rod ends for a B-700. Spent all day trying to find them locally.

Also, the local parts stores stock a replacement belt tensioner for the 5.9 Cummins with the dowel index pin in the wrong place. The correct replacement part has to be ordered from a Cummins dealer or online.

 

[La Camioneta]

Operation spoolie boi seemed to be a bust. Low boost and high egts.

Then I pinched the wastegate reference line - self-contained on this model and it was close to what I was hoping for. Still a little warm egts pulling long hills but lower than before and getting 30# of boost now.

Ran down a couple KW wreckers that were cruising at 82 and maybe saw 88 flat out.

That'll do, bus, that'll do.

Monday she goes in for generator/fuel tank/minisplit undermounts.

 

[La Camioneta]

Getting the generator mounted.

Paid Visone for a 7000w, a 5500w showed up. Oh well, gonna run what they brung at this point. I don't know that an extra hour of running the generator makes a big deal.

Fuel cell mounting and fill will be interesting to say the least.

 

[cadillackid]

if i paid for a 7K id want that to be what I got! 1500 watts is an air conditioner...



interesting that cummins waste gates the turbo so earlly that pinching off the wastegate makes a big difference... and here im thinking I should have a wastegate because im pulling 30 PSI on a 7.3... maybe I should rethink and leave it as is.. and simply gear down a bit so I better use the power..

 

[La Camioneta]

They'll send a check for the difference, nbd. The box had zero markings on the outside so this apparently isn't the first time this has happened.

I'm running everything off of a 46kW battery bank so the generator is just the battery charger. Have no idea how long between charges until everything is in and running but I think its close to overkill. Can add another battery to get to 60kW but that just seems silly.

Yeah 30 psi seems healthy for a 7.3, 6.0 ran a lot more iirc but didn't hold together under the strain.

 

[cadillackid]

They'll send a check for the difference, nbd. The box had zero markings on the outside so this apparently isn't the first time this has happened.

I'm running everything off of a 46kW battery bank so the generator is just the battery charger. Have no idea how long between charges until everything is in and running but I think its close to overkill. Can add another battery to get to 60kW but that just seems silly.

Yeah 30 psi seems healthy for a 7.3, 6.0 ran a lot more iirc but didn't hold together under the strain.

deleting headbolts and increasing the boost.. not sure what IH was thinking.. well I guess they were "bigger bolts" LOLOL..



im not sure what the stock 7.3 fords ran.. they had wastegate turbos.. the IH maxxed out at about 18 stock according to the books.. if I blow my headgaskets ill Build Bigger my tranny is rated for 500 HP and 1000 ft lbs of torque..

 

[La Camioneta]

And thus began the 'cab off' powerstroke repair mode. A crying shame for the owners.

I'm scared to even tune my F-250 because of the stock trans, but a chipped 7.3 can be a bad machine.

 

[cadillackid]

And thus began the 'cab off' powerstroke repair mode. A crying shame for the owners.

I'm scared to even tune my F-250 because of the stock trans, but a chipped 7.3 can be a bad machine.

I wasted the AT545 even before I started tuning.. sad the trans couldnt take 190 HP ...



now im HPOP'd, Injectors, and orion tuner, and of course tranny swapped..



luckily there are a lot of mods you can do to make the 4R100 strong.. or you could allison swap it.. though I think it requires a decent body lift to do..

 

[La Camioneta]

I called the allison swap folks in FL when the original trans gave up but they had a six-week lead time and I couldn't be down that long. Went with a reman, still hate it but its good enough for the time being. Probably forever to be honest.

Inherited a '63 drop-top Series 62 that's on the front burner for a powertrain swap, disc brakes and vintage air.

 

[La Camioneta]

Well the bus is a bust for Sun N Fun. Fab shop finished mounting the generator, fuel cell and minisplits today. Not enough time to get it plumbed, wired up and the a/c heads set and charged. Weather got us.

Going with plan b, reconfirming my hatred of tent camping. But the fellowship is well worth it, one of the guys in camp last year was Sully's roommate at the Air Force academy.

 

[cadillackid]

ha! id have probably drove it anyway.. id rather sleep in a metal tent off the ground then a canvas one on the moist ground... then maybe you are someplace that hasnt had the seemingly endless rain alot of the country has had,