Our build of an RV from scratch (with pics)

[IGBT]

Friday and Saturday were 60+ in Seattle so we decided to install the solar system (finally).


Last year we purchased five grid tie panels, 270 watts each. They have an open circuit voltage of about 40V. We planned to use four of them on the roof of the camper pod for a 1080 watt beginner system.

We bought some 1.5x1.5x3/16" aluminum angle and constructed a lightweight frame for the panels. On the inner frame sections we installed 8 rubber feet made from 3/4" rubber horse stall mat (leftover from the headache rack bumper construction). The outer aluminum angle attaches to the sides of the camper with machined brackets and inner sections rest on the roof with the rubber feet. This keeps us from needing mounting holes in the roof. I believe the whole frame is strong enough that we will not have lifting issues while driving, but we could glue some supports to the roof in the middle if needed. We are going to run a GoPro up there for a bit of driving to see how things look. The panels are about 37 pounds each and are 64x39 inches. They are each bolted in 8 places to the aluminum bracket with 1/4" grade 8 bolts.

I was quite pleased today when we flipped the 20 amp breaker to the Midnite Classic 150 MPPT charge controller (60 amp breaker to the batteries). It was 10:30 am and the Seattle sun was up but not overhead. The Midnite found a voltage/current combo to deliver over 560 watts to the 24V battery bank...more than I expected on a late winter day in the NW. The camper also was parked on a slight hill with the panels pointed away from the sun.

560 watts at 10:30 am would probably mean 2kWh or more in a day but our house blocks the sun in the driveway past noon.

 

[highdesertranger]

very nice. I like how you incorporated the clearance lights into the frame. you sure do great work. highdesertranger

 

[IGBT]

Today was a big day.  We pulled the finished garage pod out of our garage (workshop) and lifted it onto the flatbed truck.   It actually looks like we sort of knew what we were doing! 


The twin winches wired in series work a treat for raising/lowering the ramp door.  They are strong enough to lift several people (yeah, I had to try it).  The twin 3700 lumen LED light fixtures provide more than enough light and I modified them to run on 12V (Costco $35 each).

Just need to drive on our motorcycles, raise the door and hit the road!

 

[IGBT]

We got back from our first test trip last week.   We took the rig to the Northwest Overland Rally in Plain, WA.

It was HOT.   Temps were in the low 100s.  The good news is our 1100 watts of solar was able to run the 6000 BTU air conditioner purely off the sun from 10am to 5pm, keeping the inside of the camper at 79F when outside peaked at 104F.   Power produced from the sun on Saturday was 6200 watt-hours according to the Midnite Classic 150 solar controller.

The rig performed well going over the pass, but I kept in the slow lane at 37mph.   I estimate we were at 17,000 to 17,500 pounds with a max GVWR of 19,500.

We are putting an awning on today as the trip revealed that is sorely needed.

 

[Canine]

Very nice.How much do you have invested?

 

[IGBT]

Very nice.How much do you have invested?

Not including the truck, about $35k to $40k in materials and a lot of man hours.

We have stuff that you don't get in a regular camper though, like a 4kW pure sine inverter with generator/shore assist mode.

 

[Canine]

WOW.I don't have that much in my house and 17 acres.

 

[IGBT]

WOW.I don't have that much in my house and 17 acres.

I have $350,000 in my house on a river with only 2/3 acre.

17 acres around here would be $1,000,000 plus.

 

[MikeRuth]

We got back from our first test trip last week.   We took the rig to the Northwest Overland Rally in Plain, WA.

It was HOT.   Temps were in the low 100s.  The good news is our 1100 watts of solar was able to run the 6000 BTU air conditioner purely off the sun from 10am to 5pm, keeping the inside of the camper at 79F when outside peaked at 104F.   Power produced from the sun on Saturday was 6200 watt-hours according to the Midnite Classic 150 solar controller.

The rig performed well going over the pass, but I kept in the slow lane at 37mph.   I estimate we were at 17,000 to 17,500 pounds with a max GVWR of 19,500.

We are putting an awning on today as the trip revealed that is sorely needed.

Anything further on this, seems to have gone quite since July. 

Did you do an awning? 

Mike R

 

[IGBT]

Anything further on this, seems to have gone quite since July. 

Did you do an awning? 

Mike R

Hi Mike,

Yes, we added a bag awning, welded up a propane carrier for three 20 pound tanks under the flatbed, welded up a nice trailer hitch from scratch, and we removed 800 pounds of old flatbed wood and added back just three pieces of apitong hardwood for a total weight saving of 650 pounds.   We also took a week long trip to Mount St Helens and Long Beach, WA which was a good test of the systems and truck.   Drove 55mph and got a bit over 10mpg.   I think we were around 17,000 pounds since we had a lot of gear, motorcycles, bikes, and full water tank.   GVWR is 19500.

 

[BobBski]

You should be proud, great work and ideas.

 

[highdesertranger]

real nice. how do you like those bikes? highdesertranger

 

[IGBT]

Thanks.   We love the WR250R.  Pretty light, 4 stroke, legal on road or off road, and they can do 70mph on the freeway if need be or you can turn off into a dry stream bed and ride it up the mountain.

 

[Patrick46]

What a KILLER JOB you've done with this rig!! Outstanding!

 

[rvpopeye]

I love the modular idea.
Makes things like truck repairs or replacement so much easier.
You did a fantastic job on the builds.
Patent the idea and sell it to one of the big mfg?

 

[IGBT]

We close on our house in one week and then we are full timing on the road in our homemade RV!

Loaded everything up today including the sailboat and went to the scales.   Still under the GVWR/GCWR (but barely).  No rock collecting I guess, sorry Lucy.

We did add a 3 axis cnc milling machine to the garage pod.  Should be fun cutting out parts and things while on the road.

 

[rvpopeye]

Happy Trails To You !
I love that rig !

 

[johnny b]

That's a cool little mill, there....what brand is that.....link?

 

[IGBT]

That's a cool little mill, there....what brand is that.....link?

No brand, homebuilt just like the RV.   The controller (not in the photo) is homebuilt too, 4 axis brushless with 1kW drivers (although I am only using three 300 watt servos on the axis, I use the 4th driver to spin a 1kW brushless spindle motor.

 

[johnny b]

Very nice.