the Flexible Apartment Roaming Transport build

[B and C]

As far as I know all LEDs dimmable, you just need to get the right circuity to do so, regular dimmer switches will not work. Right now I'm deciding if I want to be cheap and build it myself or bite the money bullet and snag one from Home Depot.

I am no expert by any means, just a (not so?) humble telephone guy :angel:  I have found that a regular (1141 automotive bulb (cheap)) LED bulb connected to battery with a charger connected will burn out the bulb (this happened with my first round of changing 12v lighting to LED).  I now only buy LED's that are rated 10-30 VDC and have not had anymore trouble.  The strip LED lights I bought are rated dimmable, there are others that are not (this may only apply to LED strip lighting though).  My son built a dimmer circuit for his fish tank lighting for too bright LED light.  The circuity burned up the first night.  He used calculators/schematics found on the internet to design and built.  YMMV

 

[pmekdahl01]

I am no expert by any means, just a (not so?) humble telephone guy :angel:  I have found that a regular (1141 automotive bulb (cheap)) LED bulb connected to battery with a charger connected will burn out the bulb (this happened with my first round of changing 12v lighting to LED).  I now only buy LED's that are rated 10-30 VDC and have not had anymore trouble.  The strip LED lights I bought are rated dimmable, there are others that are not (this may only apply to LED strip lighting though).  My son built a dimmer circuit for his fish tank lighting for too bright LED light.  The circuity burned up the first night.  He used calculators/schematics found on the internet to design and built.  YMMV

I just talked to an "electronics scientist" and he said that LEDs by themselves are dimmable, if you know what your doing.

 

[oldogre]

Hi, I am interested in your battery, can you give me the specs on it and where you purchased it, and price, I noticed that it also has what looks like handles on the top center area which is great.  I have had good luck with duracel in vehicles so this has peaked my curiosity, a battery is all I am lacking in my solar set up so have to make a decision soon, thanks, Dan - the oldogre

 

[pmekdahl01]

Hi, I am interested in your battery, can you give me the specs on it and where you purchased it, and price, I noticed that it also has what looks like handles on the top center area which is great.  I have had good luck with duracel in vehicles so this has peaked my curiosity, a battery is all I am lacking in my solar set up so have to make a decision soon, thanks, Dan - the oldogre

I got it from BatteriesPlus. It cost $239 for 92Ah, part number SLI49AGM. It seemed like a good deal at the time but I didnt do that much research. But I did notice that it has a vent hole on the side of it which I can jam a rubber tube into in case it ever does need to vent. I only know about the vent hole because I replaced my car battery recently and its also a AGM and it had a little rubber vent tube stuck in the side of it. I though it was weird at the time, but now I realize what it was for and plan on doing the same in my van.

 

[B and C]

I just talked to an "electronics scientist" and he said that LEDs by themselves are dimmable, if you know what your doing.

I guess what I am trying to get at is be careful.  If you have access to a scientist for designing your LED system, you should be good to go.  The cheap LED bulbs I got at first burned out half the LEDS and were VERY hot when I investigated the light suddenly going half bright (actually melted the plastic).  You do not want a fire in your abode.  Battery charging systems can put out 14.4 VDC which is more than a light designed for home use can accept.  Home use LED's work off a constant (regulated) power supply.  That is the reason I am trying to steer you to the variable voltage LED's.  This is only meant to be a caution.   :-/

 

[pmekdahl01]

"Caaauuutioooon" I don't know what that word means.

 

[MikeRuth]

As far as I know all LEDs dimmable, you just need to get the right circuity to do so, regular dimmer switches will not work. Right now I'm deciding if I want to be cheap and build it myself or bite the money bullet and snag one from Home Depot.

these are all over the internet and work just fine. 

http://www.lightinthebox.com/led-li...rds_shopping&gclid=CKTeuqOjj8UCFdKEfgodAgoAjA

 

[CarCampire]

Now that's awesome.
good info about batteries too.
If you can- make sure the weight is balanced on both sides, helps the van level out N beer for the wheels when driving.

 

[masterplumber]

When you get further along let me know if you need any plumbing or build out help. I'm located east of Monument and I'd love to help if needed. I also have a pretty good shop

 

[pmekdahl01]

When you get further along let me know if you need any plumbing or build out help. I'm located east of Monument and I'd love to help if needed. I also have a pretty good shop

I haven't put to much thought into the plumbing side of things, just been to occupied figuring out the electrical stuff. But thanks for the offer, I'll keep ya in mind when I start that planning.
But anyways, here's what I've accomplished today. And I plan on putting in the roof fan tomorrow, I'm hoping for no rain.
I also changed the fuel pump today to stop that horrible noise the old one was making

 

[pmekdahl01]

I couldn't do the fan install today because it wouldn't stop raining, so instead I cut the wood and insulation for the floors. I feel like I'm making good progress, especially now that I can use my garage again.

 

[ttpadilla]

That looks great; really nice work!

 

[pmekdahl01]

Incremental update: Found some sweet vinyl flooring for only 15 bucks!

 

[pmekdahl01]

Slow process is still progress, but this is taking a lot longer than I thought it would. I remember thinking to myself that I could have this all done in a month, HA!

Got the side walls installed, the wheel well covers made, and the ceiling insulation in place. I would have gotten more done this weekend but I also did a tune up on the engine which took up two nights worth if work.

 

[Almost There]

Slow process is still progress, but this is taking a lot longer than I thought it would. I remember thinking to myself that I could have this all done in a month, HA!

I know that feeling entirely too well. While I didn't think that my build out was going to be done in a month, I sure thought I'd be further along by now.

With the fiberglass high top there's no way to screw anything in to it so I'm having to glue mounting blocks to it with PL Premium (awesome glue btw). The front overhead compartment is all curves so none of the blocks are longer than 12" and you can only brace so many of them in there at a time and the cure time is 24 hours...sigh! Sure slows things down.

 

[dvdchris]

Slow process is still progress, but this is taking a lot longer than I thought it would. I remember thinking to myself that I could have this all done in a month, HA!

Got the side walls installed, the wheel well covers made, and the ceiling insulation in place. I would have gotten more done this weekend but I also did a tune up on the engine which took up two nights worth if work.

Wow! Nicer and cleaner than mine

 

[pmekdahl01]

I know that feeling entirely too well. While I didn't think that my build out was going to be done in a month, I sure thought I'd be further along by now.

With the fiberglass high top there's no way to screw anything in to it so I'm having to glue mounting blocks to it with PL Premium (awesome glue btw). The front overhead compartment is all curves so none of the blocks are longer than 12" and you can only brace so many of them in there at a time and the cure time is 24 hours...sigh! Sure slows things down.

Yeah I was trying to find a high top van but knowing that you have to go threw all that I'm kinda glad I didnt.

 

[pmekdahl01]

Wow! Nicer and cleaner than mine

Thanks. I just took a look at you build and I might steal a couple of your design ideas.

 

[pmekdahl01]

Late night update:
Between the light raining I was able to finally install my roof vent. I got a little sloppy towards the end with the sealant, but hey, it will work.
Also decided to flush mount the LEDs as opposed to having them hang down about an inch. I didn't want to risk hitting my head on them every once in awhile.

 

[masterplumber]

Nice work. I like the clean simple look. When I built my trailer I tried to add a bunch of things to hang stuff up on, and built in a lot. It works well, but I do find it more cluttered looking than I intended.