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I concur. The entire RV industry is a race to the bottom by manufacturers. Build them as cheap as possible, make money on options and service then pray the 1yr warranty goes by with little customer use/notice...

It goes MUCH farther than that....I am a former plant engineer for Safari Motor Coaches...manufacturing techs tru really hard to do a good job but thr deck is stacked again st them. To begin with, caulk is a poor method to obtain a RELIABLE seal in the joints used in RV construction....as you correctly point out, small holes are inevitably produced, most as the caulk cures....many voids occur after the RV leaves the factory which cannot be detected by the most well intended inspection. The entire concept of accepting long seams that are only sealed with caulk and expecting owners to do a self inspection and periodic refresh is idiotic. It's almost an intentional failure to guarantee paid service work down the line. The industry claims lots of caulk is unavoidable (which is untrue). Customers contribute to the problem by wanting a whole bunch of exterior access doors which are prone to leak as well. If you look at my RV design, it is a complete fiberglass envelope, I side and out with NO external storage access for this very reason. The only place I rely on calik is around the windows. My own failure to complete the planned fiberglass coverage is where I went wrong.

It would. I was repairing this to resell so there was going to be little advantage in my doing that vs expense and effort. The great asset of gelcoat is the ability to build up a 30 mil layer vs the 3 mils of exterior paint. The paint has probably adequate lifespan for the camper (it's a 2000 model year.) Gelcoat is also less tolerant with dust and application temperature.

We all have our preferences and all are imperfect...I do wish I had 'more truck' (load capacity) but I doubt that when you start down this road, you ever think you have enough

uxcell 4P5T 4 Pole 5 Position 2 Deck Band Channel Rotary Switch Selector with Plastic Knob a.co/d/doHlnA0 This is a 4P5T (literally 4 pole,5 throw) rotary switch. The 4 pole means it controls 4 separate devices simultaneously. The 5 throw means it has 5 positions. To produce this number of outputs (4x5=20) it needs more space than a single disc can accommodate so it becomes '2 decks' meaning 2 discs on a common shaft. Depending on the number of devices (X) you want to control and the number of modes (Y), search for ' (X)P(Y)T rotary switch'. I got this cheap Chinese made one from Amazon for ~$12 (more now). It has very adequate performance for the relatively infrequent switching used. A high performance one will likely be over $100. Each or the 4 poles of the switch have one input and 5 outputs (One for each of the 5 'throw's). In each of the 5 positions, the input is connected to the respective output. I connect a 24V positive (because my battery is 24V and I purchased 24V valves) to the input. The 4 valves are control type CR02 (important) and receive operating power with 3 wires (there are other control types with 3 wires that operate differently so be sure). You need to ensure you buy an appropriate control type valve. There are control types that are inappropriate (see the reference doc below). The three wires are one negative and a positive for open and a positive for closed. The appropriate positive is (open or closed) is connected to the appropriate output for the desired mode. There is a wiring diagram of the switch wiring in my 'hydronic system concept document' (or similar words) at WorkingOnExploring.com/TechDocs

@@WorkingOnExploring thank you so much, gonna start my hydronic project soon 😀

The issue is one of disturbing the lube oil. For example; When transporting a refrigerator, which is tall, lying it down results in oil flowing out of the compressor to settle in other parts of the system. The compressor has a low spot similar to an engine crank case which may gravity drain to the suction side pipe. If it were to be stood up and started immediately, the compressor would not have oil immediately available and it could run for several minutes before refrigerant was compressed and began to flow enough to move the oil back to the compressor. This phenomena really only happens in a drastic reorientation. I don't think it's likely or possible to happen from driving, even on steep roads. Most compressors can readily operate at 20-30 degrees of tilt. Some RV rooftop A/C units use compressors lying over about 75 degrees (to lower the overall height of the unit), moving the oil sump to a corner of the case where the oil pickup still functions. This is only workable on one side and is clearly designed to work this way so don't assume this means a mini split could tolerate this much tilt (some folks would like to lay the ODU almost fully on its side in a similar manner and put it under the vehicle) but I can't imagine that any amount of off-camber driving that an RV could tolerate would be a problem.

@WorkingOnExploring Thank you Sir. I'll be fitting mine upright, on the side of my vehicle underneath. It's a chassis cab Mercedes Sprinter, so I have 16" spare under the floor line, and 4" will poke into the floor space. I was mainly worried that the oil wouldn't settle after driving, but as long as the outside unit is mounted upright, all seems to be OK. Thank you for the reply.

Fiberglass seems intimidating until you take the plunge. Then it's one of those skills you wonder why you let it intimidate you. There are a number of rules of thumb that are somewhat easily picked up watching videos from authoritative people on YT. In particular, Fishbump TV and Boatworks Today are a couple I think teach good skills.

@@WorkingOnExploring Thank you, Steve, for the advice and support. I will take your advice, do some research on fiberglassing, review your previous comment responses, and plan for a project next winter. Now, it's time to do some local summer camping here in the southwest (NM). Happy camping and safe travels to you and Sheryl!

It was around 7 months of work over 14 months from the start to first use but there were a lot of things that were not present or needed to be changed so another 4 months after first use to get to a reasonable state. Over the succeeding year, I probably spent a month building the hydronic heating system and several more weeks on the front bumper/winch, dual shocks, raising the rear receiver/adding a drop extension for the tow vehicle. Overall, I have just over $40k in truck and camper.

@@WorkingOnExploring That’s a good way to keep busy and the reward is well worth it. Thank you for sharing your camper build!

LOL, I always just assume that is where you found our blog or Instagram, not the other way around...

@@WorkingOnExploring I found you from a Truck Camper Magazine article & Angela was kind enough to pass along your contact info. I need to read that one again.

Might just have to take you up on that…lol

Its a complicated question and therefore a complicated answer. Since there are many variables, inevitably AN answer has a broad range of 'possibilities'. In order to attempt to come up with something you can use, it is necessary to construct a 'power utilization curve' shown in my 'A/C 8 hours per day' video ( th-cam.com/video/ijk2Z-ebevw/w-d-xo.htmlsi=HEfq2G1I1yhxIvsV). Equipment consumes energy. That energy has to be supplied by something. When supply is less than consumption battery can make up for the difference. To determine battery size, you need to estimate supply and consumption (both very much based on physical and environmental conditions). Since I am assuming you are looking for a non-shore power solution, your supply side sources are generator and solar. The generator is not time-based (you can run it any time you want) and can be a replacement for a battery, but solar generation is time-based (solar generation depends on your capacity, mounting, cleanliness, time of year, location etc....it 'depends' a lot). You need to estimate your production hourly throughout the day and come up with a curve. Secondly, you need to do the same for consumption, not just from the A/C, but from everything else that operates daily. You really need a power meter on anything that runs intermittently or variably like your A/C. A 'kill-a-watt' meter is a portable version. This tells you what your instantaneous consumption is and cumulative consumption. I have something similar permanently installed. Your tests and estimates need to be done with your specific RV included. Size of the RV, insulation, ambient temperature, sun exposure, window type and area, etc, all factor in. This gets to heat gain/heat loss understanding. These factors have a MAJOR effect on how much your A/C draws when it runs. When you grind through these estimates, the shortfall between generation and consumption is your battery size...

The spreadsheet used is located on 'WorkingOnExploring.com/TechDocs as well as some other related into.

Thanks. The goal was a very capable habitat on an acceptably capable truck (which I already had) without breaking the bank....just over $40k in truck and camper (all my own labor).

The A/C performance was good from the beginning. A year later, I discovered a leak in an SAE flare that lost most of the charge and it stopped working for a bit but was pretty easily fixed and recharged. The power system took some time. I planned for 5x190W solar panels but the original 5 developed problems and I replaced them all (under warranty). There are 250W panels available now in the same size which I wish I had ( now 6 x190W = 1140W but it could be 6 x 250W= 1500W). I've added a 6th panel on a sliding mount out the back since this video. I also changed from a PWM charge controller to an MPPT.

@@WorkingOnExploring that's kinda of to be expected thank you for the insight and time happy travels

The panel failure was a huge disappointment we had to deal with an entire summer. Of 5 Solarland 190W panels, only one worked. I had purchased 8 panels used 4 on my previous camper for a couple years and left 4 in the shop. When I installed 5 of them on the new camper (4 virtually unused from shop storage), 6 of 8 had 1,2 or all 3 internal cell strings failed. We ended up relying on the 2nd alternator for power....this video was after that...

@@WorkingOnExploring if you ask me that's not due to your planning or experience that's a problem derived from the lack of manufacturing in this country Americans build quality because we live next door to the people who depend on our work

I have been working and raising kids since I was just a kid myself and something I have learned is the people who have true knowledge are always willing to share it with you if you're smart enough to ask

Using alternator generated electricity is the most expensive energy you'll ever buy. It's easily $.50/kWh when grid electricity is $.14/kWh. When traveling, power is life so convenience is more important than economics and alternator power is very convenient. You are wise to use a smaller B2B. Many folks 'go big' and drastically shorten their alternator life.

Back of the habitat (not including the spare) to the front bumper it is 25'. There is a statistics page in my blog as well as drawings: WorkingOnExploring.com/TechDocs

Tires are 295/65R20's which is one of the few sizes that are load index 129 which is 4080lbs/tire.

What brand? ​@@WorkingOnExploring

I'm using about the least expensive tire 'Amp'. There are cheaper ones that those which I don't think are a good idea. Although these tires are warranted for 50k miles and not a lot of all terrain tires have mileage warrantees, I think I'll likely not see more than 40k from 5 tires. I've had one blow out at 28k (recently) for what I think is no good reason (cool weather on the freeway). I am loading these at 3,800lbs on their 4080 max rating and that is probably not wise on a cheap brand. I would not use these again. I think I'll be going with a Yokhama Geolander next and i love the Falken Wildpeaks i have on my Jeep as well so may use those. Both are mid range expensive.

@@WorkingOnExploring Thanks, but not 37' tall

Correct. These are 35.1" which are as large as I'm willing to go without changing out my 3.73 gears for 4.11s. There's only so much increase that can be done before many more modifications catch up. Bigger tires also begin to restrict turning radius which then drives larger wheel spacers or different wheels. Wider tires require wider wheels which also reduces turning radius. My cargo boxes on the rear were designed with clearance for 34's and would not allow 37's......And it goes on. I decided that 35" with LI 129 were as big as I needed and was the economical stopping point.

Great Info - thank you for sharing. Not being familiar with the area we weren't quite sure where to go. We did drive from the miracle mile area up to Alcova. Then we checked out the Pete's Draw CG (it was busy) and ended up heading up to the (BLM) Trappers Route camp ground. So we did catch some kayaking between Lusby and Trapper's route. We'll make our way back there again!

Sorry...we probably have a photo. When framing was placed in the prior window, I placed an 1/8" luan plywood oval on the inside of the cutout. There was obviously no wall paper on it and there was an uneven gap where the oval didn't exactly match up to the existing cutout and it didn't look good. Because we liked to lean against the wall where the window was when in bed, I simply took a piece of plywood wide enough to cover the flat spot on the front cap (obviously also larger than the old window) and covered it with a layer of bonded Dacron upholstery padding and wrapped it with upholstery fabric. I screwed it to the wall frame with 3 screws top and bottom, covering the heads with a gray plastic 'snap cap'. You're right I should have included shots of the inside.

I have a small, pressurized coolant tank (pressure relief cap on a radiator overflow tank from a Cooper Mini) that I theorize is adequate for expansion when kept half full so I didn't install a bladder tank on the coolant side. On the DHW side I have two RV 'accumulators', one at the pump discharge (deals with pump pulsation and cold water buffering) and one on the calorifier inlet, ahead of the reverse flow check valve to deal with expansion in the hot side of the calorifier. I am not absolutely sure that the coolant expansion tank is adequate in every situation. I have experienced a couple of minor coolant leakages over the past couple years I can neither find nor attribute to a specific event so I am contemplating installing a small bladder type expansion tank just in case there actually is a pressure problem I can't specifically identify.

The Ram board came from HD or Lowes, I don't recall. All I remember of the thickness was I bought as thick as I could get and still wished it was 50% more. I stapled it on with a 1/2" crown pneumatic upholstery stapler that just barely sinks the heads flush with the surface of the material. I didn't want to countersink it at all because it cuts the material rather than holding it. I did put some Titebond lll between the two layers I used. The resin is an unwaxed polyester laminating resin. About the most commonly available. Be careful buying polyester in retail stores as most of it is 'waxed'. The small amount of wax floats to the surface and creates an air barrier that is needed for the resin to fully harden but it interferes with adding additional layers of laminate which is often needed. If you use waxed resin and want to add more layers, you need to sand the surface to remove the wax first. The first layer of reinforcement is 1708. This is referred to as 'biaxial mat' and has 2 layers of 8.5oz (17 oz total) woven roving at 45 degrees and 1 layer of 8oz chopped strand mat on the back. Then all 3 layers are stitched together. That is what the '1708' description comes from. The strand is the inside surface but woven roving is very coarse so I added a layer of 6oz cloth on the outside to leave a smoother finish. You can go with lighter material such as 2oz or 4oz cloth. You have to be incremental in covering coarse reinforcement. There is a material called 'veil' which is about 1/2 oz and is very fine. Going from 1708 to veil would still transmit a lot of the roving coarseness. If you were wanting a superfine fiberglass, 1708 to 6oz to veil would work well. My 2 layers was more than strong enough and it had some unevenness that I needed to address with body putty and thickened resin so getting a super fine fiberglass finish wasn't going to matter that much. Veil is really something you'd use if you wanted to spray gelcoat on as a final layer. Gelcoat spraying is hard to do as it needs a special gun so I just used exterior paint and rolled it on.

@@WorkingOnExploring thank you so much for taking the time to reply. i saved this and will follow your instructions.

I'm a mechanical engineer but have always worked in electro-mechanical manufacturing....for most people, electricity flow (as is heat flow and refrigeration) is not easily understood so alternative graphics are required.

They were not close. Possibly around 100ft. When I bought the winch, it had no cable. It was intended to have 1/2" steel cable. I chose to use 14mm synthetic (32klb capacity) and bought a 45m (153') length, not knowing how much I could get on the drum. I was able to get 108' on the drum making an effective length of 90-95' (leaving a minimum of 3-4 wraps on the drum). I made the remnant into an extension/tow rope that is about 38' long. I also carry a 30'x1-1/8 dynamic rope and an 8' tree saver (both of which I had then), I could use to extend the line. I also have soft and hard shackles, my own version of an 'X-Lock' and a an improved 'load distribution plate' (from Factor 55 base design) both of which can be used as shortening tools for the line extension. I also have a new recovery jack system based on 8T hydraulic x 22" stroke connecting to 4 new receivers on front and rear. All are referenced in some of my later videos. I was also towing my Jeep which now has a 12k winch with 92' of 10mm synthetic line (15klb capacity), an additional 92' of 12mm synthetic line (22klb capacity) for it's own extension and a 30'x4" (35klb capacity) static strap. You might say, I'm pretty determined not to lack means if I get stuck again.

I have a lot to say on that topic that is too much for a YT comment. Email me at WorkingOnExploring@gmail.com

Aluminum definitely causes condensation, but the interior of the walls are dry and unventilated so there is nothing to condensed there. There can and will be condensation inside the cabin if there is enough, a) humidity in the air inside and b) enough thermal conductivity between outside cold temps and inside. Most of my wall strength comes from low thermal conductivity wood but in a very few areas where I have a concentrated load, like the 100lb spare tire, I have placed aluminum in the walls. There is 5mm of plywood on both sides of the aluminum and I have only a little condensation that is not a problem. I have a LOT of condensation that IS a problem with the aluminum window frames. If I had it all to do over, I would probably use the same construction again, because there are few good alternatives to do otherwise. My other option was to use an extruded fiberglass square tube instead but didn't for cost and mechanical reasons. I was a plant engineer for Safari Motor Coaches and we used aluminum tube framed walls and an exterior aluminum skin that had terrible condensation problems that there is no way around. I'm not a fan of a thermally conductive path through an RV wall so advise very selective use of aluminum.

I can't recall the exact clearances specified in the installation instructions but think they asked for something like 6" high between the top of the IDU and ceiling. I have a little over 2" high across about 2' wide in the center and 4" high over about 4" long on both ends. I think if you were able to have 2.5"-3" across the top, airflow would be acceptable. The cross flow blower used in the IDU has a pretty high capacity to work at high static pressure. A restricted intake is a bad thing but would actually be hard to create. The supply output is about 2" high by 30" wide (60 sqin). I think as long as the intake area is 2x-3x the supply it is acceptable. Also, the entire top of the IDU has a filter screen that needs to be removed and cleaned periodically and that needs to still be possible which would not be if the clearance was less than 2".

Well if you have been running it for a couple years now then perhaps the clearances really are a guidance for best results but have room for adjustment. I've looked at a lot of different units and they all seem to land about the same. The measurements of bottom clearance, head unit size, and top clearance are almost exactly 8 foot on every unit I've seen. I appreciate all the detail you gave especially explaining the issue with the 12 v units. I considered it but the price was a real issue before you even revealed the efficiency problems.

I am a former director of operations at a custom A/C manufacturer and a mechanical engineer so I have more than anecdotal experience with airflow conditions. The high velocity supply air discharge is intended to project deeply into the room which is a technique that only mini-splits and rooftop A/Cs attempt to do. High velocity creates lots of problems. The 60sqin discharge area is a function of that high velocity discharge. By having 2-3x the intake area the intake velocity is 1/2 to 1/3rd the discharge which is still high but sufficient not to create a restriction that would reduce air volume. Obviously the more intake area the better. I don't think I'd be ok with 2:1 and would work hard to guarantee 3:1. High velocity air is a major source of noise as well which the very quiet IDUs don't want to compromise

The material I used was 'Ram board' from HD. Its intended as a floor protective covering. I think there may be several thicknesses but thicker is better. Catalysed polyester products that come in paste varieties are body filler and gelled resin. Gelled resin doesn't harden as fast which is why I chose it. You can thicken your resin by adding 'fumed silica' aka aerosil to polyester resin and doing so would be less expensive. It is available on eBay.

@@WorkingOnExploring thank you so much for replying so fast!

I never said it in the video but believe the reaction in question is; the water leached 'tannins' aka tannic acid out of the poplar which created a corrosive that corroded the aluminum.

@@WorkingOnExploring I can agree with that. That is certainly a possibility. Good luck on the repair. I hope this time you get it right. You never have time to get it right, but you always have time to fix it. Ain’t that about how it goes? Safe travels!

Yea. I had one and used it (mostly) but the camera woman comes by randomly to video so I just grabbed the grinder and started (several times) to give her the shot...so I am guilty...

workingonexploring.com/TechDocs has a lot of technical resources including a 'Hydronic System Concept' document that goes dep into materials and strategy as the schematic for the system and for the electrical. If you have specific questions, email me at WorkingOnExploring@gmail.com

thanks@@WorkingOnExploring

I believe decoupling pulleys are more common on smaller vehicles with fewer cylinders where power strokes occur every 90 degrees of crank rotation. I think acceleration and deceleration (of smaller cars) also has a greater effect on belt pulsation. I don't believe that 'most vehicles' have them but since I have never owned a vehicle with one, I have no real experience with their effects.

There is a PDF with a more complete writeup of the concepts and rationale with material detail at WorkingOnExploring.com/TechDocs

I have an HCalory 5kW, 24V coolant heater and really like it. I bought it after I already had a no-name air heater and wish I had also bought their air heater although my no-name has worked flawlessly for 3 years.

Thanks for the tip. In my case, I have a tiny 2002 VW Eurovan Weekender and I'm trying to design a simple, compact auxiliary heating circuit to tee into the existing rear passenger heater circuit fan while parked, currently its heat source is coming from the engine. I don't want to run the engine all night just to heat the small cabin area and I'd like to also have an on-demand water heater for outdoor showers as a bonus. Your design provides a wealth of information, however it has way more capability than I require for my simple task. The Chinese heaters seem like the ideal fit, considering they are much cheaper than the German Espar units...factor of five. I'll likely go with that same unit, as you seem to have had success so far. Also, thanks for posting your video as it gives me some good leads to parts like the control valves which I will no doubt need to exclude the main engine circuit while running the parking heater. Your video is the best one I have found so far...no fluff just the straight goods! Additionally, I was thinking, at times I may want to include the auxiliary circuit backwards to the engine circuit to pre-heat the engine in freezing climates (Canada's winters). Those valves would be ideal. I wonder if you have any suggestions for this?@@WorkingOnExploring

You can reach me directy at WorkinOnExploring@gmail.com. I see you're wanting 3 things (in priority); 1) Cabin heat, 2) hot water, and 3) engine preheat. Cabin heat may be challenging because a 5kW coolant heater is probably about 2x your need. Some people have sooting problems with diesel air heaters when running throttled down for very long. Coolant heaters also don't operate on interior temperature control like a thermostat-controlled aire heater. The way the coolant heater operates, you are not in direct control of the burner capacity. I don't think they make 2kW coolant heaters but they do make 2kW air heaters. I can see an alternative if you are willing to settle for not having the engine preheat. I'd start off with a 2kw diesel air heater for cabin heat. Since you have engine coolant going to your rear heater, you could install a calorifier under the cabin and that would use that engine coolant to heat water. You end up arriving with great hot water for a shower. Something like this; www.heatso.com/surecal-horizontal-10-liter-2-64-gal-single-coil-calorifier/ they make 10, 15 and 20l versions depending on how much space you have and how much water you want. They are similar in price so if you have space for a larger one, you'd be advised to get it. I have a 20l and it heats up to 80C in about 20 minutes of driving (as long as the engine heats up quickly.....when really cold, it takes my engine a long time to heat up) and stays relatively hot for ~12 hours. This combination keeps plumbing and operation simple. if you want to add a coolant heater to heat the calorifier, it is relatively simple to add valving to also get circulate it to reheat the engine too. Doing these two is not hard, but 3 or 4 things gets a lot harder to control. Probably the biggest problem would be controlling space heating. The coolant heater would be shutting down very often and your interior temp would be like a yo-yo. Rixens (Rixens.com) has a proprietary controller that consolidates functions. It's $1k and I believe only works with a Espar heater. They sell kits which are also VERY pricey.

We can’t seem to get back on the road is one thing we haven’t accomplished much over the last 12 months! Hope we see you again at TCA rally.

Yes, we will see you there for sure! 😊

Ah Sus…so glad you got to watch the progress. Yes, very satisfied having this dream start taking shape! Also happy to be back in snow free land with a heater right now…lol (Cheryl)

Happy to hear you're progressing and that I was able to be helpful. We are building a shop-house in Idaho which likely has similar temperatures.....I am putting a hydronically heated floor in it to keep it warm enough to tinker all winter long....we've been back in SoCal for 3 weeks doing projects like this....its 45F or so here in the morning here which I definitely know sucks my motivation when its not even that bad. I've definitely lost some of my edge....or maybe I'm older and wiser,....I can't decide which..

I’d not wait that long ;). We did get one welder onsite already and will bring another one back with us in the spring and there’ll be so much “fun” stuff to work on this spring and summer.

(S) Cheryl is confused. 2 MIG welders and an oxyacetylene torch are already there...because of the need to get railings done on the deck or inside the residence, welding operations will be set up sometime in April or May at the latest...

Thank you! At least this part of our life getting in the way was by choice! More Truck and Camper projects are underway.