Interstate Mods - I'll go First

[Boxster1971]

Originally Posted by Luckysnuck

Nice MOD with the "piano hinges" looks very robust, appears they were designed with this specific function in mind. Any chance you remember where you picked up those hinges?
Thanks

They are known as Double Offset Piano Hinges. I got mine several decades ago at the Boeing Surplus Store in Seattle - a neat place no long open to the public. They were part of my garage stash.

They are commonly used in the boating industry. Here is link to something close to what I have without holes. Many sources are available, but most have screw holes punched.

https://www.ebay.com/i/383398508404

[Luckysnuck]

Combining this eastern black walnut table top from Higgins Fabrication - Bangor, Maine with an under table mount from Springfield Marine we created an extra table top ideal for laptop work in the front or a cocktail table in the rear. We settled on 15" x 18" x 1.5" size which works great in both areas.

[Lineolated]

Beautiful!

Where do you store the tabletop when on the road?

[Luckysnuck]

Originally Posted by Lineolated

Beautiful!

Where do you store the tabletop when on the road?

I'll construct a simple padded cover/bag and stow it in the large upper rear cabinet.

[InterBlog]

Project on tap for today:

Adding a solar charging circuit for the chassis battery. That pic below is a new Blue Sea cut-off switch in the process of being configured for this addition.

In ordinary times, we never needed our solar system to charge our chassis battery.

But - ahem - I don't know how many of you have noticed, but these are not ordinary times.



What's happening to us now is that our Interstate is getting used for widening purposes. Lock-downs and the like have prompted this.

Well, shoot, I've been running an OwlCam security device which historically I've turned off once the Interstate is back in its enclosed garage. But now the Interstate lives mostly in our driveway. The OwlCam is programmed to shut itself down as soon as the chassis battery falls below a prescribed level, which usually takes a few days of OwlCam parasitism to occur. That's a good safety feature designed to preserve the chassis battery, but I want to keep the Owl running at all times, like a good security device should.

Ergo, we now need to have the solar take care of that recharge function.

I'll post back as we get further along. Further info on the OwlCam is available on the "Comprehensive DVR and security camera system" thread.

[Boxster1971]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

. . .What's happening to us now is that our Interstate is getting used for widening purposes. Lock-downs and the like have prompted this.

Well, shoot, I've been running an OwlCam security device which historically I've turned off once the Interstate is back in its enclosed garage. But now the Interstate lives mostly in our driveway. The OwlCam is programmed to shut itself down as soon as the chassis battery falls below a prescribed level, which usually takes a few days of OwlCam parasitism to occur. That's a good safety feature designed to preserve the chassis battery, but I want to keep the Owl running at all times, like a good security device should.

Ergo, we now need to have the solar take care of that recharge function. . .

You have hit on the main reason I've always considered solar an essential item. Some folks with large lithium packs and big second alternators don't think you need solar. My solar keeps all batteries fully charged with security systems on when van is often parked for a week or more.

[Fenix]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

Project on tap for today:

Well, shoot, I've been running an OwlCam security device which historically I've turned off once the Interstate is back in its enclosed garage. But now the Interstate lives mostly in our driveway. The OwlCam is programmed to shut itself down as soon as the chassis battery falls below a prescribed level, which usually takes a few days of OwlCam parasitism to occur. That's a good safety feature designed to preserve the chassis battery, but I want to keep the Owl running at all times, like a good security device should.

Ergo, we now need to have the solar take care of that recharge function.

Careful relying on that. I’ve been using an Owlcam for 18 mos. Recently left my truck for 4 days at the airport. The OwlCam continued to draw power and drained my truck dead. Could barely jump start it. Even thought it “went to sleep” at 72 hours it still drew current. Also, OwlCam closed their doors and the website is dark so no further support...fyi.

[Boxster1971]

Originally Posted by Fenix

Careful relying on that. I’ve been using an Owlcam for 18 mos. Recently left my truck for 4 days at the airport. The OwlCam continued to draw power and drained my truck dead. Could barely jump start it. Even thought it “went to sleep” at 72 hours it still drew current. Also, OwlCam closed their doors and the website is dark so no further support...fyi.

I think you missed the point that solar is the answer. I’ve left my Interstate at airports many times for weeks at a time. The solar array on my roof keeps all batteries fully changed.

[Pahaska]

Another Covid-19 keep busy project.

I have had some adhesive sound-deadening material in the shop ever since I bought the material to deaden my bar-sink replacement.

The water pump in my GT has been terribly noisy ever since I bought the coach. This morning, I removed the louvers below the refrigerator to check out the situation. I found everything screwed down to the hard floor which provided a sounding block. In addition, I found one line resting against the end of the black tank so that the tank served to amplify the noise.

The area is extremely hard to work in and the wood edges are sharp. I had to lay down in the aisle and use a short screwdriver to remove about 9 screws holding the pump and lines to the floor. I put the sound mat under everything as well as covering the end of the black tank. I only put back essential screws.

The pump is still not what I would describe as quiet, but it is now a "thump-thump" instead of a "bang-bang." Probably as good as it gets with this particular water pump.

Now, to grow some skin back on my forearms.

[rowiebowie]

Originally Posted by Pahaska

The area is extremely hard to work in and the wood edges are sharp.

Now, to grow some skin back on my forearms.

If there's no blood involved, the project wasn't worth it.

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by Fenix

Careful relying on that. I’ve been using an Owlcam for 18 mos. Recently left my truck for 4 days at the airport. The OwlCam continued to draw power and drained my truck dead. Could barely jump start it. Even thought it “went to sleep” at 72 hours it still drew current. Also, OwlCam closed their doors and the website is dark so no further support...fyi.

Are you sure the problem was the OwlCam?

We have not had it cause problems -- but we have a splitter on the OBD port, and the other half supports the Bluetooth OBD reader which was semi-permanently installed, which was originally a Carista, but the Carista killed our last battery. We had to change that out for another brand which was guaranteed to turn off completely when the engine switched off, so we could leave it there without worries. It works, but I forget the brand.

Anyway, during that troubleshooting process, we monitored for parasitic draws and found that once the Owl shuts down, it's not going to cause a problem.

But, as Boxster said, regardless of culprit, we can make the whole issue go away via the solar upgrade now in progress.

And there was blood shed. Not only that, my husband tweaked his back crawling under the van (I volunteered to do it for him and he refused, so maybe some karma there). Ergo, the whole thing is shaping up to look like a valid project.



EDIT: Elaboration on the current OwlCam situation in via this previous thread where the OwlCam was discussed in more detail. Thanks Fenix.

https://www.airforums.com/forums/f24...ml#post2362251

[Pahaska]

I had plenty of leftover plywood and laminate, so I built a spice rack to go over the galley in my GT. I'm not sure I like it, but it is OK for now. It gets my most-used spices out of the drawers and out where I can see them.

The scrap Lexan flap swings down for access and is latched up with magnets. The handle is a turned pen blank that I never used.

The bottles are labeled on the top. I made bottle labels for on the sides tonight with my Brady labeler.

[preedtx]

I have read several posts on various sources for the custom teak shower mats for our Interstates. Most are in the range of $200-400. I just made one from a 20"x28" (not real teak) mat found on Amazon. It was fairly simple to fashion a template from cardboard and cut the circle for the sink with a standard sabre saw. The real teak mat picture is from the AS store. The other picture is of my homemade one at about 1/5 the cost.

[Pahaska]

I detest the AC outlet over the galley. Actually, what I detest is the damn cords hanging down right where I want to prepare a meal.

When I first bought the AI, I removed the folding counter extension. With all that counter space, there is no need for the folding part. That left some screw holes that I covered with a piece of matching ply that I removed elsewhere.

I realized this week that there is plenty of depth for a shallow outlet box. I made up a larger overlay for the screw holes and mounted an outlet box on it. Today, I cut a hole in the galley end with my SonoCrafter and mounted the new overlay.

I sprayed a black outlet plate brown. It should be dry and ready to install tomorrow. I cut the end off an 8' AWG 14 extension cord to hook up the new outlet.

The outlet Airstream installed for the microwave has a place for only one plug. Tomorrow's job is replacing the Airstream outlet with a box and a regular household outlet. That will entail some drawer removal and some head bumping, but not a difficult task. I'll need to do it by lantern light, though. No AC in the AI when I am working on the wiring.

I realize there is a limit to running things like my coffee pot at the same time as the microwave, but that limit is the same as my kitchen at home.

[Pahaska]

I was watching a video of a walkthrough of a Winnebago class B. Beneath the overhead cabinets, they have mounted three "EverythingKeepers. These are baskets that store up against the cabinet bottoms and swing down for access.

I thought, what a great place for things like my glasses at night and my DWs bracelets and such. I had to buy one!

I sprayed it brown to better match the interior of my AI and mounted it centered above the heads of my twin beds. There is a rubbery shelf-liner square included to pad the contents.

There are strips of mounting tape on the bars. I cleaned the laminate with alcohol, and the strips still did not stick well. I ended up with 4 screws.

I did notice one bad thing. The corners of the mounting bars are really sharp. I can see not ducking far enough and cutting my scalp. I'll pad the corners with something a bit softer.

[rmkrum]

Link to or identify a source for these baskets, please?

[nvestysly]

Originally Posted by rmkrum

Link to or identify a source for these baskets, please?

I was wondering the same thing and found https://getkeepers.com/ they make several "keeper" varieties - coffee, anything, everything and maybe others too. Their web site indicates the products are for sale directly as well as on Amazon.

[InterBlog]

Awesome product - why didn't we know about this sooner?!

If I had known, I probably would have chosen it over the fixed under-cabinet shelves that I designed four years ago.

I'm cross-posting this image to a couple of relevant locations:

[Luckysnuck]

Thanks to Agile Off-Road for an excellent horn upgrade kit! Easy DIY install and the kit comes with all you need:

* PIAA Superior Bass Horn Set
* Dual Horn Mounting Bracket
* Wiring Harness

Goodbye circus clown car "beep-beep", hello a horn you're not embarrassed to use!

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by Luckysnuck

Thanks to Agile Off-Road for an excellent horn upgrade kit! ....

I had to look that one up. I do like it better. However, it appears to be suitable for the NCV3 Sprinter only, not the T1N.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxERIOeVKo8