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  1. #16
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    NSW
    Posts
    537

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    Quote Originally Posted by BaronJ View Post
    Hi Guys,

    I'm back with a few pictures of my vehicle. Whilst I have it in mind, a power winch is very convenient, a "Trifor" manual cable puller could be used in a pinch, slow I would agree, I've seen a 38 tonner pulled back upright with one ! A single bloke yanking on the lever, mind you, me and two others were stood watching,

    Attachment 369473 Attachment 369474

    This is my solar panel mounted on the vehicle roof, it is a nine by six cell 300 Watt one. You can better see the connection box in the second picture. Looking down the sides there are two alloy clamps on each side that are bolted into expanding nuts. The whole of the roof rack is made from 50 X 12 x 4 mm aluminium channel. All eight mounting posts were made, six to fit the mounting points on the vehicle and two rubber mounts, designed to support the front edge of the panel. There is a wind deflector to go on as well, but I haven’t gotten around to finishing it off. The edges of the panel are black anodised, but I covered all the edges with with white PVC tape to help it blend in somewhat.

    Attachment 369477 Attachment 369478 Attachment 369479

    This is the battery storage compartment with the fuse box, main terminal box and solar panel controller unit. That is in the small plastic box below the fuse box. You can see the 4mm wire connections going in on the left hand side.
    That junction box holding the main terminals is a 100 amp domestic one and was picked up as surplus from a local electrical dealer. That third picture shows the lift off lid closing off the compartment.

    Attachment 369475 Attachment 369476

    These last two pictures are of the control panel, housing the water gauge, LPG gas gauge, step control switch and the 25 amp isolator switch. It is shown here in the off position. Again the isolator came from a local electrical dealer.

    This is very much a work in progress, I have a lot to do to get to a finished state. However it is a very usable RV as it stands.
    Thanks for the reply your system looks good . The Tirfor winch is a good thing and not needing any electric power . Unfortunately I am too old and my back is not good enough anymore to use one . I have done a lot of hard work , Military training and operations not to mention the Vietnam war in my time and the body has suffered quite a bit from carrying heavy pack loads over long distances it wrecks your sciatic nerves in your lower back . It can be quite hard on your back if you have to move the vehicle a long way . I owned one for many years but gave it away to a younger guy .
    That's a huge solar panel and would take up my whole roof area . I don't have the load space inside the vehicle to sacrifice the whole roof rack area . I need the roof rack area for at least one spare wheel , two fuel cans , long handled shovel and high lift jack . If I go higher and put a panel above all that the car will not fit under the rolladoor to the shed . My roof rack is at stage one at the moment ( just four bars ) but the whole concept is low profile so I can eventually leave my stuff on the roof rack sometimes but still be able to get into my shed and into underground public parking which is even common in bigger country towns . We don't have park and ride yet thank god .
    The image is of my vehicle with stage one of the low profile roof rack you can see my load limitation in a small vehicle like this and I don't want to pull a trailer because that will get you bogged every time and ruin fuel economy .
    You camper looks very roomy and much easier to fit stuff into , the Nissan X-Trail is hard to fit anything extra to it .
    If I go a solar panel it will have to be a removable set up and take it off when parked in towns . Too easy to steal on a low vehicle like mine. The other stuff on my rack will be locked down so less chance of theft . PS. I just got a bit of an idea . I could put a folding solar panel across the bonnet , make it clip to the edges of the bonnet with some cushioning under it . Running the cable down into the engine bay and attaching to the front winch terminal would be easier than running the cable inside at the back or side of the car no water leak issues . Would a solar panel stand the shock and closing vibrations of a bonnet I would close it gentle ?
    Attached Images Attached Images
    The volume of a pizza of thickness 'a' and radius 'z' is given by pi z z a.

  2. #17
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Far West Wimmera
    Age
    63
    Posts
    4,049

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    Works ok in solid ground
    The situation I was in was sandy ground. When I say sandy I mean sandy. Not far from where I lived at the time. The sand was good enough to use for concrete if you could find some clean enough. Star droppers are actually very well designed to resist sideways force in sandy soil.

    What do you mean by tied together?

    Tied from top of attachment dropper down to bottom of next, top of that one down to bottom of next etc etc, each seperated by a distance. The droppers are angled back away from the object to be winched. Best possible attachment method you can produce as I see it. Uses the same principal as a strainer on a fence. It puts all the force on the ground friction of the attachment post and virtually negates all bending forces above ground. Logically it would beat a "it's a long flat plate with holes in it at an angle and you drive bars down into it ", because the force is all directed at / from the ground level. Your flat plate will have force acting on it at an upward angle unless the winch cable runs along the ground. With my idea the angle of the cable is also at an angle, but because the dropper is tilted backwards the cable force still pulls directly thru the ground. The best thing is that it can be made up of stuff found around the area, if you are lucky. One of the things I carry is a crowbar and this can be put into use. You can dig a hole for a fence post or branch to drop into and the hole does not have to be rammed or even filled. The force is only acting in one direction. Same as burying your spare wheel. All you need is a bit of solid ground for the item to be pulled against.

    I know everyone has their own opinion about things and tends to stick with what they are used to. I am not saying your plate will not work. I am saying that it will not work if it is still in the shed, and my experience tells me that of the few times I have been stuck, most of them were not expected and I did not have any special equipment with me. My idea can make use of many different items which can be chosen to suit the situation. Geometrically speaking it is about as close to perfect as you can get under the circumstances. If your plate utilised bars that could be tied back at an angle to resist the bending / tilting from the cable force then it would certainly be an excellent attachment point on any surface. Of course it would have to be with you and not in the shed. In my case I know what the chances are of that being the case.

    Re the old Ford jacks, I can remember many people being dead against them. I loved them. I never had a failure, which I cannot say for the current scissor jacks. A scissor jack requires a lot of force to lift from a low level. Guess what level a car is when it has a flat tyre. I have had one fail. The old jacks lift the vehicle quite high which is good when you are bogged. I have seen some that have been badly treated. Like everything, if you treat them right? I guess it is the usual thing of not treating the jack the right way and then complaining when they fail. Many people don't have a clue.

    I was called to help with changing a flat a while back. It was about 4km from home. The car was on flat firm ground. The tyre was destroyed. Funny because the car was on the way to have a couple more tyres fitted. Tyres that I had given her from my old car. The house where she stopped was a friend of her ex husband. Yes, he turns up again, sort of. This friend offered a trolley jack. The handle he provided with it bent at the first application of force. It was rusty from laying in the back of the ute. Yes, peas in a pod. What did I say about having a clue? I think I managed it with my scissor jack, but it was very difficult. I think a screw jack is probably the most versatile. They can be operated with a cordless drill and the force required is constant regardless of the height, until you hit the top that is.

    Dean

  3. #18
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    NSW
    Posts
    537

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    Tied together just as you describe but there is a few methods .Improvised winch points - Copy.jpg
    When I say solid ground I mean not wet and mushy . Dry even damp sand can be more solid than wet mushy mud ground for this purpose .
    On wet mushy mud ground the stakes can just slowly pull through the mud and come out .
    You are wrong about the flat plate system it's better than the others mentioned in some ways . It keeps all the force right at ground level and the bars are easier to drive than star posts and easier to retrieve . That's why rescue people use that system above other improvised rescue points it's well proven system but you don't know that .
    I don't have opinions I have 45 years of bush driving experience in all kinds of conditions . I don't build something unless I have seen it work before . Don't be so quick to condemn and make assumptions Dean on something you have no experience with .
    It works when it's needed and in the shed when it's not needed your comment is dumb.
    The volume of a pizza of thickness 'a' and radius 'z' is given by pi z z a.

  4. #19
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Far West Wimmera
    Age
    63
    Posts
    4,049

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    I am comparing like for like in which case having the top of the stakes tied back against the tension will help the ability to hold. This is logic. Equal stakes, but with one method having the tops tied back.

    Don't be so quick to condemn and make assumptions Dean on something you have no experience with .
    I am not condemming nor making assumptions.

    When I say solid ground I mean not wet and mushy
    Fair point, but the method I use is intended to be used in soft ground so I did find your comment unusual.

    You show in the pictures that the pull is horizontal or below. Most situations would have a pull angled up to an attachment point on a vehicle. This adds an upwards vector to the tension, which my system mostly negates. My idea is like method 2 although the second and third stakes would be much further out. 45 deg or more. The plate method would work ok in harder ground where the risk of stakes pulling out is much less.

    With any upward angled pull there is a tendency for the anchor point to try to lift. My method physically holds this point at the ground. If anything the cable will sink into the ground, not lift. In the ground I am familiar with the plate method would lift. This is probably why I have never seen it used. Both methods can be suitable in the right conditions, but the advantage of mine is that it can be improvised from materials available.

    the bars are easier to drive than star posts and easier to retrieve
    Star droppers were only an example of what can be available. I am not talking about them specifically. Compare with the same bars as you are using except long enough to tie at the top. Like for like. As the ground gets softer my idea becomes the better option. Please do not make assumptions about what I mean.

    It keeps all the force right at ground level
    Both methods do.

    It works when it's needed and in the shed when it's not needed your comment is dumb.
    Thank you for your tolerance. For it to work you have to have it with you and my comment was that "I" would not have it when I needed it so if you think I am dumb then so be it.

    That's why rescue people use that system above other improvised rescue points
    Sure they do, and it would be a part of their normal equipment, carried around all the time. Maybe different locations have different methods due to local conditions. In my area hard ground is very unusual. It is mostly sand, West and South to the coast and North probably all the way to the interior.

    You need to stop making this personal. Insults are not necessary.

    Dean

  5. #20
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    York, North Yorkshire UK
    Posts
    6,439

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    Hi Retromilling,

    Thank you for your kind words. Making the most out of what you have will always be a compromise in some way or other. I found that the cost of solar panels from caravan and camper suppliers were incredulously expensive and everything else was an extra cost.

    A Chinese charge controller was very cheap and in the case of a high voltage panel absolutely necessary. Whilst I can see that using the bonnet space would help, I'm not at all sure that the very thin glass substrate would survive on there. The glass of my panel is only 3 mm thick and it is only the rigid frame that prevents breakage. You can actually see it flex when a large lorry comes past at any speed. Touch wood it is still in one piece and still provides substantial power.

    Now having said that, I have seen caravans with fairly small panels hung horizontally from windows, similar to the clothes dryers that some hang out. One chap I chatted with said that he got his from a hardware store and that it was quite cheap, £30 or there abouts and was rated at 35 watts. He said that it produced enough power to keep his leisure battery charged for the evening TV viewing. I thought it a bit small at about a foot square when folded in half, so about 12 X 24 inches producing 13.5 volts in full sunlight.

    As far as my RV is concerned, I decided to treat my self to a brand new van for Xmas 2015, after my old one of 12 years use became uneconomical to repair. I've been doing bits and bobs for the past couple of years or so, as I could afford and manage. At the moment I'm doing the top lockers. I've still got a roof vent to fit in the shower/toilet roof, and I haven't put the TV or satellite dish in yet
    Best Regards:
    Baron J.

  6. #21
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    melbourne australia
    Posts
    3,228

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    Quote Originally Posted by Retromilling View Post
    PS. I just got a bit of an idea . I could put a folding solar panel across the bonnet , ....
    Are you thinking of mounting the panel only when parked at say a caravan park? And removing it when driving?
    Chris

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