OrioN
2008 2500 170" EXT
Everyone wants a new Sprinter till they have one
Everyone?!
Please, don't speak for or include me.........
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Everyone wants a new Sprinter till they have one
yeah no....Although I have done maintenance and repair to fix broken MB parts, but overall - Driving the Rhino is just.... fun.Everyone wants a new Sprinter till they have one
Mark - Ham operator?....... I have a tall antenna and have ripped it off three times. Luckily it has a breakaway section made of pot metal that is replaceable. That breaks, the top of the antenna falls into the street and nothing else is damaged. I just replace the breakaway part for about $15 each time I forget and drive under tree branches with the antenna still up. It takes a few minutes to get up a ladder and take down the antenna and I just figure "ill do it later" and occasionally forget. So, I'd never trust myself with manually tilting panels.
The antenna gets a lot of attention. It is large.
Regards,
Mark
For 2 Meters / 440? Right in the middle of the metal roof. It's up high and such a good ground plane it will work really well. My big antenna is for HF.Mark - Ham operator?
I am going to be putting in a Kenwood TM-D710G Dual Band Mobile Radio and putting Larson Antenna up top.
Any suggestion on Antenna Location?
NMO-2/70K - VHF / UHF, NMO Mount, 144 - 148 / 440 - 450 MHz, 100 W, 34.5 in.For 2 Meters / 440? Right in the middle of the metal roof. It's up high and such a good ground plane it will work really well. My big antenna is for HF.
Thanks sir!Maybe start a new thread for this discussion. There are many Ham installations on these vans.
Regards,
Mark
I’ve destoyed an SUV roof and a mountain bike in a similar fashion pulling into a garage. Part of the reason I went with Flatline racks.The advantage of deployable flex panels is they don't have to be on the roof, or even that near to the van. I have a 50 ft extension and the panels can go in the sun while I park in the shade. Plastic pipe or small sticks can prop them up at the angle you want. Then there is lots of air behind them for cooling.
One problem with tilting rigid panels on the roof it it takes a significant structure that adds weight and complexity. If you forget to tilt them flat before taking off, you can rip stuff off the roof going under low hanging trees. All you have to do is forget one time. I have a tall antenna and have ripped it off three times. Luckily it has a breakaway section made of pot metal that is replaceable. That breaks, the top of the antenna falls into the street and nothing else is damaged. I just replace the breakaway part for about $15 each time I forget and drive under tree branches with the antenna still up. It takes a few minutes to get up a ladder and take down the antenna and I just figure "ill do it later" and occasionally forget. So, I'd never trust myself with manually tilting panels.
The antenna gets a lot of attention. It is large.
Regards,
Mark
Yeah you don’t drive something like a MANN overlander and not expect a lot of attention… pretty much anywhere.To the OP, same thing with mine. Everywhere you go people want to look at it and talk about it. I realize how blessed I am to have such a cool vehicle and don't mind talking to other people.
About a year ago a German family pulled into the beach parking lot driving their three axle MANN fully outfitted overlanding vehicle. The tires were about as tall as I am. You should have seen the crowd around that thing. I felt kind of sorry for the them. It is probably like that everywhere they go.
We’ve had all that with our van to include people coming up and pressing their face against the glass, with their hands cupped around their eyes, to see inside the tinted rear windows.I have a new 2021 Vanworks Pebble gray 4x4 2500. Lucky me, right? Well, today I drove to a Florida state park to cycle along the bike path in the Florida Keys. As I was unloading my bike my wife told me afterwards that someone had been watching me the entire time (~ 5 min.) Fine. Whatever. But it has been a frequent occurrence, to the point where it’s becoming hard to remain civil with all the “nice rig”, and “is it four wheel drive?” Or, my favorite, “can I see inside?” I don’t think my van is all that special, so why all the attention? Anyone else notice an unusual amount of attention with their van? Some days I feel like a traveling freak show. As a wiser man once said, If they build it, they will come. Is this a common thing or am I just that sexy?
Yup...I average about 140 from 200w flat...220w out of three 100w panels laying flat on a van roof is excellent, unless it’s around noon in summer.
so you traded your plumbers van for a garbage truck?Yeah, these things happen--it's how I got into vans, by gawking at others' vans and going up to them to check them out. Finally, I could not resist and bought my own and then built one, and sometimes I get waves and thumbs up while driving down the highway, which creates a laugh and almost some accidents as the gawkers try to get alongside me in traffic. But driving my new expedition truck now building into a camper gets a whole other level of gawking and talking from bystanders.View attachment 207875
Of course, and in the temps in the desert you may lose more than 30%.I am researching the solar panels for my house and found a note that roof-mounted panels can loose up to 30% of it efficiency due to higher temperatures on the roof. Meaning flexible panels without cooling gap rigid panels have will loose efficiency even more.