Why so much attention?

[OrioN]

Everyone wants a new Sprinter till they have one

Everyone?!

Please, don't speak for or include me.........

 

[TorqueMonster72]

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.
I have driven Fords (Fix Or Repair Daily), Dodges (If you can't Dodge it Ram it), GMC (Grossly Mediocre Crap) and I tell you, the Sprinter for me is just a dream.

 

[TorqueMonster72]

....... 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

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?

 

[marklg]

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?

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.

If you can't get it perfectly in the middle, at least a 1/4 wave from an edge.

Maybe start a new thread for this discussion. There are many Ham installations on these vans.

Regards,

Mark

 

[TorqueMonster72]

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.

NMO-2/70K - VHF / UHF, NMO Mount, 144 - 148 / 440 - 450 MHz, 100 W, 34.5 in.

Maybe start a new thread for this discussion. There are many Ham installations on these vans.

Regards,

Mark

Thanks sir!

This thread.

CB, Ham, FRS, etc. Any radio nerds out there?

I'm looking at putting a radio (or many) in my Sprinter.. I'm not (yet) a radio nerd (do not have my HAM license. Will start working on that during the quarantine). Curious if anyone out there knows anything about what radios use what frequencies, and if there are any radio systems that can...

sprinter-source.com

 

[Prince of pixels]

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

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.

 

[#yardsale]

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.

 

[Rocksnsalt]

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.

Yeah you don’t drive something like a MANN overlander and not expect a lot of attention… pretty much anywhere.

As much as I wouldn’t want to have to change a tire… or pay for the fuel on one…
Those things are badass!

 

[grinnelljd]

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?

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 did notice much less interest in our van once we drove from New England to the Pacific NW. I’m sure it has everything to do with the simple fact that there are so many more vans there vs in New England. Heck, fellow van drivers weren’t even bothering to wave back.

 

[Prince of pixels]

Yes. You would think there’d be more vans on the east coast given it’s proximity to the factory. But yeah I’m originally from California and I doubt my van would garner a second look let alone a five minute observation. I’m headed west after my Key West exploration so hopefully the lookieloonies will become less and less with every mile. Here’s to hopin’.

 

[az7000']

They are easy to check out here, parked in all the nice vrbo’s!! No one around to bother ?

 

[DJEe]

Here is my 06. It does not have the camo on the bottom any longer..(it was in very poor shape and poorly installed), the paint is uneven spray bombed....
but the attention was non stop, everywhere...especially in small town Sask. currently empty inside. was planning to camperize it but last summer ended up moving etc...so maybe this summer..

 

[Flagster]

220w out of three 100w panels laying flat on a van roof is excellent, unless it’s around noon in summer.

Yup...I average about 140 from 200w flat...

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

so you traded your plumbers van for a garbage truck?

 

[Rocksnsalt]

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.

Of course, and in the temps in the desert you may lose more than 30%.
Temps above 149F degrades efficiency significantly, ideal is 77F.
I’d wager solar panels in Vegas exceed 149F daily for several months a year.

How Temperature Affects Solar Panel Efficiency

CharacteristicsManufacturer: blog

www.renvu.com

I have black panels for my van, and am looking at black panels for my house, though I know silver/ raw aluminum will be more efficient- but to my tastes they are less aesthetically pleasing.
Flex panels are not known to last very long, especially if mounted directly to a surface.
From what I’ve read and seen on youtube, they tend to have hot spots that reduce efficiency and shorten life, even when not mounted directly to a surface. But definitely worse when mounted direct etc.
Regardless, I completely understand utilizing them for RV use etc as many people do.
They’re certainly very useful and convenient.