Overland Build

[Midwestdrifter]

I cut the drain hole. I just got some sikaflex adhesive, so the pan should be getting bonded in tomorrow. Once its bonded in, I will sand the edges flush with the floor, and seal the gap with some urethane. I will cut down the removed floor section to a tight fit, then use some rigid foam and wood spacers to bring it to normal height. There will be a small seam, but when I replace the floor covering, I can minimize it. I may try to fit some latches, but given its light weight, It may not need it.





Jen cut some access doors in the back of the bench seat. These will give us easy access to the storage behind the seat. She also reinforced the seat back with some steel bracing.

 

[Midwestdrifter]

Getting my butt into gear as the self imposed deadline is 34 days out. Drafted up a gray water tank. Two integral baffles, and a 1/2" OD aluminum heating pipe will be built in. The plan is to route my hydronic heating loop with a secondary pump to keep the gray tank and lines from freezing in the winter.







Here is where it will be mounted.



IMG_20200729_125624525



The shower pan is bonded down. I need to trim the edges and install the drain line.



IMG_20200728_084531260



IMG_20200728_090237857



IMG_20200729_081821921

 

[bcman]

Slicing and dicing, one hole coming up.

You cut through a rib! That's ballsy. Are you worried about the structural integrity? Or are you planning to weld the box to the rib underneath?

 

[Midwestdrifter]

You cut through a rib! That's ballsy. Are you worried about the structural integrity? Or are you planning to weld the box to the rib underneath?

That rib isn't important, and the box will restore most of the floor stiffness.

 

[Midwestdrifter]

Got the galley parts unboxed. Looking good thus far. Lots of deburring, but should go together pretty quickly.

 

[Midwestdrifter]

Making progress on the welding. I bought a new box of flap disks, which makes my welds look a lot better.

I test fitted the sink and cooktop, They are a nice tight fit, and should sit almost perfectly flush. It will be great to have a flat surface to work on.





The grey tank parts shipped, so I should have those next week. Hopefully my welding skills will have improved enough to make that a easier task. I set up the tank with 50% overlap external fillet welds. Which should be easier to make water tight.

 

[Midwestdrifter]

Waiting for lunch to cook, and looking ahead to a few items that need resolved prior to winter. On of these is freeze control for the gray water tank and lines. Another (farther down the road) is heating the engine and possibly fuel tank/lines.

Since I will need to relocated my hydronic heater due to the battery box install, I am considering a redesign.

-Isolate hydronic heating loop from engine, due to increased plumbing
-Install plate heat exchanger for preheating engine
-Plumb heating coil for gray (and eventually custom fuel tank)
-Plumb heating lines for drain hoses
-Design control unit which can run the pumps and heater to: Heat water tank from engine, heat engine from hydronic loop, and perform anti-freeze operation.

Doing some googling to see what options I have, I came across this floor heating manifold set. It looks like each circuit has a thermostatic valve on the return side. So I can adjust the temperature of each loop as needed. That would reduce heat loss to the tanks in warm weather. Its pretty big though. I am not sure what kind of flow resistance it would create either.

 

[rollerbearing]

Interesting manifold idea. Coincidentally I was looking at residential hydronic zone valves for similar purposes (controlling flow through flate plate heat exchanger to enable/disable engine heating from isolated D5).

 

[GeorgeRa]

I had once a 4 season Bigfoot trailer. The space for all below floor plumbing and tanks was covered with a semi-rigid foam sheet and hot air was fed into it. It seems as a simpler solution than individual winterizing loops.

The question is how easy would be seal that space, I looked at this option in my van and it want easy due to the drive shaft but with a different layout it could a potential winterizing option.

 

[Midwestdrifter]

Interesting manifold idea. Coincidentally I was looking at residential hydronic zone valves for similar purposes (controlling flow through flate plate heat exchanger to enable/disable engine heating from isolated D5).

Yeah, it would save me a bunch of plumbing connections too. Looks like the gauges go to 200F, which is fine for my purposes

I had once a 4 season Bigfoot trailer. The space for all below floor plumbing and tanks was covered with a semi-rigid foam sheet and hot air was fed into it. It seems as a simpler solution than individual winterizing loops.

The question is how easy would be seal that space, I looked at this option in my van and it want easy due to the drive shaft but with a different layout it could a potential winterizing option.

I don't seem much option for that in my configuration, too close to exhaust, and large driveshaft. I did include a heating loop in the gray tank design which makes it easier. The rest of it is running some 1/4" lines along the drain hoses, and insulating them.

 

[Midwestdrifter]

Getting closer.

 

[Midwestdrifter]

Galley is mostly together, Just need to weld up the bins. I am considering a direct to metal clear for the top and front face. And grey epoxy for the rest of the surfaces. Bins are undecided, but will probably be painted to match whatever I do to the fridge door.

 

[RVBarry]

The shower pan is bonded down. I need to trim the edges and install the drain line.
IMG_20200729_081821921

BTW, how far is the shower from the seats and other electrical areas, and does anything need to be done to protect against moisture/steam.
Thanks

 

[Midwestdrifter]

There is electrical under the bench seat by the door. Steam really isn't an issue, as the water tank is only 40 gallons, which limits shower length. The roof vent is also above the shower regardless.

Moisture from a shower is nothing compared to sleeping in cold weather with no ventilation.

 

[Midwestdrifter]

Still working on the galley. Getting close to paint. Need to buff the top, and brush the visible welds. When I was removing the cooktop I got the corn cockeyed on some old silicone. Put a 3" crack in the top... I filled it with some windshield repair resin. However it looks like the top might be opaque to UV. I will leave it in the sun all day, and see if it holds.

 

[GeorgeRa]

Looking great, is aluminum top your working countertop? Never ending merging of companies, it seems as WEMA is now KUS. I have the fresh/gray water levels WEMA sensors working flawlessly since 2013.

 

[Midwestdrifter]

is aluminum top your working countertop?

That's the plan. I am planning on the clear urethane after I polish or brush it.

My sensors still work, but the grey tank has been unreliable at higher levels since I installed it. I think it was due to some sealant contacting the sensor face, so hopefully its better on the new tank.

 

[Midwestdrifter]

Got the shower curtain installed. Jen sourced some stainless fixture pins. These are positive retention with a release button. The curtain is a standard length XPLR Outfitters model. On the bottom there are 4 15lb magnet catches. I will sew one side to the curtain, and bond the other to the pan edge.

 

[Midwestdrifter]

Battery pack has been commissioned and is working fine. I will do a capacity test later this week, and setup the alternator charging.



Gray tank i installed, and awaiting plumbing. I insulated where possible, but may add some more down the road. I may change the filler wire next time around. I had about 8 leaks when I tested it. When I patched the leaks, I was getting thermal stress cracks at the start/termination of the weld patches. Pre heating may have helped with them as well.

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[vwvic]

Battery pack has been commissioned and is working fine. I will do a capacity test later this week, and setup the alternator charging.



Gray tank i installed, and awaiting plumbing. I insulated where possible, but may add some more down the road. I may change the filler wire next time around. I had about 8 leaks when I tested it. When I patched the leaks, I was getting thermal stress cracks at the start/termination of the weld patches. Pre heating may have helped with them as well.

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You are doing a lot of work and it all looks good, but the thing I would do different is have a couple of straps holding the tank up instead of welding the brackets to the tank (that's where it will crack)