A Travellin' We Will Go

[aussiegold]

been home for a few days now and after getting ripped of by a supposedly reputable mechanic, that i got to fit new seat belts

( that's a whole nother story :head bang: :head bang: :head bang: ) i set about making a battery tray for the secondary
or " house " batteries.
i used a steel powder coated tool box , cut in half diagonally and some 25 mil square steel tube to support it. here are some pics of the battery compartment and the second battery tray.

and here are some pics of the tray in place and the vehicle battery in place as well. i am very happy with the way this turned out. it is very sturdy and uses a space that would not normally be used. it also tucks the secondary batteries out of the way . :clapping:

 

[slabghost]

Looks great! Nice idea for a battery box.

 

[joedrum]

my son is talking the same talk as you and has a project hes looking at ...im watching ..i built the doghouse way back when ..to house a greyhound buss ..while i worked on it ...so much for plans ..but a lot of wings mods were born there till i was evicted from the place ...so the smaller stuff is rather interesting to me ....as my son plan are revamp of mine ...

 

[Ansimp]

Nice work Maurice. :good:

 

[aussiegold]

and time to revisit the bed project. after a bit of argy bargy i've managed to square it up, strengthen it, make a front or side ?
bolt it down . just have to fit the slats and struts. may need a bit of something at the rear to give a bit more support but the main skeleton is there and at a pinch it is usable.......maybe..... :smilie_happy:

 

[aussiegold]

so,, got the Mighty Mazda registered on Thursday. no mean feat.... :clapping:

and after a lot of cutting , welding , grinding and bolting accompanied by a whole lot of swearing... :head bang:
i got the deep cycle ( 105 Amp Hours ) batteries in place. the cradle i had made for them originally, sat too high and the whole thing had to be remodelled... :crying: these pictures dont show the retaining clamps , as i think they will have to come out again.

and here is a pic of how the three batteries will all sit together.

 

[slabghost]

Alright then! Big steps forward.

 

[dan filipi]

That blue battery is a monster. Must be a heavy sumbitch.

 

[Ansimp]

:good:

 

[aussiegold]

dan filipi » Fri Mar 10, 2017 11:22 pm[/url]":318knr9h]
That blue battery is a monster. Must be a heavy sumbitch.

haha.. :smilie_happy: yes, it's a biggun all right. and bloody heavy ... :BigGrin: and will be expensive to replace... :roll:

 

[slabghost]

I carry one much like it. Same size. In the bed of my truck for jump starts.

 

[wedoo2]

"argy bargy"? You guys have a word for everything.

 

[Ansimp]

wedoo2 » Wed Mar 15, 2017 9:58 pm[/url]":1gxo1i4n]
"argy bargy"? You guys have a word for everything.

:smilie_happy: :smilie_happy:
:salute:

 

[desertrefugee]

Since we're off topic and I like getting out of town in semi-comfort (not always on a motorcycle) on the cheap. I hope I'm not stepping on AG's toes if I just interject a brief interlude into his build.

I've been watching this thread with great interest. I love when folks re-purpose a utilitarian vehicle. While I don't have a custom conversion, I do have a good vintage factory canvas for "refining" in pretty much any direction you want to go in. Straight up, Stealth and/or off-grid camping quickly and easily is what you need.

For a number of years and roughly 50k miles, I've also been tooling around the Intermountain Western US in an old VW Westfalia ('83). It is probably the most efficiently designed and laid out 600 sq. ft. of self-reliance I've ever seen. Mine has a ground thumping GO-Westy 2.2L Wasserboxer. A stroked version of the original 1.9L . The last of the VW flat-four design, the Wasserboxer is the ultimate evolution of the venerable VW aircooled 36HP original. Bosch fuel injection (admittedly primitive, but it works well), solidly (if a little quirky) engineered liquid cooling, it will run AC in Phoenix and fans only kick on in traffic on hot days. Did I mention it burns the pavement at 110HP? Pushing over 4000lbs? Not the most speedy vehicle up a mountain - but not the slowest, either.

Many folks have abandoned the original engines. For the aging drivetrains, Subaru transplants are common, as are later VW iterations (turbo and otherwise). There's even a popular Ford engine conversion. I happen to like my "worked" VW flat four. Far less common, but not rare are Porsche powered Vanagon/Westfalias.

But the camper, ah, the camper. I won't go off into detail here (but could), I'll only say that they're great, economical, FUN vehicles to tool around in. Wonderful camper design very closely mimicked even today in the Mercedes Benz iterations of the Westfalia layout and concept. We've been comfortable in the "way back" all over out here. I've had to do a few "unplanned maintenance" activities, but I've never been stranded. It will happen, I'm sure. I'm due. Meanwhile, stove, 3-way refridge, sink and 10 gallon fresh tank with 3 gallons of propane. I've added 100W of solar generation for both the "house" and "vehicle" batteries. These are among the most modified vehicles out there.

So, sorry about the intrusion in this great build, but I love seeing real utilitarian APVs (RVs?) either be created, restored or modified. And if they become real memory makers, no price can be put on that - regardless of it's origin.

Great build, I can't wait to see it really coming together.

 

[aussiegold]

desertrefugee » Fri Mar 17, 2017 1:43 pm[/url]":18zwej3n]
Since we're off topic and I like getting out of town in semi-comfort (not always on a motorcycle) on the cheap. I hope I'm not stepping on AG's toes if I just interject a brief interlude into his build.

I've been watching this thread with great interest. I love when folks re-purpose a utilitarian vehicle. While I don't have a custom conversion, I do have a good vintage factory canvas for "refining" in pretty much any direction you want to go in. Straight up, Stealth and/or off-grid camping quickly and easily is what you need.

For a number of years and roughly 50k miles, I've also been tooling around the Intermountain Western US in an old VW Westfalia ('83). It is probably the most efficiently designed and laid out 600 sq. ft. of self-reliance I've ever seen. Mine has a ground thumping GO-Westy 2.2L Wasserboxer. A stroked version of the original 1.9L . The last of the VW flat-four design, the Wasserboxer is the ultimate evolution of the venerable VW aircooled 36HP original. Bosch fuel injection (admittedly primitive, but it works well), solidly (if a little quirky) engineered liquid cooling, it will run AC in Phoenix and fans only kick on in traffic on hot days. Did I mention it burns the pavement at 110HP? Pushing over 4000lbs? Not the most speedy vehicle up a mountain - but not the slowest, either.

Many folks have abandoned the original engines. For the aging drivetrains, Subaru transplants are common, as are later VW iterations (turbo and otherwise). There's even a popular Ford engine conversion. I happen to like my "worked" VW flat four. Far less common, but not rare are Porsche powered Vanagon/Westfalias.

But the camper, ah, the camper. I won't go off into detail here (but could), I'll only say that they're great, economical, FUN vehicles to tool around in. Wonderful camper design very closely mimicked even today in the Mercedes Benz iterations of the Westfalia layout and concept. We've been comfortable in the "way back" all over out here. I've had to do a few "unplanned maintenance" activities, but I've never been stranded. It will happen, I'm sure. I'm due. Meanwhile, stove, 3-way refridge, sink and 10 gallon fresh tank with 3 gallons of propane. I've added 100W of solar generation for both the "house" and "vehicle" batteries. These are among the most modified vehicles out there.

So, sorry about the intrusion in this great build, but I love seeing real utilitarian APVs (RVs?) either be created, restored or modified. And if they become real memory makers, no price can be put on that - regardless of it's origin.

Great build, I can't wait to see it really coming together.

I LOVE IT. thats what i'm talking about. it dont matter if its an old emergency service bus or a brand new winnebago , the experience is the same. and everyone has their own way of doing things. not off topic at all. arty: arty:
more pictures of our project coming, but that nasty work thingy has reared its (very) ugly head again , so i best get crackin... :smilie_happy:

 

[mcgovern61]

more pictures of our project coming, but that nasty work thingy has reared its (very) ugly head again , so i best get crackin...

That work thingy is what makes taking a trip that much more desirable! I am looking forward to the spring meet and greet and camping out for 10 days!

 

[aussiegold]

well, well, well, two steps forward and one step back...... :beg:
revisited the auxillary battery tray and box after a chat with Tony ( Ansimp ) thanks mate.. :BigGrin:
built a whole new setup with 50 x 4 mil galvanised angle iron on the ends and 40 x 3 mil gal angle on the sides ( doubled up )
getting better at building stuff.......
didnt take pics during construction but heres some in situ.

here is the underside , displaying some of my excellent welding ........... :wave:

and here is the 50 x 4 mil bar being used as a big washer , hopefully making it more solid. a bead of sikaflex to be added as soon as
time allows.

and here is a picture of the DC to DC charger mounted on the wall.

and lastly, as the boss sat there watching me finish that job, she calmly says.... you know, the fridge would be better on the other side .... :head bang: :head bang:
i resisted the urge to inflict serious damage to her self and said , yep.. no worries... :whistling: :whistling:
so, here it is, directly above the battery bank , which makes more sense ..( but i didnt tell her that)

 

[joedrum]

i like the adjusting always plans ..the world should be as smart ..

 

[Ansimp]

Looking good Maurice. :good:
I think I may of mentioned to you that the hardest part of these jobs is to figure out the planning first. Seeing that your labour is free it is not such a big deal to use the "try it and see " method for planning. I don't think that voltage drop to the fridge will be much of an issue now. :yes:

 

[aussiegold]

got a bit more work done today, have to go away to work tomorrow... ( for a rest :wave: )
bed frame in and bolted down

here it is in its raised position, plenty of space underneath.

fridge all bolted down and staying where it is....

and some of the original bus seats cut down a little to be used for table seating. also , the seats on these lift up for more storage .