[my cumfy reliable toy hauler]

4 hours ago, Scott iv said:

The AC has done a great job for us over this past Summer. Of course, Wisconsin Summer. We've had some hot 90+ degree days and it managed to keep the camper comfortable. 5200btu. I've seen mixed reviews on the internet when in the West desert country and Texas 100+ degree days. I wanted an AC I could run along with occasional microwave on a 2000w peak inverter generator. 

 

My rear rack hangs off the back farther than yours. Concerning movement I had to address with my rack was lateral movement; side to side. Very solid up and down but had to weld additional support between frame extensions to reduce lateral movement. There are images out there of people who did not reinforce their frame and adding a trailer hitch rack bending and twisting their frame extensions laterally. 

niiiiiice, i was considering losing the roof unit and using a small window unit ac i could put in temporarily on the rare occasion i use ac....   do you have pix of your rack setup or can you direct me to some of the pix of frame twisting/bending on these toyos from rear rack system, ive searched for a bit and didnt find anything.   my rack setup seems rock solid vertically and laterally i can easily jack up rear of rv on the rack and seems just as solid latterally but id like to see any pix on results of other setups.    thanks for the help!

[cheap an easy wireless connection to your RV + wifi]

i was planning on getting a dedicated "hotspot" for my winnie before my latest trip down south so i can stream my home cable app and amazon prime video and alexa features luckily before i ordered the hotspot system i was temporarily using an extra family plan phone with hotspot as my wireless for the cable/alexa/amazon prime and even a ring doorbell i can put in any window to monitor the door or even the motorcycle on the back of rv through rear window which gives me motion notifications and i can monitor from my phone. but surely i thought the speed would be slow on the cell phone hotspot but it works great it slows after 50gigs but still works for streaming tv and ring and it took me almost a month to use the 50gigs including the week i was in Tennessee.

 

all in all the hotspot system was going to be $100 a month also limited high speed,  but the cell phone hotspot is only another $20 on my plan plus i have an app that lets me track the other phone [rv] in case it is stolen/broke down whatever i can track it or even call the rv and you find yourself in a pinch you lost your phone/battery dead you can use the rv phone as a back up!

 

obviously if you rv in very rural areas campsights etc... where cell service is limited that this might not be for you but while traveling im almost always be near a big city/populated area so this works well for me!

 

ALL IN ALL VERY MUCH WORTH $20 A MONTH AND THOUGHT ID SHARE THE IDEA!!

[my cumfy reliable toy hauler]

On 11/16/2020 at 9:54 PM, linda s said:

Here's a detailed thread about installing a window AC unit in almost the same place. Looks like it came this way set into the cabinet above. 

Linda S

 

thanks

 

On 11/17/2020 at 1:09 PM, Scott iv said:

Here are a couple pictures of my AC. Won't win any beauty contests but is functional and I'm happy with where I fit it. It protrudes from the side of the camper approximately 6"; enough to get good air flow so it functions properly. Original fridge was shot. Took it out flipped it upside down and tried all the tricks before giving up and hitting craigslist for the dorm fridge. I run the fridge with solar and inverter. 

 

 

how well does that window unit cool your rv?

1 hour ago, jdavid said:

Welcome CRV! 

 

I am curious about the weight of your bike?  It looks larger than I would have thought could be possible with this kind of mount.  I am thinking of doing the extension from frame underside to do a very light trailer but this is a direction I would prefer (I have a big old bike so not sure possible).

 

 

 

 

this a 1000cc track bike, it weighs about 400lbs i didnt have a chance to build the rack before my end if the season trip to tail of the dragon last month [rt129 world famous motorcycle meca] in the Tennessee mountains so i just used a trailer but since got it setup everything seems very strong but im going to box in the c-channel frame from the rear axle back just to be sure because im going from pa to cali over the winter and dont want any flexing.

[solar setup... off-grid power]

6 hours ago, WME said:

Ive seen 2 working solar A/C set ups. One ran a household AC unit with 550AH of batteries and 900w of solar. The other ran a 13.5K btu Rv roof unit with  750AH of batteries and 1700w of solar. Both would power 1 hr of A/C after sundown and fully charge the batteries and run the A/C the next day.

I have also seen a Hybrid setup where they ran a Household A/C with a 1000w generator and a invertor/combiner with 150 AH of battery.

interesting...

2 hours ago, linda s said:

I've wondered if a hybrid car battery could be used instead of the very expensive lithium ion batteries available to RVers. Lots of them sitting around in junk yards and many on ebay for less than 500 bucks. Pretty sure one would fit in my generator compartment and it's already vented to the outside. Can't find power specs on them but they must have lots of it to run a car.

Linda S

ive tried several different style/size batteries [except lithium] over the years and these deep cycle 6v batts have been by far the best performing for the heavy draw my system consumes when everything is on since the lead plates are much thicker for the deep power draw compared to starting or hybrid batteries and the thicker lead plates explain the considerable weight increase but also the performance increase.

Just now, Maineah said:

And how much does all of that weight? Wants and needs I guess I can go indefinitely with a 100 watt portable panel and two group 24's. Propane tanks hold far more energy than a huge battery bank!  One thing to remember your 120 volt load discharges your batteries at a rate of 10 to 1. Better not be cloudy to long!

yes its heavy batts are 60lbs each panel 15lbs etc...  but generator weighs almost that,  i dont have to feed this system anything but sunlight and its quiet as a mouse!  in a pinch [several cloudy days] i start the motor or run generator to get a quick charge!         just as a guage,   before i ever put the solar panel up i charged the batts and used them for 6hrs a day [ac120v= flat screen, computer 2 echo 7 smart screens [alexa] controlling many rv systems etc..  pluss 12v stereo system 10" screen w/android 2 amps and several other odds and ends. and it took about 5-6 days til voltage was 12.2 with no load!  i bought items as efficient as i could but as you said AC draws considerably more power than DC systems

[solar setup... off-grid power]

On 11/16/2020 at 8:50 PM, WME said:

Wow somebody who understands solar and what it really takes to run things.

Now you just need to do a solar powered A/C🤣

lol i would love an alternative to running generator for the ac...  fortunately i dont use the ac all that often.  to finish off the solar setup  i am getting ready to pull the trigger on lithium iron phosphate batteries which will hurt the wallet but WOW. what a weight, performance and longevity improvement!

[Myrtle The Turtle - 1983 Dolphin renovation]

yes...  that is coming along nicely!    lol myrtle the turtle....   too funny!

[Jump starts]

On 10/31/2020 at 10:16 AM, Maineah said:

A common trick is an off, monetary and on toggle switch connected to the isolator relay small terminal. Don't even have to open the hood. 

but the rv batt is what powers and activates the isolator relay so if rv batt is very dead [like you left headlights on all night etc...] it cant power the relay and thus cant connect house/rv battery together to jump start.

factory isolator uses rv batt to trigger, i used a dash switch that connects the house battery power to the small terminal of isolator relay since even when depleted house batts are still 12v+

[solar setup... off-grid power]

i set this system up so i can use microwave flatscreen etc...  without being plugged in or listening to/smelling and fueling up the generator.

450AH battery bank charged by a 500w panel controlled by an mttp grape solar controller. along with a 3kw inverter and an 80 amp smart converter to replace the 10 amp factort converter for quick charging when plugged in.

[my cumfy reliable toy hauler]

On 11/14/2020 at 8:29 AM, Scott iv said:

Mine has a cabinet above the fridge with some unused space between. I mounted a window ac unit in that space. 

do you have a pic of your install of the ac, im considering losing the roof ac and would like to see hiw you did it.  

[my cumfy reliable toy hauler]

solar controller timers led lighting etc... mounted everything in this wasted space plus the heat from amps solar controller etc can escape through fridge ventilation!

[my cumfy reliable toy hauler]

18 hours ago, Scott iv said:

Nice work. Cool looking additions like the solar panel mount. And a large full size bike on the rack. I lightened a 400cc to get it to around 300# for my rack. 

thank you sir, its funny that you mentioned lightening the load on carrier, just to be safe im getting ready to "box in" the c channel frame from the rear axle back to increase its rigidity since it is so extended from the oem toyota frame!

[my cumfy reliable toy hauler]

made a few trips along the east coast but map will be covered with "done that" icons along rt 66 to west coast to get away from this years east coast winter!

[my cumfy reliable toy hauler]

i built this mini winnie to carry me and my bike to all my bucketlist "must ride" roads across america.

 

 

 

 

i extended the frame to mount a cycle carrier...  no trailer hitch setup here, this is triangulated frame extentions with welded 45's and aux lighting.