Anyone Full Time in a Toyota?

[bajadulce]

Nice looking cabinet doors! Well done.

Where do you store that 200 Watt panel and curious what the dimensions of that thing are? Ya correctly oriented/tilted panels would make a huge difference in the winter time (especially for all you folks in those northern states). I could see 75% gain. Love to see some pics of your wind generator mounted when you get it back up and working. And what's the trick to not having them resonate noise to the cab via their mounting?

[Maineah]

I have a fiend with folding panels he uses for his popup and we aimed them with a volt meter one afternoon you would not believe the difference a slight movement of the panels made. The folding ones give you both azimuth and elevation possibilities which is even better and you can carry them out from under the trees.

[wetboy]

Nice looking cabinet doors! Well done.

Where do you store that 200 Watt panel and curious what the dimensions of that thing are? Ya correctly oriented/tilted panels would make a huge difference in the winter time (especially for all you folks in those northern states). I could see 75% gain. Love to see some pics of your wind generator mounted when you get it back up and working. And what's the trick to not having them resonate noise to the cab via their mounting?

The Panel (for now) either rides inside the coach for looong trips, or in the back behind the bike for shorter day trips. It is 37x54...about 40 lbs. I'm a big bloke who works out everyday so its not much of a problem, but folded in half with a handle to carry... that would be bargain! Just have to solder 6 tabs joining the cells that run transverse to the cut and weather proof them, and hinge the frame. Probably do that my next foray into the Nevada outback when I have plenty of hours on my hands.

If you are looking for the cheapest solar in the U.S. I suggest http://sunelec.com . I went to their storefront in Miami and picked up my panel since I was in the area. I briefly learned all about their operation and they mainly ship around the world. As a drive-up customer, I was definitely a novelty, but they were all friendly, environmentalist types. The bloke at the warehouse even took a "special" interest in helping me, where upon I decided it was best to drive off as fast as my 4 cylinders would take me. All in all...a good experience with them though.

Do keep in mind one thing tough...the ratings of most of these panels in watts is their open circuit volts times amps. 20 volts x10 amps= 200 watt panel, for example. Under load, of course the real voltage is about 12.5 to 14 depending upon your battery levels, while the amps remain fairly constant. So, you won't get a true 200 watt hours charging. More like 130 watts. So you should use THAT as your true wattage calculator. I mainly look for the highest amp rating I can get, as I know the volts will be down near battery charging voltages in real life. I find panels rated around 17+volts open circuit to be adequate under load to charge batteries. Example: I'd get a 17 volt, 13 amp panel before I'd get a 21 volt, 10 amp panel. Just get all the amps you can.

My wind gen is a custom design. A small, fast turning VAWT (savonius design) at the end of a fabric windsock like structure that funnels the wind into it. This allows much more energy capture, with ultralight weight and better low wind performance. Also easy folding for travel. I had this idea on the drawing boards for years. It captured for more potential energy than I calculated, so I need to build a bigger 3 phase alternator to keep speeds reasonable. Added to my mile long list of things to do...Someday, I'll be rich with this design, so for now I'll comfort myself with that.

Oh, and noise isn't much of an issue for this design, but for a typical wind gen you can isolate alot of the noise by using a thick rubber pad between the base of your mount and your RV frame member. In fact, a rubber pad sandwiched between two wood blocks would be even better. Just avoid metal-on metal as the vibrations through metal just tend to amplify. I learned this flying wooden aircraft vs. metal. Ooooh, the ride was nice! Experimental Aircraft use many of these types of engine vibration dampeners, so look for those as good source of inspiration!

Edited May 25, 2010 by wetboy

[wetboy]

For those not in the know (as I wasn't):-

http://www.systemthr...pc/T-88-c27.htm

Not cheap!

Yeah...not the cheapest, but it's very thick... Like creamy peanut butter once mixed. So far, I've done most all my cabinet and bathroom doors with the quart kit, and I still have half of it left! Good thing, I still have bunk cabinets and gun safe to make! A lil goes a long way. You can do all the woodwork you can think of in our Toys with a quart kit. Considering the extreme use they get compared to home service, it's worth the $40 to me.

Edited May 25, 2010 by wetboy

[wetboy]

Forgot to mention...an absolute NECESSITY for our poor lil trannys. I put on an aux tranny cooler, and it had made my shifting much less jumpy, and my fluid isn't burnt after 500 miles. The minimal cooling thru the radiator is just inadequate when pulling 6000 lbs up a mountain pass!

Also Seafoamed the tranny, and flushed it first...then filled with synthetic ATF. So far, she seems to like it better. For those who don't know yet, NOTHING kills a tranny faster than heat. So from here on she rides cool. Mine is an absolutely over-sized unit from Imperial Econo-Cool. Covers half the radiator, but I've had no engine cooling issues, even in Florida. While it may be overkill for normal cruising, I know it will pay off as I get into long Colorado mountain climbs and the desert southwest. The only thing left mechanically...repack rear wheel bearings and synthetic differential change.