Cuppa's Camper

[GUtsy ute]

Hey Cuppa,
Your canopy is looking great, love what you've done with everything fitting in
so neatly.
That electrical setup is a beauty, something I wish I could do.
Looking forward to the next installment.

Cheers Gavin

[Cuppa]

Luv the car mate. sumfin different to the norm. Do you live near melb i swear i passed this truck heading south on the freeway just past broadford wighbridge today.

Nah, not me mate, I'm down in Gippsland. There's a few of these trucks around. At least one other in my area.

Cuppa

[Cuppa]

Time for a few more photos

First up - I wasn't going to bother installing mains 240v, but when I realised that the ARB fridge freezers can automatically detect what voltage they have available & give priority to 240v I changed my mind. It means I can just plug the vehicle in when in the shed & not have to bother about changing supply cables to the fridges.
Standard 240v inlet.


Double pole (as required by the regs) RCD safety switch


2 mains power points, also both double pole. One at the rear for the fridge & freezer, one at the front for anything else (Computer, battery chargers, HWS etc).


General view from the left side. Stove not yet plumbed in. Water plumbing behind stove. Decided not to have stove on slideout as I want to keep the space above it empty, to allow a view through from the drivers seat at junctions (see next pic). Will have a small fold out kitchen work top to left of stove, plus an external clip on table toward the rear incorporating a sink


Can still see out - safer when turning right out of a junction

There is to be hot & cold pressurised water availble to the sink (or for showering) via hoses that clip on ouside the canopy, with trigger type garden sprayers attached. The hot water is heated by driving, from the calorifier which is now inside the insulated box to the left of the stove. The 12v 40psi pump is fitted behind the stove under a removable cover. All plumbing is 15mm John Guest stuff, not cheap but very easy & quick to use, as well as having the advantage of being able to pull it apart to re-use it (or when you've cut a pipe too long or too short). Each fitting has a locking clip to prevent the joints coming apart unintentionally. I used two stainless ball valves as internal taps. These will be turned off when travelling to prevent accidental water loss, but when camped the trigger sprayers should be sufficient.


These exit through the canopy floor just behind the left mudguard. Our hot water hose will connect here, the cold water one (shown with hose attached) feeds through to a filter at the rear of the vehicle.


An internal shot of the through the floor water fittings, which have plenty of clearance for the fridge to slide back & forth over the top of them (phew!).


Ball valves. Shut off when driving. Mounted into Dibond which I hope will keep the gasfitter happy given it's proximity to the stove.


Love the John Guest stuff. I only used the 15mm because that was the size on the calorifier (HWS) & the expansion tank, otherwise the 12mm version would have been quite adequate (& cheaper).


Not an expensive Shurflo like we have in the bus, but an ebay cheapie. I bought two for less than half the price of a Shurflo & will carry one as a spare, also useable in assisting to fill the tank.


In case any problems arise I thought it wise to fit a shutoff tap to isolate the tank. Just a small garden fitting.


The 'plumbing compartment' with it's cover on. I will build what kitchen storage I can above this which still allows for the clear view through from the drivers seat & also allows for this cover to be removed for access to the plumbing.


This little baby had nowhere else to go without a lot more piping (& expense), so sticking it here was a compromise. It allows for expansion as the water heats up. Experience with a similar set up in our bus, but with no expansion tank, is that we always get a steady drip from the system's pressure relief valve. Fingers crossed that it wont happen in the Patrol.


Inside here is the calorifier with additional insulation which should keep water hot for 3 days hopefully.
The small hatch allows access to the tempering valve to adjust the ouput temperature of the water beteween 45 degC & 65 degC. The coiled cable allows for the unit to be plugged into power & has a thermostat set at 80 deg.C. Removing a little of the insulation gives access to manual control of the pressure relief valve should the tank ever need draining.

More in next post

[Cuppa]

The water filter cartridge is mounted at the rear of the vehicle & filters all cold water used. It is a 1 micron silver carbon filter, meaning that water can be taken from rivers, troughs etc if necessary, treated with chlorine in the tank, & have all taste of the chlorine removed for drinking. The cold water 'sink hose' will connect here. A female click on connector, blocked off with sikaflex should keep the crap & wee beasties out. (Reminder to self - need a cover for the hot water outlet too).


At the rear is a space to store the ladder we need to access the rooftop tent. I may yet structure it a bit more, although suspect that an 'open' space could be quite useful (in addition to the open full length shelf along the inside top of the canopy). The ladder also fits quite nicely across the drop down spare wheel brackets, so this rear space may be utilised differently when out bush compared to in places where someone might think they deserve to own our ladder more than we do.


Moving around to the other side of the vehicle, this shows the water tank fitted. It has two fillers, one for a click on hose & one for a jerry/funnel. Spaces for storage to be filled with silding plastic boxes.
(As on other side above the fridge)


The various pieces of 3mm ply are basically 'baffles' for the fridge & freezer. Being back to back, where one blows out hot air the other would suck it in. The baffles are to prevent this. Most of it is removable with a screwdriver for access elsewhere if required.


And around at the back again shows the under canopy compartments. The right hand one (3/4 length) has not yet been allocated, but the left one will be for storing our second tent, an OzTent, one of the older 'real' canvas models equivalent in size to the current RV3, purchased second hand but virtually brand new/hardly used - another ebay buy. It fits, but only just. To get it in means not having it inside it's carry bag, but it fits into a drawer I made, which has a 3mm ply cover that slides in above the tent to prevent the tent snagging on anything as we pull it out. The second tent will be our daytime 'living room' & evening mossie refuge when needed & it's canopy should match up to the Shippshape's (rooftop tent) canopy fairly well giving a reasonable amount of shade.



Well that's where I'm up to. Soon I'll have to start on all the 12v supply & charging stuff which I've been putting off a bit. Only because I there is nowhere local to buy supplies (cables etc) at a reasonable cost, that I know of.

Hope you like what you see, feel free to tell me if you think I've stuffed up anywhere, better to know now than out in the middle of woop woop.

regards
Cuppa

[aussiemale]

That's a damn nice set up mate, seriously!! Would of been the way if I'd gone trayback, love the tray draw you have from the rear. Did you make the spare wheel holders yourself? Trying to work out if I should have a recess in the sides (bit like the landrover 110 6x6s the army have) or on the back like yours

[mudduck]

Thats all looking awesome mate, lovin watching this build.

[DX grunt]

I love your sliding drawers!! lol

[DX grunt]

[QUOTE=Cuppa;235641]

[IMG]http://www.cuppa500.com/Webpics/Patrol/Tent drawer closed.jpg[/IMG



Can you please give me a full run down on your drawers? lol

Size, materials used, etc. Any probs lifting them or dragging them over the back locking mechanism, when full?

If you're gunna put a drawer on the RHS, appreciate the measurements for that, too.

I'm so sick of using a rake to drag stuff out that slides down to the front. lol - not

Rossco

[DX grunt]

Did I read somewhere you're gunna get a roof top tent? If so, how are you going to get into bed from the ground?

[Cuppa]

Can you please give me a full run down on your drawers? lol

Size, materials used, etc. Any probs lifting them or dragging them over the back locking mechanism, when full?

If you're gunna put a drawer on the RHS, appreciate the measurements for that, too.

I'm so sick of using a rake to drag stuff out that slides down to the front. lol - not

Rossco

Hi Rossco,
The drawer is certainly a tight fit over the top of the locking mechanism, so much so there is only one way to get the drawer in & out, but it does work.
Giving you the measurements won't help, I reckon you have to 'adjust' to your space. Clearance side to side is not a problem, but a chamfer on each low edge of the drawer ensures clearance of the welds where horizontal & vertical ally is joined,
I had to grind part of the locking mechanism bar flat to give clearance getting it in & out, & the the two locking bars have to be 'straight', not 'staggered'(ie turn the handle to the locked position when door is open). I also had to cut what I could off the plate in which the locking bar slides, & cut a corresponding 'groove' along the full length of the drawer to accommodate what was left of it.

As usual (for me) I built it out of what I had handy, most of the drawer is 12mm pine tongue & groove , like is used for wall panelling. It seems rigid enough, wouldn't want to go thicker because of weight.
The end panels are 6mm Dibond, just 'cos I had it sitting there. Originally I was going to do the whole thing out of Dibond, but what I had wasn't quite long enough..... just as well as I wouldn't have had the thickness to allow for the cutting of the groove' to make it fit.

When putting the tent in it, the drawer is removed from the vehicle first, tent put in, & then draer replaced.

Not sure what I'll do on RHS yet.

Actually one measurement that might help is the full height of the drawer (not including the front panel which can be a bit higher) - 122mm, but I needed every millimetre to fit the tent, if making a more 'general drawer' life would be easier at 115 to 120, depending how much you want to grind off the locking bar & plate.

Cuppa