DesertTed

OMG! I pulled out of the driveway, and started down my street. I looked down and saw the oil pressure light was on. I turned around and went right back into my driveway. I didn't drive more than 500 feet total and the manual states that the vehicle needs to be pulled over immediately and towed (I didn't really need anyone to tell me that, though). I'm having the vehicle towed to the Nissan dealer. The van only has 7K miles on it. Anyone out there there ever have this happen? Tell me it is a bad sensor or something minor, please. The vehicle drove fine and made no strange noises (nor would I have expected it to after such a short drive). The oil on the dipstick was at the high mark when checked it after three hours at rest. We had the second oil change less than a thousand miles ago (we had one early, at 3000 miles because our dealer is in Phoenix area a 100 miles from home). A nice thing is that the Nissan roadside assistance was here in about 30 minutes, tops. One of the things any NV owners should keep in mind if they call for towing, is to let the dispatcher know that you need a large tow truck. The first tow truck was too small and they had second, bigger truck here in about 15 minutes. In any case, I'll keep y'all posted. I hope not with bad news.

Funny, I have that charger coming in tomorrow from Amazon. I'm going to leave it loose, so I can use it elsewhere. I talked to a couple of people about Voc. Apparently, the normal Voc is calculated for 25C (77F). For every degree Celsius the temperature goes down, the Voc will increase 0.31-0.36%. That's a lot! And altitude affects it similarly (every 1000 feet gain in elevation increases the Voc 1%). We're planning to camp at high altitude and in cold weather. I don't know if the D250S will handle the solar as the available panels are all 21 Voc or greater. I guess I'll get another letter out to CTEK. And with that question, will I be able to hook up an MPPT charge controller to the battery bank that's already attached to the CTEK system? It's a wonderful world where such a quandary is a priority.

Oops, Wollip, I didn't see your first response, my tablet just scrolled to the last post. It's good to hear that about our alternators. I was hoping, that since our vehicles use the electrical items like the inverter and more, that Nissan wouldn't mess with the alternator. One less thing to worry about! Thanks!

You've got that right! I have a letter already out to CTEK about the maximum voc for solar input. The paper manual says the max is 22voc, whereas the online manual say 23voc. There's a couple of solar panels I like that run from 21.8 to 22.81voc. Naturally, the ones that would give me the max Watts are the ones best sized for my set up. The 22.81voc ones. When I get a response from CTEK(hopefully I do), I'll post it. So, I know that you have the CTEK system. Do you also have the Smartpass, and do you have a relay set up? Dya know what kind of alternator we have? There are smart alternators on some Nissan cars, but I've not been able to find info on the NV-nor on the Titans, which would have the same set up as the NV, I suppose. One other question for you: since I scour the web, I've found some conflicting viewpoints on where to ground the CTEK. Where is your ground? Thank you, Ted

Hi all, I'm wiring the electric system and just ran into this small print: "If the alternator is a"smart alternator" that can be switched on/off at runtime by the engine control module or similar, please see separate installation guideline". With a quick search, I found this from an Australian site: "Can I use the CTEK D250S Dual in a vehicle with a smart alternator?" The answer is as follows: "You can use a CTEK D250S Dual in a vehicle with a smart alternator provided that you have an automotive relay installed". It went on: "CTEK Sweden have devised a simple solution for using your CTEK D250S Dual with a smart alternator. By including a 30A automotive relay into your system, you can successfully install a CTEK D250S Dual into your modern vehicle with a smart alternator. The CTEK D250S Dual DC-DC charger will charge, condition and maintain your dual battery system, with the ability to charge from both your alternator while your vehicle is running, and your solar panels while your vehicle is turned off. The relay is designed to go between these two power sources and your CTEK D250S Dual, and is activated by vehicle ignition. Allowing the CTEK D250S Dual to work with a smart alternator. These relays are available on request from Bainbridge Technologies or your local stockist Please see the diagram below to get an idea how to incorporate the automotive relay into your system" (I couldn't get the diagram in here) Anyone know? Does anyone know, if we do have smart alternators, what harm, if any, will occur while using the CTEK without the relay? I wasn't able to find out the type of the NV's alternator. Gadzooks! I hate small print unless it is in my favor, which it seldom is. Thank you, Ted

I don't know why the above photo was oriented sideways. Oh well. I'm starting to assemble the wiring. I've never used the heat-shrink butt and spade terminal connectors before, but they make putting everything together enjoyable and neat. I just have to put a photo of one of the lights to be mounted. When I'm ready, I just have to plug it in. Easy peasy! I'm using 18 gauge wiring for the LED lighting,16 gauge for the USB jack's, and 14 gauge for all the 12 volt cigarette lighter outlets except for the one for the fridge. For the fridge,I got a separate marine 12 volt outlet. It'll be dedicated solely and wired directly to the battery with 12 gauge wire. We're looking at a Truckfridge for now. We have an 1100 watt inverter to be hooked up and mounted behind the driver's seat on the sink cabinet. Even though the six gang panel has circuit breakers, I'm running an inline fuse on every line out. I'm not physically able running a line from the engine compartment, through the firewall and to the electrical center. Hub won't touch electricity, so I'm going to have to farm out that duty to a professional. Hub should have the other two drawers in tomorrow or the next day. We're starting to see this thing come together! After the bed and electrical is in, the sink and upper cabinets will go up. After that, it'll be little things and mostly cosmetics.

Yesterday and today Hub mounted the battery on/off switch, CTEK system and the six gang panel. I wanted to photograph it before we hook up any wiring. I reoriented the on/off switch and the six gang panel to situate the actual wiring better. Especially the panel-the two folding bicycles in the drawer will be right behind the panel, so I wanted the wiring to go up, so as to make it less likely to snag with the bikes. You can see the slats that will separate the battery area from the rear drawer area. I'm not quite sure where I got the idea that I need flooded lead acid batteries, but upon further research,I found that I'm wrong on that. I'm glad, as I would rather have AGM batteries. In any case, we'll use the slats on the other side of the bed base, so as to facilitate better ventilation, in case we haul wet stuff like kayaks or other outdoor gear.

We had measurable rain through the night and my repair with automotive gasket is effective, the entire area is bone dry. Phew! I wasn't looking forward with our daily driver in the shop for however long. Provided that the the integrity of the sealing is intact, we'll just put on some touch-up paint to prevent rust and not repair the dent for now. As I said in another post, if we do the body work, it'll invoke Murphy's Law and will dent it again. That being said, I'm still interested in knowing if anyone else has had this happen and if anyone's put a camera or any device to protect the Hightop from trees and whatever else.

Been looking at the Slick Lock, too. Since we're new to the commercial vehicle market, I have a question about them that I haven't been able to find an answer. Do they lock automatically, or with a twist, or do you have to lock them with the key? It wouldn't be very good if someone could walk up to the van and lock you in there where you have to go to the front compartment to get out. Inquiring minds want to know. Thank you!

In case anyone is curious, I just subscribed to prepaid Verizon Hotspot service, since we have so many wi-fi gadgets. 2 gigs for 60 days is $35. We can get more later, but I just wanted to get it up and running. We don't stream and pretty much just email and other low data stuff, it'll work. Verizon is expensive, but I've researched and they have the best coverage in rural areas. I'm gonna skip the heavy duty marine wi-fi antenna I was thinking about. This way we won't have to cadge someone else's wi-fi signal.

Yay! We're starting on the electrical system! Hub is now working on the two drawers under the other side of the future bed frame. Once that's in, he can start securing the area for the batteries, to prevent them from catapulting into the passenger area (i.e., my head) in case of a wild stop, turn or rollover. A brain is a wonderful possession. We will use three group 27 batteries. I know that conventional wisdom suggests golf cart batteries, but since we'll use the single group 27 marine battery that we already use for camping until we bite the bullet and buy three true deep cycle batteries, I'll go ahead and set it up for group 27's. It'll be a while until we need the full set as we ain't setting out for our big trip until we sell the house. Until then, it'll only be a few days here and there and the one battery will do. The photos before show the placement of the vented battery boxes. I read somewhere that if we were to use about 300 amp hours of battery storage with the CTEK Smart Pass and system, that we need to use flooded lead acid batteries. Today I toddled over to the battery supplier and discussed our options. Tentatively, we will get Trojan model SCS200 with pod vent group 27 batteries. The 20-hr rate is 115 amp-hours. Since we only have the 100 watt Renogy portable solar panel, if we want to stay off the grid for weeks, we need adequate battery storage. Staying cool is pretty important to a post-menopausal chick, so I'm counting on using the Fantastic Vent fan above and probably another fan from a different angle. Between that, heavy computer use and all my other electronic doo-dads, we need a fair amount of battery capacity. I don't want to deal with putting solar on the roof. We're not planning a 12v cooler, but want the battery storage in case one is aquired later. Hub took the battery boxes and drilled through them and the strap with washers for their future home. These boxes are not meant to keep them in place, but to keep them from major shifting in their secured area. Also, I like the battery box tops so we can place a non-flammable basket of kitchen goods on top of them. There may be some corrosion from the batteries venting, but proper charging with the Smart Pass should minimise hydrogen sulfide gas. The area will be well vented and likely will have a fan blowing on it.

More progress. The back doors are done inside, so they'e ready to go. There's some insulation behind the panels, but not on the surface of the doors as you can see from the photo below. So I'm planning on sewing insulated curtains that can cover the entire tops of both doors. I'll attach them with Velcro and magnets if need be to make sure there is no air leakage. That way they can be completely removable it not needed. We'll carry two pre cut foam panels to put on the top of the doors as needed for insulation with hot and cold. Since that's where our heads and shoulders will be about eight hours a day, is important that we're comfortable. I'm trying to fix the leak that Hub caused on the starboard back door when he backed into a covered parking structure. We had a little drizzle last night and that door was moist. Hopefully I can use some rubber gasket material to seal it. If that doesn't work, it'll be an expensive trip to a body shop. I don't want to fix the dent right away if we don't have to as then we'll will have invoked Murphy's Law and back into something again. I'm not going to post a picture of that...

Hub backed into a covered parking spot today and marred beautiful Blanca's top right door and roof! Just enough that it leaked when he blasted a hose over the area after we got home. Even though it doesn't look too bad, it'll need to be fixed enough to stop leaking. Anyone have a camera for the upper view when backing up? Just a thought. While I'm at it, any suggestions for an auto body repair shop in Tucson? Now that Blanca has been christened, I can create desert pinstripes with impunity!

Oh, forgot to address the ports leaking. Since it rains so much here in Tucson, we found that there was a small amount of water(maybe an ounce) that leaked in after our 0.29 inches of rain last night. There was also an area of dried residue which appeared to be evidence of a larger amount of water from a previous rain. Upon investigation, we found that we hadn't properly secured them closed. The remedy was to simultaneously screw the two knobs down to as far as they would go, to the edge of the threading. Hub was out there with the hose this morning and there wasn't a drop of leakage. Problem solved. We were discussing this afternoon that if you looked very closely at the craftsmanship, you'd be able to see the amateurish quality of the work done. But, when we're finished, it should look pretty good. One more thing-in addition to the 250# of water in the drawer, the drawer itself is 30#. And it slides easily and smoothly. Worth the expense of the slides.

Hub is currently finishing the walls and trim on the doors. It's kinda hard to see, but the paneling on the walls is a little lighter than the floor. It's slightly darker than we had envisioned, but it's certainly good enough. He did use the adhesive I mentioned in a previous post, but also screwed the planks to the wall underneath, to avoid the chance of the adhesive not being adequate, between heat on vibration. Oh the sliding door, he was also able to do the same on the bottom two panels, but there was no way he could use screws on the top section because the metal is only one layer. After scratching his head, he decided to use industrial Velcro to attach the panels. You can't tell by looking at the door that he did that. It should be interesting to see if heat will melt the Velcro adhesive. So the answer to the question of whether we could use the vinyl flooring planks on the wall is a yes. Another positive of using the vinyl is that it is flexible enough to conform to the slight curvature oh the walls. So now, he's trimming the rear windows, but just screwing them onto the door. I also posted a photo of the other window, for example. My red nail polish isn't visible at all.

Okey dokey, I'm back. Hub went for a month vacation and I've been back and forth to NM for medical procedures. All is well, so work resumes on Blanca. The first drawer for the two Bike Fridays is in, along with the half of the bed base. As a side comment,the bed is gonna be too high for these bones to climb in easily. A step stool will be needed. Hub put in all this water to show how stout the drawer slides are (250lbs).

Last 3000 miles (roughly): Six legs, from Tucson to Artesia, NM and back. Five of those trips entailed going over the Sacramento mountains and Cloudcroft, NM (8660'elevation). When in the mountainous areas, we drove the maximum speed limit. On the highways, we averaged 72-82 mph. We almost always had less than favorable and significant winds, from head on to direct crosswinds. Maybe we drove only a couple hundred miles with a tailwind. The wind gods must have something against us. With all of the above factors, we averaged between 14 1/2 and 15 1/2 mpg. There a big difference in the mileage between Hub and me. He drives without any attempt of saving fuel. I don't hypermile, but drive conservatively as best I can. In any case, driving Blanca with high winds can be tiring. I consider it"high winds" when I see flags flying rigidly unfurled. With those conditions, I need to use a firm, two handed grip on the wheel. No casual sipping of coffee when driving. Even the semi's have trouble staying in their own lanes. Yuck! I'm not unhappy with the above numbers. Oh, last note: Blanca is quite nimble on mountain roads, not only on these recent trips, but also in brief forays we've made onto mountainous roads here in Arizona. Kinda fun, actually.

Luggable Loo here. I use two kitchen sized garbage bags, layer of newspapers, paper towels and this: Sanitation Equipment Liquid Gold Concentrated Deodorizer - 33.8 oz , if needed for poop (haven't had to use that, so far). Have made three trips to and from rural New Mexico, 100+ miles between pee-stops. The nice thing about the Luggable Loo is that when you put down the lid, it prevents the pervasive pee smell. Don't know about poop yet. When we get the bed up (soon), we'll have a niche for the porta-potty in the front middle underneath. As with everything else, I'll post photos when we get there.

Geez Louise! I can't get away with anything! I'm on my third visit to NM in the last month, been on I-10 and I-25, so I may have been one of your sightings.

Since I'm online, I might as well post the progress on the drawer units that we're putting below the bed. When you look at the photos, in order to make the maximum width for the drawers, Hub cut a 3/4" notch for the 1"x 4" boards on which the drawer slides are mounted. Just to check, we put in 100# of water to make sure it slides smoothly-and it does.

We're using the Fantastic Vent cover. It's a lot more expensive than the Maxxair ones, but it worked better for the initial install. When Hub put the Fantastic Vent fan in, the fan cover screws directly into the same 4 screw holes that the fan uses, which was great to be able to do it all at once. If we were putting in a vent cover as an afterthought, the brand wouldn't matter. The cover is mounted with the four screws, washers and cotter pins,with caulking as the last step. One nice thing about the Fantastic Vent cover, when the fan's lid is raised to the max opening, it nests perfectly into the cover, allowing it to open wider than with the other manufacturers'vent covers. But it is ugly! Hub and I go for function over form. It's also a little taller than other vent covers, but when the high top vans are as tall as they are, what's another few inches?

Please, anyone, if you see any glaring omissions or mistakes, please tell me! Right now, these are the electrical items we have planned: Fantastic Vent fan over the bed 2 LED lights, one each side of the bed 2 12v/usb outlets with voltmeter each side of bed 1 12v/usb outlet with voltmeter by siding door (mostly for fridge/freezer) Exterior light over sliding door 1 12v/usb outlet with voltmeter mounted behind driver seat LED lights under cabinets over sink 1 overhead LED in cabin The CTEK units will let me charge the batteries with the portable Renogy 100w solar panels (with a quick disconnect plug). I also have a 1100 watt inverter for the coffee maker and multicooker (800 watts-to be used only if we're driving for hours) and a 6 gang switch. I'll be putting fuses on each power cord, on top of the breakers on the 6 gang switch because of my aforementioned membership in the Department of Redundancy Department. And most importantly, I have a master on/off switch between the engine compartment and the battery bank and been the battery bank and the 6 gang switch. I'm testing every light, outlet and switch to make sure they work before I install them. Most of the stuff is made in China and we all know how reliable those manufactured items can be.

My electricity project: I'm going to post the items I'll be using, just in case someone may be interested. I'm not planning to use many of these at the same time, but I want to be able to have lights where I want and to plug in items where I'm using them. Cords stretched out all over the cabin for charging and connections drive me nuts, so I'm a member of the Department of Redundancy Department. Tentatively, I'll be using 3X ~100 amp-hour deep cycle batteries with the CTEK dual charger and the Smartpass. Until we get the fridge/freezer or go out for long trips (or until I kill it), we're using a Costco group 27 marine battery. That's what we've been using for tent camping. A charge lasts for at least 2 weeks, but I abuse it as I'm always draining it down to around 11.9 volts. I won't mistreat the deep cycle batteries like that, considering how much three of them will cost. I haven't figured out where I'm placing the battery bank yet. The biggest power consumers will be the Fantastic Vent fan, the fridge/freezer, the cell and Wi-Fi signal boosters,2 laptops and multiple phones/tablets and e-readers. The greatest power sucker will be the 800 watt k-cup coffee maker on the inverter. Good coffee is essential. We'll need to run the engine if we're brewing coffee.

Okey dokey, I'm gonna give a running commentary on both the bed platform/drawers job, which Hub is doing, and my project, the electric. Neither job is done yet, but I might as well put photos of what's been done so far. So Hub made Hercules strength frames to set the bed frame on and to mount the three drawers in back, under the bed. The middle frame is not in photos yet. One drawer is for two folding bicycles (Bike Friday's). The other two drawers will be on top of each other for two sea kayaks and and general travel supplies. On the front, under the platform, we'll have cubbies, one with a slide for the chest fridge/freezer and one for the porta-potty. In the potty niche in the middle, mounted under the bed frame, will be a small safe.

That's wonderful! Tell us more about the Lifeline,please? Also, Wollip, where did you run you cable through? Inquiring minds want to know.