radin2son

Depends on the height of a fixed platform and the desired “garage” underneath. If you plan to store bikes upright, you will need more space. Our poptop NV plan doesn’t help answer your question, but part of the upper bed is suspended from the roof. Manual drop down to shoulder high. We sleep on top and leave the couch/NSbed in place with gear stored behind the seat back and under the couch. Water tank and inverted also there. Does limit floor space and no easy exit out the back. Hasn’t been an issue.

Forgot to mention that our NV isn’t a daily driver, so over time psi goes down when parked. Another thing to check before traveling.

I have a small air compressor to add air, primarily rear tires, when it gets significantly colder at home and when traveling. Trips from AZ to almost anywhere are cooler… The compressor hose threads onto the valve. Works on 3 but the 4th lets air escape when threading or blows off entirely. Parts are no longer available. Simple solution was to buy steel valve extensions. (Buy a package of 4 as 2 wouldn’t thread on properly and leaked air.) Thread on the extender first, then the hose and start the compressor. My experience with gas station pumps is that they are for cars.

What a difference new “house” batteries make. No worries about charging during a 4 day stay on the south rim of the Grand Canyon. East entrance off US 89 (at Cameron on the Navajo Nation) lets you avoid long delays at the south entrance. Adds 50 miles but the drive is worth it. Stayed 1 night at Homolovi State Park. Needed a shower and sunset was spectacular.

There may be some cross model, Armada and Titan, parts that will work. There also are totaled NVs for donor parts.

Good idea to start a thread, but where to post it so it is easily found. Rather than part by part posts, it may be better to list sources by category. Region might help if only to avoid shipping costs.

Great work. Perfect for you and grandkid.

Go back to “Glass, headlights, fog lamps etc” and then scroll down if you haven’t already done so. Also check “Welcome Introduce Yourself.”

Scroll down on this thread and you may get some answers.

Stopped posts after 50th trip mostly because recent trips have covered the same ground. Just bought 2 RV deep cycle AGM batteries as fridge ran for about 36 hours before running batteries down. Should get at least 3-4 days. Removing/replacing batteries is best left to a shop with a lift. The batteries are in a tray welded to the frame. 4 bolts hold tray in place. Unused plug must be for solar. Tray only holds 2 batteries.

Per another post on Sportsmobile forum, LiFePo4 are recommended for house battery replacement. Compatible with solar. “Costs more upfront, but gives 10-20x return in lifespan and easily 2x in capacity in the same space and half the weight.” This, however, doesn’t address your ac question.

Sportsmobile forum (almost exclusively Ford Econoline) sends 2 emails each week with new posts, but good info can be found. Recent posts by jamlip in Palm Springs document a rebuild of the interior, some exterior, of a ‘99 7.3 4x4. Worth reading if you can pull it up. Improved air circulation may help you. We had and never used a clamp on 12v fan. Plastic clamp was useless and broke. (Koonie or similar rechargeable fans were recommended.) Power drain when recharging while boondocking but you could always solar. We use a small solar panel to charge our phones (takes about an hour).

Safer to run generator. You may have to run van at fast idle. Sportsmobile forum long ago had a post about fuel used while idling (90 minutes), charging house batteries. Post calculated gas used to show minimal mpg loss. Other option was driving around for 30 minutes. Both will not give you a full charge. Just enough to be able to run the fridge overnight.

Shift lock release? Check the “baby tooth” posts in the maintenance thread.

More AGM info. RV house batteries typically last 6 years, 10 if you are lucky. We replaced ours 6 years ago.