Project Excursion RV...
06-14-2006, 10:14 PM
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Project Excursion RV...
For those of you that don't know I am going to be making a cross-crountry trip in August to shoot the Yotatech '06 DvD (see sig for more info). Instead of getting hotel rooms everywhere I go I am going to be converting my Excursion into a "mini"-RV. I know this isn't totally toyota related but boxes like this are quite common in the 4x4 world and I wanted to get everyone's feedback on the project so far. I want to build a two stage box that half will stay in the vehicle at all times and the other half will only go in when a bed or extra divided storage space is needed. The rear section will have to be able to fit behind the 3rd row since it will be in all the time but it works out pretty well. Here is what I have so far measured out in illustrator... I have all the pieces that are labeled with the correct sizes so I think I'm about ready to start ordering everything. 
The dark area is going to be mattress sitting on top of the box. The "air" thing is a compressor if I decide I'm going to need air-ride. I put it in its own compartment because I have the space and there I can insulate it for sound purposes. Plus, I don't foresee me using it a whole heck of a lot so inside mounting seems to be ok for my application. Please let me know if anyone disagrees with this.
Just so you get an idea of what everything looks like...
3 Drawer Container- The way I have it setup now you won't be able to pull the bottom drawer out, but you will still be able to access it by removing the middle drawer. So less important stuff will have to be put in the bottom drawers, but I don't think I'll have a huge shortage of space so it shouldn't be a big problem.
Storage Bin
Fridge - Igloo Koolmate 56 Dual
The dark area is going to be mattress sitting on top of the box. The "air" thing is a compressor if I decide I'm going to need air-ride. I put it in its own compartment because I have the space and there I can insulate it for sound purposes. Plus, I don't foresee me using it a whole heck of a lot so inside mounting seems to be ok for my application. Please let me know if anyone disagrees with this.Just so you get an idea of what everything looks like...
3 Drawer Container- The way I have it setup now you won't be able to pull the bottom drawer out, but you will still be able to access it by removing the middle drawer. So less important stuff will have to be put in the bottom drawers, but I don't think I'll have a huge shortage of space so it shouldn't be a big problem.
Storage Bin
Fridge - Igloo Koolmate 56 Dual
Last edited by turboale; 06-14-2006 at 10:19 PM.
06-14-2006, 10:23 PM
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That is correct, the grey area is the size of a single mattress which I already have. The entire thing is one level. I didn't include the supports that go under the 3 drawer containers but they will sit at the same level as the bed. I will also obviously remove the wheels off them as well as connect them for stability.
06-15-2006, 09:34 AM
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Another question...
I found a smokin deal on a 900watt (continuous) dc/ac inverter and was wondering if you think that would be enough. I would think it would be enough to charge 3 cameras at once and possibly power my G5 with a 17" LCD monitor. I have yet to find the actual power consumption of my exact computer but I have found some comparisons of a few PC chipsets and even the most power thirsty were under 200watts at full load. I'm not 100% sure I'm going to try in integrate my desktop into the mix yet but it sure would be nice to be able to use down time as log/capture time so a majority of it will all be done when I return...
For those on the market for a big inverter, this is by far the best deal I have found so far... $75 for 900watts
Click Here
I found a smokin deal on a 900watt (continuous) dc/ac inverter and was wondering if you think that would be enough. I would think it would be enough to charge 3 cameras at once and possibly power my G5 with a 17" LCD monitor. I have yet to find the actual power consumption of my exact computer but I have found some comparisons of a few PC chipsets and even the most power thirsty were under 200watts at full load. I'm not 100% sure I'm going to try in integrate my desktop into the mix yet but it sure would be nice to be able to use down time as log/capture time so a majority of it will all be done when I return...
For those on the market for a big inverter, this is by far the best deal I have found so far... $75 for 900watts
Click Here
Last edited by turboale; 06-15-2006 at 09:39 AM.
06-15-2006, 10:06 AM
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You are just posting this to brag about the fact that the back of your excursion is as big as my apartment. As for the question of where is the sleeping area, IT IS IN THE OTHER ROOM OF THAT MONSTER! 
My only thought is that those three drawer shelf things usually are not all that solid. Also, some of them separate at each drawer, so you should be careful of that, also, you will need a way to secure each drawer closed.
My only thought is that those three drawer shelf things usually are not all that solid. Also, some of them separate at each drawer, so you should be careful of that, also, you will need a way to secure each drawer closed.
06-15-2006, 10:41 AM
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Originally Posted by turboale
For those on the market for a big inverter, this is by far the best deal I have found so far... $75 for 900watts
Click Here
Click Here
You might also pick up a 55w solar cell for the roof to help charge the battery when your stationary durring the day/running the cooler/charging stuff.
xantrex makes good stuff. If you do your homework your likely to find both an inverter and solar charge controller in one.
06-16-2006, 10:38 AM
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Snap-On,
I agree on the fact that I shouldn't totally cheap out on the inverter, but the only reason why I was considering that one is because it was on sale. I am liking the unit you posted though. I found it for $150 which doesn't seem to bad... That said, they have a 500 watt-er for $45. You wouldn't happen to know the advantages to having two 500 watters vs 1 1,000 would you? Other than the fact that I wouldn't be able to use more than 500 on each. I couldn't imagine three charging cameras would come close to that. This way I could just use the one 500 for charging and then the 2nd 500 would be for the computer if I decide to bring it...?
I have started looking at solar panels and it would be a great idea, but not sure if I'm ready to spend the dime required to get one that will be worth the effort. I'm not sure how often I'm going to be using the Ex in "RV" mode so $300 setup is a bit steep for one time use. We shal see how it goes, thanks for the idea though!
Intrepid,
Thanks for the heads up, yeah the shelves might not be the most sturdy but they shouldn't be too bad when connected together. It shouldn't be too hard to devise some bungee cord system of keeping the shelves closed.
The company I am ordering all the plastic storage offers the stackable systems so I'm 98% sure these are one piece. I will ask when ordering just incase though.
I agree on the fact that I shouldn't totally cheap out on the inverter, but the only reason why I was considering that one is because it was on sale. I am liking the unit you posted though. I found it for $150 which doesn't seem to bad... That said, they have a 500 watt-er for $45. You wouldn't happen to know the advantages to having two 500 watters vs 1 1,000 would you? Other than the fact that I wouldn't be able to use more than 500 on each. I couldn't imagine three charging cameras would come close to that. This way I could just use the one 500 for charging and then the 2nd 500 would be for the computer if I decide to bring it...?
I have started looking at solar panels and it would be a great idea, but not sure if I'm ready to spend the dime required to get one that will be worth the effort. I'm not sure how often I'm going to be using the Ex in "RV" mode so $300 setup is a bit steep for one time use. We shal see how it goes, thanks for the idea though!Intrepid,
Thanks for the heads up, yeah the shelves might not be the most sturdy but they shouldn't be too bad when connected together. It shouldn't be too hard to devise some bungee cord system of keeping the shelves closed.
The company I am ordering all the plastic storage offers the stackable systems so I'm 98% sure these are one piece. I will ask when ordering just incase though.
Last edited by turboale; 06-16-2006 at 10:41 AM.
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06-17-2006, 04:14 PM
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turbo...
good luck with your project, i will deff be on the list to buy one of these DVD's. Sadly i won't be in any of those area's you listed, nor do i have a truck built for serious off-roading. My speacialty is winter driving-drifting/fireroads/easy-moderate trails....
if your passing though south central pa in the end of sept, stop by and we will have a couple of
on me(the town i live in is right on I-81).
good luck with your project, i will deff be on the list to buy one of these DVD's. Sadly i won't be in any of those area's you listed, nor do i have a truck built for serious off-roading. My speacialty is winter driving-drifting/fireroads/easy-moderate trails....
if your passing though south central pa in the end of sept, stop by and we will have a couple of
on me(the town i live in is right on I-81).
06-18-2006, 01:43 AM
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Looks like Brett is still working hard on trying to keep his post count as high as mine... 
One day Brett... One day....
You will be as cool as me...
One day Brett... One day.... You will be as cool as me...
06-18-2006, 01:50 AM
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Brandon,
Thanks for the support Bud! I don't think I'll be heading that far North this trip. Believe me I would make it up there if I could but I have to be back in Savannah ready for class on the 15th of Sept and that would be cutting it pretty darn close. I really wanted to get lee and all the New England guys, but it will have to wait for another trip. Hell, technically I'm suppose to be shooting all next quarter so there actually is a good chance I'll be able to take another trip but we have plenty of time to plan that out. Plus, we are on a quarter system so I get out for christmas before Thanksgiving. We will talk it through but I do really want to get the NE guys on the DvD and I know Lee has been busting his rear trying to get the 4Roc thing going up there and I know exactly what he is going through as I did the same for the NC chapter. Anyway... I'm getting OT in my own thread... anybody have any ideas about the inverters??
Thanks for the support Bud! I don't think I'll be heading that far North this trip. Believe me I would make it up there if I could but I have to be back in Savannah ready for class on the 15th of Sept and that would be cutting it pretty darn close. I really wanted to get lee and all the New England guys, but it will have to wait for another trip. Hell, technically I'm suppose to be shooting all next quarter so there actually is a good chance I'll be able to take another trip but we have plenty of time to plan that out. Plus, we are on a quarter system so I get out for christmas before Thanksgiving. We will talk it through but I do really want to get the NE guys on the DvD and I know Lee has been busting his rear trying to get the 4Roc thing going up there and I know exactly what he is going through as I did the same for the NC chapter. Anyway... I'm getting OT in my own thread... anybody have any ideas about the inverters??
06-18-2006, 08:59 AM
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I think the mini-bike is going to sit this one out... I like the smell of gasoline, but not quite that much...
I made some changes to the design, some slight, some a bit more involved. For those that don't know the way the rear doors open its a 3 part system. The glass lifts up and there are two barn doors that open to either side. To get a better idea, here is a picture with the glass and one barn door open.
I was talking to my buddy that runs an audio shop and he did a no expenses spared Excursion a couple years back and I remember he mounted the subwoofer in the rear doors. After asking him about it he told me the rear doors are fiberglas and are perfect for using them as a sub enclosure. You have to dynomat the crap out of it, but aside from that it worked out great. I like the idea of mounting the sub there much better than down on the horizontal box. With the sub firing straight up I would lose quite a bit of output seeing as I'm 7857982784983ft from the sub, I want all the bump I can get
Anyway, that was the big move. I now will be mounting the air tanks where the sub enclosure used to be. I already have the tanks sitting around from the project I was going to put into my 4Runner but never got around to it. Next I rearranged the electronics box to allow for more room and access to a CD changer. I already have sirius satillite radio but sometimes its just better to have your own. Its not toooo high on the priority list, but I at least want the option to add it later. I also moved the shelves up against the fridge for better support and resistance from sliding.
*Stay Tuned*
I am working on a wireless network/audio play setup using an airport express. This would make photo exchange a breeze and also allow me to play all the music on my laptop (and G5 if I incorporate it) through the truck's stereo. It would be more for transferring files, but the audio part is just kinda neat. I have also been eyeing the RAM laptop mounts, anyone have any experience with those? Look pretty darn sturdy to me, and it would sure help having up-to-date maps with me as my Navigation DvDs are the last version that allow DvDs to be played up front with simple modification.
I made some changes to the design, some slight, some a bit more involved. For those that don't know the way the rear doors open its a 3 part system. The glass lifts up and there are two barn doors that open to either side. To get a better idea, here is a picture with the glass and one barn door open.
I was talking to my buddy that runs an audio shop and he did a no expenses spared Excursion a couple years back and I remember he mounted the subwoofer in the rear doors. After asking him about it he told me the rear doors are fiberglas and are perfect for using them as a sub enclosure. You have to dynomat the crap out of it, but aside from that it worked out great. I like the idea of mounting the sub there much better than down on the horizontal box. With the sub firing straight up I would lose quite a bit of output seeing as I'm 7857982784983ft from the sub, I want all the bump I can get
Anyway, that was the big move. I now will be mounting the air tanks where the sub enclosure used to be. I already have the tanks sitting around from the project I was going to put into my 4Runner but never got around to it. Next I rearranged the electronics box to allow for more room and access to a CD changer. I already have sirius satillite radio but sometimes its just better to have your own. Its not toooo high on the priority list, but I at least want the option to add it later. I also moved the shelves up against the fridge for better support and resistance from sliding. *Stay Tuned*
I am working on a wireless network/audio play setup using an airport express. This would make photo exchange a breeze and also allow me to play all the music on my laptop (and G5 if I incorporate it) through the truck's stereo. It would be more for transferring files, but the audio part is just kinda neat. I have also been eyeing the RAM laptop mounts, anyone have any experience with those? Look pretty darn sturdy to me, and it would sure help having up-to-date maps with me as my Navigation DvDs are the last version that allow DvDs to be played up front with simple modification.
Last edited by turboale; 06-18-2006 at 09:20 AM.
06-18-2006, 05:52 PM
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Taking a suggestion to keep the air system up in the engine bay, I came up with a new setup that has more usable storage and will allow me to keep the inverter/amp cool while at camp. The "control panel" will house the battery switch an on/off switch for the inverter and a breaker for the shore power.
The "Camera Charging Station" will be a compartment for me to keep all the camera's power cables along with a power strip so they will all be in one place and I won't have to go fumbling for chargers whenever I need to plug in a camera. Unfortuniately for me each camera has a different style battery (despite all being sony :rolleyes: ) so they will all need to be plugged in at the same time. In the compartment I will have both a "shore power" plug and a "inverter power" plug with a power strip so all three cameras will be able to be plugged in at the same time on either power source. I will just leave a small U shaped pass-through in the door for the cables to come through to the top so the cameras can be sitting on top of the door while charging.
Excursion Box Version 3.0:
The "Camera Charging Station" will be a compartment for me to keep all the camera's power cables along with a power strip so they will all be in one place and I won't have to go fumbling for chargers whenever I need to plug in a camera. Unfortuniately for me each camera has a different style battery (despite all being sony :rolleyes: ) so they will all need to be plugged in at the same time. In the compartment I will have both a "shore power" plug and a "inverter power" plug with a power strip so all three cameras will be able to be plugged in at the same time on either power source. I will just leave a small U shaped pass-through in the door for the cables to come through to the top so the cameras can be sitting on top of the door while charging.
Excursion Box Version 3.0:
Last edited by turboale; 06-18-2006 at 05:54 PM.
07-06-2006, 08:14 PM
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Update:
-Dual Battery Setup 12VoltGuy
I just ordered my dual battery setup from Darren. He posts on Pirate quite a bit and seems like a great guy. Anyway, my buddy who is an electrical engineer suggested his products so I thought I would give him a whirl. So far so good. Within a few minutes I heard back from him. I'll let everyone know how it goes/post pics etc...
-Suv Tent gets here tomorrow, hopefully I'll have time to check it out before I leave for the weekend so I have plenty of time to do a writeup.
-Dual Battery Setup 12VoltGuy
I just ordered my dual battery setup from Darren. He posts on Pirate quite a bit and seems like a great guy. Anyway, my buddy who is an electrical engineer suggested his products so I thought I would give him a whirl. So far so good. Within a few minutes I heard back from him. I'll let everyone know how it goes/post pics etc...
-Suv Tent gets here tomorrow, hopefully I'll have time to check it out before I leave for the weekend so I have plenty of time to do a writeup.
Last edited by turboale; 07-06-2006 at 08:26 PM.
07-06-2006, 08:47 PM
#17
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Cool project. Things look snug - even for an Excursion. I'm pretty tall for a twin mattress - aren't you really tall? Where's the graphic with your feet hanging out the back door? 
07-06-2006, 10:48 PM
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Looks like a great project. I ordered the dual battery rig from 12voltguy, too. Nice hardware, but I haven't had a chance to install it yet. Looks like he recommends running all auxiliary stuff off of the starting battery and only using the second battery in order to jump the starter if it dies. To me, this defeats the purpose of having the second deep-cycle battery. Just curious how you're planning to rig it.
Ed
Ed
07-09-2006, 07:53 PM
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Tofer,
(in Dumb and Dumber voice)
Yeah.... I work out....
Cebby,
Yeah... I'm a giant (6ft 8in) and yes my feet will definately be hanging off the end if a twin bed (I think its actually a full)...
But, I'm planning on keeping my head towards the rear of the rig so my feet will be sticking out into the truck, not out the back window. Though, that would be a great shot. I might have to get someone to take that for me at some point I will also be well covered for the most part with my nifty SUV tent incase you missed the other thread about it.
I had a chance to set it up the other day before heading out of town for the weekend but didn't have time to fully test it out. I will hopefully be going camping next weekend and I'll do a full write-up on what I think of the tent. So far so good, it isn't a uber-tent that will withstand tornado winds/rains but I think it is perfect for my application. There is a portion where my dad might be accompanying me so it will serve as a tent for him but since I will be sleeping in the rig it will just serve as a place for me to stretch out, change, work on the computer etc while escaping the bugs/rain at camp.
Ed,
You sure thats how he suggests hooking it up? Like you said, that wouldn't make any sense at all. You want the deep cycle batts to be the ones getting drained all the time. I will be wiring mine up to use the aux battery bank (two 6v golf cart/electric boat batteries in series to create 12v) to power my AC inverter (see above) and a couple of DC "cigarette lighter" plugs that I will be mounting to the box. Keep an eye on this thread this week because I will be building the box and getting all the electrical stuff taken care of while "zman2day" my electrical engineer buddy is in town.
Should be an exciting week!! Stay Tuned....
(in Dumb and Dumber voice)
Yeah.... I work out....
Cebby,
Yeah... I'm a giant (6ft 8in) and yes my feet will definately be hanging off the end if a twin bed (I think its actually a full)...
But, I'm planning on keeping my head towards the rear of the rig so my feet will be sticking out into the truck, not out the back window. Though, that would be a great shot. I might have to get someone to take that for me at some point I will also be well covered for the most part with my nifty SUV tent incase you missed the other thread about it.I had a chance to set it up the other day before heading out of town for the weekend but didn't have time to fully test it out. I will hopefully be going camping next weekend and I'll do a full write-up on what I think of the tent. So far so good, it isn't a uber-tent that will withstand tornado winds/rains but I think it is perfect for my application. There is a portion where my dad might be accompanying me so it will serve as a tent for him but since I will be sleeping in the rig it will just serve as a place for me to stretch out, change, work on the computer etc while escaping the bugs/rain at camp.
Ed,
You sure thats how he suggests hooking it up? Like you said, that wouldn't make any sense at all. You want the deep cycle batts to be the ones getting drained all the time. I will be wiring mine up to use the aux battery bank (two 6v golf cart/electric boat batteries in series to create 12v) to power my AC inverter (see above) and a couple of DC "cigarette lighter" plugs that I will be mounting to the box. Keep an eye on this thread this week because I will be building the box and getting all the electrical stuff taken care of while "zman2day" my electrical engineer buddy is in town.
Should be an exciting week!! Stay Tuned....
