The fridge only pulls 2.4A. With a big deep cycle, that translates into quite a long time. That's if it were running full-time also, which I'm sure you know they don't. Non-stop would take quite a few hours to discharge the #2 battery. I won't keep perishable food in it unless I'm involved in a trip or outing of some kind, where the truck will be used regularly.

As to the engine, I am still looking for my 5-cylinder turbo. 185 lbs. of torque at 2400 RPM stock. These can be tweaked for quite a bit more. 230 Ft LBS of torque @ 2400 RPM should be pretty easy. The hard part will be fitting it in the engine bay with that extra cylinder. I may need to relocate the heater core and "clearance" the firewall.

Another guy (Nick) did a 5-cylinder in his, and he said it was a very difficult job because of the longer engine.

Roy

 

Looking for that motor, check www.budsbenz.com, tell them Chris Redd sent you, they sell those motors all day, GREAT deals usually, and great shipping if your not close by, I was a mechanic there, and then later was the shipping manager, its a parts/service/ and restoration shop. One of the largest mercedes mail order parts business in the country. Give em a shout, get a qoute at least. Let me know what they say.

EDIT: You can just PM me if you want about the motor, I might can get a little better deal for you from them, or if you just want to give them a call or email or whatever...it would be info@budsbenz.com or call them at 1-800-942-8444. Ask for Davey Williams. Tell him I sent you over there, he should take care of you.

 

Great! Thanks! Our local yard said about $800-$900 for an engine/auto trans combo. Does that sound about right?

Roy

 

check my previous post, it was edited, and yeah that sounds close to right, I'd check with Davey to see if he can do a little better though. Never hurts to ask. I can check with him if you want, just let me know.

 

That's pretty cool man, I would love having a "little rv" to take off-roading.

On another note: sorry, I'm just trying to firgure out the logistics... Does the fridge pull 2.4amps@110V? Because if so, that's 24amps@12V... So running all the time it would drain a 75 amp-hour battery in a little over three hours, or if running 25% of the time in 12 hours. With that microwave (which, if only 600w, will pull 50 amps), I might go for two 75amp-hour batteries, just because I LOVE overkill. How big is the deep-cycle you're going to use?

Just letting you know is all, great project! :bigclap:

 

ive got an 82 300d with the engine and tranny combo you're looking for. it has sat for a while, but it does run let me know if you're at all interested. cool build up, definitely subscribing

 

Is that a turbo-diesel? If so, please email or IM details.

Thanks,

Roy

 

The microwave puts out 700 watts and draws 1400 watts. Any advice is always welcome. I haven't decided on the batteries yet. I try to study each item of the build before the purchase. I hadn't got that far. I like overkill as well, or I would have kept the 22re.

Any input on the inverter?

Roy

 

Well anyway, with two 75 amp-hour batteries you would probably be able to park for a day and run your fridge without having to start up and charge the batts (depending on the fridge's duty cycle, at 25% they would last perhaps 24hours...) I'm just going off of Optima's ratings for their deep-cycle blue tops, I'm sure there are bigger batteries out there though. It seems like there might be batteries with ratings as high as 150 A-H...

Man, that microwave sucks some juice! My advice, run the microwave with the engine running. Don't forget, your inverter will need to be rated at the power of your microwave and fridge, plus some extra, so you'll be needing an inverter rated at at least 1700W continuous (not peak, peak will need to be about 1.5-2x that), which subsequently will be able to suck about 142 amps, or perhaps double that at peak load .

Also, the more powerful your alternator the faster you can charge your batteries, so you might want to look for one that's rated at about 200amps, taking into account the other stuff the alternator will be running. Man, no wonder RV's have to plug in or have a generator!

 

Here's the kind of inverter you'll be needing, this one is rated at 2000W continuous:

BIG Inverter

EDIT:

Actually, this one looks better, I'm not sure what the advantage of "pure" sin wave vs. "modified" sin wave is, but you'll probably be fine with modified, and its cheaper too:

Better Deal Inverter

Looks like their 2500W inverter is on sale too:

2500 Watter

 

Pure Sine is recommended for some electronic devices. I try to plan these purchases so that I can install the item immediately and check for problems. I' don't think most companies would go for "..but I didn't finish my build for six months".

Thanks for taking the time to give me feedback. That was the smallest microwave I could find, by the way.

 

Well, microwaves and refrigerators are pretty "blunt instruments" as far as electronics go. I say try the modified sin and see how things go.

I wouldn't really want to go with a super small microwave anyway, it wouldn't be able to heat food fast enough. It's what, 0.7 cu. ft.?

 

On another note, 10 gallons of water ain't much if you plan on doing dishes and stuff... perhaps you could upgrade to 20 or 30? (20 gallons would weigh about 170 lbs) It would be a pain to have to carry extra water containers in addition to the tank, just a thought.

 

Oh i had another idea too:

What if you got one of those roof-mounted solar panels that charges your battery? It might help and would makes things a little more "off-the-grid," and help lengthen time between charges.

here's a cool one:

30 Watt Battery Charger

I suppose 30Watts isn't very much though, scratch that.

 

Funny you brought up the water tank. I had to return a 16-gallon that wouldn't fit in the bench seat. I was planning on keeping the 10-gallon full all the time for zero-notice emergencies. (Brushing teeth and drinking if we had to evac immediately or non-emergency overheated commuter, giving the dog water, etc)

On my roof-rack, there is a cage over the cab. The "bug-out" off-the-grid tank will go there, and be put on only when needed. I was thinking of painting it black to limit algae growth and aid in heating. If I'm forced to go off the grid, I won't risk any hard-core offroad manuevers with a full water tank on the roof. I was thinking another 40 gallons on the roof. This tank would normally be left off, and a wind deflector tilted up to improve my MPG and power.

Yes, the mcrowave is 0.7.

Lots of good ideas coming. Great!

Roy

 

the engine is the turbo diesel. i dunno how much engine tinkering you were planning for this project... its got some vacuum issues i.e. wont shut off when you turn the key off. we mainly just want it out of the driveway. im pretty sure wed let it go for close to nothing if you take the whole car . another option is the toyota diesel, a buddy of mine is selling one http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/82-To...QQcmdZViewItem

 

That sounds like a familiar complaint. Would I need to trailer it? MapQuest says about four hours to you. Or, could I maybe drive it home? It only needs to make it one time. How many miles on the engine?

I'm not trying to look a gift horse in the mouth! I'm just trying to figure out what my brother will charge me if it needs trailered. :rolleyes:

Thanks,

Roy

 

Yikes, I'm not sure that I would want 40 gallons of water on my roof, that's about 330lbs... Still, you would probably be ok. What about a custom-made one where the spare used to be? or is tha where the 2nd fuel tank goes? Any space in the undercarriage somewhere? Just throwing out ideas... Are you going with air shocks or something similar in back to help make up for this added "stuff"? Maybe a stiffer sway-bar? You would definitely want something if you were carrying 330 lbs of water up there, since it's a little on the tall side which would make things really lean in turns.

 

engines got 234k on it and it would need to be trailered. i cant really promise you anything with this engine. it is all there, it does start up and run everytime... only problem is it keeps running, even witht he key off and out. pop the hood and press the stop button and it cuts off. worst case a new vacuum compressor, or it might just be vacuum lines cuz there are some that arent connected and all. just an offer if you're interested

 

The second fuel tank goes where the spare was. With the exhaust and fuel tanks, there's not a lot of low storage available. I didn't want to use up any more interior space. I would love to get it lower.

I am using the stock springs and Firestone airbags.

Roy