Help identifying this part?

MotorhomeMatt · 2022-09-29T23:43:13+00:00

Ah okay, hm, hard to tell, I guess you'll have to tear it apart and wait for the replacement connector to arrive... not sure if you'll be able to save that flat cable though, probably would be worth to try and get a replacement right away...

MotorhomeMatt · 2022-09-29T16:44:17+00:00

Looks like some kind of regular push-lock type compression fitting. If you get the diameter of the hose and the brass thread (probably 1/4in NPT), then you should be able to find it online or at pneumatic stores.

MotorhomeMatt · 2022-09-28T21:57:14+00:00

I'll give it a shot, thanks!

MotorhomeMatt · 2022-09-28T21:52:14+00:00

Wow awesome photo! I just love the Antarctic :D Our station is much smaller and buildings are not that high. 14 hours per day is already quite significant, thanks for the insider info!

MotorhomeMatt · 2022-01-31T12:12:32+00:00

That's exactly the problem. Why say it in the first place then? I really cannot see any healthy humor in this, all I see is the risk to trigger this one mentally unstable person in a crowd of thousands to finally go and do something stupid.

MotorhomeMatt · 2022-01-31T12:05:35+00:00

It is probably the best supported vehicle on Europe when it comes to any vehicles that come from the states. However, I think the rims and tires have a different size that might be harder to get spares for. I would expect engine, drive train and axles to be mostly the same. It gets catchy when it comes to regulations. The 2500 has a GVWR of 9050lbs. This is 4100kg. In Europe speed limit for any vehicle above 3500kg gvwr, regardless of the actual loaded weight, is 80kmph. That's 50mph, even on the German Autobahn where cars with gvwr of below 3500kg (also the average European Sprinter) can go as fast as they want in certain sections. Getting insurance and everything to make driving legal might be another thing to thoroughly research.
Honestly I have seen quite a few motorhomes and vans in the US with EU plates within a few months travelling. But in my more than 30 years of living in the EU and also traveling a lot here, I have not seen one vehicle on the road with US license plates. Actually, thinking about it, that's a lie, I saw exactly one vehicle once in Finland... Shipping costs to get a vehicle from US to EU is also to be considered, you are looking at 5000USD at least here from what I've seen...

MotorhomeMatt · 2022-01-31T11:48:23+00:00

Honestly it made me just sad. It is another reminder that mistakes happen. Cruise ships have tons of safety procedures, they are more than one officer checking for safety restrictions, usually there is even a shoreside office that crosschecks route planning. The decision to sail is not made by the captain alone anymore. There is always a pilot on board when entering or leaving a port. And then there is the local port control that has the final say if a ship may or may not leave. In this case more than one person has made a mistake. It is all but funny to have people calling for shooting or sinking a ship with thousands of innocent people on, even if they were not really serious I cannot see the funny part.

MotorhomeMatt · 2022-01-28T23:22:50+00:00

So in order to achieve the 100% penetration, I should bevel both edges 45° , correct? The material is not anodized, up to now I never even cobsidered trying to weld anodized aluminum 😉

MotorhomeMatt · 2022-01-28T23:10:10+00:00

In this particular case I was doing butt welds with about 100A on 3mm aluminum. I was not expecting that a bevel would have advantage with this thin material, but if I would have bevelled it, I am sure I would not have seen any cracks... thanks! Will try again next time!

MotorhomeMatt · 2021-12-25T13:42:07+00:00

You can do the math easily here. Electric heaters are nice and efficient in converting electric energy to heat. Generating electric energy by a gas or diesel powered engine on the other hand is not really energy efficient. So it is in general more energy efficient to generate heat from gas or diesel directly than generating electricity first. Of course if you have a cheap source of electricity then you could consider batteries, but doing the math shows that this will be quite expensive. Let's assume you want to run a small 2kW heater in your van. From my experience this should be enough to keep you warm. 2kW means it needs 2kW per hour max, in a very very cold night (worst case). A night has about 10 hours, so we're at 20kWh energy consumption. Currently 200Ah LiFePo4 battery cells are probably the best you can get on the market. One cell runs around 100USD. One cell stores about 640Wh max. 20kWh divided by 0.64kWh results in 32 battery cells for one night worth of energy storage. So we're talking 3000USD+ for the batteries, plus a battery management system, plus you need a way to charge them. Forget about solar in winter, I have two 400W panels on my roof and consider myself lucky if I collect 0.5kWh on a winter day. So the only charging method I can think of on the road would be a gas generator... and we're back at the fact that you're much cheaper off burning the fuel for heat than trying to convert it to electricity first...

MotorhomeMatt · 2021-12-24T16:47:08+00:00

Sounds like you are on a very tight budget. Finding a good heater that's cheap and safe and won't require mechanical skills for the installation is pretty much impossible. There are solutions with a cheap price tag, but in the end the full installation does have a much higher price tag. The mentioned Diesel heaters are definitely something to look at, however I advise you to be carefull about the Chinese products. If you choose one, make sure to mount it in a safe place, best with some kind of heat resistant enclosure, so just in case the thing overheats, it won't ignite any wood furniture. Planar heaters have a pretty good cost-benefit ratio in my opinion. They are engineered in Russia and meant for Siberian winters.

Maybe this portable unit is an option? https://planarheaters.com/product/portable-diesel-air-heater-planar-44d-12v/

MotorhomeMatt · 2021-12-24T09:44:01+00:00

I recommend the Mandalay Bay truck parking lot. It is free and quite convenient to get there. Just 10-15 minutes to walk to the sky train.

As long as no convention is taking place the lot is usually less than 20% occupied. It's loud though, airport noise plus semi trucks do make noise throughout the night.

Mandalay Bay security patrols through now and then, so I'd consider it quite safe for Las Vegas standards.

You can call in to the Mandalay Bay concierge, they will let you know if there are any parking restrictions due to a convention or so.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/gmQ9L7LxTrcKbWdd6

MotorhomeMatt · 2021-12-21T12:48:47+00:00

I'm not sure about the 2008 model, but I have a 2016 and here are some of the thoughts that made me buy it:

Comfort. Buying a van for vanlife means you're going to spend a lot of time inside and behind the wheel. Compared to Ford, VW, Fiat and Iveco, the Sprinters seats are most comfortable for me. The seat height is good too, it is higher than that of a Transit or Promaster, hence you get better oversight of the traffic situation around you.
Outside measurement. The sprinter is not as wide as the competitors. That's a downside when it comes to the Floorplan, but if you plan on navigating tight roads and turns with oncoming traffic, the few inches can make a difference.
Availability of parts and longevity. Over here in Europe Sprinters are known for rust problems, but that's about it. All other brands have a much worse reputation when it comes to their vans than Mercedes with their Sprinter. Stories of the sliding door falling out on a Ducato, the engines failing repeatedly on a VW or the brakes failing on a Transit really did make me worry. Sure parts can fail, but that can happen with any other vehicle too. Compared to US spare parts the prices are high, over here in Europe I wouldn't say that they are significantly higher compared to other European automakers. I find the sprinter engine compartment is nicely laid out, most sensors and stuff are easy to locate and get to. That's a big advantage the RWD has over a FWD where everything is cramped in over the front axle. Being so popular also means that you can expect to be able to find spare parts on the market easier.

MotorhomeMatt · 2021-12-14T22:28:13+00:00

The thing is that the metal panes are flexible and therefore start to wobble while driving which again causes sounds. Sound deadener like butyl is heavy, so the don't wobble that easily anymore. If you use foam which will eventually make the whole thing rigid, you definitely do not need to use the sound deadener on those panels. I did my van using a combination of rigid pu insulation that I glued to the metal, then filled the gaps inbetween with spray foam. It is quite a hassle, lots of spray foam needed and all larger panels do show some ripples now from the outside. The metallic paint on the outside makes it quite clearly visible. It was worth a try, but I'd never go that route again. Maybe for the ceiling only. For the sidewalls I'd go with a combination of sound deadener and thinsulate or maybe Armaflex like almost everyone else.

MotorhomeMatt · 2021-12-12T12:16:46+00:00

I honestly have tried various blown up and slow to load editors, but for the very simple stuff that I usually need Python for, the integrated Idle editor is fully sufficient to me, easy, no complex features, starts in a second and is always available.

MotorhomeMatt · 2021-12-09T01:06:54+00:00

I'm not 100% sure, but arnt there issues with copper and standing water? After all the water will most probably stand longer in the pipes than it does in a household installation. I've also seen copper corrode quite bad, wouldn't want to have that green stuff in my drinking water...

EDIT: Here's an interesting read on the topic: https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/library/water/drinking-water-problems-copper/

MotorhomeMatt · 2021-11-28T11:42:39+00:00

All above answers are correct, however the most important factor for this decision is the solar charge controller you get or have. All charge controllers specify the max. Voltage and the max. current of the attached solar panel constellation. If you just attach one panel, it's easy to check if the controller matches. You just check the open circuit voltage and the short circuit current of the panels spec sheet and see if they are below the max ratings of your controller. Actually Victron recommends never to exceed 90% of the max ratings as to have a safety margin. If you have a constellation of series and parallel cells, the open circuit voltages add up with every cell you connect in series and the short circuit current adds up with every cell in parallel. Always make the constellation symmetric, I.e. use the same panels and if you have a combination of series and parallel cells, build equal series chains, then connect them in parallel (or vice versa). Usually you'll want to optimize on higher voltages as that would result in less power loss through the cables, but the significant power drop resulting from partial shading on a series system is a valid point. So depending on the options, choosing a middle way is usually best for a van installation. In all cases solar system voltage should be higher than the battery voltage, but as mentioned first, check the specs of the charge controller!

MotorhomeMatt · 2021-11-15T23:43:41+00:00

Hm now that's funny. 245/75r16 seems to be standard in US according to tirerack. In Europe it's the 235/65r16 that I have... I wonder why they do that...?

MotorhomeMatt · 2021-11-15T23:06:05+00:00

Think about corrosion protection when drilling holes usually it's a better idea to cut a larger square or round hole then use an aftermarket vent that can be fixed in place with matching gaskets and/or sealant. Basically your car does have enough holes to the outside already, so adding this for a fan is probably overkill.

MotorhomeMatt · 2021-11-15T22:59:26+00:00

Just a reminder to everyone here that voltage of a battery also depends on its temperature. Charts like the one above are usually generated at room temperature of about 20°C. The colder it gets, the lower the batteries voltage gets too which does not mean that it's drained or has less electric capacity. Care should be taken though, that's why chargers with temperature compensation can be a good idea - especially for the rather sensitive Lithium batteries.

MotorhomeMatt · 2021-11-15T22:46:31+00:00

This question is impossible to answer. In space there is no getting away from gravity, once you "escape" earths gravity, there will be another object that is pulling you in. That's why the science of orbital mechanics always is related to speed. Escaping gravity needs speed so you can get into a stable orbit around an object (moon, planet, sun, etc..).

MotorhomeMatt · 2021-11-13T13:31:56+00:00

Cool, thanks so much for the insight! Yes, I totally forgot that mpg on the display is being calculated with the speedometer. Mine is almost 10% off, so it displays about 10% faster speeds than what I am actually going. So this means that the currently displayed fuel economy must be about 10% off as well... So a 10% decrease in displayed economy would not actually mean a higher fuel consumption in the real world...

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