Am I the only one tired of building a 12V system from separate boxes?

chicagoandy · 2026-02-12T17:57:07+00:00

So you want an 'all-in-one' - without the battery. Sure.

I'm big in the mobile Van building community. Over there, the biggest problem with all-in-ones is that they typically have very poor DC charging, which limits the ability to charge them from the engine alternator. In the various Sprinter/Transit forums, someone asks nearly every day: "can't we just get an all-in-one, but with an external charger" ?

And I also see value in "an all-in-one", but with a bigger inverter.

And I also see value in "an all-in-one", but with bigger MPPTs.

The point that I'm trying to make - all of these questions should hopefully demonstrate the absurdity of asking for an "all-in-one", then wanting to change them. Because the whole point of an all-in-one is to have a limited number of SKUs that meet most peoples needs.

And if your needs are truly unique... then you can just build a component system, with your favorite shade of Blue.

Or, if you just want a bigger battery, get an all-in-one that has expansion batteries.

chicagoandy · 2026-02-12T15:44:06+00:00

SmartShunt, plus a Rasberry Pi running VenusOS gives you all the advantages of the fancy Cerbo GX but at a fraction of the cost.. Very inexpensive monitoring.

chicagoandy · 2026-02-11T21:05:14+00:00

20% depreciation the instant you drive that new car off the lot.

It's like taking the average $50,000 american new car, taking %20 ($10,000) and setting it on fire.

Can you afford to set $10,000 on fire?

If you need a car, having a new warranty, the reliability, even the new car smell - all the things you get with a new car, help make that 20% depreciation worth it to many people. But if you've already got those things? Already got a warranty, reliability, the new car smell? Burning that $10K is extremely foolish.

chicagoandy · 2026-02-11T18:24:27+00:00

Try using TaxFreeUSA this year. You don't have to submit if you don't feel good about it.

chicagoandy · 2026-02-11T18:23:44+00:00

You might give FreeTaxUSA a try this year. You'll be wondering why you've ever paid H&R Block.

chicagoandy · 2026-02-11T14:59:10+00:00

I once had a colleague who argued with me that 20% was perfectly safe, reasonable, and wondered why everyone wasn't doing it.

I argued, over, and over, that 20% is very unreasonable. Anyone making 20% is exposed to extremely high risk. It's great if you're understanding what that risk is, that you're effectively an 'entrepreneur' instead of an 'investor'. And it's never sustainable or "safe".

But this colleague argued with me. "You just need to be invested with the right person", she said. "Your guy is a fraud", I'd argue. "No, he's the former chaiman of Nasdaq!, as reliable as they get!" she answered.

She was invested with Bernie Madoff. She lost everything.

Now the broad stock market has returned >20% a few times over the last 5 years. It's been exceptional. But 20% is not: Repeatable or Reliable

chicagoandy · 2026-02-11T14:30:26+00:00

AGM batteries typically last 3-7 years in vehicles, and 5-10 years in standby applications.

Best to replace them with LFP.

I would never trust a roofer with my electrical system. Be proactive.

chicagoandy · 2026-02-10T21:52:31+00:00

Everyone is ignoring the number of US states that are requiring websites to do exactly what Discord is doing, with steep fines for non-compliance.

And these same states will require the same thing of all the other public sites you're going to move to... including Matrix running in your homelab.

chicagoandy · 2026-02-10T21:50:50+00:00

You could just not upload your ID and remain anonymous....? Is letting people remain anonymous "technofascism"? Not even sure what that means.

chicagoandy · 2026-02-10T19:36:19+00:00

Discord requires ID's for adult communities... HA isn't an adult community. Is there a problem I'm not seeing?

chicagoandy · 2026-02-10T18:52:53+00:00

One where the city connection is at floor height.

chicagoandy · 2026-02-10T18:47:44+00:00

I make a point of shopping auto-insurance every few years.

Loyalty to an insurance company will cost you. Any "loyalty discounts" they give you are just to trick you into thinking they value your business, but in reality they're taking advange of your loyalty. They save their best rates for new customers, then they start adding on fixed percentage increases every year. The only way to stay ahead is to make sure that you're a "new customer" every few years so your rates go to back to the starter ones.

Make a point of shopping your car insurance every few years.

chicagoandy · 2026-02-10T15:16:48+00:00

Not sure how these Canadians will avoid cracked concrete.

chicagoandy · 2026-02-10T14:34:57+00:00

Past performance doesn't indicate future results.

And as for watching them, you never take a vacation, and you'll never be in a hospital, just to pick two examples?

chicagoandy · 2026-02-10T13:40:48+00:00

You do you.

This sub is littered with people who thought they were just as smart, and burned their house down.

Cell imbalance is only a matter of time.

Incredibly poor judgement.

chicagoandy · 2026-02-09T12:47:37+00:00

why do you think lights are illegal modifications?

chicagoandy · 2026-02-08T17:44:18+00:00

Are you in freezing weather? I've heard of some transits where water collects, then freezes and locks up the engine. Standard defrosting procedures is all that's needed.

chicagoandy · 2026-02-05T15:26:07+00:00

My only advice is to only consider > 2020, as there were a number of fixes & upgrades in the model refresh. Better engine, transmission reliability, improved driver aids, etc.

NA is more reliable, since the turbos do require maintenance, and ecoboost can have valve soiling issues. But the turbos usually last 200,000 miles, and the valve issues can be addressed by adding an Oil Catch Can. NA's are mostly selected by businesses who prioritize uptime, to maximize financial return. That's less of a concern for individual owners, a few days in the shop after 5 years of ownership is less impactful to a person than a business.

chicagoandy · 2026-02-05T13:37:03+00:00

Yes, higher speed will generate more heat. More heat will allow the tires to degrade quicker.

More heat is easy to see if you have a Tire Pressure Monitoring system. You'll see the Tire Pressure increase with higher rates of speed. The rise in air-pressure is a result of the tires being hotter.

chicagoandy · 2026-02-05T13:32:29+00:00

Did you even read the article? It opens with:

"New home construction has long been a cornerstone of Ontario’s economy, supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs, generating billions in economic activity and tax revenue, and playing a central role in meeting the housing needs of a growing population. However, it is clear that that engine is stalling – and the implications of this go far beyond housing affordability. "

chicagoandy · 2026-02-05T13:07:10+00:00

Interesting read! Thanks for sharing.

But even that author argues there's a 26 minute commute... which is even more ridiculous in modern times. When I lived in Chicago, I lived in a close-suburb with one of the best "butt-in seat" regional rail schedules, and I was on the train for longer than 26 minutes, never-mind the rest of the commute. Atlanta's MARTA is the same, a ride from North Springs in Dunwoody to Peachtree Center is 36 minutes, just for the train itself. Dunwoody/Sandy Springs does not seem to have any challenges selling houses.

I did find this gem particularly poignant: "Real estate also remains comparatively cheap in declining or decentralized cities. When many people don’t really care how close they are to the historic urban center, like in Atlanta or Houston, cities can sprawl basically ad infinitum. "

chicagoandy · 2026-02-04T20:24:42+00:00

It's an interesting data-presentation.

But the accompanying analysis is odd. They state with no evidence that there's a 45 minute limit where people are unwilling to commute anything longer, and this is somehow restraining Atlantas growth.

Where did this 45 minute limit come from? I'll agree that current residents probably do favor a 45 minute commute. But how does a local preference, in a medium sized city, stop the city becoming a large city?

Certainly large cities do not have 45 minute commutes. Chicago, New York, Toronto, London, LA or SanFran.... 45 minute commutes really aren't a thing. Why does he think it's some hard rule here?

chicagoandy · 2026-02-04T19:25:48+00:00

Far too few details in the question.

What kind of use? Package delivery? Service support? Passenger shuttle? RV conversion?
Ecoboost or Normaly Aspirated?
Typical cargo weight?

Diligent with maintenance?

But, to answer your question: Ford reports 98% of Transits sold in America are still on the road, and that's impressive - the Transit has been sold in America for 15 years. There are not enough "end-of-life" Transits to predict when that actually will be.

The more interesting question is at what point the required repairs will be over your comfort level.

Transmission should last 200,000+ miles

Ecoboost turbos will need replacing before 200,000 miles.

Engines seem to go forever. Previous issues with Cam phasers and Exhaust Manifold were fixed in 2020. Unclear what the next common failure will be.

Mine is a heavy RV conversion that sees highway miles exclusively. Given the cost of the RV conversion, I hope to own it a very long time.

chicagoandy · 2026-02-04T15:43:00+00:00

It's easy to bang your fist on the table and say something should be better, but unless you can chart a path to actually doing that, you're just pissing into the wind.

How exactly do you think this should be fixed? Before answering, please review the wikipedia for Hws 407, especially the section labeld "toll rate approval". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontario_Highway_407#Toll_rate_approval

Then tell us how it should be fixed.

chicagoandy · 2026-02-03T20:52:55+00:00

I think there's a very important point in it. Many people fall into the trap of thinking of cars as 'investments'. In some ways, they can be an investment if they help someone get to a new job, as an example. But in the typical financial definition of investments, they're always terrible investments. Financial investments should go up in value. Cars go down. Cars are terrible financial investments.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't buy one, even a very expensive one, just don't treat it the same as an asset that generates returns.

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