Camp Set Up Tips & Tricks Plus Products That Work And Those That Don't

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Bogger said:
Now that's a sweet tidy build with some excellent workmanship. :Y: :Y: But damn he's poured some big bucks into it :rolleyes: Loved the raised air intake description ie a snorkel ;) but doubt his troopie will ever reach speeds to attain any positive pressure for the ram air he speaks of but :D

That's right the Ram systems do rely on speed to work properly, That Troopy is White and he has had it wrapped in that Green colour,

Although I really Like my Shogun Sport / Pajero Challenger that one you got is my favourite, The Sport/Challenger seems more direct on the road, And better on fuel.

I just watched all 10 of his videos where he travels The Canning Stock Route which he says is about 1700ks Wiki says it is 1850ks, Looks like a heck of a trip,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EinnfBVt5cY
 
madtuna said:
yep nice troopy but damn!.....I'd imagine if it suffered a stone chip or got a scuff from a bush if he ever took it off a track, that would be the end of his expedition and it would be back to the work shop for a complete re-fit.

In the last Video of his Canning Track voyage he talks about scratches and that plastic wrap the Troopy is covered with never got a mark on it yet the black plastic side door/windows did get scratched a bit, seems like it is a lot tougher than you/me would have thought ?.
 
madtuna said:
yep nice troopy but damn!.....I'd imagine if it suffered a stone chip or got a scuff from a bush if he ever took it off a track, that would be the end of his expedition and it would be back to the work shop for a complete re-fit.
Funny MT was about to post ................... almost to good to take in the scrub. Some nice work on it but :Y: :Y:
 
Ridge Runner said:
I have been watching this Guy build his Troopy with some pretty good Ideas and I like the sound of these new "Lead Chrystal" batteries which allow you to use every Amp left in the battery, he has 2 of them that gives him a total of a 156 Amps plus he has the original battery in the Engine bay and a 120w solar panel on the roof,

Love this Truck aye, :Y:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgA6bIYWcss

I have decided to :party: go for Lead Crystal whenever I need to change out the batteries in the camper, but as that may be 4 to 5 years away, will also keep my eyes open on what other technology may come along that is better still. Lithiums seemed good for a while especially with the weight savings, but the seem to be too finicky regarding their charging regime, etc, so will likely give them a miss.

Rob P.
 
I found a big commercial alloy rice pot at the scappy. I fill it with clean creek water, leave it next to the fire all the time, a good splash of detergent in it, and its great for washing your hands and rinsing your plates etc. Makes washing up heaps easier.
 
mudgee hunter said:
I found a big commercial alloy rice pot at the scappy. I fill it with clean creek water, leave it next to the fire all the time, a good splash of detergent in it, and its great for washing your hands and rinsing your plates etc. Makes washing up heaps easier.
Simple and practical. :Y:
 
mudgee hunter said:
I found a big commercial alloy rice pot at the scappy. I fill it with clean creek water, leave it next to the fire all the time, a good splash of detergent in it, and its great for washing your hands and rinsing your plates etc. Makes washing up heaps easier.

Anything that makes it easier has to be a plus :Y: A lot of places I end up request no fires ................... always a bit of a bugger but must comply. Nothing like the camp fire at night to sit around even if nothings cooking. ;)
 
PabloP said:
Ridge Runner said:
I have been watching this Guy build his Troopy with some pretty good Ideas and I like the sound of these new "Lead Chrystal" batteries which allow you to use every Amp left in the battery, he has 2 of them that gives him a total of a 156 Amps plus he has the original battery in the Engine bay and a 120w solar panel on the roof,

Love this Truck aye, :Y:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgA6bIYWcss

I have decided to :party: go for Lead Crystal whenever I need to change out the batteries in the camper, but as that may be 4 to 5 years away, will also keep my eyes open on what other technology may come along that is better still. Lithiums seemed good for a while especially with the weight savings, but the seem to be too finicky regarding their charging regime, etc, so will likely give them a miss.

Rob P.

Cool Rob, I have never heard of them, Is there much weight difference between them and the normal Lead Acid Deep Cycle batteries ?

And how does do they compare to them or the AGM Batteries, Pricewise ?

thanks mate,
 
I am not an expert on the topic, but the following chart that I extracted from the web, gives a reasonable look at comparing the key aspects, but doesn't provide exact measurements.

1524437314_batterycompare.jpg


By the time I need to get a replacement set, hopefully we will have a better fix on "actuals" and there may be other technology that is better still, but I doubt it for my needs.

Rob P.
 
Jaros said:
I get 6-8 yrs from my lead acid deep cycle batt's by maintaining them properly. Only use distilled water and clean terminals regularly. :D

That's good going , When I bought my Truck the battery gave up the ghost with 3 months, when I took it out I see it was 9 years old, It was an 80/85 Amp battery from memory So I replaced it with a 115Ah / 1000cca deep cycle battery, I am going to add 2 more, One for the engine and one for the fridge. :Y:
 
I have been doing a bit more research, and a few points from that -
- If your battery is in a location that is exposed to high temperatures (under the bonnet & especially if close to a turbo), then surprisingly the old lead acid is supposed to be better than AGMs and likely Lead Crystal and that is not reflected in the matrix I attached. But having said that I put 2 x Lead acid under the bonnet of the Prado at the recommendation of Battery World for this reason, but they have not held up well.

- My Merc Sprinter van uses AGM for the crank battery, but it is under the cab floor so is reasonably shielded from heat (engine or solar) and it just keeps cranking.

- Apparently Betta do not recommend the lead crystal to be used as a cranking battery, so I likely won't use them as the crank battery replacement in the Prado, but I likely will do so for the second/dual battery, when I decide to replace it. House batteries in the Sprinter are hopefully good for another few years and what with Graphene, Sodium/glass, batteries and all that good work, who knows what will be the go by that time.

Rob P.
 
I have 2 SSB agm deep cycle/ cranking batteries in the Prado. A good way to protect them is to cut out some roof insulation and glue it to the sides to reflect excessive heat. These are identical batteries except for the terminal configuration.
The extra benefit is that the accessory battery can serve as a backup cranker if the main one goes flat for whatever reason.
These are 4 yrs. old and have seen a lot of work and are still going strong.
1524456065_06db35fd-d2b0-4bb7-91c8-3cdf7e5c7e19.jpg

1524456065_d036e50c-c0a2-40fe-bad5-6b0bcc03cd0c.jpg

1524456066_4cb9bc42-04b9-438d-a747-341b441ac17f.jpg
 
Bought a couple of 110Ah Crystals for the 24v system on the 6x6, yep they are heavy, 32kg a piece, did the economics and they stacked up really well, given that they estimate an 8-10 yr life span, fully sealed so no top up, can run upside down etc though not intentionally. As previously mentioned they are a deep cycle battery NOT a start battery, also it appears their charging requirements are a bit different, need a higher current input prior to float, Betta indicated around 30A at about 14.4v so I have to do some tests with my Auto sparky so establish what the Generator is putting out.

Will probably end up charging via a combined system so the solar panels can take care of the float and not run in conflict with the engine charging system. When the engine input stops, solar takes over instead of both running at the same time as they would if wired separately.
1524482456_lead-crystal-batteries.jpg
 
Dihusky said:
Bought a couple of 110Ah Crystals for the 24v system on the 6x6, yep they are heavy, 32kg a piece, did the economics and they stacked up really well, given that they estimate an 8-10 yr life span, fully sealed so no top up, can run upside down etc though not intentionally. As previously mentioned they are a deep cycle battery NOT a start battery, also it appears their charging requirements are a bit different, need a higher current input prior to float, Betta indicated around 30A at about 14.4v so I have to do some tests with my Auto sparky so establish what the Generator is putting out.

Will probably end up charging via a combined system so the solar panels can take care of the float and not run in conflict with the engine charging system. When the engine input stops, solar takes over instead of both running at the same time as they would if wired separately.https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/img/member-images/10304/1524482456_lead-crystal-batteries.jpg

What 6x6 you running Dihusky?

Cheers

Doug
 

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