STravis Go Anywhere, Camp Anywhere Build

Have you seen this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1T7S1J-Zxs

 

That looks like an affordable solution. I'll have to build an insulated box, but that looks like it should work great.

 

What is your concern with low temps on the lithium? I was concerned about the battery being charged in extremely low temps. Don't know which battery you have but I called battle born and they said with their BMS I won't have to worry about low temps. The BMS prevents damage to the battery in any condition

 

The bms simply cuts off charging if the cells are below freezing, which does protect the battery. The problem is then it wont take a charge until it warms up. Some batteries come with internal heaters now so they can keep themselves warm enough to charge even if the outside temp is below freezing.

 

Pretty sure the battle Borns now do come with a heater. Mine unfortunately doesn't. The only solution I can think of would be as mentioned, some type of warming blanket or a heater. Hmmm, time for a diesel heater maybe.

 

I've got a renogy 200ah lithium and it has a BMS that cuts charging and discharging at low temps but we have long spells of cold during the winter that would prevent the use of the battery. And if the BMS fails for any reason I don't want to ruin the battery.

 

I've got a diesel heater and I thought about running the heater in frost mode to maintain the temp in the camper but surely there is a more efficient way.

 

A plug in battery blanket. Of course this would only work if you have ac available, but when not using the truck while parked at home, this would be very good at keeping the battery to temp. Maybe I should get one also?

 

I've seen some 12v options for heating pads also. I do have an inverter but that wouldn't be super efficient either.
I think I will end up building an insulated box and run a 12v RV tank heater like the one mentioned in the video above.

 

Maybe could have an insulated box and place an LED light bulb in it? Should produce plenty of heat to keep the battery temp in range

 

Got some new lights for the truck. These Baja Designs XL lights are huge. I'll post some pictures where they end up later today.

 

I got the Baja designs xl sports all mounted and wired up today. One of the lights was wired backwards and popped my fuse so that slowed me down a bit.

I also cut and bent a front cat shield/skid plate. Should be building a rear soon.

 

Hey @STravis, Sorry to hear about the wiring issue, I'll send you a pm regarding this.
Best,
Brandon

 

Hey, kinda in the same situation as you. Don’t want to have to pull the batteries every time I go skiing. Planning on installing a couple of these
GAOHOU Hive Electric Heater Plate Beehive,Silicone Heating Heater Mat/Pad,12V 12W Heating Baking Mats Save Honey Beekeeper Bee Keeping Equipment

$10 GAOHOU Hive Electric Heater Plate Beehive,Silicone Heating Heater Mat/Pad,12V 12W Heating Baking Mats Save Honey Beekeeper Bee Keeping Equipment

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0794V5J5H


Along with this
Inkbird Dual Stage DV 12V Digital Temperature Controller Fahrenheit Thermostat Heating and Cooling for Homebrewing Brew Fermenter Fridge Incubator Greenhouse

$18 Inkbird Dual Stage DV 12V Digital Temperature Controller Fahrenheit Thermostat Heating and Cooling for Homebrewing Brew Fermenter Fridge Incubator Greenhouse

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B019I3YCFS


relatively inexpensive and should do the trick. If my battery goes I’ll just swap it out a new one with heating built in

 

UPDATE: I bought a $10 led off Amazon (maybe I chose the wrong one??) and it never produced enough heat.

Plus in one hour the voltage dropped from 14.3 to 13.5 volts. A massive loss in one hour.

So it appears the light bulb is not the way to go.

 

Bummer, but at least it was a quick mostly cheap experiment.

 

Got my rear cat skid designed and built today. I made bolt brackets that sit on top of the crossmember so you don't need a wrench on top in a hard to reach spot. I did the same with the front skid as well. I'm happy with the way everything came out.

 

I have been wanting a way to organize my center console lately and found these console safes on eBay for ~$80. I decided to give it a shot and ordered it. I have heard reports of some of them showing up with bent corners, but I wasn't worried about that. It showed up today and is in perfect shape. Not bad for the price. I'll install it tomorrow and see what happens.

 

Yeah I think my choice of a USB led light was the problem. Was looking for an off grid solution. Gonna use a normal led bulb in an old shop light, plug it in to ac, and see what happens.
Starting to get anxiety over cold temps on the battery at this point. OCD kicking in for some reason.

 

I wonder if you could just get a few of those hand warmer packets and put them on the battery. You really only need to keep it above 35* to allow it to charge, shouldn't take much heat to do that especially if the battery is in some kind of enclosure. Plus they're cheap and won't run your battery down.

$31 HotHands Body & Hand Super Warmers - Long Lasting Safe Natural Odorless Air Activated Warmers - Up to 18 Hours of Heat - 40 Individual Warmers

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0007ZF4Q8

 

We decided to cut a few more things before we pulled the aluminum off of the table today.

 

Just curious about your new front bumper, any particular reason you didn't include more grill protection. I already understand airflow for cooling at low speeds, and maybe weight. Any other reason?

 

I kept the top of that main portion low to not cover up the body lines of the truck. And as far as the grill guard is concerned I left the majority open to be able to use the TSS if the trucks are equipped with it.

 

I am currently fabing up a fairing for my habitat. Is that what you are building in your latest post?

 

I'm building a short roof rack. It will have 3 crossbars and a wind fairing. Just looking for something to cover up the huge gap in front of the camper.

 

Dang it Travis! I just purchased a Prinsu rack to fill the huge gap between my cab and the Habitat. I would have much rather given the money to you. Day late dollar short. I am excited to see what your design looks like.

 

Haha sorry man. I've been going over how I want to do it in my head for a while so hopefully it turns out nice. Are you going to cut the rack in front of the the camper or leave it under?

 

Hopefully, there will be clearance under the camper. I would rather not have to cut a brand new rack, but if I must I will. How much flex between the cab and the bed do you think there is? I have tried to twist the truck to check clearances and my results are that the truck frame does not flex much.

 

These frames move a ton. Let somebody drive your truck on a rough road and watch it. I can put my hand out the window on my truck and feel the camper move all over the place.