Hunting/Fishing/Camping Rig

[polarbear]

just bookmarking- will edit later when i have more time.

 

[slmann]

I guess I need to get going and actually start doing some of this stuff.

 

[polarbear]

OK- for about 7 years, this was the Bear camping rig.

Inside, it had a 3-burner propane stove, 12-V propane furnace, 3-Way (battery/110V/12V) fridge, sink, fresh water/gray water storage, and 110V exterior plug-in. Power was a double-battery setup with isolator and built-in inverter.

Out back, an exterior shower and storage.

It slept 2 adults, 2 kids... if they were friendly. "Tight," but incredibly efficient.

We had a 5X8' Wells Cargo enclosed trailer that we pulled behind it. In that we had tent, outdoor cook stove, outdoor canopy, and all the other "normal stuff" you'd take along. The VW did everything from summer beach trips to winter ski runs, and spent more time off-road (cautiously- limited ground clearance) than the pickup.

While that may not be the answer, we learned some important things camping with it.

1. It's amazing how much stuff goes along that you don't need. Generators and electronics, for instance. Didn't have 'em, didn't need 'em.

2. A good, sturdy outdoor canopy is as or more important than the tent. Food prep in the winter and a shady spot in the summer, for example.

3. We kept all routine camping gear and non-perishables in Tupperware totes, clearly marked. Made packing up a snap. Cleaned and re-loaded them with each outing.

Hoping there may be an inspiration or two here.

 

[NeXtras]

Dont forget, you need to make a cool fishing rod holder!, and a rifle rack!..

 

[flareside_thunder]

Street radials are some of the best tires you can get for offroading capabilities. However, before you pick a tire please let us know. I'm going to go under the assumption that you'll want a good mannered AT and there are quite a few of them that ride rough and don't perform to my expectations...and I have low ones for tires. If you do go the hilift jack route, yes it can be used as a comalong in a pinch...heck that's part of it's design. But make sure you have enough strap to do this with. It might be a good idea for you to hunt someone in your area with a light duty ship rope or the rope they use for the big power line towers......it's cheap,very strong, and you can get a lot of it. A power inverter would have to be a must....there's a company that makes inverters that are permamounted into your bed as a regular oulet.I'll try and find these kits. The idea i heard on a first aid kit and extinguisher is a very good one. I'd recommend finding a kit with the mini snakebite kit in it. As for extinguisher...I've got a commercial one in my truck, you'd be surprised how many times I've used it on vehicle fires.

 

[m78]

My inverter is in my 04 E-350 work van.It's not a camper or rv.

2300 watt inverter mounted on partition behind passenger seat

Solonoid to turn it on and of is on the bracket I fabed. The switch is on the dash. Notice the size of the wires coming off the battery. I think they are .00 welding cable (I can't remember what size I bought) It takes a lot of current to push 2300 watts.

 

[DNFXDLI]

Inverter 101....

Most inverters that you buy from auto stores, Wally World and the like are modified square wave inverters....they are not a true sinusoidal wave but are a square wave that is shaped by the switching transistors or FETS to kind of simulate a regular AC waveform....the issues arise from the fact that most electronics these days have electronic switch mode power supplies in them that do not like modified square wave..a lot of microwaves have issues with them as well. Those kind of inverters are best suited to power incandescant lamps, halogen lamps or motors with no electronic speed control.

Then there are the true sine wave inverters which produce a utility grade waveform which should really be used for all other things...end of story. Samlex America and Outback Power are the best...period....and that is the simple fact of the matter.

You can also get your inverter to charge your batteries when connected to shore power, generator or solar array...for a camping type rig a solar panel set-up with an inverter is the ideal way to go. Now for the surprise...the 15 watt solar panel idea ain't gonna do anything really other than waste your money. Ideally the solar panel bank must be sized to the application and you will want to use a Maximum Power Point Tracker...a fancy term for a bucking (reducing) type regulator....the idea is quite simple....take a 12V solar panel...under load, under ideal circumstances, it will produce 12V...not really enough to charge your battery bank.....so the panels are put in series...eg. 3 of them to produce 36V...the bucking regulator then takes that voltage and reduces it to the ideal 13.4-14.4 volts (I am simplifying things somewhat)...so on a cloudy day when the panels are producing say 7 volts, you are still able to charge your batteries.

As a side note, solar panels actually produce their most power under two conditions...
1. bright sunlight
2. Cold ambient temp

Nice paradox huh?

Then there is the battery bank...regular car batteries are made for starting your car/truck...not for running constant drain devices.

Gel cells can have gas pockets occur in them where the electrolyte is no longer in contact with the plates resulting in poor battery operation or failure...they are also very, very sensitive to overcharge.

This leaves starved electrolyte AGM batteries...best of the bunch...either Lifeline or Deka.

These are true deep cycle batteries which when sized correctly will outperform anything....now, the term "deep cycle"..this refers to a battery being fully charged and then brought down to full discharge...that is one deep cycle...a battery will be rated at X amount of deep cycles and then it has ended it's useful life.

When you size a battery bank, it is a compromise between cost and weight. You calculate what your power usage will be and then size the battery bank so that you are not pulling the battery charge down more than 50% before recharging...either by shore power, generator, solar, alternator...you get the idea. If space and money allow, sizing your battery bank at 30% DOD (depth of discharge) is much better...it will be years before you will have to replace your batteries.

In our 750 for example, we use 2-2800VA inverters in series powered by eight
8D AGM batteries...we had the space and the weight capacity...that system weighs around 1500#.

I would be more than happy to help you out in whatever aspect you need...I can design your whole system and even hook you up with our supplier...no problem...just shoot me pm.

Some good reading:

http://www.samlexamerica.com/
http://www.outbackpower.com/
http://www.lifelinebatteries.com/

 

[slmann]

How big would I need to go. I'm not thinking about having to use it for anything real big. I was thinking camera/camcorder battery, cordless powertool battery, flashlight, cellphone. etc.

 

[DNFXDLI]

You could go with either a 300 or 600 watt inverter....the Samlex ones would fit the bill nicely.