((Eagle/Fleet)) - Shell Amateur Build

Vic Harder said:
Has anyone used a more durable surface inside the camper for cooking on? I'm thinking a thin sheet of aluminum over the baltic birch might be a good idea.
Click to expand...
I use tempered hardboard (the stuff that is smooth on one side and waffled on the other) for a wear layer on my workbenches. I add a couple of coats of spar varnish to make it liquid proof. Easy to re-varnish if it gets scuffed. Aluminum, depending on alloy and temper, can be hard or soft. Soft stuff dents, scratches and gouges easily.

I have formica on my countertops in my camper.
jim
 
Field Report

Trimetric and Battery
Saturday I returned from a week at the Saline hot springs. Washboard on the flats before the "salt tram" worse than I have ever experienced it. 3 hours of semi-violent shaking and vibration each way. Camper came through it great. Although I lost power to my separate voltmeter (need to check the fuses).. Now home the Trimetric reports battery max full at 91%.

Range day one started out at 97% full to 85% low in morning after 13 hours in the dark. At the end of the week (day 6), range 93% - 77%.. Been home 2 days . Trickle charger shows green (charged) voltage 13.6 (float stage) Percent of full - 91%. Charged the Engle compressor fridge, IPAD (reading an e-book), very little lights and a little fan as the days were hot - 97* at 2pm.

Battery:79 amp hour - HD Deep Cycle AGM from East Penn Manufacturing. Group 24M Model 8A24M."Intimidator"
age 18 months on a 24 month guaranteed battery.

I know that as it ages its efficiency declines. Without a battery monitor I would never know its state over time.

I will edit this comment after my body heals enough to troubleshoot the voltmeter problem. Heals because on day 3 I fell down walking in camp in middle of afternoon (yes I was sober) when one foot slipped on loose pebbles causing abrasions and contusions and a broken toe.

Solar panel and 3M VSB 4950 tape.
Panel adhesion continues to be excellent. Connector performing flawlessly. Review installation page 12 #111

Edit 3/24
​ Moving around better now. Troubleshooting the voltmeter. I checked the two 12 volt ports. Neither were working. Hmmmmm. Checked the master switch. It was pushed in. Pulled it out...Bingo everything worked. All the bouncing around while I was on washboard caused an item to shift and turn off the master switch.

I remembered my instructor when I went to computer schooll. If something suddenly stops working, check the general operating procedures first as usually the answer is something simple.

Second, after two days on the trickle charger the battery condition went back to 100% and has stayed that way the last 3 days..

Update 7/28/17
Been busy with personal projects the past 4 months. Truck sitting in carport much of that time. Battery staying at 100% . Neighbors white roof which slopes to the south is bouncing the rays to the solar panel and maintaing the battery.
 
Yes Happy I cant believe $629.99. The "040" is only 2" taller than the "MT-35 Looks bigger though.
Remember FLEET shell owners - the Eagle and the Fleet are the same width between the wheel wells:
gallery_2684_938_191482.jpg




gallery_2684_425_6853.jpg
 
48 pounds. MT35 weighs 60 pounds. It has a tough plastic shell for a marine application as steel will rust in salt water.

I used my MT 35 for a freezer once to store ice cream for a party. Worked real well. My friend just uses the 040 as a fridge...has never frozen anything yet.
 
Field Report

Yesterday we returned from our 14 day - 2,120 mile trip to Oregon. Jet-boated on the Rogue River out of Gold Beach and took a sand buggy tour of the dunes near Florence. Visited the Life Guard Museum in Port Orford. Camping continues to be great. The wife really likes the excellent Oregon campground bathroom conditions (No grafitti or damage). We stayed in developed sites and paid an average of $35 per night for full hookups. We like the full sites because we can dump our gray water bag at our site and have our own water spigot though with the solar panel we only used the shore power a couple of nights because of the high 100 degree temps and partial sun during the day.

Borrowed Engel MR040 40 quart fridge
Draws 3 amps when it cycles vs the MT35 that draws 2.7 amps. Not 3 amps steady. As you view the Trimetric the amp draw lowers to about 1.9 after a minute or so then holds that number for 2-3 minutes than it clicks off.

The extra 6 quarts allowed us to carry all the food we needed for two for the 9 camping days. We spent 4 in motels. And the side opening gave us better access when the floor was covered with our outside items (2 folding chairs, stove, barbecue, drink cooler, porta-potty).

This morning I ordered one as they are back in stock. I updated the original post and replaced the picture.
 
Field Report

Our 2013 Tacoma - V6, aut, 4WD, TRD, Trailer towing pkg now has over 45,000 miles on the original brakes. The Truck/modified Eagle shell rides very well loaded for camping and not to bad when empty. (mounted full time with rear suspension to support 1500 pounds replaced when new and "E" rated tires) .

Brakes:
The weight with me in it is at Gross (5,500 pounds...I've lost a little weight). Camping for a week in the desert - 6,200 pounds. This past week (after returning from our 2,120 mile Oregon trip) I had a minor service with my mechanic. Front brakes have 5.5 mm left. Rears (drum) 4 mm. We change the transmission fluid every 15,000 miles (no filter) Just a screen. We manually down-shift to 4th or 3rd coming off freeways and towing using the transmission to slow down the vehicle.

Mileage truck and camper only - 15.5 city - 16.5 highway - Calif, 18.5 Oregon (55 mile an hour speed limit) 18.5 long downhill stretches (Truckee - Lone Pine Calif) on Premium fuel (better performance and 1/2-1 mpg increase in milleage).
 
Hi Jim -

I have a 2010 Tacoma with a Fleet shell build out and am needing new tires. Some posts thought the E rated tires are too stiff for the lightweight Tacoma/Fleet package and that I should just go with LT rated tires. What do you think since you are running E rated?

Thanks, Scott
 
Hi Scott,

"LT" is the designation on the type of tire. (ours are LT265/75R16) Load Range is what we are referring to when we say "D" or "E". Until a few months ago I thought the only Load range made for "LT" (Light Truck tire) was 10 ply "E".s

Our rig weighs 5,000 pounds with camper mounted full time, full tank of fuel and driver. All up camping weight is 6200 pounds.
f you only carry the Fleet part- time maybe "D" s are good enough ,,,,though for what tires cost these days I would rather run "E"' range and not risk a blow-out.
 
Scott is not psychic....I edited my first reply and left out the tire make and comments .

"We have 45,000 miles on our Hankook's Dynapro T/A's. So little wear they may go 80-90,000 miles. We run 35 pounds on highway and 28-30 pounds off- road." I will buy a second set when time comes.
 
Field Report

Tuesday October 31st we returned from 9 day trip - 7 camping days at the Saline Hot Springs. This report concerns the battery/solar performance.

The battery (single 80 amp AGM) is now 26 months old (24 month guarantee). engine off 7 days. 150 watt solar panel.

Devices run:
Engel MR040 compressor fridge. Amp Draw 2.5. Cycles 2 min 45 seconds every 30 minutes.
IPAD charger draws .6 amps. 3 hours charging from 45%-100%. Charged every day.
Fantastic Fan 1 amp on low 10 minutes a day. Lights 1 amp per hour (one fixture - 2 LED bulbs)
Engel major amp draw
Temperature range 64*-95*

Graph​
​
Day Sunset 5:45 pm Sunrise 7:30 am (mountain blocks sun)
one 100% - volts 12.9 87% - volts 12.6
two 95% - volts 12.9 81% - volts 12.5
three 90% - volts 12.9 79% - volts 12,5
four 85% - volts 12.9 71% - volts 12.3-4
five 85% - volts 12.9 63% - volts 12.1 (very hot day)
six 85% - volts 12.9 68% - volts 12.3
seven 85% - volts 12.9 68% - volts 12.5

Note:
The new Engel MR040 fridge is 40 quarts and seems to draw about a half an amp more than the 35 quart. Batteries aren't as efficient when they get past their guarantee period. Best to have them checked once past guarantee period.

Day five volt meter displayed 11.8 volts while fridge was running and IPAD charging about 30 minutes before sunrise. After fridge cycled voltage returned to 12.3. Sure Power did not disconnect.

Charging amps when sun is highest in the sky (about 10 am - 2 pm.) Amps in never got over 5.1 per hour fridge not cycling. I would say most days it averaged 4.9 amps when sun was overhead.


Departure Start engine. Two days of driving about 4 hours a day brought the battery back up to 100% Engle running 14 hours a night in darkness.

Plan to have my mechanic put the house battery on a tester after my next trip in 7 days to the Four wheel camper rally.
 
Something seems amiss. Sounds like your total AH draw is less than 10AH, but the 150W panel isn't keeping up with that? And it took 8 hours of driving to recharge? Or did I misunderstand?
 
Vic No you understood correctly .

I forgot to add - charging amps when sun is highest in the sky is from about 10 am - 2 pm. Amps in never got over 5.1 per hour fridge not cycling. I would say most days it averaged 4.9 amps when sun was overhead.

The MorningStar SunSaver 10L goes into float mode at 13.6 volts. Voltage was where it should be in the charging process.

Trimetric
When the voltage increases to 14.1 or 2, the percent of full jumps from 92% to 100%. This trip the charging volts never exceeded 13.8 volts.

I'm not sure that I have a problem? Though the fact that after three days the % of full never got over 85% is a concern. Hope I answered your question.

The SoCal rally is next week . The truck will sit engine off for 2.5 days. I will see how it performs then report back.
 
I think your battery may be toast. And part of that may be the sunsaver. I'd consider getting a Trimetric to pair up with your monitor, and config the trimetric for the new battery you will buy shortly.

My batteries want 13.8 in float, and I set the "fully charged" level to be dependent on the tail current...

All that said, the fact that your max current was only 5.1 is also worrisome. You should be able to get 80% of max, or 10A or so....
 
Vic, thanks for your comments. I have a users experiential understanding of how all this system works.

I agree the battery should be replaced or at least tested. And I am going to call MorningStar tech support and verify the unit is working in theory. This is our second house battery. When new and battery discharged to 70% (run fridge in carport for two days no charging). Then parking truck in sunlight in June (last time I ran this test). Amp input was 8.5 . Battery charged to 100% in less than 3 hours.

Yo said, " I set the "fully charged" level to be dependent on the tail current..". Not clear on what "tail current means.

If you have a Trimetric where in the programming instructions is it referred to.
 
Jim, I am using a Victron controller, but just looked at the Trimetric manual and the Morningstar 10L manuals... and no luck. I don't see that particular setting for either. The Trimetric has way more settings than that 10L does. The 10L is a very simplistic unit.

I'd look at getting a battery that comes with a good spec sheet, and then using those specs with a Trimetric or Victron controller in order to maximize battery life.
 
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