A beautiful job Vic...
Rob
Rob
Vic's new 2012 Puma build
- Thread starter Vic Harder
- Start date
Mighty Dodge Ram
Senior Member
Very, very nice!
I am curious about the accumulator that you are using with your water pump. These seem like a great idea to keep the noise and vibration down, but what about winterizing? Is there a drain or does the pump blow the water out of it? I am guessing you also use your camper in the winter and/or shoulder season and therefore don't use RV antifreeze?
OP
OP
Thanks Rob. A question for LordWoodCraft - It has been a few weeks since I did the 3 coats of Danish Oil, and it appears to be "drying out" in a few places and I think I will have reapply another coat. Have you seen that before?buckland said:
Very nice work and interesting use of space! I've thought that chairs like you've used would be great in a small camper so I'm happy to see them incorporated into your camper. Thanks for the time you've taken to do an excellent write up on your build. Get out and enjoy it! 
*yeah, when we can again.
*yeah, when we can again.
OP
OP
Good question rando. I am still new to winterizing and winter usage. I used RV antifreeze in my Hawk, and vowed not to do that again. Pain in the butt to get the nasty taste out... 3-4 flushes needed. In the Puma, so far I have not used antifreeze and relied on the pump to fully purge the system. It didn't freeze up, so I am assuming it was all dry and good to go.rando said:
It is my understanding that the accumulator doesn't actually hold any water. It can be plumbed as a "pass through" or single ended. It uses air pressure in a bladder to keep the water pressure stable.
Here are a few pics of the water system:
Water inlet in the front passenger corner of the camper. This custom tank has the fittings all on the passenger side so that the fridge could live over on the drivers' side.
This is the initial location of the pump. It got moved a few times as I tweeked the stuff in this area. Water fill and vent lines are clearly visible, the water source line is in the dark at the bottom. The vertical wall of the cabinet and the one covering the water tank are two of the three pieces of fir plywood in the camper. I also tweeked/trimmed that plywood wall to allow for extracting the water tank if that becomes necessary.
Accumulator is placed. First version of this camper I used a single ended connection to the Accumulator and it worked OK. Initial use of this pass-through setup has a much smoother feel, and it holds pressure really well. The pump does not run when turned back on even after several days. Meaning there is pressure in the lines. That might be a problem if I spring a leak somewhere. I may want to turn off the pump and open the faucet for a bit before I leave the camper.
Lockable water inlet and power outlet
Final positions of the gear. Picture taken during construction... sorry about the mess!
The red doohicky on the left is my WeBoost.
This picture shows some bad gaps in the wood work... and a chip in the plywood. Ugh. It also shows the little chrome cap for the air inlet on the accumulator. The piece of wood it goes through is removable with 3 screws for ease of access to the water bits during servicing.
OP
OP
Thanks! I hate wasted space, and the cluttered look of the cabinets the way the factory builds these campers. The only "wasted" space in this build is behind the AC outlet on the cabinet.ski3pin said:Very nice work and interesting use of space! I've thought that chairs like you've used would be great in a small camper so I'm happy to see them incorporated into your camper. Thanks for the time you've taken to do an excellent write up on your build. Get out and enjoy it!
*yeah, when we can again.
The area where the cord runs on top of the counter and beside the 3" deep drawer is not directly accessible. You can get at it via the cabinet below, but that (16*3) 48 cubic inches of wasted space bugs me. I was contemplating a "hatch" the opened from the top to bury the AC outlet in, but my better half thought it not good to have openings in the counter top for stuff to fall into. Besides, she likes "perching" up on the counter. She noticed that she can look out the window from that spot!
OP
OP
Thanks! It is no Bundutec, but we hope to get a few good years out of this one!Happyjax said:
OP
OP
Mighty Dodge Ram said:
pvstoy
Senior Member
Vic I'm very impressed with what you have accomplished! The planning and design work to making it a reality. Looks awesome! The lack of wasted space is wonderful!
How many brain cells were harmed or killed in the making of this creation?
How many brain cells were harmed or killed in the making of this creation?
I had assumed that the accumulator was like a well pressure tank, half water and half air:
But maybe it is all most all air, particularly when the water pressure if all drained.
Agreed on the antifreeze, nasty stuff. We have never used it - just drain the water tank and run the pump dry . The only issue we had with this is the outdoor shower, but adding shutoff valves seems to have fixed this.
But maybe it is all most all air, particularly when the water pressure if all drained.
Agreed on the antifreeze, nasty stuff. We have never used it - just drain the water tank and run the pump dry . The only issue we had with this is the outdoor shower, but adding shutoff valves seems to have fixed this.
Vic, great cabinet work and imaginative use of space. I've used folding hinges for shelves so I'm wondering how they work for your seats. Do they flex up and down much as you sit on them? I like how much space I could gain with them but I weigh in around 205lbs on a good day. Thanks for all the updates and pics. Hope to see your rig in person some day.
pvstoy
Senior Member
Not only do I run pump dry, I use a blow out plug on the water inlet at 35 psi. I open faucets and allow air pressure to push water from the lines. I refuse to use antifreeze product!
PaulT
Need gumbo
Let’s see if Vic remembers. That will be the test.pvstoy said:
Paul
fish more
Senior Member
Great job Vic, looks like alot of storage to get rid of clutter. Nice use of the space !!
Same here, at least if we used the shower - we blow it out with our on board compressor through an in-line regulator, then close the isolation valves to the shower. If we haven't used the shower, I generally don't bother with the blow out, and just run the pump dry. Haven't had any issues so far.pvstoy said:
OP
OP
Quite a few. I have lost count of the number of times I did something dumb and had to walk away for a bit. Many beers were consumed, and a few brain cells melted because of the chemicals used at times!pvstoy said:
OP
OP
Nice pic. Yes, I imagine it is like that too. There is a warning in documentation somewhere about not over-pressuring it lest the diaphram burst and water leak out.rando said:I had assumed that the accumulator was like a well pressure tank, half water and half air:
But maybe it is all most all air, particularly when the water pressure if all drained.
Agreed on the antifreeze, nasty stuff. We have never used it - just drain the water tank and run the pump dry . The only issue we had with this is the outdoor shower, but adding shutoff valves seems to have fixed this.
OP
OP
I am 195, so about the same weight. In the first build of this camper I had just screwed the hinges into the plywood cladding I put up over the rough wood frame of the camper. That plywood bent considerably when sitting on it. Hence the through bolts going to the outside of the camper... using T-Nuts as anchors. That means the anchors do not flex and there is no stress on the 1/2" maple plywood at all.Ronin said:
That said, the hinges themselves can bend. I've taken to zip tying the two outer parts of the hinge so they can't separate and bend more. Does that make sense? I can take a pic later.
OP
OP
I've got one of those! Will have to do that this next winter!pvstoy said:
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