MB 1120 Coming to America! Purchase, Build and Now Travel!

[VerMonsterRV]

Have you looked at http://www.cruisencomfortusa.com/hd-series for A/C? We anticipate adding this to our Mercedes 1017 based on positive recommendations from a friend that put one into an LMTV.

Thanks ekibike, I just checked it out and think that maybe the Dometic rooftop would package better for us. A couple of days ago I did get a response from an Italian company that is willing to ship the Dometic RTX 2000, total cost should be around $2,900 to our door for the A/C, interior trim kit and battery cable. In that cost is the tariff/import duties (hopefully, never know with the current president) and shipping. Pretty sure I will be ordering it early next week. Should be pretty easy to install, the hardest thing will be cutting a big hole in our roof.

Although I do not have any pictures we have been working on cabinet doors. There are 2 of the bed area left, these are 1/2" baltic birch laminated with the FRP skin cutouts on both sides using MAS epoxy. Really happy how they are turning out. The kitchen doors are 3/4" walnut plywood rimmed with maple. I have 5 of these made up and as soon as Heather is finished varnishing them I will hang them. I have also figured out and planed the bathroom cabinets, thought I was done making cabinets but there will be a couple more in there.

I have also found a place that will bend the aluminum for the top edge of the habitat. I want to make a rail along the top to mount the solar panels to and to protect them from branches. Waiting on a price and timeframe for that bit.

Slight edit, just noticed Heather snapped a few pics of the doors as she was varnishing

 

[charlieaarons]

About air conditioning:
Unicat is a great builder. But because my U500NA was 12v and destined for North America (some of the time) they used what I call a “typical American RV” A/C. It needed generator level power to run over 1-2 hrs. The first time I really needed in Australia it was out of refrigerant. An Australian a/c mechanic in Northern Territory found the cracked copper pipe and fixed it.
A year later it was out of refrigerant again.
So when the U500 was in Germany winter of 2016 I had Unicat remove it and replace it with a vent/fan and 2 extra fans that can run all night with minimal power. I also have a cheap evaporative cooler that runs off a USB outlet.
Thinking about removing generator and replacing 150L fuel tank (have 2 x 231L auxiliary tanks) with 540L tank since I finally have reliable alternator: 200A Delco 28si. And 650W solar panels.
Lesson: don’t get full size a/c unless willing to run generator.

 

[Victorian]

Check this out. https://www.voltaair.com/product/iq-no-idle-ac-unit-for-trucks/. We know the manufacturer well. Most of our reefer bodies have one of theirs.

 

[VerMonsterRV]

Hey Charlieaarons, although I have already put an A/C on the habitat this one I am talking about is for the truck cab. Our truck is old enough (and was a fire truck) that it did not come with A/C. The Dometic above is for commercial trucks and is a simpler install than going with a typical belt driven compressor. In our truck MB had 2 differet front engine cradles, A/C equipped and non A/C. It is the best way to install a compressor but requires the existing mount to be removed and modified to make it a "A/C equipped" one. The original part is NLA and although it might be possible to find one at a truck wrecker in Europe here in the US it is impossible.

Thanks Andreas, I have looked at that one online. Seems to be a nice unit but our habitat is mounted pretty close to the back of the cab (I like that look better). Leaving no room for that A/C to mount on the back of the cab. Plus it is 12v so would need an step down transformer. The only drawback I see to the Dometic is having to cut a big hole in the roof and it is currently in Europe.

Although the habitat A/C may not work out as planned (and Charlieaarons you are likely correct), the A/C I have draws 1550 watts at full tilt. That works out to about 130 amps at 12v. Now with the 1,000 watts of solar (bifacial panels + up to 25% more watts, curious to see if they give any higher output due to the reflective white fiberglass roof) at full output is around 80 amps. So say during the peak of the heat I am getting 60 amps of solar, so almost half leaving 70 amps being drawn. I have a 400ah LifePO4 battery bank (and have room to add more) which should yield about 320 usable ah. So, leaving power for other loads I am guessing around 3 hours of A/C use (if it is working). The other thing is we may bring along our Honda 2k portable generator. It is pretty compact and should run the A/C once I install a soft start. I will have gasoline aboard anyway because of the motorcycle. The Total Composites box we have seems to be very well insulated, so A/C use might very well be limited (and likely limited for power reasons). If it all does not work out then another MaxxAir fan will go in its place, like you have done.

Work on the cabinet doors has continued. Kind of nuts the number of doors for such a small space, rough count sitting here is somewhere around 30, I have 14 done so about half.

 

[VerMonsterRV]

Quick update then off to bed. The last few days have been all about cabinet doors. This is a shot of the bed area. The bed area, laundry door and bathroom will have this style. There will be a Hella fan at the foot of each side of the bed and a computer monitor on a swing arm to the right which will swing out so it is viewable from the seating area. Still need to work out a strut system for these doors. They are pretty small so need something compact.



Also started work on the solid surface trim for the shower base pan, should be finished by tomorrow and then the bathroom cabinets can start.

 

[VerMonsterRV]

Shower base surround is completed. I used a bit of the solid surface from the kitchen counter top as we had some left over. Tomorrow will be the sink base cabinet.


Had a visit from a new friend who seems to be a bit saner than I am. He bought a nicely factory refurbished Earth Roamer. Nice truck and some good people.

 

[VerMonsterRV]

Did a bit more work in the bath, the sink base is now bonded in place and Heather is busy painting/varnishing. The sink is also bonded into place and work on the upper cabinet/medicine cabinet has started. There will be a small solid surface counter top to the left where you see plywood. We think we will get one of the Nautilus roll away shower doors. We also received the mini thermostatic controlled shower valve, handheld shower head and 2" heater vents. There will be one vent into the shower and one into the sleeping area from the same heat exchanger. The bathroom cabinets will get the FRP/birch plywood doors.


Also got all the upper main cabin doors mounted and as a bit of filler work at the end of the day mounted the 2 Hella fans.


Did a bit more email work with a company in Spain that sells the Dometic RTX 2000 24v rooftop A/C for the cab. Things are looking like we will put in the order for it this coming week. Also have ordered up the gray water tank, it will be made out of 1/2" welded polypropylene and will be slightly more than 30 gallons. It will mount inside the chassis rails beneath the habitat.

 

[VerMonsterRV]

YAC! A new acronym, short for "yet another cabinet". Also sounds a bit like how we are starting to feel about building them. This one is the medicine cabinet in the bathroom. It still needs the doors, which will be FRP/plywood like the ones in the bed area (having a hard time calling it a bedroom). The right side are bins and the rods are polished aluminum (would have used stainless but would have had to wait to get it and I think this will be fine). Heather is back at the varnishing/painting routine. When all varnished all edges will get a bead of white silicone.


Installed a few more doors in the kitchen, the mini solid surface counter top is done in the bathroom and the bathroom flooring is all cut waiting glued down. One more cabinet to go, it is a floor to ceiling "bookshelf" right at the entry door. Will try and build in a shallow cabinet with doors for hanging our jackets, also a bit of a vertical storage place for shoes, a fresh veggie shelf and a key/wallet bin.

 

[Sitec]

YAC! A new acronym, short for "yet another cabinet". Also sounds a bit like how we are starting to feel about building them. This one is the medicine cabinet in the bathroom. It still needs the doors, which will be FRP/plywood like the ones in the bed area (having a hard time calling it a bedroom). The right side are bins and the rods are polished aluminum (would have used stainless but would have had to wait to get it and I think this will be fine). Heather is back at the varnishing/painting routine. When all varnished all edges will get a bead of white silicone.
View attachment 523109

Installed a few more doors in the kitchen, the mini solid surface counter top is done in the bathroom and the bathroom flooring is all cut waiting glued down. One more cabinet to go, it is a floor to ceiling "bookshelf" right at the entry door. Will try and build in a shallow cabinet with doors for hanging our jackets, also a bit of a vertical storage place for shoes, a fresh veggie shelf and a key/wallet bin.

So, I think you need to finish your truck and then give it a good shakedown by driving it to South Australia... where we'll put you up, feed you both and ply you with alcohol whilst you build our kitchen in our truck! Sound like a plan?

 

[VerMonsterRV]

So, I think you need to finish your truck and then give it a good shakedown by driving it to South Australia... where we'll put you up, feed you both and ply you with alcohol whilst you build our kitchen in our truck! Sound like a plan?

We might just surprise you, we spent 6 months on the east coast of Australia with the sailboat and loved it. One of our goals with this truck is to return and spend more time there, we had a blast. This time we need to see the west, north and south coasts with a bit of travel inland.

 

[Sitec]

Love to see you. We had Simon and Joan in 'Babo' here earlier in the year. Always welcome.

 

[VerMonsterRV]

So the kitchen cabinet doors are in, just got the drawers to make and I need to get another sheet of plywood to make them (2 hour drive each way). I cut the bathroom flooring and Heather will bond it in place today (using liquid nails construction adhesive as it is not structural and I really think Sika 252 might be a bit too permanent, don't trust this flooring 100% as I have never used it). Now working on other cabinet doors and will install a couple more today. The AirHead in the picture below is just set there to check spacing (the cabinet door just gets by with the hinge on the right). It is tight but all fits and works. Might put a small hand towel bar right beneath the small counter top. The toilet paper holder will probably mount beneath the upper cabinet. I think I will also put in one of the small led pucks under that cabinet (like the ones I used in the kitchen.




I talked with a metal fabricator yesterday and he said he could start in a week on the habitat roof rack/solar panel mount. Waiting to see if he follows up with the quote he said he would send me. Also think I got the cab a/c decided. Getting what I think is a great price for the Dometic RTX 2000 from a guy in Spain. Will double check the roof measurements and if all checks out again order it up today (big lump in my throat as I will need to cut a big hole in our cab roof). Also need to drill my first hole thru the floor today as I need to locate the gray water drain as the tank will be mounted beneath the floor. Will measure that about a dozen times and drill a pilot hole, considering drilling an oversize hole and bonding in a sleeve of PVC pipe. Then the drain pipe thru that as I want to seal the foam core.

 

[Wyuna]

Just letting you know about my maxx fan shade findings, it does stop the noise while on the road, only issue is that the vinyl shade material tends to get sucked or pushed out. im guessing its designed for being closed while stopped

So i'm going back to making a 25mm thick foam plug for my maxxfan deluxe while driving, at least the maxxfan shade will hide the foam plug.

 

[VerMonsterRV]

Quick update then off to dinner with friends. Got the bathroom door hung finally. Made the door from the honeycomb wall panel cutout. A bit of a pain but it is in now.


Bathroom is shaping up, flooring installed, Airhead toilet mounted and vented thru the floor, vanity door in


Headboard cabinet for the bed is complete with doors.


Tomorrow I should finish the cabinet doors for the washing machine and then will start in on the last cabinet, the floor to ceiling one right at the entrance. Hopefully within a week we will be laying the flooring and be able to call the cabinet work finished. Now if I could just get some metal work going.

 

[RiderBloke]

Headboard cabinet for the bed is complete with doors.

Lovely work and I am jealous. I have one question. Is that the best way to swing the doors over the bed? Doesn’t that system mean you almost have to be on the bed to open either door? I am assuming it’s one bed, not a pair of twins.


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