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Bruce
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Wollongong, Australia
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01-03-2021, 06:28 AM
1

Power Upgrade to my Teardrop Camper

After all the excitement generated by my revelations and testing of my on board microwave oven I thought it was time to up date the 12volt system.

The camper was originally supplied with a 60Ah deep cycle battery and a PWM solar controller.



As you can see I fitted a small charger in case the solar was not sufficient but in practice rarely turned it on. This has actually been fine up until now but no one has ever sat around the campfire (fire bans permitting) complaining that they had too much battery power on board. I therefore replace the 60Ah battery with a 100Ah one.



I also added a 12 volt outlet in the kitchen of the camper



Some extra fuses were added.



However the biggest change apart from the battery was the new MPPT Solar Controller.



A switch was added in the solar panel circuit as it was a dam nuisance getting to the screws at the bottom of the controller in its new position.

It should all get a good test when we visit Cameron Corner (weather permitting) in May


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Bruce's Avatar
Bruce
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Bruce is offline
Wollongong, Australia
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01-03-2021, 06:43 AM
2

Re: Power Upgrade to my Teardrop Camper

There have been some minor changes in the kitchen and cabin too.



The state of the battery and the charging system can be seen without having to delve under the bench top.



Already you can see the difference a MPPT charger makes it has boosted the charge current from 1.7A to 1.9A from a solar panel shaded by the car port. Quite pleased with that.

In the cabin I added a rather old WD TV Live Media Player for times when it is raining and there is no TV reception.



Next to the TV are four USB outlets and two 12 Volt outlets. to run this stuff.



The cabin also has a clock and a volt meter just in case.



I nearly forgot... Under the shelf there is a soundbar too. Such luxury!


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01-03-2021, 09:23 AM
3

Re: Power Upgrade to my Teardrop Camper

Heath Robinson
Bruce's Avatar
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01-03-2021, 10:41 AM
4

Re: Power Upgrade to my Teardrop Camper

Originally Posted by d00d ->
Heath Robinson
Absolutely! Amazing fun yet completely practical and functional. Modern technology is wonderful, works in the desert or the backyard.
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01-03-2021, 11:32 AM
5

Re: Power Upgrade to my Teardrop Camper

Puts my metal detector in the shade Bruce, nice work...
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01-03-2021, 01:56 PM
6

Re: Power Upgrade to my Teardrop Camper

This looks great Bruce! Did you build your own camper Bruce? I got my one with all the bells and whistles all set up.
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Mags
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01-03-2021, 03:33 PM
7

Re: Power Upgrade to my Teardrop Camper

That looks great fun, Bruce.

Are you sure there is nothing you have forgotten?
Bruce's Avatar
Bruce
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Bruce is offline
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02-03-2021, 01:00 AM
8

Re: Power Upgrade to my Teardrop Camper

Originally Posted by Minx ->
This looks great Bruce! Did you build your own camper Bruce? I got my one with all the bells and whistles all set up.
No, I bought the shell ready made from a bloke in Sydney just starting out so it was relatively cheap. It did have the 60Ah battery and a 10watt solar panel with LED lighting in the kitchen and cabin plus one 12 volt outlet in the cabin. I added 240v mains power, a 40watt solar panel, TV aerial etc.

I am pretty happy with it the way it is now, it is easy to tow, less than 750kg, in fact my car seems to hardly notice it. It works great whether you are in a caravan park or free camping in the bush. What I like is that is is immediately usable - there is no setup needed.

It was very bare when I bought it



The battery is in the storage area underneath the counter in the kitchen.



There are a few things I don't like:

Towing anything restricts where you can park purely because of the length (with the car it is about 10m)

The short wheel base like a 8 by 5 trailer can make it a bugger to reverse. Longer vehicles are much easier to reverse but you do get the knack.

In the rain if you try to leave the outer door open the bedding can get wet but there was a ventilation issue with the doors shut - fortunately that has been overcome. Actually I think in the five years I have been using it it has actually rained on less than 10 occasions but I have slowly overcome all these issues.


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04-03-2021, 04:15 AM
9

Re: Power Upgrade to my Teardrop Camper

More power is always a good thing. I know there will be disappointment and groans all around, but my first question would be whether or not I could operate my hair dryer .

Just kidding!

Or am I ?

Anyhow, nice addition of the entertainment option; I just hope you never have to use it! I was thinking about the length of pulling something, the advantages of being able to disconnect the camper for an outing from base camp is a good one. I can't recall, but do you have a fan that ventilates well when the temps climb?

As for the rain, what about a canopy or a large beach umbrella that's light and folds up? I would think a portable one would give you the advantage of using it either at the door or over the kitchen depending on your needs.

It's a great setup, Bruce. I know you must be itching to get out there again!
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Bruce
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Bruce is offline
Wollongong, Australia
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04-03-2021, 04:56 AM
10

Re: Power Upgrade to my Teardrop Camper

Originally Posted by Surfermom ->
More power is always a good thing. I know there will be disappointment and groans all around, but my first question would be whether or not I could operate my hair dryer .

Just kidding!

Or am I ?

Anyhow, nice addition of the entertainment option; I just hope you never have to use it! I was thinking about the length of pulling something, the advantages of being able to disconnect the camper for an outing from base camp is a good one. I can't recall, but do you have a fan that ventilates well when the temps climb?

As for the rain, what about a canopy or a large beach umbrella that's light and folds up? I would think a portable one would give you the advantage of using it either at the door or over the kitchen depending on your needs.

It's a great setup, Bruce. I know you must be itching to get out there again!
I have a small inverter connected to the battery in my car but I doubt it would run a hair dryer, I only use it for things like the power supply for my laptop. To be honest the TV etc is not used much but it is nice to have available.

The camper has a roof vent and fan and when it rains it can now draw air from vents to the kitchen area the door of which can be left ajar even during the heaviest rain. Generally heat hasn't been an issue, the camper cools down very quickly one the sun goes down. In summer, even at home, I usually sleep on top of the bed rather than in it.

Previously I used to set up a gazebo for shelter from sun and rain outside but have found the awning on the side of my car more than adequate for me. In future will probably leave the gazebo at home.





On one occasion I did reverse the camper under the gazebo but as I said rain hasn't really been a major problem more of a rare nuisance. My new rain protection is crude and untested, I might set it up to take a few photos, it only takes a few minutes just for "show and tell"

My daughter and her husband have an awning on both their 4x4s which extends round three sides of the vehicle and takes only a few minutes to erect. My awning is definitely the economy version that I knocked up myself out of things I already had apart from the C section aluminium piece that holds the tarpaulin.

This long weekend was supposed to be a test run for us to refine what we need to take to avoid duplication for our longer trip in May.

She uses a swag rather than a tent, this sort of thing:

 
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