7'*18' V-Nose Cargo Trailer Toy Hauler Conversion

[jjvw]

Like what your doing so far. I'm nearly done with my third conversion, a 16' all aluminum. It doesn't need the plywood walls for support but my second one did. I replaced the 3/8 plywood with 3/8" x 4' x 8' Beaded Plywood siding, stained with Thompsons WaterSeal oil solid white for the ceiling and semi transparent oil in white birch on the walls. The old ply was reused for other projects. <http://www.menards.com/main/building-materials/siding/panel-siding/3-8-x-4-x-8-beaded-plywood/p-1444439107721-c-13383.htm?tid=3132767689260229111>

Something I learned is the metal joists transfer a ton of heat or cold if not covered by a second layer of insulation. On a sunny day my wife was helping and asked why the second layer as she touched one of the joists. Quickly removing her hand because of the heat and she replied, I guess that's why. Even with one inch foam overlay, I can still see the outline of the ceiling beams on frosty mornings.

[flboy]

Like what your doing so far. I'm nearly done with my third conversion, a 16' all aluminum. It doesn't need the plywood walls for support but my second one did. I replaced the 3/8 plywood with 3/8" x 4' x 8' Beaded Plywood siding, stained with Thompsons WaterSeal oil solid white for the ceiling and semi transparent oil in white birch on the walls. The old ply was reused for other projects. <http://www.menards.com/main/building-materials/siding/panel-siding/3-8-x-4-x-8-beaded-plywood/p-1444439107721-c-13383.htm?tid=3132767689260229111>

Something I learned is the metal joists transfer a ton of heat or cold if not covered by a second layer of insulation. On a sunny day my wife was helping and asked why the second layer as she touched one of the joists. Quickly removing her hand because of the heat and she replied, I guess that's why. Even with one inch foam overlay, I can still see the outline of the ceiling beams on frosty mornings.

Thanks!. I AM installing insulation today and I am doing double in the roof, so the metal joists will have at least R5 over them.

I am going to use the plywood and put Luan plywood over top. I'll seal and paint the Luan before I install it in the ceiling and sides. Will also use the Luan plywood for the cabinets.

[flboy]

Got the 1st layer in and the furring strips up. Almost ready to install the second layer. I need to run back to Home Depot to get some more supplies. I also need to install that last roof vent for the AC, so I can close up that one spot you can see not insulated yet.

The furring strips along the edges I set off the wall be about 1/2 ". This will make a good wire run to stuff all the wires and home run them to the panel. There are also two channels I have across the ceiling to get them from one side to the other. Once I get all the insulation in, I will be running wires everywhere. :-) I have made a list of all the ones I need.. but I just know I will forget something, so I will leave a few extras in the walls.




The 1/2 plywood strip I put under the furring strips will ensure a gap between the first layer and second layer of insulation which should improve even better than the R10 with the two R5 layers. There should be no thermal bypass on the first layer which I have completely sealed with Aluminum tape.

[Iconfabul8]

Since you are going to have an air space, would it be advantageous to use a foil backed insulation on the next layer? (facing up)

[flboy]

Since you are going to have an air space, would it be advantageous to use a foil backed insulation on the next layer? (facing up)

The insulation I am using does have foil on one side (facing up). I am not sure if the small gap will do any good or not since it is not a vacuum like between two pieces of glass in double pained window... but I guess it can't hurt in any case.

[flboy]

I ordered one of these from Amazon today. I am hoping this will boost the start torque on the 6000BTU AC so it will start on the Honda Eco setting. My understanding is that this should boost the torque allowing for a quicker start an less current in rush. I'll give you the first hand review if it does work. I do know the Honda won't kick the air conditioner over when in ECO mode and I really want to use Eco mode so it will idle when the AC shuts down and only idle up as loads demand.

I will be watching for your results with this one.

I got the part, installed it, and it made no difference . When running off regular house power, you can hear the AC start up with more force, but when on the generator, the AC still kicks itself off when in Eco mode. It is not the generator, it is the Air conditioner that has a very "light trigger" on startup voltage. If I could delay the low voltage shutoff just a few milliseconds longer, it would start.

Bottom line... don't waste you $10.00 on this one. I will do a little more research. I may be able to alter the AC control circuit slightly to delay the reaction just a bit to give the generator another second before the AC kicks the compressor back off. Otherwise, I am going to try the relay suggested by Mark519. I will add all the wiring in the walls of the trailer while I am wiring and hook them up if needed later.. I am really looking for a more simple solution internal to the AC if I can. The AC protects itself well .... almost too well. :-) More to come later maybe. :-)

[lrrowe]

I am sure it is quite disappointing that it did not work. Guess I had better check mine out and if I have the same problem, and if so, search around and see if I can find where somelse has successfully fixed this. I am not sure if I recall it being done in this forum, but I will search that also.

[flboy]

Yours may work
I had a little GE 5500 btu unit that had no problem in ECO mode. This AC is only 6000 btu and it won't do it. It is not a huge deal as the AC works just fine in normal mode. Oh well. Good luck with yours.

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[Iconfabul8]

I don't suppose there is a way to get a little extra boost from the battery/inverter system just to get the thing started is there? Probably phase probs and such, huh?

[flboy]

I don't suppose there is a way to get a little extra boost from the battery/inverter system just to get the thing started is there? Probably phase probs and such, huh?

A grid tie inverter would match the phase, but it would still need to be switched in and out of circuit based on the control signal for the AC compressor. Mark519's suggestion would work with some wiring I bet, but I'd rather find a simple way to delay the signal that turns the compressor relay off during low voltage conditions just slightly. If the generator just had another second to spool up... I think it would work without stressing the compressor. That circuitry was meant for sustained low voltages (brown outs) to protect the compressor. This is all happening in less than a second when the compressor kicks on. There is some latency on how fast the generator can ramp up in Eco mode. I thought the Hard Start capacitor might boost just enough... but it didn't help in this case. It is odd that it didn't given I have read many cases where they say it does.

I wish I could get some schematics for my air conditioner wiring. I am looking for the service manual... but can't locate one online yet.

In any case... thanks for the thought. I appreciate that.

[aggie79]

I really like the way you are doing the "double" insulation with furring strips and the plywood spacers. Can you say how you fastened the furring strips and spacers to the framing - sheet metal screws?

I'm in the process of "hacking" a 5000 Btu for my teardrop. (I want to mount the unit outside in my tongue box but move the controls to the interior.) In reviewing the wiring diagram for the unit, I noticed that the line voltage is "split" with one feed supplying the compressor and the other feed supplying the blower/fan.

This got me to thinking about your situation of trying to run the unit off of the generator in eco mode. I was wondering if you could "sequence" the start of the blower/fan motor and the compressor motor so that rather than both starting at the same time there is a delay to reduce or at least spread out some of the peak surge? I guess, after the initial start of the A/C, the blower/fan motor would have to cycle off, the compressor would start, and then the blower/fan would cycle on. The delay would have to be long enough for the capacitor to "recharge" or a second capacitor would have to be added. As you can tell, I'm not very literate "electrically", so please forgive me if this is a dumb idea.

[flboy]

Your idea is a good one. There are two modes to the Airconditioner. One where the fan is always on, and a power saver where it only runs with the compressor. I could disable the fan to see if it can start in ECO mode without the fan on. It was running continuous when I tried it before. ..

BtW... my ac has a remote. An ac with a remote may save you from having to hack it. I am not sure if it is an rf( radio frequency ) remote or ir (infrared ). Th rf will go though the wood walls, where's the ir has to be line of sight.

Also, the furring strips are held with some self tapping finer thread metal screws. They are special in that they drill the wood without threading it so the screw can spin freely to tap the metal. You could do the same by pre-drilling the strips... but this saves time. I got them at Home Depot. Let me know if you want to know the details and I will send the UPC code. They work great.

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[flboy]

Spent a few hours this evening working on the ramp door. Mostly done. I went with R10 (2 layers) in the door since there was a 1.5 inch gap to fill. This trailer will be well insulated.


Removed the 1" plywood on the ramp and painted all the metal with Rustoleum Rust Stop.



Installed most of the insulation. I am using two layers . 1.5 " total foam for R10 in the ramp. I'll finish the remainder in the evening this week. I just need to add a few pieces, tape it all up and re-install the wood.

[flboy]

Got the ramp door insulation finished tonight. It is 1.5" deep in the door. Getting ready to make a lot of progress next week. I have 10 days in a row off from work and I am going to spend most of my time chipping away at this build.

[Spotman]

[THUMBS UP SIGN][THUMBS UP SIGN][THUMBS UP SIGN][THUMBS UP SIGN]looking good.

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