ADV-House: An 8x18 renovation.

Converting Cargo Trailers into TTTs

Re: ADV-House: An 8x18 renovation.

Postby hankaye » Thu Oct 25, 2018 7:31 pm

PigTrail, Howdy;

I kinda have to agree with McD about the liftin & totin . As you are going to
have some sort of cabinet between it and the heater why not mount it on a
sliding set-up. In when ya need the heat and out when cooler is preferred.
Just a thought ... :thinking:

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Re: ADV-House: An 8x18 renovation.

Postby PigTrail » Thu Nov 01, 2018 9:42 am

'ppreciate the desire to save my back from unnecessary strain. It's always good to think about those kinds of things and remember to lift with your legs and hips.

I'm 37 and my clean-and-jerk is still 235#'s, so I'm good for a few more years. It's not the lifting heavy things that hurts your back. It's the lifting heavy things when you never lift heavy things. We wake at 5:30 most mornings to hit the gym from 6-7. Pay yourself first. Watch, I write all that and I'll probably tweek something tomorrow!! :cry: Thanks for the comments. :thumbsup:
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Re: ADV-House: An 8x18 renovation.

Postby hankaye » Fri Nov 02, 2018 9:39 am

Pig Trail, Howdy;

It's not the stuff ya think about that hurts ya it's the stuff ya take for granted.
Had a friend that was a serious lifter and slipped a disc grabbin' a pillow off
his bed, crap happens ...

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Re: ADV-House: An 8x18 renovation.

Postby PigTrail » Tue Nov 06, 2018 9:34 am

Propane. Scary. I did lots of reading and decided on a simple system.

- 20# propane tank mounted on tongue.
- 2 stage regulator with new hoses connecting to tank and to 3/8 coarse thread flare fitting (ask me how I know there are two types of 3/8" flare! - coarse and fine)
- iron underneath trailer
- provide small sump to catch any particulate matter in pipe
- iron up through floor
- use connector to appliance
- 16,000 btu furnace w/ coars thread 3/8" flare

Here are the pieces of the sump to catch any particulate matter.

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View underneath the front of the trailer. Up through the floor is the furnace. To the right is towards the tongue.

Image


Don'e use white or pink thread tape on propane systems. The yellow is the only tape to use. Or you can use pipe-dope if that's your thing.

Image


Fitting that goes from iron stub in the floor to the hose to the furnace. Flare on right, regular threads on the left. Don't use dope or tape on flare. Right?

Image


In the top of this photo you can see the iron pipe coming up through the floor and the furnace to the upper left. This yellow flex pipe is what I used to connect one to the other. Is this type of flex hose safe to use in an RV or should I be using something else or a hand-made copper fitting?

Image


Those two wires on the left of this overhead cabinet go to the thermostat.

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Inside of thermostat. The directions for the furnace and thermostat are pretty good. Even I could figure'em out. The blue wires from the furnace connect to the screws on the upper left and lower left.

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There are several other items like having a fused power source (7.5amp) and ground to the furnace as well as an on-off switch on the pos lead. These were set up and propane hooked up. No smell of leaks and after a test fire it all worked! What did I do wrong? What else to check? I know I need to use soapy water and check all connections. What else? That yellow hose from the iron to furnace has me a bit concerned. I feel like I need to fasten it down, so it doesn't vibrate and fail due to metal fatigue. Any guidance? Thanks!!

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Re: ADV-House: An 8x18 renovation.

Postby PigTrail » Tue Nov 06, 2018 9:39 am

Used our trailer the weekend before last to visit Billy Creek Recreation area in Eastern Oklahoma. What a gem! Nice campground. Great trails for hike, bike, atv and a creek too. We'll be back. Here's a photo of the trailer and the campground. More photos and a ride report are available at https://advrider.com/f/threads/eastern-ok-billy-creek-choctaw-nation-trails.1348173/.


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Re: ADV-House: An 8x18 renovation.

Postby McDave » Tue Nov 06, 2018 10:43 am

That's better looking work than I see coming from plumbers and local utilities. You did your homework, nice job. The flex hose should not be mounted down. Just be sure that it is in a place where it wont get damaged by falling objects or pinched by a drawer or similar. Did that one come with the cutoff device for earthquakes etc.? You see those on stoves and water heaters but I'm not sure about RV applications. It senses sudden loss of pressure and shuts down. Makes sense to have one. Do a soapy water test on the joints. No dope on flare fittings. Tape and dope for pipe thread only.
Happy Camping!

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Re: ADV-House: An 8x18 renovation.

Postby John61CT » Tue Nov 06, 2018 4:05 pm

I only use flex hose where absolutely necessary, gimbal stove or heater gets relocated.

Then replace frequently.

Copper done right is much safer and in the long run cheaper.

Still inspect and test all parts regularly.

As you say, scary, be respectful
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Re: ADV-House: An 8x18 renovation.

Postby McDave » Tue Nov 06, 2018 7:36 pm

Here is some info on the safety EFV that comes with some gas lines. It is installed at the iron pipe, then corrugated flex from flare to flare. They just sense ruptures, not small leaks.
https://images.homedepot-static.com/cat ... b69815.pdf

And a installation guide for flex connectors.
https://images.homedepot-static.com/cat ... 17db69.pdf

McDave

Edit: Well I just read the instructions, a somewhat rare event for me, and item # 7 says do not use in moving vehicles or high vibration environments. I have a catalytic propane heater and a instant water heater, both are installed with rubber hoses from the regulators. The tank is in a vented storage compartment and the appliances are less than 3 ft away. The regulators and hoses came with the appliances. So, unless you want to go to copper, rubber line may be the best solution here.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Camco-RV-Low ... lcQAvD_BwE

https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywo ... vjfqxeyw_b
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Re: ADV-House: An 8x18 renovation.

Postby PigTrail » Wed Nov 07, 2018 11:50 am

Thanks for the comments and the edits. I want to make sure this is done safely. The furnace and resulting heat sure seem fancy!!!....ie, well worth the trouble. :)
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Re: ADV-House: An 8x18 renovation.

Postby hankaye » Wed Nov 07, 2018 5:43 pm

Pig Trail, Howdy;

If you crawl under a regular RV, I have one handy, you'll notice that the use of Black Iron pipe
is for traveling from the tank's regulator to a manifold (single in-put/multi out-put do-thingy),
and from the manifold to the interior are flex lines as you have in your photo. once inside it
changes to copper.
As a Full timer I have a 125 gallon propane tank that is plumbed into my RV with a Rubber hose
that is cut and made to fit and run through a PVC pipe (so I don't step on the hose), it connects
to ... a Black Iron Pipe that runs across the front of my RV (Home Sweet RV), to the 2 stage
regulator that connects to the other Black Iron Pipe (see first paragraph).

Just some fodder for the gray matter.

hank
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Re: ADV-House: An 8x18 renovation.

Postby PigTrail » Wed Nov 14, 2018 11:37 am

Just some fodder for the gray matter.


Thanks for the detail. I'm always working on the shades of that brain matter.

I spent time last weekend building out the smaller seat that houses the suburban furnace. It has a small map pocket accessible via the piano hinge. I also cut the last counter-top project panel down to size and performed a test-fit. The panels are only 48" long, so the triangular shaped holes at the ends will be fit with scraps.

Image

Everything needs paint, stain, and/or polyurethane.

I ordered a new sealed AGM battery and plan to mount it in the cabinet area visible just in front of the converter/charger.

I'm connecting the charger and battery to the 150amb bus bars with 2 Ga wire purchased directly from Amazon with 5/16 ends. I'll also use a 150amp main fuse between the battery and bus bar.

Image

It's stout. The wire is nearly as thick as my pinkie, but very flexible due to being made of dozens and dozens of small strands.
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Re: ADV-House: An 8x18 renovation.

Postby McDave » Wed Nov 14, 2018 11:55 pm

:thumbsup:

McDave

Here is a handy gauge chart for future reference.
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Re: ADV-House: An 8x18 renovation.

Postby John61CT » Thu Nov 15, 2018 7:07 am

Best to use Blue Sea Circuit Wizard app, covers all the variables.
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Re: ADV-House: An 8x18 renovation.

Postby PigTrail » Thu Nov 15, 2018 8:34 am

Best to use Blue Sea Circuit Wizard app, covers all the variables.


Thanks for the suggestion and chart. I will check them out.

http://circuitwizard.bluesea.com/


Progress from yesterday. Two coats of stain and starting on the polyurethane. Use 220 grit to smooth between polyurethane coats. I'm doing 3-4 coats.

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Re: ADV-House: An 8x18 renovation.

Postby McDave » Fri Nov 16, 2018 8:49 am

Wow. That is a darn nice tool John61. Thanks, I'll be saving that one, and using it too I'm sure.
Countertop looks good, the grey stain is different but I like it.

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