MOBIUS Trip

[S. Heisley]

Ah, Grasshoppa! (Oops! Grasshopper is a dirty word to a pumpkin!) I know why it took you so long to add to your build thread. It's understandable that the Great Pumpkin would need time to get ready for Halloween and your special 'appearance' on the Charlie Brown show.

You've made some beautiful progress! Thanks for sharing what you've done. On that ice box, may I assume that, to empty the melted ice, you will have to pull the whole drawer out and tip it? Or, will you simply put frozen food in the bottom and let that do the work of ice?

Sorry to see that hole in your otherwise beautiful hatch. It's a darn shame.
Just a thought here: Rather than cover the entire inside, perhaps you can make that area a 'feature' by attaching some pretty wood in between the spars, over that area and continuing across until the addition of the wood is symmetrical. Maybe you could use some wood like you are using on the drawers?

[GreatPumpkin]

Wow! Great update! Beautiful work, too!

I've been thinking about adding some drawers in my deep, rather underutilized base cabinets in the kitchen. This is an idea I plan to steal. Thanks!

Thanks Cliff.
Feel free to steal away. I've gleaned many good ideas on the forum from others builds.

[GreatPumpkin]

Ah, Grasshoppa! (Oops! Grasshopper is a dirty word to a pumpkin!) I know why it took you so long to add to your build thread. It's understandable that the Great Pumpkin would need time to get ready for Halloween and your special 'appearance' on the Charlie Brown show.

You've made some beautiful progress! Thanks for sharing what you've done. On that ice box, may I assume that, to empty the melted ice, you will have to pull the whole drawer out and tip it? Or, will you simply put frozen food in the bottom and let that do the work of ice?

Sorry to see that hole in your otherwise beautiful hatch. It's a darn shame.
Just a thought here: Rather than cover the entire inside, perhaps you can make that area a 'feature' by attaching some pretty wood in between the spars, over that area and continuing across until the addition of the wood is symmetrical. Maybe you could use some wood like you are using on the drawers?

Yes, to empty the icebox will require pulling it out and tipping it if we use bagged ice. I considered adding a drain thru the bottom or side, but to properly attach fittings to these tanks requires "spinning" the part into it. That's about $100 tool to add one fitting!
The way we typically fill our food ice chest is using plastic 1/2 gallon milk jugs filled with water and frozen solid. They last much longer than bagged ice. Two additional benefits are there is no water to empty from the ice box, and ice cold drinking water!
I've thought about experimenting with how well dry ice would work with a piece of reflectix between it and the food. Maybe I'll try that out this summer.

I've put the hatch repair on the back burner until I decide what the best option is. No need to get it done immediately. Keep the ideas coming...

[navigangsta]

Me and a group of 30 members from our car club usually buy in bulk when we go to camping carshows.

We tell the local butchershop how man of us, how many days, and our budget. He throws all the meat we need, seperated for each meal. all raw meat.

He uses dry ice... packs it at the bottom, then a layer of some insulated fabric, then the meat on top


The meat stays frozen the whole time, which sometimes is up to 3-4 days...

[GreatPumpkin]

Me and a group of 30 members from our car club usually buy in bulk when we go to camping carshows.

We tell the local butchershop how man of us, how many days, and our budget. He throws all the meat we need, seperated for each meal. all raw meat.

He uses dry ice... packs it at the bottom, then a layer of some insulated fabric, then the meat on top


The meat stays frozen the whole time, which sometimes is up to 3-4 days...

Definitely will try the dry ice...

[GreatPumpkin]

With a nod to Joanne for the great schematic she drew, here's my Electrical schematic...



Not pictured, but the battery will also be charged from the tow vehicle.

[GreatPumpkin]

I wasn't completely happy with the reading light set-up I had started. Then I acquired a couple of these lights and definitely decided to change my set-up.


The 50 watt bulbs put out wayyy to much light and heat. 20W seems to be the lowest wattage readily available MR16 bulb, so I decided to go with an MR16 LED version. If I remember correctly, they are only 2.3 watts each.


I didn't have enough maple on hand to redo the front shelf, so I mocked it up with a scrap piece of pine. I'm glad I did that because the lights need to be mounted more to the edge of the shelf versus centered 1/3 of the way in. They will probably end up halfway in-between the edge and where they are currently mounted.


It's hard to picture, but what you are looking at in the overall shot represents the front edge of the shelf. It is 3-1/8" in height and the shelf will be 7-3/4" deep. (all maple) the electrical wiring will be concealed inside along with the speaker wires.

Leading me to my question for any audiophiles out there. Should I mount the speakers facing down, up, or up at an angle as pictured above?

[GreatPumpkin]

My order from Del City arrived Now I just need to find the time to get out in the garage and start wiring.

Pulled the Shurflo 12V pump from the tote I was storing it in and found that the inlet had broken off



This was part of a group of pieces and parts I salvaged from an RV a guy was scrapping out. I paid $50 for a stove/oven, window, this pump and a few other things. Sold the stove/oven for $50 so in effect the rest was free!

Fortunately I don't have to buy a complete new unit, the housing is available as a replacement part for around $20. Still not too bad for a net cost on a water pump!

[GreatPumpkin]

Aarrgh! I hate it when you hit the wrong button and everything you have typed just disappears.

View from the cabin...face framework and drawer front all maple.

Laptop drawer closed.


Drawer open.


Drawer with laptop in place


Laptop view from laying position.


The laptop is for viewing movies after we go to bed, or in case of rain/bad weather. Otherwise it's around the campfire with friends.

The plan is to install a 3.5mm TRS plug recessed in the frame below the drawer. This will allow me to plug the laptop into the teardrops speakers. I ran 16G wire thru the ceiling to the front headboard shelf area where two speakers will be installed. Currently I just have the 4 bare wires on each end.
I'm not having a lot of luck locating a 3.5mm plug that will work like I am envisioning, and may end up with what is pictured below. It is basically a 3.5mm plug encased in the plastic housing on the visible end. On the other end it is 2 RCA plugs. That would mean wiring two RCA jacks to my bare wires instead of going directly into a 3.5mm plug.
I'm not an audiophile, but I do know that the less connections, the better for less signal degradation. Plus I want the cleaner look of having the plug recessed into the cabinet frame vs. hanging below.
I'm skipping the whole add a car stereo/cd player to the mix. The jack will allow me to listen to movies thu the speakers in the cabin, or if we want music to simply plug my iPod directly into the jack. No need for the power draw of a car stereo.

[absolutsnwbrdr]

You have some great ideas! Definitely like the laptop drawer... might have to borrow that idea and incorporate it into my trailer.

One question though... what speakers are you planning on using for the cabin and how are you going to power them? The lineout of a laptop is pretty low voltage and would struggle to play directly through unpowered speakers.

[absolutsnwbrdr]

Your best bet might be a small 2 channel amp. your 3.5mm jack would be wired into the preamp input. this would still avoid needing a car cd player, but would easily drive a pair of small speakers without causing much draw on the battery.

[GreatPumpkin]

Your best bet might be a small 2 channel amp. your 3.5mm jack would be wired into the preamp input. this would still avoid needing a car cd player, but would easily drive a pair of small speakers without causing much draw on the battery.

Thanks for the tip Zach, I hadn't even thought about the power requirements (or really even knew!) I will have to check into a small amp - any recommendations for a low cost option?
When I want music in the garage, I just plug my iPod into some speakers I have out there - that set-up is two speakers and a sub that must have a built in amp, as it requires plugging in to an outlet.


Haven't posted lately, as there hasn't really been anything to update. Weather here has hit as low as -11 a week or so back. I just don't do well in that kind of weather in my unheated garage. I did finally get it insulated this summer, but have not completed wiring in the auxiliary panel (sub-panel) in the garage so I can run my 240V heater. I've got to get motivated to get that done or I won't be able to get any more work done on the teardrop until spring

[GuyllFyre]

One of those little T-Amps will probably do the trick pretty nicely. Something like this:

http://www.bonanza.com/booths/algogo/it ... _Amplifier



I'm pretty sure it's a 12VDC input.

This one gets good reviews but costs a bit more.

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdet ... er=300-380

[GreatPumpkin]

One of those little T-Amps will probably do the trick pretty nicely. Something like this:

http://www.bonanza.com/booths/algogo/it ... _Amplifier



I'm pretty sure it's a 12VDC input.

Thanks for the examples GuyllFyre. I'm going to have to do a little planning and reworking to include one of those and have the controls accessible. I will have to claim a liitle space from the cabinet above the laptop drawer for something like that, unless there is a simple version that is small enough to fit behind the laptop drawer that doesn't need to be accessed.

That first one is interesting - an example of "lost in the translation" and a little bit of counterfeit? advertisement. Found the exact item on eBay also...
Printed directly on the aluminum case I quote: The amplifier is use xxxxx power lC. Now substitute Tripath or Bose for the xxxxxxx depending on which picture you look at.

[GuyllFyre]

That first one is interesting - an example of "lost in the translation" and a little bit of counterfeit? advertisement. Found the exact item on eBay also...
Printed directly on the aluminum case I quote: The amplifier is use xxxxx power lC. Now substitute Tripath or Bose for the xxxxxxx depending on which picture you look at.

The first one is definitely a Chinese product. Welcome to Engrish as a second language. More than likely they ship direct from China.

It's the size that makes these special. At first I was thinking car amplifier but the the digital T-amps have gotten a lot of good reviews and they have a volume control at a minimum, will run on batteries, 12VDC, and/or AC power adapter, so they offer a lot of flexibility without a ton of power drain.

Don't expect anything spectacular but you will get enough good sound to fill a Teardrop.