Removable Foamie camper. New Build

[WoodSmith]

GPW's connectors posted above are good, another option would be Anderson Power pole connectors. PowerWerx is where I buy mine, but they are available on Amazon as well. They don't generally fall out, but if you are worried about them coming apart, they have a retention clip. One downside is they need a crimp tool (also available from PowerWerx), but there may be a HAM radio club in your area that you could tap into. Ham's use these extensively for 12 power.

There are even Andersons large enough to use as quick connects for your battery.

[zzzizxz]

I had looked into the Anderson plugs, and even the style GPW was talking about, but I wasn't sure the benefit over the more standard spade type plugs. Are the pin connectors and Anderson style just a new version of plugs? I'd hate to have to basically start over buying a bunch of connectors, tools, and supplies, but I'm not opposed if the benefit is there.

Beside the fact that I have accumulated a good number of standard style connectors over the years.

I'd love to hear the arguments for these other styles.

[GPW]

ZZ, "Beside the fact that I have accumulated a good number of standard style connectors over the years. “ …. it’s always been a policy around here to “ use what you got !!!” Thrifty …

For DC , I like the polarized connectors … no chance of plugging them in backwards … but , it’s all what YOU like !!!

[John61CT]

depends what you're comparing to, calling "standard".

Andersons are my standard

[zzzizxz]

Working on wiring up the LED lights on the living room floor.



I'm using "little dot LEDs" from superbrightleds . com. Each LED draws only 0.05amps, so I can be running 10 of these in the cabin, as well as another 10 in the kitchen, and only draw 1 amp an hour!

I put up some LED diffusing channels, and ran everything through it, then installed the covers.





I have 5 warm white LEDs on each side of the cabin, as well as two red LEDs for nighttime lighting.





After I finish the outside, I'm going to also have a red LED under the drip edge over the door, to make it easy to find the door if you have to get up in the middle of the night.

[WoodSmith]

I had looked into the Anderson plugs, and even the style GPW was talking about, but I wasn't sure the benefit over the more standard spade type plugs. Are the pin connectors and Anderson style just a new version of plugs? I'd hate to have to basically start over buying a bunch of connectors, tools, and supplies, but I'm not opposed if the benefit is there.

Beside the fact that I have accumulated a good number of standard style connectors over the years.

I'd love to hear the arguments for these other styles.

I'm not sure what the current carrying capability of spades is. I do know that the RC industry basically does not use spades at all. The competitive Robotics team that I help mentor doesn't use spades anymore either. We have had them loosen up and let go. You can get shrouded spades, both male and female, I wouldn't use unshrouded at all. The nice thing about Andersons is that you can build up a block of connections and have them all mate at once. Andersons are non gendered so you don't need different types of connectors, but once you slide a pair together with the built in dovetails, they become polarized, so no chance of plugging things in backwards.

To my knowledge we have never had a set come apart, even without the locking clip I linked above. I also like that the mating part of the connetor itself can handle 45 amps, the only difference between the 15, 30, & 45 amp connector is the size of the hole that accepts the wire.

I have less personal experience with the model tha GPW linked, but I know plenty of people use them as the standard battery connection in RC. They get plenty of vibration testing there!

As GPW said though, use what you like or what you have. As I tell our students, "The wonderful thing about standards is that there are so many to choose from!"

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

[John61CT]

Yes spade connectors are not in any way "standard" for long-term reliability in carrying even low currents, certainly not high amps.

[GPW]

Guys , good , lasting connectors can get expensive especially the high current ones … But an old trick we use is to double up connectors .. an easy trick to do with stackable connectors like those Anderson Power pole connectors …

RE: Spade lugs … since we also make bespoke guitar amps ( vacuum tubes ) we’ve seen a lot of spade lug failures in commercially available amps … They make factory assembly quick and easy , but tend to cause intermittent problems especially in our HUMID enviormment ..

Anybody wanting some , I have a couple bags of them ( PC mount) Thousands and thousands of them … I won’t use them .

[zzzizxz]

Hatch has three ribs inside, along with a plate along the top, and toward the bottom for the handles.



Hatch is made of 1" foam sandwiching the ribs, glued together with great stuff.

Mocked up in place, it looks great, and fits as good as it looks!



I'm waiting on the roof rack to arrive, so I can't install all the roof, but I'm doing what I can. Roof rack parts should be in tomorrow, so it won't be long!

[GPW]

[WoodSmith]

That's looking good. I like the encapsulated ribs on the front curve.

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[zzzizxz]

I got my roof rack brackets! Now I can really start going (hopefully).

The front bracket will be fully exposed above the two inches of foam, but the rear one will be covered about halfway. There is still about half an inch between the roof rack and the roof, which should still be plenty of room.





Since I had it all open and exposed, I decided to run a joist in the ceiling where the fan will go. I probably won't need it, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to have something there.

[WoodSmith]

Are those aluminum supports sealed on the top?

I assume they go all the way to the floor. That's a great way to get some storage space up top.

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[Wolfgang92025]

looking good

[zzzizxz]

Are those aluminum supports sealed on the top?

I assume they go all the way to the floor. That's a great way to get some storage space up top.

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I am in the middle of sealing them now. I tried to find a plastic/rubber cap that would fit in there, but couldn't find anything that big. What I've done so far is spray some expanding foam a couple inches down. After that dried, I painted the top with a thick coat of Gripper. Then a second layer of expanding foam went on top, and another coat of Gripper over that. Last step will be to use gripper to glue a layer of canvas on top, then the roof rack will be placed on top of the canvas.
That should make it completely waterproof.