Mojovan progress

[mojoman]

Just mounted the Onan 2800 with the anti-vibration mounts and the hitch.
The Rear view cameras and 7" screen works great. One camera is pointed down with wide view, the other is pointed back with a little narrower view. Switch on screen to toggle between screens, one for backing and the other for driving.
http://s1276.photobucket.com/user/mcgio ... t=3&page=1

[markopolo]

Thanks for sharing the photos. I'll be following your progress for sure

[mojoman]

I ended up with 10 1/2" of ground clearance under the generator. Cutting out the spare tire cross member and mfg my own mounts allowed me to install higher than what's out there now. I'll loose some as I add weight.

[mojoman]

A/C and sideways Maxxair install. Used plastic for rib spacers and a plastic base to distribute load and seal better. They are move as far back as I could and Maxxair sideways to fit 4 solar panels. Tight fit but it will fit.
http://s1276.photobucket.com/user/mcgio ... t=3&page=1

[mojoman]

Wife made the cover.

[markopolo]

Nice cover

Trying the Photobucket link:

Click (automatically copies) & paste on forum




Photo is clickable

[Davydd]

Originally Posted by mojoman

A/C and sideways Maxxair install. Used plastic for rib spacers and a plastic base to distribute load and seal better. They are move as far back as I could and Maxxair sideways to fit 4 solar panels. Tight fit but it will fit.
http://s1276.photobucket.com/user/mcgio ... t=3&page=1

I understand why you turned the MaxxAir sideways but doesn't that defeat its purpose of being able drive down the highway with the vent open? Will it work that way sideways? I doubt it was engineered that way and you could put lateral pressure on the hinges closed or open I would think.

[mojoman]

The vent mechanism is pretty stout, the solar panels will deflect much of the air flow against it. I figure I'm safe as long as I don't open it all the way.

[Davydd]

If you are on the highway you can have the equivalent of a 70 mile per hour wind constantly against it. We have a remote control 10 speed MaxxAir fan and as far as I can tell it is either open all the way or closed. It doesn't seem to operate like a Fantastc Fan where you can stop the vent cover at any point because it is not necessary. But then again I can tell you a Fantastic Fan could not endure that wind sideways at any degree of opening. have you checked with MaxxAir?

[mojoman]

Don't plan on running it when driving, just cracked open so flow from dash ventilation will exit out the vent. That worked for me on my class A. Not much force will be hitting it with the solar panels in front of the fan assembly. The solar panels will be slightly higher than the vent when closed.

[mojoman]

Just finished installing the heating element in the Mach8 noticed they were very fugal in insulating the return area which will cause addition of outside heat to your return. I added insulation covering the areas missed in the housing and taped it up with aluminum tape, the insulation was already starting to lift in some areas where they didn't tape it. I guess they made this on friday at closing time. Something to check/watch for in future maintenance.

[mojoman]

Installed marine shore power inlet with 10/3 wiring, mfg roof brace to stop roof sagging bouncing from A/C.
http://s1276.photobucket.com/user/mcgio ... ry/Mojovan

[markopolo]

Which photo is the brace - the pole or the wood?
Are you concerned about cutting through two consecutive roof ribs? I know photos don't tell the whole story and I have no idea how strong the roof feels.

Fans and roof A/C needed 14" openings when I last looked into it. Is it still the same? Is there sufficient gap between the roof supports on a Promaster if one didn't want to cut through the roof supports?

[booster]

Very nice!

Did you manage to come up with a copy of the upfitter cut rules for the van?

[markopolo]

Lots of docs on the Ram Body Builders Guide site:

http://www.ramtrucks.com/en/bodybuilder ... promaster/

Cutting for a hatch etc: http://www.rambodybuilder.com/2015/van/docs/vf/drec.pdf

[mojoman]

I use it as a guide but most of what I've done I have had to engineer a work around. The post is holding it up in place till I get it welded. The Promaster roof supports are foam glued in and not hard mounted. The brace I'm fabricating will over compensate for the removal of those two ribs. Its made out of 1x2 1/8" thick rectangular bar with 1/4" end plates. Both openings have stout framing are tied together with HDPE in the channels, inside and out along with a flat panel to distribute the load. I tend to over engineer for safety. The generator install is another example of breaking the rules, I was able to engineer out the complaints of excessive noise, vibration and ground clearance. I don't have to contend with lawyers, Chrysler rules and bean counters so I'm able to do anything I want that can be safely engineered.

[markopolo]

I guessed that you'd do something to give it structure but it's good to discuss it just in case someone doing a DIY build comes along at some later and sees the photos and starts cutting away.

The a/c will probably want to bounce up and down as you drive even though it is heavy. I think the roof sheet metal is glued to the roof supports even in my '97 van.

[mojoman]

I think the roof structures are glued for the purpose of expansion and contraction. The A/C in mounted further back than most where some of the weight is supported by the rear doors frame structure. The brace will be installed with pressure forcing the roof up a bit. I imagine cabinetry in most models help support the roof.

[booster]

I can't say if it is still the case, but when they started gluing the supports in for the hoods, trunks, doors, etc it was to eliminate the spot welds that had to be smoothed on the outside visible panels. Added benefits are from things like better sealing against moisture and rust starting in the tight spots

[mojoman]

One thing I noticed is the ribs were glued on with expanding foam before it was painted. Upon removal of those sections I noticed bare metal under the foam I scraped off and a tiny bit of rust starting around these areas where the paint process missed.