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dobryan Samba Member
Joined: March 24, 2006 Posts: 16505 Location: Brookeville, MD
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Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2021 1:14 pm Post subject: Re: Building a bus for travel in Europe "euroBus" |
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We went to Vanagons in the Valley this weekend and the LiFePO4 battery was excellent.
Here is a happy battery right now. I've been running the fan and charging some usb devices today too.
$448 4-272AhLiFePO4 cells from Alibaba delivered
$127 Overkill BMS
$100 Supplies
$665 total battery cost
$35,075
$665 LiFePO4 battery
$35,740 _________________ Dave O
'87 Westy w/ 2002 Subaru EJ25 and Peloquin TBD
"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive." Robert Louis Stevenson
MD>Canada>AK>WA>OR>CA>AZ>UT>WY>SD
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=620646
Building a bus for travel in Europe (euroBus)
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=695371
The Western Syncro build
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=746794 |
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pnwkayaker Samba Member
Joined: April 01, 2008 Posts: 920 Location: Sammamish, WA
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Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2021 1:46 pm Post subject: Re: Building a bus for travel in Europe "euroBus" |
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Dave,
have you tried this tracker in the US? If so, which SIM card did you use?
Lastly, what's your impression of the tracking app ?
dobryan wrote: |
I finally installed a tracker.
https://smile.amazon.com/Keelin-TK419-4G-LTE-Real-...amp;sr=8-1
It was drop dead easy to use.
Just insert an active sim card and connect 12V and it is ready to use.
It has all kinds of other options that I may use later.
I have it above the metal roof of the bus squirreled away in the NAHT. Reception should be excellent.
I'll buy a European sim card when I get over there.
And now my wife can stalk me.....
$35,010
$65 GPS tracker
$35,075 |
_________________ 87 Syncro Westy EJ25 ("Tardis")
Seattle Meetup at Marymoor (link)
A collection of Simple Useful Mods (SUM) (link) |
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dobryan Samba Member
Joined: March 24, 2006 Posts: 16505 Location: Brookeville, MD
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Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2021 2:00 pm Post subject: Re: Building a bus for travel in Europe "euroBus" |
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pnwkayaker wrote: |
Dave,
have you tried this tracker in the US? If so, which SIM card did you use?
Lastly, what's your impression of the tracking app ?
dobryan wrote: |
I finally installed a tracker.
https://smile.amazon.com/Keelin-TK419-4G-LTE-Real-...amp;sr=8-1
It was drop dead easy to use.
Just insert an active sim card and connect 12V and it is ready to use.
It has all kinds of other options that I may use later.
I have it above the metal roof of the bus squirreled away in the NAHT. Reception should be excellent.
I'll buy a European sim card when I get over there.
And now my wife can stalk me.....
$35,010
$65 GPS tracker
$35,075 |
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Yes. I just tried it in my driveway.
I got a cheap sim card off Amazon that is set up for trackers. I think it was $5 for the first 30 days. No special company.
The app works real well. _________________ Dave O
'87 Westy w/ 2002 Subaru EJ25 and Peloquin TBD
"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive." Robert Louis Stevenson
MD>Canada>AK>WA>OR>CA>AZ>UT>WY>SD
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=620646
Building a bus for travel in Europe (euroBus)
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=695371
The Western Syncro build
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=746794 |
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dobryan Samba Member
Joined: March 24, 2006 Posts: 16505 Location: Brookeville, MD
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Posted: Fri Jul 23, 2021 10:24 am Post subject: Re: Building a bus for travel in Europe "euroBus" |
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Time to build a bike rack. I want a rack that I can hang two bikes from and keep them close to the rear hatch. Since I'll always have cheap used bikes over in Europe I was not too concerned about having a nice rack.
I started with the idea of just having a 2" aluminum tube projecting out from the hatch rack to hang the crotch of the bike frame on..... and it actually worked out that way.
I'll bungee cord the bikes to the rack to keep them from moving and use a bike lock chain to secure them from casual thieves.
here is the aluminum I used.
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B014GXNH2O/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I used a step drill to create 1" diameter holes on each side then a hack saw to cut a slot to the end. Then attached the tube with 1/4" stainless hardware to clamp it on and Bob's your uncle.
Total cost $60.
$35,740
$60 bike rack
$35,800 _________________ Dave O
'87 Westy w/ 2002 Subaru EJ25 and Peloquin TBD
"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive." Robert Louis Stevenson
MD>Canada>AK>WA>OR>CA>AZ>UT>WY>SD
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=620646
Building a bus for travel in Europe (euroBus)
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=695371
The Western Syncro build
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=746794
Last edited by dobryan on Mon Aug 09, 2021 6:26 am; edited 1 time in total |
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dobryan Samba Member
Joined: March 24, 2006 Posts: 16505 Location: Brookeville, MD
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dobryan Samba Member
Joined: March 24, 2006 Posts: 16505 Location: Brookeville, MD
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Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2021 9:10 am Post subject: Re: Building a bus for travel in Europe "euroBus" |
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A while back I noticed that the drivers side axle flange was weeping gear oil. Boo.
Finally got around to fixing it.
Pulled the flange off and added a speedi sleeve to the flange to clean up the surface that the seal rides on.
Reinstalled with a new seal and flange cap and took it for a 200 mile drive this weekend to go camping. Nice and dry now. Bob's my uncle.
_________________ Dave O
'87 Westy w/ 2002 Subaru EJ25 and Peloquin TBD
"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive." Robert Louis Stevenson
MD>Canada>AK>WA>OR>CA>AZ>UT>WY>SD
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=620646
Building a bus for travel in Europe (euroBus)
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=695371
The Western Syncro build
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=746794 |
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dobryan Samba Member
Joined: March 24, 2006 Posts: 16505 Location: Brookeville, MD
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dobryan Samba Member
Joined: March 24, 2006 Posts: 16505 Location: Brookeville, MD
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Posted: Sun Aug 08, 2021 3:27 pm Post subject: Re: Building a bus for travel in Europe "euroBus" |
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Sigh…..
Another travel year lost to Covid. Based on circumstances in Europe there is not much reason to ship the euroBus over this summer/fall. Looking at late Spring 2022 now.
The silver lining is that my wife loves the euroBus so much more than our westy that she gets to enjoy it here longer. And I get to fine tune it more.
Oh well. C’est la vie. _________________ Dave O
'87 Westy w/ 2002 Subaru EJ25 and Peloquin TBD
"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive." Robert Louis Stevenson
MD>Canada>AK>WA>OR>CA>AZ>UT>WY>SD
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=620646
Building a bus for travel in Europe (euroBus)
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=695371
The Western Syncro build
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=746794 |
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carlos_magnum Samba Member
Joined: April 21, 2009 Posts: 591
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Posted: Sun Aug 08, 2021 11:03 pm Post subject: Re: Building a bus for travel in Europe "euroBus" |
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I dig the bike rack. Any noise or vibration? |
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dobryan Samba Member
Joined: March 24, 2006 Posts: 16505 Location: Brookeville, MD
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Schnippzle Samba Member
Joined: February 04, 2021 Posts: 288 Location: Swede in London, UK
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Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2021 6:23 am Post subject: Re: Building a bus for travel in Europe "euroBus" |
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dobryan wrote: |
As part of fixing the flange seal I drained the transmission.
This is at the 3500 mile mark.
Oily hedgehog picture
Nothing alarming and new gear oil went in.
I hope to have a happy transmission for many years. |
Excuse my lack of knowledge or understanding, but that seems to have quite a lot of filings in it. Is that to be expected? Is it something that can be reduced? |
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dobryan Samba Member
Joined: March 24, 2006 Posts: 16505 Location: Brookeville, MD
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Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2021 6:30 am Post subject: Re: Building a bus for travel in Europe "euroBus" |
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Schnippzle wrote: |
dobryan wrote: |
As part of fixing the flange seal I drained the transmission.
This is at the 3500 mile mark.
Oily hedgehog picture
Nothing alarming and new gear oil went in.
I hope to have a happy transmission for many years. |
Excuse my lack of knowledge or understanding, but that seems to have quite a lot of filings in it. Is that to be expected? Is it something that can be reduced? |
Yes, that is expected. This was the first change after a rebuild so things are bedding in. No actual pieces. Just fine metal dust that attaches to each other due to the magnet and gives the look of pieces.
As samba gear oil guru Sodo will say. Better to change out the trans lube often rather than run it with a metal dust mix in it. _________________ Dave O
'87 Westy w/ 2002 Subaru EJ25 and Peloquin TBD
"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive." Robert Louis Stevenson
MD>Canada>AK>WA>OR>CA>AZ>UT>WY>SD
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=620646
Building a bus for travel in Europe (euroBus)
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=695371
The Western Syncro build
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=746794 |
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Schnippzle Samba Member
Joined: February 04, 2021 Posts: 288 Location: Swede in London, UK
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Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2021 6:33 am Post subject: Re: Building a bus for travel in Europe "euroBus" |
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Cool, thank you. |
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dobryan Samba Member
Joined: March 24, 2006 Posts: 16505 Location: Brookeville, MD
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Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2021 9:22 am Post subject: Re: Building a bus for travel in Europe "euroBus" |
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I installed a 10ft Fiamma 45S awning a while back.
I used three mounts, no drilling. The awning and brackets came from Van Cafe.
I also added a splash guard to the back using aluminum flashing material glued in place with 'Goop'. This keeps rain from splashing through the opening under the awning. BTDT.
$35,800
$1000 Fiamma awning and brackets
$36,800 Total
_________________ Dave O
'87 Westy w/ 2002 Subaru EJ25 and Peloquin TBD
"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive." Robert Louis Stevenson
MD>Canada>AK>WA>OR>CA>AZ>UT>WY>SD
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=620646
Building a bus for travel in Europe (euroBus)
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=695371
The Western Syncro build
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=746794 |
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Syncro Jael Samba Member
Joined: December 19, 2013 Posts: 2204 Location: Utah
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Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2021 9:45 am Post subject: Re: Building a bus for travel in Europe "euroBus" |
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That looks great!
Crazy how quickly it all adds up $$
Cheers,
Ron _________________ 1987 Syncro Westfalia Hightop - NAHT
Subaru EJ25 Forged Frankenmotor, Triple Knob.
Jael = (Mountain Goat) |
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dobryan Samba Member
Joined: March 24, 2006 Posts: 16505 Location: Brookeville, MD
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Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2021 10:02 am Post subject: Re: Building a bus for travel in Europe "euroBus" |
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I looked at two different 'rooms' that I could use on the awning.
I want to be able to set up an outdoor room when I am staying at a place for several days so I have more living space that I can leave set up when I leave camp. (I intend to take a bike or public transportation from a camp most places in Europe.)
My criteria was that it had to be easy to store and reasonably durable.
I tried a Fiamma privacy room.
It is very well built but too heavy duty thick material. It is made to be set up for long periods on the side of an RV and it shows. It also does not have a floor. Since it is very heavy duty it does not pack up small and will take about a 4ft x 1 foot area. We did not like it at all.
SORRY NO PICS OF THE FIAMMA ROOM...
I tried an ARB 2500 X 2500 DELUXE AWNING ROOM WITH FLOOR from Van Cafe.
Winner! It is built like a modern tent. Much lighter than the Fiamma. It has a floor!
Here is a test setup at Vanagons on the Canal recently. I did not take time to fully square it up and add any guy ropes so my apologies for the sloppy look.
I had to do some head scratching on how to add an ARB room to a Fiamma awning. It is not made at all for it.
The ARB room uses clips on the poles to hold the awning. The Fiamma does not have any of these poles. So I bought poles and modified them and the awning so they can go together.
I bought some stainless steel thumb screws and nuts and JB welded the nuts to the poles so I could attach the poles to the awning.
You can get an idea here. The nut is JB'd onto the pole fitting.
Now I drilled holes in the awning so I could capture the poles and emulate their position on an ARB awning.
It is nice that the top poles already have a spike...
The Fiamma awning has a track on it for their awning but it is too small for the ARB room welting. I removed the thicker piece of welting and replaced it with two pieces of 1/8 plastic welting, a 3/16' piece would have been better but I could not source any.
Now I can slide in the zippered top side of the ARB onto the Fiamma cover.
I also need to be able to slide the side of the room onto the Fiamma at the awning case but there is nothing there to make that happen. So we add something.
An awning track is screwed onto the case using stainless steel self tapping screws. Two 4 foot pieces are perfect for the 2500x2500 room (basically 8' x 8').
https://www.sailrite.com/Awning-Track-Aluminum-48
Now the ARB room can be slipped in the new track.
And the clips attached to the poles.
I use the Fiamma center rafter to keep the ARB room ceiling up against the Fiamma awning, sorry no pics.
I also am using strong magnets to keep the area of the awning sealed under the sliding door area and along the body of the bus, no pics sorry.
This awning packs up in a 24" duffel including a ground tarp and stakes. Very happy!
So an ARB 2500x2500 room can be added to a 10' (or 8') Fiamma awning if you do not mind hacking into things...
$36,800
$225 ARB room
$150 poles, tracks, and materials
$37,175 total _________________ Dave O
'87 Westy w/ 2002 Subaru EJ25 and Peloquin TBD
"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive." Robert Louis Stevenson
MD>Canada>AK>WA>OR>CA>AZ>UT>WY>SD
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=620646
Building a bus for travel in Europe (euroBus)
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=695371
The Western Syncro build
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=746794
Last edited by dobryan on Mon Nov 22, 2021 10:13 am; edited 5 times in total |
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dobryan Samba Member
Joined: March 24, 2006 Posts: 16505 Location: Brookeville, MD
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4Gears4Tires Samba Member
Joined: October 08, 2018 Posts: 3054 Location: MD
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Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2021 10:43 am Post subject: Re: Building a bus for travel in Europe "euroBus" |
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Another good review of the ARB awning room. I think it's now on my list of things to get. Nice job adapting it to work. I really like the added track for it to slide into. _________________ '87 Syncro
Ferric Oxyhydroxide Superleggera Edition |
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dobryan Samba Member
Joined: March 24, 2006 Posts: 16505 Location: Brookeville, MD
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djkeev Samba Moderator
Joined: September 30, 2007 Posts: 32632 Location: Reading Pennsylvania
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