jamius.com

Me, my dad and some of his/my mates once took a VW camper around the UK, was a really good time so i hope this works out for you im no expert on anything that's been said here but couldn't you add Solar panels on the roof to provide power? if not for the main battery then maybe for interior stuff? and yeah from the looks of it those wind turbine things would provide way too much drag, i think the closest i have come to refitting a van has been watching the super bus project videos Knux has put up on the youtubes (also well done on the book knux! ) but i have done some engine work at the local garage and rewired a few dash's at my mates dad's car dealership, anyway if you get it running i hope to see it around soon, i may be going on some type of road trip soon...maybe the states? or Europe? meh its all good
good luck matey!
Jack

Yes, there will be solar panels. Look at the previous post, and all the posts before it

Isn't there anybody with off grid experience who can give comments on my electrical system? I'm in desperate need of confirmation!

folypers wrote:Yes, there will be solar panels. Look at the previous post, and all the posts before it

yeah, visual's isn't my strong point xD
this is sounding really good!

Haha, maybe I could insert little illustrations! Thanks, man!

New additions to the plans are:

- The generator on my bus is gonna be a diesel genny. I want to connect it to the fuel tanks on my bus (bus being a diesel) since I don't want to refill my generator's small tank all the time.
- I'm also going to need a vault, I guess, and better locks. If the windows need to be replaced because they're single pane, I'm getting Gorilla glas or something like that..
- And it turns out that there are 24V wind generators for boats. They can freeze up and take 'storm winds'. I'm assuming my bus isn't going to reach speeds that equal 'storm winds' as long as I don't drive during storms Driving a 80 miles an hour or more with a fourteen ton bus would probably scare the *** out of me. Just need a regulator/rectifier to make it work with the 24V batteries.

Hmmm, those windmills sound interesting... got any links?

You have to remember though, if you're traveling at 60 MPH, and you're driving into a 20 MPH headwind... = 80 MPH.

They were called LVT's. But there are several others which I found on Google, that endure higher speeds. The most common RV wind generator is 100 Watts, in 12 - 24 - 48 configurations. Cost is around 1000 - 2000 $, I think.

folypers wrote:They were called LVT's. But there are several others which I found on Google, that endure higher speeds. The most common RV wind generator is 100 Watts, in 12 - 24 - 48 configurations. Cost is around 1000 - 2000 $, I think.

Hmmm... seems expensive. I'd just build one with adjustable blade pitch (like a helicopter) and when it's in lockdown mode, have the blades face toward the wind, therefore it won't spin. (You could lock the shaft too.)

Think about it like this, attach two rings to the tip and tail of your blades along the outer most edge. Shift the rings one way and the angle the blades make with the plane of rotation increases, shift it the other way and the angle decreases.

Ugh, I'll draw it up haha.

It would be simpler just to stow the windmill when moving. Keep it simple.