I have little to no electrical knowledge, need help.

[wanderer]

ok here's what i need to know. what do i need to be able to use/run the following:

vehicle on: a phone charger, an ipod, a gps unit, compressor

vehicle off: a laptop, air conditioning, interior lights

i would like to be able to do this without constantly draining my batteries.

i understand i would need a separate battery bank for the vehicle off stuff, but do i need solar panels to keep it charged, or can i just connect it to the alternator?
and inverters/converters/relays and where to connect them and in what order confuses the crap out of me.

again, i apologize to all those who are technically skilled, but my specialty is in the primitive. please make your explanations easily understandable for my simple mind

[audiocontr]

Not going to happen easily. You will need a 24v to 12v battery inverter to cover the vehicle on portion. the trick there is finding one big enough to power the compressor. Depends on the size of the compressor. I'd recommend a 24v compressor to keep things simple.

Vehicle off? Best bet is a gas generator. You'll kill those batteries very quickly running A/C off of batteries. The stock alternator is not strong enough to power everything you're after and a solar cell will not provide enough either. You can charge your aux batteries at home and wear them out quickly, or look at a generator.

[undysworld]

Yeah. I second the idea that it isn't going to happen easily. That's a high bar.

You might give consideration to trying to locate a company that performs such modifications on vehicles, and hire them to do the work. Although I'm speaking on an assumption, you might contact Scott at EI (the forum sponsor, too), and inquire. If they don't do that stuff, perhaps he has an idea who else might.

The total of equipment and functions you're describing are not things that most Pinz owners have done, (although we may have dreamt of it...) To engineer the job, and then competently complete the job, let alone trouble-shoot and operate things would be an involved job. Tying into it with "little or no electrical knowledge" seems fraught with opportunities to dump loads of money into a project, only to end up with a less-than-perfect job, if it even works.

I may be mistaken, and perhaps someone will chime in here with just what you're looking for. But I expect that you'll be left to do some research yourself on the various items you listed. Lots of the individual items have already been worked out satisfactorily by someone. Then you start with your improvements, and work around any bugs that arise. Which gets me back to the electrical knowledge level, and that's what got me to suggest checking with a professional.

[edzz]

Without a fairly large generator the air-conditioning will be impractical this is the reason most RV’s have at least a 4KW generator.
Everything else is doable using “house batteries”, as audiocontr said you have a variety of charging options for the house batteries, 1. Charge them at home and hope they last for the trip, 2.add secondary 12v charging system to the Pinz, 3. Solar recharging, 4.a mounted or portable gas generator. Or a combination of these.
My current solution is a 100ah 12v battery and a very quiet Honda eu2000i (2k) generator. The generator can provide 110v and 12v for battery charging. Mayberrys usually has about the best prices around. http://www.mayberrys.com A eu1000i 1kw generator would likely have met my needs however I got a good deal on the 2kw.
I would like air-conditioning however just can’t find the justification for the trouble or expense, don’t think having AC would change my wife’s opinion of the pinz anyway.

[Erik712m]

.

. You'll kill those batteries very quickly running A/C off of batteries. The stock alternator is not strong enough to power everything you're after and a solar cell will not provide enough either. You can charge your aux batteries at home and wear them out quickly, or look at a generator.

I get about 300 miles on the two house batteries before the invertor gives me low battery buzz. Stock Alternator can been rewinded to 65 amps

[wanderer]

thanks for all the input, looks like I'll have to deal with the heat, as a/c seems to be an impossibility. the only things i really need are to be able to charge a phone and use a laptop, though an ipod would be nice too.

a generator would be out of the question, because I would have nowhere to put it, I'll be loaded up pretty full, as I plan on traveling for extended periods of time ( up to 6 months ) without returning to a "home base".

[audiocontr]

In that case a generator is a necessity! Plenty of places to mount a generator.

[krick3tt]

You're telling me you can't find room for one of these?

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/ ... generators

[audiocontr]

Get this one, its "Concealed". Its almost invisible!

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/ ... _200374463

[StuartL]

Concealed? It's so stealth like with that camo I almost can't see it. Apart from the horrible noise of a petrol engine breaking the silence I'd have no clue it was there.

[psychoman]

Get this one, its "Concealed". Its almost invisible!

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/ ... _200374463

Want one! I'm a sucker for Realtree...

[psychoman]

Get this one, its "Concealed". Its almost invisible!

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/ ... _200374463

Want one! I'm a sucker for Realtree...

[Jimm391730]

IF you skip the 12V compressor and airconditioning, everything else is easy. I use several Astronics (made by MeanWell) 24V to 12V converters for the lower power 12V stuff, and one for my FI computer and laptop. I have two 100AHr 12V batteries for "house" batteries set up for 24V , each charged by it's own small (55W) solar panel and own charge controller. This way I can use just one of them for 12V loads (like my Ham radios) and they recharge evenly. They power the Engel refridgerator and lights, and also have enough umph to power a 1500W inverter that runs the microwave for cooking my TV dinners when I'm lazy (and popcorn, too). The fridge, lights, and inverter all run from 24V which keeps the current draw low (half of what a 12V system would use).

Get a 24V compressor and skip the AC, the rest is easy. My system costs:
Batteries - $300 each (Sears Diehard sealed Platinum group 31)
Solar panels - $150 each (gotta look for the deals)
Charge controllers - as little as $25 each (with no display or lights)
24-12V converters - $130 for a 29A unit

Cost would be even less if you just used one battery, one solar panel, and one charge controller. You won't need a converter. Just make sure that the battery is big einough to run what you want through the night, and the solar panel is big enough to recharge the battery through the day (assuming a sunny day).

Minimum cost would be a single 24-12V converter, run off truck batteries at night and recharge them with the alternator when the engine is running.

[milesdzyn]

ok here's what i need to know. what do i need to be able to use/run the following:

vehicle on: a phone charger, an ipod, a gps unit, compressor

vehicle off: a laptop, air conditioning, interior lights

i would like to be able to do this without constantly draining my batteries.

Other than the compressor none of your "Vehicle On" stuff draws much current, and since you'll only be using the compressor periodically I wouldn't worry about it.

Since you've decided against A/C your "Vehicle Off" stuff doesn't draw much current either. Your laptop should be able to go for 2 hrs on batteries and be recharged during your "Vehicle On" times. For more extended use get an additional battery for your computer.

Interior lights running off of 24 volts should not be a problem running them off of the main batteries if they are LED's. You could run them all night long and not draw enough off of the 2 main batteries to keep you from starting the Pinz.

Instead of A/C how about a Small Portable Evaporative Cooler, I'm sure you could run one off of a 100 watt solar panel and a single 12 volt Battery, if you can get or make one with a 12 volt fan motor and 12 volt water pump.

I personally would just settle for a fan and some shade.

Miles

[Twin Pinzies]

I have learned (the hard way) to just NOT use any electronic accessories/gadgets in a Pinzgauer. One of my trucks was purchased with a CB radio, CD player, compressor, and an intermittent wiper "upgrade."
The only thing that solved my dying batteries issue was simply removing all that electronic crap! After all, who really thinks that CD's are appropriate in a loud, dirty, old military military 4x4 anyway? And air conditioning?... in a canvas topped truck? Really?
Also, the last place I would dream of bringing sensitive electronic devices like a laptop is in a Pinzgauer. I have to take a shower after driving mine since I usually end up covered in dust and dirt.
Just sayin'.....