2003 Mitsubushi FG Overland Camper Renovation

GR8ADV

Explorer
Is the AC powered InstraHot unit powered off your battery bank or shore power?
Does it cycle on and off to maintain a hot water supply or does it only power up when it senses a demand for hot water at the facet?

The instahot is powered through the inverter. It remains active while the inverter is on. Once the water has reached temp it shuts off. When you draw water, more water is added and it heats on demand. The unit is insulated very well, and I was surprised that the water remained hot long after the inverter was shut off. But realize the unit is small, and is designed to provide on demand hot hot water. Most everything in the rig is 12v with the exception of the instahot, and the espresso maker, and thus we typically don't run it all the time. But in all honesty with 600 watts of solar and 2-250 amp hour batteries we have never come close to having to worry about power.

edit: The precision temp is a whole other animal. It is propane heated and the 'fire' is activated and controlled by the amount of water going though it. As the demand for water is present it fires up. With more water it heats even more. There is a point of course when one could push too much water through it and overcome the heating ability. But that is not an issue with a single shower.
 
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dtruzinski

Explorer
Ok all Turkey feathers aside, here is the completed rig. Quite a change to the first posts. Paul may chime in with some details of the work that went into this. I will give you the owner perspective.
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This is a shot of the most standard configuration. We wanted a cabin that we could be comfortable in. One of those issues was a nice place to sit and spend some time other than sitting at a dinette. So the couch was created that easily changed back to a table when it was meal time.
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Here is a shot of the sofa. Drawers and side table to one side. The additional horizontal surface that is not part of the kitchen nor the table is wonderful for setting things so they are not in the way. The water tank is below one seat, an open large storage area is below the other.
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Here is the kitchen, including the espresso maker. It is held down by very strong magnets and does not move unless you want it to. It can also be rotated 90 degrees to provide additional horizontal surface for cooking prep. To the right is a pull-out large counter extender. There is a huge amount of horizontal surface here including Paul's custom cutting board. The extender also serves as an end table for a person on the sofa. Under the sink is the Precision Temp hot water heater, as well as an instahot. Also hidden away in there is the Webasto Airtop 2000 heater and the water pump. And still we have lots of storage.
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The cutting board removes revealing the propane stove. The board attaches to the side with magnets.
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This is the sofa in the dining configuration. Just telescope up the table and voila. An artist friend of Pauls did the table. Its very cool.
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Here is a shot looking to the front. The refrigerator and freezer are behind the cool artwork on the right. Behind the fridge is adequate ventilation and then several drawers for bath towels, clothing, including a tall cabinet for hanging clothes and putting shoes. I could likely take some better shots of that sometime. You can also see the hammered Aluminum wall finishing with the sliding door (closed) that provides access to the cab.
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Here is another shot to the front showing the additional cabinet/pantry/wine rack and woodwork. Note Paul's woodwork details/trim on the ceiling.
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Across from the fridge and storage area is the shower/toilet. The shower enclosed partially by a glass panel that does not show up too well in the pic. The opening to the shower is open. Very little water if any splashes out during shower. Doors just take up room, and/or rattle.
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Here is what it looks like from the street looking in.
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After visiting Paul's home and seeing his surfboards and paddle boards, I thought it would be cool to pay homage somewhere. So why not the shower. This is incredible work, all the wood pieces are hand laid and fiberglassed. Practical?, well yes it is actually as this will see much less water than a surfboard, needed?, no way. Cool?, very. The sink and shower drain under the wood floor.
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One requirement was that if one person was in bed the entire rest of the cabin could be useable. But we did not want to commit to an entire queen bed taking up room all of the time. So Paul designed a fold down system for half of the bed. When deployed there is sitting area on the sofa, or dining table if one wants, and full access to the kitchen. So here it is up.
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Here it is in transition, you fold the stiff, hinged, wood/carbon fiber surface down:
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And here is the final configuration. The queen mattress was cut and split into two. One just pulls the half down, and pulls over the sheets and cover which are stored on the beds in their fold up configuration.
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There are 12 and 120 volt power outlets everywhere. These little 12v usb LED lights are very cool, and can be used anywhere. This one is above one side of the bed.
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Here is the wonderful, soft quiet and durable cork floor. You can see at the top of the picture a glimpse of Pauls work on a wood joint for the cabinet. These are found throughout. Much more interesting than a turkey feather.
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The layout, attention to detail, and craftsmanship are truly inspirational. My Fuso went from Functional to Fugly after seeing this build. Congrats on the finished product.
dave
 

GR8ADV

Explorer
The layout, attention to detail, and craftsmanship are truly inspirational. My Fuso went from Functional to Fugly after seeing this build. Congrats on the finished product.
dave

That really is a credit to paul. I am a pretty functional guy. And most all the rigs I see are functional. And I am good with that. However paul wanted to create a really nice space, that was warm and welcoming; a place beyond functional that would really be enjoyable to be in. I am very pleased with the result. This more than anything else was the big surprise for us.
 

westyss

Explorer
That looks awesome! Very nice interior for sure, I have always really liked the clear Fir look. Paul, great vision again!
 

GR8ADV

Explorer
Ok here is the scoop. The last trip we took in the truck was down to central Cali. While boondocking in Paso Robles I went for a walking morning and brought back several feathers I had found. It appears some of these were still in the truck upon delivery to Paul. Turkeys you say? Ok.
 

Big mike

Adventurer
Wow just went through whole thread !!! You are a very brave or crazy or maybe both person!!!! Lol
It's going to be awesome !
That water tank looks more like a swimming pool !
Going to definatley watch this one.
Best of luck
By the way do you suppose there is at least a couple of miles of wiring in there ?
Mike
 

waveslider

Outdoorsman
Ok here is the scoop. The last trip we took in the truck was down to central Cali. While boondocking in Paso Robles I went for a walking morning and brought back several feathers I had found. It appears some of these were still in the truck upon delivery to Paul. Turkeys you say? Ok.

Makes perfect sense. Paso has quite the population of turkeys. Even more as you head towards Templeton. I was wrong in the sub-species though, those would be Rio Turkeys. Shame they're gone, the tail fan colors would set off the interior colors of that awesome cabinet and interior work. :)
 

java

Expedition Leader
Thanks for bumping this, I'm in the middle of my build and seeing PJ's work is always inspiring. Read through it all again

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk
 

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