Recent content by Tennmogger

So what's the 'up' side of a ginormus truck like an LMTV and a (looks like) tiny camper? Having a heavy duty truck with great camper, later model Alaskan, with less than $20k invested. I can drive a lot for the $100k I saved. Even a 10 ft camper looks small in an LMTV. Still have a 2.5 ft...

This is another great read! Love the old iron.

Another nice video! I really miss the Andes and the people. Bob

Seeing your picture at the wash bay made me think of this: Anyone seeing Goose would have no idea what it has been through for many months! They would have NO IDEA. The truck just looks like someone had it out in the woods or desert for a run and is getting a wash job. How far this is from...

Better have a long extension cord! :-) Even a low hp rated and rather efficient OM352, one of the higher fuel mileage Unimog engines, is rated at 68kW. That 80 hp is barely adequate for road speeds. Equate 68kW to solar cells and batteries. Weight is the enemy, IMHO, as Unimogs are not...

Sounds normal. I have to manually balance the rate of raising, and lowering, of my Alaskan by a little 'weight bias', as you described. Later models have balancing or metering valves in the circuits, I think. Your '85 may be up-gradable (if it does not already have the valves). I suggest...

A larger truck can have some definite advantages. For example, if the roads are ever soft and used by larger trucks, if you have much smaller tires and low differentials you will be stuck all the time. Large tires mean less influence from corrugations. Some large vehicles (like LMTV or large...

Your trailer looks functional and will probably serve you well but there's not much there to indicate a military origin, IMHO. The axle was a steering axle until 'immobilized' with those welded-on round bars. The round tubular front hitch frame is the type used on commercial trailers. The tub...

Gary, you give good advise on here, and thanks. However, my TM-281 Kenwood will not handle voltage drops to slightly below 11.5 volts before it drops out. A good battery under starter load can easily drop below 11.5 volts. Nothing wrong with the setup, just physics. Radios are not a tolerant...

You are correct about AGM needing higher charge voltage, and that a fuse can blow if voltages are too different. This is a case where smaller wiring, and subsequent voltage loss, can be beneficial. If you are concerned just put a 1 Ohm resistor in series to limit current. Peak charge voltage...

I blame it on roads! They are too good. Let the mud, rocks, and pot holes sort 'em out.

How about this for a name for your trailer: Ship of Theseus! :-)

Family accommodations.

I have not seen what frequency you are planning to use. Are you talking ham radio frequencies? Look up PicoAPRS on this site for tech info: http://www.db1nto.de/index_en.html, and drop down to the spectrum analyzer scan. It is obvious that Pico APRS is on 144.8 MHz, certainly a ham frequency...

As already pointed out, modern radios have no tolerance for low voltage so this behavior is expected. This, and the real potential of damage to the radio, prompted me to make a fundamental change in how I powered comm gear. Having been a ham for a few years, I started out with the "wire...