Electric Bargain's from Lowes

       Wow this may be at all time first. Normally stores have a 80% close out sale of the junk that they are trying to get rid of. 

          Today I found the exact opposite an 80% off introduction blow off sale. Well not really, asking the people at Lowe's what they were doing, I really couldn't get a straight answer. It seams they may had some stuff left over from their west coast stores where these items did not fly off the shelf, so those items were on clearance ? VERY Bazaar !!!!

This really defies logic to me, but what the hell I can't walk away from a bargain like this.  

Here is the designer mirror plate, normally $49... It still has the plastic cover on only $6.10

The Outlet and 2 USB ports are not included, 

those are another $45....

ARE the people at Lowe's INSANE ??

I picked up 8 different bargains 

All the outlets are modular and can be configured any way you like it

Here is the rear view of the outlets.

Here is the front view with out the cover plate

Here is my whole jumbo box of 60+ electric outlets etc cost $260....

WORTH at regular retail  easy $1000+

Here is the product in the box

Sorry the big introduction sale lasted only 24 hours 

To learn more - click here

A few more LED FLOOD LIGHTS

          I added a few more exterior flood lights, these are from the boat industry and are rated water proof. Below you see a special water tight connector I used to connect them. They work from 9-36 volts DC. They use about 20 watts 1.75 amps and are equal to 200 watt floods.

These really work great, I paid $6 each, below they are $4 approx.

click here for Deck Seal

What's the real temperature ?

       Late today I purchased a wireless thermometer and as is normal for Over The Top ... I installed the wireless unit between the insulation and the silver metal roof. This was at 5:30 PM late today. Tomorrow it will be much colder so I will have to wait until it gets hot again for additional test results.

     My bet is, the silver roof will hit 130 deg F easy. Here again is where I tell you at this temperature your solar panels will loose 50% of their output. I will also experiment with spraying cold water on the roof to see how it brings the temperature down. I bet none of you have ever thought about cooling your RV or panels down by spraying water on the exterior, it is very effective because water absorbs heat very fast.

It's now 8 PM evening and both temps have equalized. Once fully insulated the opposite readings should happen at night. Maybe 60 under the skim outside & 75 inside. Time will tell, I plan to install more wired units. 

Late at night, now the exterior skin temp has fallen bellow the interior temp.
The alum temperature is 68 deg F  & inside its 74 deg F



 

Trailer roof insulation part 1

       On close observation you can see that I have reinforced the roof with 2" x 3"wood members. This serves a number of functions from adding strength to the roof for the solar panels, it also provides a thermal break from the aluminum frame and finally it allows enough space to add R-19 insulation.

NOW PLEASE REMEMBER .... I will also be doing the walls, the floor and the doors to get 100% coverage. So many people are only doing 1" on 3 sides and they forget the floor and doors, so what is the point of that ? You might as well leave a 3 x 6 ft window wide open.

Here is the Insulation purchased from Lowe's at about $40 and I used about 3 bags.

The on line forms will tell you that it is a PIA to cut.

Below is a sample of an open bay with a better view of the thickness

Here is the job almost done, I used plastic strapping to secure the material ever 6" approx.

Here are the blades I used to cut material, however it was still a PIA

Solar panel cover down

Here it is with the cover down. Now some of you may not be used to seeing the panel on the wall - but in the morning the panel is almost 90 deg to the sun & it's cold - so I expect to get max power when the sun comes up & again when it goes down.

During the day , the hotter the panel is - over 25 deg C or about 70 deg F the less power it will produce. At 85 deg and full sun - your panel will easily be over 110 deg F , I would guess you may only get 50-60% solar if that much.

First panel is almost up

Well here is the sneak peak of what it will look like when covered - still needs to be hooked up and have the tool box & slider secured.

255 watts almost down, only 2000 more watts to go.

I am also planing on installing some sonar & cameras - so don't plan on sneaking up on me in the wild :-))

Coming solar panel cover

Here is just my mock up design of what the front solar panel should look like this coming week. The Diamond plate cover and design cost as much as the solar panel - but it's all about looking good.

Below is my digital door lock, grab rail and exterior LED light

Trailer lights coming along

Not done yet, but LED lighting is moving along nicely.
Yesterday I sent the Diamond plate out to be bent & cut for the
Front solar panel cover, should be done by this coming week.

The $269 digital RV LOCK vs my $69 lock

This has a little key FOB to lock & unlock the door - fits standard RV door latch.

New selection of tiles and other goodies

Here are the new tiles, a 10,000 lbs trailer hitch, some great wax to polish the diamond plate, 50 extra LED light from the factory and my new exterior door lock from Lowes - only $69 a good deal considering the ugly trailer lock is $45 already.

I saw a digital RV Lock for $249 - that would fit the standard RV door lock set.

To make this lock fit I did have to reinforce the 1" plywood , I added another 1" oak plate to the inside to reinforce the door.

The small round lights are LED marker lights, the white bar is a back up light, the red bar is brake & blinker , the small square lights are interior dome lights. The good news is if you follow me - you will go blind if you get to close as I will have double to - 4 times normal lightning.

Here is a little fun from Montana trip

These were really cute, I got the shirt & hat of course.

Trip to get OverTheTopCargoTrailer 2.0

The map says 6200 miles, 

but with some side trips it was really about 6500 miles :?  

   

I hope this sets a record for someone willing to get just the right trailer   

REMEMBER - its gotta be OverTheTop 

Version 1.0 going into storage.

A little sad goodbye 

            For the time being my first try is being used as storage for the next 6 months, while version 2.0 is being built.

After that it will be brought back as a cheaper version & will be used as an extra bedroom in my driveway while OTTCT 2.0 views the country.

Tomorrow I will try and move OTTCT 2.0 into its building location - ie dry dock.

Never adjust trailer brakes

        This is a really great and priceless item, never do you need to bend under the trailer and try to fiddle with those stupid brakes .... IMHO this is a 100% must have item.

On the trip home , visit in St Regis - Montana

This was a great store and I got some nick nacks here !!