Lock, Chart & Pi

The winch is now fitted to the 4WD.

The end of the winch rope has been cable tied to the left recovery point.  I didn't fit the hook to the end of the rope as I was concerned someone would steal it.  Well this is a country founded by convicts!

Lock

The household CFC (Chief Financial Controller) pointed out the lock on the front security grill door wasn't working.  The door must be more than 30 years old so it's probably unsurprising that something has failed. 

After fiddling with it for 30 minutes I concluded the problem was beyond my expertise and went looking for a local company competent to undertake the necessary repairs.  Each of the approached companies advised me they no longer undertook door repairs as they were unable to recruit staff.  However, they could sell me a new door.  All the quotes were around $800.  This resulted in me rethinking my ability to rectify the door lock fault.

After removing the door and taking it to the 'man cave' I stripped down the lock to its individual components before endeavoured to complete some fault finding.  Eventually I established how all the components were supposed to work together and reassembled the lock.

It was then fitted back into the door which was then re-installed.

The door now locks and we have saved $800

Marine Charts

Our eldest grandson has informed us next year he plans to sail his yacht from New Zealand into the South Pacific. 

Destinations include:

• Cook Islands
• Tonga
• Fiji
• Tahiti
• Vanuatu

I decided to make him some digital charts which will be imported into his navigation application (another project).  You will know I like 'free' and read how to create free marine charts.  It's a somewhat complicated method involving several applications and it takes several hours of processing to generate most of the maps.  For example; it took 16 hours to generate the chart of Tahiti.  The laptop was left running overnight.  However I am gradually generating detailed marine charts.   

This following screen dumps shows the basemap that came with the navigation application and my first basemap update

As he will be leaving from Whangarei on the North Island I created detailed charts of Whangarei Harbour and it's approaches.

Over the next few weeks I'll create more charts.

Meanwhile, after waiting more than a year the Raspberry Pi SBC's are back in stock.  The delay was caused by COVID creating a severe world-wide chip shortage. 

The delayed project to build the yacht navigation system can recommence.

Blood Spilt

You would have thought the lesson would have been learned last time!  Obviously not, because today I decided to attempt to fit the winch to the 4WD.  Wasn't I going to wait for the grandson to arrive and undertake the work?

The bull bar I fitted to the front of the 4WD several years ago will accept a winch.  However, unlike other bull bars, there is almost no clearance between our bar and the front of the vehicle.  I didn't want to remove the bar to fit the winch.  It's heavy; awkward to handle and a two person task.  However, if I removed the grill behind the winch I might be able to drop the winch down into the gap.

This would be the third time I've removed the grill and it's a right bugger of a job.  Moreover I'd forgotten how I'd done it on the previous occasions. 

Several hours later it was out.  But not before I'd lost blood from all the scratches.  I blame our GP for this.  He is the one who put me on blood thinners and that; combined with thin old skin; results in me bleeding a the slightest knock or scratch.

After removing the grill I realised I had fitted a voltage sensitive relay (VSR) on the bull bar precisely where the winch needed to go.   I remembered I'd previously done this because I couldn't find another suitable location in the engine bay for the VSR.  Now it would need to be relocated!

The new location will reorient it almost vertically to one side of the cavity behind the bull bar.  This required a new mounting plate.  Using some of the steel from the old camper trailer power distribution board I slowly and carefully cut out the new plate.  The jigsaw will cut steel if I run the blade at a very slow speed.

Usually the winch control box is mounted on top of a bull bar where it's easily accessible.  Our bar is too close the body of the vehicle to do that and I had to identify a position behind the grill.  Eventually I decided on a position on the right.  This meant I need to relocate the horn.

Eventually I managed to mount the control box [A] and relocate the horn [C] to the left of the box.  The VSR [B] was mounted below the control box.

The VSR at an angle of about 70 deg.

Time to complete all the cable connections.  Oh No!  The cables aren't long enough to reach the winch terminals!  Now I will need to make new longer cables before I can refit the grill.

Solved! (hopefully)

More work on the outback camper trailer suspension today.  After taking numerous measurements, it appeared the exiting shock absorbers were too short when fully extended.  Moreover with the unloaded coil spring having a length of 345mm and the gap between the top and base of the spring holder being 155mm when the bump stop was touching the chassis, it was likely the coil spring would never compress sufficiently for the bump stop to engage.

This information was taken to the local suspension company and discussed with the staff.  Knowing that the shock absorber didn't need to be as short as the original when compressed, I discussed a longer length shock absorber.  Although the trailer has four shock absorbers I wanted something that was more robust than the originals. 

My online research suggested a complete set of trailer springs and shock absorbers might cost in the region of $1300.  I was pleasantly surprised when the staff suggested using the front shock absorbers designed for a Suzuki Vitari at less than $100 each.

Once home the original shock absorbers were replaced.  It took about two hours.  Then I decided to paint the underside of the wheel arches with bituminous waterproof paint.   Almost felt like I was blacking a boat

The last job was to apply grease to the six grease nipples on the trailer.   There is one final job on the trailer.  The electric trailer braking system needs to be tested.

It's Raining!

You may recall I mentioned the caravan accident which occurred on the second day of my last outback trip.  One of the club members is a keen outback traveller which produces interesting You Tube videos of his trips.  He filmed our trip and has posted a video of it.

The link to his You Tube channel is <here>.  Search for "Taming the Outback - Total Destruction"  As of writing this post it's his latest video.   I was the only person towing a trailer and you might see it several times in the video.

One observation during that trip was the trailer suspension.  The trailer travelled well on bitumen but appeared to rock excessively over corrugations and ruts.  Upon checking the suspension I discovered the four shock absorbers were defective.  This is annoying as the original four had been replaced two years ago.  I suspect there is a problem with the suspension geometry.  The shocks are likely incorrectly sized. 

In an effort to confirm this the shock absorbers were removed from one side along with the wheel.  Next I uncoupled the retaining chain and removed the coil spring.  I want to measure the maximum amount of movement in the suspension arm.  I need to measure the arm in it's lowest position and then with the arm hard against the bump stop.  From this I should be able to calculated the required stroke for the shock absorber.

A - Bump Stop

B - Housing for the top of the spring.

Everything was proceeding well and then it started to rain!  It's early Autumn so I suppose I can't complain.  Obviously the recent weather has fooled the daffodils because they have sprouted out of the ground.  Your four months early, you stupid plants! 

I don't need to work in the rain and decided to look at the new 4WD winch.  The manual stated it had been lubricated with a good quality lithium based grease.  Do I trust the Chinese manufacturer to use a quality grease,,, and the right quantity?

The first thing I noticed was the hex bolts that secure the gearing end of the winch weren't tight.

Red grease.  A complex marine grade high temperature lithium grease is usually blue.

There was a reasonable amount of grease however I decided to replace it with a grease I trust.

All the components went through the ultrasonic cleaner to remove the original red grease.

I did a dry test assembly to check I had the components in the correct order.

Re-grease and reassemble ensuring the bolts were tight

 

Next the winch control box.  Check all the cable terminals are tight.

Oops….. Someone had damaged a wire during assembly.  That was fixed.  All that is now required is the arrival of our eldest grandson who has offered to assist with fitting the winch to the bull bar.

It's still raining!

Finished (hopefully!)

The last component required to complete the camper trailer rewiring arrived in the post this morning and by late afternoon everything was finished (hopefully).

It's been a gradual job over several days to glue the corrugated conduit to the ceiling panel of the rooftop tent.  I'd been to the local electronics shop and purchased a small plastic junction box on which I planned to mount the USB charging port and a switch for the cheap LED strip light. 

The charging port beside the lid to the junction box. 

Both the box and LED strip light were then glued to the edge of the tent ceiling panel and wired.

I decided the switch would control both the light and the charging port.  My logic is, I don't want to accidentally leave a device being charged when the tent is unoccupied.  I'm always likely to turn off the light before leaving the tent which means the charging ports will also be off.

I've used a press switch with a LED light.  Probably unnecessary as the strip light will be on if the switch is on.

The strip light produces just enough light to see inside the tent.

I also ordered two red LED strip lights and have glued magnets to the rear of them before connecting them to a cigarette plug.  The only time they will be used is if I need to cook when it's dark.  They can be positioned over the tailgate kitchen.  Using red light doesn't attract the insects

There is a law which states "If you don't have it…. You will need it!"  And "If you have it then it won't get used!" For several years I've been considering fitting a winch to the 4WD.  They are expensive and I've never needed one to date during all my outback trips.  However this next trip includes crossing the Simpson Desert, which has over 1000 sand dunes.  If I don't have a winch I might regret it!

Today I noticed the local 4WD Supacentre outlet was selling their Chinese made 12V 12000lb winch at half price.  I still had some store credit from the return of the original rooftop tent so I splashed out on a winch.

I've obviously just created more work for myself!

Chinese Embassy & eBay

How many phone calls from the Chinese Embassy will it take for them to realise their threats to my relatives back in China will not force me to pay the damned fine?  Now eBay has started contacting me to advise they are concerned a $500 gift card which been purchased using my eBay account and I need to contact them immediately to stop the payment if this wasn't me!

My phone rarely gets used as I can't remember the number (who calls themself?).  I always give out Jan's number because I do remember that!  Somehow my number has been sold to scammers and I'm receiving all these nuisance calls.

There were two deliveries today.  Jan's new air fryer and a phone cable.  The air fryer came all the way from the UK as it's not available in Australia.  Unfortunately there was a problem which required my expertise.

Yes…. the UK plug needed to be replaced with an AS/NZ version.  

Why the phone cable?  You may recall I purchased a 1500W inverter and remote control only to discover the remote control would not work with my newer version of the inverter.  The inverter has a RJ12 socket on the control panel beside the ON/OFF switch.  My assumption is eventually a new remote control will be produced.  However I started wondering whether I could make one.  This resulted in me purchasing an RJ12 cable from Aliexpress.  Why Aliexpress?  Well it was actually rather hard to find a local supplier or they were expensive.  Obviously home phones are becoming obsolete.

 

The cable contains six wires and I'm guessing a combination of some of them will activate the inverter remotely.  I just need to identify the required wires.  Watch this space as one of three things will happen.

1.  I'll be unsuccessful

2.  I'll make a working remote control

3.  I'll "fry" the inverter.

Hopefully not the last one. 

Bike Trailer Modification

The cheap bike trailer I bought and then took on my ride around Taiwan has proven to be excellent value for the price.  However it does have two design weaknesses.  Today I made a minor modification in an effort to resolve one of them.

The trailer connects to the bike rear axle using two arms each with a sliding pawl that locks onto the bike axle nut.  The issue is the pawl frequently slides back into the unlocked position when cycling.  This results in the affected trailer arm disconnecting from the bike creating a very unbalanced situation.

My solution has been to drill a 4mm hole through the arm immediately behind the pawl when it's in the locked position.  I then insert an 'R' Clip through the 4mm hole preventing the pawl moving back to the unlocked position.

 

A - Pawl in the locked position

B - Sliding pawl mechanism

C - The 'R' clip behind the pawl preventing it moving to the unlocked position.

The second issue is the instability of the stationary combined bike and loaded trailer.  I had a cheap side stand on the bike during my ride around Taiwan and it was placed under considerable strain as it had to support both the bike and loaded trailer.  The stand leg eventually broke.  Fortunately on the last day of riding.  What I really need is some type of folding double legged stand under the front of the trailer.  The trailer is the heaviest piece of the combination and if that was stabilised when stationary I think the problem would be solved.  I need to think about the design of a cheap and lightweight folding trailer stand!

Busy Week

Busier than a one armed paper hanger during the last week.  The trailer electrical re-wiring is now almost completed.  Wiring for the new rooftop tent has commenced.  I made new brackets for the shower tent.  The original brackets resulted in the tent only being chest high when deployed.  I want the tent higher but not higher than the rooftop tent otherwise it wouldn't fit through the garage.  The new design increased the height but also enables it to be lowered when travelling.

It's been a case of numerous trips to the local hardware store for nuts and bolts.  Somewhat frustrating when you want two bolts and they come in a a packet of six.  Or you want six and they come in a packet of four.  Still, the surplus nuts and bolts may be useful for some future project.

In the high position

Tent extended ready to be opened

Stowed position ready for transit.

After the poor two-way radio coverage during the last trip I decided to purchase a better UHF antenna.  Research suggested an antenna from manufacturer RFI would be the best option.  Their antennas are used by the emergency services and mining companies.  More research resulted in a purchase from a local retailer with me option for the 'Town & Country Pack'.  This has a base mounting and two antenna.   A 2.1 dBi and a 5.1dBi.  Both screw onto the mounting which I've fitted to the passenger side of the bullbar

Originally I had the cable from the antenna to the radio routed through the front grill (left arrow).  Sleeping on it overnight I realised that might be an error of judgement.  If I ever needed to remove the grill the cable would be an obstacle.  The next morning I re-routed the cable avoiding the grill (right arrow).  It was a slight hassle getting the cable though the 4WD firewall and connected to the radio which is mounted behind the trim in the passenger side footwell.  I'm getting too darned old and inflexible to assume the necessary positions for these confined spaces.

I've decided the new rooftop tent should have 12V power inside and have ordered a LED strip light and usb port, along with a switch.  Of course this means I need to run a power cable from the trailer into the tent.  The trailer part of the wiring is complete.

Cable terminal at end of trailer

Inside the trailer lid.  I've run the cable in flexible conduit which I secured to the metal frame of the lid.  The cable has been terminated with a 12V cigarette plug as I could feel (I can't see it) the cap over a 12V socket in the back of the trailer.   However when I removed the cap (by feel) the plug couldn't be inserted.  More feeling around on my part suggest this actually isn't a 12V socket but rather a dual usb socket <grrrr>   More work!

Meanwhile I've started on running the cable into the rooftop tent 

Folding Solar Blanket Stand

Back to the hardware store this morning for three lengths of aluminium angle and nuts & bolts.  In my head was a design concept for a folding stand that would hold the new 200W folding solar blanket.

Some cutting and a few strategically placed nuts and bolts along with timber clamps allowed me to test the concept.

Old panel on the left

The solar blanket was then draped over the frame

The concept appears to be sound, although I will need to add a diagonal brace. 

And folded for storage and travel

It will fit in the long thin compartment in the top of the camper trailer.