Big Red

Big Red is Expensive.

|

Big Red is expensive, but I like big jacked up trucks …

Big Red

I was reading the other day, that common suspension repairs including new ball joints and tie-rod arms that commonly have to be replaced lifted-trucks can cost upwards of $2,000. I guess that’s not a surprise, it was actually something I knew I would budget for in the future, after getting my truck lifted, as the heavier big wheels and the lift kit put a lot of stress on the stock components. I don’t need such repairs yet, but I know they’re coming down the line as I occasionally notice unpleasant noises.

I also know in a year or so I will probably need new 35-inch tires on the truck, which will be another $1,300 when you figure out the cost of those big tires. Again, something I budgeted for — I knew the lift kit experience would add about $10,000 in cost over the lifetime of the truck, half for initial lift kit and half for premature repairs, although I guess a stock truck would need some of those repairs eventually too.

It’s a lot of money, for an truck that’s always burned some oil, had a transmission which leaks fluid through the filler tube, been repaired from crashes, and everything else. It’s not been a cheap truck but I’ve been on a lot of good adventures, and seek to keep it on the road for another 5 years until age 12 or 13, putting whatever parts I need to keep it road-worthy, once it’s clear that repairs need to be made. I think it’s possible to get five more years out of the truck.

My next truck will be smaller and easier to drive. I doubt I’ll do the lifted thing again, although it’s been fun with Big Red. Maybe I’ll skip the truck and go for a smaller, fuel efficient car that makes it cheaper to do longer trips. Now that I have the propane lantern with the big tank, having the electricity from the truck isn’t as such a big thing for me. That would keep me from spending more money out of the account that’s supposed to be going towards owning my off-grid cabin. I don’t regret having Big Red, but I definitely could see downsizing in the future.

Having a “nice” truck is one of the luxuries I’ve enjoyed in my younger years, passing up on expensive vacations or having cable at home. I’d rather spend my weekends in wilderness with the truck camping. My view is a backcountry roadside campsite is far better then going to Paris or Rome, visiting Florida or some other popular tourist destination. I like the view I get from sitting up high in the truck, and I like having the camper and electricity at camp.

Building a Smart Relay for My Truck

|

I’ve been thinking about how to build a smart relay between the starting battery and accessory battery of my truck to connect the batteries automaticallyΒ  when either the alternator is charging the battery or their is sufficient sunshine to charge both batteries on the truck.😎

Over the summer, I added a two way switch to the truck that has three positions πŸ”˜ – in position 1 it connects the batteries when the engine is on, in position 2 it connects the batteries even when the engine is off to enable solar charging and position 0 the batteries remain disconnected regardless of engine status to help starting in cold weather should the accessory battery be low.πŸ”‹

A smart switch would either connect the batteries when the alternator or solar panel is feeding in ample power to charge the batteries. When the engine is off and the sun isn’t shining bright enough to charge both batteries, they would be disconnected to assure the camp load and accessories do not overdischarge the starting battery. β˜‘ I wouldn’t want the starting battery to get too low, but I do want it to be charging when the sun is shining and the load is small.

I was thinking I could make a smart switch using an Arduino Nano microprocessor, some voltage dividers (which are a set of resistors wired up in a specific way to divide voltage), and a transistor or small relay.πŸ“Ÿ Here is how I would imagine this would work. The Arduino Nano has five analog pins and about fifteen digital pins. They can be configured for either input or output. The analog pins can read a voltage between 0 and 5 volts DC. So how do you measure a car or solar panel that could in theory put out as much as 16 volts? A voltage divider.βž—

It turns out voltage can be divided by resistors in parallel. If you have a 10kΞ© and an 3.3kΞ© resistor in parallel, on a 16 volt source you will have a voltage of 12.03 volts and 3.97 volts on the other side of the resistors. While as around 12 volts will be wasted as heat, β˜• because your only moving a small amperage through the circuit to provide a voltage reference for the Arduino, the waste in heat is an insignificant 0.01 watts.

Now two of the analog pins will have a voltage between 0 and 3.97 volts. The microprocessor reads the voltage from 0 to 5 volts, which corresponds to an 8 bit analog number from 0 to 255 in the analog read function. πŸ“„ An input voltage of roughly 4 volts would give an input value of 204. Because we have run this through the previously described voltage divider, we know an input value of 204 equals a voltage of 16 volts. Likewise a value of 161 on the analog input equals 12.6 volts, an analog input value of 173 equals 13.6 volts.

First off to avoid wasting battery power when the engine is off and the skies are cloudy, the Arduino should be put into a deep sleep for every 30 seconds.Β πŸ’€ After which the the Nano should read the pins and compare the input values to what had been read some 30 seconds before. Only after two consecutive readings (30 seconds apart) that should warrant opening or closing of the small relay that will drive the bigger relay that either connects or disconnects the batteries.πŸ”‹

Great. Now all I have to code this into software to be burned into the brain of the Arduino, and then solder together the transistors and resistors.πŸ–₯Β  While I have now figured out how this would work on paper, the next step is to physically build the device and write the code. As this device could lead to the possibility of being stranded with a dead battery in the wilderness, it is important that I fully test and understand the ramifications of the device I’m building.πŸ€”

Big Red

October 6, 2018 7:18 pm Update

|

Observation: Driving at night with headlights pointed at the road rather then towards the sky makes it much easier to drive at night.

The road isn’t nearly as dark, it’s actually quite brightly lit. And other drivers don’t blink their headlights all of the time because you are blinding them. All by turning an allen wrench a few turns. Who would have ever thought such a thing?

October 2, 2018 1:15 pm Update

|

Does solar power 🌞 work on cloudy, rainy days? 🌧

The volt meter on my truck says the battery voltage is 13.7 volts. That means the battery is charging with the engine off. πŸ”‹ Once the sun angle decreases and panel output drops, the voltage will drop to 12.6-12.7 volts as no charging will occur.

So yes, solar does work on cloudy, rainy days. 😎

October 1, 2018 9:28 pm Update

|

I learned there is a little hex key you can turn so that your headlights are actually pointing more at the road just by opening the hood. Really easy to do too.