Builds 2008 LX Live Camera Car and Overlanding Build. (1 Viewer)

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So i did a search for tesla battery on the forums, and HOLY COW this thing is sweet! Props to @ElectricGT


But not quite what i had in mind, but sometimes you just have to stop and smell the roses. I'll get back to work in a little bit after i scroll through this thread lol.
 
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Research post for Tesla Modules, will edit as i dig around.

This company does it on a regular basis.



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Update from previous video (1 year later).



I don't plan on doing something that nice, but will leave this here as a base for comparison in terms of cost.

Mortons build cost:

$1285 Victron MultiPlus Inverter/Charger 3000W 24V
$325 Victron SmartSolar MPPT 100/50
$205 Victron BMV-712 Battery Monitor with Bluetooth Built in
$20 Victron Temperature Sensor for BMV-702
$180 2 x Victron BatteryProtect BP-220-220AMP - 6-35 VDC [BPR000220400]
$30 Blue Sea Systems 300 Amp m-Series Battery Switches
$35 Blue Sea Systems Common BusBars (100A-250A)
$100 Victron Energy Orion 24/12-40A Converter (Uout=13,2V)
$15 Tenergy 5-in-1 Battery Meter, Intelligent Cell Meter Digital Battery Checker Battery Balancer for LiPo / LiFePO4 / Li-ion/NiCd/NiMH Battery Packs
$40 2 x Blue Sea 5191 Single Terminal Fuse Block 30-300 Amp
$40 3 x Blue Sea 5189 Terminal Fuse 250 Amp
$45 Blue Sea 5116 Fuse A3T/Class T 200A
$65 Blue Sea Systems Class T Fuse Blocks
$15 WindyNation ANL Fuse Holder + ANL Fuse (2pcs 30A Fuse)
$15 FICBOX Blade Car Fuses Assortment Kit, 100PCS Standard Assorted Fuses with 5 Inline Fuse Holders - Includes Fuse Puller Tool, Great for Use on Cars
$20 Altronix Sensitive Relay 12/24VDC 1Ma DPDT
$15 KUMEED Circuit Breaker Trolling Motor Auto Car Marine Boat Bike Stereo Audio Inline Fuse Inverter with Waterproof Cover (60A)
$100 Crimp Supply Ultra-Flexible Car Battery/Welding Cable - 1/0 Gauge, (15 Feet Red/15 Feet Black) - and 5 Copper Lugs
$35 6 Gauge 6 AWG 10 Feet Red + 10 Feet Black Welding Battery Pure Copper Flexible Cable + 10pcs of 3/8" Tinned Copper Cable Lug Terminal Connectors + 3 Feet Black Heat Shrink Tubing
$20 InstallGear 1/0 Gauge AWG Tinned Pure Copper Lugs Ring Terminals Connectors with Heat Shrink - 10-Pack
$35 Facon 12" x 18" RV Tank Heater Pad, Up to 50 Gallons Fresh Water/Grey Water/Black Water Holding Tank Heating Pad with Automatic Thermostat Control, 12V DC
$150 ECO LLC 4 String PV Combiner Box with Lighting Arrester, 10A Rated Current,Universal Solar Panel Connectors,Grounding Bus-Bar Ideal For Off-grid Solar System
$1000- Tesla battery bank
$$?? - with BMS conversion board built in
85-type | Battery Modules | Products | 057 Technology

Okay mud, That's about $4k total, can it be done for half of that with less capability?
 
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Just let your requirements drive the solution. Really sit down. Write down. What do I need. What do I want. How do I go from now to the first useable state (Minimum viable product) to the end state. How much of what I have now can I or should I reuse. . . How fast? How much? What parts bring the most value now? Later?
 
Thanks for the sanity check. I woke up from my nap and now I’m leaning toward that AC200. too much of a headache trying to safely fit the Tesla BMS and figuring out how to afford it. That and 45% off is too good to pass.

Going to go ahead and plan to be one of the first 200 to get the AC 200! Alarm is set for before midnight!

Now I’m left with just enough for the drawers and food and gas for next month, maybe 1 more solar panel, and I’m okay with that. I will have to earn my IceCo fridge by doing a good job organizing the group buy, and if not I’m more than happy with the electric cooler for a while. Thanks dad!
 
Might budget for this instead of a second solar panel this month, so I don’t have to park right next to the building when I’m using public Wi-fi. Even then the connection is iffy in most cases. This plus the Wireless transmitter/ receiver on the cameras (going to laptop) means I can run the stream for potentially a couple miles from a Wi-fi source (Assuming Line of Sight).

I could place the laptop and this antenna at the furthest point from source of Wi-fi, that still has adequate signal, and from there extend the range another 300-450 ft via the HDMI transmitter and receiver. This also helps me work around the fact that the Wi-fi signal is much weaker when the laptop is inside the car, versus outside. With this it would be hardwired (ethernet) and it won’t matter where the laptop is.

It’s nice to not have to take the laptop when I need to move to camera, to make this possible. If I had to move the laptop with the cam, I would not be able to run Ethernet for a more reliable connection, nor would I be able to extend the camera feed past the Wi-fi range via the wireless HDMI transmitters & receivers.

If that isn’t strong enough signal/I’m too far, then that’s where the bonder device will come in and combine the Wi-fi with cell signal(s) to form a strong enough connection. Ideally I prefer to rely on Wi-fi because it’s free, versus paying for multiple unlimited cell plans, but depending on location Wi-fi may not be within range. In most places cell signals, at least a weak one, will be present.

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Might budget for this instead of a second solar panel this month, so I don’t have to park right next to the building when I’m using public Wi-fi. Even then the connection is iffy in most cases. This plus the Wireless transmitter/ receiver on the cameras (going to laptop) means I can run the stream from almost a quarter mile from a Wi-fi source (Assuming Line of Sight). I would place the laptop and this antenna at the furthest point from source of Wi-fi, that still has adequate signal, and from there extend the range another 300-450 ft via the HDMI transmitter and receiver. This also helps me work around the fact that the Wi-fi signal is much weaker when the laptop is inside the car, versus outside. With this it would be hardwired (ethernet) and it won’t matter where the laptop is. It’s nice to not have to take the laptop when I need to move to camera, to make this possible. If I had to move the laptop with the cam, I would not be able to run Ethernet for a more reliable connection!

If that isn’t strong enough signal/I’m too far, then that’s where the bonder device will come in and combine the Wi-fi with cell signal(s) to form a strong enough connection. Ideally I prefer to rely on Wi-fi because it’s free, versus paying for multiple unlimited cell plans, but depending on location Wi-fi may not be within range. In most places cell signals, at least a weak one, will be present.

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How is that antenna aimed?
 
How is that antenna aimed?

I assume it rotates horizontally, and pivots vertically, but I will check.

oh and I underestimated its range, it is .5miles to 3 miles according to manufacturer. I Was thinking 500 ft because of reviews mentioning they tested it at 500 and it worked well.

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I assume it rotates horizontally, and pivots vertically, but I will check.

oh and I underestimated its range, it is .5miles to 3 miles according to manufacturer. I Was thinking 500 ft because of reviews mentioning they tested it at 500 and it worked well.

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What I'm getting at is that aiming these highly directional antennas isn't a casual task.
 
What I'm getting at is that aiming these highly directional antennas isn't a casual task.

Right. And I was thinking it will be for cases where I have line of sight and know where the Wi-fi source is.

You made me realize I am going out of order. Good eye, as always!

long term I want a directional for range and omnidirectional for ease of access/no setup required solution.

but short term, omnidirectional makes more sense. Something like this with 300-400 ft range is perfect, then add the directional antenna later when I want to work a mile away, rather than a few hundred feet away from the signal. I think if the view is good enough, I’ll put in the work of aiming the antenna. Until I can afford both, omnidirectional definitely makes more sense to get first.

GOOD CHAT, and thanks again brother.

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Oh wait a min I spoke too soon, there are thousands of omnidirectional antennas out there. What is the most important spec, how many decibels/strength of antenna?

and I assume claims of up to 7 miles are highly exaggerated for an omnidirectional? Otherwise that would violate FCC regulations if signal was that strong I think.

this might be another case of buy 3 and return 2 lol. Sorry Amazon, it’s for science!

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There are amateur radio enthusiasts on the forum who can help with this Q - sadly I"m not one. . .
 
There are amateur radio enthusiasts on the forum who can help with this Q - sadly I"m not one. . .

Gotcha. So you are human like the rest of us!

Instead of putting the poor amazon sellers through return process and buying 3 (at different price points) to test, I decided to start low and upgrade if the smallest price point solution isn’t adequate.

Since I’ve tried the Alfa Adapter with the 4 small 5db antennas already, and found that it wasn’t enough, I’m going to start at the mid price point this time.

I called L-com to order one, ask about what cable I need and to see if they had any recommendations for adapters. Turns out, whoever is selling this on amazon must be taking a loss or selling a clone, because after tariffs and everything, lowest price from LCom is $155 instead of the $101 shown on amazon. LCom did say that it looked like theirs, and even the images are ripped from their site.

I’m going to try it. They said it’s probably the beefiest omnidirectional antenna they have/longest range.

Just gotta figure out what the right connections are to get the cable, and need to figure out what Wi-fi adapter I’m getting to know which connection I need. Can’t wait to figure this out and test it!

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Wait a min, I just realized I can just buy a router instead of a Wi-fi USB adapter, since I do have a way to power it.

I looked into routers and found this guy, which acts as an outdoor booster and router in one. Not the easiest to setup but they have a great start up guide. I have set up networks and routers before so this probably won’t be too hard.


Mine will be similar to the graphic shown, but instead of running the Ethernet to a router from the Bullet, I will run it to the laptop and use the bullet as a router. I’ll also wait to make everything works before I worry about mounting it (make it lay down when driving)? and consider putting in an arrester (although I just don’t picture me ever getting struck by lightning so probably not).

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Total is $206 so far, for:

$12 2 Ethernet cables (1 for laptop and 1 for powering the bullet router)
$100. 1 antenna
$70. 1 bullet router
$12 1 power over Ethernet injector
Plus tax.

will let you guys know how it works out.

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I have been searching for a heavy duty laptop mount that doesn’t require drilling, and it’s tough since the sliding seat frame isn’t flat where the anchor bolts are.

3rd picture is example of how the RAM no drill mounts anchor to seat. I love RAM mounts for their durability/strength. My laptop is probably one of the heaviest ones in the market, and then you add weight of docking station, so I am only looking for sturdy solutions.

Anyone been down this road? I would like to mount the laptop in front so that I can see the feed from the cameras (most of which will be hardwired, and 2 wireless) while I’m driving. There will be a camera pointed forward that acts as a dash cam, 1 pointed at the driver and passenger/front interior, 1 pointed at rear Interior so I can monitor Tiger/the living area while driving, and 1 more camera that will be roof mounted in rear that will act as an aerial view of rear/2nd backup camera. When I fall into some extra money I would love a 360 degree camera mounted amount 2 ft high on the roof. In addition there will be 2 wireless cameras that will capture the Point Of View of Tiger, and my point of view from either the head cam or the handheld tripod/grip. It’s a lot of stuff to hook up to the laptop, so I need to hardwire it into the docking station so that I don’t have to connect and disconnect all hardwired cameras every time I want to take the laptop with me.

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In order to access those bolts the seats have to go back a bit, which reminds me that I also need to shorten my living area In my designs to squeeze in the laptop mount.

When I measured before I was measuring near the bottom, and the seat is tilted so bottom has more clearance than mid way up. I need to measure from middle of the seat and back, so I will lose some inches there.

I also did not make sure that the passenger will have a full range of seat adjustability/motion, so I will lose inches there. This will double in function by allowing the front seat to go back far enough, so that there is enough room for Tiger to lay down in the front passenger. That’s actually very important. I included a picture to help you see the problem.

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Twitch.tv/sharpecat

In case anyone is bored and wants to watch my car get flea bombed.

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Seems much easier to flea bomb your house when It’s tiny and has a bunch of windows. I just roll down the windows and use the AC to air it out for a bit and I’m good. I did wait at least 1.5 hours before opening the door though.

Going to wipe and vacuum everything before I put it back in and we are off again! Going to be a nice sleep tonight with a clean bed and car! By the way I tried the cot for one night and dropped it off, exped on floor definitely better til drawers are done.

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Tiger has not left this spot since I turned the car on, and he’s been crying to get in since before I set off the flea bomb. He loves getting on the road more than I do! He is also very smart and knows when it’s laundry day, and he loves a fresh bed. He’s on it within seconds of it being made on most days.

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Plugged in my dads electric cooler for first time last night and it was blowing warm air even after an hour. Power consumption = 51 W (via 12V output).

Turns out this thing can heat or cool, and I plugged it in wrong. I only looked at one side of the plug and didn’t realize it was the heating side.

Now we officially in business. I stuck 2 warm Gatorade’s in there, and can’t wait to drink our first cold drinks without having to visit the store! Also, bedside cooler access! Good times ahead.

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@Toyota4WD94 PM me your address or call/text me brother. I'm packing up the third row right now.

Twitch.tv/sharpecat for a live feed.

Are these the right trim pieces for third row?

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yes, those are the trim pieces.

Cool, just need address and she’s good to go! Dog not included. I’ll have my co workers double check my strap and wrap (it’s their department), and will have it out the door tomorrow assuming I have address. Thanks again fellas, 1 less thing I have to worry about! Good looks.

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