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Went to return/swap the X2Power AGM today, 3 employees were looking at me like I was crazy talking about the post spinning on a brand new battery. One guy walks up from the back and goes "give me just a second with it". Literally 45 seconds later comes back and goes "yea, so the posts actually unscrew on the X2 AGM batteries, I just grabbed a pair of pliers and tightened it for you, should be good to go". If either of the stores I called or the corporate customer service number could have just mentioned that over the phone it would have saved me 90 minutes of driving, but whatever. It's installed, as is the VoltageBooster Pro (currently set to low), and working flawlessly.
The temps were over 60°F for a bit today, so I took advantage of that to install the Lensun Solar panel that's been sitting in the garage since Overland Expo East.
Initial thoughts: the quality of the product/process is nowhere near that of Cascadia4x4's hood solar panels. The vinyl under-layer (to "protect the paint") was in its own box, but when it came out of the box it was crumpled in more than a few areas, so it simply got tossed. In the past I've both used the vinyl (Tacoma) and not used it (Sprinter). I could see the long term benefits of it in the event that you pull the panel off and don't replace it, but if it damages the paint that badly, I'll just have the hood resprayed, it has more than enough rock chips from the original owner to justify that.
Beyond that, removing the panel from its shipping protector yielded another surprise, it doesn't come with the VHB tape to install it. The Cascadia4x4 panels I've used always come with the VHB pre-applied, or in the case of their new attachment method (clips) that comes with the panel. Luckily I'm a huge fan of 3M VHB and always keep several fresh rolls in the garage. I prepped the underside of the panel by wiping all areas with several alcohol swabs, then 3M Adhesion Promoter, then did 2 rows of 1" VHB at the leading edge and sides, 1 row at the trailing edge, and 3 1" strips up the middle. On the hood, I centered the panel, then outlined it with 2" painters tape, then prepped the surface with several rounds of Adam's Surface Prep as well as Chemical Guys Wipe Out for good measure (FWIW, neither seemed to make a huge difference on the slickness of the XPEL ceramic coating, so I'm slightly concerned). After that I hit the hood with the 3M Adhesion Promoter wipes as well, then stuck the panel in place and promptly covered the parts of the panel that had VHB with a pile of old textbooks for about an hour.
I will say, the Cascadia4x4 panels I've installed previously have always only been applied to a flat part of the hood. The 100W Lensun panel for the GX460 extends beyond the sunken center section of the hood and onto the next portion of raised hood. I'm not so sure the VHB will hold the curve in the panel to the center section, but I guess time will tell.
The wiring runs to the underside of the hood, then along the underside to the driver's side of the engine bay where the Renogy DC-DC/MPPT charge controller is; I had a pair of MC4 connectors pre-wired waiting for the panel to be installed.
With a 10k mile road trip coming up in 2 weeks, I'd much rather the VHB fail sooner rather than later if it's not going to hold. Our Sprinter is going strong at 3.5 years and 65k miles in temps ranging from 115°F to -25°F with the Cascadia4x4 panel held on with VHB.
Arriving this week is a Ohana Rig Supply dash mount for our phones, more aluminum extrusion for the cargo area, and a set of NYTOP reverse light housings... The Baja S2 Pros to go in them should be in either this week or early next week.
Still debating wrapping the taillights in some Lamin-X Tint (the lightest color) and putting the LFD Off Road crossbars on before the trip (unlikely that they will be used, but they could help in hiding the Starlink Mini a bit)
The temps were over 60°F for a bit today, so I took advantage of that to install the Lensun Solar panel that's been sitting in the garage since Overland Expo East.
Initial thoughts: the quality of the product/process is nowhere near that of Cascadia4x4's hood solar panels. The vinyl under-layer (to "protect the paint") was in its own box, but when it came out of the box it was crumpled in more than a few areas, so it simply got tossed. In the past I've both used the vinyl (Tacoma) and not used it (Sprinter). I could see the long term benefits of it in the event that you pull the panel off and don't replace it, but if it damages the paint that badly, I'll just have the hood resprayed, it has more than enough rock chips from the original owner to justify that.
Beyond that, removing the panel from its shipping protector yielded another surprise, it doesn't come with the VHB tape to install it. The Cascadia4x4 panels I've used always come with the VHB pre-applied, or in the case of their new attachment method (clips) that comes with the panel. Luckily I'm a huge fan of 3M VHB and always keep several fresh rolls in the garage. I prepped the underside of the panel by wiping all areas with several alcohol swabs, then 3M Adhesion Promoter, then did 2 rows of 1" VHB at the leading edge and sides, 1 row at the trailing edge, and 3 1" strips up the middle. On the hood, I centered the panel, then outlined it with 2" painters tape, then prepped the surface with several rounds of Adam's Surface Prep as well as Chemical Guys Wipe Out for good measure (FWIW, neither seemed to make a huge difference on the slickness of the XPEL ceramic coating, so I'm slightly concerned). After that I hit the hood with the 3M Adhesion Promoter wipes as well, then stuck the panel in place and promptly covered the parts of the panel that had VHB with a pile of old textbooks for about an hour.
I will say, the Cascadia4x4 panels I've installed previously have always only been applied to a flat part of the hood. The 100W Lensun panel for the GX460 extends beyond the sunken center section of the hood and onto the next portion of raised hood. I'm not so sure the VHB will hold the curve in the panel to the center section, but I guess time will tell.
The wiring runs to the underside of the hood, then along the underside to the driver's side of the engine bay where the Renogy DC-DC/MPPT charge controller is; I had a pair of MC4 connectors pre-wired waiting for the panel to be installed.
With a 10k mile road trip coming up in 2 weeks, I'd much rather the VHB fail sooner rather than later if it's not going to hold. Our Sprinter is going strong at 3.5 years and 65k miles in temps ranging from 115°F to -25°F with the Cascadia4x4 panel held on with VHB.
Arriving this week is a Ohana Rig Supply dash mount for our phones, more aluminum extrusion for the cargo area, and a set of NYTOP reverse light housings... The Baja S2 Pros to go in them should be in either this week or early next week.
Still debating wrapping the taillights in some Lamin-X Tint (the lightest color) and putting the LFD Off Road crossbars on before the trip (unlikely that they will be used, but they could help in hiding the Starlink Mini a bit)
