FWC Project M Project

Got a huge score of free 8020 from work a while ago. Once I am done cloning AverageGuy's frame extension and drawers I would like to make some cabinets on the drivers side, but using more of the 8020 instead of switching to wood.


Since my battery is bigger than AverageGuy's, I had to widen the storage area by one section of raised plastic in the bed of the truck. I also directly mounted a section of 8020 that matched the length of the shelf so I could just use corner pieces to connect the whole thing and avoid tapping threads.
This thing is solid as a ROCK!



I have my custom 230aH lithium pack now and have mounted some of the plywood for my electrical system. I don't have the confidence yet to install my Renogy DC-DC/MPPT controller to my starter battery and get the whole thing grounded, but I'm watching tons of videos and asking lots of questions.


Quick "napkin drawing" of how the controller and inverter will mount.

 

AverageGuy and 831, do you have the plans that you put together for your 8020 builds? I'm talking with a supplier now and would love to see some inspiration for the design.

 

Unfortunately I do not have any plans drawn up. I kind of winged it based on my previous build.

 

I am also winging it lol. Just studied AGT's build as best I could and I'm improvising as I need to.

 

Roger that, thanks all.

I'm working on a mockup now, once I get it into production I'm happy to share the plans with other people here.

 

Got the coin flooring glued to my 3/8" birch for the driver's side, now just waiting for the glue to fully setup. My only concern with this is not having access to the bolt heads underneath the plywood. I did not drill out access holes since I didn't want any spilled liquids getting in the access hole and sitting underneath the plywood.
I guess when I need to tighten the nyloc nut I can just grab the threaded portion of the bolt with a pair of vice grips and turn the nut? What are your thoughts fellas?

 

I drilled out the plywood just enough to fit the nut and covered the hole with the coin flooring. It is fairly small hole and I haven’t had any issues with coin flooring covering the holes. If I ever need to tighten the bolts I can just remove they plywood.

 

Would anyone happen to know if the header above the window is a continual piece of aluminum? I presently have my road shower installed on the 80/20, I think it is too low. So I'm considering moving it above it's current location to 3 inches below the main body roofline. Any thoughts?

 

I know the top of the roof is one big sheet of aluminum, not sure about the side. I don't think it would have nearly as much strength to mount to as the 8020 or the roof of the camper.
I made my road shower out of PVC and attach it to the roof rack. Normally gravity provides enough water pressure but if I want more I hook it up to my air compressor (left blue line).
Excuse the sag in the below pic, this was before I installed airbags (which I highly recommend).

 

I found out that the top piece above the windows (from the top down 3-4 ") are indeed solid aluminum.The rest of the sides are framing with white styrofoam board. I will be installing my awning on the other side. Thanks!

 

If you look earlier in the thread you will see a picture of an unfinished frame. Additionally, I installed my awning mounts near the top through this section of the frame. It works well. Make sure you put a large washer or a bracket on the inside to spread the load. There is a picture of what I fabricated to use for my awning mounts.

 

Wonderful, thank you!

 

Not sure if any other member have experienced water intrusion. I discovered why my shelve carpeted areas became wet during and after a rain storm. The bottom exterior trim has gaps of missing caulk allowing water to sit then seep through. Apologies if this has been covered already.... I feel this is the best post to cover any issues that arise!

 

Sealing up the Taco bed is a huge pain. There are few posts early on in this thread talking about how to seal. I found several gaps between the truck bed and Project M after it was installed. This is in addition to all the other holes in the bed that need to be sealed. I’ve had to reseal the front corners of the bed several times.

 

Thanks average guy. I have followed this thread since you started it, thank you! When I spray water directly at the join between the truck and camper I get no water intrusion. The installers did a good job with the gasket. The intrusion occurs when water seeps into the bottom trim. I have resealed it with sikaflex 221.

 

That’s interesting. I have heard that before. Is it getting in through the screw holes? I figured the trim was just cosmetic and didn’t actually seal anything.

 

It's actually seeping down the aluminum siding into the trim. The siding meets the plastic sheet underneath where there was no silicone. There was a 1/8" gap between the metal siding and the abs underneath. Pretty bad that someone neglected to caulk those seams. I'm waiting for the weather to improve then I will remove all the base trim pieces and apply sikaflex.

 

Make sure to take some pics of your progress!

 

Got 300 watts of solar mounted today. I'm almost certainly approaching the weight limit for the roof of this thing at this point.
For anyone else wiring up solar on their PM, FWC got the positive and negative wires mixed up on mine so black was positive and red was negative...



My cable management is awful at the moment. Pretty certain I need to mount some of these cables somewhere so they don't start banging on the roof.

 

Seriously FWC, ya can’t even get the wire colors right.

Thats some serious solar. I dropped down to 100w from 200w for the winter. I am thinking of giving the 100w a try this summer.

I use zip tie holders on the roof for the wires. The double sided tape they come with doesn’t hold. Have to use a stronger tape on them. But it works great once you have that solved.

Cable Tie Mounts, Adhesive-Backed, 1 Inch, for Cable Management, Cable Tie Anchors, 100 Pack, Black

$10 Cable Tie Mounts, Adhesive-Backed, 1", for Cable Management, Cable Tie Anchors, 100 Pack, Black

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08JD7K6MH