Thursday, June 12, 2025

 It's happened!
NVME storage is now cheaper than 2.5" SATA 
(For 8Tbyte disks)


Monday, March 17, 2025

The frustration of other thing and my Garage.

 My Garage, one huge mess.


TL:DR Too much going on in life. Not enough time and energy to be working on it all. 👎

My garage is 80m^2, and it's full of unfinished projects. It's basically so full that:
  • Even though it's a 5/6-car garage, I can just about fit 2 cars inside.
  • I don't really have room to any projects, once the two cars are in.
  • I want to start work on a habitat and truck, that's 7.5m x 2.5m, so completely impossible, currently.
It's frustrating to say the least. I was diagnosed with ADHD recently (around 6 months ago) and am now in a wait loop to start medication (around 1 year). I've tried 'cognitive therapy', it was not for me, so phase two, medication. 

I've been quite active on Facebook, following Jolly Good on https://www.facebook.com/groups/campervanelectricsmastery/ and his efforts to teach people electrical systems. But I am so far from starting my own camper electrical install, it's quite frustrating.



I also still have not started my 'C' driving license, which will be needed to do our 2026 Iceland trip with Bliss, and I can feel time running out quickly. 





I am also currently working on getting our Kangoo Greece trip ready (May-June) to get the suspension fixed. Top mounts, bottom arms, anti-rollbar links, all brake pads and disks replaced. It needed some work, let's say. 



Also working on the office in garage (a small 3x3m insulated space with double-doors to be able to have a small heated space in the garage, rather than heating 80m^2 which is not economical or sensible.



In short: Too much going on. Need to concentrate on one or two things to get those finished, but as always with ADHD, having problems focusing on one task.. :-( Story of my life, I fear..

In other news, I can now do up nuts to 980Nm, needed to go to 300Nm on the back axle of the Kangoo, but can now also do the wheelnuts on the truck 😀

There is also a breaker bar on the way, and some 3/4" sockets. For the 300Nm, I had an adaptor, but that did not feel great. 

Saw another candidate: https://www.auroracommerciosrl.it/automezzi/iveco-100-4x4-balestrato-anteriore-e-posteriore/

Also still working on Home Assistant:


Wednesday, January 22, 2025

Ideas are finally taking shape!

 A couple of important restrictions/requirements.

1. Garage height: 2.7m (2.55m at the door)

2. Garage length, max ~7.5m

3. Must be able to carry 2 adults and 2 dogs or 4 adults in a pinch.

4. Must not have a 'tilting cab'.

5. Toilet and shower must be of 'normal size'.

6. Ideally, a washing machine/dryer combo should fit.

Found it:

Stats: 

1113B Mercedes Benz Kurzhauber, 4x4 with locking middle and rear diff. 4.2m wheelbase.
7.1m long, 2.5m high and ~2.5m wide.
With a shortening of the cab, it should be possible to have a 13ft (4m) box. Examples of the layout here (from Bliss Mobil) The bed raises up. To be able to fit in the garage, you would need a raising top





















Modifications:

1. Remove pump from front bumper and replace by a winch, should save ~30cm in length? Maybe even more














2. Shorten cab by ~1m to create more space for the box.

3. Convert to 'singles' tires (https://rundhauber.eu/wielen-en-banden/ , https://rundhauber.eu/banden-4-de-finale/). Could be difficult, as the rundhauber has rims with 8 holes, rather than the more usual 10 holes at Mercedes. Would like 'sprengringfelgen' to enable easy removal of tires from wheels. Also the hutchinson runflat would be very cool: https://vrakking-tires.com/20-inch/913-1000vx20-jamak-wheel-8-holes-et-90.html and https://vrakking-tires.com/run-flat-protection/528-run-flat-system-3-pieces-hutchinson.html with beadlock protection https://vrakking-tires.com/run-flat-protection/621-711-beadlock-tire-protection.html#/21-quality-new (enabling you to run lower pressures, down to 0 bar?)