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?)