Espar/Webasto install location options - opinions needed

[PLaFrombois]

Matt



Take a run up to Beaver Dam to Fleet Farm for your batteries. They have there own brand which is a little bit smaller in size than the OEM, and are 1100CCA.

As for that Espar unit, I'll take that off your hands so you don't have to worry about where to have it mounted. This way, all you'll have to worry about is keeping that house of yours upright.

What do you think of the pictures of the truck I'm looking at purchasing.



Paul

 

[HoleshotHolset]

Stay tuned - if I have it my way... I'll be correcting all sorts of Dodge's design flaws under the hood AND installing my D5W Espar.



Paul: What's the matter with the Farm-n-Fleet in East Madison? I'm looking at batteries that are smaller in size and that can be mounted with the posts horizontally. (I'm going to start another thread if I can't find any info on the TDR concerning the batteries I have researched so far... Odyssey, Reactor, etc. )



That C4500 sure is sweet, Paul. Are you sure I can't convince you to bump up to the C6500 series and get the I6 Duramax or the Caterpillar?



Matt

 

[PLaFrombois]

Matt



Farm&Fleet on the east side don't have any batteries over 800cca, that are the same size as OEM. You could bump up to higher cca's, but then you'll be getting large tractor batteries. The Fleet Farm in Beaver Dam has OEM size up to 1100cca.



I'd like to get a 6500, but that's to much truck for what I really need.



Paul

 

[Jengle]

Matt, that space under the seat begs for an amplifier setup. Check with TMTT for what he did. That's far safer than a heater. I wish I had that room under there, but DC put the stupid jack in there.

 

[David_VT]

My ESPAR was the hydronic 4 kit for the 2nd gen.

When it worked it was great. I had two failures thus far.

First the electronics to run the cab fan failed.

Second I am getting a glow plug fault.



The cab fan thing I just ignored since running that fan did cause me some battery issues. If I want to be in the truck and warm I'd probably just crank up the diesel regardless of fuel cost. I got the ESPAR to preheat the engine when away from electricity and that it does just fine.



The glow plug thing will be fixed soon but that frame rail location is a pain to get into.



I just replaced my lift pump and found it would have been nice if that area had been clear.



I am looking for more ideas about remounting the ESPAR in a better location.



One other self induced problem was learning one of my water lines had blown off the ESPAR and thus dumped most of my coolant down the road in a white cloud. . MY FAULT for a loose clamp, not ESPAR.



If I needed one, I'd likely buy another.



David

 

[HoleshotHolset]

I got my Odyssey PC1700MJT installed on the driver's side. So far - just one of them has been enough battery to run the grid heaters and crank her over in 30°F or so temps. Crank speeds sound about right, anyhow.



Stay tuned for updates on my Espar install. I found a place that seems to cover a lot of the bases... With no passenger side battery - I have a lot of room to play with.



This project resembles anything else I ever do, though. By the time it is all said and done - I'll end up spending way too much time (and money)... but it'll be done my way. :-laf



Matt

 

[Cooker]

This project resembles anything else I ever do, though. By the time it is all said and done - I'll end up spending way too much time (and money)... but it'll be done my way. :-laf

I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels this way about their projects

 

[TBrennan]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels this way about their projects

I can second that sentiment. I know I bought over $100 in parts just for my custom built accesdory fuse panel I made that probably took me 20 hours to fabricate, and ended up using probably $50 in parts in the end. My center console I made has over 40 hours in fabrication and a decent amount of money on parts also. These two things I built just to use all the other toys I want. :-laf



I built two different Espar mounting brackets before I was happy with the location. I've got a lot of time into the Espar install with bracket fabrication and dropping the fuel tank. Not to mention finding a short and all the other details. But hey it's all "fun" or we wouldn't do it, right? :-laf

 

[HoleshotHolset]

But hey it's all "fun" or we wouldn't do it, right? :-laf

At times, to our non-diesel friends and family members, it may seem like a sick fetish or obsession. :-laf



Matt