Chinook RV

Thanks Scott,
It never occurred to me to use the EEC for data in the cab. I assume that an extension cord must be available.
Your earlier post re: an inverter made me rethink my position and I will be installing one as part of the remodel.
Just had the front hitch installed plus running the 1/0 back to the sink area (pics to follow).
My biggest problem at this point is that I have developed a leak when I try to put gas into the tank. Somewhere between the hole in the side of the van and the gas tank a portion of the gas finds it way to the ground. Google research time.

If there is a hole, won't you be able to smell the gas all the time?

Good morning chin_k,
I didn't make it clear what I was trying to say,
the hole in the side of the van was the fill nozzle where you pump gas into.
As I started to pump gas into the Chinook yesterday a constant flow (although small,still significant) was running onto the driveway, this was 8 or 10 inches toward the center of the van. I haven't had time to research this but I bet that there is some sort of flexible hose going from the fill nozzle to the gas tank and it has developed a hole.
This has the feel of more than a $10. hose (but then what part of an RV doesn't?)

You were clear. It was me who did not put enough words in my reply.

I think the gas filler neck hose is a stock Ford item, so it may not cost you your first born. It should last a long time, so maybe it was just a loose connection that you can tightened? The tricky part is to find out what part of your fuel system is leaking. I was thinking that if there is a leak, you should be able to smell the gas all the time as if you did not put the gas cap on correctly. If your tank does not hold a full tank of gas, then maybe it is a leak on the tank. That will cost you a lot more than the hose.

Got ya. The hose is now 24 years old so dry rot could be an issue. The Chinook sat unused for about 15 years. Do you know if I will have to drop the tank to change it?

I don't know. Maybe someone with more experience can chime in. If you do have to drop the tank, you may want to check the other hoses (genset and engine) as well as consider taking a look at the fuel pump inside the tank. I would try to do this when the tank is near empty.

I just remembered you have a '95 chassis, and I don't know if it's the same as mine (was digging out a photo). On mine the Ford part is mated to an RV filler door at the body. If it were me I'd go check a Ford parts diagram. If I had to guess based on mine it's stock (at least for a cutaway) right up to the filler hole.

Update on gas leak.
The hose connecting the gas tank to the external filler was dry rotted (at only 24 years old-what happened to quality). My local car guy was able to replace it without dropping the tank.
.
Back to battery stuff.
I will be feeding a wall mounted battery combiner from below so I was looking for lugs to put on 1/0 wire that had a 90 degree bend to make things neater and easier. No problem finding these but I also ran across "mechanical" lugs. These would seem to be a really good alternative, easy to eliminate rotational torque (excessively redundant), on the wire if the crimped lugs were not perfectly aligned. These would eliminate the cost of a good crimping tool. The fact that they are not used on almost everything leads me to believe that they must contribute to voltage drop.
What are the disadvantages to mechanical lugs?
Would you use loctite on the screws?

They are good for situation when you need to replace the cable, but not as economical and efficient as the permanent lug. This is because the contact surface is not as much due to the use of the larger hole and a screw to tighten down on the wires, and there is the issue with the set screw getting loose. Should be alright with low-Amp situation, but for large gauge application, I would stay away from these temporary lugs.

I don't know if anyone have any suggestion about this, but this remind me to propose a tool sharing (I learn my lesson not to use the more controversial term )mechanism for the forum.... Maybe I will start a new thread instead of hijack the thread, but quickly, I just say that I am a member of a tools sharing club for local people, and it save me a lot of money and space in my garage. Don't know how it going to work for a international forum like this.

I haven't heard of "mechanical" lugs, but it sounds like chin_k is familiar with them. They are not used on boats that I know of.

Regular lugs (I used FTZ power lugs) can be bent in certain ways (I can't totally picture what you are describing). You can bend the "eye" part to an angle from the body if necessary. Or of course face the lugs on each end of the wire a different way. Or bend the wire slightly as you crimp the lug on.

Or sometimes it's easier to rotate the bus bar or whatever arrangement to fit better. If you need to visualize downloading the Blue Sea Catalog can be handy to see what's available.

But this is why I really like making my own cables and crimps: A couple of summers ago I helped a friend wire up a main distribution system and we were away from the tools -- so we planned it all out and ordered the big cables all pre-made from Genuine Dealz. Everything looked good BUT we were not able to specify lug rotation (or bend) and so it was a challenge with some of the wires - they all came with the lugs exactly the same on both ends (which is reasonable on their part).

Here is a good article on doing your own large cables from a fellow boater (I use the FTZ crimper he shows for the large lugs).

https://marinehowto.com/making-your-own-battery-cables/

And one for smaller wire: (I use the smaller crimper he shows and the FTZ crimps - they work great.)

https://marinehowto.com/marine-wire-termination/