🚐 Drop Box RV Build Update | Windows, Doors, A/C & First BIG Wins!

Welcome to Jude RV. A new edition of the drop box build. We have paint. As a matter of fact, I'm almost done. I got the wiring all put together. We're going to talk quite a bit about this battery. I'm just really excited about this battery. Wiring took me several hours sorting it out. It's not real fancy. I've got outside 12 volt cigarette lighter and then I've got a plug for solar panels. I have 110 shore power that powers the charger. I've got a little solar charge controller because I have a couple of portable solar panels. Of course, we have the Devore air conditioner mounted. I'm going to put a couple more bolts in there. I need to encase my line set in here. I wasn't exactly sure how I was going to do that. I'm going to need some more caulking. I ran out of caulking yesterday and I'll probably do one more interior touch up. All right, I'll check back in once I have windows and doors. Windows and doors are next. It actually worked like I intended it to. It was perfect. Well, not exactly perfect, but check that out. It fits on there nicely. I did have to shift it back. I want it to be as light on my tongue as I can. I want to be able to move this without having to connect to the truck. I'm not going to be moving it too very far, but if I want to position it on a weird site, I'm able to do that now. That gives me some space here at the front. I'm going to build some kind of cargo area module so that I can just put it there, take it off, put it there, take it off. I've got three feet of space. I can put a nice big cargo module there and the same goes back here. I don't know that I'm going to use that particular box. That's a Friday's Fines product, but it works great right there. Although I have to secure it in some form or fashion. I'm really glad I went with the sleeper air conditioner versus the roof mount air conditioner. That way I've got a, well, I'm about the same height. If I had the roof mount, I certainly wouldn't be putting a kayak up there and I certainly wouldn't be putting any kind of solar array up there, which may be possible. We'll see. Meanwhile, the winch worked perfect. The battery works perfect. I love that. I love that battery. Now I'm going to put the double tie-down points up here or maybe here. I would put a set there and a set there. That way I can secure the load up there. I know I've got a two-by. I'm going to secure the front and the back. That way it won't go either direction and then I'll be able to secure the kayak up on the roof once I have that. I need some tie-down points. I need a door. I have the door. I'm just waiting for more butyl. Instead of putting all the little screws in here, I'm freaking gluing it. Those windows and doors are permanently installed. You won't be salvaging them. Now I've got to find an automotive guy to charge the air conditioner. Drop box update almost done. Still waiting on butyl tape. I've got the big mattress out of the bunk from my RV. I may actually build a little platform for that but I'm not sure because I only have about four inches of clearance when I'm sitting on the mattress. I have enough space in here for some tote storage. The CPAP will go down there. I have a picture window for when I need to look out. A little cross flow breeze. I have strapped it to the trailer. They only had four of these at Tractor Supply so I got to go back put to another set here on all four corners. That way I can strap the kayak onto the roof. I'm happy with it. I'm extremely excited. Now I'm waiting on the mechanic. I got to get a mechanic to cool my air. I like this. One thing you're going to want to know and you're going to want to know this before you spend any money because it says on the listing that this has the coolant the Freon 135 already installed but nowhere in the instruction manuals does it tell you what to do. It just tells you how to put the thing together. It doesn't tell you how to charge the system. So I spent two days. I wasted two days talking to HVAC people, auto mechanics. No one wanted to work on the thing until I ran across it. I mean it was the last phone call I made and they said yeah come on by and take a look at it. So that's where we're going now and then we're going to jump back here. All right y'all I've been working on a little drop box build. I put in that oh we got music. I had to delete the music so we don't get a copyright strike but anyway West Oak in Palestine, Texas. West Oak on Bassett and Oak Street. They solved our AC problem. It was it was it was an issue of lack of instructions meaning there was nowhere in the instructions that you needed to open the valves and when I get back when we get back to base I'll show you. I felt like an idiot because but I don't know why I felt like an idiot just because I didn't know what I didn't know but in in here there are valves that you have to open. You have to open these little valves inside this connection to release that freon and then you just let it run. This little thing works so good. It is the perfect size. I don't look at the condensation. This box is sweating because it's so cool in here and it's quiet. I'm still figuring out. Now we do have to uh I was fortunate that I started thinking about condensation because it tells you to wrap the lines. Of course it doesn't tell you which line needs to be wrapped so I wrapped both of them because they're both seem to be sweating and which outside that's fine but when it sweats inside that's a problem. I don't want my mattress getting wet and so I'm using pool noodles sliced open. They're the perfect size to wrap those lines and now I've got a little box so I'm losing a little floor space up here because I'm moving the six inch wide box but the mattress is just uh I mean I gotta have a little hangover for my feet because it's not quite tall enough for me so I'll end up with a little foot space down here a little pillow space there. The the brute tote will still fit right here which is fine because I don't need it inside while I'm sleeping. It's just going to be a gearbox and that may go away. I may build a permanent cabinet right there because that's a blind spot but for now it works. I'm really impressed with the the air conditioner. I have yet to uh I don't know how long it's going to operate so that's our my next objective is to actually camp right here and see how long the the battery will run. I have power but I want it to be totally off-grid so I've got the big portable solar panel in the best possible location for where it is. I may have to move or plug in but I can always plug in. Added tie down points for the kayak on the roof. It also occurred to me that that's going to be a great anchor point for a shade because I was thinking about taking the awning off the truck and then I got to thinking you know I just I got shade tarps why not just use rope and shade tarps. I don't know I may move that awning I may not but awnings are problematic in my opinion. Better to have a tarp. Okay I gotta go back to work.