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What is it?
Winnebago makes an RV called "The View" that uses a Mecedes-Benz body and engine. In North America, they are relabeled Dodge "Sprinter", but they are actually build in Europe and shipped over to be fixed up into an RV by Winnebago.
Making a more efficient RV:
RVs are a combination vehicle between a motorized chassis (car part) and the living area (house part). Unlike a passenger vehicle where carbon output and miles per hour are the main criteria, RVs also need to improve the efficiency of the house.
About Beluga Sue
Pictues of Beluga Sue
Some of my favorite things
Lowering Carbon Output
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Tune Kit
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 Diesel Power DIGI series of plug and play tuning modules.
Depending on the module required for your vehicle, gain 20% to 30% more horsepower and torque.
In addition to more power, our initial tests indicate approximately 3% better highway fuel economy.
How it Works 
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Biodiesel
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Biodiesel is the best greenhouse gas mitigation strategy for today’s medium and heavy duty vehicles. It can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 78 percent compared to petroleum diesel.
Bio diesel.org has a good basic Fact Sheet .pdf
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Scan Gauge II
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ScanGaugeII automatically connects to your cars internal computer
Fuel Economy, Fuel Rate, Engine Load Fuel Used, Trip Fuel Economy
It reads error codes! Here is the list for the 2005 Sprinter engine Error Codes .pdf
ScanGaugeII II Web site
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Web sites that can help calculate Carbon Output:
Carrying Capacity and Upgrades:
The Cargo Carrying capacity of the View is surprisingly low when it fresh out of the factory. But there is hope - the chaise is made to carry much heavier weight. For some reason, maybe cost I suspect, Winnebago gets the Sprinter chassis with weak springs, cheap shock, and tiny sway bar. In total, the CCC just about 300lbs. At a FMCA Rally, I had Beluga Sue weighed and found out specifically where and by how much I was overweight. To fix the problem we added a beefed up sway bar, Timbren overload bumpers, and a Spring Kit. I am confident I can carry over 1000 lbs.
My Suspension Upgrades:
To overcome the rear axel being overweight, I added a few upgrades
Fun Stuff:
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Paper Sprinter
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House Part of the RV
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Electrical System: 120v
120 Volts are standard in North America, so most appliances use this standard as their input power rating even though they do actually need to use 120v. For example all home computing products use much less voltage, much closer to 12v than 120v. Here is a APPLIANCE CONSUMPTION WORKSHEET.doc to help you figure out how much power you are useing. If possible, use 12v DC.
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Whole System Surge Protector
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Traveling with modern electronics can be difficult because power supplies are often erratic and porn to surges in voltage. This is partially a problem in RV campgrounds, and traveling in Mexico.
Progressive Industries Energy Management System 120Volt / 30Amp - HW30C. Hard wired model with remote display provides protection from High/Low Voltage, Line Fault, AC Frequency and more.
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Electrical System 12v
One Great thing about RV is that they expect you to use 12v! That's great for keeping your power consumption low.
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Pure Sine wave Converter
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Unfortunately, some electronics need to have 120v power, and need to have uninterrupted, smooth power. At home the power from you wall is great, but most inexpensive converter use sine wave approximation- not smooth power. If you have delicate electronics, then you may have to get one of these. When in doubt, buy the cheep, try it out, and if it does not work, but the more expensive one.
I have a Samlex.
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LED Lights
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Very low power rating, but currently, high price. These replace the stock Halogen track lighting.
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Florescent Lights
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I use Thin-Lite to replace the stock incandescent lights.
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Solar Power
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AM Solar has a good track record for installing soar panels on Skinnie Winnies.
By incorporating 44 high efficiency polycrystalline cells, the AM100 operates at a much higher operating voltage than standard 36 cell solar panels. This higher voltage provides the Heliotrope MPPT Controllers with what they need to achieve the maximum possible boost to the output charging amperage.
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Other Upgrades that make it more efficient:
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High Performance vent
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Sun Shade
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lowers interior van temperatures in the summer, keeps heat in during the winter and adds privacy. I have a THEMO-MAT ISOFLEX 7 from The Sprinter Store
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Awning over window
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A must for must RVs. Keeping the sun out is half the battle. Dometic Brand
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Other Modifications:
List of Modifications: GPS, repositioned TV on adjustable arm, printer/computer station, pure-sine inverter, AGM battery upgrade, rearranged dump station, extra battery, transmission cooler, extra engine fan, extra heating duct to plumbing area, and so much more,
extra “pod” mirrors, window awnings, fantastic fan, sunshade, stove cutting board, sink liner/dish tub.
Files:
Stuff: Appliance power Worksheet
Manuals
Eve our 1995 Eurovan Camper
Check it out, it FOR SALE
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