Smart Motor Home

[barsteward]

Any one interested in smart homes particularly Home Assistant may be interested in following this guy on You Tube.
As a programming/ technical numpty, which I am, H/A con be a very frustrating and time consuming hobby and this guy has got me out of the Doo Doo's on more than one occasion.

Any way he has just bought an old motor home and is using it as a project for a smart automation this is the link to the first video (there are only 2 at the moment) but I for one look forward to following him on his journey.

 

[cyberyacht]

Smart Motorhome? Bit cramped and underpowered, I'd have thought.

 

[barsteward]

He's a clever fella and I think it's more about adapting/modifying what you already have and perhaps improving some tech but whatever he does I'm sure it will be informative.

Early days but you can bet he'll have everything from water to battery and even heating monitored and controlled all from the comfort of his armchair.

 

[dpsuk999]

I love automating the motorhome I have a lot of automation in my motorhome, for example at 0720 Alexa will turn on the radio and open the bedroom skylight and then at 0725 the kettle will start to boil and then at 0728 an alarm will ring for me to get up out of bed and make a cup of tea I have my Alde controlled through the Alde start so I can turn on the heating or hot water from anywhere Iam. I can automatically prioritize the power source of the fridge either to use excess solar when available or gas/battery at certain intervals throughout the night to save LPG if I have a full battery bank. When I leave the motorhome the power to the TV will turn off, these are just a few of the playful automations I have done.

 

[tonyidle]

I'm in the process of removing the only habitation ECU in the van. It uses a Schaudt EBL with a LCD control panel. The EBL cannot be programmed to charge a lithium battery correctly, has a current measuring shunt that won't cope with my solar array, and a low rate mains charger. Apart from switching the pump on/off and measuring tank levels there's very little the control panel display does either. The final straw was damage to the control panel and/or the EBL apparently caused by jump starting the van after it had been in a bodyshop for a week (the engine battery was due for replacement and had survived up to this point by being on EHU at home). Control panels are apparently unobtainable and cost an arm and a leg when they were. I spoke to the guy running A&N who informed me that it was necessary to disconnect the EBL before jump starting because the leisure battery will try to start the van via the charge circuit (if this statement is true it would occur when trying to start the van with a weak starter battery and not when a jump start battery was connected). Whether I believe this or not is irrelevant because despite being offered a reasonable price for repair I decided to junk the thing and use my own arrangements.

If true then I'd expect warnings to be placed by Schaudt where they could be seen by anyone considering a jump start.

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[tonyidle]

My automation is so far limited to motorising a rooflight because my wife couldn't reach and turn the handle and making an electric winch to lift the spare wheel up under the van because I could.

 

[Spriddler]

Early days but you can bet he'll have everything from water to battery and even heating monitored and controlled all from the comfort of his armchair.

Jeez, next step will be making the m/h driverless to experience trips without the bother and inconvenience of having to get out of his armchair at home.

 

[Sandancers]

I have a wife, she is all in favour of automation, she is trying to write the flow chart (she tells me) by telling me what to do and seeing if the instruction works. So far she has been developing this chart ever since we have had the MH.

 

[Figaro]

1989 Transit
I hope he's checked it for rust

Seems a friendly fella, I wish him well.
Automation is all well and good until it doesn't work
Then it's just a bloody nusiance.
I came to moho this week and wanted to play music from my phone via bluetooth to cab radio, wouldn't connect and I had to fiddle around for 15 minutes with the radio instructions to get it connected again .