Waning Gibbous Moon
17 days old
SunRay’s Gypsy Wagon
18 August 2010Cassie McGettigan
I don’t know if I’m gonna make the wait if Lloyd keeps leaking pics like these from his upcoming book on tiny houses….
Here is SunRay Kelly’s latest project, a home atop his 1984 Toyota dolphin camper. SunRay was one of the featured builders in Lloyd’s book Builders of the Pacific Coast—you might remember him way up in a sling positioning the cupola on the “big yurt” temple, barefoot. Here are some details on his truck slash car slash”solar/electric/diesel hybrid power plant” that is also cranking out a bunch of inspiration and good vibes, courtesy of Lloyd’s blog:
The sides are cedar, there’s a forward solarium, a stained glass rear window, and a back porch. There will be 3000 watts of solar panels (some of which will fold down), two 156 volt banks of lithium iron phosphate batteries, and a 12 inch GE electric motor. The Toyota’s gas motor has been removed and a four-cylinder 1500 cc diesel motor installed that will run on bio diesel.
The batteries will be charged 3 different ways: one, by plugging into a standard 110-volt electrical outlet; two, by the PV array installed on the roof and wings; and three, by a 26-kw Perkins diesel powered generator (a “gen-set”). As SunRay explains, “Trains have for years been run with an electric motor powered by a diesel generator.”
As Lloyd says in his post, SunRay is building on a super tight budget. If anyone is interested in investing in this worthy, edifying project, please contact him: sunray@sunraykelley.com
Great post. I’d also seen a few pictures of this Toyota around the web but NOT an interior pic. Thanks! And by the way… You’ve got my vote for the COOLEST blog design I’ve seen. I love it… (as I’m listening to Let ‘Em In by Paul McCartney on Pandora…perfect timing lol)