What did you do with your Grenadier today?

[255/85]

I knew I wanted a driver's side grab handle.
I ordered the right hand drive version cars grab handle for the left side from ineos. Works to much better and I prefer to have this handle to get into the car.
Took about 6 weeks to get to the US and my ineos dealer.

We've got a RHD handle on order. Still several weeks out. The Better Half asked for it specifically but I've noticed that, at my height and seat position, I can occasionally activate the lockers with my head when using the steering wheel to climb in. I've never quite mastered @Tazzieman's gutter grab.

 

[ColoradoMike]

Just some fun with our local dealership! Super fun with @ForceV4 and Thom for leading us on the trail..."not TRIAL"....LOL.....

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juUGfzdbxKY

 

[landmannnn]

Finished fitting a sub (above the handbrake mechanism under the rear seats) and a Wolfbox.
All good, a couple of worthwhile improvements.

 

[DenisM]

Finished fitting a sub (above the handbrake mechanism under the rear seats) and a Wolfbox.
All good, a couple of worthwhile improvements.

Do you have sufficient room to adjust the handbrake cables with the subwoofer in place?

 

[Dual Grenny Guy]

View attachment 7872397

View attachment 7872399

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Local dealer hosts a regular "Trucks & Trees" event. I forgot to count but eight or ten Grenadiers showed up. The drive, weather, scenery and new friends were all really nice. Can't beat fire and hot dogs next to a lake. Thanks to Mark & Darren & Weissach for organizing!

Holy cow, that is some absolutely stunning scenery!! If I was there, I may have never left.

 

[landmannnn]

Do you have sufficient room to adjust the handbrake cables with the subwoofer in place?

No!
Just a 1 minute job to take it out though.

 

[ECrider]

After 13 mos of waiting I finally got the wing chequer plate installed. Some things I think (as will most of you with your own particular items) the Gren has to have, lockers, panels, safari windows, sela green, whale foreskin steering wheel hide etc etc. The chequer plate was on the 'must have' list. I al still searching for bonnet chequer.

Thanks to Mr. & Mrs. @Logsplitter for very kindly picking up my OEM plate down in South Africa and for carting it around for weeks. It is definitely the best travelled item on my wagon by a long shot!

Unfortunately due to some EU laws we were denied the option at build, but where there's a will (and a willing friend) there's a way.

Most chuffed.

Black rivets matter.

 

[ORSO]

did you put something between the chequer plates and the bodywork to prevent damage?

 

[ECrider]

did you put something between the chequer plates and the bodywork to prevent damage?

Just the standard rubber strips and silicon on the rivets. Did not want to lock moisture in.

 

[CRH]

After 13 mos of waiting I finally got the wing chequer plate installed. Some things I think (as will most of you with your own particular items) the Gren has to have, lockers, panels, safari windows, sela green, whale foreskin steering wheel hide etc etc. The chequer plate was on the 'must have' list. I al still searching for bonnet chequer.

Thanks to Mr. & Mrs. @Logsplitter for very kindly picking up my OEM plate down in South Africa and for carting it around for weeks. It is definitely the best travelled item on my wagon by a long shot!

Unfortunately due to some EU laws we were denied the option at build, but where there's a will (and a willing friend) there's a way.

Most chuffed.

Black rivets matter.

I missed the whale foreskin option, bugger

 

[ECrider]

I missed the whale foreskin option, bugger

better than being buggered by a whale foreskin - subjective I know

 

[CRH]

better than being buggered by a whale foreskin - subjective I know

Everyone's free to make their own choices

 

[CrazyOldMan]

Everyone's free to make their own choices

I missed the whale foreskin option, bugger

I missed the whale foreskin option, bugger

I wonder if, like the saddle leather, it also develops a rich patina with extended handling?

 

[Max]

I wonder if, like the saddle leather, it also develops a rich patina with extended handling?

Where are you trying to steer this?...handle it carefully, please

 

[Loc Nar]

Last week, I installed the CTEK D250SE following @Ragman's awesome video. Today, however, I installed a Victron 500 amp SmartShunt Battery Monitor on the auxiliary battery, and I found the perfect place to mount it (methinks the Grenadier electrical engineers planned on installing one themselves due to the perfectly placed mounting holes I found - note M5 20mm machine screws, washers, and lock nuts get the job done). This is looking at the passenger side of the dual battery setup in a NA vehicle - the perfectly placed holes are circled in blue below.

Here it is installed. I had to figure out how to replace some battery cable lugs - replaced one 3/8" with 5/16" on the shorter cable and vice versa on the longer cable (picked up cables and lugs from Autozone), and also replaced the 3/8" ring terminal on the positive battery wire with a 5/16" ring terminal (thin red cable in the pics below) to get this job done. If anyone needs guidance on this (including tools needed), let me know - all the copper lugs have been added to the battery cable in the pics - I made good crimps on everything and just added Duct tape on top as an extra bit of insurance):

Here's an overview pic showing the connection to the D250SE:

This Victron SmartShunt has the ability to monitor a second battery and I looked hard at trying to also wire it up to the starter battery, but there is just no easy way to wire any connection to the negative battery terminal. The nut/bolt combo on there is not removeable even after you take it off the post (I tried to the point I was afraid I was about to break something). See blue circle below. Any ideas on adding a 5/16" (or any other) connection point there?

And, I've now installed the VictronConnect app and updated the firmware. Now it's time to RTFM and figure out what the hell a Victron SmartShunt Battery Monitor can do.

 

[anand]

The second battery reading on the smart shunt goes to the positive on the "starting" battery, not the negative. It only monitors voltage, not current.

Also, the way it is wired, the smart shunt is only monitoring charge from the D250SE; as it looks like there is another ground wire going from the battery to the chassis

 

[Loc Nar]

The second battery reading on the smart shunt goes to the positive on the "starting" battery, not the negative. It only monitors voltage, not current.

Also, the way it is wired, the smart shunt is only monitoring charge from the D250SE; as it looks like there is another ground wire going from the battery to the chassis

According to Victron's instructions that I received, you need both positive and negative:

 

[anand]

According to Victron's instructions that I received, you need both positive and negative:

View attachment 7873005

Any chassis ground will work fine for that, it only has to go to the battery itself if monitoring current (which it can't for the "starter" battery)

Both of my batteries are linked together through the chassis and no issues there (also the same setup in our Sprinter and previous Tundra)

 

[Loc Nar]

Any chassis ground will work fine for that, it only has to go to the battery itself if monitoring current (which it can't for the "starter" battery)

Both of my batteries are linked together through the chassis and no issues there (also the same setup in our Sprinter and previous Tundra)

Thanks for the feedback and guidance! Let's further discuss the D250SE connection. The Victron manual says that after connecting the negative battery terminal of the monitored battery to the SmartShunt Battery Minus terminal, you should connect the "negative DC electrical system terminal to the SmartShunt SYSTEM MINUS terminal." See manual page below. If the D250SE negative output (that would normally be routed to the negative post of the auxiliary battery) is not the "negative DC electrical system terminal" then what is?

 

[anand]

Thanks for the feedback and guidance! Let's further discuss the D250SE connection. The Victron manual says that after connecting the negative battery terminal of the monitored battery to the SmartShunt Battery Minus terminal, you should connect the "negative DC electrical system terminal to the SmartShunt SYSTEM MINUS terminal." See manual page below. If the D250SE negative output (that would normally be routed to the negative post of the auxiliary battery) is not the "negative DC electrical system terminal" then what is?

View attachment 7873007

So, if the only load (electric device/connection) you have on the aux battery is the D250SE, then your arrangement is fine.

However, if there are any other ins/outs on the aux battery, the smart shunt won't see them.

Theoretically, it should go: Battery Minus terminal on battery -> "BATTERY MINUS" on SmartShunt; then "SYSTEM MINUS" on the SmartShunt should go to either a bus bar, or a chassis ground; and all your other devices are then either grounded to the bus bar/chassis.

If there is still another negative cable between the negative terminal of the battery and the chassis (which I'm 98% sure is how Ineos wires it), any electrical current that runs through that route will not be calculated by the SmartShunt.

Since battery current flows positive to negative, you want the SmartShunt to be the last step of any current before it gets to the negative post on the battery. It is acceptable to have multiple cables on the "SYSTEM MINUS" terminal if that makes life easier (for instance, in lieu of a bus bar, have 2 cables on the SYSTEM MINUS, one to the DC250SE and one to chassis ground)