Van Conversion

More foam insulation boards were cut to fit between the ribs along the sides and across the ceiling.  The area by the rear doors had  no ribs on either side.  Mark used an existing rib as a template and made two ribs out of a 1X10.  While not particularly strong they worked well as a foundation when we screwed 1/4 inch plywood over the insulation.

We tried putting carpet up on the ceiling but that didn't work out too well, it was just to bulky and cumbersome.  We made one brace out of a 2X4 with a cross piece that helped some but it was a little too short and we had no spare lumber.  If the base had been high enough to reach the ceiling and if we had a couple more we might have made it.  As it is, the blue ceiling will do quite nicely for a while.

The ceiling of the van is rounded and this causes lots of problems.  Whereas nice, clean, sharp angles can be measured and easily cut for, curved surfaces are more difficult.  Mark solved the rounded corner problem by carpeting all the way around them and right over the taillights.  I saw some bulges along the edge and would have cut through them to smooth them out.  Not Mark, he cut a slice through the top of the corner and pulled the bulges right out.

Once the carpeting was up we had a little fun squirting foam into most of the remaining cracks and crannies around wheel wells, etc.

Two shorter but deeper cabinets fit quite nicely on the bottom and supported a longer, shallower cabinet on top of them.  The curved roof caused problems again since the top of the wall jutted out several inches more than the bottom.  Holding a plum line at the top and dropping it down to the floor clearly showed the difference.  So, the bottom cabinets are about 22 inches deep and the top only 15.  You can see some of the difference in the picture.

Of course the wheel well was also in the way of the bottom cabinets.  Mark simply cut out the inside corners of the bottoms and sides to fit around the wheel well.  That left plenty of support, especially when he screwed them together.

My first van had a hutch in the same place.  Wider cabinets made out of 1/2" plywood (I think) sat on the floor.  Then came an 12" open space for cooking, etc.  A much narrower cabinet hung above the cooking area.  This was held in place with just a couple of screws at the top.  The weight of the bottom pushing inward helped hold the whole thing up.

The bed fits over the wheel well on the long side of the van with no adjustments.  Two 3/4" plywood squares sit on top of the frame and are hinged to provide easy access to all that storage space underneath.  Becky came up with a nice mattress to complete this very comfortable bed.

In the other van, the bed was made completely from plywood.  The top was also cut in two for easier access.  What made this one different was it opened up into a double bed.  The outer side, the one towards the aisle, had a one inch lip at the top.  Attached lengthwise to that were two hinged boards that lifted out and up individually.  When they did, two hinged legs came down from each forming an extension to the bed.

When closed, the bed was a 6+ foot long seat with two 3 inch foam cushions to sit on and two matching 3 inch foam backrests.  When opened into a bed the back rests were laid beside the cushions to become the other part of the mattress.

Notice the carpet panels on the doors.  Mark simply cut carpet about 2 inches higher and wider than needed.  Then he folded that extra inch around the sides making a panel and screwed them onto the doors.

We didn't insulate the doors nor did we do anything to the driving area of the van.

I did many of the mindless, menial tasks and some might say I was well qualified to perform them too.  I managed to rip a pair of pants completely up the seam without realizing it until I felt a cold draft.  I managed to get adhesive all over my pants, shirt and hat.  It took a week before I got it all off my hands.  I also managed to get big gobs of it in my hair.  I didn't know that until I washed my hair that night.

All in all I'd say I managed quite a bit.

I tried utilizing the few inches above the cabinets by jamming little baskets of odds and ends up there.  That didn't work too well because they came falling out anytime I hit a little rough road and I do that a lot.  Not enough room to store blankets but I'll find something to stick up there sooner or later.

The foyer, or the area by the side doors, is covered with plastic.  The real reason I got the van was to have a place to bathe and cook when it's cold or rainy or windy or when I need privacy.  The plastic allows me to drip a little water while bathing and be able to mop it up.

I've got little baskets on side of the door holding silverware, etc. in the top ones and bathing stuff in the bottom.  Bath and kitchen towels on the other door.

A door mat is required to keep from tracking dust and other debris into the van.  I also use it to catch the dirt from the 7 gallon water jugs when I set them inside.

The upper red cables are plugged into the power line below the voltage regular.  The van's voltage regulator prevents the house batteries from being overcharged while on the road, the same as it does for the starting battery.  The silver thing on the right above the battery is a battery relay.  This was installed to break the line when the engine is turned off.  That way if I draw the house batteries all the way down I can't draw the starting battery down too.

The blue cables run from the relay to the thing in the middle which is a line protector.  If I burn up the house wires, somehow it keeps the fire from spreading to the engine.  The blue cables run out of the line protector down under the van to  the new house batteries in the back.  

I could have put the batteries behind the driver's seat but that would have taken much of that entire area away from me.  I could have put them under the bed but they need ventilation when they're charging.  It would have also added close to 100 pounds to that side of the van in addition to the 35 gallon gas tank.  So I was left with the front or back cabinets on the other side of the van.  I chose the back cabinet because I have a night stand thingee in the aisle in front of it making access to the cabinets difficult anyway.  I do hope not to have to get at the batteries very often.

I saw several other brands of batteries elsewhere but nothing but Interstate in Quartzsite.  Rightly or wrongly, I consider this area to be the experts on batteries and solar panels so I went along with the crowd and got the small Interstate deep cell marine batteries.

The RV guy talked me into two 6 volt marine deep cell batteries rather than the two 12 volters I thought I wanted.  Somehow you get more power from the 6 volts than 12's and they were cheaper?  The red cable runs from the alternator, under the van and up through a hole in the floor in the rear corner to provide charging power when the engine is running.

Above the batteries to the left is the DC fuse panel.  Everything I run that requires DC electricity goes through the fuse panel.  Right now all I have is a couple of lights and a DC cigarette lighter outlet running off the DC current.   I have an adapter with two cigarette lighter outlets plugged into the single one.  One of my satellite receiver docking stations and my old Radio Shack 115 volt DC To AC power inverter are plugged into these outlets.

The inverter sits on a little shelf on the other side of the cabinet wall.  When turned on the inverter provides power for the laptop, boom box, etc.  This inverter makes no noise at all and runs the everything I normally use with no problem. I have connections for a second 350 watt inverter installed but the noise from its fan is quite loud, particularly in a confined space.  I only use it when I have everything I own turned on at the same time.

The thing to the right of the fuse panel is the back of the voltage regulator for the solar panel.

This is a Maxtor 110 watt solar panel (27"X53") that puts out the 9 amps required to charge my deep cell batteries in a reasonable manner.  You're supposed to turn the panel as the sun moves to obtain optimal performance.  I've managed to get 8.7 amps out of it during peak sun and temperature periods.  The voltage regulator monitors the state of the batteries and allows the current from the panel in only when needed to keep them from being overcharged.  It also keeps the battery from draining back out at night.

At least for now, I use my two 7 gallon waters jugs to tie down the panel so it doesn't blow away.  When one jug is empty I tie it to a bucket of rocks.  The winds are frequent and high in the desert country.  My very first night out with the panel, the winds came and if the panel hadn't been tied down I'd be looking for a new one.   The van is frequently rocking with winds in the 40's or 50's.

Rather than wire the panel directly to the voltage regulator, we attached an 18" pigtail with the female end of a 12 gauge extension cord.  The male end of the cable can then be inserted and removed as desired.  Another female part is at the other end of the cable.  It plugs into a second male part that dangles down under the truck out of sight.  The other end of that is what is connected to the voltage regulator which in turn is connected to the batteries.  This way I can store the panel and the extension cord separately as I choose.

Notice the steel cable and lock in the middle of the steel bumper.  I was told over and over to keep the panel locked down so it won't walk away.  The steel cable and extension cord are each about 15 feet long.  The panel stays at the back of the van when camping.  The 15 feet gives me plenty of room to move it from one side of the van  to the other as the sun moves through the sky.

The next problem is where to store the panel when traveling.  It stays out overnight when camping but I carry it on top of the bed for protection when on the move. I do have to move it to the aisle if I sleep over at Wal-Mart's, etc.   I think I'll eventually build a storage box on top of the cab.  I can't do that though until I pick up a canoe to see exactly how the two requirements will work out together.

All in all, the only thing beyond the average handy person was the hookup to charge the house batteries from the alternator while on the road.  This mostly involved finding the correct wires to splice into.  I did very little of this work.  I'm about as handy as a frog in a hot furnace and hired an RV guy in Quartzsite to do most of the work.  The expense was well worth having the job done right the first time.

The top cabinet finally disintegrated on me.  While driving on a particularly bad road in Wyoming one of the ends came loose from the top.  Bought a 750 watt inverter, a drill, a bunch of bits and 1X2's to add support.  Emptied the cabinet and tried to pull it out the back of the van and it fell completely apart.

Drove 100 miles to a Home Depot to get another one and they didn't carry them anymore.  I wasn't about to spend a week running around looking for one so opted for a bunch of plastic drawers at Wal-Mart and have them stacked on top of, and glued to, the bottom cabinet and each other. 

Use bungees running from a hole I drilled in the top drawer to the bottom cabinet to keep them from spilling out.  When traveling I have a 1X2 braced against them to keep the whole works from falling forward.  I've forgotten to but the brace up a couple of times on rough road but it didn't fall down.  I expect over time they would break loose and would fall down.

Will probably replace that with the same cabinets.  This time I will use L brackets on the top corners of the top cabinet and the bottom corners of the bottom cabinets for support.  Maybe run a 1X2 on the inside for additional support.