Still working on it - more pics

[bstory]

This is the second installment on our camper build-out. The first was posted in "Here's what we're doing and why:" http://sprinter-source.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11512.

My husband bravely cut through both sides of the van to install two Seitz windows, which are full awning windows with built-in screens and shades. These are very lightweight - I worry about bending/breaking something, but so far so good and the flexible frames made matching the curve of the vans sides less awful. Still, he had to shim around both windows inside and outside since the sizes available didn't exactly fit the indented panel for the windows. Thanks to mhiscox for advice and pics of his installation to help us decide what size to order. They come from Holland and we had to wait a few months for them but no regrets. Wonderful when it is hot at night and you can have both sides open and the fantastic fan open. You can have the shade partway up to keep some privacy and still have plenty of ventilation.
Importer is Darrin Fink at:
RUF, Inc.
756 Wagon Hound Rd.
Douglas, WY 82633

We also got our Thetford cassette toilet from him.

We have completed the foam insulation and putting 1/4" birch plywood paneling on the walls and ceiling, except up by the cab. I put three coats of satin polyurethane on the sides and two on the ceiling.

My husband has built most of the galley and we've taken a couple of short trips with it. He installed the Engle 45 12 volt fridge as he used to do boat iceboxes - took off the cover and cut a thick cutting board to fit and hinged it to the counter.

We thought a lot about a stove top inside the van and finally decided to just have one burner. We do most of our cooking outside on a two burner folding Coleman stove (Fold n Go) which slides under the kitchen counter easily when we are underway. The inside burner is for tea, coffee, a fried egg, or pot of soup when the weather isn't great for outside cooking. I wanted the extra countertop more than a big built-in stovetop and couldn't afford another appliance right now anyway.

The sink is my delight. We got it at a bargain on a trip to Santa Fe NM last spring in the van, before the galley was even really planned out. It may not be practical for washing an iron skillet but I tend to do most of that outside anyway in a rubbermaid basin. It brightens up the whole inside of the van and makes us happy to look at it. I figure I'll put a rubber or vinyl pad in the bottom to prevent chipping when I do dishes in it.

The domestic water setup is a 13 gal polyethylene tank, set in upright behind the sink, and a small 12 volt Whale on demand pump, installed on the wall under the counter behind the fridge. You can see the vent hose coming up the back of the counter behind the faucet. (This will be inside cabinets eventually.) It is surprisingly difficult to find a non-plastic single faucet for cold water only - not a mixing valve, but I finally found one at a marine store. Everything is in but the sink drain. It will go out through the floor of the van and when necessary we have a bucket to put under it. The fill for the water tank is just to the left of the faucet - the hose will just come in the window! We didn't want to cut any more holes in the outside of the van and this seemed so easy.

No installed hot water but we have a Coleman On Demand propane hot water heater which we can set on the counter to have hot water at the sink or take outside to wash dishes or rinse off with there. I modified the spray unit to be able to turn it off while shampooing and we use a different water container - the one that comes with the unit leaks and is not very user-friendly. Just put a garden hose spray unit with a trigger on the end. I read somewhere about another modification that you can do to make the water recycle while it is off so you don't built up too much pressure. It involves another valve I don't have yet, but am thinking about it.

We decided on a home-built propane locker for a 10 lb tank. The 20 lb tank was too big for under the sink so it has been temporarily retired. Ours is just plywood with some 1" cleats in the corner and base to stiffen it, gasketed, and with a hinged door on the front so the tank can be put in and out from the front - since it isn't accessible from the top. It has a vent hole in the bottom out through the bottom of the van with a boat clamshell vent cover to keep mud and snow out. We are going to run a hose permanently through the side of the locker up through the countertop so the one burner stove can stay hooked up on the counter. Another hose will run out - we finally got all the propane valves and parts needed to make a shut-off on one side of a Y valve - so we can use our little Buddy heater or the hot water heater on the 2nd connection. That hose will be shut off at the tank unless it is in use. We specifically designed the propane system for camping appliances that use the 1 lb throw-away tanks rather than larger ones that need regulators. They all have their own regulators - the thing you connect the tank to. With adapters to use a bulk tank this works well and we don't have to get into the big deal propane installation issues.

Next are storage cabinets above the kitchen, above the toilet and above the cab. We are coping without them but would like to not have so many bins under the bed.

Eventually we will add a solar panel to charge our batteries and paint the van the blue/black we like, but we are getting there.

[bstory]

Here's more pics.

[bstory]

2 stove pics

[Graphite Dave]

You and your husband have put a lot of thought into your conversion. It shows. Sure looks well done. I do have one question. Could you post the brand & model of the sink faucet and what marine store you purchased it from? It is just what I have been looking for.

[bstory]

This is the faucet - the guys at Hamilton Marine are really great and will answer any questions gladly. Nice old-fashioned (in a good way) sort of place.

http://store.hamiltonmarine.com/brow...6/4,40366.html

[Oldfartt]

Great to see a conversion well thought out and done well.
Without further debate, which can be found in other threads, I would like to suggest that you install a vent pipe to near the top of the propane locker which extends down through the floor and underneath the vehicle. The reason for this is in the event that propane is released from the bottle or its fittings then the gas will sink to the floor and will vent out of the existing hole that you have installed but only if air can enter the chamber from somewhere else. The chamber is well sealed from what I can see so the replacement air needs to come from somewhere. The vent pipe needs to be at least as large diameter as the drain hole or larger.

Cheers

Ross

[ajm3s]

If you have installed the Thetford Cassette, I would appreciate any comments and installation concerns. I am considering the C-403-L. I like these units as there appear but they are not found in the American market as you have stated. I am in research mode, and find it interesting that the European markets provide products for RVs that are quite interesting. In some ways they are innovative and broad in scope. Just an opinion. Considering that it is just well you know waste product containment.

Thanks,
Al

[bstory]

The Thetford has worked really well for us. No installation to speak of other than the electrical connection, since the plumbing is self contained. The one we got is just filled manually and the waste goes in the cassette. Just put it in place and fasten it down.

We built a cubicle the size of the toilet and epoxied the bottom half of it so we could use it for a boat-type shower also. That involved a drain in the floor for any run-off from washing.

The toilet itself is really simple We did blow a fuse - it has a 3 amp fuse inside - you can see it when you take out the cassette. We must have pushed the flush button when the fresh water was frozen in the line. Easy to replace and it's good it blows the fuse rather than anything else. We should have drained the fresh water a little earlier last fall and would have avoid this.

We really like having a toilet that is in place all the time - no rearranging things to use it - and you just push a button to flush. No pumping like in all the boat heads (toilets) we have used. The cassette is also a lot easier than carrying a porta potti around.

You can get this toilet in a version that you plumb to your fresh water system but we didn't want the complexity of that and didn't see any problem with filling the fresh water tank by pouring from a gallon jug every few days. Just not a big deal. Thetford even provides a funnel that lives in the unit to use when filling.

[byronrbeck]

hey i have heard that the little heater you have has to have major venting has it worked out for you?

[bstory]

We have only used it a couple of times, and both times left the Fantastic Fan open a bit. Some condensation still built up on the inside but nothing that didn't evaporate in less than a minute or so when the van was opened up.

Most of the time we just add an extra blanket on the bed and don't feel the need for the heater. The van is pretty well insulated and 2 people plus a dog throw off a fair amount of heat in a small space.

The one time it was really helpful was when we were not in the van but an early freeze caught us before we winterized our cassette toilet. We ran the heater for an hour or two to thaw everything before draining the water out.

We haven't really done any traveling in the winter in the van but may start this coming winter as I am finally retiring this fall. (Our cold weather camping was in the mountains in New Mexico in spring - but it was snowing.)

I'd be interested to hear other people's experiences with Mr. Heater units in a van in the winter. Lots of reviews from people using them in tents, but there is a lot more ventilation in most tents.