2007 Short Wheelbase High Top Urban Stealth Camper

I'm starting an official build thread for my conversion on Junior, my white 2007 short wheelbase high-top cargo van. It will be a mobile office and residence I can use to live in mostly urban settings off-grid and under the radar. Other than the solar panels, the exterior will remain as stock as possible. This particular van is great for this, because it looks a lot like a typical delivery or working van. I live a bit out of town, and want to be able to take the van into town and stay there as long as I want. I also frequently travel to the west coast in the summer and to festivals. I live in 12’ yurt most of the time, but want to be able to live in this vehicle indefinitely with no shore hookups. Since I usually won’t use both at once, I’m trying to make as many of the more expensive components, like the microwave, composting toilet, etc, portable between the two residences.

Right now I'm using the assembled battery pack and TriMetric meter to profile all my appliances for my power design. I'm running the 110V items through the Xantrex Prowatt to include inversion loss. My decisions about battery pack size and inverter capacity are already made after extensive back-of-the-napkins calculations, this is mainly to choose the right wire. I’m going with all welding cable for the 12V wires.

I live in a tiny 12’ yurt I built myself, and am using a similar in-place design process for the van where I assume everything will be in the wrong place initially and will have to moved and tuned as I go. This is obviously easier with a countertop than the location of the roof fan. I find this method leads to much better results than doing all the design work up front and simply knocking it out. It means living in un-insulated chaos for a while, but I think it’s worth it. It’s largely based on the Permaculture design principle of observation.

I've been accumulating components for a while, and have most of the major hardware I need, including:

4 208 aH Interstate 6V golf cart batteries, temporarily interconnected with 2 gauge wire to make a 416 aH battery 12V battery, allowing me to use 208 aH before getting to 50% and needing to recharge. When I do my major wire order, I'll be replacing the interconnects with 00 cable. I’ve also got a battery box with venting to put them in.

A TriMetric TM-2030RV power monitor

4 100-watt Renology solar panels mounted to aluminum frames in pairs

Renology MTTP Tracer-4210RN solar charger

A Xantrex ProWatt 2000 watt true sine wave inverter
A backup Xantrex 1000 watt modified sine wave inverter

A Dewalt 30A 110V charger for shore charging.

A Ramblewood 2-burner propane stovetop

A Olypian Wave6 catalyzed propane heater

Some kind of microwave, probably my Cuisinart Convection Microwave

A MaxxAir Maxxfan Deluxe 7000 RV fan

A simple composting toilet setup that I can share between the yurt and the van

The Mercedes alternator relay switch for alternator charging. I did a lot of research on this, and really liked Graphite Dave's solution of using the inverter->110V 3-stage charger design. I also looked into many varieties of DC->DC converters that would be smarter than the 180A alternator by itself. However, after extensive discussion with my friend Chris, who used to convert cars from gas to electric for a living and knows more about vehicle power and batteries than anyone I've ever met, I decided the direct connect was the way to go. It will mainly be for emergency charging in low-sunlight situations and to bulk-charge while driving. The much smarter solar charger will be responsible for all the fussy 4-stage charging, periodic overcharging, etc. The Mercedes alternator actually does a fairly good job of tapering off the charging between bulk and absorption basically by accident. I’ll be using 00 welding cable for the interconnect between alternator and battery pack. In a perfect universe, I'd like the system to automatically switch between the alternator and the solar charger without me having to throw any switches. This is theoretically possible using the serial output of the TriMetric meter. I could say "when the pack is 85% charged (based on flow, not pack voltage), switch from alternator to solar." In the meantime it will probably be a manual switch of some kind, defaulted to solar charging. I though about hooking them both up at the same time, but I’m not sure if the solar charger has back-flow protection or might get confused about charging phases with the alternator bulling in at 80+ A at 14.1VDC.

8 Single Roof Rack Mounts for Sprinter Van from The Sprinter Store to mount the panels. It was shockingly hard to answer the question “what fits into the standard rail mounts on the roof?” This seems to be the cheapest answer. One they arrive I will do the roof origami with the panels and my fan to see how everything fits.

I don't have a fridge picked out yet, but am leaning heavily toward a 12 DC Norcold or similar.

I have a really great sink setup in the yurt that I made from two 5 gallon Reliant jugs, a 12V windshield washer pump, and a bug sprayer with an adjustable nozzle. It will handle dishes and handwashing for *over two weeks* on 3-4 gallons of water, which is much better than any RV setup I’ve seen. If I’m remembered for anything when I’m dead, this will probably be it.

Despite living in Texas, I will probably not have an additional AC unit. I have a portable one I use in the yurt I could use when plugged in, but the goal of this vehicle is long-term off-grid living, and all my reseach says running AC from batteries and solar isn’t realistic. I’ll be adding a lot of vents to maximize the flow from the RV fan, insulating heavily once I know where everything goes, and experimenting with other methods of cooling off. I will probably add ducts to the existing AC to allow me to use the engine to cool the living quarters when necessary, but obviously that’s a huge waste of power and potentially dangerous to the engine.

My goal here is to document my process in gory detail to help others, and to get my questions answered as I go. I’ve already gotten a lot of help on this forum on my 100+ hour turbo leak fix, for which I’m profoundly grateful. Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to document their past conversion efforts, youv’e been a huge help and saved me many, many mistakes!

I chose and ordered my refrigerator, a Vitrifrigo C115IBD3-F

http://www.marinewarehouse.net/images/Vitrifrigo/vitrifrigo/c115-1.jpg

This is a 4.2 cubic foot fridge/freezer combo that's very similar in dimensions to that of my 4.5 cubic foot Frigidaire in the yurt. This should make storage solutions fairly cross-compatible, and also double my effective fridge space, which has been a sticking point in the yurt. I'm a cook and a foodie, and being limited to less than 5 cu.ft. of food storage has been painful.

The Vitrifrigo uses a Danfoss 3.5 12VDC compressor like Norcold, etc., and looks like it will pull about 3 amps at 12VDC on average. My solar panels should easily be able to keep up. I'll gather more data on the actual power profile once I can plug it into my Trimetric meter.

Besides my final mains wiring, this is the final (and largest) major purchase I need for full-time living. My plan is to build an erector-set-style rack into the walls, bolt everything into a first-guess location, and get on the road in about a month. Nothing will be finished, but everything should be working.

Sort of.

Sorry for those tired of my tirades about steath camping, since this is a repeat.

What will stop you from being in "urban settings and under the radar" has a lot less to do with the design of your van, and a lot more to do with local parking regulations. If you can park overnight, the presence of absence of windows and other outside accoutrements isn't going to stop you from doing so. If it is illegal to do so, then sure, sometimes the cops or property owners will overlook it, but the fact that your van "looks like a white delivery van" won't stop them ticketing and/or interrupting your evenings.

400W of panels and 416aH of batteries may not be enough to keep your fridge happy if you live in a warm climate and have to deal with clouds. I don't know how much power the vitifrigo will use in practice, but i know from lots of actual experience that when the fridge ends up running for 70% of every 24 hr cycle (including overnight because it is so warm), you may struggle to get your batteries back to 100%.

for what it's worth, i spent months reading build threads on this forum before starting. my final build was almost perfect - there are no architectural changes that either myself nor my wife would make. the biggest change would probably be to dump the on-demand propane water heater, but that's about it. you don't have to do permaculture-inspired observation, at least not always.

Paul, the anti stealth posts are getting very tired. You have a wonderful build, might be time better spent enjoying it.

I've been living in it for the last 9-1/2 months! How much more time could I spend enjoying it?

It wasn't meant as an insult.

The thing is ... I keep bumping into this urban stealth camping stuff, often in combination with #vanlife hash tags. I'm not the world's most experienced living-in-a-van person (far from it), but compared to a lot of the people who talk about it, I've done a huge amount, and those experiences have included attemping to find urban "camping" spots. I put it in quotes because I would hardly call being stuck inside a van "camping". Those experiences (along with those of several other people on these forums) make it fairly clear to me that the idea is a fantasy that isn't really grounded in any easily encountered reality. I keep speaking out about it because I don't want to see people (particularly young folk who are often staking an awful lot on this idea) burned when they find out that (a) it isn't as easy as they thought (b) it really isn't dependent on their build (c) it isn't actually much fun any way. Life in/around a van can be incredibly awesome - the last 9+ months have been amazing - but rarely does the urban "stealth" camping stuff play much of a role in that. When it is incredibly awesome, I'd rather have my windows, my awning ... sometimes I'm happy to have my heater blasting out the underside too.

Thebitmaster, I'm really looking forward to reading about your composting toilet and sink setups. Keep the posts coming!

PaulDavis said:

Sorry for those tired of my tirades about steath camping, since this is a repeat.

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Other's may have read it, I have not yet, so I appreciate you taking the time for a reality check. This *is* all way more complicated and difficult than a lot of sources make it seem, and it's terrible if people put all their hopes and money into it only to find out the reality is too much for them.

What will stop you from being in "urban settings and under the radar" has a lot less to do with the design of your van, and a lot more to do with local parking regulations. If you can park overnight, the presence of absence of windows and other outside accoutrements isn't going to stop you from doing so. If it is illegal to do so, then sure, sometimes the cops or property owners will overlook it, but the fact that your van "looks like a white delivery van" won't stop them ticketing and/or interrupting your evenings.

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While the ability to live in the van in an urban environment full time is a fundamental design requirement for the van, I have no plans to do that in the near future. I live a bit out of town, and want to be able to take the van into town for a few days to a week at a time and be able to park on the street while I'm there. I also do a trip to the West Coast in the summer when I can, and want to stay in the van in places like Portland and the Bay Area for weeks at a time without having to pay for lodging. I do have friends in those areas who could lend the occasional driveway, confirm that I'm actually visiting, etc. A fundamental source for me has been Tynan's book The Tiniest Mansion. He did urban stealth vanning in Austin for several years. Things have changed since then, but it's still a good baseline.

What I want from the "stealth" aspect of the vehicle is to make it blend in as much as possible. I'm hoping to decrease the likelihood of being complained about and becoming something a resident or police officer feels they need to "do something about." I do my best to study the parking laws of places I'll be visiting so I know what the baseline is. I'm mainly hoping to increase the amount of time I can get away with parking before enforcement mechanisms kick in and have enough plausible deniability that I won't get in too much trouble. Until I have a lot more on-the-ground experience, I'm assuming I'll probably have to move every night or two, and I'm ok with that.

The only way I would choose to do urban stealth living full-time is after I have a lot more experience than I do now. I also like having another local base to return to. I think the combination works better than either thing alone. The full-time thing is a more of a back-up for transitional periods than something I'm shooting for directly.

400W of panels and 416aH of batteries may not be enough to keep your fridge happy if you live in a warm climate and have to deal with clouds. I don't know how much power the vitifrigo will use in practice, but i know from lots of actual experience that when the fridge ends up running for 70% of every 24 hr cycle (including overnight because it is so warm), you may struggle to get your batteries back to 100%.

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I appreciate the warning. Which fridge do you have? I did the best I could to profile my power beforehand, but was also working with the components I could get at a discount. Unless you have the budget to wildly over-engineer, good design only gets you so far. Field testing is the only way to be sure. Ideally I'd like to completely remove propane from the equation, do all my cooking on induction, etc., but I realize that's probably asking too much of my current system. If I'm moving the van every day, I'll get some power from the alternator, but how much is a big variable that can only really be revealed through experience. In the meantime, I have fall backs. For instance, I'm taking my induction cooktop, but I'm also bringing a small propane camp stove for my inaugural trip to Portland. I also have a very nice high efficiency Ramblewood Green cooktop I'll install if the E- can't cut it on this trip.

One thing I'd *really* like to do is get my Trimetric 2030 meter dumping serial output into a computer database so I can get very detailed power flow metrics. That would really help me fine-tune things.

for what it's worth, i spent months reading build threads on this forum before starting. my final build was almost perfect - there are no architectural changes that either myself nor my wife would make. the biggest change would probably be to dump the on-demand propane water heater, but that's about it. you don't have to do permaculture-inspired observation, at least not always.

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I know a lot of people who did what you did and had great results. I'm using my 12' yurt as my closest design analogue, and I've had to make a lot of changes to get it dialed in. The more things I ask from a smaller space, the less I trust myself to get it right on the first try. Full time off-grid urban stealth living in such a tiny vehicle is a pretty high bar. There's also an in-person-Feng-Shui-how-the-space-feels aspect that I, at least, can't get from even the most sophisticated modeling. I have to stand in the space and see how it feels. Checking out other conversions is definitely a great way to do this, and Sportsmobile is based here in Austin. There's also some impatience here. I'm not willing to wait until the whole process is done to start trying it out. I've done projects where over-researching and designing, then doing a full execution up front is 100% the way to go. For me, this isn't one of them. In addition to Permaculture design, my process also draws a lot from iterative design disciplines like Agile, where you start with a minimum set of requirements, then get each little part functional, and adjust as you go. The cost is having to live a construction zone and wasted money and time on design dead-ends. For me it's worth it.

Thanks for your input! That's exactly what I come to this list for.

bcman said:

Thebitmaster, I'm really looking forward to reading about your composting toilet and sink setups. Keep the posts coming!

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Here's a link to a few of my posts about my sink setup in the yurt, which is my starting point for my van setup:

https://scottmauer.wordpress.com/2017/02/03/countertop-nirvana/

https://scottmauer.wordpress.com/2017/04/19/sometimes-it-doesnt-work/

It's basically two 5-gallon jugs hooked to a 12V automotive windshield washer pump and a foot pedal through a sink. It uses astonishingly little water, definitely less than any RV setup I've seen in person so far, but works probably 85% as well as full running water. I have a Zojirushi tea heater for small squirts of hot water when I need it. The only change I'd like to see is to use a pump that can pull the water up from the top of the jug instead of having to be near the bottom, since this could cause leaks. It hasn't so far, but it still makes me nervous, and would likely be more of a problem in a moving, vibrating vehicle than in the stationery yurt.

thebitmaster said:

The only change I'd like to see is to use a pump that can pull the water up from the top of the jug instead of having to be near the bottom, since this could cause leaks. It hasn't so far, but it still makes me nervous, and would likely be more of a problem in a moving, vibrating vehicle than in the stationery yurt.

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I'm using this submersible pump (Rule il200p) for my shower setup.. slide on 1/2" hose, then just drop it down the hole in the top of your water container and connect it to 12V.

You may want a flow restrictor if your goal is to save water, though. I added a barb->1/2" NPT connector and a small ball valve. This allows me to reduce the flow smoothly to any level desired.

sprint2freedom said:

I'm using this submersible pump (Rule il200p) for my shower setup.. slide on 1/2" hose, then just drop it down the hole in the top of your water container and connect it to 12V.

You may want a flow restrictor if your goal is to save water, though. I added a barb->1/2" NPT connector and a small ball valve. This allows me to reduce the flow smoothly to any level desired.

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This sounds like a *great* idea, thanks! I've played with a 12V RV pump a bit, but not enough to see if is a better solution yet. It has an integrated pressure switch I don't need for this application.

My biggest concern is definitely the flow rate, since the low water usage is the best feature. As long as the pump can stand the back-pressure, the adjustable valve you're referencing sounds like a perfect solution, especially if you mount it where it's easy to adjust during normal usage.

-- Scott

thebitmaster said:

This sounds like a *great* idea, thanks! I've played with a 12V RV pump a bit, but not enough to see if is a better solution yet. It has an integrated pressure switch I don't need for this application.

My biggest concern is definitely the flow rate, since the low water usage is the best feature. As long as the pump can stand the back-pressure, the adjustable valve you're referencing sounds like a perfect solution, especially if you mount it where it's easy to adjust during normal usage.

-- Scott

Click to expand...

Yeah, I just received a Shurflo pressure pump for my sink setup and it's both large and heavy- after seeing it in person it kinda seems like overkill for my application. The submersible pump I linked to still feels substantial but is lighter, more slender, and puts out plenty of pressure and flow; the main downside is that it runs continuously when powered (no pressure switch).

Any ball valve should work to regulate flow. I chose that one because it appeared to be high quality and stainless steel.

I prefer to source potable water components from home brewing suppliers. For certain styles (e.g. stouts), the acidity of wort can leech metals so brewers have to be cognizant of which metals it comes into contact with. Stainless is durable, doesn't contain lead (like "lead free" brass does), is easily kept sanitiary, and the popularity of home brewing has made it fairly affordable.

As far as back pressure, my shower setup has a trigger that has to be squeezed to get water. The pump is running for much of the time (e.g. during lathering/scrubbing) with the water flow completely blocked, and I haven't seen any ill effects. It is submerged in water which should provide some cooling, and is rated for continuous use. The main concern listed in the manual is that it should not be run dry for long periods of time. Presumably the shaft seal could dry out and be damaged..

After a few weeks of aluminum tooling, the solar panels are on the van!

20170629_190620.jpg

I made four rails out of 3"x3" angle aluminum 1/4" thick. This turned to be overkill, as 3/16" would have been more than strong enough. The panels are to be mounted in pairs.

20170628_133725.jpg

I have what seem to be factory roof rails, so I bought eight of these mounts from The Sprinter Store. I then decided that I wanted at least three attachments per side instead of two, so I had to make four more myself.

They were pretty easy to make. I got the aluminum bar at Home Depot. It's not as strong as the 6061 the rest of the setup is made out of, but these will be the middle mounts on each set of 6, so that's probably ok.

I drilled a hole , then used a Dremel with a cutting wheel to cut the pieces (a huge pain) and did some simple deburring. 20170628_122121.jpg

I then used an old screwdriver and cold chisel to square out the corners a bit.
20170628_104912.jpg

Finally, I made drilled a hole in the side of a 2x4 wider than the bolt, put the 1/4" x 1.5" stainless carriage bolt into the piece, and tapped it in with a hammer, taking care not to distort the plate too much. 20170628_105534.jpg

I then did some additional tapping to flatten it out as much as possible. The result looked a little rough, but it works. 20170628_112103.jpg

Here they are in the rails: 20170628_114202.jpg

I also made twelve spacers to go on top of the rails the same way, minus the extra work to square the hole. I made them the same dimensions, but in retrospect it would have been better to make them square and the full width of the rail. 20170628_125348.jpg

Once all that was done, it was time for a test mounting! All the hardware is stainless steel 1/4". Following in Paul Davis's footsteps, I used both a lock washer and a nylock on top in addition to the flat washer. The rest of the parts omit the lock washer and only have nylocks.

The plan has always been to have two panels in the back and two in the front, with my Maxxair Deluxe fan in between. 20170629_171452.jpg

I had done some rough measuring to verify it would all fit, but nothing precise enough to know exactly how. Since the panels can slide forward and backward easily, it didn't seem worth the work to pre-plan everything in detail. I knew the location of the ribs would be the major constraint.

I managed to cut the *!*@! out of my hand on an imperfectly de-burred edge despite the fact that I had just purchased new work gloves the day before, because I am sometimes really stupid. 20170629_134316.jpg


Once they were up there, I started experimenting with locations relative to the ribs underneath. I also don't know much about my interior layout right now, because I intend to make everything temporary and then fine tune like I did in the yurt. I really like having a big skylight right in the middle of the yurt, though, and that seemed like the best bet for the fan. I got the white version of the Maxxair Deluxe, not realizing that the Smoke or a Fantastic Fan actually lets in a lot more light. I'm going to install it for now, because I've only got about two weeks before I leave, but my intention is to replace the top shell with a smoke one later. Although I'd like to eventually have some windows, I have no idea where they will go right now. The van has zero windows rear of the cab at the moment, so this will be the *only* natural light source for my upcoming West Coast trip.

After some sliding and measuring, I decided to put the fan between the two most closely spaced ribs just forward of center. This required me to have the front corners of the front panel assembly further forward than the rails themselves. This made me a little nervous, since the front of those panel mounts will no longer be attached to the van. However, the overkill on the 1/4" brackets works in my favor here. Even with 6-8" of bracket forward of the rail, it should still be rock solid. This put the mount only about 3" from the front of the top the windshield, and makes it clearly visible from the front of the vehicle, which I don't really like, but it's a necessary sacrifice to put the fan where I want. I drilled new holes in the brackets at the right location. This also means that the the center mounts for each side are closer to the front instead of being in the middle, but that's also ok. The front should be stronger anyway with the overhang.

That decision also means I'm going to have to cut into the horizontal portions of the ribs, because the distance between the verticals is just over the necessary 14" for the fan hole. It also means having to deal with the unflat portion of the roof around the edge, which other posts tell me is a pain. I *did* consider mounting the fan in the Forward Easy Space where the existing round spot is. There's lots more room between the ribs, and the roof is flat. I would have to put one panel forward and three behind to do that. But I want a more central skylight badly enough to do the extra work on the fan installation, and also don't want re-tool my solar mounts right now. I also considered offsetting the fan to the sliding door side and installing a separate skylight on the driver side, but that's more work, more chances for leaks, and will let in a lot more brutal Texas heat.

Feel free to tell me this positioning is a Bad Decision. I probably won't start cutting for a few days.

The next step is to look at my solar cable runs. I'm intending to put all four panels in series and include the ability to plug in a fifth portable panel. I have one of the Link Solar pass-throughs, and would prefer to have only one roof penetration. I'm not exactly sure what to do with the cables on the roof. Attaching them to the underside of the panels seems like the way to go, but they also have either run across the roof from the front set to the back set, or I have to make two holes in the roof to bring them inside. I'll continue researching here, but am open to suggestions about the best way to handle the cables on the roof.

Here's a link to Flickr album with more pictures:

I also ended up super angry at myself because I ran into a really badly placed tree branch and crunched the body just above the passenger side window.

2017-06-21_12-52-40

It had been improperly trimmed and had *just* enough dead branch sticking out that a) it was completely invisible from the side of approach b) was in an upper blind spot for the Sprinter once I came around the tree. At that moment I was carefully threading my way through several cars when I heard that terrible tortured metal noise so many of us have PTSD about. The guy in the brand new Dodge Charger next to me turned beet red before we both realized I hadn't hit him. When I went to check out the damage, it was raining angry, flying ants that had been living in the dead branch, so the torment of not knowing if the window or door mechanism still worked couldn't be fixed right away. Luckily they seem ok.

The thing that makes me the most angry is that it happened at the very moment I was *most* careful. In the future I will probably simply get of the van before pulling it under any kind of tree, no matter how high, but I have very little faith changing my behavior will prevent this from happening again. It was too weird and random.

It's pretty heavily creased, and I don't think I have time to remove the headliner assembly to try to pop it before I leave. I think I still have full coverage, but it's very obviously my fault and probably not worth the increased insurance costs. I've already filed a claim for a broken windshield and window literally days after getting the coverage when my van got broken into in Portland. I think I'm just going to scrape off the loose paint, re-seal it with some white Rustoleum for now, and re-visit it later when I have more time.

I wanted to touch up the big hole I made with El Tree, as well as several smaller nicks that were showing signs of rust. On the big hole, I'm mainly just trying to prevent rust until I can do something more thorough to fix the problem. On the smaller holes, I was interested to see how well a simple, one-step solution might work, and how well a commonly available color would blend. I'm not living in a fantasy world of Having Everything Perfect on the exterior paint, I know I'll be doing minor touch ups for the ownership of the vehicle.

I chose to use Rustoleum Gloss White oil-based enamel. I can sense your skepticism from here.

The paint: 20170630_113845.jpg

Prepping the Big Hole: 20170630_113236.jpg

Whenever I do the final repair on the larger hole, I plan to do a full scraping and priming first. For now, I scraped off the loose paint, wired off most of the visible rust, cleaned the area with rubbing acohol, and then put on two coats so far. I didn't use primer or a separate rust-stopping material at this point.

Painting on the first coat of enamel: 20170630_113833.jpg

After the first coat is dry, looking Much Better: 20170630_114106.jpg

I plan to do three coats for each repair, then see how it weathers a long trip.

Visually it's a huge improvement, and since the repair is so high on the vehicle, you really have to look to see the color difference. It's a bit more obvious on the rock hole repairs, but the consensus seems to be that perfect color matching is impossible anyway. We'll see how all this looks after my 4400 mile round trip to Portland in a few weeks.

This is basically a stop-gap for the big hole, and an field experiment for the smaller ones. It's very clear to me why complete removal and/or chemical fixing of the existing rust, followed by anti-rust primer, then paint, is the better path for long-term fixes. I appreciate how much detail there is on the list to deal with this perennial problem for our beloved behemoths. I'll report back on how things fare both here and probably on another thread.

SOLAR:

I've received my two additional Renology cables to complete the solar cabling on the roof and into the van. For now I'll be putting the power station directly behind the driver's seat, so I'll be dropping the cables down from the roof in that corner. Everything on the roof will be MC4 connectors, making it easy to disconnect things for service.

One Big Question is whether or how to protect the solar cables on the roof. There will be two going from front to back between the sets of solar panels past the fan. The cable itself is clearly designed for long-term outdoor use, but I still feel like I might want to put into some kind of conduit. Still researching that here. Any ideas?

FAN:

I've also made a ton of progress on the Maxxair Deluxe fan install. Here's a top and bottom view of my fairly detailed Sketchup model. I was surprised not to see this fan in Sketchup's enormous model library, so I'll probably be uploading mine when I'm done.

Fan Stack from Above

Fan Stack from Below

I'm installing mine between the two closest lower ribs on the vehicle, which means I need to cut into the horizontals on both ribs. I realize this will weaken them a little bit, but I don't think it will be enough to make a big difference. It's only 14" of the horizontal member on one side of each. I'm not looking forward to the actual cutting, or navigating the flange screws with the ribs in the way, but looking at all alternatives, this is definitely where I want the fan, as close to the center as possible and slightly forward biased.

Although Sketchup makes me angrier than politics, I've found its a pretty decent CAD tool for this kind of work. The version I'm using is free. A friend who does more parametric solid modeling says I should be using Fusion 360 for this, and I intend to switch when I have the time to learn a new tool. For now it's inference and swearing.

I called Maxxair about replacing my white Deluxe cover with a Smoke one. At first there was some confusion, but once I made it clear I just wanted the cover and not the whole fan, not only did things improve, but they claim they shipped me the new cover *for free*. I was super happy to hear that, as the cover is $65, and that's about the same as the difference between the 7000 (white) and the 7500 (smoke.) Now I'll have both to try!

I had been dithering about whether to get Hein's roof adapter or make my own, but the free Smoke cover made the decision easy - they cost almost exactly the same amount. He's also done a ton to help us here on the list, and I wanted to throw him some business and make the contact. I called him up and got the order in. I got the one where the ribs go all the way through from front to back. I modeled just the center rib on this diagram, but his adapter also touches the next two out, which I will add into the model once the adapter arrives.

I've got the fan location drawn out on the roof of the van. I marked a reference spot on the side rail with a Sharpie and went from there. I used a flexible piece of cedar cut to just inside the rails. I lined it up with both sides and held it down while tracing across the tops of the roof ribs. I then added another shorter piece underneath to transfer the line onto the roof of the van. It's not perfect, but gives me a good idea of where things will go. My process was:

1) Mark rails on both sides for the front and back of the fan.
2) Use stick method described to trace lines across the center of the roof
3) Find and mark center of center rib on top of van
4) Measure out 7" from that center each direction on each of the two existing lines. I used the same two-stick method to make sure the measurements were mostly square
5) Compare diagonals to verify squareness. I was within 1/16th of an inch.

Drawing lines across and unflat surface
The 14" box on the roof

Because the whale ribs inside the van are my limiting factor, I will probably do my initial drilling from the inside out. The upper sidewalls of those ribs are only 14 1/8" apart! After I draw my 14" square inside the van, I'll probably drill two tiny reference holes along one side and then see how that lines up with my top-of-the-roof square. Once I'm sure I've got them lined up, I'll probably cut out the non-rib part first to get myself working room to cut into the rib horizontals.

Hein's adapter and the butyl tape are on order. I'll be making an aluminum frame to go around the fan flange like Graphite Dave did. I'm using Dicor self-leveling sealant to mount the adapter and seal the install because I've already got a bunch of it. My fussy side isn't happy about how it will look, but when will I ever see it? I should be able to get the fan installed before next weekend.

STEREO AUX IN:

I also received the auxiliary input for the van's stereo, as documented here:

https://sprinter-source.com/forum/showthread.php?t=28608

I haven't used it since I got the van, and usually use bluetooth headphones while driving. Popping the center bezel was super simple, and I was *almost* able to plug in the adapter without removing the stereo. After the eighth try, I broke down and pulled the four screws to make it easier. Plugging it in was a snap, then I drilled a hole into the upper left corner of the plastic shelf beneath the stereo. The cord is long enough to reach my inductive charger phone mount with minimum fuss.

Stereo with bezel removed
Threading through the 1/8" jack

Unfortunately there it sounds like the previous owner may have blown some of the speakers, there's some pronounced scratching with heavier bass. Will address the in due course, for now just super happy to be able to listen to podcasts on my cross-country trip on the native system!

After knocking on some wood, I'm feeling pretty optimistic about rolling out shortly after my Dad's birthday on the 19th. By then the fan, solar, and alternator charging setups should be installed, and hopefully I'll have my temporary wooden frame on the walls to bolt everything to. If I'm lucky I'll have the fridge running. I also lucked into some wireframe drawer shelves very similar to these for $40 each at Goodwill. They each have about 6 wire sliding drawers and will be a perfect modular storage system for the road.


My next step is to clean out the van and start the internal Tetris to see where things will go.

2007 DODGE 2500 Sprinter Cargo Van do you have issue with engine and transmission or exhaust DFP

Canada said:

2007 DODGE 2500 Sprinter Cargo Van do you have issue with engine and transmission or exhaust DFP

Click to expand...

When I first got the van, the steel pipe from the EGR cooler had a hole in it. Finding this problem was an epic comedy of errors that involved over 100 hours of work and over $1000 in parts. Without the help of sailquik, aqua puttana, and several others, I never would have figured it out. It was showing up as a Low Turbo Boost Pressure code. Thanks again guys!

That's documented here:
https://sprinter-source.com/forum/showthread.php?t=47844

Another problem was the failure of one of the swirl valves in the intake manifold. Rather than spending $3500 to fix a $20 problem that would only happen again, I got the Green Diesel Engineering engine tune. In addition to disabling the error code for the swirl valve to prevent Limp Home Mode, it also disables the EGR and changing the engine performance and shift points for improved power and fuel efficiency. I have not had any problems with the transmission so far, and the GDE tune seem to improve the shift points quite a bit. Since that exhaust problem was fixed, there have been a few times when I've gotten the rotten egg smell from the exhaust for a while, but it seems to have gone away. My code reader has never shown any DPF related error codes. Since the repair, I haven't been watching the DPF to see if it's cycling. I live in Texas, so there is no emissions testing for diesel engines. I have heard Bad Things about the transmissions in these models, but so far haven't seen a problem myself.

Right now I've got a code for Glow Plug 1 shorted to ground, probably because I melted the cable while fixing the exhaust problem. I had to repair it on short notice, and I used epoxy to rebuild the wire housing. I have the correct part now, but probably won't try to fix it before my trip because all of it will be in warm weather. I also have a squeaky front brake which I'm investigating. No codes so far, but I don't want my brakes to fail going up and down all the mountains between here and Portland!

Cutting Those Holes:

Today I drilled the holes for the solar panel wires and cut the hole for my Maxxair Deluxe fan. We have several days of brutal heat, which sucks, but no rain, which rocks. My deadline of July 19th is coming up fast!

Solar Wires:

I'm bringing the solar wires in just behind the driver's seat, as this is where I'm going to put my power station for now. The batteries, fuses, charge controllers, etc., will be on that wall. It was pretty easy to locate things top to bottom because of the ribs in the roof. I'm using a Link Solar Weatherproof ABS Double Entry Cable Gland to get safely through the roof:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0111RNZDY/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Drilling the solar panel wire holes:

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I then cleaned up the edges, removed the dust, and put on the first coat of Rustoleum Clean Metal Primer, which takes 24 hours to fully dry. I also got a gasket variety pack at Home Depot that has two gaskets just the right size for these holes and the wires. They will provide additional waterproofing and protection to the solar wires from the de-burred and double-primed drill holes.

Maxxair Deluxe Fan Hole:

As I posted earlier, I had already measured out a 14" square on the roof, but I really needed to do my first drilling from below, because the tops of the whale ribs inside the van are at 14 1/4" apart. I started in the middle of the center rib and measured out 7" left and right and marked. I then went across those marks at 7" front and back and marked those, which were right up against the ribs. I transferred the curvature of the edge of the fan flange using some foam core, then drilled small pilot holes along those curves. As you can see from this picture, my roof measurements were slightly off and rotated, but I was pretty close.

20170710_185226.jpg
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I double checked the hole dimensions on the roof, erased the old incorrect lines and drew new ones.

In what may be The Best Idea Ever, I duct taped a contractor bag over the work area underneath so most of the metal waste would fall into it. I could say "the van is completely empty now", but I usually like to save my lying for when it really counts.

20170710_191706.jpg

I then used a larger drill bit to make two holes on each curved corner big enough for the jigsaw. I kept the outer edge of the drill hole even with the outer edge of the cut line to keep things clean. I failed to change from shorts to pants, which was super stupid.

I cut the left and right middle portions first, because I wanted to get a feel for cutting before I started cutting into the ribs. After I got done with each cut, I swept away the cuttings and applied duct tape so the square wouldn't fall.

20170710_193302.jpg

I used the same piece of thin cedar the same height as the ribs underneath the saw to help level it when I was cutting across the ribs and transitions. I had picked up a boatload of jigsaw blades for 90% off when Lumber Liquidators was have a fire sale. I only used one for this project.

20170710_191216.jpg

The corners weren't quite as nice as I wanted, but soon there was a hole. The jigsaw had a tendency to jump-and-stop, jump-and-stop. I was able to keep it mostly just inside the line. The rib in the front separated from the roof metal more than the one in the back. I should probably seal it down and clamp it before I finish. I used some files and sandpaper to de-burr the top and bottom edges:

20170710_195604.jpg

Next I did a test fit. I don't have Hein's adapter yet, so things weren't level, but with a little wiggling, it fits nicely:

20170710_195845.jpg

I then swept up, which was easy with the contractor bag down there. Everything goes into the hole! I cleaned up with 91% rubbing alcohol, and proceeded to put on the first coat of Rustoleum Clean Metal Primer. Here's the Dear God There's a Hole In My Van View! You can clearly see where I had to cut into the ribs to make things fit.

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I'm probably going to use Dicor instead of the 3M Window Weld that Hein recommends simply because I have a bunch of it already. I'll put on a second coat of primer tomorrow, and be ready to install Hein's adapter on Wednesday.

It would have been worth the extra time and money to get a faster drying primer so the roof wouldn't be open so long. I'm both excited and horrified to have taken this step. The fan should be sealed in time for my trip to see my girlfriend this weekend.

Roof Fan and Solar Install:

Got Hein's adapter *and* the free Smoke cover for my Maxxair Deluxe today. I had to transport them on the scooter since the van is taken apart at the moment. Good thing I carry a lot of bungie nets!

20170711_155210.jpg

Unsurprisingly, the adapter fits perfectly. Thank Hein! At the time of this writing, this specific adapter does not appear on his Ebay site. It's the one that has a roof rib going all the way through the center.

20170711_182756.jpg

Finished the second coat of primer today, needs overnight to dry. Picked up some 3M Window Weld at Advance Auto to put on the adapter tomorrow, then on with the fan flange on Thursday after the appropriate cure time.

I guess I'm going to use stainless screws, butyl tape, and Dicor on my Link Solar box through the roof. I'm tempted to try just the 3M Window Weld and Dicor and no screws. If everything were stationary, that would definitely be enough. I am concerned, though, about the wires wiggling in the breeze eventually levering off the box.

True to their world, Airxcel sent me the smoke cover for my Maxxair Deluxe fan for *free*! Amazing! So now I have both covers. I tried to compare them in the fading light later in the day, and it's actually *extremely* difficult to tell which one lets in more light. The white is opaque, but thin enough that it glows a bit. The smoke is a super dark tint, but is transparent so you can see trees, etc., through it. I think maybe the smoke will admit more light *not* because more light comes *through* the shell, but because it *reflects* more light (it's nearly shiny black like a mirror) that comes in through the air port when it's open.

I have the feeling that either way I'm going to be unhappy with how much light comes in, since it will be the *only* natural light in the back of the van for now, but that's not Airxcel's fault, it's mine. In the long run if I can't get enough light, I might switch to a Fantastic Fan, which has several more transparent covers, or actually re-build one of the lids with transparent parts and aquarium sealer or something (which I realize will probably void the warranty on the lid.)

Lubing the Main Cabin Air Fan:

The AC fan has been squeaking like an amorous rodent since the day I first drove this beast. It's that horrible, off-and-on again squeak that comes and goes and drives me completely !@#@!#@. Today, using this amazing thread, I brought it to an end!!!

https://sprinter-source.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26035

When I pulled the fan out, it was pretty dirty. I tried first soap, then bleach, then alcohol, and finally mineral spirits to see if I could melt off the dirt. None of that worked, even with an electric toothbrush, so I finally used a chopstick to do a massive scrape-a-thon while talking to my Mom on the phone. It certain wasn't pretty, but I got most of the crud off.

20170711_204909.jpg

I removed the outer shell on the back, then put some 3-in-1 and chainsaw bar oil on the axle from both sides. With a little movement, the squeaking stopped. After re-installation NO MORE SQUEAKING!

Rarely have I been so happy with such a quick repair.

I'm guessing it *wouldn't* be squeaking unless the bearings were bad, so they should probably be replaced, but I don't have time to try that now. For the price of a vague odor of mineral spirits, I can now enjoy my 2800 mile trip to Portland in PEACE!