2010 3500 RV build

GeorgeRa

2013 Sprinter DIY 144WB, Portland OR
Your tank looks great. Are you planning to add water pressure regulator for your shore water? Water pressures tend to vary considerable from a campground to a campground and even campsites. Having electrically activated water fill I will keep my pressure between 25-35 PSI.

George.
 

hein

Van Guru
Thanks George. Our plan is to run off the tank with the pump and then refill with shore water via a regulated hose connection as needed. We normally don't leave the pump on. Having an additional 6 gallon drinking water tank with a small on demand (windshield washer) pump is turning out to be a great feature.
 
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hein

Van Guru
Had some time to update the kitchen overhead cabinet. It was longer with 3 doors but we want to save the space behind the kitchen (up to the rear door) for configurable storage/use. More on that later.



This CAD model was easy/quick because I was able to copy geometry from the other cabinets. In a parametric CAD system you can copy a whole group of features (i.e. door opening, hinges, door, corner bevels, latch and all the associated datums) from another model in one fell swoop. You just select the references for the geometry in the new model and the copied geometry takes on the necessary size for the destination model. It's a huge time/effort saver because you don't have to enter all the dimensions again.
 
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Diamondsea

New member
RE the hose shown a couple of postings above: For 40 years I have used such on boats and it works well. The downside is that over just a couple of years it gets very stiff especially when used in hot areas so that if you need to remove it you often need to cut it at the fittings. It is hard to reuse, so you replace. Also check to see if it is rated for hot water if used for such. Some manufacturers in the past produced regular and "red tracer". Red tracer had a red thread in it and the vinyl plastic was formulated differently. For marine work I prefer it over the plex type tubing systems.
 

southpier

New member
just got the link from Expo, so I know I'm coming to the party late.

in post #5, there's mention of filling the low spots in the floor between the ribs with rubber, and then adding a floor over everything.

I've contemplated this type of assembly because i'll most likely cover the floor with Forbo linoleum. but would leaving the low spots vacant encourage ventilation in the event of the inevitable moisture infiltration?

I'm only up to page two, but this proves to be an interesting read; thanks.
 

220629

Well-known member
...I've contemplated this type of assembly because i'll most likely cover the floor with Forbo linoleum. but would leaving the low spots vacant encourage ventilation in the event of the inevitable moisture infiltration?
...
Water has always found ways to the floor of my vans. I'm with you that any air movement should help, but quite a few people have filled those voids in.

On my old B series Dodge vans I would pop off the plastic step well cover and drill some 5/8" ventilation holes where the cover would hide them. That seemed to help slow down the inevitable rocker panel rust.

vic
 

hein

Van Guru
just got the link from Expo, so I know I'm coming to the party late.

in post #5, there's mention of filling the low spots in the floor between the ribs with rubber, and then adding a floor over everything.

I've contemplated this type of assembly because i'll most likely cover the floor with Forbo linoleum. but would leaving the low spots vacant encourage ventilation in the event of the inevitable moisture infiltration?

I'm only up to page two, but this proves to be an interesting read; thanks.
Thanks for joining the party, Southpier. Keep reading. I didn't use rubber (closed cell minicell foam instead) but did fill in all the voids. I needed good support for the electric floor heat elements. I hope water doesn't find it's way under all of that. The floor in the front living space will remain removable so I suppose I could check it in a few years.
 

Diamondsea

New member
To answer re hardening of hoses. On boats it happens everyplace but is worse in engine spaces. Is it from heat or vapors? I do not know. Re the spec sheet it appears all is OK for hot water red tracer or not. On boats there is another reason we use red tracer: Hoses are often pushed as a pair through voids and the red trace allows identification of the hot as they often cross each other in the void where they cannot be seen.
 

hein

Van Guru
Overhead cabinet (previous page) is assembled and ready for some paint. Need to machined the doors. Also picked up a 13/16" thick bamboo horizontally laminated plank to make into the pull out board that's on the end of the kitchen cabinet. No pictures right now since my wife is out of town with the camera.
 
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chromisdesigns

New member
To answer re hardening of hoses. On boats it happens everyplace but is worse in engine spaces. Is it from heat or vapors? I do not know. Re the spec sheet it appears all is OK for hot water red tracer or not. On boats there is another reason we use red tracer: Hoses are often pushed as a pair through voids and the red trace allows identification of the hot as they often cross each other in the void where they cannot be seen.
Maybe the formula is different now, but back in the day I had a problem with using non-red-tracer hose for the connections to hot water heater on my boat -- the hose ballooned out near the water heater connection. We managed to catch it before it burst, but it was close.

Done by whoever did the original install on the heater, not by me...but not noticed prior by me either, my bad on that. Red trace stuff that replaced it worked fine.

YMMV.
 

hein

Van Guru
The presence of the red or blue tracer does not change the hose performance spec:



The hose I used (with no tracer) is rated at or higher than those above.
 
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hein

Van Guru
Finally got around to taking some pictures of this week's progress. The kitchen has been complete for a while now. Here is an overall view looking forward from the rear of the van.



The cup looking gadget next to the lamp is a Sharp IG-BC2UB High Density Plasmacluster Ion Generator. It's been running on low for a few days and seems to keep the interior a little more fresh. We've had a rainy week and going in/out of the van brings in moisture. I emptied about 1/2 cup of water from a dehumidifier that runs when it's wet out.

There is a bamboo pull out board to extend the counter top when needed. I added a pocket for some pens and what-not. Mostly because I wanted to see how it would work/look to do a whole counter top with a recessed top like the Corian. I think that would look quite nice.



The strips in the back splash are painted steel so we can use magnets to secure loose items. The soap dish which had suction cups now has two magnets hot glued to the back.

Below. Board in the stowed position with a pull knob and an ABS cover to hide the opening. It's on top of some drawer slides that have snap catch in the closed position. Some felt pads ensure smooth sliding. It's quite sturdy with no wobble. Credit that to the precision of the CNC. Update: A sturdy hook that swings up to capture the knob would probably be a good safety feature.



We've been 'moving in' and found some fabric boxes that fit perfectly into the storage cabinet. Lucked out on that. (-but apparently not on the price as one review states that these are available 2 for 1 at Target.)



We hung some vehicle trash bags (top shelf) on the fronts of the fabric boxes for smaller items and used a vehicle organizer for some of the kitchen items (middle shelf). Bottom shelf has more stuff that we still need to organize better.

We stocked up on the fabric boxes in a variety of colors. One goes in the bathroom for dirty clothes and another inside the rear door for stuff that needs to be put away later. (easier than going in&out with every little item.) They fold flat and add some much needed color to the interior.



Next to be installed will be an overhead cabinet above the kitchen. It's ready to go in and then the doors will be mounted. Total weight is 15 lbs. Upside down in this picture:



Today, I delivered a CNC'd flat for the grey tank to a plastics fabricator who is going to weld it for me. It's 1/4 HDPE with bevels machined into the flat so it can be heated and folded up into the final shape. It was fun doing the CAD and then using a sheet metal design package to un-develop the formed tank into a flat. Then using that geometry to drive a linked model for the HDPE part that I eventually machined. The tank should be done on Monday so I can verify the fit before making the top. The black water tank is opposite hand so should go quickly.

 
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hein

Van Guru
Kitchen overhead storage installed!!! All major interior components completed.





Now I get to wire up some LED counter top lights. Wooooot!

This build has been so much fun. Thanks for looking!
 
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