At the end of March I took a trip to Moab, Utah. This was my Spring Break, so I lived in the van for about a week. Here there were several developments.
I decided to (finally) install the lights over the bed. They're simply stuck (double-sided sticky foam pads included w lights) to the plywood near the edges of the shelves above the bed. The wires to the lights are routed in between the 1"x2" braces and the plywood comprising the shelves. I repaired some minor leaks in the vent installation. Remember, the vents came with the van, so they were already thoroughly (so I thought) sealed. Somehow water was dripping down into the cabin through the seal so I bought some automobile sealant and slathered it on there. My biggest concern was that the sun would degrade the solution over time, but this particular chemical claimed this would not happen. We will see! (Update: this did not work the first time. After this initial try, I bought some Henry's Wet Patch Extreme and after two additional applications {and some serious reflection} the leak is fixed.) After Spring Break concluded, I counted a little under two months before final departure. At this time I buckled down. I'll list the updates as best as I can. Mom and Dad came up to visit during the first week of May. Of course we got to work immediately. During this time we built a rolling cart for the fridge/freezer, a sink fixture, and two shelves to hang above the sink fixture. The sink is of the porcelain vanity variety, and a little darker than forest green. After Mom and Dad left I wired up the electrical panel. The current flows from the batteries to the appliances via the solar controller, (which measures amperage draw) an emergency cutoff switch, and a 12 switch fusebox. Each appliance is individually fused. The batteries receive power from the solar panels, via the solar controller, as well as the alternator. The alternator is connected to the batteries via this battery isolator, which (speaking generally, here) connects the batteries when charging (solar panel or alternator) and disconnects them when discharging. This allows the alternator to benefit the auxiliary batteries and the solar panel to benefit the starter battery, but eliminates the possibility of draining the starter battery (think heater, lights) and becoming stuck at a campsite. I set up running water using two five gallon buckets and two AC water pumps. The buckets are pretty well sealed, but I still do not keep more than three gallons of water in each bucket. The water pumps power the sink and drain the gray water, and are easily powered by a 300W power inverter. The pumps and inverter are each wired to switches mounted on the side of the sink fixture. I later (in the parking lot of Jackson Lake Lodge) added a valve to adjust the flow of the sink and mounted it next to the switches. My buddy offered to tack-weld some sheet metal where I had a rust hole in the side of the van. Chris knocked this job out in about 30 minutes. I followed with Bondo, sandpaper, and primer.
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