...continued from "Going Boondocking" in the intro section

[gizmotron]

Winter is over. Glues and adhesives will dry. I found out that I don't need to pop the top on my bathroom for headroom. So today I removed the insulation and plywood where the FRP will be installed and extended the rails for the solar panels farther back. I can now get two more 100 watt panels to add to my already four existing panels all supported on tilt brackets. So that adds up to 600 watts that I can tilt in winter months. Back to work until it's done. Yippee!

 

[gizmotron]

OK, got the rail extensions for tilt-able solar panels installed on the roof like the original ones with nuts and bolts, making them bomb proof. Had a window of warm weather and installed all the rest of the FRP for the bathroom, shower.

 

[gizmotron]

Got to install the vent pipe and toilet, caulk the seams with silicone to complete water proofing, and add all the aluminum trim for corner edging.

 

[GoingMobile]

Interested, but lost me with the acronym. What does FRP stand for? and where can I find it?

I have an area in the back of my cargo van build dedicated to eventually become a wet bath. Just have a luggable Loo style facilities back there now. I was planning on starting with a 24"x24" or similar shower pan, put some water proof material (FRP?) on two walls, which are currently plywood, and have a shower curtain around 2 sides. Have a bit of wheel well in the space to work around as well.

Is the FRP flexible? I have a slight bend on the side wall from the contour of the side of the van.
What are you using for adhesive?

 

[gizmotron]

Great questions. FRP is Fiberglass reinforced Plastic Composite Siding Panel. I'll include a picture of the most common texture and the cheapest priced stuff. It runs around $25 to $30 a sheet. You can cut it with a jig saw or a skill saw. It will splinter at the edges when you cut it so try to use a finish blade, (more teeth.) Cut slow. The best glue is Titebond Fast Grab FRP Adhesive. It's hard to find these days. A one gallon bucket will cover 50sqft. Use a toothed trowel like laying up thinset mortar for tile installations.

This stuff is completely waterproof. After you install it you must caulk the edges with some really good elastic caulking. Don't use bathroom caulking that dries solid and stiff. I'm calking mine with white silicone that stays rubbery for 35 years. I know how to use your wetted finger to apply caulking in a very nice professional looking bead at the seams. I've been doing it for years. Without your finger to squeegee the bead perfectly it will look lumpy and uneven. Your finger must be damp so as not to grab the caulking. I was tempted to not do a pro job on the caulk. My build style is tree house modern. But lately I have decided to cover the CDX plywood walls with some nice decorative barn wood vinyl self adhesive wall paper.

After the caulk dries I will finish off the bathroom with aluminum trim.

 

[gizmotron]

I just found a house I built in Santa Fe, NM back in 1995. It's up for sale at well over a million dollars. I've spent my life learning the skill needed to be a developer and spec house builder. This one was nice. It's the only two story free standing unit in the complex. I have a natural urge not to build my van as an exotic craftmanship example of my work. Pile of crap gives me way more pleasure. So I have mixed dogcrap modern with just a taste of craftsmanship. Here are a couple pictures of my handy work back in 1995. I did all the ornate beam work inside and out. All the windows and outside doors are Pella ($$$ cha-ching)

 

[gizmotron]

OK, it's very cold today, like 37f at 1:00 pm. But I did not need any glue or caulking to dry. So I got the caulking done two days ago and today installed the Thetford RV toilette and trimmed out the bathroom. So it's basically waterproof and done except for hooking up a water line to the RV toilette. I'm going to install a porthole window to the back section, mechanical room. I can pass through a shower head if I were to take an indoor shower. Here are a few images of the silicone calking, toilette, and trim work.

 

[gizmotron]

OK, got the conduit & switch panel installed from the living space to the mechanical room in back. Now I have full continuous access to all the internal wiring including the three way switch for the RV 12v water pump, the four independent 12v fan's on/off for the ducting and ventilation system, and the Inverter on/off switch. I can control the 2.5 gallon electric water heater with the inverter on off switch for now. But I will install the wire for the on/off for the water heater and terminate it in the switching panel for future upgrade when I go to 900 watts on the roof.

One of Bob's videos shows 180 watt solar panels that could be switched out from my 6 100 watt ones that fit up top now. % of those would be 900 watts. That and a second 200ah lifepo4 battery and the water heater, that runs on 1400 watts, only needs 30 minutes to heat up. If I upgrade to that I'm fully electric. The ninja foodi does just about everything on 1350 watts in 30 minutes too. So showers and cooking with the foodi need to be done in full daylight while the sun shines for now.

 

[gizmotron]

So I decided to go back 50+ years to my Highschool days with AC & DC circuitry. So I want to power my 1400 watt / 110 AC water heater for 30 minutes before I shower. I have 400 watts on the roof that I can tilt into the sun if I need to. I have a 200ah lifepo4 battery. According to the arithmetic it should draw the battery down approximately 40% at night and 30% in the day time once I shut the water heater and inverter off.

So you solar experts out there? Does this sound close to what will happen or is it way off for a battery that starts out fully charged?

I plan to move up to 600 watts right away and add a second 200ah lifepo4 battery. If my figures are correct then this should be big enough to do what I want.

Thanks for any help.

 

[bullfrog]

Pure and total guess but my tilted 305 watt panel with 200 amp hours of battery didn’t come close to running a 1500 watt heated even a few minutes, so I’m betting against you having enough power and keeping batteries happy but I’m a terrible gambler! Lol!!!

 

[gizmotron]

but I’m a terrible gambler! Lol!!!

LOL

 

[gizmotron]

So I did some more research. I would be comfortable with the 200ah battery half discharging according to these figures.

As a simple rule, to calculate how long a 12v deep-cycle battery will last with an inverter multiply battery amp-hours (Ah) by 12 to find watt-hours, and divide by the load watts to find run time hours. Finally, multiply run time hours by 95% to account for inverter losses.

https://diysolarshack.com/how-long-will-12v-battery-last-with-inverter/

 

[gizmotron]

Here is what I wanted to know:

 

[bullfrog]

Even though I have and use electric bicycles and power tools with new technology batteries I have a hard time believing they work as well as they do. I’m still treating batteries like they are lead acid because the cost of replacing them is so high.

 

[gizmotron]

Got the wires pulled through the conduit from the control panel in the living space to the mechanical room in back. I also found a 4 gallon water heater that runs on 1440 watts 120v AC. It recovers in 24 minutes. So I can heat up 4 gallons of water to 107 degrees in about 20 minutes. Otherwise I just leave the water heater unplugged until I need it. So cool, so hot. Cooking all electric on about the same wattage. The only propane I have going is my little Martin Catalytic heater. It uses refillable 1 pond bottles. I have plans for a small barbeque that will run off the same bottles. It's slowly coming together.

 

[Stvnfarm]

Please ignore the construction clutter. I've added another 200 amp hour lithium battery and dressed up the wiring since these pics were taken. Used 2 400 watt Rich Solar panels. Felt easier to work with 2 panels.

 

[Stvnfarm]

Will Prowse is the man when it comes to all things solar

 

[gizmotron]

Please ignore the construction clutter.

You should start a build thread. I hope you have more pictures. I did this one so that when people ask me how I did it I can just send them here.

 

[Stvnfarm]

You should start a build thread. I hope you have more pictures. I did this one so that when people ask me how I did it I can just send them here.

Thanks for the idea

 

[CosmickGold]

. . . . I can fudge the shower dam where the glass shower door will go. . . .

Are you sure you want an actual shower installed in your van? I've seen videos by other VanLifers stating they regret including a shower because it takes up so much space, continuously, all the time it's not being used. They even speak of planning to remove it!

My solution is this foldup doggie bathtub I place in the center of my floor. I use it with a hand-held showerhead connected to a submersible 12V pump dropped into a bucket filled with cold water mixed with boiled water from the stove. So my showers are nice and warm. (I tried the USB-type pump first. PURE JUNK! The German-made 12v pump is 1,000 times better. Use a showerhead made for the low pressure of RV systems; because, a sticks'n'bricks kitchen sink sprayer only dribbles water under the low pressure inside a van. (Guess how I know.)

Of course, a little water splashes out of the tub with no shower curtain; but far easier than dealing with a curtain is a small cloth towel. I keep it handy to quickly dry the splashes from my linoleum floor (which has foam insulation under it to be soft on my knees). After that, I fold up my shower tub and tuck it into a box under my bed.

The bottom line is that I have lots of space left over in my van, for every other purpose during the day and night; while still keeping myself "squeaky clean".