Cummins Canoe (A Stepvan Story)

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Paint on the toilet stuff is almost dry. Put it on way too thick. In the meantime, lots of other stuff to do.

[size=small]The one headlight was aiming wherever it wanted, and that was annoying. Needed some replacement pieces from MillSupply.[/size]

[size=small]New design came with template and all the appropriate hardware in the kit. Did I mention how awesome MillSupply is?[/size]

[size=small]Looks just like it came out of the factory! Now we just gotta wait until night to aim it right with the assistance of a phillips head screwdriver.[/size]

[size=small]The cheap shower head that came with the shower faucet box is quite terrible. It lacks water pressure and just dumps large volumes of water out right next to the side of the van. We tried it once. Was nice and warm, but you had to get so close to the side of the van it looks like you were giving it a lap dance! Not having a shower curtain was inappropriate enough, this was just ridiculous.[/size]

[size=small]Lots of research to find a replacement. Ended up with an Ecocamel. Does something where it infuses air into the water to create more water pressure without actually using more water.[/size]

[size=small]And screwing the hose on and off every time was getting annoying too. So we decided to add some quick disconnects. These will come in handy especially once we get the hot tub setup complete. But of course things don't workout the way you hope and you end up having to make your own stuff.[/size]

[size=small]The brass quick connects are for garden hose threads. The shower hose is 1/2" NPT, so we got some silver solder and a brass nipple and made it work.[/size]

[size=small]As you can see there wasn't much clearance in the there to screw on the hose. So we added an elbow fitting. Because of the quick disconnect, we can easily attach a regular garden hose and use the shower for other stuff, like hosing off gear, or dags, or filling a hot tub![/size]

[size=small]And completed our first side project with the van. Had to rewire an old sewing machine. Did it in the parking lot of a state park. Feels good to be off the grid and self reliant. It's nice to have all the tools and space inside to repair things.[/size]

[size=small]Also super nice to have running water. It's the little things in life...[/size]

 

[highdesertranger]

Very cool, What kind of sewing machine is that?

I know what you mean about running water. When I finally got mine hooked up and the water heater running I found myself firing it up almost every day just because I could. LOL

Boy that headlamp bucket was gone.

Highdesertranger

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

That sewing machine is an old WW2 era Singer. My friend got it for free. She knew it needed work as that was part of the deal. Judging by the complete lack of insulation on the wires, I'd say it's been sitting for decades. Works great now! Even has proper grounding now, which wasn't a thing in 1940!

As with most things, time gets the best of us. That bucket was nonexistent and was like a googly eye going down the road, bouncing all over the place.

Now that we've fixed the shower head, no more free lap dances! Watching the show is still free of course...

 

[wayne49]

I pissed standing up into a Thetford one time, while wearing shorts. Never piss directly into it since.

On same subject, never piss in a RV shower. In a stick and brick it all goes down and out the one pipe with more volume at higher pressure water flushing it down.

There's a reason for a gray tank and a black tank.

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Oh no! Not while wearing shorts! You're doing it wrong. Try peeing in the sink.

 

[jasper]

Although I'm somewhat of a clean freak, my wife is not.  There's almost always a sink full of dirty dishes that need some rinsing.

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Water is usually a scarce commodity when living in a van. The pee will act like a water jet stream and can blast stubborn food particles off the dishes!

 

[mudbunny]

Peeing in a sink full of dirty dishes with shorts on. Something is going real wrong here. YARC maybe?

Sent from my SM-T560NU using Tapatalk

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Building some more stuff, testing out some other systems. Having solar and power all the time is great! We don't even plug into extension cords anymore.

[size=small]The last coat of polyurethane on the futon is all done. Now just need to make some cushions that fit really good. Need to make two so that the seatbelt can come up and through between the cushions.[/size]

[size=small]Decided to build a closet in this weird space next to the sink that was originally saved in case we wanted the shower inside the rig. We love showering outside, so yay, more useful storage space![/size]

[size=small]Got carried away with making things as lightweight and strong as possible.[/size]

[size=small]Not bad use of all that scrap wood. Each shelf has a small lip built into it to keep totes from sliding off.[/size]

[size=small]Got this oldschool clothes hanger slider rack thing. Need more big wooden hangers.[/size]

[size=small]And there we go. Plenty of space to store a variety of things. Over time, things will all find their own place.[/size]

[size=small]At a friends house. Climbed a tree to get a cool shot of the roof. Solar panels are working great![/size]

[size=small]So great, we can use our new induction stovetop! We got it 40% off because it was an Amazon return or something. Had no idea that was an option on some items. No more nasty gas fumes and heats up so fast without heating up the interior living space![/size]

[size=small]So the first few days of the solar up and running was spent bulk charging the batteries since they have been sitting since last July. The one day bulk charged 100ah into the battery bank! I think that's pretty good for a 600w solar array? Only averaging 300w out of it, but can't expect to get close to 600w. This Victron equipment is very nice! So glad we went with the Bluetooth monitoring. Lots of cool data wouldn't normally have access to. And the build quality on the physical components is top notch too.[/size]

 

[Cammalu]

Water is usually a scarce commodity when living in a van. The pee will act like a water jet stream and can blast stubborn food particles off the dishes!

As the YARC Nominator I officially demand that you report to the YARC thread.

 

[highdesertranger]

Hey Plethora best you heed that demand. By the way I second the nomination. If I ever eat at your camp remind me to bring my own plate and utensils. Highdesertranger

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Ok ok, ya'll caught me! Sometimes your true colors shine on the interwebs. For better or for worse, I accept my nomination.

 

[Zmann]

At my Fraternity you'd likely be nominated for the weekly toilet seat award and put to a vote against other tales of debauchery. The winner received a painted up toilet seat for the week to be passed onto the next contestant, so on and so on...

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Haha, tales of debauchery. It's ok, I was awarded a Stinkin Badge by the YARC.

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Took a little overnight break from the grind and tested some more stuff out.

[size=small]Attempted the whole "stealth" thing and camped next to the beach. Not so sure how we feel about the stealth thing. It was obvious to us that the white van in front of us was also "stealth camping". Regardless, we had a nice sunrise over the ocean.[/size]

[size=small]It was dark when we parked. It was taco Tuesday! So we made a nice spread cooking on the induction cooktop to sautee some garlic onions squash, rice in the microwave, and we needed a backpacking stove to cook the beans and corn. Maybe we need a second induction cooktop? Or maybe I was thinking one of those instantpot things because I think you can boil stuff in them as well? One thing we do need is a can opener. We had to open up them cans with a hammer and a screwdriver![/size]

[size=small]Oh my, so good! We made lots of leftovers, but that's ok, because we just threw it in the fridge![/size]

[size=small]In the morning we got to use the electric waffle iron![/size]

[size=small]Now the solar panels are working hard! Using all that electricity to cook dinner and breakfast really did a number. Dinner took about 20% of our batteries and breakfast took about 15%. Everything is good, took a day or two to charge back up to 100%. We could have charged it faster by turning on the dc to dc charger off the alternator while driving, but we really wanted to test out the solar. What I'm really surprised is that the one day we got 558w out of the solar panels at some point! MPPT charge controllers are the way to go. Also, this Victron stuff is addictive with the bluetooth app.[/size]

[size=small]Now that the exciting solar stuff is over, back to work. Got all the corner trim done inside the rig. Everything looks better with trim. Metal trim looks good and offers lots of protection.[/size]

[size=small]Also got a combination smoke/CO detector installed. Hopefully it's far enough from the kitchen where it won't be going off all the time. Haha, in reality the entire van is a kitchen. Was going to throw it up on the ceiling but choose not to last minute because of possible false alarms. We're mostly worried about the CO while we're sleeping and the diesel hydronic heater running. This spot should be a good compromise about 20" down from the ceiling. Thoughts?[/size]

 

[highdesertranger]

OMG you not only do you have a GM 1 ton military truck. But you have Svea stove. I have had one since the late 60's. It was my backpacking stove then my morning coffee stove when I was on the road. They sure don't build stuff like that anymore. Love the white board, what is that the backdoors? Highdesertranger

 

[Van Man Dave]

Amazing work, loving this thread!

 

[user 423]

Amazing work, loving this thread!

Ditto. I haven't been following this thread much but after checking it out more, I want me a step van!

(But probably one needing less work)

 

[Cammalu]

All that counter space!!!!

 

[Zmann]

Yourselves dedication to matters astounds me favorably...your thoughts on a water purification system? On a monetary note, it may behoove you to  consider advertisement on the side of your mobile home...?