Give me your knowledge

[chancethevanman]

Hi folks! Im chance. I'm from south Louisiana.(Morgan City area) I'm a Navy Vet, commercial diver, just returned last year from missionary work in the south pacific and Australia. I was in Seattle this year fixing up a 1920s Purse Seiner and Fishing in Alaska. I plan on attending college in the fall on the west coast here in Cali. I just bought a 2000 GMC Safari cargo van with 85000 original miles. It belonged to a small plumbing company. I want to convert her and live in it for 3+ years while i attend school so i can save money. (why pay someone else's mortgage?) I just turned 26 btw. I need your help as to what to do for insulation... i have read in forums about the spray foam and reflectix material. I want to put solar panels on the top and i also want to have some air flow being that it will be mostly warm on the west coast. I want to put a crock pot and toaster oven inside too. I am glad i found the site and hope to meet some new friends who are doing this. I'm just starting out and have a few months to prep everything and make it happen. Hope to hear from yall!!

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

Awesome, welcome !

For insulation, i would go with the foam board panels personally. They sell them in plywood sized sheets at bigbox hardware store. I wasn't too impressed with reflectix even with an air gap. Your main thing is going to be making sure all the metal is covered, because any exposed metal with act like little heat registers, bringing the heat from outside thru. Ive read spray foam will eat away at your van, so I avoided using that. I did use it as poor mans body filler before and about a year later the whole panel rotted and fell off the car so im inclined to believe that claim. If you want a crock pot and toaster oven you are going to need a beefy solar/battery array....

 

[chancethevanman]

ok sweet.i wasnt sure what to do first insulate the van or wait to buy solar panels. I plan on buying two decent panels being that i will be using some electricity (laptop for schoolwork and such). I know ill fork out money for that. Actually im unfamiliar with using solar panels so any suggestions would be appreciated. i know people use the deep marine batteries or whatever they are called and an inverter also. I want to be able to cook a delicious meal and even have a small fridge. So i will be going in on the solar panels for sure. Personally i know nothing about wiring things from my alternator the the batteries and the solar to them too. I wonder if there are any folks near san diego with that knowledge.. As for plywood im guessing i foam the floor the same way i do the walls and ceiling and i just lay the plywood down and maybe some wood flooring? I was thinking maybe there is like a rubber mat material i could lay on top of the plywood to save me some time and work of a hardwood floor. I'm removing that half partition piece (because its not a door) and going to probably end up putting a curtain there. black the windows and place something over them from the inside so no one can peek in. I know it takes time but i should just get the basics down first and thats insulation and ventilation.

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

Some people do the wiring first. If it were me, id do insulation, then wires, then paneling/sheathing. Probably a good idea to include access channels/portals to get to wiring. The floor you lay insulation down and then ply on top....tho thats mostly for cold protection...you probably can get away with just ply floor in warmer environment. I put carpet tiles down on my ply, i wouldn't recommend it. Rubber has some nice advantages. Some have had success with wood flooring and it looks nice. Too pricey for me. Another option could be the interlocking gym mats that look like big puzzle pieces if you want something modular (piece wears out or gets damaged, just slot in another).

If you can cook with propane, that will save you a lot in power consumption. A small propane stove (even one burner) can cook just about anything and is pretty efficient. I never wired to the alternator, but ive done my own solar, its pretty easy. The articles in the nav bar up top helped a lot. I bought 2 6v deep cycle golf cart batteries and wired them in serial for 12volts and 215 amp hours. Wired a cigarette plug for 12v appliances,wired a vent fan and some lights, and used an inverter for everything else. The solar panel i got off amazon from renology, they have kits that come with everything you need....just wired the panel to the controller, and controller to battery and you are done.

 

[HarmonicaBruce]

I'm removing that half partition piece (because its not a door) and going to probably end up putting a curtain there. black the windows and place something over them from the inside so no one can peek in.

Why not just cut a doorway in the partition? The partition makes the van safer in case of an accident, and it makes it easier to isolate the front from the back for heating / cooling. My first sprinter van had the windows painted black when I got it. I scrapped off the black paint and it was much easier to drive, and safer. Also I could look out the windows. I have curtains made from magnets and black garbage bags, works great!

 

[chancethevanman]

Bruce, I actually thought about doing that for a second.. ill just need to find the tools. Im gonna try and sell the other stuff because it takes up more space than what its good for. I kinda moved here a few months ago with a few bags. good idea....

Dazar good advice man. I'll be looking back at this thread before i do it so i can refresh my brain on what to do. I tend to think too much and get into details of the smallest thing rather than keeping it simple.

keep ideas coming guys i'm like a sponge haha

 

[wagoneer]

Personally I would separate the 12 volt house power from the van starting battery. Been in California since 1956 it does get cold here (perhaps my thin blood). Welcome and good luck with your build everything you need to know has at some point been touched on here so search,,,

 

[cyndi]

Welcome to the CRVL forums, chancethevanman! Thank you for your service and sacrifice! We've got plenty of experience around here and we're happy to provide advice and support. Your plan is a good one.

To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips & Tricks" post lists some helpful information to get you started. We look forward to hearing more from you.

 

[Seraphim]

I think, for cooking and heating, you'll find the consensus here is to use propane, unless you can plug into a 110v source somewhere.

We don't full time, but when we're out, we think of our camper as a hard shelled tent. if we have 110 available, we use it. If not, it's propane. Solar is difficult for high wattage items.

Welcome to the tribe

---

If you're going to school, you should have access to student areas/library/lounges where you can recharge devices.

 

[rvwandering]

Welcome to the forums! A toaster oven, even with a lot of solar panels, will draw too much power unless you're plugged into 110. Most of us use propane but there are some other ways to cook. Check out this article that Bob wrote - http://www.cheaprvliving.com/how-to-articles/cooking-meal-suggestions/

For ventilation Fantastic fans which are mounted in the roof work really well.

 

[Luisafernandes]

Hi folks! Im chance. I'm from south Louisiana.(Morgan City area) I'm a Navy Vet, commercial diver, just returned last year from missionary work in the south pacific and Australia. I was in Seattle this year fixing up a 1920s Purse Seiner and Fishing in Alaska. I plan on attending college in the fall on the west coast here in Cali. I just bought a 2000 GMC Safari cargo van with 85000 original miles. It belonged to a small plumbing company. I want to convert her and live in it for 3+ years while i attend school so i can save money. (why pay someone else's mortgage?) I just turned 26 btw. I need your help as to what to do for insulation... i have read in forums about the spray foam and reflectix material. I want to put solar panels on the top and i also want to have some air flow being that it will be mostly warm on the west coast. I want to put a crock pot and toaster oven inside too. I am glad i found the site and hope to meet some new friends who are doing this. I'm just starting out and have a few months to prep everything and make it happen. Hope to hear from yall!!

Chance, welcome!
Thank you for your service, and for doing the Lords work (what kind of missionary work by the way)!
I worked on the pipeline with some fellas from Louisiana in the past. I was able to pretty much understand all they were saying, but the first time, even though I could understand the words, the meaning went right over my head [emoji1]
Insulation! It's great! I have it and love it. I'm able to stay 20 degrees or more warmer than the outside. But you'll be mostly in warmer climate, and without AC it's going to be very difficult to keep your van cool with a lot of insulation. Probably the best bet is to use Reflectix with a good air gap from the sheet metal. Remember, insulation will trap heat. If you don't have a way of getting rid of it, that same insulation can turn against you. Don't use spray foam!
I don't know how much power a toaster and crock pot use (I want those also[emoji4]), not sure if solar would be enough, but maybe you can get a generator? They can be very small and quite.

 

[akrvbob]

Welcome, we're glad you're here! At the top of the page are a series of drop-down menu buttons. One of them is "Electrical" I'd suggest you start there. It's all very basic and simple just to give you an introduction. Then read through the posts on "Solar and Wind" for specifics on solar. It is also basic but will give you the basics to start learning the details for yourself.

What part of Cali, will you be in? Some cities in Cali are rabidly anti-vehicle dwelling so you may want to look into that before you make final decisions. Also, pretty often you can run an ad on Craigslist offering $100 a month to be able to park your van in someones driveway. Pretty common in college-towns and that solves the parking problem. Pretty often they will let you run an extension cord for just a little more.

Bob