"Humble Beginnings"

[user 37446]

All sounds good.  I’ve looked into the water pump but didn’t want a pressurized system. I thought a submersible pump like for an aquarium would work but they aren’t “food grade” or something.  :huh:

 

[HumbleBeginnings]

Hmm... I can't give you any advice on that. My sink plans were basically: I read a guys conversion blog, ordered the pump he recommended, read somewhere else about a pressure accumulator and it sounded like a good idea, ordered a regular sink, and hooked it all up!

This is very much a learn as you go process for me. I may have a lot of modifications and rework in the future. BUT this was the plan all along. I had analysis paralysis about all the decisions and designs to make, so I decided to just jump in and do a "first draft" van. That mentality has allowed me to just push through and make things work, without worrying about everything being perfect or the best.

 

[HumbleBeginnings]

Okay... I got stuck again on Friday night. I tried to turn around in turnout on the side of the highway and much to my surprise the turnout was soft powdery dirt. Eventually I was able to back out by digging out the 6" of soft dirt on top about 10' back from the rear wheels so I had some firmer dirt to drive on.

However, I've decided my RWD van needs something better than an open diff. I'm not going to be paying for a 4x4 conversion, and I'm not going to be doing any rock crawling. I do plan to go on dirt roads frequently, but they should generally be fire roads, forest service roads, and the like.

I've been watching the recent LSD vs Locker thread, but I still can't decide which way to go. The TrueTrac is very appealing to me, and those that are in favor of LSD seem pretty confident that LSD is all you need to get out mud or sand. But, is it really that easy?

I can't help but wonder, even with a locker, is that going to get me out if both rear wheels are in powder, mud, sand, or ice? Won't I just have two wheels spinning in the sand in perfect unison?

At some point I'll be getting new tires, probably the BF Goodrich all terrain. That will certainly help. I'm not really trying to build a monster offroading machine... The majority of my miles will always be on highways, but those last few miles are usually on dirt... that's where the good spots are!

 

[HumbleBeginnings]

And of course, my girlfriend took a picture of while trying to dig us out with a leveling block!

 

[Almost There]

I can't help but wonder, even with a locker, is that going to get me out if both rear wheels are in powder, mud, sand, or ice? Won't I just have two wheels spinning in the sand in perfect unison?

Yes, that's all that will happen!

The best and cheapest piece of equipment that my avid 4x4r son says you need is a piece of stick.

Never, ever drive or more importantly back up in to a place that you can not visually confirm is solid enough to be on. If it's soft in any way, ie you're leaving footprints or worse, sinking, use the stick to check the depth of the mud, sand, snow or ice.

 

[HumbleBeginnings]

Yep... AFTER I got stuck I hopped out of the van and, what do you know! My feet sank into the dirt! I guess it makes that my 7,000lb van sank in too.

 

[HumbleBeginnings]

I haven't posted many updates. We've done a few weekend trips but haven't been doing much work. Last weekend I finally mounted my cross bars.

I measured yesterday, and the regular Renogy monocrystalline panels fit perfectly between the sides of my MaxxFan and the ends of my cross bars. So, I can fit 4 x 100w panels up there pretty easily.

My plan is to wire them so that I have 2 pairs in parallel, with each pair in series with an mppt controller.

Any reason I might want to wire all four panels in series instead? Or is series/parallel the way to go?

 

[highdesertranger]

if wiring in series, partial shading can kill output. something to keep in mind. highdesertranger

 

[HumbleBeginnings]

My plan was two panels on the left side in series, two panels on the right side in series. Then the two sides in parallel with each other.

My thinking is that if I park with my nose pointed roughly south that shading would likely hit one side or the other as the sun moves across the sky. Specifically I think my fan may shade the right side in the early morning and the left side in the evening. Of course I'll do the best I can but I think some shading will be in my future.

Does that seem like a decent way to address it? Trying to limit the shade to one branch of my parallel setup at a time? Or would it be better to put the two fronts together (hopefully never shaded) and the two rears together (the years maybe getting hit with shade morning and evening)?

 

[B and C]

My plan was two panels on the left side in series, two panels on the right side in series. Then the two sides in parallel with each other.

This is the way I installed the last 400 watt system.  I installed it for a friend with time constraints.  

The original plan was to mount the inward side (by fan) up higher than the outside edge giving the panels a decided tilt to eliminate shading from the fan and providing a tilt toward the sun earlier in the day.  Wiring in series also allows for charging to begin sooner and charges even in low light.  This would also allow rainwater to roll off and be easier to clean from the ground.  I don't think the upward tilt in the middle would have been much of a problem driving as the air would easily be expelled in the large crack between the two sides (width of the fan cover).  I never got to implement the tilt as time ran out because I took too long building floor, bed, kitchen and cabinets.   

I don't work near as fast as I used too.  A LOT more breaks!

 

[HumbleBeginnings]

I started the paneling in this van on Labor Day weekend. Because we had trips coming up, I started tackling other projects. Well today, about 4 months later, I finally finished the paneling! Still lots more to do though...

 

[highdesertranger]

beautiful. highdesertranger

 

[Van Man Dave]

Looking good!!

 

[John61CT]

Yes land-yacht gorgeous, congrats, nice start to the New Year!

Is it thick, what kind of boards?

Any idea how heavy altogether?

 

[HumbleBeginnings]

It's 1/4" cedar paneling from home depot, about $20 for six 8' pieces. I do not know the total weight.

Although it takes a nice picture and my girlfriend loves it, I do not recommend it unless it's over a firm base behind it. I wanted to get every inch of bed length possible, so I didn't use any wood studs on the walls. This is my first van, but I'm pretty sure that decision made the paneling much harder than it needed to be. I attached directly to the sheet metal, but the lack of a flat mounting surface and all the holes in the ribs made screw placement difficult.

 

[galladanb]

Sir Humble! Luving your build! Terrific coverage!

We also choose the thin planks for our build, link in my sigie below...
I would also second your opinions on the finished results. Ours looks nice, but if I'm in bed and during a roll over at night, if my elbow whacks the wall, it feels very fragile, and I'm worried about it breaking. If it did, I would have to redo the entire wall, and that would be a lot of work!

We went with verticals screwed into the metal ribs, and planks brad nailed into them. May not have been the best choice, and I may decide to go back in and run short screws as a backup strengthening ... Maybe...

Thx for sharing with us! U roc!

 

[HumbleBeginnings]

Yep, same here. At the time I didn't want thick heavy boards, especially on the ceiling where I wondered if they might fall on me. But now I can appreciate how much sturdier they would have been.

 

[John61CT]

Well I would need anchoring in between for cabinets, shelves & the removable bed platform, thinking modular airline L-track mounts for flexibility.

I'm thinking the innermost insulation layer being rigid polyiso board with a skin of thin light as possible paneling well-glued to it like Gorilla Glue.

I like the idea of real wood boards rather than faux, but want everything modular and easily removed.

There could be overlapping between sections so the shiplapping looks continuous.

PlusNuts with narrow-head bolts would be nice and secure, but would want the bolt heads as hidden as possible, maybe two strips covered by removable boards (velcro?), or part of where built-in lighting fixtures are attached.

Just thinking out loud...