It is set up a lot like the old VW vans were. You could do a rear hatch tent and have drawers or table that slides out the back of the van. Looks pretty good but I would want a little longer bed. Having the rear hatch open at night for ventilation would require mosquito netting you could just throw over the hatch and tuck in under the bed.
I bought my van FINALLY 2006 Dodge Caravan
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Well the last time my phones apps kept crashing soon after it started boot looping but then recovered. This time it didn't. So new phone. I'll be posting pics soon now for reals.
Much better phone. With a screen that isn't cracked, a battery that holds a charge, and the charger port doesn't require monkeying around with to get it to charge.
Another set back financially, but long overdue. 2.5ish years on the old one.
Much better phone. With a screen that isn't cracked, a battery that holds a charge, and the charger port doesn't require monkeying around with to get it to charge.
Another set back financially, but long overdue. 2.5ish years on the old one.
user 37446
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Agree. 1/2" CDX plywood, though double the price of 7/16" OSB would be better. It's an investment! Besides, $16 vs $8 isn't so bad.nature lover said:
user 37446
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A $2 bargain can of spray paint, (HDepot and Lowes sell them in gloss black or gloss white), would fix that.abnorm said:
So I havent updated this thread in a while. I havent had the money to really do anything to it. Or in it.
Glad you're all able to join me, or if I'm talking to myself I'm still glad to be here.
So I had to replace my phone and I lost some of my notes. I thought I'd keep a log of some of the things I've recorded.
The last couple days have been wet enough to not be able to re measure the roof but I was able to take a few measurements inside.
If I recall the width of the roof rack was 52" wide and the length is 120? inches from windshield to the rear hatch. I had hoped to put 2 250 watt panels on the roof. 3 would fit with some overhang but might look goofy.
I should be able to take 2 100 watt polycrystalline panels from amazon and fit them in between the roof racks without being very conspicuous.
Some of the measurements I've recorded from the interior. The stow-n-go cubbies dimensions are 46" across 25" front to back and between 9.75" and 9.5" high depending on the bottom shape.
The measurements of the floor. From the lip of the stow-n-go without covering the opening to the "load fill" line at the rear 74"
The width inside the wheel wells 50".
The minimum overhead clearance 43"
The forward passenger overhead clearance 49"
I'm planning to build my bed platform around a zinus 6" spring/foam "narrow twin" mattress with the dimensions 75"x30"x6". I took some measurements of myself sitting on a stool and determined that sitting on a 14" platform my head is 48" high. So I plan to build an 8" high bed platform with the 6" mattress. With up to 1" more overhead and the give to the mattress that should be fine.
The stow-n-go doors fold up sectionally. So the bed frames feet could be 74 inches deep and not block the door and have a 1 inch overhang of the mattress and still be able to open them. That side would be where the battery and maybe tools are. Infrequent access anyway.
Hopefully in the middle of that cubby an RV fresh water tank of more than 10 gallons. Preferably 13 gallons or more so it can be filled with 2 5 gallon containers refilled from the grocery store and still have some extra room. That way I could carry 13+5 or 13+10 gallons of water.
I need to climb under my rig and get lots and lots of pics of the undercarriage so I can calculate where I can cut some holes. Mostly for the 12v diesel heater I plan to install. Hopefully under the bed. I could possibly put the heater under the front passenger seat but then I'd have to remove the sliding drawer that comes under it.
Attached to the wall side of the bed frame offset from the stow n go I plan to build a small table with a stainless mixing bowl turned sink basin draining into a Jerry can that can be accessed from the inside or outside with a spray nozzle and faucet.
In a slide out drawer on the table/sink I'd have my butane stove and potentially swappable for a single burner propane stove for flexibility and a backup heating source in the winter.
One absolute luxury that I'd like to have someday, but maybe once I get a travel trailer is to mount a full motion TV bracket attached to a 32" LED TV with Roku. One I found pulls 45 watts according to the manufacturer.
Glad you're all able to join me, or if I'm talking to myself I'm still glad to be here.
So I had to replace my phone and I lost some of my notes. I thought I'd keep a log of some of the things I've recorded.
The last couple days have been wet enough to not be able to re measure the roof but I was able to take a few measurements inside.
If I recall the width of the roof rack was 52" wide and the length is 120? inches from windshield to the rear hatch. I had hoped to put 2 250 watt panels on the roof. 3 would fit with some overhang but might look goofy.
I should be able to take 2 100 watt polycrystalline panels from amazon and fit them in between the roof racks without being very conspicuous.
Some of the measurements I've recorded from the interior. The stow-n-go cubbies dimensions are 46" across 25" front to back and between 9.75" and 9.5" high depending on the bottom shape.
The measurements of the floor. From the lip of the stow-n-go without covering the opening to the "load fill" line at the rear 74"
The width inside the wheel wells 50".
The minimum overhead clearance 43"
The forward passenger overhead clearance 49"
I'm planning to build my bed platform around a zinus 6" spring/foam "narrow twin" mattress with the dimensions 75"x30"x6". I took some measurements of myself sitting on a stool and determined that sitting on a 14" platform my head is 48" high. So I plan to build an 8" high bed platform with the 6" mattress. With up to 1" more overhead and the give to the mattress that should be fine.
The stow-n-go doors fold up sectionally. So the bed frames feet could be 74 inches deep and not block the door and have a 1 inch overhang of the mattress and still be able to open them. That side would be where the battery and maybe tools are. Infrequent access anyway.
Hopefully in the middle of that cubby an RV fresh water tank of more than 10 gallons. Preferably 13 gallons or more so it can be filled with 2 5 gallon containers refilled from the grocery store and still have some extra room. That way I could carry 13+5 or 13+10 gallons of water.
I need to climb under my rig and get lots and lots of pics of the undercarriage so I can calculate where I can cut some holes. Mostly for the 12v diesel heater I plan to install. Hopefully under the bed. I could possibly put the heater under the front passenger seat but then I'd have to remove the sliding drawer that comes under it.
Attached to the wall side of the bed frame offset from the stow n go I plan to build a small table with a stainless mixing bowl turned sink basin draining into a Jerry can that can be accessed from the inside or outside with a spray nozzle and faucet.
In a slide out drawer on the table/sink I'd have my butane stove and potentially swappable for a single burner propane stove for flexibility and a backup heating source in the winter.
One absolute luxury that I'd like to have someday, but maybe once I get a travel trailer is to mount a full motion TV bracket attached to a 32" LED TV with Roku. One I found pulls 45 watts according to the manufacturer.
user 37446
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Sounds fancy if you do all of that. I wonder if the lack of oh clearance (as compared to a f s cargo van) will bother you.
Theres lots of minivan builds on YT, I realize that $ is a current challenge but you can get good ideas on how to do things (and how NOT to, that's just as important).
Might want to be careful just how much weight you put in those stow/n/go cubbies. You mentioned at least 10 gallons of water, that's like 80# by itself. 13 gallons would be over 100#. Could be too much weight.
Theres lots of minivan builds on YT, I realize that $ is a current challenge but you can get good ideas on how to do things (and how NOT to, that's just as important).
Might want to be careful just how much weight you put in those stow/n/go cubbies. You mentioned at least 10 gallons of water, that's like 80# by itself. 13 gallons would be over 100#. Could be too much weight.
Yeah good old water weighing in at 8# per gallon. Luckily the second row seat (bench as opposed to stow n go but still has cubbies) weighed in at approximately 100 pounds plus. The rear stow n go seats probably 40 pounds each (not sure as they're still installed) so I have some flexibility adding more weight as I've already dropped some.
The main reason I want to have a larger than 10 gallon tank is so I can add 10 gallons at a time without it being completely empty.
I can use very little water. Last summer I only went thru a few gallons a week. But I think it's worth the weight.
The main reason I want to have a larger than 10 gallon tank is so I can add 10 gallons at a time without it being completely empty.
I can use very little water. Last summer I only went thru a few gallons a week. But I think it's worth the weight.
Scott3569
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I have the same model, grand caravan 3.8.. getting ready to build it out now.. going to completely gut the rear of it.. I have already taken out the seats..XERTYX said:
Congrats. I have the 3.3L V6.
If you've ever lived on a sailboat I think you'll agree its plenty of room. I lived in the "V berth" of a 26' sailboat for a time. I still pine for the nostalgia at times. This model with the stow n go has a lot of potential.
If you've ever lived on a sailboat I think you'll agree its plenty of room. I lived in the "V berth" of a 26' sailboat for a time. I still pine for the nostalgia at times. This model with the stow n go has a lot of potential.
Scott3569
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Never lived on a sail boat, but I drove tractor trail for 13 years an never had an apartment.
My dad drove a tractor trailer for a million years. We went to a truck show in Louisville Ky once, some of those sleepers are nicer than an apartment to begin with. XD
Yeah if you can live in a sleeper then you can totally live in this van. It's my second caravan. I had an 01 i think it was. I put that thing thru hell and it just kept on truckin.
The older model didnt have stow n go as an option yet but I took the seats out and had them in storage. I lived in it for a while but never built it out. I did build a shower for it but I was using a bilge pump for a boat and it didnt have the oomph it needed. I never installed solar in it either, the panels I had at that time totaled up to 20 watts and it was a 28Ah bank. Not very useful anyway.
I almost bought my battery today. I was in Walmart and they had a fresh batch of 29DC batteries that were mfg THIS MONTH.
But I am gonna wait on my stimulus. Hopefully I'll have it by Wednesday which is when the IRS says it'll be there. I've got a full cart on amazon waiting to have the money to place the order.
Yeah if you can live in a sleeper then you can totally live in this van. It's my second caravan. I had an 01 i think it was. I put that thing thru hell and it just kept on truckin.
The older model didnt have stow n go as an option yet but I took the seats out and had them in storage. I lived in it for a while but never built it out. I did build a shower for it but I was using a bilge pump for a boat and it didnt have the oomph it needed. I never installed solar in it either, the panels I had at that time totaled up to 20 watts and it was a 28Ah bank. Not very useful anyway.
I almost bought my battery today. I was in Walmart and they had a fresh batch of 29DC batteries that were mfg THIS MONTH.
But I am gonna wait on my stimulus. Hopefully I'll have it by Wednesday which is when the IRS says it'll be there. I've got a full cart on amazon waiting to have the money to place the order.
Well my van seems to be fixed. My nephew helped me take off the alternator and we had it tested. It was fine but it has been replaced before and the safety tab golding the pigtail in place wasn't connected all the way which probably led to the failure of the battery. After reinstalling the battery voltage was increasing so the alt was working but the battery had seen better days at that point and it wouldn't hold a charge. Today I went and got the new battery and the gauges no longer go crazy and after about a 5-8 mile test drive the battery voltage is holding in a healthy range. So for the time being it seems like it's back in working order.
Also today I got my stimulus so I'll be placing my order for some rich solar 100 watt panels and an epever 20A charge controller. I'm planning to go with a BESTEK 500 watt pure sine wave inverter. I have a modified sine wave one somewhere that's 5 or 600 watts but I'm planning to grab a ryobi 18v drill/circular saw combo and I dont wanna take a change charging those on a modified inverter.
Anyway now that funds are here I plan to really get going on my build. I'm kinda miffed that the mattress I wanted is now out of stock but such is life.
Also today I got my stimulus so I'll be placing my order for some rich solar 100 watt panels and an epever 20A charge controller. I'm planning to go with a BESTEK 500 watt pure sine wave inverter. I have a modified sine wave one somewhere that's 5 or 600 watts but I'm planning to grab a ryobi 18v drill/circular saw combo and I dont wanna take a change charging those on a modified inverter.
Anyway now that funds are here I plan to really get going on my build. I'm kinda miffed that the mattress I wanted is now out of stock but such is life.
Scott3569
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Sounds awesome man I have a productive day myself also..
Well I placed my order. Solar panels, narrow twin mattress, charge controller, and alpicool 12v compressor fridge are on their way. I really wanted to go with a dual zone unit I found for like 40 dollars more BUT the description and the title specifications didnt match, and it was from a brand I didnt know and it only had one left in stock. It just felt too hokey. Plus it didnt have much info on it. Seemed too good to be true.
PeterPiper
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How much solar panel ya putting up top ?
I just finished installing 200watts on the roof of my 2006 Dodge Caravan. That's all I'm doing with this one.
My goal was to install the 2, 100watt panels securely and very difficult to steal, yet totally non destructive so that no changes where made to the vehicle so later I can remove the panels and there will be no traces. Took Saturday and Sunday, but it's done and looks great.
Was able to use the stock roof mounts by fabricating some custom steel mounts.
A couple more things and I'm itching to go somewhere.
I have a 1999 Grand Caravan with newly rebuilt motor, new Urethane base coat / clear coat and almost new everything else that I'm going to go all out with.
I just finished installing 200watts on the roof of my 2006 Dodge Caravan. That's all I'm doing with this one.
My goal was to install the 2, 100watt panels securely and very difficult to steal, yet totally non destructive so that no changes where made to the vehicle so later I can remove the panels and there will be no traces. Took Saturday and Sunday, but it's done and looks great.
Was able to use the stock roof mounts by fabricating some custom steel mounts.
A couple more things and I'm itching to go somewhere.
I have a 1999 Grand Caravan with newly rebuilt motor, new Urethane base coat / clear coat and almost new everything else that I'm going to go all out with.
PeterPiper
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My new setup on my 2006 Dodge Caravan
This was a 100% non destructive install. Zero holes drilled, zero modifications to the vehicle so that it can be 100% returned to non solar if later desired. I did have to fabricate some custom steel brackets that wrap around and pinch the luggage rack side rails when tightened down.
Solid Secure up to the vehicles top speed of 185mph.
The other cool thing is that I can still load lightweight items on top of the panels if necessary for traveling. I just won't get charging if I do that.
I might buy a single 330 or 400watt panel for the 1999 Caravan
This was a 100% non destructive install. Zero holes drilled, zero modifications to the vehicle so that it can be 100% returned to non solar if later desired. I did have to fabricate some custom steel brackets that wrap around and pinch the luggage rack side rails when tightened down.
Solid Secure up to the vehicles top speed of 185mph.
The other cool thing is that I can still load lightweight items on top of the panels if necessary for traveling. I just won't get charging if I do that.
I might buy a single 330 or 400watt panel for the 1999 Caravan
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Scott3569
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Hey XERTYX, How are things going for you?
just wanted to reach out because at the moment I am a little stuck on my build.. with some things I am having trouble seeing the end result.. especially with my headliner/ceiling..
Have you done anything with the rear windows in your van?
trying to work with the contours and how to actually build what I am thinking is becoming difficult for me particularly now that I am getting to the sides where there will be a lot of storage.
just wanted to reach out because at the moment I am a little stuck on my build.. with some things I am having trouble seeing the end result.. especially with my headliner/ceiling..
Have you done anything with the rear windows in your van?
trying to work with the contours and how to actually build what I am thinking is becoming difficult for me particularly now that I am getting to the sides where there will be a lot of storage.
AeroNautiCal
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Finding a suitable van from a known and trusted local seller from whom your family has had previous good experience with is a wonderful beginning!
Added to that your mechanic rates it as viable, so all boxes are ticked!
Good luck on collecting it and designing your interior.
Added to that your mechanic rates it as viable, so all boxes are ticked!
Good luck on collecting it and designing your interior.
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