my 2005 Astro AWD conversion

[Telcobilly]

anm, very nice set up! I love your creative problem solving, especially the table/bed combo. Thanks for your detailed pix and descriptions.

 

[anm]

Thanks Telcobilly, it's been enjoyable getting it set up how I want.

@DC Fuse and @akrvbob, I checked the inverter and it's a bit higher rated than I remembered, 600 watts peak, 300 watts continuous, and it has a 35 amp blade-type fuse built in, and large, threaded terminals for attaching wires to. The only thing missing is a way to mount it but I'll come up with something. I'll get a plastic battery box for the house battery, seal the top with foam tape, put tubes into it for external ventilation, and mount the inverter on the outside of the box (tyraps maybe?). The inverter would be as close as possible to the battery, with a very short wire connecting the two, and it just goes through the plastic battery box (no metal to chafe it). My current location of choice for the house battery is under the bed/table, as close to the outer wall as possible.

 

[akrvbob]

Sounds very good!
Bob

 

[Telcobilly]

Andrew, I installed a 1000watt inverter right by the battery in my Tacoma. I installed a 150 amp breaker which remains off unless I'm running the inverter. I keep the inverter in a nylon drawstring bag for weather protection. I tied my winch to it as well. I don't think I'll be winching and microwaving at the same time..lol

 

[anm]

Andrew, I installed a 1000watt inverter right by the battery in my Tacoma. I installed a 150 amp breaker which remains off unless I'm running the inverter. I keep the inverter in a nylon drawstring bag for weather protection. I tied my winch to it as well. I don't think I'll be winching and microwaving at the same time..lol
...

You didn't connect the winch to the inverter did you? As far as I know they're just 12 volts... never mind, you must mean to the circuit breaker. Re the winching and microwaving at the same time, I guess it depends on how many people you're cooking for and how big the cauldron is

I have gotten my house electrical system complete. I put a pwm dimmer on the house overhead led lights. They were arrays of 48 leds and pretty bright so I decided to put a dimmer in the circuit, makes it more romantic...

When I say complete, I mean complete with a jump-start battery as the house battery, that will change as soon as I can manage it. I'm leaning toward a Walmart marine/deep-cycle battery, but I'm also looking at some AGMs. Hopefully next month I'll have a real house battery. When I do that I will make provisions for charging it from the alternator until...

Sometime after that I hope to fit a solar panel and charger... almost there...

 

[David]

Looks like a nice simple conversion. The Astro AWD is on the short list of other possibilities for me If I give up on the Vanagons. Something to note, if you do a lot of off roading, there are quite a few guys that have replaced the AWD transfer case with the one from the Blazers and I believe 4x4 S10/15 trucks.

This gives you a low gear as well as the ability to disengage the full time AWD. It turns the van into an actual 4WD vs the AWD.

 

[anm]

Looks like a nice simple conversion. The Astro AWD is on the short list of other possibilities for me If I give up on the Vanagons. Something to note, if you do a lot of off roading, there are quite a few guys that have replaced the AWD transfer case with the one from the Blazers and I believe 4x4 S10/15 trucks.

This gives you a low gear as well as the ability to disengage the full time AWD. It turns the van into an actual 4WD vs the AWD.

This is my first Astro/Safari and I must say that I think it's great, I can't understand why GMC stopped making them. I lucked out and found a 2005 AWD model within a few miles of where I'm living right now.

I have also read about the 4WD conversion using the Blazer transfer case, but I was so impressed with the AWD's performance that right now I can't see any reason to alter it. I'm not an off-roader, just a crappy-roader so I think the AWD will be adequate for me. If anything gets me to go 4WD it'll be its ability to shift to 2WD and the associated fuel economy. AWD (fulltime) does drop the mpgs a bit...

 

[anm]

Since I'm going to be boondocking I decided I needed to carry an auxiliary gas can. I wanted to use the Jerry style can but an up to date version. I decided on a Scepter 5 gal plastic Jerry can, like they make for the US military. For the bracket I looked around and the cheapest I could find was the SmittyBilt from Amazon for $23 including shipping It's made for the metal, new-style Jerry cans but I figured the Scepter would be close enough.

I had to alter the mounting bracket by cutting the two strap that support the weight of the can, spread the metal apart about 1/4" and have two new pieces weld across on top of the original straps. I had the metal lying around, cut it to size, and had it welded in. Twenty dollars later (what the welding cost me) it was ready to paint. The Scepter Jerry can fit perfectly, and I even had a bicycle cable and lock that's perfect for locking the can in the bracket. The bracket is held onto the rear door of the Astro by 4 - 5/16" stainless steel bolts, nuts, and washers. I got a cheap plastic, poly cutting board and used it for reinforcing inside the door, and under each nut I used a large fender washer to spread the load.

Anyway, this is the result:

 

[David]

If you want better MPG. There was a guy over on 4btswaps.com that put a Mercedes OM616 turbo diesel engine and 4 speed manual trans in his Astro. lol

 

[akrvbob]

Looks really, really good Andrew!!
Bob

 

[anm]

Looks really, really good Andrew!!
Bob

Thanks Bob, I'm pleased with the way it's turned out, it has everything I wanted in a tiny little package.

My Renogy solar kit arrived yesterday and I got the charge controller mounted and wired to the battery. I spent today making trips to Lowes and Autozone for wire and terminals, then I mounted the solar panel on the roof rack, ran the wires, and connected them to the charge controller. By this evening I had everything installed and working, just in time for nightfall, but I was able to see the panel putting out 14.36 volts

I almost hate to say it, but I'm just about done, what am I going to do now? I'll take pictures of everything tomorrow and post them here.

 

[DC Fuse]

anm,am so impressed w/ your table/bed combo i'm going to try to replicate it myself. Good job!
And Re: your being about done w/your van are we ever done? I'm thinkin' you'll come up w/some more ideas. Looks real good.

 

[anm]

Thank you DC Fuse...

Here are the pics of the solar installation, first is the Solar charge controller and wiring. The two large black wires go up to the solar panel, and the black corrugated tube carries the + and - from the charge controller to the battery:

The solar panel is mounted to the roof rack. I used just one bolt in each bracket because of the curvature of the roof rack's crossbar:

Closeup of the bracket:

From the front showing my expensive watertight feed-throughs (1/4" id, 3/8" od rubber grommets RTVed into 3/8" holes in the roof, then the wire passed through and the entire assembly liberally coated with RTV):

:

I mounted the solar panel the way I did in order to keep it in the confines of the roof rack, and as low as possible while still maintaining air flow underneath it. There is enough room on the roof rack for one more solar panel if it should be necessary. Overall the installation went pretty easy because I had already thought most of it through and knew where and how things were to be mounted.

So far it all seems to be working as desired. Today is cloudy/scattered clouds, but in sunlight I'm reading ~20 volts from the solar panel. My battery was already charged up, but I'm reading about ~13.5 volts to the battery.

 

[akrvbob]

Looks great to me! Is the controller MPPT?
Bob

 

[anm]

Looks great to me! Is the controller MPPT?
Bob

Thanks Bob, and on the charge controller, it's PWM...

The system seems to be fine, I'm doing this from inside my van, I have the monitor and my Mac plugged into the inverter, which is plugged into one of the accessory sockets. The output from the solar panel has dropped. The voltmeter initially reads ~19 volts but then drops to ~13 volts, I suppose because I'm using the available power with the computer.

Here's a pic of my computer working in my Astro:

I still have to get either a Internet dongle, a MiFi, or a phone that I can tether my computer to. In the picture my computer is able to connect to the WiFi in the house.

 

[anm]

I've been fretting over the mountings for the solar panel, not because it's not strong enough with just one bolt, but because it doesn't look good. So, I did something about it.

I used wooden shims for shimming a door frame, twelve shims from Lowes, $1.57:

I cut them to length, drilled the holes, and painted them black. They fit perfectly between the curved roof rack crossbar and the solar panel's bracket:

I feel much better now...

 

[DC Fuse]

Just so you know anm those shims are made in a high strength plastic too.
Loggers use them for control of fall in tree cutting. A big tree can bind chainsaw blade.

 

[anm]

Just so you know anm those shims are made in a high strength plastic too.
Loggers use them for control of fall in tree cutting. A big tree can bind chainsaw blade.

As I was buying the wood ones I was wondering why no one made them in plastic. Are the plastic ones the same dimensions? Do you know where they can be gotten?

 

[Luisafernandes]

They usually have the plastic shims by the chainsaw area at home depot or lowes. And they are bigger and can be thicker too, but should be easy to cut.

 

[anm]

They usually have the plastic shims by the chainsaw area at home depot or lowes. And they are bigger and can be thicker too, but should be easy to cut.

Thanks, I'll have a look the next time I'm there...