highdesertranger
R.I.P HDR
- Joined
- Apr 4, 2012
- Messages
- 22,892
- Reaction score
- 86
nice, give us a review of the shower once you get a chance to use it. highdesertranger
My Road Tripper
- Thread starter sephson
- Start date
Help Support Van Living Forum:
sephson
Well-known member
I'm beginning to get a handle on the best method for using it. I just need to nail down the best way to minimize my water usage. Once I figure that out, I'll post a review.
By putting a tee with a valve to a tank return close to the shower head you can get the water warm without running the cold water out of the line first, or just heat the supply tank to the temperature you want and then run the pump without additional heating.
sephson
Well-known member
Thanks bullfrog! We seem to be more or less on the same page here.
Yesterday's experiment was to just drop the pump into a room temperature water supply and let the water heat as I used it. What I found, was that in order for the burner to ignite, it needs a minimum amount of water flow. I used a bit over two gallons on that shower, some of which was wasted early on before I figured out the minimum water flow issue.
Today's experiment involved dropping the shower head into my water supply and just circulating the water until it reached a comfortable temperature. It took about five minutes. Then I shut the burner off and just used the pump. My shower used about a gallon and a half. I think I just need to figure out where to set the flow valve to (hopefully) cut my water usage to a gallon or less.
Yesterday's experiment was to just drop the pump into a room temperature water supply and let the water heat as I used it. What I found, was that in order for the burner to ignite, it needs a minimum amount of water flow. I used a bit over two gallons on that shower, some of which was wasted early on before I figured out the minimum water flow issue.
Today's experiment involved dropping the shower head into my water supply and just circulating the water until it reached a comfortable temperature. It took about five minutes. Then I shut the burner off and just used the pump. My shower used about a gallon and a half. I think I just need to figure out where to set the flow valve to (hopefully) cut my water usage to a gallon or less.
Kia girl
Well-known member
I started with the alpicool c20. Good fridge but was to small for me. Only problem I had was the condensation that would drip to the bottom and smell after a while. Just had to take food out every now and then and clean it. Took very little power which was great.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
sephson
Well-known member
I installed a dash cam in my road tripper today. It's the type that mounts to the rear view mirror. It took about two hours to install the thing, about half of which was modifying the power supply so that I could tap directly into the car's power system rather than plugging into a 12 volt outlet. Soldering on a circuit board can be a bit of a pain. I ran the wiring under the headliner and down the driver's side A-pillar to the fuse block where I spliced in the 5 volt power supply.
I figure it's a relatively inexpensive bit of added insurance should something happen while I'm on the road.
I figure it's a relatively inexpensive bit of added insurance should something happen while I'm on the road.
sephson
Well-known member
sephson
Well-known member
Now we move on to the actual accomplishment.
As I've mentioned in previous posts, trying to organize my gear storage has been a bit of challenge since I have very little space to work with. Over the last two days I built a custom shelf unit for my Road Tripper.
The odd shape is because the top section overhangs my refrigerator.
I built this using scrap lumber from work. It's 16 inches deep by 26 inches high. Overall width is 32 inches, but the bottom shelf is only 21 inches. The basic frame is 1x2 hog-trough, glued and screwed. This method is every bit as strong as using 2x3's for the legs, but eats up a lot less of the storage space. The shelves are 1/2" Luan, glued and screwed. The ends are skinned with 1/4" luan, also glued and screwed. This makes for a strong, but light weight shelf unit.
As I've mentioned in previous posts, trying to organize my gear storage has been a bit of challenge since I have very little space to work with. Over the last two days I built a custom shelf unit for my Road Tripper.
The odd shape is because the top section overhangs my refrigerator.
I built this using scrap lumber from work. It's 16 inches deep by 26 inches high. Overall width is 32 inches, but the bottom shelf is only 21 inches. The basic frame is 1x2 hog-trough, glued and screwed. This method is every bit as strong as using 2x3's for the legs, but eats up a lot less of the storage space. The shelves are 1/2" Luan, glued and screwed. The ends are skinned with 1/4" luan, also glued and screwed. This makes for a strong, but light weight shelf unit.
Attachments
sephson
Well-known member
I carpeted the shelf unit using scraps of leftover black carpet from the orchestra pit at work. The primary purpose of the carpet is so that to the casual passerby glancing in the window, the shelf looks like something that belongs in the car.
I've strapped it to the folded down seat back using a pair of adjustable rubber bungees.
It's very easy to get the shelf unit in and out of the car through the rear passenger door.
I added four more adjustable rubber bungees about four inches above the shelves to keep stuff from falling off the shelves as I drive down the road.
I've strapped it to the folded down seat back using a pair of adjustable rubber bungees.
It's very easy to get the shelf unit in and out of the car through the rear passenger door.
I added four more adjustable rubber bungees about four inches above the shelves to keep stuff from falling off the shelves as I drive down the road.
Attachments
sephson
Well-known member
I was having a hard time finding the holes I drilled for attachment points for my rubber bungees, so I added several t-nuts as reference points for finding them.
I also added duvatyne covers to the sides of the shelves. This will make the contents of the shelves far less visible from the outside.
This new storage setup makes good use of the available space. There's very little wasted space and no drawers or doors that open up into my sleeping area. I still have some minor detail work to do, adding more bungee attachment points so I can strap my chair and table to the top and actually loading up my gear to see how well it all fits, but so far, I'm happy with the results.
My total cost for building my new storage shelf was about $10 for a roll of carpet tape. The rest of the materials were scraps and leftover parts from work.
I also added duvatyne covers to the sides of the shelves. This will make the contents of the shelves far less visible from the outside.
This new storage setup makes good use of the available space. There's very little wasted space and no drawers or doors that open up into my sleeping area. I still have some minor detail work to do, adding more bungee attachment points so I can strap my chair and table to the top and actually loading up my gear to see how well it all fits, but so far, I'm happy with the results.
My total cost for building my new storage shelf was about $10 for a roll of carpet tape. The rest of the materials were scraps and leftover parts from work.
Attachments
highdesertranger
R.I.P HDR
- Joined
- Apr 4, 2012
- Messages
- 22,892
- Reaction score
- 86
nice. highdesertranger
sephson
Well-known member
I had to repair my solar power system recently. My battery wasn't charging.
It took me three months to find the time to spend an hour getting to the wiring, diagnosing the problem and repairing it.
It was just a connection that had vibrated loose between the charge controller and the battery. When I did the initial installation, must not have been paying enough attention, because I had only stripped the wire back a quarter inch, not enough for a solid connection on the inline splice block. I stripped the wire back a bit more and reattached it.
Everything is working fine now.
It took me three months to find the time to spend an hour getting to the wiring, diagnosing the problem and repairing it.
It was just a connection that had vibrated loose between the charge controller and the battery. When I did the initial installation, must not have been paying enough attention, because I had only stripped the wire back a quarter inch, not enough for a solid connection on the inline splice block. I stripped the wire back a bit more and reattached it.
Everything is working fine now.
Good job! I love how the extension folds up so neatly behind the back seat. I've never heard of anyone using velcro straps like you did, but I'm filing that one away in my memory for when I start on my build. Great work on the light switch, it looks like it came OEM! Thanks for taking the time to do a build post with all the photos and explanations.
sephson
Well-known member
Thanks tinypaws! The Velcro straps do a very good job of keeping the bed extension attached to the back of the seat, while still being flexible enough that I have some wiggle room for positioning the thing when I set the bed up. As for looking OEM, that was one of my build concepts. I wanted everything that I built for my road trip setup to look like it belongs in the vehicle.
Thanks for sharing!AeroNautiCal
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2019
- Messages
- 96
- Reaction score
- 13
What excellent upgrades these are, they make your already versatile vehicle even more so.
sephson
Well-known member
Thank you AeroNautiCal!
So far, I've had my Soul for nine years. I've had it set up as a road tripper for six years. There are still a few changes and additions I'd like to make to my setup, but the broad strokes are done. What's left is details. On the whole, I'm happy with how everything works. I could wish for a little more room though. I'll think about addressing that issue several years down the line when the time comes to start thinking about a new vehicle.
So far, I've had my Soul for nine years. I've had it set up as a road tripper for six years. There are still a few changes and additions I'd like to make to my setup, but the broad strokes are done. What's left is details. On the whole, I'm happy with how everything works. I could wish for a little more room though. I'll think about addressing that issue several years down the line when the time comes to start thinking about a new vehicle.
