Switched from Prius to Express 2500

[Sailing VANessa]

Some of you may know or recognize me from Ehrenburg this past winter.  I was the guy with the Silver Prius, came out for a few weeks.  A lot has happened since then.  I moved back to Santa Cruz for a great job, which helped me make some money to buy my next "Home".
I recently picked up a 2002 Chevy Express 2500 extended passenger van, and have been in the process of converting it to a wonderful, livable space.
Do not let anybody tell you building out a van is easy, its not!  It is a lot of work, a lot of headaches, and of course there never seems to be enough money to do the things you want.  It is a work in progress.  Here are some of the things I have done so far.

Ripped out all the back seats, walls, floor, etc.
Installed 100 square feet of Rattle Trap sound deadening material.
Insulated the floor, walls, and ceiling with foam board insulation and spray foam.
Installed a roof rack and back door ladder.
Installed 200 watts of Renogy solar on the roof, along with 2, 125 ah, 12, AGM batteries.
Installed a 1500 watt pure sign-wave inverter.
Built a bed frame that is hinged in the middle to be able to look out the back, or face the front,  twin size with a 6" foam mattress.
Installed 8 recessed puck lights in my newly installed cedar plank cieling.  (along with switches that switch on two lights, front to back at a time)
Installed vinyl plank bamboo pattern flooring.
Paneled the lower half of the van. (the upper half is all windows, which are covered by reflectex right now)
Installed a 2.7 cf "dorm fridge", powered off the inverter.  By the way, it works great!
Put in a 5 gallon water bottle with pump.
For my kitchen a some storage, I am using some furniture that I had around, with bins built in.
I have installed two usb ports, on extra lighter socket, one DV volt meter, all on switches.

It is by no means "done", but a work in progress.

Beware of a good deal on a used van.  30 minutes after buying it, the check engine light came on.  After troubleshooting, I found it had bad heads, bad fuel injectors.  
Right now it is being fixed with new heads, new fuel injector assembly, new radiator, new water pump, new spark plugs, new plug wires, etc.  It is taking almost every penny I saved over the last few months.  (still lots cheaper than a new van or a house)

The best news of day is that I am officially retired as of last week.  I will be living off my SS (first check in two weeks) and traveling all over.  
I plan on starting my great adventure next week.

BY THE WAY, VANS NAME IS "VANessa".

Anyone want to buy a 2014 Prius?
Thanks for reading..

 

[user 423]

How many miles on the Chevy? I've had great luck with Dodges but considering a switch to Chevy.

 

[Sailing VANessa]

How many miles on the Chevy?  I've had great luck with Dodges but considering a switch to Chevy.

153000.

 

[user 423]

Well, at 153k that's not too early of a failure. Have you found info that the head problem affects more than a few Chevys? Like the famous Ford plug issues?

BTW...I've looked at those extended Chevys and there is TONS of room!

 

[Sailing VANessa]

Well, at 153k that's not too early of a failure. Have you found info that the head problem affects more than a few Chevys?  Like the famous Ford plug issues?

BTW...I've looked at those extended Chevys and there is TONS of room!

The problem with the heads, was that cylinder number 5 and 7 had low compression.  5 was very low.  Managed to find some rebuilt (new) heads at a good price, and have a very experienced mobile mechanic doing the work for half what the shops around here charge.  As I am going to be living in my van, I want to have peace of mind that it won't break down in the middle of nowhere.
You are correct, there is tons of room!

 

[user 423]

You are correct, there is tons of room!

Especially compared to a Prius...

 

[John61CT]

Yes would love the Prius, but you'll get more from someone wealthier than I

 

[AbuelaLoca]

Congratulations on your van!!! We need interior pics too!

 

[user 423]

Uber drivers love those Priuses...Prii?

 

[Van Man Dave]

Great story and build advice. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Sailing VANessa]

Just some pics, as requested..

 

[Sailing VANessa]

More pics..

 

[Sailing VANessa]

Even more pics of my build. 

 

[Sailing VANessa]

My "Toad". 
Will be on a hitch mounted carrier.

 

[CautionToTheWind]

Very nice!

 

[grandpa pete]

I'm looking for more info on AC refrigerator set up please . Do you just plug into the inverter off the solar ? how big of an inverter do you need ? How long will the inverter work if you loose your 200 watts of sun/solar ?

Is there a u tube video that explains this ?
Thank You

 

[user 37446]

Great work you've shown us. I still P/T in my 2010 Prius and won't make the van leap until at least next year, however I (drool) look with some envy on your build. 

The only question I have is that a/c powered dorm fridg. Everything I have read and watched says they don't work very well or long without a huge battery bank, and that a 12v compression fridg (not a 3 way) is much better for being able to economize on batteries. 

Could you go more into your actual setup; inverter size, brand, MSW or PSW, wiring setup, # of batteries and type, way of recharging said batteries if you only have 200w solar and it's not good solar conditions...

Not meaning to criticize at all, just wondering why the overwhelming majority of van dwellers scrimp and save to get a $400-600 12v compressor fridge when/if a common WalMart dorm fridg would "do"...

Thanks for good pics and I hope you really enjoy the van.

 

[Sailing VANessa]

I only bought the A/C fridge because I can not afford the 12 v Dometic type at this time. That being said, it works great, but I am in California with lots of sun. It has been running non stop for about a month, and my batteries never get below 13 volts. It is a energy star model, 2.7 cubic feet from Best Buy. It only cost me 89 bucks.
I do plan on getting a Dometic or Engel sometime when I have more funds.
As for power, I have 200 Watts Solar feeding two 12V, 125 amp hour sealed AGM batteries, wired in parallel, so I have 250 amp hours available. (actually half of that, because you do not want to run your batteries too low). I also have a isolation/constant duty solenoid that will charge the batteries off the van's alternator when running. ( have not installed it yet though). For those times when there is no sun, and I am not driving, I do have a external battery charger that will do the trick.
I am running a cheap 1500 watt constant, 300 watt peak pure sign wave inverter that I purchased off Amazon for about 150.00. Seems to do the trick. I even have a small 700 watt microwave for now. (will probably get rid of it someday).
For lighting I have installed 8 ceiling recessed "puck lights", with 4 pairs wired into four switches.
VANessa is still a work in progress. I will post more pictures as I move along.
Prius camping is fun. I do have a "Habitent" for the Prius available if you are interested. Fifty bucks.

 

[John61CT]

I'm looking for more info on AC refrigerator set up please . Do you just plug into the inverter off the solar ? how big of an inverter do you need ? How long will the inverter work if you loose your 200 watts of sun/solar ?

You need to know the maximum watts fridge uses while running. A larger or less efficient fridge obviously burns more energy.

The inverter needs to be a much higher capacity than that to handle the startup surge power required. A better quality inverter can be rated lower, but they are expensive. Pure sine is better and more efficient for electronics.

Next depending on your temp conditions, you need to figure out how many AH the fridge will use per 24 hours. The colder the setting and hotter outside the higher percentage of time the compressor needs to run.

Adding insulation around the box and ventilating the working parts will help reduce energy used.

Since you shouldn't run the battery bank down below 50%, and IMO you should have at least two days' capacity to allow for poor solar weather, multiply that AH per day number times two to get your minimum bank size, rounding up.

If you don't want to bother with all this, then just go big and you should be fine, but that gets expensive.

 

[user 37446]

Also try to add another solar panel so you get closer to a 1.5 or higher solar watts to battery ratio. Get that alternator line installed before you leave Cali, it's pretty cheap to run off the alternator. Remember, like John said, to check the amperage and the duty cycles, and especially insulate that puppy.

Glad that it works for you, maybe in sunny locations it will but for most of the rest of the country, no.