The Kia Sportage RV

[MGfromBC]

For a few decades, hitting the road meant folding or removing a car seat, filling the space with a piece of plywood and a sleeping bag, throwing in some camping gear and leaving.  I've had a deep cycle battery for years that I charged at home or sometimes with jumper cables out the window and under the hood.  This all worked fairly well when I only went for long weekends or the occasional vacation week or two.

Then, about 4 years ago, I got a head injury in in a car accident on my way to work one day and most of my trips after that were made with pain killers.  I'm no longer able to work but, if I move slowly and stop when my body tells me to, I can get a few things done.  Two things that I can do without too much trouble are drive and sit & read.  This year I've been modifying my car and taking trips.

Some of the changes so far involve the electrical system.  It's actually built in now.  The battery is connected to the alternator with a relay and I found that I could feed the cable into the car through the air intake with a small hole in the plastic vent work inside the car.  I want to be able to remove the battery and some other modifications so I put a wooden 'floor mat' on the passenger floor that I bolted the battery down to.  There is a plug on each side of the battery, one to the alternator, one to the 'house'.  

I removed an ashtray and cup holder in the back of the center compartment between the front seats to install the inverter and fuses.  I drilled a hole for a 12 v outlet between them.  An electrical box on the end of an extension cord has additional electrical and USB outlets.

MG

 

[MGfromBC]

Every time I come home I have lists of things to change, fix or modify.  There have been quite a few changes since the beginning of the summer.

Two of the pictures show the bed and a bit of what's under it.  I removed a rear seat and bolted a box in its place.  A smaller box in front of it fills the space between it and the front seat when it is fully forward.  The rear compartment of the car and the two boxes form the top of the bed and provide a lot of storage.  The front seat folds down on itself so I built another box that is strapped down on top.  It also has a lid which is strapped down when I'm driving.  The box on the front seat (pictures to come) has cameras, coffee maker and many other odds and ends that I might want to access either from the driver's seat or from the seat behind it when I am at 'home'.

With the driver's seat forward and the back of it forward, I have lots of room.  I have easy access to the 3 wooden boxes and everything in the back of the car.  Prior to my ownership the car had some sort of cover for the area behind the rear seats.  I used the mounting locations to install a shelf level with the rear windows.  I keep this area clear when driving but when I set up it gives me space to spread things out and make them more accessible.

My invertor is a bit out of the way but I built an electrical box on the of a 10 foot extension cord with 2-110 outlets and 4 USB outlets.  I can either leave it inside with the cord coiled under the box or I can bring it outside when the weather permits.

A few months ago I got a couldn't resist deal on a 40 watt panel.  I didn't expect miracles but, with the addition of a monitor to follow the ups and downs of use and recharging, much was learned.  Last week I got a  100 watt panel.  Installing it was fairly easy.  Finding a place to put it was a bigger challenge. Winter, with its greater demands had already caused me to put the roof-top carrier on my car.  I strapped the panel to the top but it looked lot an open invitation to theft.  With some pre-drilled metal from the hardware store I built a rack underneath the crossbars of the roof-racks and it is almost invisible.

I came home on the 11th from 4 days of camping.  I spent the 12th shopping for bits and pieces for little changes before the next outing.  Many of them are related to keeping warm.

MG

 

[brollins]

Nice. I dig the mods you did on your Sportage.

 

[RVTravel]

Thanks for sharing your pics!

 

[becida]

I like your table, I have one like it myself!

 

[MGfromBC]

Earlier this fall I built a basement where the front passenger seat used to be.  For the most part it is a 1x2 and 2x3 frame, fastened down with the same bolts that once held the seat in place.  The side facing the driver's seat is covered with pegboard for ventilation.  The floor vents for both the front and back seats are in the basement so I try to keep some heat to the floor at most times.  I recently mounted 2 small fans to move air into the box built under the bed and replaced the platform with pegboard.  I haven't wired them up yet but expect them to be on a switch connected to the house battery.  I hope to be able to leave them running all the time except at some times when camping if I am rationing my power.  Even leaving it running when the car is parked shouldn't be a problem because the battery will be recharged when I am driving.  The basement is only accessible from the front door.  When I'm driving, my smallest panel goes between the panel and the door.



The basement is mostly for basement type things.  My house battery is in the yellow LEGO box.  The blue box is best described as tools although some of it leans toward arts and crafts because I've been working on some new ideas for window covers and insulation.  The white baskets hang from the windshield visors and hold coffee, filters, DVDs and other things that need to be spread out and a bit more accessible once I've stopped.  Many things like that stay where they are if I'm just stopping for the night.  Other things are propane heater and fuel, tarps, bungees, water and whatever else fits.  The front of the footwell area seems like a great place to stack my extra 1.5 litre water bottles.  I refill them wherever I can.  I picked this size because 5 of them fit under the rear seat that is my living/dining/working area.  When the stock under the seat gets low I swap the empties for full.

When the front seat was still there, the back of it was folded down flat on the seat and pushed all the way forward.  The box now on top of the basement was ratchet strapped on top of the seat.  It's a very useful box.  For the most part it holds things I might want either while I'm sitting in the front seat, between destinations, or from the back seat when I'm camping.  The wooden lid is strapped down when I'm driving, to seduce the possibility of projectiles.  When I camp, it replaces the solar panel by the basement door

The assortment in the top box includes my cameras and lenses.  In one photo I marked the camera location with my red Folgers toilet paper tin  Other things include cables, chargers, MP3, GPS, clothespins, 12 volt coffee maker, single bowl crock pot, insulated with 2 layers of pink yoga mat, FM transmitter because I don't have bluetooth, USB charger for AA batteries.  Other things too, like prescription meds and stuff that goes somewhere between meds and first aid and a plastic container for cutlery and other kitcheny stuff. You know, stuff.  The 2 desk tray organizers are priceless.  Although the price at the dollar store is much better than Staples.  I have one on top of the other.  I cut out part of a divider on one so I can set my camera and lens side by side.  Adhesive backed pads on the bottom and sides keep the camera in place.



When you've got coffee, soup and the Grateful Dead it's easy to be happy.



MG