VanFan's Once and Future Vans

[VanFan]

^^^ put them on Facebook Market place and find something else that fits the space. Maybe the adapter you bought will fit a different jug.

Interesting information, and explains why I've been able to borrow bits and pieces from this and that.

There's been a whole lot of sloshin' going on this morning! Noise varies considerably across containers. The jug I have is the worst--not just sloshing, but also a drum-like "boom" with water movement.

Rectangular one-gallon bottles of Crystal Geyser brand water ($1.38 at Walmart) are better. Two can be set in a plastic shoe box to contain a leak. They also fit in an old paper shredder bin for more coverage. Either goes in the space I have. (Standard gallon jugs also fit, but are louder.) A ring of caulk backer helps the pump adapter fit. A large rubber band probably would work, too.

That reduces the under counter water volume by 1 gallon, but I'm okay with that. The 3 gallon jug can be filled to capacity and placed in the rear where I had planned to put the second one. It will service as a back-up supply and shouldn't be as noisy when full. Or, as you pointed out, it can be sold or used for water storage at home. More Crystal Geyser containers would also be fine (and easier to switch out), but again, less volume.

In any event, the second jug can be returned. So... I'm back in the game, with $35 back in the kitty soon (and feeling like a kid with all that water play).

 

[maki2]

^^^ I use the gallon jugs from Arizona tea for my daily water needs. They are sturdy and I like the tea snd had been buying it before I went nomad. I h as r lifting restrictions so no 5 gallon jugs for me. When I did my trailer renovation I put in a small sink into the countertop. Under the counter I put in a 5 gallon rectangular fresh water tank that has fittings on it for RV and Food Truck use.

I am a resource person, I did a lot of thinking and researching about what to put into my travel trailer and what would work best. There is making things do in an often marginal with “stuff” and there is using resources from the RV, marine and food truck industry where reliability matters and items are purpose designed. I am not against “repurposing” but sometimes it is a lot more trouble to find and modify objects and frequently they do not perform as hoped. So I shopped around and found a pair of new 5 gallon tanks with fittings on Amazon. The tanks had threaded openings already put into them for air vents and drains as well fill tubes. They are installed inside my kitchen counter at the sink area.

Another solution to adapting DIYb containers, even 5 gallon bucket’s for use for fresh water supplies or waste water containers are special rubber grommets called “Uniseal”. They have openings in the grommet center to fit standard pipe/tube sizes. Here is a quick to watch video that shows one being put into a bucket. But do not forget, thanks need to have a vent in them as when you fill them up the displaced air has to escape and when you empty them air has to come back in to displace the liquids.

 

[LargeMarge]

...I actually...actually...that the jug... I wish I [did] it sooner, because [I am] going to be very hard to go back to the drawing board...

.
For anybody contemplating converting a vehicle to a live-aboard, my suggestion:
1 -- acquire a suitable candidate
2 -- toss in some car-camping gear
3 -- go have fun.
Allow the conversion to evolve organically.
.
Designing a first rig tends to follow a standardized predictable pattern:
'I saw something with the cool kids in a video, so I want it, too!',
...or
'I plan to duplicate familiar stand-still house furniture in my forever rig!'.
Most second conversions are simpler, with predictably fewer Holes! In! The! Roof!.
.
I think the vehicle is a lovely blank slate, available to create anything you can imagine.
Sticking with the comfortable or the coveted tends to waste time and money.
I can always get more money...

 

[LargeMarge]

^^^ I use the gallon jugs from Arizona tea...sturdy...I h as r lifting restrictions so no 5 gallon jugs...

.
We use Arizona Tea gallon jugs, too.
During a visit to a chain burger-joint, they are simple to re-fill with filtered water from the soda-pops dispensary.
.
I imagine trudging in with a five-gallon jug would get impatient glares from the paying customers.
The staff probably don't give a flying fig... minimum wage tends to begat minimum effort.

 

[VanFan]

I am a resource person, I did a lot of thinking and researching about what to put into my travel trailer and what would work best. There is making things do in an often marginal with “stuff” and there is using resources from the RV, marine and food truck industry where reliability matters and items are purpose designed. I am not against “repurposing” but sometimes it is a lot more trouble to find and modify objects and frequently they do not perform as hoped.

There is a lot of wisdom in that, and I am sure you are no stranger to repurposing, either. Personally, I thrive on "making things from other things". It's fun, and sometimes there's no viable alternative from any source, at any price. On the other hand, a lot of solutions are out there, if you know where to look.

 

[VanFan]

.
For anybody contemplating converting a vehicle to a live-aboard, my suggestion:
1 -- acquire a suitable candidate
2 -- toss in some car-camping gear
3 -- go have fun.
Allow the conversion to evolve organically.
.
Sticking with the comfortable or the coveted tends to waste time and money.
I can always get more money...

I couldn't agree more. Our first van conversion evolved over 15 years. BTW: We are solidly in the "No Holes in the Roof" camp--one of many reasons we don't have an RV.

 

[VanFan]

My husband encouraged a test drive with the partially filled 3 gallon jug in the van (vs. Prius) "just to see if it's a problem." (A First World problem, in any event, as in "Oh my! My fresh, clean water in an overpriced container is noisy!") The verdict: not a problem!

I don't get it. It was incredibly loud in the Prius. When I rocked it back and forth and from side to side manually, it was awful. In the van, I heard the water slap the side once, and it wasn't that loud. We drove over some rough road, varied speeds, and made a few (don't tell) Bat turns.

The van has upgraded suspension and the Prius needs struts, but still... The jug fits snugly in place, versus just sitting behind the seat in the Prius, but still... I don't get it.

In any event, Plan A lives, and I have a solid Plan B (which could include Arizona Tea jugs now).

 

[LargeMarge]

I couldn't agree more. Our first van conversion evolved over 15 years. BTW: We are solidly in the "No Holes in the Roof" camp--one of many reasons we don't have an RV.

.
Yesterday, we swang by to see our friends Bill and Keara and their new baby.
For a couple decades, Bill and Keara do van conversions in their shop 'Earthtribe Creations'.
.
Bill was on the roof of a very early conversion -- a hundred twenty thousand miles ago -- dealing with roof leaks.
They tore apart the interior to trace the problem...
... but each re-seal failed the 'Firehose Test'.
.
I remain convinced anybody contemplating chopping Holes! In! The! Roof! needs a thirty-day psych eval.
.
If they are still wavering -- "...a skylight over the bed so we can watch the stars as we sleep..." -- we need to get serious.
A hundred and eighty days wandering the Safety And Self-Harm Ward should do it...

 

[VanFan]

The sink/counter/water set-up has been working very nicely. With just 18" to work with, choices were limited. My first thought was 80/20 extruded aluminum, but the cost for corner fittings alone was over $300! If there had been a few more inches to spare, I might have used a commercial prep sink. A bathroom vanity was too heavy and, because this is sitting on carpet, I needed to ensure good air flow.

Finally, I found a 5 tier 18" square metal shelving unit. (And it's black, which matters. Nothing in my house is color unified, but I have found in a very small space, it helps to create visual peace.) By using two of the shelves and swapping some poles from a similar unit I'm using behind the bed in the back, I got the height I wanted, avoided having to cut any poles, and produced a second three shelve unit for use in the house.

The top is from a 2'x2' 1/2" Baltic birch plywood piece, cut to 18" at Lowes. I used four coats of Tung oil on top and two on the bottom. It was fairly simple to cut a hole for the sink with a hand compass saw. (I enjoyed using it.)

The sink in the Once Van was a salad bowl for the first five or so years. Cutting the drain hole was not fun, I must say. Later I replaced it with a "real" 9" RV sink (Ebay), which looks and works about the same. The same basket/drain assembly was used with both (similar to: Keeney 878PC Stainless Steel Junior Duo Bar Sink Strainer with Basket, Fits 2-Inch or 2-1/2-Inch Openings). This screws onto a Camco Flexible Camper/RV Drain. I actually did not caulk the sink when I put it in the new counter, although I did kinda, sorta seal the cut edge per Maki's suggestion.

To mount the counter to the shelving poles, the plastic end caps were removed and screw holes drilled from the inside. (End caps on the two sets of shelves were different, and this could not have been done with the other ones.) I don't remember the particulars, but I had to use index marks on painters tape on the poles and a nail polish (knew it was good for something) dot code on the caps to get the caps reinstalled in the right orientation to ensure the holes in the counter matched up. There was very little margin for error, and my drilling was less than perfectly centered. (Oh my gosh. It's coming back to me now. I'll spare you. It all worked out in the end.)

(See? I promised more than you'd ever want to know--and I've delivered. Still more to come...)

 

[VanFan]

More about the sink/counter/water station:

This unit sits snugly between the foot of the bed and the back of the driver's seat. Behind it is a window and ledge with cup holders. It's upper rear leg is strapped to the bed frame with One-Wrap Velcro. Likewise, the front leg. At the bottom, Velcro is wrapped through a shelf and a quick release seat mount on the floor. I considered using ratchet straps like the bed frame, but a connection is only as strong as the weakest point, so it would have been counter-productive.

Top shelf is just below the set-in sink and drain assembly. The drain hose just fits through the wire where it is more open at the perimeter. A shelf liner keeps things from sliding. A luggage strap across the poles on the front does double duty as a towel bar. I zip-tied a caddy with mesh pockets to the front of the shelf to hold a few items.

The other shelf is about 1" above the floor. It holds a 3.2 gallon water jug on the left (rear) side:

3.2 Gallon (12L) Portable Water Containers with Spigot, BPA Free Water Jug, Military Green Water Tank, Multifunction Water Storage Containers for Camping Outdoor Hiking,Emergency​

Visit the COOZMENT Store

Mine is black, and came through an Etsy vendor along with a 3D printed adapter and USB pump. (More about that later.) The gray water "tank" is on this self at the rear on the right side and consists of a laundry detergent jug sitting in a plastic "just in case" caddy. The drain hose fits securely in the opening. (We used a cat litter jug in the Once Van, and it would fit here, but is really more than we need.)

 

[VanFan]

Water, water...

The Once Van had very little space for water works. The base unit could only be about 14" high. We used a 6 gallon jug, a hand pump (you know, the one with the big blue push top), a small sink, Camco drain, and a cat litter jug in a plastic tote. The tote also held a hot water bottle, solar shower, and spare gallon of water. The sink was mounted on the lid, and water could be pumped into it. The only downside, really, was the height.

The future van had to have something different. I don't "trust" USB pumps, so installed two (scratches head). One is mounted on the jug where the spigot would normally be (thanks Etsy 3D printer guy). It features a folding spout, which effectively disables it should the electronic brain go rogue with the intent of flooding the van (not unheard of). We use it to fill water bottles when not "in port".

The second pump is for use on the countertop with the sink when parked. When traveling, the tabletop base for the pump sits on the shelf under the counter. The fresh water tube remains attached, and runs into the air vent on the wide-mouth jug cap. The pump is stored in a cup holder directly behind the counter/shelf unit. It takes seconds to put into service, and it's nice to be able to move the "faucet" around or off the counter.

A second jug with spigot is in the back for filling water bottles and allows for quicker/easier refills on the go. (The one in front is more of a pain to get in and out.)

 

[maki2]

So what are you going to do for an air vent if you use the existing air vent for a secondary pump? You will need to add another an air vent to equalize the pressure inside the tank.

 

[VanFan]

So what are you going to do for an air vent if you use the existing air vent for a secondary pump? You will need to add another an air vent to equalize the pressure inside the tank.

That's what I thought, too. So far, it's been working fine. The hose is not a super tight fit, so maybe there's just enough airflow around it?

 

[maki2]

That's what I thought, too. So far, it's been working fine. The hose is not a super tight fit, so maybe there's just enough airflow around it?

True a lot of people just stick a tube with a loose fit through an opening into some type of plastic container without wanting or needing a leak proof connection. That seems to be the most commonly approach among DIY no-build folks.

 

[VanFan]

Lights:

The Once Van had several arrays of "mood" lighting built in. It also had lots of ceiling lights a la airplane cabins. Since they were incandescent and ran off the starter battery, we rarely used them. Instead, I used mirror clips and existing wood trim screws to mount an LED light bar, fitted with a dimmer and "cigarette" plug for use with our tiny (17 ah) power pack, along with a few puck lights here and there.

The Future Van came with blue-ish LED cove lighting. It is, IMO, ugly. In spite of dire warnings (LOL) that it won't stick, my husband mounted our light bar with tape to a trim strip. No. It won't stick... We also ran a line of fairy lights around the inside ceiling. There is a small storage compartment over the head of the bed, with a door that hinges upward--so I stuck the remote control on the door for an easy reach at bedtime. It's great!

Finding good task lighting was harder than I expected. I'm not crazy about USB rechargeable devices, so went with battery operated music stand lights. The ones I picked have two heads (I call them "two-headed monsters"). One is clipped on the window valance over the sink/counter, and another on an overhead grab handle near the back doors to illuminate the cooler and pantry areas. That one is handy to grab for use at a picnic table, too. It clips on the lid of the Coleman stove, or sits on the table. I think I would like another "monster" to clip to the window valance beside the bed for a reading light. They come in two packs. The other might to useful in the cab. Dunno.

And to think, I used to just keep a mini-mag light clipped on a belt loop with a shower hook (which I thought was definitely "all that").