ViaVacavi adventure vehicle build log

[ViaVacavi]

Sorry guys, it's been an incredibly busy summer! On top of work and normal life stuff, I took on a second build as well on a 1999 Chevy Express, so I spread myself pretty thin for a while. I'm going to try to catch up the build documentation over the next day or two.

 

[ViaVacavi]

what did you use for the natural stain?

It was just a Minwax stain labeled as "Natural".  All it did really was enhance the grain a little, but we really like it a lot

 

[ViaVacavi]

Maxxair Roof Fan Installation

After a little research, we decided to go with the Maxxair fan over the Fantastic fan.  They both seem like great units, but when I saw that the Maxxair had two levers to raise and lower the cover vs one lever on the Fantastic Fan that made the decision for me.

We had a little bit of a situation to deal with when it came to installing the fan.  One of the things we loved about this high top, aside from the sky lights, was how nice and flat the roof was.  This was important to us so that we could fit a good amount of solar up top.  Because of this, we didn't want to mount a fan in this large flat area.  However, the gap between the skylights up top was too small for the entire flange of the Maxxair fan, which was about 18" if I remember correctly (the inner hole was standard 14" of course).

After contemplating different options, we decided that we would modify the flange on the Maxxair unit so that it fit in between the skylights.  One of the reasons that the flange was so large, was that it had tabs that are designed to hold a large rain cover.  We wouldn't be using a rain cover anyways, so we didn't need these tabs.  After some careful measuring, I could cut the flange down to about 3/4" on the two sides that run parallel to the length of the van.  While I would have preferred a 1" flange, we agreed that a 3/4" flange would still give us plenty of contact area with the 3/4" butyl tape we would be using for the seal.

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Here you can see how the flange area on the left and right are extra wide.    We don't have room for that extra width, so it was time for some finesse work with an angle grinder...

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Here you can see the excess material trimmed off, and only a 3/4" flange remaining.

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A frame was made to sit in between the skylights as a guide, and to add some structural integrity, since this area of the roof already has so much material cut out from it.  This was epoxied to the roof skin as well as the skylight frames.

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Here is the area between the skylights where the fan will sit.  Please excuse the fiberglass repair area behind the skylights, it still needs a little finish work and paint

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Somehow I managed to forget to take a picture of cutting the hole, but it went smoothly as expected.  The fan was put down over butyl tape.  Since the side flanges were so narrow, I used double the amount of screws necessary to ensure a good seal with the butyl tape.  After that a layer of Dicor lap sealant was applied around the perimeter and over each screw.

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The end installation was nice and clean.

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The end result fits in my 7'8" tall garage door!  Which means most parking garages should be within reach too (i've seen most of them at 8'2" around here)

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Not the most stealthy location for a van, but it fits the bill for us.  It's functional and looks great inside and out

Note:  This was done well over a month ago, and we have had one of the stormiest late summers I've seen here in Ohio.  This fan has already seen torrential downpours for days at a time with absolutely no leaks or issues at all!

 

[ViaVacavi]

Front Overhead Cabinet Work

The front interior of the van has been pretty much untouched until now.  It's always a sad reminder to look to the rear of the vehicle with the beautiful woodwork and cabinetry, then look towards the front at the gaping hole over the cab.  Now was a good time to fix that.

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As always, it starts with a simple cardboard template


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Which is then built-out in foam, doors cut out and wood inlaid where appropriate.

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Here you can see the completed cabinet face just about to get the paper bag treatment.  I didn't get a chance to take many pictures making the piece, but we decided on a slightly modified technique for the "poor man's fiberglass".  instead of canvas and woodglue to laminate the foam, Glidden Gripper paint and fiberglass door screen was used instead.  The end result is very light and strong, though very messy during the painting stage!

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A little glue and paper later, it was starting to match the rest of the cabinets.  The next step is stain and polyurethane, which really brings out the uniqueness of the grain of each piece.

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Here is the piece being fit into place

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And the doors were made from 1/4" luan and covered with maps to match the rest


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The trim piece to transition to the cab area was stained and polyurethaned

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This was all installed....


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And the end result looks so much better than the gaping hole we started with!  There is still some final trim work to do around the skylight area, but for the most part, looking up at the ceiling is starting to resemble a finished product!

 

[highdesertranger]

it does look really nice. congrats on a fine job. highdesertranger

 

[ViaVacavi]

Starting on the Lower Cabinets

Now that the ceiling is starting to look just about finished, it was time to turn towards tacking the lower cabinetry.  The basic idea is to have lower cabinets run from the rear of the passenger side barn doors to the rear of the van, which will enclose the wheel well, give countertop space, have storage areas from floor to countertop both in front of and behind the wheel well, and a smaller storage space directly over the wheel well.  

The passenger side will be very similar, but a bit shorter since it starts at the foot of the bed and goes to the rear of the van.

Additionally, there will be two cabinets in the rear pillars that will go from the top of the countertop to the bottom of the upper cabinets.  This really offers quite a bit of extra space!  The plan is that on the passenger side, the lower cabinet will be a canned goods pantry, and the pillar cabinet above that will house dry food goods.  Both of these are directly across from the refrigerator, so this puts all of the food in one logical spot.  The other rear pillar, which is only partly accessible due to the refrigerator being in the way, will house a majority of the electrical systems.

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Some rough templates are once again made with cardboard and duct tape

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Followed by full-sized foam bucks that are then layered in screen and paint.  I still haven't gotten into explaining the technique very much, but it's very very labor intensive, with long wait times between each stage.  I would venture to say that it probably isn't much cheaper than wood either, by the time you account for the foam, screen or canvas, and glue and paint.  But still, it's just so light and strong that it's been well worth the effort.  Recently when doing some more wiring in the van, I emptied one of the top foam shelves.  The driver's side shelf had a lot of canned good and other heavy items, which I temporarily put into a 58 Qt. tote.  I was amazed when I went to lift it just how heavy it was -- just a bit over 80 lbs!  This was being held up by that upper foam cabinet with no sags, creaks or any other issues at all.  I think that speaks volumes for how tough this stuff is once it's finished!

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Test fitting and minor trimming goes on throughout the process

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Here is a test fit in progress during the paper bag covering.  You can see towards the top where the kitchen area has a deeper countertop, all of which swings out with the door for indoor/outdoor cooking ability

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Here you can see the kitchen swung outside and stain being applied.  This picture shows very well how the stain brings out the   grain and texture of the paper coverings.  Here you can also see the start of some simple mosaic tile backsplash going in.  We still have some edge work to do on the countertop as well, but we will get to that pretty soon.

 

[ViaVacavi]

Lower Cabinets, Part 2

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Pictures can't really do it justice, but the luan tops were stained with an ebony stain, then received several coats of gloss polyurethane, sanded in between each coat for a deep gloss.  It's hard to see here, but the first couple of layers of poly have some metal flake mixed in for an interesting sparkling look to the countertops

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Again, pictures don't do it justice, but in the sunlight the sparkle is very deep and pronounced.


As of right now, we are still working on the lower cabinets.  We have trim work to finish on the passenger side (all corners will be lined with 1/2" aluminum angle), and we just started the work on screening the driver's side lower cabinetry, along with the pillar cabinets.

As far as the finished passenger side, the entire swing out kitchen weighs in at 8 lbs, and the rest of the cabinetry to the back weighs 7 lbs.

 

[ViaVacavi]

Converting the Fridge

Ok, I'm stretching the truth here a little.  The fridge in these pictures was for the other conversion I've been working on in parallel with this one, but this conversion will be done to the fridge in this build next week so I decided to show it here.  The reason I converted the other fridge first is because it's been more accessible for testing - and boy did I do a lot of testing (soft starters, thermistors, and capacitors were all tested in various ways to reduce startup current to make inverter requirements smaller)!  The idea was to make a pseudo-12v fridge using an inverter.  Simply plugging a minifridge into an inverter and letting it run like that is very inefficient and in my case would waste over 15 amphours each day just keeping the inverter powered!  The idea here is to allow the fridge's thermostat to run off of 12 volts, and have that thermostat turn the inverter on only when necessary, making the fridge quite comparable in efficiency to a true 12v fridge.  

I have another thread in the forums here where I will get into exact details and schematics, but I'll give a quick rundown here

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The On/Off switch was removed from the inverter and two holes drilled to mount a terminal strip in it's place

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The terminal strip was mounted and connected to the inverter.  This will allow me to not only use a manual external switch to turn it on and off, but also allow a relay that will be added to the fridge to tell the inverter when it's needed to run the compressor.

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Converting the fridge is cheap an easy.  A simple terminal strip, two Bosch automotive relays and a 12v cooling fan are all that's added.
The total price of all items, including the fridge came to $150! (not counting the inverter, but that was going to be added anyways).  Above you can see that the conversion is nice and clean and doesn't add much to the footprint needed for the fridge.  The cooling fan is optional, but I do believe that it will increase efficiency of the fridge at least a little.

One other feature that I added was a home made transfer switch.  This powers the 120V circuit in the van from shore power any time it's hooked up, but will default back to the inverter when shore power is not available.  This essentially makes this a 2-way fridge, as the inverter isn't used in the case that 120v shore power is available.


The end result:  A 3.1 CuFt. fridge with separate freezer fully converted for a total of $150.  It has been using around 30-33 Amp-hours per day from the battery bank since the conversion.  If a small chest freezer were to have been converted instead, I would imagine 20 amphours or less per day would easily be possible with this technique.

Again, in the next couple of days I will be doing a detailed post in the Food and Cooking subforum that gives exact details.  I may even make a video of converting the next fridge over in the coming week

 

[ViaVacavi]

Electrical System (Finally)

This is the part I've been waiting for!  I'm a bit of a junkie when it comes to electronics, having worked in the renewable energy field, made and designed my own controllers, circuits and PCBs, and having been programming since I was in elementary school.  This is the one area I'm very particular about, so it's taken a bit more time to hash out than I wanted originally.

I started with what I knew I wanted: House Battery, Solar Power, Battery Isolator to charge the house battery from the alternator, 12V converter to charge the batteries from shore power, and inverter to give 120VAC on the road (and service my converted fridge), and automatic transfer of the 120VAC system between shore and inverter power depending on whether or not shore power was plugged in.

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I used my experience with PCB design/schematic software KiCad to design the electrical system (i'll link to a high-resolution pdf file at the end of the post for those interested).  Having this done up front not only makes the job much easier, but serves as permanent documentation of the electrical system for future troubleshooting.

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I first built a small subframe that would carry the main components in the driver's side rear pillar of the van.  Every component in the van (light, fan, switch, etc.) terminates at a terminal strip.  This make troubleshooting and re-configuring very simple, as it is normally as easy as moving a jumper wire from one terminal to another.  I pre-wired as much as I could before installing the subframe so I could enjoy the luxury of sitting comfortably while working.

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Once the subframe was mounted, wiring was as easy as attaching wires one at a time to the terminal strip according to the schematic that was made ahead of time.  We did a pretty good job of labeling wiring when it was initially ran, so this went really smooth

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Slowly but surely wire was routed and organized

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And cable ducting covers installed for a nice clean installation.  It's not apparent from any of these pictures, but the 12v converter (for charging from shore power) is on the opposite side of the subframe, and the inverter is mounted below at the floor level)

This corner pillar will be wrapped in a normal looking (foam) cabinet with access doors to the important areas

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The isolator was installed inside next to where the house batteries are going to be installed, connected with about 14' of 1/0 cable and fused with a 150 amp fuse.  I chose to put the isolator inside for a couple of reasons: 1) to keep it out of the weather, and 2) so that I can hear the audible click it makes when it's energized (so that I know that it's working!)

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Two 12v 105 Amp-Hour group 29 batteries complete the installation.  These are sealed batteries and located under the foot of the bed.  I'm still having a debate with myself over building a vented enclosure, as flooded batteries would be the ones to worry about in this situation - but it may give some extra peace of mind.

 

[ViaVacavi]

Solar

Lastly during the electrical install, the solar panels went up.  I'm not going to start a debate on solar panel types, but monocrystaline and polycrystaline panels are pretty close in electrical characteristics these days.  In this case, I chose polycrystaline panels purely for the physical panel size, as 3 panels together is an exact fit for the amount of roof space we have on the hightop before stealth becomes a factor.

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Here you can see 2 100w monocrystaline panels next to 2 100w polycrystaline panels.  The shorter polycrystaline panels were a better fit physically for the space we have to work with, and this is purely the reason why they were chosen.

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the cables were brought out of our (dirty) roof through a set of sealed gland connectors, screwed down over butyl tape and then sealed with Dicor (not pictured).

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Here is how 2 of the panels sit.  It's not pictured here, we made simple rails out of 1" aluminum angle that serves our mounting needs.  The third panel should be here tomorrow, so it will be installed soon and I'll get some better pictures of the final install

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From the sides, the install is quite stealthy due to the narrow width of the panels.  From the rear, you can see the trailing edge of the last panel, but it's really hard to tell if you're not looking for it

 

[bigsallysmom]

Your wiring is a work of art and science.

 

[masterplumber]

Amazing quality work. It's looking really nice.

 

[ViaVacavi]

Finishing Off the Electric Systems

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The 3rd and final solar panel finally came in, and was mounted.  This makes a full 300 watts on the roof and nearly covers all of the available space on the roof.  The solar is wired in series, and often produces in excess of 64 volts on a sunny day (the Tracer charge controller is good up to 100 volts). Even on a very cloudy day, 20+ volts is available for some low-grade charging that otherwise wouldn't happen.

Due to the flat roof, the panels sit nice and low, well below the high point of the MaxxAir fan.  It is still able to fit through my 7'8" garage door without issue, which is a huge bonus.  So as of now, we get to enjoy the luxury of a high top (ok, more of a mid-top), complete with fan and solar - which is capable of parking in a standard garage, and even parking garages.



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The inverter was finally wired in permanently.  6 gauge wire was run just in case we want to upgrade to a larger inverter in the future.

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Due to the 12v hybrid fridge conversion, the inverter had to be modified.  The on/off switch was removed so that a remote switch could operate the unit.  Additionally, the converted fridge will command the inverter on/off as needed

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After pryign the switch out and cutting the wires, a 2-position terminal strip was about to be installed.  Holes were marked for mounting screws

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and the end result gives a nice clean interface to allow for remote operating of the inverter, whether it via a remote switch or via the converted fridge that can turn the inverter on and off as needed to run the compressor

I forgot to get a picture of our switch panel, but I'll add one later.  To original conversion van had a console right above the rear-view mirror which had 4 switches.  This has been reinstalled and the switches wired to the main terminal block of the electrical system.  Switch #1 (left most) will turn on all ceiling lights, including the cab ceiling light.  Switch #2 will turn on the mood lighting -- the RGB strip lighting around the cabinets.  Switch #3 turns on/off the entertainment items - basically just the TV and radio at this point.  New power leads from the house battery system were run to the stereo in the dash so that it no longer draws from the start battery.  This allows for use of the stereo any time we want it without worrying about draining the start battery.  Switch #4 enables the inverter.  This gets just a little more complicated though, as we made our own 15-amp automatic transfer switch out of a properly rated DPDT relay.  While on shore power, this switch still enables the inverter, but it just isn't connected to anything sinced it is switched out by the transfer switch. Additionally, there is a relay on the converted fridge that also can command the inverter on/off and is wired in parallel with this switch.  So essentially, Switch #4 can enable the inverter for 120v household power while boon docking - but it's possible that the fridge already has it turned on, and it's also possible that shore power is in use, eliminating the inverter from the circuit anyways.  Of course, all of this is automatic and behind the scenes, but it does add a layer of complexity to understanding how and when the inverter is powered and available.

 

[ViaVacavi]

Entertainment System

While finishing off the electrical system, the entertainment system was installed. Nothing too fancy here, but the stock head unit was replaced with this pioneer head unit:
Pioneer MVH-X380BT Digital Media Receiver with Short Chassis Design and Bluetooth

This head unit does not have a CD player (which is great, as I havn't used a CD in forever!).  Because of this, the unit is very shallow and quite easy to install.  The big thing was Bluetooth support, allowing us to stream music from our phones when we want.  Part of upgrading the head unit was running 3 additional wires from the house battery system.  A +12 constant lead, a switched +12v lead that is switched on/off from our main switch panel, and a dedicated ground from the house battery (this was needed due to a positive ground charge controller).

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The install used an adapter plate that adds a nice little pocket below the stereo.  This isn't a very clear picture, but the end result looks great, and the sound in the van is so much better that I probably wouldn't be able to accurate describe it - and thats with the same stock speakers!

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We decided on a 12v Supersonic LED TV for our television setup.  These are made up to 24", but we didn't feel the extra cost was worth 2" extra, expecially in a small space like this

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The TV was mounted on a swing-arm mount that gives a ton of possibilities for positioning.  Here you can see it rear of the kitchen, which is great for when we're cooking inside.

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In this picture it's swung over the kitchen area

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It can be easily angled for better viewing from the bed

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And even be swing outside so that we can watch TV while cooking outside, or even set up our camp chairs to watch TV outside. 

The original flexible TV antenna from the conversion van was re-installed and connected to the TV. While it's not great, it gives quite a few local HD over-the-air channels that covers most of the major networks. I think eventually a better amplified HDTV antenna will get installed, but for now it's working pretty well.

In all it's a great overall setup.  Both the raido and TV are controlled from switch #4 on our main switch panel so that we can cut down on parasitic losses when we aren't using them.  Soon, a wire from the audio output of the TV will be run to the AUX input of the radio for times where we want excellent sound while watching TV.  The ability to move the tv and angle it just about anywhere is a great advantage and really gives us a ton of options!  The last part of the equation will be in a few weeks when I'll be adding a nice low-power-consuming RaspberryPi 3 computer for simple computing tasks and web browsing while on the road.

 

[ViaVacavi]

I finally got a picture of the switch panel

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Here is the switch console located in the cab area just above the rear view mirror.  This was original to the conversion van we started with, but has been re-used in our electrical system.  There is a small orange LED in each switch that glows when the switch is closed, and a LED backlight behind the whole thing (not yet hooked up, but will hook up to turn on with the driving lights)

#1 Turns on all overhead lights in the van, including the cab area
#2 Turns on the RGB LED strip lighting around the upper cabinets
#3 Turns on the entertainment stuff (radio and TV)
#4 Turns on the inverter to all outlets in the van

 

[ViaVacavi]

Motorhome Status!

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Here you can see the Body Type of the van listed as MH (Motor Home) on our Title from the state of Ohio.  We actually did this a little bit ago but I don't believe I've shared that part yet.  We went through the legal paperwork to have the van not only titled and registered as a MotorHome, but also titled in the name of an invisible New Mexico LLC.  I just wanted to take a few minutes to explain how this went for us and why we did them.

LLC
When we first decided to start looking into a nomadic lifestyle retirement goal, we also looked into privacy concerns that could be associated with it and came across the invisible New Mexico LLC.  LLCs in New Mexico are truly invisible in that not even the state has owner information - owner ship is proven by our own personal paperwork and records. If a law enforcement officer were to run our plates for example, they would only get our LLC name and any public records associated with that LLC.  Our personal identities are completely anonymous.  Another great side affect of the LLC is shielding of our personal assets.  Risk of accidents will increase with increased traveling and exposure to bad drivers/road hazards/etc.  The LLC separates our personal assets from those of the LLC.  So in short, we are using our LLC for both privacy and asset protection.

Motorhome Title
There are many reasons that we decided to go for a true motorhome title for the van
1) In Ohio, the process is pretty cheap and easy.  No inspection is required, only an affidavit that states that the vehicle has been converted and what amenities it contains.
2) Motorhome insurance is cheaper than passenger vehicle insurance (at least here where I am).  Most motorhome/RV policies allow you to pause/re-instate your insurance as the vehicle is used, making it even cheaper.
3) There are parking areas, camp grounds and other areas that are designated for RV use only.  With our title and registration, we can prove that we are indeed an RV if we are questioned.
4) Likewise, there are parking areas, campgrounds and other areas that are designated for passenger vehicle use only.  In these areas we wouldn't stand out in a van (even though it's titled as an RV)
5) Many states, including Ohio have more relaxed laws for RVs vs. passenger vehicles.  This includes firearm transport and carry, alcohol transport and consumption, and seatbelt laws.  It does vary a lot from state to state, but in general every state I've looked up had at least a few advantages for those in RVs vs passenger vehicles.
6)

 

[ViaVacavi]

Front Curtain

This is another thing that was actually done a little while ago and I keep forgetting to document it.
Originally, a curtain/blanket hung behind the driver's compartment for privacy in the back of the van.  It worked fine for its intended purpose, but it didn't look very good and it made it a little difficult to freely move between the front and the rear of the van.
After looking at a few options, we decided to use "Type B" aluminum I-beam curtain track.

[img=640x480]http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/...-4A94-8650-25998DF8DF1E_zpsj4vnezwd.jpg[/img]
It may be hard to see in this picture, but the aluminum track was bent by hand to perfectly match the profile of the trim around the headliner.  It's a perfect fit and as you can see from the picture it would be hard to notice if it wasn't pointed out (you can see a few hooks hanging from it over the side window in this picture)

[img=640x480]http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/...-49C3-B7B2-A3461E9E5A7C_zpscrx3mmog.jpg[/img]
Here is a view of those curtain hooks up close on the I-beam track.  The hooks are on wheels that glide easily around the track

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This isn't a great picture, but it shows how well and smoothly the I-beam bends around the corners

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While I was busy getting the curtain track bent to shape and installed, she was working on the curtains.  She found some really nice blackout curtains at the Dollar Store, and they were nice and inexpensive.  Luckily, the dimensions worked perfectly for hanging them sideways on the curtain track, with one panel on each side that would meet in the middle when closed.

[img=640x480]http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/...-4AF9-A536-DCADDB94BD8A_zpsiiioxokf.jpg[/img]
We bought some 1/4" eyelets and a cheap crimper set off of amazon, and the eyelets were installed about every 10" along the top edge of the sideways curtain.

[img=640x853]http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/...-4960-9DA7-6F5CA479AF02_zpspjoilefq.jpg[/img]
The eyelets ended up being a perfect size for the hooks, and the completed curtain was hung from 7 hooks per side of the track

[img=640x853]http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/...-4620-AE37-229276E568F9_zpstrzrkof6.jpg[/img]
When not in use, the curtain pulls neatly behind/beside the front seats of the van

[img=640x480]http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/...-431F-BDA7-B726FEBCEE7F_zpsrq6ukyd6.jpg[/img]
[img=640x480]http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/...-4AEC-8EA5-5EA00EF008F7_zpsglm4gd7j.jpg[/img]
When drawn closed, the entire front windshield and side windows are blocked out.  In addition to blocking light and providing some privacy, having our privacy shield all the way at the windshield vs. behind the seats really opens up the interior space a lot more and makes it seem even bigger.  It's also very easy to transition into the cab area and even use the seats for alternate seating when needed.

 

[anewbiewannabe]

Very nice as usual.

How on earth did you get such a nice bend around the corner on the I beams for the curtains?

 

[ViaVacavi]

Very nice as usual.

How on earth did you get such a nice bend around the corner on the I beams for the curtains?

Thank you

I was surprised at how easy the I-beam track was to work with.  It bent by hand, and I just took my time bending it in place little by little  to match it to the curve in the headliner trim.  I probably helped a lot that the design of the headliner trim was al on the same horizontal plane, which I'm sure might not be the case for all vans.

 

[BradKW]

That came out really well