AT IT AGAIN: Paul and Mike Convert a Mid/Tall T1N Sprinter Cargo

Wouldn't it have been far easier to steam and bend plywood instead of all that work to add in a non-wood ingredient to make a curved cabinet?
 

PaulJensen

Custom Builder
Wouldn't it have been far easier to steam and bend plywood instead of all that work to add in a non-wood ingredient to make a curved cabinet?
No...Steaming works OK with some non-plywoods...I still would have had to make a curved form even if I used bending plywood...this way is vastly faster...
 

PaulJensen

Custom Builder
4

New day, same plan: More cabinets...

But first...
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(above) The driver side upper case face/bottom were popped from the gluing form...

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(above) It came out clean...The plastic tape is the key...

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(above) Light too...I can easily hold this with one arm fully extended...I wasn't expecting that...

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(above) Next, I need to build something for up here...

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(above) So it was back to the gluing form...

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(above) Just like yesterday...One piece of plywood is held to the line, then screwed onto the form...

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(above) The quarter round is placed next to the plywood...

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(above) The other piece of plywood is put on top of the quarter round and screw to the form...

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(above) Almost ready for epoxy and fiberglass tape...Still need to scuff sand the PVC...

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(above) I did both sides of the joint at the same time...

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(above) The gluing jig was tipped back to accomplish that...

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(above) Good enough...

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(above) That took less than an hour...

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(above) Next: Driver side lower cabinets and bed/sofa...

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(above) Mike has a mattress already...It's 30" x 73"...The 1x2 wood strips define the bed size and are screwed to the plywood floor...The casework for the bed will screw onto those 1x2 strips...

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(above) The plan...

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(above) I made a story board to map out the vertical aspects of the bed plan...The existing electrical panel is in the way...

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(above) Even if the panel is all the way on the floor, it still doesn't work with the plan but worse, it's positioned the wrong way for accessibility...

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(above) Better...

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That makes it easier to place the inverter down there too...A mounting platform was glued and nailed together...
The inverter is placed on nutted bolts pointing up...That way the inverter can be removed easily if needed...

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(above) Much better...A plywood power disconnect mounting box was glued and nailed together...Still thinking about the right place to put it...

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(above) The bed/sofa case was temporarily put in place...It's far from done, but it defines the space...

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(above) Using 1x2's and scrap plywood, the kitchen cabinet is built full scale to figure out the sizes and placement of the components...

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(above) End of the day, and it's all coming together pretty much as planned...

Tomorrow, lower cabinet on the curb side...
 

mog

Kodiak Buckaroo
Maybe Mike can chime in.
Shore power only, or will there be enough battery capacity (AH ?) to run the cooktop?
induct-sprinter.jpg
 

rockbender

Adventurer
I used a bunch of that 1/4" ply for my cabinets too. It was great to work with and builds such a nice lightweight product in the end! I really like the glassed radius corner on the upper cabinet - that is super cool.
 

mhiscox

Expedition Leader
Shore power only, or will there be enough battery capacity (AH ?) to run the cooktop?
300 amp hours of Odyssey Group 31s mounted extremely nicely by Upscale Automotive are tucked up under the floor. That bank is connected to the Prosine 2000W inverter. The cooktop maxes out at 1500 watts. So the short answer is "Yes, there's enough to run the cooktop."

That said, and as you know, continuously withdrawing roughly 15 amps from the bank isn't going to make the battery bank happy, and it's not anything I'd do for a long period of time. The way I'm planning to use the truck, I'll take a propane burner like this:

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to use when I'm boondocking. But would I ever run the cooktop off of the inverter? Probably, for short periods of time, especially if I was going to make up the amps by driving or plugging in shortly thereafter. FWIW, I expect to use this induction cooktop pretty similar to the way I use the vehicles' microwaves. It's bad practice, and I'll generally rely on shorepower, but I'm not too much a purist to grab a few minutes of use (popcorn, anyone?) off the inverter.
 

mhiscox

Expedition Leader
Any specs on that water heater I spy there? Is that just a 120v instant hot unit?
Just 120V. It's not that the 12V ten-liter unit I have in the XV-JP wasn't considered (it works pretty well), but it takes about $700 and as much as three months to get one. And there wasn't enough room for the big Isotherms, nor did I need that much hot water. So for under $200, it's easier to get the ten liters I need using this sort of unit. BTW, we won't even wire this through the inverter distribution panel; it'll need it's own 20 amp circuit (we're bringing 30 amp power in).

This is what they call a point-of-use water heater, the idea being you use it to get hot water quickly when it'd take too long to have it come from the main water heater. A good example is in my shop, where it takes about two minutes for hot water from a hundred-plus feet away to get to the faucet. So you install one of these and it keeps a couple gallons of water hot for immediate use. I did think about trying to go with the Instahot-type water heater that gives you water right at the sink for cooking, cups of tea, etc. But the biggest of them are only about three-quarters of a gallon, and even though the water would have been very hot (190 degrees) and would be mixed to give substantially more, I still didn't figure it was enough capacity.
 
Hello. Beautiful work. Question about the use of fiberglass insulation in your projects. Does it break down over time? I hear e-chat on the forums about the fiberglass breaking down and making a mess. Don't know if I believe that. I would like to fill the space behind the factory interior panels in my 15 pass ford. Fiberglass seems like a great way to fill some space/quiet things down/insulate. Thanks for any input. Love the simpler is better concept. Cheers. Bob
 

PaulJensen

Custom Builder
...fiberglass insulation...does it break down over time?

Never heard that, but I'm not tuned in to all the forums...

I've been doing residential remodeling and construction since the 70's and I've never seen fiberglass insulation look any weirder than when it goes in...

Carpet pad, yes, fiberglass insulation, no...
 

PaulJensen

Custom Builder
5

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-****-H59A2LJs/UuCYYiq79HI/AAAAAAAAceA/61P8DA89DYw/s1600/P1040534.JPG
(above) Today's goal...Lower cabinets on the curb side...

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(above) The plan is...

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(above) At the end of the day it looked like this...

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(above) It was a struggle to get the space optimized...Involved re-sizing stuff on the sink side too...The Fridge determines most of what happens on this side...Everything else is subordinated...

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(above) The other determiner, is the ****ter...

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(above) The toilet makes the padded seat that was hoped for, higher than desired...The seat cushion will finish out at over 18"...Fine for a footrest from the couch, but a leg strainer without a foot rest....

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(above) The foam-board on top is the size of the sleeping pad...25" x 72"...A bit wider than the minimal refrig. cabinet size...

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(above) See that 4" overhang, supporting it is a dilemma...???...

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(above) Over here, supporting the overhang will be simple...

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(above) As planned...

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(above) The kitchen layout was tightened...

I also removed the other wall case from the gluing jig...I'll get those partitioned and up tomorrow...
 

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