Thanks for the input - and update!
Hey everyone,
Thank you so much for the input on the build...I'm making some progress!
Showing up at the door today and tomorrow is a 63qrt ARB fridge, and MaxxFan Deluxe. In the next day or two will be some Proline tracks. The Proline tracks go on the roof for the cargo box and the solar panel, were half the price of the Yakima tracks, and should work the same way.
Solar: I've made some progress and decisions on my solar set up. I drank the Handy Bob solar koolaid and will likely go with the Bogart Engineering controller and battery meter unless someone can talk me out of it. Probably going to do a Renogy 150W panel up top and eventually a 100W suitcase so I can take advantage of parking in the shade. The 150W panel fits on the roof better and will be the easiest to tilt if I end up seeing some shading issues with the cargo box.
My biggest issue is with the house batteries. Group 65 battery boxes on the frame rail only hold 65amp hour batteries and I need about 300amp hours and would like to put that together with just two batteries. I want the batteries to be outside under the van - preferably on the frame rail under the side barn doors to shorten the run between batteries and controller. Getting batteries up and down from there isn't the easiest exercise so I'll probably go with AGM to make maintenance chores minimal. Anyone have a quality ~150amp hour deep cycle AGM battery recommendation for that location? I still can't decide what to integrate or stay away from with the factory auxiliary battery and it's wiring. My preference is to replace those batteries (auxiliary is dead) and ignore it for the most part - put in new wiring and isolator.
Here is progress on my interior version 2.0...it will allow for a queen size sleeping area - my kitchen box action packer and the ARB fridge are part of the sleeping platform - they sit up near the Sienna seats. The benches have a lid that flips up and a separate board sits between the two of them. The kitchen box also fits between the benches. 10 gallons of water in two 5 gallon Sceptor cans sit directly behind the Sienna seats.
Piano hinge holds on to folding lid:
I left the ends of the boxes open on both ends so that I can slide things in and out or pull out from above as easily as possible.
Gotta get the some foam mattress cushions built for it - probably 5 pieces in total. Not sure if I'll work in a table to go between the benches or not. Wife and I are both 6'1" so we would have to sit hunched over at a table, but can comfortably recline against the walls.
Plan is to roll with that until a pop-top can happen, then make a final layout while reflecting on our patterns of use. Then I'll try to put together something more permanent and professional using extruded aluminum.
That's where I'm at now!
:coffeedrink: :drool:
