2003 Dodge Ram Van 3500 Build - Part Time Traveler

[fog cutter]

here's another place that might help you (or someone else) for those odd bits: http://www.clipsandfasteners.com/

here for push-ins: http://www.clipsandfasteners.com/Autobody_Clips_And_Fasteners_s/151.htm

 

[Regcabguy]

You're doing a fine job! Nothing like getting out of the city,smelling the trees and fixing a good meal.
Good health to your family!

 

[herecomestony]

Nice build!

 

[faded1004]

thanks for all the good wishes... we really appreciate it.

so small update for now...

yesterday, spent about 5 hours driving to meet a guy who wanted to help me out with the batteries i needed. picked up another pair of used d31m optima blue top batteries for an amazing price. a price worth driving that much. and in the beginning i didn't tell him about my situation, but when we talked and i showed him pictures... he really wanted to help out. so i got home late, charged up one through the night and charging the second one now while i am at work. i should be able to work on the battery bank tonight. i am going retest all batteries and match the internal resistances for each string. make sure they are as close together as possible for the best performance. so i have a total of 7 batts now, i am hoping i can score 1-2 more soon so i can get all my batt positions filled.



when i get home from work i want to also work on getting the mini fridge into position between the 2 front seats, work on finishing 1 partition of wall coverings for testing, and may be clean up the floors inside. i took the firewood inside the van on the over night test and there are pieces of wood everywhere now. need to just tidy up a little.

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just got home and threw in my fridge... wow, it is tight... i didn't put the seat belt for the driver into my calculations... hahaha... but over all it works. i raised it alittle, but i can still get over it with alittle jump. kinda what i wanted. now the whole area behind the driver seat is free for the baby sleeping area. on the test night, the baby bed was blocking the side door, and i had to fix it.



i also started more battery testing and found more bad news. looks like 3 of 7 batts are kinda no good. i borrowed a forklift test resistor and found 3 of the batteries only can push, 375amps, 125 amps, and 30 amps... the 30 amp doesn't hold voltage well. so i am going to put the other 2 into a repair cycle on the charger and i hope they come out okay. they do hold charge... just not giving me full amps. i think my system at max will need 80 amps. might be okay for now... but i need to make sure i don't forget about it. the other batteries are giving me 850 to 1200 amps easy each.

i will know more once the repair cycle is done... i hope tonight...

but pulling out those 3, running 4 in the bank good, i am easy reaching 90%+ charge already. so basically... 90% of 125ah or 75% 200ah... are my 2 choices... what can you do... i am getting used batteries for average 60 bucks each. gonna be hit or miss.

 

[faded1004]

good news... kinda...

i got 6 of 8 batts installed and working great. today i pulled in 40ah and got max 90% which is alot more then i first got with bad cells.

fan on 80% and fridge on, i am loosing about 10% through the night. which is good news.

now for the bad. i have been trying to figure out my water module. i got the low profile pallet made and set it up for the water tank and strapped it down for testing. i am thinking carpeting it will help cushion the tank.



so it turns out, the 1/2" pex lines i am using isn't really compatible to get down to 1/4 JG lines. i made 3 trips to lowes and homedepot trying to figure out a way. so, i went back to work and picked up my larger filter system. and boy... it is a biggie. i think, if i break it down to 2 stages (sediment and active carbon) i can get it to fit. but i love the ability to add a tank and may be have some space for wood inside on the pallet.



i have a feeling i am just tired... so i stopped and grabbed some dinner right now and i got a nice cold soda. sitting here, i found the fittings for the 1/4" setup (small filter) and the 1" setup (big filter).

so now, i have these 2 options:

#1 (1/4" setup) - optional 2nd tank, no filtered shower water (baby has excema, helps alot)

#2 (1" setup) - no optional tank, filtered shower water, no space for extra storage

so yea, i am gonna need to sleep on this and get the parts on which choice i make. i am kinda leaning on #2...

wife actually wanted to take a friends family on a camping trip in 1.5 weeks again! i think she liked it... so i need to get the basics built (water and toilet) this week and test next week before the trip. i am happy she is embracing the situation. so it looks like cosmetic wall finishing will have to wait a little more.

 

[Heloflyboy]

Nice build. Thanks for pics.

 

[faded1004]

Nice build. Thanks for pics.

your welcome... enjoy...

okay, i am closer... but no cookie yet...

after a few more trips to lowes and mcmaster, i was able to get alittle progress. summary? turns out pex 3/8" fits JG 1/2"!!!!! so now i have a plan. i just happen to figure it out by chance and i had one of the JG on me and i by slim chance tried to fit it on a PEX line. so yea, i am going to go with the small filter system. put inline with shower also, and use it for drinking water also. going to throw in a sediment filter and GAC filter for contaminates. i started to cut the lines and add the fittings with plumbers tape.

so here is the basic setup



tank on front, back side will be pump and filter on left, right side will hold my fire wood for now. at least until i decide if i am going to get a hitch with cargo carrier, thinking for propane and wood storage.

i just need to get 2 more fittings, then i should be done. then i can start water testing and looking for leaks.

also, and update on the electrical. i am on the third day of running the fridge 24 hours a day. if i leave the van closed up in the sun, the inside temp drops. so the last 2 days i have been cracking the windows and leaving the vent fan on auto mode. with that setup, today i am able to pull in 110AH and end the day with almost the same as the last cycle. i just want to confirm i can last indefinitely with the fridge on and fan on. i should know tomorrow, as that will simulate a 4 day trip with sun included on 3 of the days. 5th day i am going to cut off the solar to simulate a raining day and see how far i can go before i hit 60% battery levels. so far, the battery bank looks promising.

for my notes, here is day 2 minimum voltage data:



here is day 3 summary data:



so from day 2 to day 3, i lost .15v in the overall cycle. so i am not "breaking even" on a daily cycle. but loosing just alittle bit? granted i am messing with the battery cells... i am hoping by this weekend i should know how long i can go with out sun and full time fridge.

so explain more of what i am looking at... i am looking at the minimum voltage of the banks over the night. this tells me how far drained the batteries got before the morning sun starts to bring it back up. i am hoping i can sustain fridge and fan at 80% all day and night. so when you add in 200w electric heater, electric cooking, water pumping, and some accessory charging... i want to make it through a whole weekend with out major dependency with the sun.

 

[Johny5]

Great build and thanks for sharing your solar tech. I'll be adding solar to my van soon, your giving me lots of ideas.

 

[onemanarmy]

Hows the van handling the extra weight? Have you 'worked' with teh van since adding all the creature comforts?

Any plans for springs/shocks/brakes?

 

[faded1004]

Great build and thanks for sharing your solar tech. I'll be adding solar to my van soon, your giving me lots of ideas.

solar i put in was pretty simple. i really just went with what i found cheap. i would have loved to just go 12v, i would have loved to go bigger... but yea... sometimes, just go with what you get easily... later on i do want to max out the controller and get 100w more panel power. hard to explain... found the panels cheap (used for 100 each), inverter was used but looked new(200 instead of 600), batteries were about 60-70 each used, mppt i think i paid alittle more then 168? the inverter + mppt made me go 24v. sunsaver can only max out 400w in 24v bank or 200w in 12v bank.

Hows the van handling the extra weight? Have you 'worked' with teh van since adding all the creature comforts?

Any plans for springs/shocks/brakes?

i am not sure what you mean?

my van only has 50k miles on it. i bought it new in 2003. it is a 3500 model with added air suspension in the back. i was under the impression that i can hold like 8k in weight easily? i never really looked into it as i only hold 3200 regularly maximum for work. tires i know use the heavier weight loading... which are expensive as hell cause i was thinking about getting new ones for the hell of it. but yea, not gonna happen for now.

i do think my van suspension isn't normal. i see all the other dodge vans around me and they are so much lower then i am. kind of like i am lifted. hard to explain, but the tires i have and the air suspension i think raised me up alot? (i only have modified imports - honda nissan subaru, no experience in other models)

as of right now, the van feels normal. like it was empty. brakes well. accelerates same. i took it on that one over night camping trip and went up from sea level to 6000 ft elevation in 1 hour... no problems. no smoking brakes.

may be after i am done i can try to go get the van weighted? so i can report back how much i added? today, i will also try to look for any cargo limits that may be listed on the van.

i am really not knowledgeable in van mods... but i would love to get some type of helical differential in the rear. i limit driving above 65 now with the huge solar panel on the roof. so far, everything is okay with the van driving. today i am going to also seafoam it and check milage again. see if i can peel out 1 more mpg to hit 18mpg city.

 

[onemanarmy]

I was referring to where you stated that you carry full size pallets for work in the van, and was just wondering if you had used the van for work (your day job) since adding all the stuff to the interior and if anything got in your way.

I see that it is a 3500 van, so you should have no problems, but was curious.

thanks for the extensive write up.

 

[faded1004]

I see that it is a 3500 van, so you should have no problems, but was curious.

i do appreciate the thought... i am far from perfect and one reason i post is to get feedback in case i do something really wrong and i don't even see it.

like if i didn't know NOT store and use a propane bbq tank inside the van. super unsafe...


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okay, finally... got all the parts for the plumbing! turns out the part i got was just not packaged right. after i played with a few at the store, i couldn't understand why my idea didn't work. anyways... got home and tried out another... and worked perfectly.

so, i finished up the pallet by building a type of catch basin. for the water or dripping. i wanted to at least be able to hold alittle leak and some splashing while disconnecting. when i am in the van or something and don't want to get anything on the floors.



after getting the wood glued down, i went to town on the staining. the plywood and the 2x4 wood soak up the stain very differently. some parts of the 2x4 didn't even take the stain? i did prep with sanding the whole area... but i guess may be i didn' t put enough time? but anways, good enough for holding the water tank.



after getting the stain to dry, i put on 2 coats of satin poly. outdoor kind. i am hoping it is enough to handle alittle wetness from dripping.



now i am waiting for the poly to dry, so i guess it is break time again. i should be able to setup the tank and plumbing late tonight. so... time to grab alittle dinner and plan my next few steps.

i think i need to take the pallet to my work for water testing. since it will he heavy, i don't want to end up draining everything just to get it back into the van. at work i can just forklift it out and in once it is ready.

i decided not to hard wire in my 4g cellular amplifier. i wanted the choice to use it in the front and the rear of the van since it only has internal antennae range of 2-3 feet.

once the water tank is done, i can go back to work on the walls. i was thinking about testing it this weekend for another 1 nighter on my own, but it really depends on a few things going on. i found a guy who is giving away free fire wood. but you have to split it and stuff. they are very odd shapes and stuff. i do want to take advantage of it, so i picked up a cheap electric chain saw... that works from the van! it only uses 8 amps and my inverter can handle up to about 10, 15 max for 5 minutes at a time?



i already picked up 1 pallet full, i want to go back again tomorrow to pick up another pallet. if i can get 4 pallets of wood, it should really get me stocked up for the year?

i also picked up an hatchet for the van, but not sure where to store it. will be perfect for processing wood at the camp site. hultafors 17"...



i have been thinking about the gear i might need extra for the van, may be a shovel? not like i am super hard core expedition, but just fun toys to use at the campsite. i will have to think about that once i finish up the walls.

day 4 fridge and fan at 80% testing:



so it turns out i lost another .15v for this next 24 hour cycle. which is stable. at this rate, i will be at <60% capacity in about 1-2 more days. good steady consumption.

another note, i just realized my sodas are now coming out slushy... so i can lower down the temperatures. may be with that i can get even for a daily charge? another thought... that last 10% of charge really takes a long time. like i can get up to 80-85% really fast. but getting up to 90-95% takes another full day almost? not sure if what i am experiencing is right. not sure is these number will continue to drop? or will it flatten soon around 60% to 50%? since i am able to charge up with 300w. or are these half cloudy days really hurting me? really not sure. i just know today i only pulled in 60ah, almost half yesterdays 110ah

my next test will be... try to take a break for 3 days, and test running the chain saw and rice cooker from the van... see if i can actually not get back up to voltage in a days charge? for some reason, i really feel it it is the last 10% that is slow and i can't get back easily.

 

[faded1004]

okay, 5th day cycle for power:

so looks like i pulled in only 50ah today, even less... but got a better over night voltage and added .10v to my minimum.



yet my minimum through the night was better. i think mainly cause i lowered my fridge temperature. my soda and drinks on the door are still freezing.



i think may be i turned it up way too much since the freezer area wasn't freezing. so yea, looks like i am no longer negative on the daily consumption for the fridge and fan at 80% speeds. which is really good news. i am going to test one more cycle then charge for a few days to see where i peak out at. then test how long i can go with out charging. i am hoping 2 days?

on to more good news.

i was able to continue working on the assembly of the parts of the water module. here is the layout of all the main components



once the module is in, the bed planks will hover right above the tank. perfect fitment!



i made the pallet fit in and also go alittle wider then a regular pallet. really good fitment and easy to pull in and out.



so in order to support and make a gradual decline, i made supports for the fill tube. as you can see, they fit right under the bed planks. here is the rear most support that will hold the fill side.



here is the middle section where it will help avoid any major dips in the line, i moved the plank is each position so you can see the height of the support.



here is the support most forward. this holds the elbow that connects the fill tube to the tank.



while working on the water module... i was thikning... i could totally make covers for the filters and setup a stove? and may be some type of food prep area? or staging area? i am going to think about it. but yea... i don't want to get too distracted...



here is the fill tube in the vertical position... when in use, when in transit?, and when filling. you can see the vented cap i added to the end of it.

 

[faded1004]

so yea... here is what the fill tube looks like when you swivel it and move the rear most bed plank over it.



it fits really nicely. very happy with the way it turned out. so first try...



I HAVE WATER PRESSURE!!!! Woo Hoo!!!! no leaks too! oh what a good day. the on demand pump is just great. the water filters are holding pressure and the pump doesn't cycle on and off when i don't use it.

i really love these push fit fittings. but all i have to say, that fill tube hose was soooooo expensive. everything above 1" was expensive. so to celebrate... i am going to end the night here, enjoy my dinner left overs with alittle tv... then hit the sack. tomorrow i am going to start back on the walls and front cab ceiling liner.

 

[k9lestat]

Looks good

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