Part Four of ImNoSaint's Drawer System: Utilities
Gas, power and water. All three were fairly straight forward to come by making the back of the White Rhino a sustainer on and off the road.
Key to this was the design of the stove/sink pullout, creating a stable platform that had enough space beneath to wrangle plumbing and gas.
The idea was to be able to quickly deploy the unit without getting on hands knees beneath the unit, as well as have the drawer still be able to slide without obstruction. Pressurized water arrives at the drawer on the rear wall via a swivel I made with two couplers that rotate freely, allowing the feed hose to adapt to its rest position when deployed and stowed. I’ve since deleted the drain hose since it would hang down and obstruct stowing the drawer. It now rides in the sink and is easily attached when the unit is used.
Gas comes off the 5lb tank stowed on the swingarm. It’s easily connected with the LP quick-connect fitting.
Water is pumped from a nine-gallon tank located beneath the dog deck. I’ve installed a fresh water fill inlet on the deck at the rear passenger door that vents the tank. The tank has since been wedged into place creating a well at the far end which is reached by an inner draw tube that reaches to the back of the tank.
Water pressure is created with a Seaflo self-priming automatic pump that delivers three gallons per minute.
Powering everything is a 12v system that comes off the White Rhino’s PPV option house system protected by a 100a breaker. Power arrives at a Blue Sea six-circuit fuse panel and is distributed to a switch panel or fed directly to the rear work lights via a switch in the galley.
The water pump is switched and the fridge is powered from the 12v plug.
I sourced three 5 watt recessed 12v downlights to create an even illumination source for the galley. They’re installed in the lift gate panel.
I made three 2 3/4″ holes in the panel and wired each lamp in series. While I’m not impressed with the quality of the fixtures, the light they produce is amazing.
Things I’ve learned on the road:
The water inlet turns into a water feature on every left-hand turn. I’ve since installed a valve to close the vent while in transit.
Don’t turn the water pump on until the sink/stove drawer is deployed. With the glass lid down is partially opens the faucet.
Wrapping the fridge does, in fact, increase its efficiency.
I did this entire build during the first four rounds of chemotherapy to treat Mantle Cell Lymphoma, and the White Rhino was created to knock off items on my bucket list as we mobilize to make the best of the time I have left.
If I can do this, you can do anything.