Van, Stage One Complete!

[Bravo30]

First off, i would like to thank the forum, staff and the members here for their contributions and for taking the time to help people with their projects and adventures!! without places like this a lot of people would get lost or electrocuted.




Goal here was to build multi use van that i could travel/stealth camp with and then also use for work this is the base van. furniture, fridge, toilet will all be modular so i can remove them when i want to use the van for work. the electrical system and water tank will stay in the van but if need be the water tank can be easily removed.

the van is insulated with 2'' rigid foam board and wired. i used 12g for accessories, 18g for all lighting and then 10g for the water pump. i primed and painted both sides of every piece of wood in the van and designed the fan so that if it ever leaked the water would only have one place to go and that is straight down and not into the ceiling structure where it would eventually make its way into the walls. the wall panels are 1/4 and the ceiling is 1/8 both over furring strips. you cant see from the pics but theres two 120v outlets, four 12v outlets and two switches for the lights. one switch for two lights behind the seats and then a dimmer switch for the other 6 lights above the bed platform. i also installed usb charger ports in the rear corners of the van as well as along the wall for use when your on the bed platform.

i tried to make the electrical simple but capable at the same time. i went with a 2,000 watt Victron inverter/charger with color control monitor and battery monitor with a shunt. the batteries are 2x125AH Lifepo4 from Starkpower. for charging i have 2 options. the first being the 80 amp inverter/charger while plugged into shore power. the second being a 40 amp Redarc DC/DC charger that charges via the alternator while im driving. for fuses i went with a 350 amp class T fuse for the inverter and then 80 amp fuse for the DC panel. the Redarc came with its own fuses but i added an 80 amp fuse up by the starter battery since it was such a long run with heavy cable. theres a black wire coming from the shore power load center, thats a ground wire to the chassis from the box. the shore power ground passes through the box and terminates at the inverter so i was told i need to ground the box? cant hurt right? I used 2/0 ground wire for the inverter to match the rest of the cables. there are some wires in between the DC panel and Charger, thats my rear spot lights, i tied them into the chargers power then ran the switch up front to the dash. The switch by the drivers seat is an for the DC/DC charger. the charger has a float charge on the Lifepo4 profile and float isnt really healthy for Lifepo4 so ill turn it off when fully charged. The other 2 on/off switches are for the inverter and the DC fuse panel.


the E-track will be for my sleeping platform. im also installing a dresser up front behind the seats. i have a 95qt Dometic fridge/freezer and compost toilet. in the back is a propane hot water shower system. the bar is for the curtain. i didnt want to get to crazy with building. up until now weve been camping in the winter on the ground so were kind of used to that and after this trip i didnt want to be stuck driving an RV around.


Link to photo gallery if all of the pictures dont load

https://postimg.cc/gallery/280iquoc2/

 

[Bravo30]

 

[s.e.charles]

nice to see such a thorough job!

Q: the back door holder-opener- how did you do that? I am looking for a back & side door solution. thanks

 

[Bravo30]

nice to see such a thorough job!

Q: the back door holder-opener- how did you do that? I am looking for a back & side door solution. thanks

the back door was tricky to cut out because in the end the paneling doesnt sit flush with the handle trim so it will always look goofy. i did manage to cut it out on the first try but it didnt look right so i squared it off then went out an bought an access panel from Lowes and sprayed it black then attached a handle to it just in case i need to get out. i caulked the panel down so it keeps the water out when i use the shower. another way of doing it is to remove the trim piece around the handle and then glue it down to the face of the paneling. you might have to cut the tabs off so it looks clean. i attempted this AFTER i initially cut out the hole. the trim piece didnt line up because it was smaller than my cut out.

the side door i traced around the handle. if your standing on the inside facing the door the left side of the handle is open and you can grab it and pull to the right. i left enough space to get your hand around the entire handle like as if your were grabbing a bar of metal.

 

[S2DM]

Not saying they won't work, but I'd suggest caution with using that type of primary wire and residential breakers if I am interpreting your pictures correctly. They aren't rated for the vibration that on and off road use vehicles get, the wire is probably more worrisome than the breakers IMO, but...Ancor makes really good marine grade wiring that handles bouncing around without work hardening and then the potential for shorts.

I used Victron gear on my build like you did, really top notch stuff and their customer service is excellent.

 

[s.e.charles]

"the back door was tricky..."

and apparently continues to be so!

what I was referring was the bar between the doors when they're opened. I assume it holds a curtain while you need a bit of privacy. i'm looking for a solution to hold my doors from flopping about in the wind. well, a better solution than bungee cords.

 

[Bravo30]

Not saying they won't work, but I'd suggest caution with using that type of primary wire and residential breakers if I am interpreting your pictures correctly. They aren't rated for the vibration that on and off road use vehicles get, the wire is probably more worrisome than the breakers IMO, but...Ancor makes really good marine grade wiring that handles bouncing around without work hardening and then the potential for shorts.

I used Victron gear on my build like you did, really top notch stuff and their customer service is excellent.

i used stranded wire for everything except for the one AC outlet on the wall and the water pump. the 10g i used for the pump is run through the frame over the doors then down the pillar. the line for the AC outlet is only about 5'. i made sure everything was locked down nice an tight but in the end i just got tired of buying wire when i only needed a short run. if i ever do this again the wiring will more standardized with everything being 14g stranded for the most part an maybe some 12 in there if needed.


Victron USA customer service is beyond excellent! their engineer is a bit intimidating though. he has a quiet, unassuming, polite but i know everything there is to know about electronics type of personality so make sure you have your questions together before you call because he is a legit answer giving machine!

 

[Bravo30]

"the back door was tricky..."

and apparently continues to be so!

what I was referring was the bar between the doors when they're opened. I assume it holds a curtain while you need a bit of privacy. i'm looking for a solution to hold my doors from flopping about in the wind. well, a better solution than bungee cords.

i take it you dont have a Sprinter? my van came with locking arms to hold the doors open and then magnets on the side of the van if you want them to open all the way.

 

[S2DM]

Not saying they won't work, but I'd suggest caution with using that type of primary wire and residential breakers if I am interpreting your pictures correctly. They aren't rated for the vibration that on and off road use vehicles get, the wire is probably more worrisome than the breakers IMO, but...Ancor makes really good marine grade wiring that handles bouncing around without work hardening and then the potential for shorts.

I used Victron gear on my build like you did, really top notch stuff and their customer service is excellent.

i used stranded wire for everything except for the one AC outlet on the wall and the water pump. the 10g i used for the pump is run through the frame over the doors then down the pillar. the line for the AC outlet is only about 5'. i made sure everything was locked down nice an tight but in the end i just got tired of buying wire when i only needed a short run. if i ever do this again the wiring will more standardized with everything being 14g stranded for the most part an maybe some 12 in there if needed.


Victron USA customer service is beyond excellent! their engineer is a bit intimidating though. he has a quiet, unassuming, polite but i know everything their is to know about electronics type of personality so make sure you have your questions together before you call because he is a legit answer giving machine!

Yeah, I end up with a headache almost every time I talk to Rich at Victron. He’s usually over my head within 30-60 seconds that said, I had a cyrix and bms fail when up in jasper and they had replacements to me within 2 days. It wasn’t clear which one wasn’t working, so they just sent me both.


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