A proper bed

Sid and I had a camp trip coming up with a bunch of friends. I really wanted to sleep in the van for the trip so we reprioritized to the bed. This was a pivotal moment for the van as we repurposed the lumber slats from our existing king bed into the van. We also cut down the mattress from the old bed to fit the van. We no longer have a bed in our house and what's left of it is in the van. So now we sleep in the van!

We don't yet have some sheets hat fit well but it came out strong and functional. Note all the storage space beneath the bed which will fit a pair of mountain bikes or several surfboards ;-).

Walls Plus "Art"

All the walls that are not doors are now complete. That means insulated and finished to look nice. This has made the project really feel like it has progressed giving some parts a "finished" look. In an unusual twist for myself, I took the walls as an opportunity to express myself, inspire my road life, and set an interior tone. What do you think???

First Cabinet

It's been a long time since the last post. A lot of work has been done since. Most of the work is hidden insulation, strengthening the floor, adding water tanks, and other hidden but important features.

My first cabinet however is complete and I really like how it came out! Learned a lot on this first one about plywood and finishing. I believe the second cabinet and galley is going to come out even better and in much less time.

First Trip Out With iVan

Earlier this month, a long time friend reached out to meet in Tahoe for some skiing. iVan was not quite ready yet. However in the week leading up to the trip, I was able to pull together the absolute minimum to make the trip happen in reasonable comfort. The trip ended up being 3 nights in the Squaw Valley ski resort parking lot. Things went well!

The heating system installed in the previous post was crucial to comfortable nights and mornings in the van. It was just barely able to keep the van warm enough on the coldest night (20 degrees F). There is no insulation across the sides so it is likely the heater will turn out more than adequate once fully insulated and with a lot of the space occupied by a real bed, galley, and cabinets.

The Solar system and batteries turned out to be sized well enough. I dealt with storms and snow covered panels yet still had sufficient power available to last the entire trip.

Every morning I woke up warm with dried out outer layers ready to hit the mountain.

Sprinter Air And Water Heating

A major technical system is largely completed which allows interior air to be heated and later instant hot water on demand.

I chose to use diesel as the fuel for my heating. Mostly this allows convenience but another major benefit is safety. The diesel is sucked directly out of the van's fuel tank so there is no hassle with an additional fuel source. Diesel is a relatively safe fuel as it lacks the combustibility of propane and gasoline. Furthermore diesel contains more energy per gallon than gasoline which means more heat with less volume of fuel.

The system makes use of a very small diesel boiler which both heats and circulates glycol (engine coolant). That heated coolant cycles from the boiler to inside the van where a heater core with fans transfers the heat to the air. Later on I will be adding a heat exchanger to heat my fresh water to allow for hot showers and hot water at the sink.

After some planning and a bunch of wire and hose routing, here is the system. It works great though is a bit noisy.




For the van geeks, this was the Webasto Thermo Top C boiler.