Van projects

[Drago]

I think we kjow that any rational, sane man would give the van priority.

 

[JhnBssll]

Then you're in luck - I had a play in the van today

I had to find a suitable earthing point for the leisure battery which meant taking the floor out - I remembered seeing some M10 threaded holes, presumably for a third pair of cargo hooks so went searching for them. With the ply out it was difficult to feel features under the insulation so I looked back at a few photos to locate the hole. Once if found it I cut the insulation out and ran an M10 tap through it to remove the paint and leave nice shiny metal, then bolted my new earth strap in

Before the ply went back in I figured I may as well fit the rubber floor which has been outside for several weeks off-gassing as it was extremely smelly when it arrived I glued the mat and the ply then stuck it all together on the drive...

Once nicely stuck I trimmed the edges with a knife and lifted it back in...

Next the cargo rails went back in, after I'd found and cut out the 20 bolt holes I also popped the leisure battery back in at this point to check it still fit with the extra thickness of rubber under it...

Happy with my flooring efforts went back to the electrics. I'd run a cable to the starter battery recently but wasn't 100% happy with it, so ordered some more higher spec cable in the week which arrived yesterday. Its 10AWG, or 6mm2, compared to the 12AWG I'd put in before. It's also got a higher temperature rating on the insulation - it runs pretty close to the intercooler so wanted to make sure it was up to the job. Probably over specced now but I'd rather it was that way round Anyway, I ran the wire to the starter battery and realised I'd run out of crimp terminals so couldn't connect it D'oh... I've ordered more and left it coiled, ready to connect to the battery via an inline fuse.

While the trim was out in the footwell I also ran a couple of wires in to the glove box from the leisure battery area - one will provide 12v constant voltage to the stereo, the other will be a switched 12v which I'll connect with diodes to the stereo's ignition live so I can turn it on and off from the back 😊 It will still turn on with the ignition, but will always draw power from the leisure battery to simplify the wiring.

Next I fitted some ply and mounted two of the three chargers to it in the back, along with a couple of distribution blocks.

I'll be waiting by the window for the Amazon driver tomorrow I'm dangerously close to having the 12v side of things up and running now

 

[neil_merseyside]

I know it's a none spill battery but are they really OK on their side?

 

[JhnBssll]

Yeah it's a sealed AGM construction, mountable in any orientation

 

[Gunk]

I’d be careful running that battery cable through that sharp hole in the crossmember, that could be nasty if the insulation rubs away.

 

[JhnBssll]

I’d be careful running that battery cable through that sharp hole in the crossmember, that could be nasty if the insulation rubs away.

Yeah good spot, I poked it through there to stop it flapping about incase I had to drive anywhere - I've re-routed it and connected it up now I've also connected up all the other bits and pieces to get the solar side of things working, including the panel itself - it's all up and running now!

I've got another wire to run to get an ignition live to the DC-DC charger which I forgot about yesterday Once thats done, the whole 12v charging system will be finished so I can start on the load side of things Once I've got a bit more done I'll tidy the cables up a bit, just wanted to see it working before I put too much effort in to neatness

The top junction box on the left will distribute the 12V live - One feed is already connected (but no fuse currently) - this is the one I routed yesterday and will connect to the stereo in the front. There'll be a second feed for the lights, I've got 4 dimmable LED ceiling lights to put in and a dimmer switch next. feed 3 will likely be used for some 12V sockets for fridge, TV and charging ports while I'm thinking the 4th one might go to a waterproof socket near the cargo door, so I can hook up outdoor lights etc under the awning 😊 Pretty posh right?

 

[DRM]

I know it's a none spill battery but are they really OK on their side?

Yes they are, the battery is filled with a sulphuric acid gel and cannot leak unless you smash the casing, also OP check the charge requirements, there's something in the back of my head about the charge characteristics of these type of batteries

 

[DRM]

Yes they are, the battery is filled with a sulphuric acid gel and cannot leak unless you smash the casing, also OP check the charge requirements, there's something in the back of my head about the charge characteristics of these type of batteries

Can I Use My Battery Charger on AGM Batteries? (mkbattery.com)

Found this, couldn't quite remember the exact details other than keeping the charge voltage down so as not to wreck the cells, in an AGM battery, should be some settings in your charger to let it know it's charging an AGM battery

 

[JhnBssll]

Yup, an easy one to miss - I've checked the settings and they're all set up for the correct battery types

I couldn't resist doing a bit more this evening... Dimmer switch wired and velcro'd to the panel, wiring taped up for now to prevent it dangling around in the likely event I have to use the van before I've done any more work...

LED lights velcro'd to the ceiling and again wires taped up...

I've given the remote solar controller the same treatment as you can see above, and here's a better view with the lights on...

With that working and some of the wiring tidied a little I called it a day and cleared the van out, gave it a quick sweep, then locked myself inside to try the lights out It's getting rather nice for a naff old van

 

[Drago]

Loving it!

 

[JhnBssll]

Minor update this evening after the diodes arrived this afternoon... I whipped the aftermarket stereo adapter loom out and hacked it about a bit, I figured that was a better option than hacking the original loom so it can be returned to standard if needed.

So I've cut the yellow wire, which is the permanent 12V from the starter battery. This is now connected to a new wire from the leisure battery, so the stereo is powered from there now. The red wire has also been cut so I could splice in a new switched 12v feed from the back of the van, turning the stereo on and off via a switch. I didn't want to lose the ignition on/off hence the requirement for the diodes - without them, electricity would flow from the leisure battery back in to the van loom as well as to the stereo, likely lighting up instruments and turning other things on and generally being a nuisance. With a pair of diodes fitted, essentially one way valves for electricity, the two triggers can operate completely independently of each other. Here it is back up and running...

Of course until the switches arrive tomorrow and I've run another cable it operates exactly the same as it did before

The other change I've made was connecting the ignition live trigger wire from the DC-DC charger in the back to the fuse box. Once I'd tested it turned on and off as required I popped a 30A fuse in between the charger and the battery and started the engine. All seems to work as it should, I'll monitor it over the next few days and weeks before I enclose it all to check for any strange behaviour (other than my own) 😊

 

[Drago]

Love it!

So is the rear going to be purely bike storage, or will there be a mini sleeping berth as well?

 

[ClichéGuevara]

Is the bathroom going upstairs?

 

[JhnBssll]

Love it!

So is the rear going to be purely bike storage, or will there be a mini sleeping berth as well?

The plan is to engineer some sort of folding bed/sofa type arrangement, so it can be completely stowed flat against the wall with the mattress removed when I need to use the van for general vanning, then fold down as a sofa when I want to carry a bike around and have somewhere to sit, then fold down further in to a double bed so we can use it for the odd camping trip etc. I have started designing it in my head, but will start sketching in CAD at some point soon to work out the critical geometry and decide whether its going to be sensible to attempt it Most self build campers make them out of wood but I'd be tempted to weld it up from steel tube for the challenge.

I've got a small 12V Cello TV on the way as suggested by @BoldonLad, the aerial for which arrived today. I've also got a camper specific mount coming that has a locking bracket so it can be stowed flat against the wall without swinging around as I pinball my way down the lanes 😄

All very exciting...

 

[ClichéGuevara]

The plan is to engineer some sort of folding bed/sofa type arrangement, so it can be completely stowed flat against the wall with the mattress removed when I need to use the van for general vanning, then fold down as a sofa when I want to carry a bike around and have somewhere to sit, then fold down further in to a double bed so we can use it for the odd camping trip etc. I have started designing it in my head, but will start sketching in CAD at some point soon to work out the critical geometry and decide whether its going to be sensible to attempt it Most self build campers make them out of wood but I'd be tempted to weld it up from steel tube for the challenge.

I've got a small 12V Cello TV on the way as suggested by @BoldonLad, the aerial for which arrived today. I've also got a camper specific mount coming that has a locking bracket so it can be stowed flat against the wall without swinging around as I pinball my way down the lanes 😄

All very exciting...

This will look totally the opposite to what I mean, but I had half an idea about boarding a van out to use for stealth camping on occasions, and having somewhere to sling the bikes, but the detail you're going to has started to put me off, as what I would do would feel very shabby in comparison.

I do hope you take that as the positive compliment it's meant.

EDIT: And thanks for sharing, it's really interesting to follow your progress.