in the POD - slow and steady

sometimes one has to work in unfamiliar territory....

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This week has been full of many projects both big and small and ....mostly hidden.

The air conditioner finally arrived and Tim has been working on getting that hooked up. Most camper vans  tend to have roof AC units. However, we wanted to have 6 solar panels on the roof, leaving no space for a typically large AC unit,  thus we created a space in the "garage" for the AC unit and a spot under the carriage where the condensor will hang. We selected the HD 12L with dual fan condenser from cruisencomfortusa.com

Getting the AC unit up and running has been an important goal. Cannot stress enough how hot it has been lately and working inside a tin can has not been easy!

flooring in process

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The radiant heat panels and tubing for the floor is done and all the flooring is in! The heating system will be zoned - floor (including cab), walls, and garage. We are using Roth radiant panels from roth-usa.com with 3/8" Pex piping.

The flooring is Smartcore PRO waterproof flooring from Lowe's. We selected the 12"x23" tile-like in Twilight. Unfortunately, I do not have a pic of the finished floor because we immediately covered it with Rosin paper in order to protect it during the build process. Prior to laying the floor I created a map of the heat tubing - yeah, not our first time at this rodeo. This way, once things start getting secured to the floor we have a very clear picture of where NOT to screw in! 

a protected floor

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 And yes, the final two windows are in and took less than 2 1/2 hours to install them both! The day before the install I created the template and Tim marked them out on the sides of the van. (These are the windows in the bedroom area) The walls are now ready to install the last of the radiant heat panels. 

driver's side

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In this pic you can see the solar panels laying on the roof. They are not attached yet - they will be mounted on aluminum frames constructed from 8020 aluminum profiles from 8020.net  - but they are currently providing more than enough energy to run a large box fan that we are now using in the van while we work. 

passenger side

And I will leave you with this .... because everyone needs an adventure!

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in the POD - the adventure continues

the "garage"

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Our break from installing windows didn't mean an actual break from our list of all the 

things that need to be done on our van. And, I'm not actually sure how this happens but that 

list seems to be growing.....

sound dampening and 2 layers of insulation installed after the windows were put in

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I finished the layers of insulation around the 3 windows. I know, it looks so simple ... and yet it took me close to a full day to complete because of all the odd angles and some really small spaces. 

While I did that Tim began work on the "garage". The garage is, for us, the last 2 feet of the van and will hold all the infrastructure systems for the van. This is all the stuff that Tim had been testing and assembling on the porch earlier this spring.

The garage will house:

300 amp hour lithium battery and 3,000 watt Magnum inverter

30' retractable 30 amp shore power cable

All the electrical control systems including a Renogy solar charge controller

12 volt and 120 volt control center

12 volt air conditioning system

Portable 1800 watt generator

Diesel fired hydronic heating/hot water system - powering the radiant heat in the floor and walls and the kitchen and bath hot water

Filters and UV sanitation for the recirculating shower

Retractable hoses for both fresh water and sewage

and ..... this list may grow.

radiant heat added to the garage

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Radiant heat panels and tubing were first added to the floor and walls of the garage followed by the flooring. Radiant heat panels are currently being added to the rest of the floor and walls of the van.

beginnings of the garage install

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Tim is building a metal frame system to hold and support the mechanics of the garage. The main control panel - seen at top in the photo - will face into the van for easy accessibility. 

In the week ahead the focus will be on getting the radiant heat panels and tubing in, continuing work on the garage and infrastructure systems, and possibly getting the flooring in. The final two windows have been delayed and are not scheduled to arrive until the end of the week.

Each day we find ourselves with a new question, sometimes a different plan, sometimes a change - yet, all of it, a welcomed challenge. We have no one to please but ourselves.

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Oh ... and we did install an additional fold up passenger seat. It's for Rosie.

two passenger fold up seat behind the driver


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Rosie checking it out.

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