Anyone done a motorhome conversion? Anything you learned or didn't learn thr first time around? Doing one with a lot of features rn.
Anyone done a motorhome conversion? Anything you learned or didn't learn thr first time around?
Anyone done a motorhome conversion? Anything you learned or didn't learn thr first time around? Doing one with a lot of features rn.
I learned that living in a van was a lot better than living under the expressway overpass.
>lot of features rn.
What features anon?
>t. converted a camper into a better camper
I wish I had more insulation, it uses half as much power as my 4 bedroom house to keep cool in the summer, even while under a car port. Transit is a small van too, so you will be very limited.
Also asians make micro versions of normal appliances for their pods. If you are a Burger, then you have to get the Nip ones because they use 100V power which is close enough, otherwise you can get the Chink ones or any of the ones that have DC adapters since most work on whatever input power.
What sort of R-factor do you have in it? I'm going to be doing something similar and was intending on doing about 2.5" of spray foam and 1/2" of foam board. I think my estimation was close to R20 for that
2" of rockwool, also added 4 x 14" vents to the roof which is probably also leaking a lot of heat in
Anons I get what you are saying, my shit is more of picrel sized so by that comparison transit is smol
I wanna add that too, there's that bretty good german app that controls addressable rgbws, name escapes me now
I have it on god authority docan power ones are good bang for buck
at the moment i just have a deep cycle lead acid and an inverter genny
Also sides have 1" of styrofoam.
I'd rather have doubled insulation everywhere but I'm too deep in shit now, cabinets are already in. It's a 26' box, with plenty of room to stand in, so could've gone with more insulation for sure.
Oh also dometic ac sucks, get the recpro one, it's much quieter and can run on low as a dehumidifier. Pay up for the heat pump of course, you want a way to generate heat without the van running.
>I wanna add that too, there's that bretty good german app that controls addressable rgbws, name escapes me now
Black person if you find it you are obligated to tell me or I'll burn your van down which is apparently way easier than I thought
I live in New Zealand so sourcing good batteries is a fricking arm and a leg here
WLED. Works with esp32 as controller and ws28whatever strips
>New Zealand
Docan is a chink company so unless you have mega-gay import laws shouldn't be an issue. Burger customers typically doesn't give a shit about whatever you order as long as it's not a under 25 years old car or narcotics.
I found LedFX, not as good as this one that failed kickstarter
this is legit
>Transit is a small van
also a medium, large and planetsize van tho
Yes
I have the low roof regular length transit
Its a bit small for living in there full time but its alright for vacation up to 1 month imo
The things I would do differently:
1. heating seperate from the cars heating, otherwise even autumn can be pretty cold when sitting in there more than 1 hour
2. put all electrical wiring stuff into those conduit corrugated pipes and use junction boxes, having some wiring fly around just isn't worth it
3. install a wood oven for peak comfiness (don't forget proper ventilation and a plug for the chimney when driving)
Well trying to do rgb lighting that has both switch and Bluetooth so I can get it working with spotify but the only thing I can find that has the software to analyze music properly and not just go randomly off of your mic is vivi. Learning about electrical and wiring is also quite the hurdle ATM
Also curious about how much insulation you put in it. Converting a box truck right now and I'm starting to wonder if I'm underdoing it.
>features
Full blown party van. Just depends on how the budget goes. Good batteries are so expensive
>Transit is a small van too
'Transit Connect' is da smol boi van.
'Transit' is a full size van, and available with standing height roof and something like a 16' cargo area.
Advertising Ford transit vans? We will have none of that shilling here!
>Anyone done a motorhome conversion?
Nope, but I needed a work van and bought a used van halfway through that conversion process the previous owner had already removed the cargo compartment partition from. Took me a while to find a new one that fit my van. Please stop turning perfectly fine vans into rolling memes.
Maybe try being less poor.
They are connected to the cabin and have windows.
A box truck is too easy to add windows
It's like a "skoolie" build to signal. Box truck best. Trailer next level up, and so on and so forth until a real home to die in
Smart people add skylights instead because windows beg for Wakandan raids.
Laminating foam is strong and light. Foam is great at compression and cars wiggle. You can shave weight and cost by laminating veneers onto foam. get stretchy caulk cars wiggle a lot.
I should mention I have not done a conversion.
Why does everyone insist upon using panel vans for this, when a Luton/box van would be so much easier?
I currently live in one. I'm fully insulated and have solar, but no running water or toilet. I shower and shit mostly at the gym. I prioritized sleep and stealth so it's mostly just a camper with LVP floors. Its the best and I'm glad I did it.
Backstory? I've dreamed of traveling like this. Did it for a little in my Ford Focus sedan and didn't mind it. I'd keep my gear in the trunk and put down the seats to sleep at night. Would be miles better with a van
What do you recommend for insulation. I'm researching now and want to get nice and snug in winter because I live far from the equator. Also want to protect my lithium iron batteries
If you don't want to cremate yourself alive, fiberglass or rockwool/basalt fiber. A fire gets going in a heavily foam insulated small enclosed space like that and you might die before you can figure out where the door is. Rockwool is probably the better choice for all of: easier install, less mess, much less lung health risk during and post-install, and it also significantly dampens noise.
Whatever you use - be it foam or fiber - the issue is going to be getting as much insulated as possible. On a big house, missing a few square feet doesn't matter too much because of both the square cube law and that few sq.ft. being less than a tenth of a percent of the total surface area, but the van will have a way higher ratio of surface area vs internal volume AND a few square feet is a pretty sizeable fraction of the entire area. Insulating 3/4 of the vehicle well might not even make much of a difference; you want thorough insulation of every surface even if it's mediocre material like those spray-paint style foam cans, but again that's just begging for immolation from a stray spark.
One interesting option that's still fire safe is shredded/recycled blue jeans. It's a lot more fire moronant than the solidified napalm that gets called foam board, and shedded stray fibers don't cause issues unlike fiberglass.
>If you don't want to cremate yourself alive,
wait.... WHAT. This shit is flammable? Black person wtf why would anyone use it on a house or van then?
Is rockwool fricking flame moronant?
rockwool is basalt, even direct heating with a blowtorch for half an hour will only slightly melt a small spot. Foam board is significantly more flammable than wood, same with the spray stuff. IF you properly seal everything to starve the flame of oxygen it can be safe, but the materialby itself is far from flame moronant and it relies on being in a wood and drywall box with no airflow for safety. In a van that will eay up way more space
that's probably fiberglass (which is made of glass fibers), and glass mostly doesn't burn at all
>that's probably fiberglass (which is made of glass fibers), and glass mostly doesn't burn at all
Based. Thought so, but it's floofy so never know.
I'm guessing rockwool is more insualting than foam boards? I might look into it for the floor. I want to fully seal the floor anyway to prevent leaking and so on. Everything here is way more expensive if not made here due to shipping and smaller market so idk. I'm going to put in an anti-theft and anti-smoke device (chirper) as well.
Not sure about R-values since both foam board and rockwool come in different ratings, but what I do know is rockwool makes for excellent noise insulation. AFAIK it's the most mold and mildew resistant insulation for a reasonable price (but that's US pricing where it's only ~15% more expensive than FG), even more mold resistant than fiberglass. It doesn't need to be name brand rockwool, any basalt fiber insulation should work about the same.
Get a Carbon Monoxide detector too if they're available and cheap.
>Get a Carbon Monoxide detector too if they're available and cheap.
true. Will do. I found rockwool here but very expensive to buy in small doses. Will price it out. Or just look at other soundproofing I can couple with pinkbatts or foam
I was going to use this shit we call pinkbatts in australasia
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How much would a project like this cost in general?
Probably less than 10k. Not to mention gas and inevitable repairs.
More than a car, less than a house, that’s the RV philosophy. If you think a van is magically cheaper than a trailer… well probably a few hundred dollars. If you’re one of those types doing a tiny house from the ground up, enjoy watching it explode on the freeway because your welds aren’t solid.
At least you can park in walmart without getting glares. As long as you don’t put “free candy” signs.
> Ford Transit vans
Put some appliance decals on it so it looks like an appliance repair van. Fake numbers. Fake 800#.
> Box trucks are easier to build inside.
Big, box type trucks are more of an eyesore and use more fuel. (Lorries)
> costs a lot to heat
Diesel heater. https://youtu.be/KyiUpFjwtlU
> wiring is a b***h
diysolarforum. Has areas for van dwellers, and covers the more general wiring, because usually they reflexively go with 12v solutions. Either LFPo 12v/200ah and an efficient low freq inverter (victron makes a line), or run 48v (more standard for offgrid) and get a 40-60v to 13.8v 30amp converter. That will keep your lead acid starter float-charged, and run various accessories, up to those roll-away chest fridge/freezers that can run on 12vDC or 120vAC. They are pricey, like a cool $1k, for a good one.
Beyond a solid fridge/freezer, and heat/cool, and good, high CRI 4000k lighting, look into security cameras. Something that is discrete, both for aerodynamics, and also so it's not obvious. Something where you can have a monitor running, hung off a DVR/NVR. Need to be able to see what's going on outside. If the NVR requires 48v, there's a 12v to 48v 5 amp converter. It seems intuitive to run it directly off 48v batteries, but those 48v-input-types, max out at 51v, per the mfg.
> insulation
Bonded Logic makes something called Ultratouch. Home Depot used to be able to order it to the store. It comes in a giant roll. 3M 90 adhesive works, foil side towards interior. Denim material with fire resistance.
Any of you guys know what happens if your solar wattage isn't twice the Ah of your battery? I'm thinking of getting one 300ah 12v lifepo4 and the max panel I can get right now is 450w. Does that just mean it can't replenish the battery enough or will it cause issues? I want the 300ah so I can slowly build up a big battery bank of 300ahs and will aim for 600w solar when I can source it per battery, but can't right now.
The world implodes.
Why is this rocket science? Go to mobile-solarpower website and take a look. It's kept up to date with various sized examples from those portable Jackery's to whole house systems.
>why is this rocket science
It's not. It's a basic question to help me understand the theory a little better since I'm a beginner. I thought that was pretty obvious--I mean, it's not rocket science.
You're correct that it won't hurt anything. Each day your power usage will take charge out of the battery. Each day, the solar panel will add charge to the battery.
If you consume more electricity than is provided each day by the battery, then eventually you'll drain the battery and you won't be able to keep using more power until it can recharge some.
It's just like your cell phone battery lol
The best way to proceed with off grid solar stuff is to first establish how much power you use on a normal day, and how much peak wattage at a given time. Then size your battery to provide enough capacity to support that for a timeframe that you're comfortable with (which might be several days if you're actually boondocking and have bad weather for a few days-- or it might only be for a few hours if you're a city dweller and you're going to be plugged in to shore power most of the time)
Then size your solar array to hopefully provide enough charge to keep you topped off. Consider your location/climate and also how critical the loads are.
Thanks for the answer--I realize this is very tedious basic stuff, but I just want to make sure I am getting my head around it and not making very basic mistakes by having someone confirm it.
I'll be a city slicker, so I think I can afford to just aim for my dream system and if the panels aren't enough for the draw then I can just charge until I get more panels.
It's okay; everyone starts out as an uninformed noob.
Here's some relevant advice though: don't buy anything until you make a plan for how your system is going to work. Figure out what your needs are, then design a system to address that or find a solution from someone with more experience.
A lot of people get eager to start putting things together and buy equipment that isn't the best fit and wind up with a janky system (I've done it myself lol)
Yeah I've purchased a portable power station so I can just have a small source of power I can easily charge up while I live in the van as I work on building, basically, the whole system. Then I'll find or even pay a specialist to give it the once over and make sure it's all good. I'm on a fixed budget, and I've done so many things in the past where I go gung-ho and buy a ton of shit I don't need. I am an absolute consoomer when it comes to making dumb purchases.
> disrespeftful bullshit from a moron
and that is why no one gives a shit.
Go read & educate yourself. I get it, your parents were failures. Now it's up to you.
This isn't a babysitting board for reddit morons.
the apex level condescending snark of a privileged boomer out in the wild
I didn't think you people were real
I was always raised with a vacation motorhome, but my parents sold it a while ago. I'm going to purchase a Thor Majestic, probably, due to experience with them and modify it for my needs from there. Is there better options?
I have a 2018 Ford Transit van that I use for work, it's okay has a lot of room I just don't like how it shifts
How so? I'm putting raised shocks in mine when I can get the equipment or a greese monkey to do it for me
One problem with them is they're super easy to break into so I need to get shields so electrics can't be shut or the lock can't be broken easily
Shock absorbers do not raise vans appreciably and note only coilover shocks raise them at all. Do some reading about suspension. GEnerally one wants reduced sag under load rather than more height.
Air bags are adjustable but the systems eventually leak. Timbren urethane springs are love (I have them on two of my trucks but they are to resist squatting. If you do not overload your vehicle (unlikely with living quarters) you need none of the abiove and they're all easy to install.
All you need to defeat drive offs is a hidden kill switch because thieves expect stock systems. Wiring a switch inline with the inertia switch is a good way. So is removing the fuel pump fuse (bonus for cutting off one blade and reinserting a deactivated fuse but porch primates aren't likely to troubleshoot.
We pulled fuses on our wrecker and had several steering columns trashed over the years but never lost a truck.
kys