We wanted to be able to quickly air up bike tires and occasionally also the van’s tires. We installed an air compressor and tank. Continue reading “Air compressor and tank install”
Cell phone signal booster
When we travel, we’re often in marginal cell reception areas. We’re not looking for 100% coverage every time we park up, but especially when we’re driving it’s nice to know we have a way to communicate in an emergency. That’s why we bought a cell phone booster kit.
Adding internet access
We wanted a solution that would let us access wifi hotspots while we travel. For under $200 we got a powerful wifi network that can connect to hotspots far, far away. Continue reading “Adding internet access”
Switch and outlet plates – it’s the little things…
We wanted to recess the outlets in the van so we didn’t catch things on them, and also because it creates an interesting look. A side benefit that we found out later is that the plates we used make it much easier to access the wiring without removing wall panels. Continue reading “Switch and outlet plates – it’s the little things…”
Walls are in!
We’ve fitted the fabric and bamboo walls into the van. They are held in place with flanged l-track. The van is starting to look more civilized. Continue reading “Walls are in!”
Running cables into the back doors
Mercedes don’t make it easy to “borrow” their cable runs that go from the van body into the doors. We wanted to put power cables through into the rear doors for powerful work lights. It was more effort than it should have been. Continue reading “Running cables into the back doors”
Victron Energy electrical system
We decided to install electrical components that would talk to each other as a system, so that we can control everything from one location rather than crawling around in the back of the van.
Victron Energy make a series of products that are sturdy, well engineered, and have been proven in home and marine installations for several years. They are a Dutch company but they sell worldwide. Continue reading “Victron Energy electrical system”
Fuses will save your van (and maybe you too)
We plugged a phone charger into the cigarette lighter socket in the front of the van. It’s a 25 Amp socket. The end broke off the charger inside the socket. A fuse saved us from a potential melt-down.
25 amps of short-circuiting 12 volt electricity creates a lot of heat. If the fuse hadn’t blown, by the time we’d realized there was a problem and disconnected the battery there might not have been much left of the central console in the dash.
Mercedes did a nice job of protecting their electrical system. We decided to do an equally safe job of the electrical stuff we added to the vehicle. Continue reading “Fuses will save your van (and maybe you too)”
Knowing how much juice your battery has
It helps to know how full or empty your battery is. In the same way that you wouldn’t drive without a fuel gauge, you shouldn’t use a battery without some form of monitoring.
Lead batteries last longest if they are always kept above 50% of their capacity. Lithium batteries last longest if they are kept above 30% of their capacity. Abusing batteries by discharging them too far seriously shortens their useful life. The cost of a battery monitor works out to be much less than the cost of a new battery.
There are lots of monitors out there. Several of them are great demonstrations of what happens when you let engineers specify the design. They do their job (some very well) but they look horrible and their interface is terrible to configure. Continue reading “Knowing how much juice your battery has”
Getting mains power into the van
We need a way to recharge the battery from “shore power.” That means mains outlets attached to the house. The easiest way is to run an extension cord through an open door, but that’s not very elegant, secure, or warm.