Normally the places we choose to camp are deserted. Nobody but the wildlife to see us pooping. Sometimes though we have neighbors, so we bought a $40 pop-up toilet/shower tent.
Toilet tent for the modest van camper
Pooping in the wild
Camping away from organized sites has loads of advantages, but there are very few outhouses in the wilderness. Some areas (like Moab) don’t let you dig holes in the ground to poop in. You need some kind of container. It doesn’t have to be too smelly and gross though.
How to size a solar system for your van
There’s a physical constraint to how much solar energy you can gather from your van. We thought we had it pretty much maxed out until we came across this Advanced-RV build that added even more panels. Continue reading “How to size a solar system for your van”
Turning electrical complexity into simplicity
We didn’t want to always be fussing with multiple switches on the electrical system. The goal was to make itย “like a laptop.” In other words, you just use it. If the state of charge gets below around 40%, make sure you park it in the sun to let the solar panels recharge or plug it in to a wall outlet.
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Disposing of used water
In the “good old days” it was considered OK to pour grey water from washing dishes out on to the ground. Now though most state and national parks and almost all camp grounds and open areas prohibit the dumping of grey water.
Continue reading “Disposing of used water”Cooking on the road
We decided to go all-electric for the van so we could avoid the hassles of a fixed propane tank. It’s working really well for us but we do still carry a small butane stove for extra capacity.
TruckFridge TF130 will take a whole pizza in its box!
Lowering the seat bases
We installed seats with air suspension and swivels. That combination made the seats too high for the van. So we swapped out the seat bases for lower versions.
Awesome lightweight chairs and table that fold up very small
We love the chairs and table we bought for the van so much that we’ve taken out the bench seat and use the chairs inside instead. Sorry – no more passengers!
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Fixing the tool cover bolt
The tool cover in the passenger footwell has a push-in/twist-out clip that seems to never push in properly and always twists out at the wrong time. We replaced it with a screw-in/screw-out solution that holds the cover in place really well.