Building the Escape Pod
Adding plumbing to a van is almost as much hassle as running electrical wiring. There are no easy places to run pipes through the walls and you have to stop everything from freezing or leaking.
Continue reading “Hot and cold running water”
It’s important to know when the hot water tank is on, because it draws a lot of power. We added a tiny LED and a safety catch to the on/off switch.
Continue reading “Hot water tank safety switch and LED indicator”
We chose to use a lithium battery in the van. It was the right choice for us and our power and space requirements. Other people choose lead-acid batteries either for the lower cost or just because they are more traditional. Here’s how to work out which is right for you… ย ย Continue reading “Lithium versus Lead Acid batteries”
The radio antenna on Sprinter vans is badly placed and flimsy. It’ll break if you drive under low branches, wash the van, or let snow build up over it. Luckily, if it snaps off at the base, there’s a fix.
How much battery power you need depends on the number of things you want to power, and how often you need to use them. It’s pretty easy to calculate the load you’ll put on the battery, and from that how much power storage you’ll need.
There are no bedside cabinets in our van. We wanted somewhere to hold water bottles, flashlights, our phones while they charge, and so on. Adding grommets to cheap car trunk organizers solved the problem.
The idea of using Lithium batteries often scares people, thanks to some bad press caused by the Boeing Dreamliner and “hoverboards” that unexpectedly burst in to flames. Different types of lithium battery behave in different ways. The ones most people use in van conversions are much less volatile, and may even be safer than using lead acid batteries.
We often camp at altitude. The Espar/Eberspacher Airtronic diesel heater is designed to work at sea level and soots up if the air gets too thin. Altitude adjustment kit to the rescue!
To “prettify” our panels and cut down on wind drag and noise, we added some ABS plastic sheets where the panels overhang the edge of the van. Continue reading “Solar panel wind fairing”