Building the Escape Pod
We just bought the Nature’s Head composting toilet. After testing it out in our spare bathroom for a week, we installed it in our van. Here’s how we chose to fit it in.
Continue reading “Installing the Nature’s Head composting toilet in a Sprinter”
We “finished” our conversion about a year after we got the van. By that point we had all the systems in. Either to our original design or to the design that we made up as we went along that reflected our real-world usage better. We didn’t necessarily have everything tidied up (we still don’t!) but all the components worked.
Now though, after using the van for a while, we want to make some changes. We don’t know quite what we want to change, or how we’ll do it, but we feel there’s potentially a better layout, a better storage setup, a better way of stopping water tanks from freezing over the winter, and a better way of freeing up cargo/bike space in the rear of the van.
Continue reading “DIY Conversion vans are always a prototype”
If the image that comes to mind when you think of “drawer liner” is that tatty vinyl stuff that Grandma used to use, then it’s time to get updated. There are some great products on the market that make your drawer contents stay put and shut up.
Several people have asked for the exact specifications of the sink cabinet we built. It fits really well behind the sliding door pillar and in front of the bench seat in the third row position. Here’s a detailed look at the design and the parts you’d need to order to build your own.
We’ve been driving around with a prototype sink cabinet made from shipping crate wood for a while now. It was time to finish the job. We used aluminum extrusions with t-slots in each side to make the frame, then slid 1/4″ bamboo ply in to the slots to make side panels.
Continue reading “Sink cabinet built with 80/20 aluminum extrusion”
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”
The Truckfridge range of 12/120v fridges uses the same compressor as the more expensive Norcold/Vitifrigo/Isotherm units with a slightly lower build quality. The TF130 is their largest option, and it’s got more than enough space for a Sprinter build.
The microwave is great – prepare food in advance, then just nuke it to reheat on the road. But it needs to be secure in the van. Here’s how we did it.
I’ve been emailing back and forth with another Sprinter owner who just installed his Espar heater under the passenger seat. That means he doesn’t have room to use it for storage any more, so he sent me his locking door!
Our cabinets can be bolted in and out of the van as we need them. The plan is to keep them in place most of the time, but it’s great to be able to reconfigure the van as we need it. Continue reading “Quick change cabinets”