My DIY Camper Van

Sean Phillips wrote:I'm curious, why did you choose to leave in the seat belt in the back?

I mentioned the answer to this in the post right after yours that probably overlapped: there's a hidden mount in the floor that will let us put a third captains chair back in.

John Greer Jr wrote:What hardware did you use for the solar rig (brand, specs, charging circuit, etc)? Do you have a wiring diagram of the system and how you did the alternator isolation? Do you have the the battery in a box to keep it away from everything else?

100W Renogy panel, $150 ( amazon.com/RENOGY-Monocryst… )
Morningstar PS-15M controller, $125 (found it cheaper elsewhere at the time, amazon.com/Morning-Star-Pro… )
65Ah Autocraft deep cycle marine battery, $60 after rebate (though like I mentioned before, I'd like to get a better battery.)

I'll try to make a wiring diagram in a bit for ya.

I have the battery mounted under the van, outside the cabin, so I don't need to worry about venting. It is reasonably protected, however.

You probably won't have any decent space to mount another battery outside that Transit, so if I were you I'd just get a sealed battery and put it inside. They're more expensive, $200+, but they're so much more convenient: you don't need to vent them and you can use them in any orientation (eg. you can lay them on their side).

mozeman wrote:One of the best set-ups I have ever seen, in my opinion. I gotta ask, how did you attain the background knowledge to do all of this?

Thanks! As for background knowledge, I honestly didn't have that much going into this. I spent a lot of time reading and a LOT of time planning, trying to make every inch count, but after that it was mostly just a matter of tackling one thing at a time...frame the problem, think of solutions, and pick the one that seems easiest or best. I didn't always make the right choice, but that's how these things go. Don't be afraid to make mistakes.

Speaking of planning:

SketchUp van plan.

And in case you're curious, this is how the bed is eventually supposed to end up folding upwards. I had also though I'd like to put another surface under the bed that can then fold down as a table. We'll see if I ever find the time and motivation to get that far though...

Bed folded up w/ table folded down.

Morgan Patterson wrote:I'm guessing because the panel is constantly (throughout the day) trickle charging or better you probably haven't run it down. I'm wondering just how long that that 65ah battery would last without the panel connected under normal use conditions with a load of food/beer in it...

Exactly. It's always hard to guess what the overall solar output will be, but on a bright summer day I've seen the controller get up to about 6.5 amps of solar output. And even when the sun is still somewhat low, a couple hours after sunrise, I've seen it around 2 amps. If I assume the fridge uses 1 amp average -- which is the number ARB quotes for 90 degree ambient temps -- I figure 24Ah per day. In ideal summer conditions I'm guessing the solar output is somewhere in the 40-50Ah range, and of course the higher solar output will be when the fridge is running the most (when it's warmest), and the battery just needs to keep it going in the evenings when it's cooler.

Then of course, because of the isolator, it also gets charged when I drive from the campsite to the crag in the morning or to the bar in the evening. Alternators put out quite a bit of juice, so even just a 15 minute drive could easily charge 10Ah+.

Oh yeah, and on the hot summer days I also leave the vent fan running during the day. I spent extra for the most efficient fan I could find, the Fantastic 6600 at about $220, but on a low setting like 30% which is more than enough to move a lot of air through the small van it only draws 0.3A! Even full blast -- which is way faster than I would ever need to run it -- it only draws 1.2A or something. I'd guess that using the 0.3A fan to keep temps 10-20 degrees cooler inside and saves more energy than that by running the fridge less. It's amazing how efficient new technologies can be.

Very cool. I'm about to do a similar thing, probably with a Previa. I really appreciate you posting this up. Thanks.

Rad dude... thnx for all the info and great job. Love the CAD designs too, pencil and paper... screw it I got CAD! funny stuff!

Love the DIY spirit! Keep us updated!

Nice design!

ill get some pics up soon of my current project
I started with a 1978 ford 351v8 cargo van ( no windows)square body
right now I just have all my interior paneling put up, but what I have done is put 110 house wiring on the inside with a breaker box on the outside so I can have actual power off of a gen or a friends house, every inch of the interior is stuffed with insulation and then there is the bubble foil on the interior fenders, I have a little solar panel that I move around it helps but next year hope to get a full size set up, PICS SOON

im just finishing up the bed now and im ready to camp in the Colorado mountains
now that being said anyone wanting to do some car camping in the next few days out at shelf road please hit me up

Very nice!

Sweet thanks for the info. Great build

that is a very nice end result man. To add something regarding background knowledge - folks most of this stuff isnt rocket science, honestly. Sometimes folks talk stuff up to make themselves sound smarter. But in this age, where a youtube video can be found on just about anything, with forums on every subject and hobby imaginable , and DIY sites and forums about everything else... you really shouldnt ever feel like you CANT do anything.

To make a super polished product requires craftsmanship. Absolutely. To make a functional climbers van, not so much. Be bold and make stuff! I would post all of my creations but, unfortunately (since marriage and kids), zero point zero of them are climbing related.

Nice work would like to see pics without the fish eye lens.

Wow, nice build out! Can you describe a little more about putting in the 3rd captain's chair? I'm really struggling with planning on how to put that in. Where did you get the mounting plate? Do you have a chair already? 

I am looking to remodel the same type of van, 1997 Dodge Ram 2500 in all her curvy glory. Is there any way you would be willing to share all of your material measurements with me? I am a complete novice and am working to plan my way through the project. Thank you!

Great job!

Quinn Donnay wrote: I am looking to remodel the same type of van, 1997 Dodge Ram 2500 in all her curvy glory. Is there any way you would be willing to share all of your material measurements with me? I am a complete novice and am working to plan my way through the project. Thank you!

"Last Visit: Jan 26, 2015 "

You could try to message the OP directly - they might not see this thread bump.

Holy shit dude, I'm pretty sure you win the award for one of the most economical van builds in MP history, very nice too......my buddy does custom builds with new Pro Masters and charges $70K.....I'd buy this thing wayyy before spending that much on a van, no matter how pimped out.  

Quinn Donnay wrote: I am looking to remodel the same type of van, 1997 Dodge Ram 2500 in all her curvy glory. Is there any way you would be willing to share all of your material measurements with me? I am a complete novice and am working to plan my way through the project. Thank you!

If you don't end up getting dimensions (likely) I'd suggest finding as many refrigerator/large appliance boxes as you can and figuring out how to cut templates. That is the best way you can make sure everything fits without taking a billion wonky radius measurements

Quinn Donnay wrote: I am looking to remodel the same type of van, 1997 Dodge Ram 2500 in all her curvy glory. Is there any way you would be willing to share all of your material measurements with me? I am a complete novice and am working to plan my way through the project. Thank you!

Hey, sorry for the late reply! As somebody else mentioned I haven't been here in a LONG time, but I just happened to be resetting a bunch of passwords due to a breach elsewhere and so I saw this message, not too late hopefully!   

I'd be happy to share the SketchUp model of the van that I had made, which would have lots of the important measurements -- hopefully you're working with the same size/length base van. Just send me a message with your email address. As for the walls, I'd actually advice against what I did, and instead of using solid panels I'd use something like tongue and groove slats that you can use to build upwards. That way you can just cut small slats to size instead of getting whole sheets just right, which was a pain (plus you'd have more material to screw into if you wanted to install anything else).

Unfortunately I don't actually have the van anymore. I had twins a couple years ago, and the van simply didn't fit the whole family anymore. And while part of me wanted to keep it anyways I just couldn't justify having it sit around being unused. Luckily it was sold to another climber who's been able to appreciate and use it as much as it deserves!

so you drew it on a computer? My sprinter has lots of curves and I scribed them the old fashioned way. It was how i knew how to do it. 

How did you make the swivel seat work?! I have the same van been trying to figure out for forever!

How did you make the swivel seat work?! I have the same van been trying to figure out for forever!