Road Trip Machine

Jeff Shapiro shares the conversion of his van.... into his home away from home

By KAVU

May 30^th, 2017

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I've spent years traveling to and from adventures on the road and I've tried sleeping in just about everything - vans, trucks, station wagons, tents, campers and most often, a bag and the ground.

What I notice most about this stage of my life is that it's my family that I consider to be "home", and not a place. Wherever my partner, Kara and my daughter, Nya (and our animals) are.....that's home. So, instead of making a conversion that's suited for just me, I wanted to be able to create a comfortable space to, whenever possible, take my family with me.

I spent nearly 6 months searching the country for the right "starting point". My goal was to find a high roof van, powered by a fuel efficient system, to be able to convert into a home away from home. I searched listings with patience and in the end, it paid off when we found a 144 highroof Sprinter in Georgia that was under-priced, loaded and spotless. I couldn't believe my fortune and knew right away - this 3 liter, 6 cylinder turbo diesel would take us on some epic adventures!

one step at a time

Converting a van, whether it's an Astro Van, Ford Transit, Dodge ProMaster or like ours, a Mercedes Sprinter, is a bit intimidating at first. I'd bought this rig and, although cheap compared to what it was worth, still cost me enough of the money that the last thing I wanted to do was tear the whole thing apart! But, breaking each step down in stages, I knew that it would all be worth the time and effort.

Windows were important to us so, we searched for the "passenger" version which would require us to pull out 3 rows of seats. I would need to eventually install a structurally sound seat for my daughter Nya but, to start the conversion, that's what I did - out came the seat rows and all of the interior panels. I removed the driver and passenger seats as well to be able to install the "spinner kits", which would allow the two front seats to spin around and face the living area, creating a more open feel for hanging out when parked.

Next, I pulled the bulky, plastic floor vents and removed the "clam shells" that act as attachments for the seats. Using expanding foam, I filled those spaces and laid a durable wood floor that was light enough to reflect the natural light from the windows and keep the space brighter than the "dull gray" that was stock.

I took the time to begin laying out our solar system by taking advantage of the fact the panels had been removed. With a basic understanding and the intention to make our system safe, I ran wire for each appliance and light, and for the solar system itself through the side walls and roof, as well as installing the roof track system to attach a rack and to mount the (2) 86w solar panels I had, in series. One hole and a water proof entry gland was all it took to bring the panel's wires into the van to eventually connect to the charge controller. I also ran 2ott welding cable from the starter battery (under the driver seat) up through the floor boards, to an ACR relay which would safely control the connection from the starter battery to the (2) deep cycle "house batteries" (which I ran in parallel). The whole van was then insulated with denim (recycled blue jeans) for both warmth and sound reduction. The house batteries were secured to the structure of the van so they wouldn't turn into projectiles if we were involved in an accident.

ACR relay Link

Entry Gland Link

thinking ahead

I also connected some wood "blocking" at the advice of a good friend who'd done a similar project, to the pillars. This would allow me to connect some of the interior elements through the paneling with wood screws instead of sheet metal screws (reducing the chance of coming loose and making noise over time).

take apart....back together

Before I started to re-install the interior panels, I took as many photos as I could with a measuring tape out so that I could reference where the metal was behind the interior walls when I could no longer see them (after the panels were back up). Using a package of specialized tools I bought from Harbor Freight for $6 was a life saver as removing and replacing the interior panels can not only be a serious pain in the A$$ but, breaking the plastic clips is extremely easy to do without the right tools. All in all, it went pretty smooth and the panels went back in nicely. As I replaced the roof panels, I made sure to flush-mount the LED lights and run the wires to where my fuse panel and light switches would be.

LED link

solar system

I opted to set up my solar system for maximum efficiency and minimum maintenance. My good friend, Nick Franczyk helped me each step of the way with recommendations and advice. He sent me these three examples of schematics which helped a rookie like me to be able to conceptualize easily how to lay out my system. The beauty of this is that I'm always informed and able to fine tune the status of my power generation and storage and that all of my appliances are separately fused, making it not only safer relative to fires but, safer regarding not frying any of the electronics if there was a short somewhere. Basically, the ACR relay (toggle controlled) allow the house batteries to be charged by the alternator while driving but automatically switch to solar charge when stopped. A current monitor and the charge controller (and temp monitor) keeps the house batteries from over charging and over heating and maintains a constant state of efficiency. Power is then run from the house batteries through a fuse bus to a 12 slot fuse block. All of our appliances (lights, fridge, spark for our stove, water pump, etc.) are individually fused to this block.

House batteries

trying to do it right

Our rig came with a roof top AC unit so, we only had a fixed amount of space on the roof. I basically riveted the panels to aluminum L stock and fashioned hardware to connect the panels to the roof rack track system that I had previously installed. Needing racks for carrying hang gliders, kayaks, etc... I decided to use a 3 bar system that I installed easily around the panels. The rest of the images below show some of the wiring. I needed to wire "interrupter switches" to toggle each of the LED light pairs "on" and "off", an additional switch for the water pump (even though the pump is automatically controlled by the pressure in the system and turned on and off by simply using the faucet handle) and (seen above the back of the charge controller) the toggle for the ACR relay, allowing me to switch from "on" to "auto" or "off" (disconnecting the link between the house batteries and the starter battery).

Now, the fun stuff....

Once all of the intimidating stuff was done (intimidating for me at least), I could start focusing more on the finish and living space of the van. I placed the spinner kits under the driver and passenger seats and began the layout of the rig. I wanted our sleeping space and "garage" to be separate from the "living room" so that Nya can sleep in while my wife Kara, and I cook breakfast and enjoy the mornings. I also wanted to make sure we could work and have all the power we need accessible so, I made sure to wire in double USB ports both over the bed area (for phones and alarms) and in the living area. I also hard wired a 2300Wt inverter to be able to plug in laptops. Kara is a web developer so, if she can work on the road, she can come with me more often! I built a step above the inverter to help us boost into the bed and, in the last photo below, you can see that above the charge controller, I drilled through a outlet cover to mount the toggle type switches for our LED lights and H2O pump. The red toggle is the ACR relay control

https://www.thesolarbiz.com/

USB port link

H2O pump

Inverter

cabinets and luxuries

I figured: If I'm gonna do this, I should just do it right the first time......

So, for a few of the elements and "creature comforts", I hired a friend and master craftsman - Doug King - to build me the partition walls, a table top, a storage cabinet and most impressively, the galley cabinet. Doug and I discussed design ideas and what he came up with was beyond my expectations. He used Red Oak and custom built cabinets (shown below) to house our double burner stove/sink unit, and the refrigerator, complete with a pull-out table and an ingenious pantry drawer that made use of a tight space by creating more than enough storage for food, etc. A matching cabinet with a drawer to house pots and pans, silverware or, whatever.... gave us more than enough space for all we would ever take to live on the road for a long time. And, it looks amazing, in my opinion. Doug is a true master in the design and construction of fine furniture.

http://www.dakingdesign.com/

Fridge

Cooktop and sink

just like home

.....more than enough space and amenities to live "off the grid" for as long as we want

Nya's the captain

After removing the seats, I needed to install a safe seat option for our daughter Nya. She should be comfortable on the long travels to places like the coast, Yosemite, or wherever the next adventure may be. I ordered this seat with an integrated seat belt and attached it's structural steel base (spins and adjusts) through the floor of the Sprinter and attached it with Grade 5 bolts through a large steel plate under the rig. In the photo below (right), you can also see the table top Doug built which I mounted using a compression fit, removable, RV pedestal to allow us to take the table out if we ever want to. It's quite secure so, we normally opt to leave it in and Nya uses it for a lap top or to read while we're making miles down the highway.

Van Seating

storage

The other thing I really wanted to add was more accessible storage. Three overheads were easy and add tons of room for clothes over the bed and more food, coffee, whatever.....in the living room/kitchen. I went over to a friends and welded 5/8" square stock steel into L shaped brackets and then attached 1/4" Baltic Birch to finish them off. They are light and attach structurally to the pillars across the roof and to the blocking that I installed behind the interior panels.

speaking of the bed

Honestly, one of the main reasons to build a van out is to have a place to sleep that's comfortable. With the partition walls in, and the back of Doug's cabinet exposed, it gave me a perfect place to start building the bed platform and the "garage" cabinets. I wanted storage but, also a place to hide/protect the electronics and house batteries, and the 20 gal fresh water tank that feeds the sink. I also knew that I needed to mount a 5 gal propane tank somewhere safe. I used Rivnuts (like a T-Nut but with a rivet like backing) to structurally attach the bed ledger and then supported it more with the cabinets. In the photos below, you can see how it turned out. For the H2O tank, I installed a "slosh valve" that runs through the floor board. That way, with water pumping through the sink, the valve keeps the tank from crushing. Also, as I'm filling the tank, when I see water flowing from under the van, I know it's full. I installed a drain valve on the bottom where a line also connects to the H2O pump (mounted next to the Propane in the photo below), and then routes directly to the sink. We will only use non toxic soap and don't plan on running anything non degradable through the sink, ever, so we decided to forgo the gray tank and ran a drain line through the floor to exit under the van. Also, because Propane is heavier than air, I drilled a 4" by 12" vent right next to where the tank is mounted. I checked all connections for any minute leaks and found none but, installed the vent and a Propane alarm/detector to warn us if gas was to ever start leaking. I also installed a carbon monoxide alarm next to the stove for additional safety and made sure all electrical connections were "over-insulated" and secure.

Rivnut link: http://www.cardinalcomponents.com/plusnut.html

mattress

We then splurged and ordered an 8" foam mat that I cut with a bread knife to fit, and then covered it with a mattress topper. Hey......if you're gonna be a bear, you might as well be a grizzly, eh? Ha Ha!

Jewelers locks and foam on all the cabinet doors make for secure and quiet storage. I only placed the flooring to about half way into the "garage" so that there is a spot to place heavy things without wrecking the wood floor.

finishing touches

I sewed window covers out of Reflectex by custom cutting them to fit the shape of each window and then binding them with small magnets. They're super easy to magnet in place and help to insulate the glass. I also installed a brush guard which, was expensive but, after almost hitting a deer the second night I had the van in Montana, and.....knowing how much Mercedes wants for any piece of plastic on their rigs, I figured in the end, the bumper would be a good investment. The ladder is an after market item that was relatively inexpensive and easy to install and gives me access to the solar panels and helps me to be able to get my glider on and off the roof. The bike rack works great and folds down to allow me to open the back doors.