Sorry for the delay since the last post. Demands at work have kept me from updating this blog. Jerry has been busy working on the van and we have a lot to catch up on and we'll try to get you caught up as quickly as possible.
One of the "musts" of the van was to have electricity for indoor lights and the coffee pot. We wanted to be able to drive into an RV Park and plug in for a night and so we needed a plug on the outside of the van for plugging in at a park. So many of the RVs have a long cord that you pull out and then you have to stuff the cord back in when leaving. We thought an easier way would be to just have a short plug on the side and use an extension cord to reach the electricity at the park.
We cut a small hole in the side of the van and ran a 12-gauge extension cord along the inside wall over to an electrical box that will hold a switch for lights and a receptacle for the coffee pot. The cord was cut and wired into the box and the plug side of the extension cord dangles outside the van and is easily stuffed back in. We put the outside plug near the back driver's side as most RV parks have you back into slots and the electrical plugs are on the driver's side.
All marine stores carry electrical connectors that you can set up to run from your boat to the shore that are 30 amps. Marinco brand connectors is one brand to consider. http://www.seattlemarine.net/products/marinco.html These connectors could be used in place of the extension cord we used. We may switch over to that set-up in the future, but our present set-up was done so that we could go out camping with friends. The present set-up will be changed when we need more electricity, but for right now, a light for nighttime use and electricity for morning coffee is all our needs are for electricity right now.
Now we come to Finding the Pot of Gold. Jerry visited a local RV Consignment Lot and found the repairman who turned out to hold a plethora of information on converting a van and was very interested in what we were doing. Jerry, being rather sociable, made fast friends with Harry and it didn't take long before Harry had Jerry in the back room rummaging through all the used parts that were taking up space. A little while later, Jerry emerged with an awning and a roof vent all for a fraction of what they originally cost.
The awning was contained in a canvas bag and a metal gimp rail needed to be attached to the van and that was done on the gutter railing on the van with stainless steel screws. The awning then slides into this gimp rail and is then firmly attached to the side of the van just above the sliding door. The other side of the awning slides into an aluminum bar with extendable legs and side rails that push against the side of the van to hold it all firmly in place. The first picture shows the aluminum gimp rail that was attached to the gutter of the van.
This picture shows the awning after it's been slid into place using the gimp rail.
In this picture you can see the side arm that attaches to the side of the van with a twist-lock maneuver.
Here's the awning fully extended. Unless rain was coming in sideways, this provides a dry, shady area just off the sliding door. We plan on picking up some tent stakes to hold down the support legs in case of high winds.
The best part of this whole set up is that when done and packing up to move on, all you do is fold down the leg supports, slide the aluminum bar out of the one side, slide the awning out of the gimp rail, fold the awning back into its canvas bag and store it back in the van. A simple 5-minute set up and 5-minute take down.
With electricity in place and an awning to use, we added a memory foam mattress to the plywood base of the bed. We picked up a 4" mattress and because the bed is sideways in the van, we needed to cut off the bottom few inches to get the mattress to fit. We ventured out for the weekend to meet friends, using the "camping" portion of our van for the first time. With nothing more than a bed and electricity, we were just a level above "tent" camping, but it was still an enjoyable weekend camping with friends.
One of the "musts" of the van was to have electricity for indoor lights and the coffee pot. We wanted to be able to drive into an RV Park and plug in for a night and so we needed a plug on the outside of the van for plugging in at a park. So many of the RVs have a long cord that you pull out and then you have to stuff the cord back in when leaving. We thought an easier way would be to just have a short plug on the side and use an extension cord to reach the electricity at the park.
We cut a small hole in the side of the van and ran a 12-gauge extension cord along the inside wall over to an electrical box that will hold a switch for lights and a receptacle for the coffee pot. The cord was cut and wired into the box and the plug side of the extension cord dangles outside the van and is easily stuffed back in. We put the outside plug near the back driver's side as most RV parks have you back into slots and the electrical plugs are on the driver's side.
All marine stores carry electrical connectors that you can set up to run from your boat to the shore that are 30 amps. Marinco brand connectors is one brand to consider. http://www.seattlemarine.net/products/marinco.html These connectors could be used in place of the extension cord we used. We may switch over to that set-up in the future, but our present set-up was done so that we could go out camping with friends. The present set-up will be changed when we need more electricity, but for right now, a light for nighttime use and electricity for morning coffee is all our needs are for electricity right now.
Now we come to Finding the Pot of Gold. Jerry visited a local RV Consignment Lot and found the repairman who turned out to hold a plethora of information on converting a van and was very interested in what we were doing. Jerry, being rather sociable, made fast friends with Harry and it didn't take long before Harry had Jerry in the back room rummaging through all the used parts that were taking up space. A little while later, Jerry emerged with an awning and a roof vent all for a fraction of what they originally cost.
The awning was contained in a canvas bag and a metal gimp rail needed to be attached to the van and that was done on the gutter railing on the van with stainless steel screws. The awning then slides into this gimp rail and is then firmly attached to the side of the van just above the sliding door. The other side of the awning slides into an aluminum bar with extendable legs and side rails that push against the side of the van to hold it all firmly in place. The first picture shows the aluminum gimp rail that was attached to the gutter of the van.
This picture shows the awning after it's been slid into place using the gimp rail.
With electricity in place and an awning to use, we added a memory foam mattress to the plywood base of the bed. We picked up a 4" mattress and because the bed is sideways in the van, we needed to cut off the bottom few inches to get the mattress to fit. We ventured out for the weekend to meet friends, using the "camping" portion of our van for the first time. With nothing more than a bed and electricity, we were just a level above "tent" camping, but it was still an enjoyable weekend camping with friends.
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