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Old 04-29-2021, 10:32 PM   #191
KDB
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The Van performed well this winter. Handled a pretty heavy snow, 6-7'. Battery system worked well. 4 days completely snowed in and the bank didn't dip below the high 80 percentile. Full time heater, lights and food chest. I did have to maintain enough air under the van for the espar to continue working well. I believe the fuel was condensing more readily than it was being burned and did gas me out for an hour one afternoon with the smell of raw wet diesel (the ski resort was only opening for around 2 hrs/ day so i had the time to sort it out!). Digging out the espar exhaust and that particular van storage cabinet in general fixed the issue.

That's a jeep cherokee buried in about 5' of powder next to me. Great snow!...if only the mountain could open. Myself and two are vans were snowed it entirely for about 3 days. Forced time out. Couldn't have enjoyed my down time any more,however.
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Old 05-01-2021, 06:11 AM   #192
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^^^ Very impressive performance for your rig and the electrical system--VERY!
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Old 05-02-2021, 02:59 PM   #193
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Just went through this entire thread... awesome stuff! Hopefully it's appropriate to ask here and not to start a new thread, but does anybody have any experience with installing additional seating in a rear box like this, as opposed to in a cargo van? I have to imagine that's how RVs are built and that nothing physically prevents you from doing this, but I'm not sure about the legal implications. Would love to convert a utility rig, but we need seating 2 adults and 1 toddler.
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Old 05-06-2021, 05:21 PM   #194
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Just went through this entire thread... awesome stuff! Hopefully it's appropriate to ask here and not to start a new thread, but does anybody have any experience with installing additional seating in a rear box like this, as opposed to in a cargo van? I have to imagine that's how RVs are built and that nothing physically prevents you from doing this, but I'm not sure about the legal implications. Would love to convert a utility rig, but we need seating 2 adults and 1 toddler.
Look to the mobility van(wheelchair) industry and how they do it. Often they use mobility-rated L-track(airline track. NOTE; not all L-track is mobility rated!!!), special hardware to the rig, special installation guidelines. Then of course you need the appropriate hardware to attach the seat to the L-track. Here's a start; https://www.braunability.eu/en/produ...eating/u-seat/
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Old 08-03-2021, 05:20 PM   #195
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Just had to pop back to this thread to say that I just saw this rig while driving in Santa Cruz. I have to say, it looks even better in person that I would have imagined. Looks like a tank. KDB - if you need anything while you're in the area, feel free to shoot me a message. I'm down in Aptos.
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Old 08-16-2021, 11:15 AM   #196
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Thanks so much...im also in Santa Cruz. APpreciate the gesture however!
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Old 08-16-2021, 11:32 AM   #197
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Hi Motovan,

We were able to fasten our folding jumpseat to the frame of the rig so it's extremely secure. You'll see the seat in some of the earlier pics. It was signed off on by the dmv so im guessing it's good to go. Ive still yet to take a 3 person trip with the rig, however.

THe van has been a ton of fun this past summer so far. Lots of little sierra trips. Couple locking mechanisms on the compartment doors needing changing out and had an oil rail issue that needed tending too but other than that the van has been running strong and a joy to camp in.

Enjoying some rabbit and wagyu taco's in the eastern sierra. This is a great little lakeshore drive some of you may recognize. Makes for a great day hang and dinner spot.
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Old 03-11-2022, 07:44 PM   #198
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Well it never seems to end... apparently im what you call an 'enduring' pattern.

So here was go... a few minor redesigns on the van. My efforts in winterizing the water for my rig was futile. I was skeptical to begin with but it was confirmed this past season. Sooo, i moving away from the heated shelf and jerry cans in the rear passenger side cabinet and having my primary holding tank moved inside behind my chest fridge along the passenger wall. THe grey water will remain in the same rear cabinet. The new water volume and location inside should do the trick. I have a lot of interior space so it shouldn't cramp my floor space to heavily. The water lines will be primarily routed inside as well. With any luck we'll get some more cold weather and snow to test drive the redesign. Pics to follow. Im going with a 20gal tank. It'll be enclosed in a custom box with view port and accessible for filling from the passenger front external cabinet. Im intending to create manifold off the tank allowing me to run a line to the driver side of the van into the horizontal cabinet where i'll have a quick disconnect for my hot water shower set up. THat line will of course be three season.

2nd mod is going to be the wrappon toilet. It's a cool unit. WOrks well and held up to use in extremely cold weather. The waste is heat sealed so i had some serious concerns. Worked fine. I'll likely be taking out the third jumper seat in the rig to accommodate this as i intend to wall mount the box in approximately the same area as the seat. Im thinking the toilet will be mounted via ratchetting L brackets similar to my leather dinnette seats. As much as id like to keep the jumper I simply don't use it and the space is too valuable. It may end up for sale here on the forum. As i see it, the rare time id have a third person in the rig doesn't take priority of a comfortable and quick to use indoor loo. Especially in the snow and cold weather. My river rafting toilet did the job but something more permanently installed will be great.

Lastly will be the kickass electric oven install. That'll live above my kodiak lithium battery and will be a nice convenience for baking small items, etc. It works well (though takes 20 mins or so to get to temp) but sips power and is compact and well built.

Should have pics of all the work by months end. The pic below is of a fun little hipcamp outside Joshua Tree.
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Old 03-11-2022, 09:48 PM   #199
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My efforts in winterizing the water for my rig was futile. I was skeptical to begin with but it was confirmed this past season.

The Lance cabover camper company has an interesting approach to 'winterizing' their exterior water, grey, and black water holding tanks. They channel a percentage of the forced air furnace's air under the camper, and into a foam enclosure that surrounds the tanks.



The idea is, while you are winter camping, skiing, snowmobiling, etc, you have your forced air furnace set on the thermostat to keep it comfortable inside, the warm air from the propane furnace, and the insulating surround, is enough to keep the tanks from freezing. Some 'grist for the mill' so to speak
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Old 03-13-2022, 04:54 PM   #200
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Tx, Tom... i had a similar idea. I was going to drill 2x 3" port holes from inside the cabin to the rear passenger compartment to permit airlflow in and out of that outer storage cabinet in hopes of keeping the tanks warm. One hole as the intake and have a passive outake that flows back into the cabin. I was thinking of using some kind of small and quiet computer fan to do the job. I opted not to do that for a few reasons. 1. was having the extra water storage always on hand and in a singluar tanks vs distributed amongst my cabinets in separate jerry cans that required swapping out, etc. 2. Having the water inside should prevent any freezing. 3. Having centralized water to create a manifold allowing for the a water line to be run across the van to a quick disconnect. 4. This was a big one, opening up more cabinet space. All that external storage and i found it filled with various jerry cans in two of the cabinets. Consolidating that gives me that much more external storage. Having the interior pretty roomy as it is allows me to utilize more of the interior space for van systems. 5. Cutting additional holes into the rig wasn't ideal 6. It would work against my interior heating - to what extent i wasn't sure. 7. The idea just might not work at all in extremely cold conditions and im left with two big holes leading into my cabin from one of the storage cabinets.
All that considered i just decided to relocate a new main 20g tank inside. If im really getting off grid i can use those previous water storage locations for holding more water. I figure 20-25 gallons would be more than sufficient for my needs with another person.
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