The van did not have an inverter or converter or house battery charging system. For those who don’t know what these are, an inverter is converts 12V DC to 115 AC and a converter/charger is for AC to DC and house battery charging. These new units were installed behind the driver’s seat on the wall of the portapotty cabinet.
To keep the project simple and reliable, an internal shore power outlet was installed. You’ll also notice in the pictures a smaller, grey box which is for the converter and when the van is connected to shore power (house A/C electrical receptacles plug in here)
River Rat was a little concerned that I would not use it that often, like many RV folks do. He finally realized that all his hard work will not be taken for granted and that this van will be used well. He's glad to know that I’ve taken it out on many trips since I received delivery of the renovated van back in March. So far, it’s been to Bodega Bay, Harbin Hot Springs, Sierra Hot Springs nearby Truckee, Lake Del Valle in the Hayward hills, Stoneyford off of the 5 FWY nearby Williams, Benton Hot Springs, and Markleeville in the Sierras, Panamint Springs and Saline Hot Springs in Death Valley. Just recently, it was at Cache Creek and it’s scheduled to go to Loon Lake in the Desolation Wilderness area and to Colorado and Utah for a month. I think that’s a pretty good list for starters with this van. I had no trouble with the engine or any other part of the van except for a dead battery after about one week of sitting and that may very well have been operator error.
The exterior of the van was dialed down a couple of notches to a lower profile by removing all the faded pin striping and the fancy side floorboard trim. The paint received a clay bar and wax job and the rusty but good spare was covered with a simple tire cover. River Rat emailed Sportsmobile for a new graphic design and gave them the make, year, and model number of the van. They sent back the correct “era” Sportsmobile graphic and that was posted to the sides of the van. Here are the before and after shots to show you the difference.