our 2wd "baby "pop top

[lqhikers]

thought i would post a few pictures of our pop top.
we have had a lot of different rigs,but have always favored our vans,so after tiring of our Toyota 4x4 with 4wheel pop up we replaced it with a ford 150 van.
as i knew i was going to be building a lite weight camper the 150 with small v/8, locking diff.was just the ticket.
having class b vans (ford 250 fiesta high top) in the past i knew the gas mileage would be around 12 mpg. this was the reason for the 150 as we now average 18 all around.
all the mods were done by myself so i know how and why on all the systems.
the first mod was to cut a access door in the floor of the van directly over the sending/fuel pump location,after losing a fuel pump on a previous ford (saline valley)i wanted to make sure it would be a easy field repair if ever needed.
interior is fully insulated floor, walls, roof,doors.
duel batts with solar power to keep engle cold at all times(we live in the desert so conversion was done with this in mind.)
bed is in the rear with extension that pulls out at night.storage under bed also has rack that holds solar panels inside for security.
sink unit uses gravity feed water system,no water heater
1 burner stove built in (we use outside stove 90 percent of the time)
catalic heater if needed mounted on sink cabinet.
all windows were replaced with pop out windows from early 90's van (craigslist!)screens added to all.
rear was built so we could camp with rear doors open and still keep our cat safe inside.
passenger seat was converted to a swivel seat drivers left stock.
fold up chair fits between bed and engle cabinet.
engle is in a cabinet behind drivers seat.all food storage drawers (4) were custom fitted to cabinets
so they can be removed to make it easy to pack and un pac (large plastic drawers from walmart)
sink has holding tank mounted in the spare tire mount under van.
porta potty instead of holding tank/toilet
spare tire now mounted on rear ladder.
receiver hitch relocated to give more back road clearance.
last but not least the pop top was cut from a old topper $20.00 cost!fitted framed and now we
have a spot to stand up in and the ventilation is great.
lots of little things but the above are the big ones.
it will not do what a smb will do but it works for us.(we use a 4x4sammi to explore off road) which we tow when needed.
this might give somebody some ideas if a smb is out of picture.
drive slow and enjoy "its the journey"
Les lqhikers

[spurious]

Great Job!!
Love to see the ingenuity of home builds!

[billwilson]

very very cool

more pics (beat you BH

also, tell us about the pop top

bw

[TroySmith80]

Looks great, can we see more interior pictures?

[cygvan]

nice van.

access to storage from rear doors is nice.

can you tell me the exact dimensions of your solar panels?

i was thinking of a similar mounting for them but as i dont have my van yet, i was getting hung up on whether or not the ones i would like to use would fit the way i wanted to install them.

thanks

[billwilson]

Originally Posted by cygvan

can you tell me the exact dimensions of your solar panels?

check out:

http://www.affordable-solar.com/solar.panels.htm

they give full specs for all panels

the ones above appear to be in the 120 watt size range is my guess

[cygvan]

Originally Posted by billwilson

check out:

http://www.affordable-solar.com/solar.panels.htm

they give full specs for all panels

the ones above appear to be in the 120 watt size range is my guess

good site...been there a few times...wholesalesolar.com is another good one.

when i saw the pic i thought they might have been in the 120w range...i was hoping they were in the 200-230 watt range...those tend to be about 39"x66"...i most likely will have to mount them one in front of the other lengthwise...(i want to use 2)...and to one side or the other to leave room for vent fan

[billwilson]

Originally Posted by cygvan

good site...been there a few times...wholesalesolar.com is another good one.

when i saw the pic i thought they might have been in the 120w range...i was hoping they were in the 200-230 watt range...those tend to be about 39"x66"...i most likely will have to mount them one in front of the other lengthwise...(i want to use 2)...and to one side or the other to leave room for vent fan

i have the 230 watt panel
they double as a Helipad
big ass things, HOWEVER, i can run everything indeffinaltly w/ them...

[cygvan]

i have the 230 watt panel
they double as a Helipad
big ass things, HOWEVER, i can run everything indeffinaltly w/ them...

yep, thats the idea...not the helicopter part tho

i intend to start with 2) 245ah 8d agms. mppt type charge controller. still deciding on inverter size.

ill be living in van (sort of boondocking) for 2 years while i work at my long term and thankfully steady job.

i dont want to hijack thread so ill save details and other questions for other threads.

[saline]

Nice setup!
Hey, wasn't this van in Saline Valley last week near the cold pool?