Hal The Van - Page 63

**WVvan** · 06-11-2013, 02:42 PM

Thanks Dude. I also have plenty of the LEDs. Didn't know which kind I'd like best so bought several.

Backup Cameras

Once I had the front trim pieces removed for the installation of the Disco Lights figured might as well start work on a few other projects that had been rattling around in my brain but never got around to. One of those is the backup cameras.

This will require the removal of the front headliner. Had previously installed a overhead storage shelf that I bought from J.C. Whitney. In the picture I've removed the shelf but the end brackets are still in place. Remove them next.

Remove the plastic trim pieces on both sides of the windshield. They just pop off.

Running along the back edge of the headliner are five of these plastic bolts with the large heads. I'm sure they have an official name but don't know what it is.

Slide a screwdriver between the top of the van and the headliner and carefully work the plastic bolts out.

After remove the bolts the only thing holding the headliner up is the rubber edging above the doors on each side. Free up one edge and lower the headliner.

The wire that runs to the overhead light is tacked to the headliner with some type of glue.

The wire with glue comes free from the headliner without too much force.

This is the overhead light fixture. I'd previously converted it to LEDs.

The fixture easily pops out of the headliner. Then unplugs from the wire.

The headliner is now free.

It wasn't that sunny of a day but the exposed metal top was surprising warm on the inside.

Notice the screws sticking down from the front edge of the penthouse top. Got stuck by these more than once.

I'd never had the headliner off before now. First thing is to insulate it. Use my trusty double-sided tape then Reflectix.

Watch out for those screws.

I want to install two cameras on the back of the van. One will be for backing up while the other will act as a secondary rear view mirror. Once the fridge is installed I'll lose half the view through the back doors. Since I'm running the wiring for the backup camera adding a second camera isn't that much extra work.

I used the 12 volt benchtop power supply from the previous posting to test that the two cameras could share a video signal cable since they wouldn't both be on at the same time. Used this coax ethernet cable I had laying around as the video cable.

Cut the BNC connectors from both ends and add a RCA plug to one end.

Unscrew the cloth trim from along the edge of the penthouse and fold it back. Run the coax cable from the front of the van through a new hole drilled in the roof along side the plywood piece that holds down the penthouse canvas. I'm using silver duct tape, not duck tape, to keep the coax in place.

Run the cable to the right (passenger side) rear corner of the penthouse top.

continued -

**WVvan** · 06-12-2013, 08:24 PM

Backup Cameras - continued

This is the backup camera. On the back is a threaded tube that the wires pass through and is used to secure the camera. I cut a piece of rubber for a backing against the penthouse top.

Raise the top before drilling the mounting hole for the camera. Notice the end of the wire hanging below the camera. It has a small diameter connector so the wires can be passed through the mounting hole for the camera. The connector that mates with this has the rca video plug and power plug.

This is the looking back camera. Instead of a small connector it has a rca video plug and a power plug on the end of it's wires. Since a hole is needed to pass these wires through the top I cut off the bulky ends.

Then the hole doesn't have to be so large.

Going to use #8 machine screws to hold the camera in place. Enlarge the holes in the base for them.

Had some company that day.

Use silicone to seal up the holes. These holes only go through fiberglass and not through the internal support plywood like the holes for the solar panel bolts. Because of that I don't have to be as careful.

How it looks. In retrospect I should have moved the looking back camera towards the front about a inch. Wasn't going to put more holes in the top so it stays where it is.

Now to get the wiring out to the cameras.

Just like I did with the solar panel wiring, remove the screws that attach the canvas to the top. I can pass the wires through the gap but to screw the canvas back in place these wires have to be flexible enough so they can be folded back upon themselves with the canvas in the middle. Because of that I'm using a different type of coax cable for this part of the run. See if you can catch my mistake. One coax cable for each of the cameras. The red and black wires provide positive power. One wire to each camera.

To get the canvas into it's original position I had to slide it back in place from the outside.

Put the screws back that hold the canvas in place. Looks good.

When starting to wire up the cameras I quickly realized my mistake. I forgot a ground wire. D'Oh! For some reason there's no pictures of me opening up the canvas top again and running a new ground wire.

Use the same nylon zip tie anchors that I used with the solar panel cables to route the wiring under the penthouse top.

Join the two coax cables that run out to the cameras to the one cable that runs to the front of the van.

It's not real clear in the above picture but the forgotten (red) ground wire comes off of the penthouse installation bolt that's underneath the plier's handle.

All the new wires and cables fit within the plastic conduit that was already in this corner from the original installation of the penthouse top.

continued -

**WVvan** · 06-17-2013, 09:44 AM

Backup Cameras - continued

A poster asked about the cameras. Bought both of them on ebay for around $15 each. They are made in China and I have no idea how long they will last.

With the cameras now wired up they will need power. The cameras will be used only while the van is moving so I want to find a "hot on run" source. Along the "B" pillar on the drivers side I found this group of unused connectors.

The wires on this connector were of a heavier gauge so thought they might be a power source.

There are only three wires but it is a six terminal connector.

Using a voltmeter I found that the orange wire is a "hot on run" source. Figured out it's connector C331. Page 150-29 in the electrical manual.

It's listed as circuit# 49. It comes off the Trailer Battery Charge Relay.

Cut the orange wire from connector C331 and crimp it to a in-line fuse holder. Cover the connection with shrink tube.

Route the power wire along side the "B" pillar up to the ceiling in plastic conduit.

Then along the "B" ceiling support to the center of the headliner Reflectix using silver duct tape to secure the wires. I had previously run the power wires for the two cameras to this point. The camera power wires followed the same route as the coax cable.

Wire the power to the cameras and this 3.5" TFT LCD (thin-film-transistor liquid-crystal display) monitor.

This monitor was too small for my liking so ordered a bigger one. Will use this one until it's replacement arrived. Here's the view from the looking back camera.

And this is the backup camera. The image in the monitor is fine. It's the picture I took that's out of focus. The backup cameras isn't showing the back of the van.

Here's the problem. The penthouse top is angled such that the camera is aimed too far back.

To compensate I removed the backup camera then elongated the mounting hole. This allowed the camera to be tipped forward. Used duck tape to change the camera's angle.

Changed the angle until I could see the back of the van within the image.

Measure the gap. It's 0.56 ".

Need something more permanent. Had this block of UHMW (Ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene) on hand. Cutting boards are made from this material. It's 0.5" thick.

Cut out a small square then cut it on an angle.

Drill a hole in the UHMW wedge and use tape to hold it in place then check the image. The wedge tips the camera forward enough so that I can see the back of the van in the image. Used sandpaper to clean up the edges of the wedge.

When trying to secure the camera with it's new aiming wedge found the threaded tube on the back wasn't long enough to accommodate both the wedge and the rubber piece previously used. Removed the rubber pad and to seal against water leakage smeared on silicone II instead.

continued -

Zaskoda · 06-17-2013, 02:43 PM

I'm eager to hear how that camera angle feels. I've almost picked up a camera a couple of times but still have not ventured into that project. I saw a really nice setup with 4 cameras well placed on a single screen meant for big rigs, but it was far too expensive.

**WVvan** · 06-18-2013, 02:07 PM

Hey Z,
I think the camera angles are just fine. Had a chance to road test them both and as long as the cameras hold up I'll be happy. The view from the looking back camera has a neat bird's eye quality to it.

Backup Cameras - continued

Jump forward about a week and the new monitor I ordered has arrived. Measures 7" and cost about $35. Figure out the best place to mount it.

Use masking tape to mark the spot.

This is the top side of the headliner. It's made from fiberboard but isn't too thick.

The monitor is light but I don't trust the headliner to support it without some help so adding this piece of fiberboard as backing. This is the same fiberboard I use for the wall panels.

I trimmed the excess from the bolts after tightening them down.

Drill a hole in the headliner for the monitor cable.

I'm not worried about the headliner edge cutting into the cable so this next step is just for looks. Take an appropriately sized grommet and cut off the edge of the lower lip.

Use a little silicone to glue the grommet into place.

Add a switch to the headliner to that will power both the cameras and the monitor.

Using a DPDT on-off-on switch. From one on position the monitor and backup camera are powered. From the other on position the monitor and the looking back camera are powered.

Add a plug to the switch wiring so I can lower the headliner.

It's not obvious in these pictures but this whole process required the headliner going back up and down again several times so I could check how things fit along with wiring length.

The new monitor came with a wiring harness. Taped it to the roof Reflectix to keep it out of the way. The cable that comes off the back of the monitor and goes through the hole in the headliner plugs in to this.

How it looks between the headliner and the roof when I start plugging everything in. Some of this is for the overhead light which I'll cover in the next project posting.

One last thing is to sight in the backup camera. Get a piece of scrap plywood and mark out 8 inches in 1 inch increments.

Clamp it to the rear bumper

The resolution in this picture isn't good enough to see but the 5 inch mark is right at the edge of the back window. So backing up, when something goes out of view I've less than 5 inches of space left.

One more thing. The monitor folds up when not in use.

OK that's the end of the backup cameras project.

Abitibi · 06-19-2013, 11:43 AM

As usual, thinking outside the box completed by a very clean instal... Well done!

Cheers
Mr. D

**WVvan** · 06-20-2013, 09:58 PM

Thank you Mr. D. I do appreciate that.

Das Boot Lights

I'm sure you've had the experience where you're driving at night and when stopped want to look at something in the cab unfortunately knowing that once the overhead light is turned on it will ruin your night vision. Hence the need for some overhead red lighting. I call them Das Boot Lights after the movie since that's what they used in submarines to preserve night vision. With the headliner taken down this was a perfect time to do this project.

This is the overhead light fixture from the headliner. I had previously removed the incandescent bulb and replaced it with a square led light.

This is the back of the led light. It originally came with a double stick foam backing but the foam didn't last long in the fixture before it came unstuck. I've cleaned the old foam tape from the back of this led. Notice the exposed electrical contacts.

Because of the exposed contacts I'm not going to reuse the metal part of the original overhead light fixture. Use this piece of acrylic instead since it's non-conductive.

Use strips of 3M VHB tape to secure the led lights to the acrylic.

The center square of surface mount leds is the white light. On each side are red leds. The red ones aren't as bright but I'd ordered two of them just in case and there's room enough for all three squares in the fixture.

Use VHB to secure the acrylic to the cover.

You can see that the hump in the headliner that gives room for the fixture.

Also gives room for a switch.

The fixture is held in place by this metal bracket attached to the headliner.

The wires for the white overhead light used to be glued to the headliner.

Instead I've taped them to the Reflectix.

The white light still works from the headlight knob and when the doors are open. The power for the red lights comes from the house batteries. I'll cover that more in the next project posting which is also about adding new led lights.

Up Periscope!

**WVvan** · 06-23-2013, 10:37 PM

LED Lighting

This is another of the projects I started working on because the trim and headliner were removed. This will be for LED Lighting in the house section of the van. While Disco Lights were just for fun these lights will be more practical. The LEDs are on a flexible strip and will be encased in a square acrylic tube just like the Disco Lights. These LEDs are rated as "cool white".

Unlike the Disco Lights I want the switch to be part of the light fixture. Here's what I have to work with. A simple on/off switch, 1/2" square acrylic tube, 1/2" U shaped acrylic channel and acrylic sheet.

Will be making two fixtures so create both switch enclosures at the same time. Use the clamp to hold it all together then apply acrylic cement which is drawn into the space where the acrylic pieces touch. The switches aren't affected by the cement. They are just there as spacers.

Cut the switch enclosure in half. Cement one to the end of a section of square acrylic tube. Use a string to feed the flexible LED strip through the tube.

Wire the LED strip to the switch and add a plug.

Now to power it. Create a wiring harness. The positive power comes from the house battery fuse panel.

Get the ground from a bolt on the B pillar just below the roof.

Tape the wiring harness to the roof of the cab. Two of the connectors are for the LED lighting while the third is what powers the Das Boot light from the previous posting.

Wait till it gets dark and give it a try.

Here I'm just holding the light in place. Looks OK.

How to mount the fixtures? Running along both sides of the penthouse opening is a cloth covered metal reinforcement. Will use these 1/4" square rare earth magnets. They are strong enough to stick to the metal even with the cloth in between.

Here's an idea of how strong the magnets are.

Again use 3M VHB to attach the magnets to the square tube.

Here's the light over the kitchen held in place by the magnets. It's quite solid.

The second fixture will go over the sofa-bed. After fitting the LED strip into the square tube it needs to be trimmed. This marks one of the cut points.

The round pads are were the wires are soldered.

The first section of flexible strip used over the kitchen had wires already attached. This was cut from that strip so need to solder on the wires.

The square tube came in 6 foot lengths. The second fixture is longer than that so added a second section of square tube to the end.

The strip isn't the exact length of the square tube since it can only be cut at certain locations. Any left over I just bent over and slid back into the tube.

Sofa-bed lights.

LED lighting after dark.

Since I'm making this up as I go never sure what it will look like on the other end but really happy how the lights turned out. The pictures don't do them justice. Found in using them that the decision to incorporate the switch into the square tube was right. When standing with the top up the switches are out of sight below the penthouse edge. Just have to run my finger along the square tube and I'm sure to hit the switch.

That's the end of the LED Lighting project.

Pschitt · 06-24-2013, 01:50 AM

At each of your reports, I am impressed by the ingenuity that you show!

But do you still have time to enjoy your SMB out of your workshop?

**WVvan** · 06-24-2013, 08:02 PM

Thanks Pschitt.

Not been able to get out and go camping as much as I want yet working on the van isn't the reason.

Here's the reason:

The current forecast. Just about every time I've been able to get away it looks like this. Hopefully things will improve.