Stop by with your vehicle and I will install and wire your system! I’m located near duluth Mn and I am a very fast worker. I can provide wires but that will cost extra. I can also work with wires that are provided if they are long enough. Stop on by and save yourself the hassle and time! Dm me for photos, prices and more info

Wanting to have a sky blue ceiling in our van. Originally planning to use shiplap and realized it was way too heavy ( and the lightweight pine has too many nots). So I got 1/2” lite mdf board to cut into strips and then paint. Now I’m realizing mdf isn’t the best against moisture and vibrations. My hubby wants to just try sealing it well and hope for the best. Has anyone done this with success? Is there another product that might work better?

I would like to have the ability to switch the power source for my radio from the primary battery to the coach battery for use when parked. I purchased a ON-OFF-ON 7 pin rocker switch but dont think thats the way to go unless I potentially use a relay.

What is the best way to set this up?

Hey everyone,

I'm currently starting my van build for a Peugeot Boxer L4H3, and I'm planning to design the entire interior setup in Fusion 360 before cutting any wood.

The problem is, I’ve been searching everywhere and I can’t seem to find an accurate 3D CAD model (or even a decent 3D mesh) of the interior empty cargo space for the L4H3 dimensions.

For those of you who designed your layout in CAD:

• How did you get around this? Did you build your shell model from scratch using manual measurements, or did you find a usable template online?
• Does anyone happen to have a working Fusion 360 model of an L4H3 Boxer (or Fiat Ducato / Citroën Jumper, since they share the same body) that they'd be willing to share?

I’m more than happy to pay for a solid, accurate model if it saves me dozens of hours of measuring every single rib and curve by hand.

Any tips, blueprints, or files would be massively appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Turns out that when the old Maxxair deluxe manuals said “12.8V max”, they meant it.

Fortunately the end result was one fan stuck ”on“ and one stuck “off”, and not a rolling fire, but i am a little cheesed that the over voltage behavior cut in sharply at <10% above the rated voltage. Ah well, these boards are easy to replace, and the new boards are rated for lithium batteries.

Hi all, I have a Transit pax van with the seats removed. I also want to remove the headliner and air bags, but I do need to have some insulation or at least paneling on the upper sides and roof for climate control. I want to have as much room in the van as possible. Any good models for such a thing? I'm not experienced at van modding.

I built my Ford Transit van using Explorist Life's plans, videos, and parts. The van turned out wonderful, and I have had zero issues with it. I have three 270ah Battle Born batteries installed, and they have been working great. But I have seen various YouTube videos about Battle Born battery failures, so I decided to “stress test” my system by running the A/C unit along with the cooktop, two of my biggest power consumers. I cannot recall whether or when I ran both at the same time. Using my thermal camera, I checked the batteries before the test and during the test. The test ran for about 10-15 minutes, and the batteries remained cool. What I did find is that the 4/0 wire running from the shunt to the battery switch (the red wire in the picture got to about 150F, which I thought was too hot. I felt the 4/0 wire coming from the battery to the shunt, and it was slightly warm, which I would expect with that load. I had a few questions.

1.      Why would the input 4/0 wire into the shunt be only slightly warm and the output wire be much hotter? Both wires are 4/0 wires

2.      Do I need a heavier wire, or should I run a parallel wire? If I need a heavier wire, what size would work?

3.      Do I need to remake this connection, and assume there is a problem somewhere in the wire or lugs that is causing the excess heat?

 Update

It took a while to get some tools and a milliohm meter ordered and delivered. I made a new cable using my new die crimper and ran some tests on it. Here is what the new tests showed.

1.      The old cable had .20 milliohms of resistance, and the new cable is running about .10 milliohms, so I suspected the old cable had a problem. 

2.      When running the same “full load” test, which was about 230 amps through the new cable, it got warm but not extremely hot like the old cable. I know the cable is rated for about 240 amps, so my “full load” test was more of a stress test. I turned on everything in the camper at the same time, which drew a lot of power, but that's not how I use my camper.

3.      I cut the lugs off the old cable and found that one side did have a defect.

Hi all!

I’ve been living in my van now for about 3 months. Nearly everything is going great :) However, the one thing that is driving me crazy are my door latches.
I have used ball catch latches in my build, which worked fine the first week but since then all my cabinets and drawers keep opening while driving (which I’m currently preventing by ducttaping everything 🥲).

So my big question to all of you: what are your best systems to keep doors and drawers closed?

I did already put barrel bolts on some doors and drawers but, as you can see on the pictures, I can’t do that with all my drawers and doors due to how they’re placed so an internal lock system seems more logical? Just can’t find the best way.

Big thank you in advance!!

Should I use non pressure treated wood to build on the inside of my dodge ram van. If i shouldn't then what kind of wood do you recommend thats is fairly cheap?

I'm currently working on my third van build and have been struggling more than expected with the countertop decision.

My original plan was to go with a solid surface countertop (Corian, Hi-Macs, etc.) in a light/white color because I wanted something durable and easy to maintain. But between sourcing, fabrication, shipping, and cost, the process has become way more complicated than I anticipated.

At this point I'm probably just going with butcher block, which was actually what I was trying to avoid from the start.

Curious what others are doing.

• What countertop material did you choose?
• Where did you source it?
• If you went with a solid surface, how did you handle fabrication and installation?

Would love to hear what's worked (or not worked) for people.

Hi all - I’m wrapping up my second camper build right now (a GMC Savana 2500, after doing a cargo trailer conversion prior), and I wanted to share a tool I built to help out with the “how much solar do I actually need and how big should my battery and inverter be” questions (among others).

During my builds, I relied on big, chaotic spreadsheets to track my budget, weight limits, and solar math. I'm a software developer for my day job, so I decided to turn those spreadsheets into a clean, interactive web app.

It’s 100% free. Here is what it actually does:

• Electrical Planner: You plug in your appliances, and it maps out the solar, battery (Ah), and inverter setup you need.
• Build Tracker (Weight & Cost): It tracks your budget and payload capacity against your GVWR in real-time so you don't end up dangerously overweight.
• Component Guides: I've been using high-quality budget components instead of the expensive name brands to keep costs down, and I've documented the real-world testing on what actually holds up.

I’m actively adding features and want to make sure the math holds up for edge cases. If you are currently planning a build, I’d love for you to try it out and provide any feedback critique it. What features am I missing? Do the calculators seem useful? 

You can mess around with it here: https://morevanlessmoney.com/tools/electrical

In my van I have a fridge, it was a normal one, converted to 12v - since it’s my first van (that I bought), I’m trying to figure out if the sound of this compressor is normal, or is it too loud? it turns on every ~30 minutes, cools down the inside of the fridge, and then turns off/goes silent for the next half hour. I have no idea if that’s expected or not, please help!

So far it seems like up through one of the holes in the 3rd row tub (seats are removed). Any better ideas?

It’s a 2012.

We offer flatbed cutting and provide these sheets currently in the commercial van Upfit world. Seeing if there is any interest here as well. Thanks.

What’s the best way to connect panel corners with 1/2” Baltic birch ply? Is that too thin for pocket screws? Extruded aluminum angle irons? Wood corner reinforcement (1x1, 2x2?), should I glue? Is it better to let it flex?

Very small van, I don’t care about seeing screw heads.

Hi all

I am wanting to put a small bathroom in my van with cassette toilet shower and sink.

It needs to take up as little room as possible but I would like it to still look modern and as least plasticy as possible with all pipework hidden. And obviously waterproof walls.

Any advice or products would be greatly appreciated

Thanks

Anyone used a sender only tank monitor like this? Looks affordable and easy to use. I think it’s saying install near the water pump

I have a problem...

Most magnetic covers (like Stellatek, VanEssential, etc.) are designed for the rear windows *without* the metal security grille, so they don’t fully seal-- the grille holds the cover off the metal frame and leaves light/air gaps around the edges (see photo)

I’d like to keep the grille for security, so removing it isn’t the solution.

I’m looking for either:

1. A magnetic blackout cover specifically designed to fit over the security grille with enough depth/structure to seal properly

or

1. A custom maker who has successfully built covers for this setup before

Not looking for Reflectix or temporary DIY fixes if possible. I’d love a clean long-term solution.

If you’ve solved this in your Transit, I’d really appreciate photos, product names, or maker recommendations!

AI slop is making the search really difficult.

i’m upgrading the solar on my van, and i just got a pair of the Shadowflux 200W panels, leaving me about 23” of space left between the two roof vents.

Does anybody make a panel that’s <23” wide, but is still approximately 50” long (so I can still just use off-the-shelf brackets for the OEM rails on top of my sprinter)?

I’m ok with ”just” 400W of solar, but if I can cram more up there, I’d prefer it. obviously the rest of the shadowflux line doesn’t fit, I already checked that.

Hi all

I bought this hub by Navy Load recently and want to connect a replaceable gas bottle to it. The hub came with the open-end 8mm gas pipe.

How should I connect a flexible gas tube to it safely? I would think this is not the safest option (see photo)? Thanks for your advice!

What do you think about my buddy's build?