Not a problem @Lolaeliz . I actually briefly described my setup in @Lisa Harris Solar Panel thread, but not nearly in the detail in here.
Brian's Basic Design and (Hopefully) Build Thread
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Thanks. Went down a lot of rabbit holes before coming up with this approach. It's been tough trying to avoid tying myself in knots and overthinking everything time and again while waiting. Based on what everyone says, I expect I'll spend days just sitting in the van staring at walls once it comes in!
Thx so much. This has helped a lot. I do plan to start off with 180/200 solar panel. Would like to do it like a portable panel. Was thinking Bouge Rv panel 180/200 BB PANELS. I have looked at Bluette. Well I was trying to not buy the Blu… It’s so expensive. But I will do it.
If I go with the bluette I have to figure out how to have it hooked up for solar and or shore power.
@Lisa Harris There are separate charging plugs for solar (DC) and for the AC charging brick on my AC 200P, which all I am comfortable commenting on. You can charge through either or both at the same time. One thing to keep in mind if you go with this unit is that the minimum voltage to start charging is 35 volts. Just check the Overcurrent Voltage (VOC) on the panels you are looking at. Usually (but not always) this means you will need at least 2 panels connected in series to get above the 35 volts minimum.
I can understand your frustration over this. Figuring out what to do for electric was one of the hardest things for me. So many other things are affected by it, especially if you want to add solar and car charging to the equation. Now all I need is a van to see how how my plan will work out!
Thanks @proeddie . I will bookmark that link for future use. So many things to line up...
We often have a tendency to buy everything that we think we need, then discover that we may need something different than we thought!... buying-wise, pace yourself, and I would suggest that you not get too far ahead of the project.
I'll bet most of us have a list of items that we bought for the van and didn't use... I do! And some needed things won't be obvious until you start the build!
I spent the first few months sitting on a stool in my new empty Promaster with a clipboard full of paper and a tape measure! Of course, back then (2014) we didn't have the large number of users and ideas that are on the Promaster Forum now! But a few key players (who are still here) were there to bounce ideas off.
This week I spent a lot of time changing and redesigning things in the van...and I'm finally working on the ceiling panels that will finish the 7 year project (until the next idea comes along!)
Your first few trips in an unfinished van will help you create a to-do list.
I'll bet most of us have a list of items that we bought for the van and didn't use... I do! And some needed things won't be obvious until you start the build!
I spent the first few months sitting on a stool in my new empty Promaster with a clipboard full of paper and a tape measure! Of course, back then (2014) we didn't have the large number of users and ideas that are on the Promaster Forum now! But a few key players (who are still here) were there to bounce ideas off.
This week I spent a lot of time changing and redesigning things in the van...and I'm finally working on the ceiling panels that will finish the 7 year project (until the next idea comes along!)
Your first few trips in an unfinished van will help you create a to-do list.
Thanks for the reminder @proeddie . I am trying to stay disciplined to focus on what I will need for the things I will be working on first (to get to a state where the wife is willing to take those first trips!) I am focusing first on insulation & subfloor, basic electrical, basic framing, and heat/ventilation. After that we shall see. Hoping to take the first short trip in late summer/early fall.
Got the first project on my build (mostly) done today. Installed 3/4 " XPS insulation, 19/32" plywood underlayment, and then re-installed the factory wood floor on top of that. Right now everything is "dry fitted" and I still need to go get longer M8-1.25 bolts to attach everything to the factory tie down points and seal the plywood subfloor. It looks like I will probably also have to use a router on the plywood subfloor if I want to re-use the plastic covers that came with the factory D-Rings.
The first step was to take up the factory wood floor. Getting it started was a little nerve wracking attacking a brand new van with a pry bar and wood shims. Once the first row of glue "pooped", I just used 3 2x4's and worked my way from back to front until I got to the slider. From there, it just took one 2x4 to get the rest of the way done. All of the glue stayed on the metal and the underside of the floor held up reasonably well. (I didn't bother trying to take up the glue, since the insulation would sit on top of it.) It was a little complicated getting the factory floor out of the van and definitely a 2+ person job. It is a single sheet a little over 3/8" thick so not too heavy, but cumbersome to move around, with a fair degree of flex over the 12' span. The first picture of the factory floor before taking it up.
On of the advantages of the factory floor is that it is a perfect template for laying out the sections insulation and sub-floor, including location of the factory tie down points. Basically, we laid out the three sheets of plywood laterally on the driveway and put the XPS insulation on top of that, ripping one sheet of insulation into 2 - 2' wide pieces so the seams of the insulation and subfloor did not overlap. After that it was just a matter of laying the factory floor on top, tracing the outline and the factory tie down holes, and cutting with the jig saw. (Note, at that point I was so excited to start cutting that I forgot to take pictures of laying everything out. Hopefully the description will help people if they want to try and replicate what I did.) I have to say, trying to find 3/4" XPS in stock in our local stores was a challenge. Ultimately, I settled for the "green stuff", instead of the Owens Corning "pink stuff" I have seen most people use. It was fine working with it and appeared to withstand pressure reasonably well. The second picture shows the insulation down.
The last step was repeating the process for the plywood subfloor. A little harder cutting with the jig saw, but overall not a problem. The last picture shows the subfloor laid out (with my little helper (grandson) inspecting). My "helpers" had to go so I didn't get a chance to take a picture with the factory subfloor on top of the sandwich.
Overall, I am please with how everything worked out. Started with a plan and just took it one step at a time. Much thanks to those on the Forum who suggested purchasing and re-using the factory wood floor. The laminate is heavy duty and adds strength to the overall package. Since it is one piece, it minimizes that need for worrying about seams in the subfloor and the top plastic "coin" layer seems durable enough that (at least for now) I am not going to worry about putting vinyl or laminate on top of that. Having an accurate template made it a piece of cake cutting everything out.
Now to finish this and move on to setting up the fixed bed area. It feels gratifying to finally take the first step (of many!)
The first step was to take up the factory wood floor. Getting it started was a little nerve wracking attacking a brand new van with a pry bar and wood shims. Once the first row of glue "pooped", I just used 3 2x4's and worked my way from back to front until I got to the slider. From there, it just took one 2x4 to get the rest of the way done. All of the glue stayed on the metal and the underside of the floor held up reasonably well. (I didn't bother trying to take up the glue, since the insulation would sit on top of it.) It was a little complicated getting the factory floor out of the van and definitely a 2+ person job. It is a single sheet a little over 3/8" thick so not too heavy, but cumbersome to move around, with a fair degree of flex over the 12' span. The first picture of the factory floor before taking it up.
On of the advantages of the factory floor is that it is a perfect template for laying out the sections insulation and sub-floor, including location of the factory tie down points. Basically, we laid out the three sheets of plywood laterally on the driveway and put the XPS insulation on top of that, ripping one sheet of insulation into 2 - 2' wide pieces so the seams of the insulation and subfloor did not overlap. After that it was just a matter of laying the factory floor on top, tracing the outline and the factory tie down holes, and cutting with the jig saw. (Note, at that point I was so excited to start cutting that I forgot to take pictures of laying everything out. Hopefully the description will help people if they want to try and replicate what I did.) I have to say, trying to find 3/4" XPS in stock in our local stores was a challenge. Ultimately, I settled for the "green stuff", instead of the Owens Corning "pink stuff" I have seen most people use. It was fine working with it and appeared to withstand pressure reasonably well. The second picture shows the insulation down.
The last step was repeating the process for the plywood subfloor. A little harder cutting with the jig saw, but overall not a problem. The last picture shows the subfloor laid out (with my little helper (grandson) inspecting). My "helpers" had to go so I didn't get a chance to take a picture with the factory subfloor on top of the sandwich.
Overall, I am please with how everything worked out. Started with a plan and just took it one step at a time. Much thanks to those on the Forum who suggested purchasing and re-using the factory wood floor. The laminate is heavy duty and adds strength to the overall package. Since it is one piece, it minimizes that need for worrying about seams in the subfloor and the top plastic "coin" layer seems durable enough that (at least for now) I am not going to worry about putting vinyl or laminate on top of that. Having an accurate template made it a piece of cake cutting everything out.
Now to finish this and move on to setting up the fixed bed area. It feels gratifying to finally take the first step (of many!)
Attachments
So I haven't posted on my progress in month and a half. Between work, family obligations, and the godawful heat through most of July and August in the Northeast things have gone slower than I hoped. My next step after the floor was to work on the side panels for the garage/bed supports. This gave me a chance to work on my largely dormant woodworking skills (it's not like riding a bike, they take a while to come back), learn about templating and rivnuts, and getting a feel for working around "non-linear" and "non-square" surfaces in an area where it won't be as obvious. Below is a picture of my first attempt at templating. A little bit of a pain but manageable.
![Tire Wheel Automotive tire Motor vehicle Automotive design]()
I don't have a formal workshop, and the garage is still full with assorted surplus "stuff" from our recent home renovation, so the workshop is outside in the driveway.
![Plant Building Window House Road surface]()
The first rough fitting.
![Tire Motor vehicle Automotive tire Vehicle Car]()
And now both sides.
![Car Tire Vehicle Automotive tire Vehicle registration plate]()
My first chance with rivnuts was interesting to say the least. I thought I would be smart and got one of those attachments you hook up to your drill. Turns out the torque for the one I got needs to be cranked up high and it ended up spinning out. Got one of the manual lever-based ones and it has worked perfectly since. Also ended up investing in a drill set with 1/64" increments to assure the best fit for the rivnuts. I also spent the added money to get 20 of the hex shaped M8 rivnuts to use the factory holes (mostly because of my first experience drilling a round hole and spinning out.) Later I found using 1/4 - 20 rivnuts with the tool and a proper sized holes works just fine. Also, in the picure below you can see that I got a little carried away with the number of rivnuts installed. Call it the "new toy" syndrome.
![Plant Automotive tire Motor vehicle Automotive design Automotive exterior]()
And of course you need to insulate behind the panel. My first chance to use Thinsulate and 3M 90. I have to say that this is surprisingly easy, although it takes a bit to get a feel for trimming to fit (and also a good set of shears, not household scissors).
![Automotive tire Motor vehicle Automotive design Vehicle door Bumper]()
And prime the wood...
![Tire Wheel Automotive tire Table Vehicle]()
And here is the finished product. I'm going to have to adjust the opening for the air vent, but that's part of the learning process.
![Automotive tire Hood Automotive design Automotive exterior Bumper]()
Next step is to install the bulkhead between the garage and living area and to mock up the driver's side bench and cabinet that will contain the toilet. I'll show that in the next comment.
I don't have a formal workshop, and the garage is still full with assorted surplus "stuff" from our recent home renovation, so the workshop is outside in the driveway.
The first rough fitting.
And now both sides.
My first chance with rivnuts was interesting to say the least. I thought I would be smart and got one of those attachments you hook up to your drill. Turns out the torque for the one I got needs to be cranked up high and it ended up spinning out. Got one of the manual lever-based ones and it has worked perfectly since. Also ended up investing in a drill set with 1/64" increments to assure the best fit for the rivnuts. I also spent the added money to get 20 of the hex shaped M8 rivnuts to use the factory holes (mostly because of my first experience drilling a round hole and spinning out.) Later I found using 1/4 - 20 rivnuts with the tool and a proper sized holes works just fine. Also, in the picure below you can see that I got a little carried away with the number of rivnuts installed. Call it the "new toy" syndrome.
And of course you need to insulate behind the panel. My first chance to use Thinsulate and 3M 90. I have to say that this is surprisingly easy, although it takes a bit to get a feel for trimming to fit (and also a good set of shears, not household scissors).
And prime the wood...
And here is the finished product. I'm going to have to adjust the opening for the air vent, but that's part of the learning process.
Next step is to install the bulkhead between the garage and living area and to mock up the driver's side bench and cabinet that will contain the toilet. I'll show that in the next comment.
Attachments
My Bluettie AC200P is working great with only solar (525 watts on roof). I am in coastal AK with lots of clouds and often rain. Right now is the lowest the SOC has been and it is sitting at 61% after 2 days of solid rain and having it parked under trees. I also would go with the AC200max if I had a do-over. It has more charging inputs. My bluetti has to be left on in order to charge as well.
Your build looks great. It seems you are better at rivnuts than I am. I spent hours trying to figure out alternative solutions when my rivnuts for my ceiling spun out. I'm sure it was a barb or uneven hole that caused it so maybe there is a better way to drill the holes. I filed them but unable to file the backside of the holes. I am probably mostly done with rivnuts!
Your build looks great. It seems you are better at rivnuts than I am. I spent hours trying to figure out alternative solutions when my rivnuts for my ceiling spun out. I'm sure it was a barb or uneven hole that caused it so maybe there is a better way to drill the holes. I filed them but unable to file the backside of the holes. I am probably mostly done with rivnuts!
Thanks @Boondogger. I ended up getting both the Bluetti AC200P and the B230 battery module (In the pictires the AC200P is sitting on top of the battery module. My plan is to use the B230 to charge the AC200P using the special cord Bluetti provided to early adopters. You can set this up to happen automatically. Initially, I will be connecting an inverter to the van's battery and (hopefully) keep the the B230 topped off when I'm driving.
BTW, your pictures from the Alaska trip in another thread are amazing. Keep them coming for those of us that still have to live vicariously through others!
So my next step was to rough out the bulkhead between the garage and the "living space". Note that in my design I plan to incorporate the bulkhead as part of the wall for the galley kitchen module and for the cabinet that will hold the toilet. I'm also putting my Bluetti AC200P and the B230 battery module under the bed right behind the bulkhead, which requires an access point in the bulkhead.
The first thing I did was rough fit the bulkhead to the side panels of the garage (basically measuring and cutting a square.) The one issue is that the width between the middle of the van is 1/2" wider than at the floor, so I split the difference and notched it out to fit at the very bottom. Also note that the bulkhead height is higher than the garage panels so it can serve as the side of the cabinet.
![Motor vehicle Car Hood Building Automotive tire]()
The next step was just to play around with where the other side of the cabinet will come out and still give enough room for sitting on the toilet (the yellow bucket is my proxy for the toilet!)
![Wood Automotive design Floor Flooring Gas]()
Once that was done, I started on mocking up/dry fitting the driver's side bench, which will also serve as the other wall of the toilet cabinet. In hindsight I clearly overthought construction of this mock-up. It would have been much easier to simply build two rectangular pieces out of cheap furring strips and forget about the plywood side pieces at this point. Here's the first fitting.
![Interior design Wood Floor Flooring Machine]()
And here's the second one built out a little more. (At least the plywood is what I had left over from the garage side panels and the bulkhead.) I also added my fridge under the bench to see if it will work. Based on this I am probably going to lower the height of the bench by 2" and also may it shorter by about 2" to give more room behind the driver's seat.
![Wood Floor Flooring Automotive exterior Gas]()
Next, I cut out the access to the bed and the access point for the portable power station from the bulkhead. Right now I plan to have the cabinets on either all come out to the cut points on the bulkhead.
![Wood Tree Building Wood stain Hardwood]()
![Wood Floor Material property Building Gas]()
Finally, I installed insulation all around on the lower level of the walls and put up a couple of furring strips to attach the bench to the wall.
![Wood Floor Automotive design Flooring Bag]()
And that's where we stand right now. Next up is to mock up the framework for the galley kitchen. After that I have someone who will be helping put in the Maxx Air fans, hook up an inverter to the van battery for charging the power station while driving, and installing a Webasto heater. The plan is to leave the van with him while we are away in Florida on an anniversary trip. Once we get back I'll have to figure out what comes next to get minimal functionality so we can start making dry runs with it.
The first thing I did was rough fit the bulkhead to the side panels of the garage (basically measuring and cutting a square.) The one issue is that the width between the middle of the van is 1/2" wider than at the floor, so I split the difference and notched it out to fit at the very bottom. Also note that the bulkhead height is higher than the garage panels so it can serve as the side of the cabinet.
The next step was just to play around with where the other side of the cabinet will come out and still give enough room for sitting on the toilet (the yellow bucket is my proxy for the toilet!)
Once that was done, I started on mocking up/dry fitting the driver's side bench, which will also serve as the other wall of the toilet cabinet. In hindsight I clearly overthought construction of this mock-up. It would have been much easier to simply build two rectangular pieces out of cheap furring strips and forget about the plywood side pieces at this point. Here's the first fitting.
And here's the second one built out a little more. (At least the plywood is what I had left over from the garage side panels and the bulkhead.) I also added my fridge under the bench to see if it will work. Based on this I am probably going to lower the height of the bench by 2" and also may it shorter by about 2" to give more room behind the driver's seat.
Next, I cut out the access to the bed and the access point for the portable power station from the bulkhead. Right now I plan to have the cabinets on either all come out to the cut points on the bulkhead.
Finally, I installed insulation all around on the lower level of the walls and put up a couple of furring strips to attach the bench to the wall.
And that's where we stand right now. Next up is to mock up the framework for the galley kitchen. After that I have someone who will be helping put in the Maxx Air fans, hook up an inverter to the van battery for charging the power station while driving, and installing a Webasto heater. The plan is to leave the van with him while we are away in Florida on an anniversary trip. Once we get back I'll have to figure out what comes next to get minimal functionality so we can start making dry runs with it.
Just a thought. Remember to count the thickness of the bench cushion when calculating sitting height. My couch is 14" high, but with a 4" cushion, that puts the sitting height at 18" (which is about standard for a lot of the seats I measured.)
Thanks Ed. I started worrying about leaving enough room to slide out the fridge & freezer from under the bench. That's why this first pass is so high. I have been thinking of 2" - 3" cushions, but that's the role of a mock up like this. I'll probably test that out with some outdoor chair cushions for comfort.
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