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Today's modification to my van was the addition of a magnetic screen door. It's size was for a normal house door so my wife had to cut it shorter and hem the magnets back into the bottom. It came with Velcro to attach it to the top and sides. It works very well at keeping the bugs out. It opens and closes easily in the center with magnets. This is, by far, one of the best additions to the van camper that I had done. We love it!
Last edited by Black'95; August 28th, 2016 at 5:07 PM.
The latest modification to the van camper is for cleaning up when no campground showers are available. Usually we just take a quick washcloth sponge bath and wipe over with a wet clear water washcloth, but now we should be able to rinse off like a real shower. We got the following soda bottle shower assembly and will use it while kneeling in a small 8" x 32" pet pool which will fit in the open floor space of our van camper. The pet pool can by dried easily and folds up to a cube of about 8"x8"x8". Not nearly as good as a real shower but we will be able to get clean while out in the boonies.
My wife likes the 1 liter coke bottles better now that I have added some Velcro handles so she can control them better in the “shower.”
Last edited by Black'95; August 30th, 2019 at 8:21 PM.
It fits right behind the driver's seat and takes up enough room that I could only use the outer bucket seat of the two bucket seats in the second row if I wanted to re-install them. I removed all the 2nd and 3rd row seats when I converted my van into a camper. Let me know if there is anything else I can help you with.
Really like your kitchen design. Can you tell me about the pump and faucet set up?
I searched the internet for the smallest oval sink I could find because I made a small kitchen unit in my wood shop.
The faucet is a normal pump handle faucet from a camper supply store.
I used two 2 1/2 gallon plastic tanks from ACK.Com adventure suppliers for the gray water and fresh water tanks.
I purchased a small 12 volt demand water pump from a camper supply store and plumbed it into the fresh water tank with plastic tubing.
I added a push button switch to control the pump to the side of the kitchen unit. You can see this switch in one of my earlier pictures of
the entire kitchen unit. This works great because if you need a small amount of water (like for brushing teeth, etc.) you can pump the
handle manually to get it but if you need a large amount (like for washing dishes or filling the pot of my coffee maker) you can push the switch
button for the 12 volt water pump. When you switch on the electric pump, it does not matter what position the manual pump handle is in,
it pumps where ever the handle is. The water pump is shown in the picture above by the white arrow. The two blue tanks are connected
with tubing and drain connectors that can easily be disconnected for emptying or filling. I also carry a two gallon collapsible water bag
in my rear box storage for resupplying water when we camp in areas that do not have fresh water. The smaller aquarium plastic tubing
is connected to little vent holes in the top of each blue tank. If you want close-up or more detailed pictures of anything, let me know.
Last edited by Black'95; May 19th, 2016 at 8:58 AM.
Reason: Clarification
I made a wood frame to mount a small window air conditioner in the driver's side window opening. We use it at night to sleep during hot summer nights while camping at campsites with electricity. I picked up a new small window AC unit for under $100 and can store it and the wood window frame in the rear "basement" area under the bed of my camper. I am looking forward to using this when we travel south on vacations.
Outside view. I install the wood frame first, then install the AC unit which is held in place by three screws at the top. I added a support rod too, but the AC unit is so small I think the support rod in over-kill and not really needed.
Inside view. It is easily installed and removed with a few screws at the top.
Storage in rear "basement" under bed with wood frame behind AC unit while traveling.
We had been using a blue tarp for an awning and I was unhappy with it because it sagged in the middle, often catching on the door when we opened it. I found a better one at Gander Mountain that arched in the center with tent-like fiberglass poles that worked much better. Now we do not have any clearance problems when trying to open the door. I used wood clamps similar to C-clamps to attach it to the roof drip edge. It is much easier to set up than the old blue tarp. My wife sewed some extra black loops in between the corners so I could attach more ropes to tie it down better. In a very brisk wind this last weekend, the awning didn't hardly wiggle. For non-windy, calm condition we do not need to use the extra tie-downs.
I modified the clamps so the awning would extend beyond the roof drip edge and, therefore, not drip water on us under the awning.
The little 1" clamps in the center section are smaller but still modified in a similar fashion.
I made another modification to my center console porta-potty box. When I built it, I added the map pocket on the front so that part is not new. The new modification in the addition of a 12volt to 110 volt inverter held in place with Velcro straps and a fold-up style cup holder. I keep my extra 70-210 zoom lens there so it is very handy to grab when I want to switch from my 18-55 zoom.
This center console normally sits between our front bucket seats. It is only in this position for a better view for the picture. See my previous post on this topic: https://chevroletforum.com/forum/exp...08/#post300375
My latest addition to my van camper is a portable ice maker. We often camp in locations where we have electrical hookups but are 30 miles from stores where we can obtain ice for our cooler. We fill it with water, turn it on, and this little machine puts out plenty of ice to keep us in ice for extended stays at these locations. It is approximately 10" x 13" x 13" and I found a nice little corner in my van for it to travel in. When we are camping using it, I put it outside in the shade. It make makes little finger-tip ice cubes which you have to remove often to your cooler or freezer (at home) because the storage container is really not refrigerated. It makes cubes in about 8-10 minutes and the longer you run it the bigger the ice gets. We like it and think it works out great for us even though some people don't give it good reviews.
January 22nd, 2016, 9:31 AM
