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Work is about finished on the kitchen unit for the van camper. The first picture shows it in the van but not connected yet.
The second picture shows the driver's seat side with tv connector and switch for water pump. The first chrome hook is to hang a plastic bag on for waste and the second chrome hook is to hand a cloth bag with our magazines and my Kindle.
The third picture shows the water tank and three other openings. The bottom middle opening is special storage for the coffee maker and the hotplate will be stored on the shelf above the water tanks. The unit has a thermostat on the left side connected to the lower outlet for the 110 volt space heater as well as several other outlets for charging our iPads, etc. It also has 12 volt power for the water pump, our fan and the lights that come on when you open the cabinet doors to see what is inside. The 110 volt power cord and TV coaxial cable were run out the back of the van because most campgrounds have the connections at the back when you back into a campsite. The 12 volt connection will be to a spare deep cycle battery charged by the van when driving and isolated by a relay when stopped.
The last picture shows the sink and faucet. The faucet handle can be pumped for small amounts of water (like brushing teeth, etc.) while the front switch can turn on the 12 volt water pump for larger amounts (like filling the coffee carafe when making coffee).
Next will be the test drive!
Last edited by Black'95; July 24th, 2019 at 11:42 AM.
I finished the electrical connections for the camper van today. I made a wood box and spray painted it black to sit on the bumper step. Added a rubber step pad to the top, a coaxial tv connection on the back and a camper electrical outlet door for the electrical cord. Then I connected it to the bumper with automotive trim molding tape.
Last edited by Black'95; July 24th, 2019 at 11:47 AM.
The latest modification to my camper van was the addition of a slideout board as some added table space. I used a couple of guides from an old desk that I dismantled recently. It slides under the mattress when not needed and out when I need some extra space. A canvas strap handle was added.
Last edited by Black'95; July 24th, 2019 at 11:52 AM.
This weekend resulted in one more modificatIon to my camper van. I added an auxiliary battery to the frame underneath. It supplies power to the lights, power plugs, and water pump for the camper part of my van. I connected it to the main battery through an ignition controlled relay so it is isolated from the main battery when the ignition is off.
Last edited by Black'95; July 24th, 2019 at 11:53 AM.
I just finished the latest addition to the camper van. I remodeled the old roof rack box to fit the tray on the rear hitch. We will use it to carry extra food, water, firewood, campstove, propane canisters, and anything else we don't have room for inside the van. It is 20" x 60" which is the size of the tray. I made it only 10" high so I could open the rear van doors without removing the box like we had to do with the plastic commercial box I had been using. Since then I have made a couple of modification to the blue box. I routered some grooves in the side to allow access to the metal tray holes so I could bungie cord bulky items to the top of the box if we purchased any such items. I also added an LED light inside the box lid so we could see inside better after dark.
Last edited by Black'95; July 24th, 2019 at 11:58 AM.
My wife's one disappointment with the Chevrolet van was that it had no handle above her to hold on to during my wild driving. I found one from a Buick on eBay and installed it yesterday. Now she is a "happy camper!"
Last edited by Black'95; July 24th, 2019 at 12:00 PM.
The latest modification to the "Cookie Monster" van project is a remount of my GPS unit on the dash. Previously I had it mounted on top of the dash with a "sand bag" mount, but that was hard to see in bright sunlight and it moved around easily. I cut and sanded a block of wood to fit in the slot below the radio. I then covered it with sticky-backed felt and added an old GPS slot mount on it to hold the GPS unit. Then I routed the 12 volt power cord through the back of the slot to a 12 volt power outlet mounted under the dash.
The other modification I made was to install an indoor-outdoor thermometer back in the camper area of the van. You can also see why it took me over a month to build the kitchen unit, as I wanted it to custom fit the contours of the van's interior.
Last edited by Black'95; July 24th, 2019 at 12:09 PM.
I noticed while I was underneath my van that several of the brackets holding the heating/AC pipes had rusted away during the previous owner's tenure. As I didn't want them flopping around wearing holes in them before I got a chance to see if I could order new brackets, I made a quick repair with some galvanized strapping and rubber grommets.
Last edited by Black'95; July 24th, 2019 at 12:11 PM.
The latest modification to the camper van was the addition of the 12 volt air compressor from one of our older trailer campers. It was salvaged from the camper when we converted from a pressurized system to an on-demand system with a new plastic tank.
I mounted it on the frame of the van behind the auxiliary battery.
I connected blue air hose and a quick connector at the rear bumper along with the switch to turn it on and off.
I also added blue air hose in the front of the engine compartment. With these two connections I can fill tires or air mattresses at either end with a coily air hose. Started the project yesterday and finished it today after getting a couple of parts.
Later I added another switch at this location so I could turn the air compressor on from this location or from the rear of the van where the other air quick connector was located.
Last edited by Black'95; July 24th, 2019 at 4:39 PM.
Today's modification for my camper van was a TV stand made out of wood covered with sticky-back felt.
I mounted quick disconnect brackets on the back of the TV to match the ones on the wooden stand for quick dismantling and storage.
I made the wooden stand to fit behind my kitchen unit and rest on the window ledge. The front board is longer (as you can see in the first photo) so it can wedge down between the van wall below the window and the back of the kitchen unit for better support.
Here is the TV on the stand in the window. When camping and watching TV we have the window lined with Reflectix insulation to keep the light out and for sleeping.
When traveling the TV is removed and stored in a safer location inside a padded case formerly used for laptop computers. The front pocket of the case also holds the remote and cables.
After using it for a year I modified my TV mount by adding a swivel to the mount so we could swing it out to watch it while we are in bed. I also mounted the TV to the mount permanently so I do not need to remove it while traveling.
Last edited by Black'95; July 24th, 2019 at 4:31 PM.
April 24th, 2015, 9:03 AM
