Anybody know anything about converting a van to a camper?

Discussion in 'Camping/Outdoor Living' started by PowerMaster, Dec 7, 2005.

  1. PowerMaster

    PowerMaster Member

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    I want to use my van as a camper for long trips. Anyone know of anything I could add, so as to hook up electricity and a heat source?
     
  2. cymru_jules

    cymru_jules Member

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    Look in RV/camper catalogues - they stock a lot of the stuff you need and some of it is quite cheap, including generators and little wind turbines to trickle charge and keep a battery topped up - depends on your electricity needs really!

    If it was me I would probably use plywood and other stuff to create a more functional interior, such as a fold down bed that also doubles as a sofa type thing or a table, depending on how you do it.
     
  3. cheese-wiz

    cheese-wiz Banned

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    get a separate 12 volt battery or two, the more you add the bigger the capacity.....trolling batteries work well or two 6v golf cart batteries, and an invertor which turns that 12 volts dc into 120 ac, 400 watts/hr is a good capacity .....hook up a few low wattage 12volt dc lights for interior lighting, and save the invertor for electronics ....hook up your battery(s) so that your alternator can charge them as you travel, you can also add a solar panel, tho they are expensive.....but can charge your batteries as you are parked...

    as for heat ....you could go with a small rv propane furnace, check the newpapers or around for people parting out travel trailers....or you could build in a small wood stove...a really small one...its a possibility
     
  4. PowerMaster

    PowerMaster Member

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    Great ideas, thanks!
     
  5. hippiehillbilly

    hippiehillbilly the old asshole

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    you should type at the6peace8keeper,, hes workin on his van,,solar power, kitchen etc.. this is his second project van,,hes very knowledgable on everything youd need to know..
     
  6. the6peace8keeper

    the6peace8keeper Born Again Satanist

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  7. jay

    jay Member

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    If you plan on to have a few electricle appliances you might want to check into a deep cycle battery so you can save your other one and keep it there to make sure the van starts :D
     
  8. the6peace8keeper

    the6peace8keeper Born Again Satanist

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  9. kitty fabulous

    kitty fabulous smoked tofu

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    nothing is set in stone yet, but i am exploring the possibility of investing in a school bus and converting it to a veggie-oil-fueled home on wheels for a family of 3 or 4. we may be travelling and vending. has anyone here done this before? where would i go about finding a bus? how much money might i need to start off with? advice & resources would be appreciated.
     
  10. tuatara

    tuatara Lifetime Supporter Lifetime Supporter

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    not knowing what you have for resouces ,a conversion can be quite expensive ..plus you will have to find the fuel along the way ..bets bet is to find a diesel bus and keep it well tuned to maximize your fuel consumption and lower your emissions.. an old school bus is ideal for a conversion but depending on your mechanical skills it can be cheap or a money pit ...and it has to be in good shape on the road because if you get pulled over by the troopers and it's not it can get a tad expensive....another thing that you will have to think about if you convert a school bus is insulation if you plan to use it in cold weather ..the big NO NO in insulating a vehicule of this type is foam insulation .in case of fire it burns with a toxic fume ......fiberglass batting is the only way to go ..4 inches thick on the ceiling and walls would suffice and a sub floor would greatly add to the insulation value ...this would not only be good in winter but would also be very effective in keeping out the summer heat ...next i would install deep cycle 12 volt batteries with an isolator so you don't drain the battery you use to start the bus with ..with iverters you can run most any 110 volt appliances as long as the inverters are big enough .. a small generator would be handy when you need extra power or to keep the batteries topped up .as for cooking and heat i would use propane and my water tank i would build inside the bus to keep it from freezing but assure myself that i had a drain outside in case i turned off the heat in the bus for an extended period of time .showers and a toilet with a holding tank or a chemical toilet would finish the basics ......the rest of the decor would be up to you but make sure it is fastened so it doesn't fly all over the place ..and extremely important ...fire extinguishers (ABC) and a good first aid kit .............i spent 15 years on the road with an old GMC panel truck i had converted .........i wish i had known then what i know now ...lol
     
  11. Make Mangoes Not War

    Make Mangoes Not War Member

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    I knew someone who did that Kitty...Unfortunately I have lost contact with them otherwise I would see if they could help you :) They painted their bus with a rainforest pattern and it looked awesome!
     
  12. kitty fabulous

    kitty fabulous smoked tofu

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    ok, this is a long-term project, should we decide to go through with it. conversion to veggie oil would be the first priority, and we'd probably be wintering-over either in warmer climes or elsewhere until we can get it insulated. if it happens, it'll happen a little at a time. my dad once converted an old school bus into a camper, and we had a great, fun summer in it. hopefully he'll remember enough to be helpful, although that was about 20 or 30 years ago.

    i have an airbrush i'm dying to play with, and i'm looking foreward to painting the bus, something fun but discreet (well, as discreet as a family of 4 & a parrot living in a school bus can be), but this isn't the first priority. the paint job will probably happen a little at a time, too.

    thinking long-term: would it be possible to, say, install solar panels on the top of the bus for extra electricity?
     
  13. Zoomie

    Zoomie My mom is dead, ok?

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    You know, you could have asked... ;)

    WVO conversion is pretty simple in a bus. There's almost always enough room for a fuel cel with built in heater.

    I don't recommend permanent mounting of solar panels on a bus roof. Too much chance of weather damage. You're better off with a secondary alternator/battery to run 12v DC appliances and a stowable solar panel and deep cycle marine battery and voltage inverter for 120v AC appliances. And as a backup, get a small wind generator for those days when the sun is difficult.
     
  14. WayfaringStranger

    WayfaringStranger Corporate Slave #34

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    electricity and heat do not equal camping. but all you need is an inverter for electricity, and the heat thing is likely to blow you up. thatll be warm.
     
  15. stardust

    stardust Banned

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    what i'm doing to my van this year is converting it to run on pure vegetable oil, connecting two truck batteries and useing the engine as a generator. unless you're planning on running a laptop in there for hours each day, a good truck battery will go for quite a while before needing recharging, and saves your main engine battery aswell.

    i've got a woodburning stove for heat. if you're planning on camping out in the winter it's farily essential as i find gas heaters just aren't warm enough, but if you're only going to camp in summer its probably not worth it.

    peace and love
    stardust
    xxx
     
  16. kitty fabulous

    kitty fabulous smoked tofu

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    i'm not planning on "camping" in the bus. i'm planning on living in it with my family, at least when we're travelling/vending.

    zoomie, believe me, i'll let you know when we've actually got the thing, and you can give all the advice you want. in fact i'll probably try to talk you into helping us with it.
     
  17. Zoomie

    Zoomie My mom is dead, ok?

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    Yeah, cuz like I'm in Binghamton every other day or so...[​IMG]
     
  18. kitty fabulous

    kitty fabulous smoked tofu

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    really? do you still have my number? i don't suppose you'll be there this weekend, will you?
     
  19. the6peace8keeper

    the6peace8keeper Born Again Satanist

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    Ive been working on my camper van for a good few months and Im seeing light at the end of the tunnel.

    I gutted mine and kept what I could reuse and such..

    As far as the comment....I don't recommend permanent mounting of solar panels on a bus roof. Too much chance of weather damage.

    Thats just bunk, a good panal has saftey glass as like a cars windshield and is also sealed from the factory....ive never heard of one even goinb bad let alone bad from outside factors.

    But yes depending on your needs it costs aot of money, and its good to start out with a good chassis and drivetrain.

    My first step was the motor and a aftermarket overdrive trans since my platform started as a one ton van with 4;10 rear gears.

    Ive lots of pics in my gallery and would answer any questions.
     
  20. flyingCoyote

    flyingCoyote Member

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    I'm glad to hear they're durable...I've got one on its way UPS right now. If you're worried about damage, though, you could build a cover for when you don't need the juice.

    I live in NYC, where crackheads steal the darndest things (WTF do they think they're gonna do with my city water hose?), so I'm designing all my fragile stuff to be modular - sink cabinets, heater, cooler all detatch and go into my apartment when I'm parked in the city, and I'm looking for someone to weld up a cover on hinges that I can flip over my solar panel for protection on the mean city streets.

    Only problem is that sooner or later, I'll forget to flip the cover, and wonder why I have no 12v left :p
     

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