Vanagon Blogging is Slow

Once again I've gone over a month without updating the site. This is mostly because I've gone over a month without updating the Vanagon. Lately I've been spending my available funding on other projects so not a lot has been happening with the old van. I have however been using it a fair amount and learned a few more things along the way. I was thinking I'd upgrade the seats but my wife and I decided to try out a new budget starting November 1st so I decided to put the seats on the back burner. Its still something I think is worth spending some money on but I think I'm going to wait a few months before I actually do anything about it.

One of the most interesting things that I've done with the van recently is began to understand how it does in the colder weather. My wife and I took the van camping up in the Catskills in mid-November where the weather was in the 30s during the day. I quickly realized that the first problem is that the heater doesn't work while I'm driving down the highway. The reason for this is that the engine temperature barely registers when I'm cruising along at 65mph in the cold. I'm hoping its just a thermostat problem but I haven't really gotten the chance to look into it. Regardless, this made living out of the van for a weekend of camping a little more challenging. I'm not going to lie, it was cold.

Another thing I learned on that trip was that when it is around 20 outside it is cold sleeping in the van as well. We just spent one night out but the dog's water bowl was frozen solid by morning. My wife and I weren't too cold because we had good sleeping bags but the poor pup was shivering all night since he isn't completely sold on the idea of being covering in blankets. I think it will be worth considering some sort of heating solution while camping. I don't think I spend enough time in the cold to justify a furnace type solution but it would be nice to add some sort of heating element. My main concern is with saftey though. I'll have to look through some of the Vanagon list archives and see if I can find some suggestions. I'm leaning towards an electric camping heater that would be safe for usage in an unventilated area.

The only other exciting thing I've done on the van recently was change the oil. That may not sound all that exciting but the filter was completely stuck and refused to come off without a fight. I bought and tried two different oil filter wrenches and all I had to show for it was a sheared filter that was dripping oil all over me. Luckily my Dad came through with a plan that worked perfectly. He told me to get a big bad screw driver and drive it through the filter so I could use it for leverage. It took driving that screw driver through the filter twice and using all my weight to get the thing started but the filter did eventually come off. So if you find yourself with an oil filter stuck on your engine, just drive a big screwdriver through it and wrench that thing right off.

Next up for the Vanagon is its longest trip yet. I'm heading down to Alabama this Friday and I'm looking at 800 miles each way. My Dad is going to help me fix a few things on the van while I'm down there so hopefully I'll have something more substancial to report after the New Year.

Happy Holidays!

New Seat Possibilities

Looks like I might be on the path towards my first big upgrade. After my post yesterday I decided to see what some of my options were for dealing with the front seats of the van. I posted to the Vanagon mailing list asking for help and got some great replies. The most interesting was from a guy up in southern PA who is currently parting out several Vanagons. He told me that the post 86 Vanagon seats were a dramatic improvement over the stock 84 seats. They are far more ergonomic, are constructed better, and have arm rests. He said he had several sets that I could take a look at this weekend if I like. He was looking to get around $200 a set which I think would be well worth it if I could avoid another trip with a spring or two in my back. I'll let you know how it goes.

Its been a while

Its been a while since I've posted an update so I figured I'd stop by and report what the van has been up to. I haven't done any real work on the van per say other than a little bit of cleaning but I have gone on several more trips and I've really started to get my head around what is actually needed vs. what would be cool.

Since mid-August I've taken the van up to the Gunks a couple of times to do some climbing and I've taken it to a couple of different bicycling events. Other than that I've just driven it around town a fair bit and hauled some friends down to a great crab shack on the coast. At this point I've slept in the van around a dozen nights under various circumstances and feel like I've got my usage dialed.

The biggest surprise about the van is what an excellent thing it is to be able to get a good nights sleep while stealth camping. The best example of this is when I drove the van down to DC for my first triathlon and I was able to sleep undisturbed for free right on the side of the road near the race. As long as you don't pop the top, draw the curtains, and throw up the heat reflector in the windshield I really don't think anyone would bother me. I've learned how to set things up to sleep comfortably with my bike, climbing gear, and dog all in the car with me while the doors are locked and windows up. All you've really got to do is remember to open the skylight and you are golden.

I've also gotten really spoiled by shore power and am bummed when I don't have it. I just keep a 100' extension cord with an adapter in the van and plug in to anything I can find when I'm camping. The biggest advantage of the shore power is being able to power the fridge and the battery charger. That lets me have cold beer and a nice fully charged aux battery all while I'm using the lights, playing gamecube, using my laptop, and running the fans. Its pretty sweet. Unfortunately I'm a lot more limited running on aux power. I've only got a 900W inverter so it strains a bit to run the lights and the coffee machine at the same time. Still, life could be worse.

The things I hate about the van so far are the driver's seat, the seat covers, and the overall poor condition of the cockpit. The dash is really faded, cracked in places, and the driver and passenger door interiors are just terrible. I'm also totally tired of the terrible seat covers that came with the van, the nasty carpet, and the rotting liner panels throughout. The seat seriously could not be any less comfortable as well. To make things worse I've got in pushed pretty far forward to make room for the aux battery which is too tall for the compartment behind the driver's seat. I'm going to have to find some sort of replacement but I'm really not sure how to go about it.

I'm also going nuts about the lack of power steering. It really makes driving around the city a pretty serious pain in the ass. Having to really crank the steering wheel around just to get off my block does not make me very excited to get out on the road. I talked with my dad about maybe adding power steering. I'm going to drive the van down to him over Christmas and maybe we can figure something out.

I'd also hoped to be a lot farther along with the cleaning of the van at this point. I've still got mildew in the poptop, nothing covering the galley area floor, and dirty fabric. I should stop complaining in the blog and do something about it but I've had a hard time justifying the funds lately and I've just been focused on other things.

Even though there is a lot I'd like to change this thing is still awesome. The ease of van camping makes me never want to fiddle with car-camping in any other way. It's also great to have a place that I don't mind leaving my dog if I want to go out to dinner or something while I'm out on the road. If only this thing would drive a little bit faster and I'd drive it everywhere. While I'm at it I'd also like some sort of free infinite energy supply to power the van rather than gas. Stupid gas.

Trip Two Thoughts...

The biggest problem I ran into on this trip was that the second battery went dead. To make matters worse, the second battery went dead right as I was preparing coffee on our first morning out. In my book, really good effortless coffee is one of the perks (heh) of having power in the woods. Even when I don't have a battery and am backpacking I always have the ability to brew a cup every morning. The van failing to make coffee was a pretty serious bummer to say the least. Which brings me to the point - I need a way to monitor battery power. I've said it earlier but now I've paid the price for not having it. It's time to find a gauge and get it setup.

This weekend was my first time boondocking in the van. I added a 5-day cooler for the occasion and am happy to report that there was cold beer for the entire weekend. The cooler worked so well in fact that I'm really considering just removing the fridge entirely and converting the space to storage. I think it'd be far more useful to have a place for batteries, food, and extra water than a barely operational fridge. I'll hold on to the old beast just in case I ever decide to sell my rig but additional storage is at a premium right now.

I also carried along a five gallon jug of water since I haven't cleaned out the van's water tank nor repaired the pump. The jug provided just enough water and did the trick just fine. Having fresh water at the camp was really nice. I usually have a gallon or two but having a full five gallons was a huge difference. Getting that built in water tank back up and running just got more important. Especially if I install a water filter on the tank I think it will make a really big difference.

I'm not sure what to do about the stove. I like the stove in theory but I'm not sure my money isn't better spent just buying a nice Coleman camp stove rather than trying to repair the one that is in there. Propane is nice and all but I'm a little sketched out trying to repair this leak when the tank is covered in rust. Plus with all the horror stories I hear about people having a hard time finding a propane dealer willing to fill those old rusty tanks it might be a lot easier just to go the camp stove route. Plus, then I could cart it outside when the weather is nice and cook away from the van. I often camp in bear country so having a van reek of cooking odors really isn't all that appealing to me.

The heat curtains that I made are awesome. It is amazing how cool they can keep the interior of the van even when the van is in direct sunlight. This is a huge improvement and I highly recommend that everyone out there get on this upgrade. All I did to make mine was to go to Walmart and purchase five car sun shields (they are basically cardboard wrapped in bubble wrap wrapped in tin foil) and a bunch of suction cup hooks. I then cut the shields with scissors to fit each window and then put two to four suction cups through each shield. To mount them I just stick them to the windows and then when I'm ready to head out I throw them on the upper bunk. It takes a little bit of time to install them all but it makes a MASSIVE difference.

The other thing I did was to get a razor blade and some Goo-Gone and removed all of the stickers from the van. After 23 years there were quite a few and it was past time to get rid of them. Plus, several people commented on how angry my "If you aren't outraged then you're not paying attention" bumper sticker was. It really just didn't fit with the rest of the vibe of the van. To change the mood a bit I've ordered a "0 to 60 in... 11 minutes" sticker that should take things down a notch.

I think she liked it...

This past weekend I finally got the chance to take my wife out camping in the new van. She has been highly skeptical of the concept and not entirely convinced that the van was even capable of distance travel. Luckily for me the van was rock solid for the entire trip and I think I even convinced her of its utility. Both nights we had great weather and we were able to sleep with the top popped, venting window open, and rear hatch opened with the screen installed over the opening. We slept wonderfully and woke up refreshed. She was worried that it wouldn't feel like we were camping but would instead just feel like sleeping in the car. Thanks to the rear hatch being opened the bed really felt nice and airy yet the screen kept all the bugs away. Plus, the bed was a dramatic improvement over sleeping on the dirt. Its still a bit early but I'm pretty sure she's a fan now. I doubt she'll be posting to the blog or scouring eBay for upgrades but I don't think I'll have too much trouble convincing her to come along for the next trip.

More Thoughts from the Road

Well its official, the carpet is super really disgusting now. Within five minutes of leaving the Gunks I managed to dump a cooler full of water all over the galley area. The carpet is soaked and I don’t really have a way to dry it out. This is just the icing on an already disgusting cake. I can’t wait to throw this crap out and find some new flooring.

I’m really not sure what I was thinking when I decided to come out climbing this weekend. Climbing rocks that are baking in the sun when its 90+ degrees out just isn’t much fun. The rock almost sweats with this grease that destroys all hope of any friction. To make matters worse I decided to spend the day working a climb that I’ve been trying to do for a couple of years now. I’m really not sure why I thought climbing it when it is 30 degrees hotter than it has ever been when I was on it would help matters. I wasn’t able to climb it as usual but this time I was able to return to the van and drink cold beer to my failure at the end of the day. Cold beer the second you leave the crag really makes the failure go down a lot more smoothly.

A thought: this van is more than old. Driving it down the modern expressway gives you a feeling for car travel 30 or 40 years ago. For the first time in my 12 years behind the wheel 65 and even 55 feel like reasonable limits on speed. When you drive a rig like this 65 just feels way too fast. The funny thing is that nobody and I mean nobody actually drives the speed limit. Cruising down the highway in this thing is like walking along a river filled with canoes. Everyone out here is just floating by much faster than you and paddling hard. It’s a really different perspective to drive on the highway and not be trying to find the optimal path to your destination. I found myself looking at all the people passing me by in an instant with their windows rolled up and their world only consisting of calculating a way around all the other obstacles traveling even the slightest bit slower and wondering what they are daydreaming about because they sure aren’t watching the scenery.

Another thought: a lack of air-conditioning makes summer travel feel epic. The miles just wear on you differently with the windows down. The road really makes you tired when you’ve got to feel all the wind that you’re flying through. I find myself really not wanting to press on more than a few hundred miles at a time in this thing. I’m normally the kind of guy who’ll drive solo for 12-14 hours straight just to get to where I’d like to be. I just don’t feel like I can drive like that in this van. The air rushing through, the noise pounding your eardrums, and the vibrations working up through the hot uncomfortable seat just wear me down. The fact that I’ve got to throw on the defrost every time I hit a little slowdown for fear of overheating just adds to the fatigue. To think that I was considering what I thought would be a leisurely cross-country trip in this thing spending only ten hours a day behind the wheel. Driving for ten hours straight in a Vanagon is like driving 16 hours in a modern car. That’s the kind of distance that would really wear you down. I’m just not sure I could do that for five or six days in a row.

Yet another thought: RV campgrounds are brickless suburbs. I swear I have never seen anything like what I’ve seen for the past two nights in a row. I thought that perhaps the first night was an anomaly but I’m 200 miles away from that campground and it’s the same thing all over. With as much camping as I’ve done I really just don’t understand how I haven’t seen this all before. Going from primitive or walk-in sights to sights with full hookups is like going from living in the middle of nowhere to living at the damn strip mall. Every single site has one or two cars, a popup trailer, two or three house sized tents, a screen room, a clothes line, a full-on kitchen, a BBQ grill, and no less than 4 camp chairs surrounding a campfire. Everybody has what seems like 8 kids and they all have their own bikes, toys, cell phones, and video games. This is seriously more like a time to move your house out to the woods for $40 a night. I really can’t knock it since I’m doing the same thing right now as I sit in front of my three fans typing on my laptop but that really doesn’t lessen the shock.

You know, I really shouldn’t judge – these folks are just out to have a good time and at least they are getting their kids outside. However, all I can think about when I’m sitting here listening to the pounding Latin music from the campsite next to mine is what are these kids thinking about out here? Does this count as “nature” to them? Are they “roughing it”? Are they missing out? I mean really, does a kid need to carry all of his belongings on his back for several miles and then after unloading it go on bear watch for the rest of the evening to appreciate nature? I really don’t know the answer to that but my kids will not refer to sleeping in the Vanagon as camping.

First Night Impressions

I just woke up from my first night spent in the Vanagon and most certainly learned some things.

- The most important lesson that I learned is to never attempt to figure out how to work a used portable toilet indoors after a few beers. Let's just say that I am now in the market for a new portable toilet. Enough said.

- The carpet MUST go immediately. Carpet and camping are stupid together. Camping is dirty. Camping leaks. Carpet doesn't like dirt or leaks if a person wants to maintain at least the illusion of hygiene. I don't think Bird (my dog) even likes lying on that nasty rug. I was bothered by it before but after spending a night actually using the vehicle I just couldn't stop thinking about how much grime this thing must have seen in its lifetime. Must go immediately.

- I need screens on the windows. The Vanagon is supposed to have removable screens for the skylight and sliding windows but mine doesn't. Camping in the early fall without screens is a little insane, especially in New England. The black flies will kill me and Bird during the night if I don't fix this soon.

- I need a rain fly for the topper. At some point I want to replace the pop up but a new one runs a little over $400. The one I've got can get by but I don't think it will hold up for much longer. The one I have is mildewed, canvass, and has seen better days. The new ones are synthetic and feature a three window design. Since the topper provides most of your outside air, gaining another two windows for a cross breeze would be huge. Back to the rainfly though; if it rains then right now all you can do is zip up the window because there is nothing stopping water from pouring in. That really really sucks in the summer.

- I didn't get enough circulation last night and certainly noticed some condensation in the van when I woke up. The roof was moist to the touch and overall I felt a little sticky. This was because there wasn't anywhere for the moisture from Bird and my breathing to go. My biggest single mistake was to keep the skylight closed. I think that alone would have made a huge difference. The other thing I should have done was to crack all the windows. I didn't do that because of the bugs but I'd rather the bugs that are around here than gross breath condensation.

- Fabric is gross when camping, especially when camping with dogs. I want to recover the rear bench seat anyway and now I'm thinking that I want to go with a vinyl or something that can be wiped off easily. Bird sheds white fur and its a bit gross when its all over the place. He'd still shed if I had vinyl seats but at least I could clean up after him a little more easily. Maybe I could find something a little more eco than vinyl but I certainly want to head in that direction. Oh and if you're thinking that vinyl would be crappy to sleep on then I agree with you. However, with this bed you really want to use a sheet anyway.

- People are sissies. I've seen tons of posts on the Vanagon mailing list about memory foam and other ways to improve the bed. Lots of people think these beds are almost unusable they are so uncomfortable. Maybe its just because I'm used to sleeping in a tent but I thought this bed was completely tolerable. I won't say that I haven't slept on better beds but I was plenty comfortable. Especially if you put a sheet on it to keep the cushions together then you'll wake up nice and refreshed.

- Electricity is amazing. I've got the rig plugged in right now and man is it awesome. I caught a post on the board about different mechanisms for charging the aux battery and it dawned on me that the shore power system was not hooked up to the aux batter at all. So even if I plug in the van I don't get any charge. I'm really glad that I learned that before I spent a night out in the van. I handled the situation by just buying a computer controlled trickle charger from Walmart. Thanks to the list I learned about a secret fridge plug under the sink that I plugged the charger into and then snaked the wires through the cabinet to the battery. That lets me charge whenever there is external power and not have to worry about it when there isn't. So last night I was able to run my laptop, cell phone, three small fans, two florescent lights, an led rope light, an inverter, a battery charger, and this morning I threw in a small coffee maker. Now that is camping! It's pretty amazing to me that I was able to watch a movie before I went to sleep, woke up and made coffee, posted to my blog, and then I'm going to head out for a day of rock climbing completely rested and ready to go. God bless the Vanagon.

- I still haven't tried to mess with the water hookup. I brought 5 gallons with me and don't expect to need more than that. A sink would be cool but only if I was cooking as well. Since my stove doesn't work due to a propane leak I just don't feel the need to use the sink.

- My GPS system SUCKS in practice. I think I'll make that a new post.

GPS

I was just looking back through my blog posts and I realized that I never gave an update on my GPS setup. I got the receiver in the mail and used a suction cup to attach it to the front windshield of the van right behind the rear-view mirror. I got a copy of Microsoft's Streets and Trips 2007 and without much trouble the software was able to find my receiver and start reporting my position.

I've been pretty skeptical of commercial mapping applications ever since google and yahoo starting allowing you to print directions for free but I must say that I'm blown away by Streets and Trips. Not only does it show me where I am but the route planning is amazing. For example, just for fun I decided to plan a trip across the country. As you'd expect, I got a route similar to what google would give you BUT THEN I figured out that I could enter what time I want to start driving each day, how fast I want to drive on different road types, how often I want to stop and for how long, my fuel tank capacity and fuel efficiency, as well as what time I want to stop driving at night. The software then broke my trip down into day sized chunks. I was then able to click on an end point and have the software tell me all of the campgrounds within a radius of my choosing. With an Internet connection I can even get more information about each site or see a satellite view of it. Once I've found where I want to stay that night I just have the route shifted to incorporate the stop.

Now that I've got my route all planned out I can sit my laptop on the table between the driver and passenger seat and it will talk me through the entire route. It will even verbally tell me when I should start looking for fuel since it knows my fuel capacity. Not only that but it averages gas prices along the route and tells me how much money I should expect to spend driving the route. I can even get construction information in real-time and have the system route me around the problem area.

Another thing that this system lets me do is something that I've been wanting to do for years. I've wanted a system that knows where I am and can tell me where the closest x is. For example, if I break down on the side of the road I can find the closest AutoZone or gas station with just a few clicks. Also, if I start getting tired then I can see all of the hotels or campgrounds in the area. I'll use this feature a ton for everything from movie theaters to Target's. I travel around a lot and this will be a huge quality of life improvement. Let's just hope it works as well as I think it does. This weekend will be my first field test so I'll have to let you know how all this stuff works in a real world application.

More Interior Thoughts

Allison brought a few flooring samples home the other day for me to think about for the van. My favorite was this slick recycled rubber/cork hybrid stuff that looked really nice. Allison was saying that it would hide stains well and would be really durable. I'm pretty much sold on that stuff but there is still a lot more to figure out for the interior.

I'd like to figure something out for the upholstery in the semi-near future. Right now the driver and passenger seat have these crappy seat covers on them which cover pretty unusable upholstery. The passenger seat could maybe be cleaned but the driver's is completely shot. I really do like the original seats but they seem really hard to come by online. I think I'm just going to have to figure out a way to repair the ones I've got. The first option I've found is a nice custom seat cover. This option is fairly cheap and there are a lot of fabrics to choose from but I don't think I'd be able to capture that same slim look that the originals had. Here is a shot of a good condition original interior:




A better option would be to try to replace the fabric but keep the leather/pleather on the back. I've seen blogs from people that have done that and they look good. Another bonus there is that I could use the new fabric on the rear seat as well and be all snazzy. My problem is that I'm not sure who I would get to do it for me. I guess I'll have to google it and get some quotes. I can't wait to get rid of this fabric that's on the seats now though.

The cockpit carpet needs replacing also. I'll probably just get a replacement kit from one of the online places but I was hoping to figure out a non-carpet replacement. I was hoping I could use the rubber flooring but Allison didn't think it'd be flexible enough to handle the contours. New carpet isn't so bad though.

Finally, I need to replace the interior body panels and the headliner. I should be able to just remove the existing ones and resurface them. The trouble is that I have no idea what to put on them. I know that I don't want to just replace what's there with new stock material but I haven't found anything better so far. I think it'd be cool to get a fabric with some kind of stuffing in it that makes a design. I'm just not sure where to find such a thing.

One thing that will be great about replacing all this stuff is that it will give me a chance to reinsulate and sound proof the interior. I've read that it makes a HUGE difference when you put something like FatMat down everywhere. Right now the ride is noisy to say the least.

Maiden Voyage!

This weekend is finally going to be the weekend that I get ye ol' Vanagon on the road. I'm going to head up with the dog to check out some too hot summer climbing action in the Catskills in upstate New York. Its really too hot to do much serious climbing but this is more just an excuse to try out the van and try to get a better idea of what I actually want to change about it. This will also be the first time that I've ever hoped for rain while on a climbing trip because I really want to see how the old poptop holds up in the rain.

There are a few things that I'm planning to do with the van before I actually hit the road.

- First, I'm going to need an emergency repair kit that will let me deal with the most likely break down situations. I've got a few things like replacement belts, an air filter, replacement fuses, and oil filters but I need to pick up some oil (20-W50), brake fluid, spark plugs, and maybe some antifreeze.

- Second, I've been bothered by some of my wiring for the aux battery so I got some better battery wire and I'm going to redo the job. I also learned that my Internet instructions man was wrong about where to ground the battery. I got a repair manual the other day off of eBay and it shows all of the correct body ground points and I'm not grounded on one of them. Even with that repair I still think I'm a little on the dangerous side and I may just break down and buy a proper kit. At the very least I think I'll stop by Walmart and pick up a battery gage. It drives me crazy not knowing how much charge I've got in the battery.

- Third, I need to get together my packing list. I'm still figuring out where everything should go in this van and this trip will be a good chance to optimize the space, see what I really need to take, and figure out how much room I've actually got.

I'm also really excited to see what works when I hook up to external power and water. I'm going to get a site with hookups and give everything a good testing. I may even have to take a movie or two along - it will be pretty strange sitting around on a couch watching movies when I'm used to sitting in the dirt and staring at a fire.

Flooring and Interior Panels

So I've started looking at a few options for changing out the interior of my ride. One thing I know for sure is that I've got to get rid of that blue carpet in the galley area. Carpet and my usage patterns just don't mix. In fact, I'm tempted to get rid of the carpet entirely and go with some other material. The problem is that I'm not sure what material I want to go with. Allison (my wife and architect) suggested that I look into rubber. Its easy to clean, eco-friendly, durable, and comes in all sorts of finishes. She was thinking either that or linoleum. Originally, I was thinking I'd go with some sort of pretend hardwood but now that I've had the van for a bit I just don't think that stuff would end up wearing well. I was originally thinking that the rubber option would suck because the only rubber floors I knew about were from gyms and that kind of rubber just didn't feel like what I was looking for.

However, today I was looking at http://www.airstream.com/ (in my opinion the only good looking mobile home off the line) to see what they were doing with some of their interiors. Sure enough, their big trailers all use hardwood BUT their smaller use and abuse kind of trailers were using rubber flooring that looked perfect for the Vanagon. Huh, Allison was right once again. I guess that's what I get for doubting an architect when it comes to building materials. I'm thinking I'll go with a mocha colored rubber flooring with the raised circles. I think it'll look slick. Now I've just got to figure out where to get some. Sounds like a job for Allison.



Next I have to figure out what to cover the walls with. The Vanagon has several plywood panels coated with a weave fabric attached with spray adhesive. The fabric is dirty, brittle, and not especially exciting that is on there now so eventually I'd like to replace it. The trouble is that I'm not sure what I want to replace it with. I found a source for more of the original fabric but the cream is just a little on the boring side. Then again I'm a little nervous about going totally nuts with the fabric. Especially if I get a chocolate brown floor and then keep the cream and brown cabinets I want to avoid making it too dark. But it might also be nice to have something other than brown in there. Ah decisions...

Weekend of Productivity

I made some real progress on the van this weekend. The two biggest accomplishments were to get the new stereo installed and to get the aux battery in and working.

The new stereo is a huge improvement. I ran the iPod cable to the glove box through the dash which lets me just stick my iPod in the glove box and forget about it. The stereo has a remote, which I would consider completely stupid for most vehicles, but it is really nice with the Vanagon. Now we'll be able to sit around camp and change the music from any spot where we've got a line of sight to the receiver. Also, the speakers turned out to be better than I was expecting them to be. The tiny little babies in the driver and passenger door sound like they are blown but the big guys in the back actually sound pretty good. The system even sounds decent while you are standing outside of the van with the sliding door open.

The other big project of the weekend was to get the aux battery in place. I found some instructions online that described how to use the battery compartment under the driver's seat along with a small fuse/junction point to hook the battery into the rest of the vehicle wiring harness. The install was fairly easy to get working but I've got a few concerns about what the instructions told me to do.

Problems:
- I went with a deep cycle battery from Walmart which has the perfect length and width but the height is about an inch taller than the compartment. I got around this by knocking out the little welds in the battery compartment door and removing it and then just using the interior carpet to cover the top of the battery. This concerns me a bit because I don't have any insulator covering the positive battery terminal and I really feel like more precautions should be taken around what is most likely flammable carpet installed directly under my butt while I'm driving down the road.

- I'm charging this battery off the vehicle alternator when the engine is running but I'm connected to the alternator with just a 10 gage wire. I'm concerned that if I augment my electronics too much then I might end up pulling too much current on that wire and start an electrical fire. I think I need to either install something to protect the wire/alternator from too much draw or I need to start looking at other ways to wire in the extra battery.

- I really need to do the math on my current system and see how long I can run the fans and lights that I've got as well as the 750 watt inverter that I've installed. I need to make sure that the alternator, battery, and wiring are up to the task. I'd also like to start planning for my solar expansion as well as look into other ways to charge the battery.

- I need to read more about battery powered systems in general. There is a lot to know when it comes right down to it and I feel like I'm winging it a bit too much. One improperly sized wire or missing fuse can easily start a fire and burn my baby to the ground. I don't want to push the system much until I've done my homework.

- I have no way to accurately monitor the system. I've got to install some gages to monitor charge rate, charge level, as well as current power consumption. I'm riding blind here.

Another Upgrade and New Ideas

During my lunch hour I received an after market set of hubcaps that I found on eBay for $35 for the set that were made to look like the original caps. I really like the new look. I'll have to take my camera down there and snap some photos but that may have to wait for another day. Here is what they look like on another car though:


This picture actually brings me to my other ideas. I found this site (http://home.earthlink.net/~johndolsen/index.html) with all sorts of ideas for making your camper more usable. I'm especially interested in the temperature control idea (i.e. insulated curtains, awning, camper heat, etc) as well as the solar setup. I really want to add some solar to my rig eventually, so its nice to see that its been done before. Once I get my auxiliary battery setup I think I'll have to start shopping around for a decent pv panel. Should be fun.

New Plan

It looks like I will be able to get my auxiliary battery setup sooner rather than later. I found some instructions for doing the install online and it looks like all of the parts I need can be picked up for cheap at Walmart. I just might have to skip the camp ground this weekend and hit up the old Walmart for some classic boondocking. I can't want to get going on the battery install. I think I'll also add a 1200W inverter to make it easier to use whatever random devices need using. Sounds like a good weekend project. I'll be sure to take pictures.

First upgrades

Today I got a few things in the mail to add to the old Westy. First off, I got replacement pedal covers for the clutch and brake which look really nice compared to the gnarly mangled rubber that had been attached to the pedals with about a billion two inch screws. I also got some new wiper blades which is great since I don't think the wipers that were on there had been changed since the late 80s. Last but not least I got a super sweet stereo to replace the ol' tape deck. It just wouldn't be right to hit the road without tunes and given the fact that I don't have any cassette tapes and the fact that the radio antennae is broken, replacement was my only option.

You should know though that I don't play around. This stereo is awesome. I picked up a used Sony CDX-GT610UI off of eBay for a really great deal. This thing does it all. My favorite feature is that it interfaces directly with your iPod. So with a single cable to the glove box I can power and control the iPod without even seeing it. The thing also comes with a remote which will be really handy in camp. Check out more features at http://www.xplodsony.com/xplod/headunits/CDX-GT610UI. I haven't installed it yet because work has been a little hectic but I'm certainly going to before this weekend.

Speaking of this weekend, it looks like I'm finally going to get the chance to try out sleeping in the van. I'm not exactly sure where I'm going but I'm going to spend at least one night in a camp ground. I will finally have the chance to really test out how well all of the camping equipment actually works. I know the propane system has a leak so I won't be messing with it but I will be able to test all of the electrical components.

Video Games in the Vanagon?

So I've got a few game consoles sitting around that I'm not using right now and started thinking about putting them into the van. I know I can at least get this Nintendo Gamecube in there since its small, has wireless controllers, has a 12V adapter, and a small display/speakers but I'm really not sure I want to limit myself to Mario Sunshine, Metroid Prime, and Zelda. What I really want to move over to the van is my extra Xbox 360. The problem is that this thing is a power sucking beast that would take up a ton of room and put off tons of heat. The massive power brick on it says that it outputs 213 watts at 12 volts. Even if I could rewire this thing to take DC power I'm not sure that I'd want to. Still, it might be worth having one of these for campground camping.

I've still got a lot to learn about how the electrical system is setup but I do know that expanding it is high on my list. First thing to do will be to add an axillary deep cycle batter to my rig. I want to get it setup so that all of the electrics run off the deep cycle battery when the engine is off but I still want to trickle charge the battery with the vehicle alternator. The van is already wired to support one so all I should need to do it pick up a good deep cycle battery and an install kit to handle the battery isolation. I've got an install kit on eBay that I've bid on for $12 so as soon as it arrives I'll start my battery shopping.

I'm thinking I'll want to go with a Optima Yellow Top battery based on a suggestion from http://www.bajataco.com. Before I found this Vanagon I was just thinking about building a camper setup on my 1996 Toyota Tacoma so I became a big fan of their site.

Anyway, once I've got my battery in place then I'll start looking around for a cheap used inverter. The main reason that I want one of these is because I've got a standard 110A outlet in the van that only works when I'm plugged into external power. That's a cool feature but it would be a lot better if I could wire it so that it runs off external power when present but will use a battery powered inverter otherwise. It looks like the camper electrics are just using household romex and 15A outlets so I should also be able to add a few additional outlets around the van. I may also replace the existing romex with armored cable just to be on the safe side. The wiring runs exposed through storage cabinets and I'd rather not risk damaging it.

Besides getting more 110A outlets, I really need to get some more 12V outlets. At the very least I want to add a few more to the dash area, one to the inside of the glove box for powering an ipod, and a couple near the kitchen for appliances. I've never really done any wiring with 12V stuff but I have done a fair amount of house electrical work and I'm hoping it won't be all that different in practice.

Bummer

I was just doing some research on recycling old LCD monitors and it looks like its virtually impossible. The problem is that most LCD panels in laptops and whatnot don't have an integrated controller to handle converting the output into the pixel color codes required for display. Typically with a laptop the controller is integrated into the motherboard of the computer and cannot easily be separated. I've read that if you want an LCD panel then you need to buy a standalone LCD monitor and take it apart or purchase a panel which includes a controller board. That's really unfortunate since I bet there aren't many LCD monitors out there which are designed to run on 12V power. Maybe it will make more sense to just buy a car specific monitor when the time is right. I saw 17" widescreens that drop down from a ceiling mount for about $200. I've spent enough on this stuff this month though so I better put this project on hold. I'll just play with my GPS receiver and webcam for now.

Then again I should be able to use the Gamecube monitor since it is a standalone unit. I should just have to rewire the input connection and fashion a power cord and I'll be good to go. It won't display text very well but at least I could play Zelda Wind Waker in my sun visor. There's certainly something to be said for that.

First Bit of Tech

So I just bought a used GPS receiver on eBay for $24.95 and I got a PS2 EyeToy from a coworker for $10 earlier today. I've just been looking around my office and I found a few devices that I just might have to sacrifice to the cause to get some display tech. So far I've got a display for a Nintendo Gamecube that will run off 12V but it will only do a resolution of 640x480 on a 5" screen (read that as there is no way in hell you will be able to read text on it) - however this little baby could make a really cool sensor readout or something like that. I've also got an old laptop with a 1024x768 LCD - its a little dim but might just have to do until I can find something better. I've also got a 2000 Pocket PC that could be good for something. Its got a nice high resolution tiny display and won't use much power so I might have to mount this guy in my sun visor or something.

I found some drivers for the eyetoy and got it up and running on a laptop. This thing could easily augment a rearview mirror but I'm not sure that I'd trust it as a full replacement. The refresh rate is a bit slow but like I said, mounted under the rear bumper it would augment the rear view perfectly.

Now I just need for my GPS to get here so I can try using a laptop as a navigation system. Once that works then I can continue my search for a cheap Mac Mini.

I think I'll also try pulling the laptop's LCD and see if I can get it wired to take a standard VGA input with a really long cable. If I can do that then it will really be worth seeing how I could mount it in the van.

The Planning Phase

So I've been thinking a lot lately about what exactly I'm going to do with my mighty wagon now that I've actually got one. Should I do a full restoration and try to keep it perfectly stock? Do I make it the ultimate green vehicle? Should I just strive to make it live comfortably off the grid while camping? Perhaps convert it into a mobile office? Dog kennel? All of the above? Who knows? Right now I'm just putting together a few crazy ideas, mulling them around, doing some preliminary research, and then seeing what sticks. I live for this kind of stuff.

Anyway, today I've been thinking about electronics. This is largely because of an idea I had to try to only buy second-hand items for the van. So I was browsing craigslist and I ran into something that I wasn't expecting. It was a Mac Mini computer sitting there for $350. The coolest thing about this little box was that it is about the dimensions of a cd jewel case but an inch or two tall. My Dad has been talking about building a car computer for a little while and I immediately thought about what a perfect car computer that little Mac would make. For some reason the Vanagon just seems like it should be powered by a Mac. Plus, its easy to convert its adapter to use 12V power and when on it only draws around 30W. They are also using a laptop harddrive so it would do a pretty good job of dealing with road vibrations. After a little research I decided that I can probably find one of these mini computers for around $250 if I'm patient. Since I have no idea when I'll be ready to install it I shouldn't have any problem waiting around.

So I've been thinking of what I could do with a car computer besides just watch movies and listen to music.

-First thing I'd do is find a small lcd to mount in the dash along with a gps receiver and I'd make a little navigation system. I'd also probably want to a large dropdown lcd between the driver and passenger seats for watching movies in camp.

-Second, I just picked up a web cam from a coworker for $10 so I should also be able to easily make a backup camera just like the big rigs have. The camera I got is actually an old Playstation 2 eye toy camera so really I should be able to use it as a digital rear view mirror. That would be pretty cool since it would mean that I wouldn't have to futz with the curtains when I drive off.

-Third I was thinking it would be really useful to access Yahoo Yellowpages or something like that from the car so I'll need to get a wifi booster that I can put on the roof so I can take advantage of wireless hotspots whenever they are available

- Another thing that would be really could would be a system for remote monitoring. With a few sensors and a little bit of code I could build a system to publish my cabin temperature, fridge temperature, water stores, aux power, and propane stores to the web so that they could be monitored in real time from everywhere. That would make it a lot easier to safely leave my dog "Bird" in the van without having to worry. I could even set it up to text message me if any system gets to a dangerous level.

- Finally, I could possibly use the computer to optimize energy collection and usage. If I install solar then I should be able to program my own system to automatically adjust the pv panels to maximize collection. I should also be able to automatically turn on fans as needed as well as control lighting. This kind of thing gets me really excited. I might just have to pick up some sensors and start fooling around with some code at home.

Time for a move...

Call me paranoid but I just don't feel safe about leaving my baby out on the street in front of our house. Not only are there bored kids milling about but I'm not entirely convinced she's water-tight. Plus its a pain to work on her out in the street. So this morning Imoved her up to my office parking garage. Now I'm just hoping the man doesn't try to run me off.

After work I'm going to head over to Home Depot and see what sort of magic cleaning supplies I can come up with. I've got to pick up some stuff for the house anyway so I might as well check out what they've got to offer.

And so it begins...

Well the day has finally arrived. After months of researching vehicles, perusing classifieds, and staring longingly at campers on the highway I have entered the world of mobile living. Yesterday, I picked up the plates for my new to me 1984 Volkswagen Vanagon and drove her home. My assessment thus far is that this is hands down the greatest vehicle ever produced. Every inch utilized and optimized for maximum enjoyment this machine is truly amazing to behold. I've had many doubters along the way on my quest to find the perfect mobile living vehicle but the moment they set eyes on the Vanagon all that doubt melts away and is replaced by a strong desire to hit the road. This van is 4000 pounds of potential freedom and I can't wait to start tapping into it.

The downside is that before I can really start travelling in style she's going to need a bit of work. 1984 was a long time ago and her parts are definitely worse for the wear. Her engine was rebuilt about 60,000 miles ago but that just doesn't change the fact that the odometer reads 207,924. My hope is that the mechanical bits hold together while I address the interior aesthetic problems. I'm planning to pretty much gut the interior over the next few months in attempt to make her feel new. My intention with this blog is to chart my progress so I'll have a record of how far I've come.

Perhaps cliche but apt: a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. I've made my first step and now she's sitting out front basking in the sun. Its going to be a nice ride.