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.