Boxanne

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Wish I could afford lithium batteries, but I can't just 2k on a battery compared to around £500 on a gel.

The gel batteries aren't so bad if you know their limitations. You can really only use about 15% or 20% of the power that they hold before recharging them, otherwise they wear out quite quickly. It's the same with lead acid batteries.

So your 200ah battery really only has about 40ah of usable power. As long as you watch your usage and never drain it too much you should get a few years out of it. And of course, you can always add more batteries at a later stage.

 

[Raggamuffin]

Power draw shouldn't be that bad. Biggest draw will be the blender when used, and the occasional laptop charge. The fridge and fans should be low power draw.

The gel batteries I'm looking at are deep cycle batteries.

This was the one I was looking at, although there are other brands for around £150 cheaper:

200Ah 12V Gel Deep Cycle Battery For Motorhomes, Caravans, Boats And O

What is a Gel battery? A gel battery is a type of Valve Regulated Lead Acid (VRLA) battery filled with special gel-type electrolyte. Gel batteries are non-spillable, completely sealed and maintenance free - one of the safest batteries you can find. They have a much longer service life compared...

vanjunkies.co.uk

61kg is pretty huge though. I'm keen to get the van down to the public weighbridge after the second round at the body shop.

Spoke with the carpenter. He said 9mm birch ply will be fine for the walls, ontop of the insulation. Which is 18kg per 2440 x 1220mm board. The insulation is 5kg per board of the same dimensions.

Realistically the kitchen will need to be built from plywood as well. But probably 12mm thick which is 25kg per 2440 x 1220mm board.

I've asked the bodyshop to give me the dimensions of the van. I believe it's around

L4m x H 2.25m x W 2m

I believe I have around 900kg to work with in total.

Ed

 

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Realistically the kitchen will need to be built from plywood as well. But probably 12mm thick which is 25kg per 2440 x 1220mm board.

For your kitchen go to a hardware store and have a look at Form Plywood. It's what concreters use when building the forms to pour concrete in to. It's 15mm thick plywood with a very hard wearing resin coating on both sides.

Has a nice almost black finish and it comes in sheets of 8 x 4. It's quite cheap because so much of it is used all the time.

 

[Raggamuffin]

Found a 300Ah gel battery for less money, I think this might be the one. Comes in at hefty 67kg though.

The page has an interesting chart. So as you say - keep usage minimal and battery topped up. Mind you, with a battery meter on display, I think I'd relish being conservative with battery usage and monitoring the numbers.

12V 300Ah Tensite GEL battery for solar installations

The GEL Tensite 300 battery is sealed GEL monoblock, it does not require maintenance, it can be installed in poorly ventilated places

www.todoensolar.com

Ed

 

[Raggamuffin]

Just got the price from the solar panel place and it's good. They can do it all - solar panels, fabricate the frame, install the battery, inverter etc.

I'm so relieved.

Visiting them on Monday after I drop my van off to the horsebox place to get the windows fitted. Bringing some preliminary drawings of the van layout so we can get an idea of wiring setup, location of battery/inverter etc. Along with solar panel location.

I'm excited.

Ed

 

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Mind you, with a battery meter on display, I think I'd relish being conservative with battery usage and monitoring the numbers.

I tried to ignore this but I have to tell the truth, I loved watching the info on the power regulator. How much power I was getting at peak times and averaging out how much I was getting through the day. And then on a night time the display shows how much voltage is in the battery and I got good at judging how much power is left by that.

It was a fascinating thing.

 

[Prometheus]

Upon returning home my dad said what others have: "Why on earth are you spending all this money. You could just have bought another van."

It's your money. But I can see his point.

 

[Raggamuffin]

It's your money. But I can see his point.

I'd lose thousands if I quit and bought a different van.

Ed

 

[Raggamuffin]

I'm a sucker for a graph. Although I'm not sure if longevity of a 2005 engine would be affected long term by a remap:

Ed

 

[Raggamuffin]

Nearing completion. Windscreen rust has been cut out, new metal welded in. New respray of the cab roof and windscreen in hard wearing paint. Front panel of the box replaced and top rail straightened. New coach bolts fitted. Old bolts on the wall of the van have been removed, filled, and repaired.

I'll have to do the box respray myself, or with the mechanic over the road in raptor paint, as the 9k budget for the bodywork won't cover everything I want doing.

The rest of the cab will be resprayed in the new colour when it goes back to the bodyshop next week. He's just got to reseal the roof tomorrow.

Windscreen is being refitted tomorrow. Then 4 windows are being fitted to the box on Monday next week at a local horsebox company. After that is finished I'll be returning the van to this bodyshop.

Ed

 

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I'll have to do the box respray myself.....

I imagined you'd be doing this anyway, with small brushes and lots of colours. A large blank canvas.

 

[disconnected]

Cool thread. Thanks

 

[Raggamuffin]

I don't like chairs at home - I sit on a rug on the floor.

In my van I'll have a raised seating area with storage underneath. This raised platform will be a similar size to a double bed.

To cushion it and allow it to also be used as a spare bed for guests - initially I'll have memory foam cut outs with duvet covers. But I'll be saving up to go the Middle Eastern route, but as with so much I buy - I am drawn towards well made and expensive.

I found a company that can custom make them. I want the base which people sit on to be elongated to bed length.
What stunning designs they do. Mine will be to complement a dark green, black and gold Japanese wallpaper that I'm buying. So the colours of mine will be darker and earthy.

Ed

 

[Raggamuffin]

Here's the sky that greeted me as I set off at 06:25 this morning on an 8 mile bike ride to the body shop. Quite brisk this morning at -3°C. Had a chat with the owner. He's such a lovely guy.

Then drove 30 mins to the horsebox place and dropped off the van. Took the bike out the back and set off on a 10 mile bike ride back home.

Soon as I got home I drove 8 miles to go have my Thai massage. Then headed home. I must admit, at one point on the final hill climb I didn't think I had it in me.

I felt the pace wasn't quick enough to get everything done on time, and yet I found a parking space in the city on a Saturday morning with ease, and I arrived at the massage parlour at the precise time I was supposed to.

After cycling my leg muscles were very tense, but a 90 minute massage which mixes Swedish and traditional Thai is wonderful. I left and walked back to my car feeling really happy.

I had planned to drop the van off on Monday, so getting everything done this morning means my day off Monday isn't so busy.

Visit the solar place that's 30 mins drive from mine to discuss the van layout for solar and electrics. Then my yoga lesson at 16:30.

But now - it is time to be lazy.

Ed

 

[disconnected]

My Wife wants to get a camper/van and sell everything and go live off the grid in the Rocky Mountains.

 

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My Wife wants to get a camper/van and sell everything and go live off the grid in the Rocky Mountains.

We have a large population of people doing that in Australia, Grey Nomads.

Some live very simply, others have very extensive setups almost completely self sufficient with power and satellite connectivity.

 

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@Forest Cat I was still compiling a reply to your post before it got deleted. RVs are very unpopular here, they are too restricted in where they can go. Too long a wheel base, limited ground clearance, no 4WD, etc.

Setups like the one in this picture are much more common here.

 

[Forest Cat]

@Forest Cat I was still compiling a reply to your post before it got deleted. RVs are very unpopular here, they are too restricted in where they can go. Too long a wheel base, limited ground clearance, no 4WD, etc.

Setups like the one in this picture are much more common here.

View attachment 98611

I realized that this thread is about Boxanne and I didn't want to go too much off-topic. But yeah I would need a big, fancy off-road 4WD RV.

 

[Jeff T]

I was still compiling a reply to your post before it got deleted. RVs are very unpopular here, they are too restricted in where they can go. Too long a wheel base, limited ground clearance, no 4WD, etc.

Setups like the one in this picture are much more common here.

Your mention of RVs and the fact you live in Australia reminded me of the movie "The Earthling"

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Ragamuffin, your van is looking pretty good! Will the box section have windows? (I haven't been completely following the topic so apologies if I've missed that)
jt

 

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Your mention of RVs and the fact you live in Australia reminded me of the movie "The Earthling"

That's not so bad, when I first started reading I thought you were going to say Priscilla.