Promaster Build- Solar Panel and Fan

HJust before leaving on our ski trip we intstalled our solar panel and fan on top of our roof.  This was the first scary project because it involves putting holes in the van.  Everything went really smoothly!  To be honest, the hardest part was getting on top of the van because we didn't have a ladder.  Brian climbed up on the bulding and then walked on to the van from the roof of the building, but that wasn't working for me.  My brother showed up with a ladder and things went well after that.

Materials: (I will link to the products when I get on a computer, typing on my phone!)

Solar

Goal Zero Boulder 90 solar panel

Goal Zero Hinge Base mounts

3M VHB 5952 tape

Rubber gasket

White silicone caulk

Fan

Fantastic Fan

White silicone caulk

Jigsaw blade for cutting metal

3M VHB 5952 tape

Rubberish weather stripping

Steps:

Solar.  On Silas I used two Boulder 30 panels, which was definitely sufficient for our needs.  However, the Boulder 90 is now available so I thought, why not?  When I did my first van, there were no mounting options that were pre-made so my brother machined some custom adjustable mounts for me which we screwed into the roof.  Now they make the Goal Zero bracket mount.  

1. Decide on positioning.  We decided to mount the panel on the front of the roof in case we eventually put a kayak rack on the back of the roof for Brian's  boat.  We put it on the side (vs. centered) so we can hopefully reach it to brush snow off, and we can fit another Boulder 90 next to it if we decide we want another.

2. You will want to clean the roof of your van and the bottom of the mounts with rubbing alcohol and a clean cloth.

3. Attach your mounts to the panel.  The mounts don't come with any instructions or suggestions for how to use them.  I figured out how they fit onto the panel and Brian tightened them down with an allen wrench.

4.  Mystery tape.  The Goal Zero mounts come with a bunch of GIANT screw holes in them.  If you were to use screws to lock them onto the roof you would be making a lot of big holes in your roof.  We had heard of another option- 3M VHB tape, which supposedly can replace welding in certain situations.  I saw examples of other people using it but couldn't really find concrete information on it.  My brother helped me choose one of the different formulas, 5952, which I think is good for painted surfaces.  There are a lot of different VHB tapes, so hopefully we chose the right one.  Anywho, make sure it isn't too cold out when you're applying the tape.  Stick it onto the mounts, then peel off the backing and stick it onto the roof.  Apply pressure and it will be sticky right away, so make sure you position it right on the first try.  I think it reaches full strength about 24 hours after you apply it.

5. Wiring.  After the panel was mounted, we drilled a 1/2" hole in the roof.  If you want a smaller hole, you can cut the fat end part of the wire off, thread it through the roof, and then reattach the end.  We put a rubber gasket around the wire, plugged the hole with it, and sealed it off with silicone caulk.  Done!

Fan.  Who is ready to cut a big hole in the roof of their van?  You are!  Well, I actually wasn't so I had my brother do it, just like I did on the last van!  

1. Positioning.  Figure out where you want your fan.  Based on where our windows will be and where our door is, we positioned the fan slightly behind the kitchen area and in front of the bed so it can be ventiliation for cooking and also keep us cool while sleeping.  Try to find a spot on your roof where the fan can potentially fit between ribs on the rooftop and definitely put it somewhere where you won't have to cut through the internal roof ribs/supports.  You can trace the fan hole (it should come with a stencil) on the inside of the van and then drill holes in the corners.  Once on top of the van, line the stencil up with the corners and trace it again.  (We actually didn't do this and just measured sort of how far it should be on the roof and we almost cut through a ceiling rib... oops).

2. Cut the hole!  We drilled a pilot hole and then put the jigsaw blade in and began trimming.  It cuts really easily.  You can line your hole with tape so you don't scratch the paint with the jigsaw.

3. Plop the fan in the hole.  Make sure it fits and make sure it is facing the right way so the dome doesn't get ripped off if you forget to put it down before driving.

4. Seal.  Once you've checked the fit you are ready to stick the fan in for good.  We had a bunch of leftover 3M tape from the panel, so we decided to use it on the fan to avoid drilling more holes in the roof.  We put some weather stripping in the low points of the ribs to try to make a more even surface.  I've also seen people pound down the ribs where the fan is so it is all flat.  We stuck the 3M tape on van, peeled the backing, and stuck the fan in.  We then used a caulk gun and sealed all the edges and the holes in the fan frame where the screws would have gone if we used them.  

An Ode to Silas

As most are aware, I sold Silas a few weeks ago.  It was SUPER SAD.  I actually had to try pretty hard not to cry when he drove away with his new owners.  The only thing that made me ok with it is that he went to an awesome home with an adventurous couple who has already taken him to Yosemite several times as well as the Eastern Sierras.  I know he will enjoy his new life and bring his new peeps as many adventures as he brought me.  Here is an ode to my beloved van:

Silas

You came in to my life at a difficult time
You were there to excite and distract me in a time of sadness
Building you and planning adventures lifted my spirits during a dark time

During our first trip together, we bumbled down dark dirt roads
trying to figure out the headlights, getting stuck in a big rut and spinning our wheels
and freaking out when warning lights came alight on the dash

Each time we set out, I fit better in the seat
and a giant cargo van became an extension of my body
seamlessly maneuvering down the highway to the next destination

You became a home for me and my best friend and my pups
You acted as our shelter, our transportation, movie theater, kitchen, and library
we set out to do whatever our imaginations came up with and you were the one to take us there

There were times of frustration
when it seemed like all you wanted to do was break
But then you came back to life and powered us up the next hill

The familiar smell of melting crayons that comes from your cockpit
became a lovely welcome home.
For a while, you even welcomed a family of mice home, that wasn't so good.

One day, you drove past a kayaker
I rolled the window down and asked if he wanted to hop in
He did.  And then we fell in love.  Thanks Silas, I owe you big time for that one.

You brought me so much happiness
and a life I had only dreamed of before
became my reality

Some people see you as just an old van
But I see you like an old friend
So thanks for everything.

I'll miss you.

AK

UT

Yukon Territory

UT 

CA

UT

CO 

UT

British Columbia

CA 

MT

WA

OR

NV

ID

WY

UT

WY 

WA 

British Columbia

AK

AK

Promaster Build- Insulation and Partial Siding

The next step after doing our floor was to begin insulation and siding on the van.  Again, we are going slightly out of order because of the timing and geographical locations of our build.  It might be more logical to do the electrical first, and we would have liked to cut the holes for our fan and windows first, but it has been raining and snowing, so we waited on that.

Materials:
2 rolls 2' x 25' Reflectix
1 roll 48" x 10' Reflectix
2 packages UltraTouch Denim Insulation (R13)
1 package 4mm plastic vapor barrier
1 4'x 8' sheet 1" Thermasheath Rmax Foam Insulation Board (better R-value than regular R-Tech foam board that we used on the floor)
2 cans 3M spray adhesive
2 rolls Gorilla tape
2 sheets 4' x 8' Tri-ply underlayment plywood
Some screws

Time:
Ehhh, maybe two full days worth?

Cost:
If I get less lazy, I will calculate this later!

Steps:
1. Reflectix!  Reflectix is basically bubble wrap with foil on either side of it.  It is a good insulator and vapor barrier, easy to cut and work with, and not that expensive, so I didn't see any good reason not to put it everywhere.  We cut shapes to fit all the various spaces in the van and spray adhesived them on.  If you're building a Promaster, be prepared to be wowed by all the ridiculous shapes and blobs all over the van; there are almost no straight lines.  We popped off the factory panels on the doors and Reflectixed behind those too.  After you're done the van will look like a sweet spaceship.  If you're using spray adhesive you'll want to make sure to have good ventilation and wear a face mask.

Working into the night

Turning into a space ship

Shiny!

2. Denim insulation.  I used this in Silas and really liked how easy it was to work with.  It cut down on sound/road noise a great deal as well as obviously keeping the van warmer in winter and cooler in the summer.  Ripping the denim and stuffing it in crevices creates a lot of denim dust, so you will want to again wear a mask and have ventilation in the van.  Having a vacuum or broom and intermittenly cleaning up during this process will make things happier.  On the large panels, we put a bit of spray adhesive and then stuck up square pieces.  We would cover large areas with duct tape to help hold the big pieces in place.  You will also want to stuff all the nooks and crannies and crevices- of which there are many!  I like using a long flat head screwdriver to jam bits of insulation in.  We used denim on all the walls and doors.  I used it on the ceiling in Silas because it has a better R-value than other materials but it was such a huge pain that I decided not to do that this time.  One more note on the denim- they used to carry it at Home Depot and you could buy it by the package- that's what I did last time, but now you can only order it by the pallet (which is way too much!)  I was able to get it at Lowe's in the quantity I wanted.

A really easy, mostly square section

Taping in large pieces to keep them in place

3. Vapor barrier.  We wanted to make sure our denim was protected from any moisture.  The Reflectix on one side protects it from outside the van moisture and condensation and on the inner side we covered it with a plastic vapor barrier.  This is pretty simple, just requires lots of tape and some scissors.

Starting in on the vapor barrier.

4. Ceiling.  As I said above, trying to use denim on the ceiling was really hard and annoying, so I opted for foam board this time.  We found a type board with R-6, which is better than the R-Tech board I've used in the past.  We used 1" but in retrospect I wish we would have gone with 3/4" because it sticks down just a bit below the cross beams in the van.  We used a knife to cut squares that fit in between all the roof ribs.  For now, we left off the square where the Fantastic will go so we wouldn't have to cut through it later.  We spray adhesived (sense a theme?!) them on and we put up temporary furring strips across the boards to hold them on while we drive around without our wood paneling on.  We got the feeling they might pop off otherwise.

Ceiling insulation going in.

5. Siding.  During this step we also put up wood siding where all of our cabinets will go.  This siding will essentially be the back of the cabinets, and because it will be covered, it doesn't have to look perfect (which is good because as I said before, the shapes in this van are unreal).  For the rest of the walls, we will do tongue and groove paneling.  We used 3mm (I think.  I'll have to double check on this) underlayment.  We painted it with a waterproofing stain before mounting it to add an extra layer of moisture barrier.  We used a combination of circular saw and jigsaw to cut the shapes to match the walls and screwed them in.

A couple of panels up.  The rear one will be under the bed, the one closer to the front will be the back of the kitchen cabinet.  The un-Reflectixed portion above it is where one of our windows is going.

IGNORE THE BED..  No really, please don't look at our sketchy temporary bed platform.  This picture is to show you more siding and the strips along the ceiling to hold our insulation in.  Obviously if we were putting our actual ceiling in before going on a 3,000 mile road trip this wouldn't be necessary.

Alright!  Next stage of the van complete!  We are looking forward to having a well-insulated van.