Introduction
Why?
You may have been here. You may be on your second trip. For me, I don't learn so easily and completely as I should. I haven't worked out all of the details, but I'm essentially exchanging my unemployed, separated life in a huge home as well as an investment property, to a nomad living in a van. I'm currently in the process of obtaining employment, selling my home, my investment property, as well as selling much of my stuff. I don't know what's going to happen to my pets. I have two dogs and two cats. I am hoping to take one cat, but the other big dog loves the van. She always wants to spend time in it. I don't think that I could keep her in it without it being destroyed or spending a fortune on climate control so she'd survive. The cat would do better in these conditions, but some accommodations would have to be made to ensure his comfort.
Given my inability to pay my mortgage consistently, I bought a very cheap van in order to have a place to live. Currently, I'm not confident enough to think that I can resolve these problems on my own. I just want to be happy while avoiding stress.
After I purchased the van, I ran up the things that I would need in order to bring it up to drivability standards. It needs a lot of stuff, but that's what you get by buying a van on the cheap.
The Van
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| 1993 Chevy G20 |
It is powered by a 5.7L V8 with Throttle Body Injection and a automatic transmission.
Projects
Thus far, I have the following projects going on:
Fantastic Fan
A Fantastic Fan is a ceiling fan/skylight. It exhausts air through the ceiling, although with the one that I purchased, the fan can reverse directions as well. I know that you could just wire a switch to reverse the direction of the DC motor, but it's nice to have it built-in. It helps with lessening the condensation which can build by occupying a van for a number of house, particularly while you're sleeping in it. It also helps keep the van cooler during warmer weather. I am also considering the addition of a portable, 12v dehumidifier as well. We'll see how it goes.
I had installed installed it last week. It was a bit scary cutting through the van's ceiling, but it got installed without issue. Putting back up the headliner is quite another issue. Perhaps if I had help?
Solar Power
Here is my current setup:
- 1 - 100 watt Renogy monocrystalline solar panel with mounting brackets.
- Renogy Wanderer 30 amp PWM charge controller
- Mighty Max AGM 12v 105aH battery
- BlueSea ATO fuse block
- BlueSea negative bus bar
| Current power draws | Future draws |
|---|---|
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Climate control problem
Right now, the van has problems with its venting selector. When proper vacuum is applied, I only get vent air. When I remove the vacuum source, I only get defrost and floor air. This problem is the most frustrating and annoying because I have to take the entire dashboard apart in order to fix the problem. Also, the source is elusive because it's most likely a vacuum leak. I've replaced a number of parts already, but haven't been able to fix the problem yet.
The reason for this problem is that GM decided it would be good idea to use the engine's vacuum as a way to open and close vents in the system, thereby changing the flow of air from floor to vent and elsewhere. Unfortunately, vacuum hoses don't last forever. They become dislodged. They become brittle and leak. I'll be able to fix this eventually.
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