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Installing A Propane Tank Underneath a Promaster Van with Remote Fill Kit

Note: this post references the propane system in my second build. There is a list to all the parts and materials at the bottom of this post. You can read more about my latest build, Miles Van Camper v3 or check out all the parts I used here. Important disclaimer: propane is explosive and therefore very dangerous! This blog post describes how I went about installing a propane system in my van only. For your safety, you should do your own research when installing a propane system and be sure to have the results inspected for safety by a qualified professional before using it. You can read codes for propane systems in RVs here. There are many ways to add a propane tank to your van build. The simplest approach is to use the the disposable, 1-gallon cylinders which are inexpensive and can be purchased in many places. Others use a small tank that can be refilled such as this 5-gallon capacity tank. These are most often installed in a box inside the van. These storage boxes must be fully sealed and have a vent on the bottom that flows through the floor of the van so that if there are leaks, the propane gas – which sinks because it’s heavier than air – can escape. In my first few builds, I chose to use an RV-style “Horizontal” tank that is ASME-certified and permanently mounted underneath the van. I purchased this replacement tank for Volkwagen Eurovan Winnebago campers that were built between 1995 and 2001 from GoWesty. It’s a 5.9 gallon capacity tank manufactured by Manchester Tank but really only holds about 4.6 gallons. Propane tanks are normally only filled to 80% of their capacity. These horizontal tanks use a special “fill valve” and a “bleeder valve” that is designed to let liquid propane come out when the tank gets to 80% full and signal to the person filling the tank that they should stop filling. There are many of these types of tanks available for RVs but I chose this particular replacement tank because the round tank area is only 8″ in diameter compared to all the other tanks I could find that are 10″ or larger in diameter. This size is important because, even at the smaller size, the tank barely fits where I placed it which is just in front of the rear axle underneath the van. There is an nice opening there that isn’t close to any of the exhaust lines and didn’t interfere with my grey water tank and plumbing which is also located underneath the van on the passenger side. Advantages Since the tank is designed to be mounted underneath the vehicle, any high-pressure leaks are outside the van. All three of the Volkswagen camper vans I owned had these external, horizontal tanks and they always worked great and have been proven safe from years of use in these VW campers and tons of standard RVs. By being outside, it didn’t take up any interior space in my floor plan. This tank includes a fairly accurate gauge that you can “see” (if you crawl up to it under the van) but also connects up to my SeeLevel II tank monitoring system. The other tanks I considered did not have any gauge and the available gauges didn’t have any interface to a centralized tank monitoring system. Despite its location tucked under the van, with the remote fill kit that I added, this tank can be easily filled at any propane filling station without needing to be removed or moved. Start By Wrestling It Into Place The first step was to wrestle this thing into place. Not only is it a tight fit in that cavity under the van but the emergency brake cables are also in the way. I used a jack, blocks of wood and plenty of colorful language getting up there. Then, I marked the the locations for the bolts. There are mounting brackets on both sides of the tank itself. I bolted it into place with heavy-duty galvanized bolts (through the van floor), locking washers and nuts. Below you can see the tank mounted in this location from the front and the rear. Next, I moved onto installing the Nashfuel Remote Fill Kit. This kit replicates the “fill valve” and “bleeder valve” built into the tank itself to a remote location. Often these types of tanks are located on the side of a vehicle van (such as on Volkswagen campers) or inside a compartment on the side of a RV which means that the propane filling station can access the tank, and these valves directly. In my case the remote fill was necessary since nobody is going to crawl under my van to fill the propane tank! The kit comes with all the fittings you need as well as 6 foot long lengths of high-quality hose for the fill and bleeder valve extensions. Essentially you’re using these two hoses (and the various fittings) to extend the valves on the tank to where you want to mount the remote fill. The first step of the installation was to attach the provided fittings to the remote mounting bracket. This kit comes unassembled. In the illustration below you’ll see that on the “back” side of the mounting bracket you need two fittings/adapters to screw into the threads on the bracket itself. This gets you two 1/2″ male flare connections on that “back” side for the hoses. On the “front” side of the bracket you attach the remote fill valve and remote bleeder valve into the threads of the bracket. I used Permatex 80631 Thread Sealant with PTFE to seal all the threads. Honestly, getting all these fittings onto the bracket tightly was the most difficult part of the remote fill kit installation process. Next I had to remove the bleeder valve from the propane tank itself and replace that with an adapter that also has a 1/2″ male flare fitting for the hose that will connect this to the remote bleeder valve. Then I took the plastic cap off the tank’s fill valve and attached up a few fittings from the kit that allow the tank’s fill valve to be connected to the remote fill valve using the second supplied hose. At this point it was time to mount the remote fill bracket. I installed it directly below the fresh water fill and shore power electrical connection on the passenger side of the van at the very bottom of the van wall using rivnuts and two bolts through the provided mounting holes. The paint quality on the metal bracket was poor so I just spray painted it with Black Rust-Oleum. With all the fittings in place, I needed to cut the provided hoses to the correct length and add the flare connectors to hook up the remote valves to the tank itself. This particular kit came with 6′ lengths of hose for both the fill valve and bleeder valve but you can order longer lengths of hose if necessary. The process for installing the flare connections to the hose is pretty well detailed in the kit’s documentation. It was a new experience for me since I have never used that type of connector system. Basically you place part of the fitting into the hose itself and then there is another piece that sort of threads onto this to compress the hose to the fitting. It took me a while to wrap my head around the process but, after completing the first one, the remaining 3x went very fast. Next I connected these hoses from from the tank’s fill and bleeder valve to the same valves on the remote bracket. This was refreshingly simple! To wrap things up I installed this pressure regulator on the outlet of the tank itself. Like most propane appliances, my two devices (Propex heater and cooktop) require pressure-regulated gas. The regulator screws into the tank outlet and I used a 90 degree elbow 3/8″ male NPT to 3/8″ male flare fitting on the regulator’s outlet. From there I used a variety of Marshall 3/8″ flare supply hoses to connect the propane up to the actual appliances. There is only a few feet of this supply line outside the van before it goes up into the van (through a protected PVC sleeve). That exposed section, below the van is protected with a heat shield that protects it from the heat of the exhaust pipes of the van and also protects the hose from rocks and debris. Filling Up The Tank The last step was to fill up the tank! It’s pretty easy to find propane filling stations with Google. I’m always a little bit nervous when I first fill up a brand-new tank/propane system but everything went well. The bleeder valve indicated the tank was full at exactly 4.6 gallons as expected and I drove over to a remote section of the parking lot to check for leaks with a spray bottle of water and dish soap and, of course, my nose. Overall the installation was sound but I did find a very small leak at one of the fittings on the “rear” side of the remote fill bracket that was resolved with a bit of wrenching. Parts & Materials Manchester Tank 5.9 Gallon Capacity This is a replacement tank used on VW Eurovan Campers from 1995-2001. It has a smaller diameter than the other RV style Manchester tanks (8″ versus 10″) which is essential for where I located it underneath the van – just in front of the rear axle. It was quite difficult to wrestle it into that spot and I had to sort of bend the emergency brake cables out of the way but it did fit and is nice and tucked away without affecting the van ground clearance at all. By putting the tank in this location you need a remote fill kit like the one listed below. Since you can’t fill propane tanks up completely, it really only holds 4.6 gallons. Nashfuel Remote Propane Fill Kit with Mounting Bracket Because my propane tank is installed deep underneath the van I needed this “remote fill kit” to be able to fill the tank from the side of the van. The panel is mounted at the bottom of the van body on the drivers side (that side has the water fill and shore power inlets as well). I found it difficult to install this and test for leaks but it does work well and the kit comes with all the parts you need. Manchester Tank G12846 LP Gas Tank Remote 90° OHM Sender This thing is installed onto the tank (above) and sends the tank level to my SeeLevel tank monitoring system. Super handy! Mr. Heater Two Stage Regulator Does the job… I like that this one comes with a plastic cover. Dual Carbon Monoxide and LP Gas Detector/Alarm Great to have this two-in-one unit. It’s installed just front of the galley above the “step/heater cover”. Propane gas “sinks” so you want to install any LP gas detector low to the ground.

Curves: Walls and Ceilings in a Van Where Nothing is Straight

Using a Marine Isotemp 20L Water Heater in Camper Van Conversion

This post details using an marine-style water heater in a camper van conversion. These are small, tank-based water heaters which are connected to the engine coolant lines so that water is heated “automagically” while you’re driving and have an electric heating element as a “backup” for when you’re not driving. Update! We now sell this water heater in our store – either stand alone or with a full installation kit for a Promaster van that includes all the parts and pieces you need plus a detailed installation guide and video. We also sell the Slim versions of the Isotemp water heaters which, as you might guess, are a little slimmer (but longer) and the Square version which is, um, square-ish. They all work the same and the installation is pretty much the same – just different shapes and tank capacities. But, First Some Background In my first Promaster build, I used this on-demand, propane fired water heater. It was installed underneath the refrigerator just behind the main galley area on the driver side of the van. It worked very well but had some drawbacks. On-demand water heaters are triggered to turn “on” when there is adequate flow. So, when you turn on a hot water tap the unit should “sense” this flow of water, fire up, and begin heating water up to the desired temperature (there were three temperature settings on that unit). The problem with this is that you need to turn the water “on” quite a bit – or have a lot of “flow” – in order for it to trigger. In many cases, you just want a little bit of hot water in order to be conservative and maximize the water you have in your tank. For instance, if you’re washing dishes, you don’t need “full flow” just to rinse the dishes. In this type of situation you’d have to use more flow/more water than necessary with an on-demand water heater just to “trigger” the unit to fire up and therefore you basically “waste” water. The other thing I didn’t like is that this “sensing” takes about two seconds. So, you turn on a tap at a high enough flow to trigger the unit and then it takes about two seconds of water flowing (strongly) before it turns on. While this seems minor, it does take a toll on water conservation efforts. Also, if you turn off the water – perhaps while showering to save water (between soaping and rinsing for example) – this startup delay results in cold water flowing in-between these on/off cycles which really isn’t ideal in that situation. I think these on-demand style water heaters are better suited for larger RVs where you have much larger water tanks and hot water demands. It would also be very nice if you spent a lot of time in campgrounds/RV parks where you were connected to a “city water” connection and sewer connection. In that context, the lag in getting the hot water and need for higher flow wouldn’t be an issue and the strength of the on-demand unit – which is continuous/virtually unlimited hot water supply – would be a real benefit with long showers and so forth. We do NOT recommend installing the Isotemp units outside of the vehicle and it would, unfortunately, void the warranty. They are designed to be inside a boat/RV and can be damaged under the van – even with the protection you’re proposing. For winterizing the Isotemp, you really only need a shut-off valve on the cold water supply going into the unit. If you close that and drain the tank with the built-in pressure release/empty valve, that would be enough for winterizing. You could also turn off the coolant line loop valves (shown in green above) for winter but that isn’t necessary since the coolant can still flow through this additional loop – even when the water tank is empty inside the Isotemp. The Upgrade: Isotemp SPA 20L Water Heater After much research, I decided to install an Isotemp SPA 20L in my latest build. This is a 5.3 gallon capacity unit. It’s connected to the Promaster engine coolant lines with one hose supplying the heated coolant and another returning the it back to the engine. In addition, there is a 750 watt (115 volt) electric heating element that can heat the water if you’re not running the engine from an inverter or shore power. When driving, the water heater will heat the water in the tank to 190 degrees or more (up to 160 degrees when using the electric element) which is much hotter than average shower temperatures (110 to 120 degrees Fahrenheit). But, here’s the clever part! The water heater employs a “cold water mixing valve” that allows you to dial in the desired output temperature and works by mixing in unheated water from the cold water supply line. This system vastly increases the actual usable volume of hot water and reduces recovery time. Also, the combination of heating the water to such high temperatures and a very well insulated tank keeps the water in the tank plenty hot for hours after driving. In fact, in my initial testing, the water will stay hot enough to use for up to 12 hours in the warm Florida weather. All of this means that, as long as I’m driving reasonably often, I should only need the electric heating element to raise the “already somewhat warm or hot” water temp up to maximum temperature when stationary. Another benefit of the tank-based water heater (compared to an on-demand option) is that I effectively gain another 5.3 gallons of fresh water since, whenever the water pump is turned on, it keeps the water heater’s tank full as part of pressurizing the system. So, this extends my water capacity from the 33 gallons in the fresh water tank to over 38 gallons. What You’ll Need We sell the water heater with an optional complete installation kit with all the parts you need. Note: RAM sells a “rear heater connection kit” that has some of these parts. But I understand it is expensive and you can just purchase equivalent parts. These are the parts I used on a 2017 RAM Promaster, 159″ WB. If you’re installing into another type of vehicle/van, you’ll likely need other things! 50′ Gates 5/8″ Heater Hose (Safety Stripe 28411). This hose was used for the coolant lines from the engine to the water heater and back. 2x Brass Barb Reducing Tee – 3/4″ x 3/4″ x 5/8″. I used two of these right where I cut into the Promaster’s existing 3/4″ coolant line. So, the two 3/4″ sides reconnect the “cut” in the existing coolant line and add a 5/8″ connection point for the coolant to flow to the water heater and then return to the engine coolant flow. 2x 5/8″ Barb Ball Valves. I used two of these ball valves – one the coolant line that supplies the water heater and the other on the return line. This allows me to completely turn off the coolant flow to the water heater if necessary. 2x Brass 5/8″ Barb to 1/2″ Female NPT FNPT Fittings. I used two of these fittings to connect the 5/8″ coolant hoses to the inlet and outlet of the water heater itself which has 1/2″ threaded connections. Loctite 592, High Temperature Thread Sealant. I used this high-temperature thread sealant on the threaded coolant hose connections to the water heater. 5/8″ Brass Elbow. I ended up only needing one of these – you’ll see it in the illustrations/photos below. The rest of the hose bends were gentle enough curves that the elbows were not necessary. My feeling was the fewer connections the better. Mopar Coolant. You’ll need to add this specific RAM-approved coolant because of the additional length of coolant lines. Permatex 81160 High-Temp Red RTV Silicone. After drilling holes in the van floor for the coolant lines to come up through, I glued in 3/4″ PVC union fittings so that there was a durable, smooth surface for the hose to enter the van through and to protect the hose from any damage. I used this high-temp silicone to seal the gaps. Heat shrink hose clamps (Gates PowerGrip 32925). These are very effective alternatives to standard stainless steal clamps. These are for the 3/4″ and 5/8″ coolant lines that connect to barb fittings. These are often used on high-end race cars and auto restoration and, according to the Gates website they are “engineered with a heat shrinkable tube material that secures hoses more tightly and effectively than traditional metal clamps. The wide clamp construction eliminates damage caused by over-tightening, with a thermoplastic material that’s proven to perform in even the harshest of automotive and heavy duty cooling system applications.” 3x 1/2″ PEX Female Thread Swivel Adapter. I used two of these for connecting the fresh water supply and hot water outlet (using adapter fitting below) to my PEX plumbing. The third one was used for the overflow outlet, but see the notes under Water Lines below for more info about the overflow connection. 1/2″ PEX Tubing. I used white-colored PEX wherever I could for my fresh water plumbing and color-coded the hot water supply lines with red electrical tape. Extra coolant to add to the system – Mopar part number 68163848AB. You might be interested in my post about all the products I used for my build here. Installation To be honest, I was a bit daunted by the installation. I had never cut into coolant lines or done anything with the actual van/engine. But, like most times, the internet came through and I cobbled together the information I needed to tackle the job. I’m writing this post because I didn’t find anything comprehensive – mostly bits of information from various sources that I had to piece together. The first step was to cut into the van’s heater lines near where they go into the “firewall”. If you open up the hood, you’ll see these hoses just to the left of the coolant reservoir. I’ve circled the area in in the photo below. You need to cut both of these. One hose will branch off to supply the water heater with coolant and the other will be the return line. This is a messy process so be prepared for a fair amount of coolant to come out of these hoses. After cutting into the lines, I used the two Brass Barb Reducing Tees (3/4″ x 3/4″ x 5/8″). The two 3/4″ sides of this tee were used to repair the existing 3/4″ coolant line. Then I used a short piece of the 5/8″ heater hose to connect the 5/8″ ball valves onto the remaining 5/8″ side of this tee. These ball valves allow me to completely turn off the coolant flow to and from the water heater which effectively returns the coolant system to the standard, factory design. Next, I ran the 5/8″ heater hose from the output of these ball valves down to the bottom of the engine compartment and all along the driver side of the van to the water heater’s location and eventually up into the van itself. The hose is clamped to the van in many places during this run so that it’s secure. Where the hoses enter the van, I drilled holes through the van floor and glued in 3/4″ PVC “union” fittings. This provides a durable and smooth surface so that the hose is not damaged. Keep in mind that these hoses get VERY hot so be sure to keep them away from anything flammable or that might be damaged by this heat when routing them from the engine compartment to the water heater location. Once inside the van, I used the two Brass 5/8″ Barb to 1/2″ Female NPT FNPT Fittings and the 5/8″ Brass Elbow to connect the coolant lines to the inlet and outlet of the water heater and sealed the gaps with the Permatex 81160 High-Temp Red RTV Silicone. It’s recommended that you use Loctite 592, High Temperature Thread Sealant on the threaded connections. I used the Gates PowerGrip hose clamps on all the 3/4″ and 5/8″ heater hose that connect to barb fittings. In my van, the water heater is located behind a drawer underneath the refrigerator which is just behind the galley area and just front of the bed loft. It’s installed directly onto the subfloor and comes with brackets to mount it to the floor. I used most (about 35′ of the 50′) of heater hose. Coolant Connections Under the Hood of the Promaster Coolant Hose Runs from Engine to Water Heater System Illustration from Manual Testing and Adding Coolant After all the coolant lines were finished up I called the manufacturer to ask if I could run coolant through the unit before there was any water in the tank since, at this point, none of my water lines were in place. They told me that was fine so it was time to test! I made a note of how much coolant was in the reservoir and started up the engine knowing that, with the new 35′ of hose, I’d have to both add some coolant and somehow purge any air that got into the system. When the engine was running, but before the coolant had heated up significantly, I wrapped the area around what I’m calling the “air bleeding valve” with a rag (see this in the illustration above) and “opened” this valve by turning the cap on the top of this mechanism counter-clockwise. As expected, some air and coolant sort of gurgled out. I discovered that it took quite a while for the coolant to make it all the way through the newly added hoses and that it only did so when I started driving slowly. So, I would drive for about two minutes and then let the engine (and coolant) cool down and then check the coolant level in the reservoir and refill as necessary. I also used the “air bleeding valve” a few more times and, each time, less air came out until there was only coolant. I repeated this several times and eventually, I could “feel” the coolant running through the entire length of the newly installed hoses and at the fittings entering and existing the water heater. I ended up adding most of the gallon of coolant that I ordered. Water Lines It took several more weeks of the build process to get around to the actual water lines. I used white 1/2″ PEX for nearly all my fresh water plumbing and color-coded the hot water lines with red electrical tape. You can check out a detailed diagram of my plumbing system here. My goal was to limit the length of the hot water plumbing to the fixtures (sink and show) so that they were as short as possible thus minimizing the time (and water “waste”) it takes for hot water to arrive at the fixtures. The location of the water heater in my build is extremely close to the galley sink I can get hot water at the sink in about two seconds! The shower takes just a few more seconds. The water connections are very straightforward. I used a 1/2″ PEX Female Thread Swivel Adapter on both the fresh water supply and hot water outlet along with standard PEX tubing and connectors to route the hot water lines to the galley faucet and shower mixing valve. As I wrote above in the parts list, all the threaded connections are 1/2″ NPT male except the hot water outlet which is BSP (British Standard Pipe) thread. Note that Isotherm recommends that you use a “single handle” type faucet for effective mixing of hot and cold water. I used this faucet in the galley and this mixing valve in the shower. Update 12/2021 There was some confusion about the BSP threading on the hot water outlet. I wrote to our rep at Indel/Webasto and here’s what I heard back to clear this up. All of the fittings coming off of the water heater should be NPT thread which is used here in the U.S. The mixing valve (hot water outlet), is the one item that is not a standard NPT threaded part and for this reason at the manufacturing level we put on an adaptor. Some product manuals have dated information or some are almost flatly translated from Italian into English or other languages. For that reason we lose the important information that in the U.S. we use NPT and in Europe and elsewhere they use BST. This should be reflected in the corresponding manuals. Everything shipped to the U.S. should have all U.S./NPT fittings coming off of the tank. You’ll also need to connect the built-in pressure relief valve on the water heater to a drain on the exterior of the van. In my installation, I simply used another 1/2″ PEX Female Thread Swivel Adapter and a short length of PEX hose that goes through the van floor. This allows any release of water from the valve (to relive pressure) to run onto the ground. This valve can also be opened manually to drain the tank for winterizing or repairs. Update 4/2025 Some customers have trouble getting a 1/2″ NPT female fitting to seat well on the overflow aka pressure relief valve. According to IsoTemp, this valve is actually 1/2″ tapered BSP, and it is quite difficult to find a fitting that seats well on the shallow overflow valve threads. IsoTemp suggests a simple workaround by clamping braided tubing to the overflow valve instead. Once all the water lines are installed you can let the unit heat up water and adjust the “mixing valve” so that the output temperature is at your preferred temperature. Electrical Connections The electric heating element draws around 750 watts at 115 volts AC. So, you must have either an inverter or shore power to use the electric heating option. The Isotemp unit comes with a standard AC power plug. I wired this switch into the circuit that the water heater is plugged into so that I can leave it plugged in and control it with the switch which has a red LED indicator light when in the “on” position. I wanted this indicator light because I don’t want to leave the unit on unless it’s necessary since it draws a significant amount of power. I positioned this switch just behind the driver’s seat (near the galley) so I can turn it off when driving. I knew that I would forget to turn it off sometimes and want to do so when underway! How It Works I am super happy with this water heater! Since I tend to move a lot/drive a lot, it’s awesome to have essentially “free” hot water. I find that the water in the tank stays plenty warm for long periods of time including overnight most of the time. So, I rarely have to use the electric heating element which is great because it’s a pretty significant 750 watt draw on the inverter when turned on. One thing to be aware of is that, after you heat the water with the engine coolant, if you turn on the electric heating it can sometimes “trip” a built in “high limit thermostat” that is installed to protect the water heater when in electric mode. This can be “reset” with a tiny button near the mixing valve but, by default, it’s located under a plastic cover. So, I drilled a hole in the plastic cover so that if this happens, I can use a pencil or screw driver to reset the thermostat without having to take that cover off. Photo Gallery

Swapping Out A Promaster Passenger Bench Seat For A Standard Swivel Seat

Building a Tiny Shower: A Camper Van Wet Bath

Update May 2021. During the Covid-19 pandemic I got sort of “stuck” at my home in Panama. I was planning on being there for about 5 months and then traveling back to my van that I had left at my dad’s house in Colorado. Long story short, the borders closes, the airport closed, the entire world changed and my van sat there for about 13 months. Hang on, there is a point that has to do with van wet baths… It’s super hot in Colorado during the summers and super cold during the winters. Bad things happened with my wet bath. The plastic material that I used to cover/waterproof the plywood walls bubbled up in many places. My guess is that the heat caused some expansion and for the adhesive to fail. In addition, about 40% of the stick-on tiles had pealed off. It was outrageously cold (defined by me by below 50 degrees Fahrenheit) in February when I first saw all this and I pushed on a sheet of the tiles to put to see if they would stick back and they cracked into pieces like sheets of ice. So, I was very disheartened and realized immediately that I would have to start over on the bathroom finish. While ugly, everything worked in the web bath so I waited until I arrived in Florida so do the work. I document the “remodel” below in the post and you can skip to it here. Don’t want to bother with a dedicated wet bath or take up the space in your build? Check out this other post about the Tetravan folding shower system. One of my favorite features of my Promaster conversion camper (Miles Van Camper) is the wet bath with a shower and toilet. For many people this is just wasted space and they prefer using showers at campgrounds or having a gym membership for showering. For others having some sort of toilet than can be tucked away under a bench when not in use is plenty and others can’t imagine using a toilet in a van at all and prefer to use bathrooms “wherever” they are since they are so plentiful. For us, a hot water shower and a toilet in the van is a necessity. I hate the idea of having to leave the van to take a leak – particularly in the middle of the night. Also, my (amazing) girlfriend has the world’s tiniest bladder and needs to pee all the time (many times a night), so she wouldn’t even consider not having a toilet. It’s also worth thinking about the logistics of using a stowed away loo. When you pull it out do you really want to be in “out there” doing your business with no privacy? Putting the toilet into a wet bath gets around this concern as well. In any case, one of the best things about building a DIY camper van is that you can design it for your personal preferences and how you’ll be using it! Maybe You’re More of a Folding Shower Kind of Person? Some people feel like a dedicated shower/bath takes up too much precious space. I love the luxury of having it. the great thing about DIY van conversions is you can design them to your preferences! One clever approach to a compromise is Tetravan’s folding shower system that we sell in our store. Check ’em out. Before I get into how I built my wet bath, I’ll point out that I have a list of all the parts I used on my build outside of things you can easily get at any hardware store. You might also be interested in another post that details all my plumbing including a PDF diagram. Shower Pan I started by building a frame that the 32″ long by 24″ wide shower pan sits on. The frame itself is slightly longer (33-1/4) to allow the walls to fit into a “gap” that goes below the shower pan (see illustration below). I wanted the “Hepvo trap” that I used on the shower drain to be inside the van instead of underneath it. This special kind of trap provides the utility of a traditional “p-trap” – preventing odors from escaping from the grey tank – but can be installed horizontally to save space and also has a mechanism that prevents water from the tank from back flowing into the shower pan. If needed, I can access this trap/plumbing by pulling off a “panel” covering front of this shower pan frame. You can see how the frame is elevated off the van floor a bit as well as the access from the front in the photos below. Elevating the shower pan in this way also enables you to determine where exactly you want the drain line to go through the van floor. Often there are obstacles below the van floor right where your drain would be – things like metal framing, exhaust lines and so on. I wanted the shower pan as low to the floor as possible (while still being elevated) so that I didn’t diminish the available standing room in the shower. So, I put this frame directly onto the van floor versus on top of the plywood subfloor. Therefore the subfloor sort of goes around this frame. Every 3/4″ of an inch matters in a van! I also used Noico noise deadener below the shower pan. Note: the photos below are from my first build. The frame is pretty much identical in my later builds (Miles 2 and Miles v3) but the plumbing is different and detailed in this post. Shower Pan & Walls Illustration Constructing The Bathroom The wet bath “room” is made of three walls: 1) front – facing the cab, 2) rear – facing the rear doors and 3) the back wall – the one up against the passenger side of the van in my layout. The door to the opening (forth “wall”) is a”disappearing” and self-cleaning Nautilus shower door. The construction process begins with the “back” wall that is up against the passenger side of the van (behind the slider door). This area of the van is very complicated with many contours and curves. So, the first step is to “even out” this space by using a bunch of wood framing. There is a photo that illustrates this below. The goal is to create a frame that is essentially “straight” for about the first threw quarters of the wall and then curves inward toward as it meets the ceiling. Once this “framing” was completed, I cut a piece of 1/4″ plywood to be used for this back wall and screwed into into the wood framing. The 1/4″ plywood was flexible enough to conform to the curve of the van but sturdy enough to feel solid. Next, I glued 1/16″ white plastic material to the back wall’s plywood using FRP adhesive. I have included a photo of the label of this material below – it’s called “Plas-Tex waterproof wall panel” and is made by Parkland Plastics. I bought it at the Home Depot. It’s thinner than standard FRP and less glossy as well. Just a reminder here that this all failed and had to be redone – more on that at the bottom of this post. The forward and rear walls are framed with 2″ x 4″ and 2″ x 2″ lumber. The vertical framing is attached to the van floor and upper metal “ribs” on the van with metal angle brackets and is also screwed into the shower pan frame. The horizontal framing is fastened to the vertical pieces in several places. This created a 2″ cavity in the walls which was necessary on the front wall for electrical wiring/boxes and the panels for the battery monitor, inverter and tank monitors. On the rear wall, the cavity is used for the hot and cold water lines and shower valve. Next I attach 1/2″ plywood to the front and rear walls. These walls are “straight” on the side facing the opening/door and curve to meet the “back” wall on the other side. The plywood exends down into the “gap” between the wall’s framing and the shower pan itself (see shower pan illustration above). Then, the same 1/16″ white plastic material was glued onto these plywood walls and also goes “below” the shower pan into the “gap”. Once all the walls and plastic material is installed covering the plywood walls, I caulk all the gaps and seams between the walls with white Loctite Polyseamseal. Eventually, the door is installed according to the instructions they provide. That is a simple process but I do recommend using silicone caulking as adhesive on the “cassette” side of the door. It comes with some double-sided tape to hold it up but, in a camper van, I would recommend something more durable. The silicone provides enough adhesive power while also allowing removal if necessary to repair or replace in the future. Accessories In my wet bath I have a mirror and bar soap holder on the front wall and the shower mixing valve, shower head and a soap/shampoo dispenser are on the rear wall. The back wall incorporates a waterproof toilet paper holder. At this point, the wet bath/shower looks something like this: In my latest build, I decided to go one step further and enhance the style with some stick-on tiles. These brighten up the space and I think they look great! However, they are not waterproof which is why it’s important to use the plastic sheeting and make the shower water tight before adding the tiles. The stick-on tiles are somewhat translucent and quite thin. So, the white plastic and the smooth surface of the plastic really helps the finished look of the stick-on tiles. Just a reminder here that this all failed and had to be redone – more on that at the bottom of this post. After about 6 months, one of the “sheets” of tiles started falling off. I suspect that I didn’t get that section of the plastic backing clean enough in that spot when I was installing that particular sheet. I repaired this by removing that sheet, cleaning the plastic behind it with denatured alcohol and then replacing that sheet with a new one. I have heard from others that, if you coat the entire walls (all the sheets of stick-on tiles) with polyurethane this helps them stay “stuck”. I have not tried this and I would want to test it on a spare, single sheet to see what it looks like but thought this tip might be helpful to others who are using the stick-on tiles. Below are some photos of the installation and the finished shower walls with the tiles. The Toilet The toilet I used is a Thetford Curve cassette toilet. I utilized the mounting plate that is sold specifically for that purpose. The plate is secured to the shower pan (as far back toward the rear as possible to make room for standing in front when showering) using stainless steel screws. The toilet latches into the mounting plate and can be easily removed from the wet bath area to make more space or to empty. Our experience with this cassette toilet has been very positive. The primary benefit of a “cassette” toilet is that it eliminates the need for a “black tank” that normally stores sewage waste. This is typically separate from your “grey tank” which stores waste water from the sink/showers, etc. in an RV. Black tanks are typically drained with what is often referred to as a “stinky slinky” – a 3″ sewer hose you connect from your rig’s black tank to a sewer line at an RV park or campground when emptying your tanks. This is no fun. In contrast, a cassette toilet uses a removable “cassette” as the black tank. On my particular toilet, the top portion is a fresh water tank has water for flushing (there’s an electric pump that dispenses water around the toilet bowel when needed) and the bottom portion is the “cassette” or the tank that holds the waste. When it’s full (there’s an indicator on the front), you simply pull of the “top” water tank, set it aside, and then detach the bottom (cassette) to empty directly into whatever you’re dumping into. This eliminate the “stinky slinky” and is considerably more flexible. Not only can you you can dump into a standard sewer, but you can also use things like a porta-pot or even a standard toilet at a gas station. To be fair, dumping the cassette is no fun either, but, in my opinion, it’s considerably better than dealing with a black tank. We’ve used this toilet extensively for both “number one” and “number two” and, as long as we use the right chemicals and leave a little fresh water from the flushing mechanism over the top of the “flap” that opens and closes to let whatever waste is in the bowl down into the tank, we don’t ever smell the tank! Also in the wet bath is a soap dispenser hanging on the wall and a small mirror with a shelf on the front wall onto which the toilet paper hanger is mounted. The Remodel I wrote about what happened to my wet bath walls while the van sat through the Covid-19 pandemic. Here’s what I did to fix it up! First, I pulled the stick-on tiles off. This was really easy actually because the adhesive was garbage and they were already falling off. Right into the trash they went. Then I had to get the original plastic sheeting off which took considerably more effort! What ended up working the best was using a razor blade and make vertical “slices” from top to bottom about 6-8 inches apart from each other. Then I used a heat gun to heat up the plastic/adhesive and a metal scraper blade to get a small section of the plastic off the plywood. Once I had something to grab onto, I could use the heat gun to heat up/loosen the adhesive for about 3-4 inches at a time and peel it off. This seemed to take forever but I did get it all removed. After doing quite a bit of research and checking out what other van builders had used in their wet baths, I ended up using “standard” FRP sheets (.9″ thick) on the plywood. I cut them to shape using a jig saw using a fine-tooth blade and glued them into place with FRP Adhesive which I applied very liberally! In addition to being a bit thicker than the original plastic that failed, the FRP is much “sturdier”. I actually like the look of the remodel better than I thought I would. This work was done in May of 2021 and it’s about to undergo the “Florida Summer Test” where the van roasts over the course of the Florida summer. I’m really hoping it doesn’t bubble up and stays up in place. If it can survive the “Florida Summer Test”, I think it’s going to hold up well in general. I will definitely update this post once I know how things turn out! Update May 2024: the FRP has survived many summers in Florida with no problems at all! Below are some photos of the “remodel” and the new FRP installation.

Camper Van Plumbing and Grey Water Tank

Miles Van Camper has an extensive plumbing system with both hot and cold water supplying a galley/kitchen sink, a wet bath/shower and an outdoor shower fixture that is accessed off the back doors. Note: there is a photo gallery of the plumbing system at the bottom of this post! Download my detailed plumbing diagram (PDF). Checkout all the parts I used on the build (outside of basic hardware store items). Overview Miles Van Camper has a 33 gallon fresh water tank that is mounted on the floor adjacent to the driver side wheel well. There is another 5.3 gallons of fresh water that is essentially “stored” in the water heater tank for a total of around 38 gallons on board. Below the van, on the passenger side between the front and rear axles, is a 35 gallon grey water storage tank. The design of this tank is very long but “short” so it fits in this space without being too “low”. On Promaster vans, the rear axle effectively determines the ground clearance and my goal was to not have anything underneath the van hanging below this point. So, this grey tank and the propane tank on the driver side ended up being at approximately the same level as the rear axle. On the driver side of the van there is a locking panel that has both a pressurized city-water connection and a gravity-fed fresh water tube that is used to fill up the tank. When city water is connected (a hose from a campsite, etc.) the water lines inside the van are pressurized from that city water connection. Otherwise (most of the time), the water lines are pressurized with a pump which pulls water from the fresh tank (at the bottom) and pumps in into/builds pressure with accumulator tank that is installed just downstream from the pump. The accumulator tank ensures that the pressure is “even” to the various places it’s used (galley faucet, shower, etc.). There is a fresh water gravity drain valve underneath of driver side of the van near the rear bumper that can be used to drain the fresh water tank when it’s not in use. All the water lines are inside the van except for the few feet of drain lines underneath the van to assist in all-weather camping. The van also features a full “wet bath” with a shower and cassette toilet that I detailed in this other post. There is also “outdoor” shower that is accessed from the back doors that can be used outside. Hot Water! I used Isotemp Spa 20L water heater which can heat the water using the van engine coolant or an electric element if you’re not driving. Once heated, the water in the tank stays warm for a day or longer depending on ambient temperatures. The water heater is installed underneath the refrigerator which is very close to the galley faucet so you can get hot water there quickly without running the tap for long. I love this water heater solution for vans and I wrote an blog post about it and how to install it including hooking it up to the van’s coolant lines. Drains & Grey Tank The galley sink uses a small, RV-style trap under the sink. Water exits the trap and runs through a flexible 3/4″ hose to the grey water tank underneath the van. The shower drains into a special, 1-1/2″ Hepvo trap. This device provides the functionality of a standard “p-trap”, but takes up less space under the shower pan because it can be installed “horizontally”. It also prevents grey water from back flowing “up” into the shower. The trap is connected to the grey water tank using a combination of 1-1/2″ PVC and flexible PVC. In order for your drains to work properly and for the grey tank to empty quickly, you need to have a vent line that lets air in or escape if the tank is being filled or emptied. In my latest build, the vent line actually tees off the shower drain underneath the shower pan. This provides venting for both that drain and the grey tank itself. This vent line uses standard (rigid) 1-1/2″ PVC to extend past the shower area to the rear of the van and then goes “up” vertically toward the ceiling a few feet. At this point, where the height is sufficient to prevent any water from being in the vent line, I transition to flexible 1-1/2″ hose which continues over to the passenger rear side panel and vents through a hole in the van that is protected by a plastic vent cover. The grey tank has a 3″ outlet with gate valve that connects to a standard RV sewer hose for draining at a dump station or campground. I store my sewer hose in this handy storage tube which is attached to my hitch-mounted cargo/bike carrier. Here’s an illustration of the shower drain and vent line plumbing: Installing The Grey Water Tank The 35 gallon grey water tank is installed underneath the van on the passenger side. It spans from just behind the muffler in the front back to the jacking point just in front of the rear tire in the back. The tank has “rails” on each of the long sides molded into the plastic. I used heavy duty angle iron bolted up through the van floor to hold the tank with these rails. The 4x bolts that attach to each corner of angle iron/tank rails go through the van floor and they are installed before the floor insulation and plywood sub floor. I use extra large washers on the bolt heads to help distribute the weight of the tank/grey water against the sheet metal of the van floor. There are also three “u-channel” supports that go “across” the tank, perpendicular to the primary supports. These are bolted into the angle iron and support the bottom of the tank as it fills up with grey water. All of the metal and drain lines are painted black. Getting this tank into place and “fabricating” all the supports is a difficult process. Using a jack and a piece of plywood helps to lift the tank into place but it’s oddly shaped and not very rigid so it’s pretty tricky. I installed a large 12 volt DC heating pad on the outlet side of the grey tank. These are thermostatically controlled and designed to turn on at 45 degrees (Fahrenheit) and off at 68 degrees so that the water in the tank does not freeze. I also used two of these smaller pads, designed for drain lines on the sink drain line which is exposed, underneath the van as it travels across to the grey tank. All of the these heat pads are on a switch so that I can leave the system off unless I’m in a cold climate. Below are some photos of the grey water tank including the drain lines and heating pads. Download my detailed plumbing diagram (PDF). Checkout all the parts I used on the build (outside of basic hardware store items).

Using IKEA Cabinets in a Custom Van Camper Build

I decided early into my planning that I was going to use IKEA cabinets in my camper van conversion. See photo gallery of the finished galley and the process at the bottom of the post What I Like About IKEA I love the modern style of IKEA cabinets and that aesthetic was exactly what I was shooting for. I was also keen on using all the IKEA organizing products that are designed specifically for their kitchens: drawer organizers that fit perfectly and maximize the space, waste bins that are the right size, storage bins that stack, and so on. In a small space this efficiency would have a big impact. I also knew that the fit and finish of these cabinets would be better than would I could accomplish myself with my tools. I’m a perfectly capable woodworker/carpenter and did plenty of carpentry for the rest of the van but, the “look” and overall finish quality of everything in the van was big priority for me. Also, it would save a ton of time. Instead of building from scratch, I would assemble the pieces and drop them into place so that I could focus on the other ten billion projects that building a tiny home on wheels requires. Of course, I also knew that there were some drawbacks and limitations to IKEA cabinets which I’ll address… What About Durability? I’ll start with this first question that most people have about IKEA cabinets in general and in this context in particular. I actually have a fair amount of experience with these cabinets and their durability and quality in somewhat extreme conditions. About 11 years ago, I was building a house in the mountains of Panama and considered using IKEA cabinets for this house. People immediately told me I was crazy. That’s a fact that’s well established! But, was this idea crazy? I was told how they were built from “particle board” and would “fall apart” in the tropical rain forest environment where it’s often 90% (or higher) humidity and nobody uses air conditioning to dry things out. You’re essentially living in a cloud sometimes. so the cabinets would grow mold and be ruined while fasteners rusted away. All these seemed like reasonable concerns but, long story short, I ended up finding another expat couple in a nearby town (same climate) who shipped IKEA cabinets down to Panama and installed them in their house about three years earlier. They were kind enough to offer a visit and had nothing but good things to say about the cabinets. I checked them out myself – looking closely for damage or “swelling” of the cabinet frames caused by the extreme humidity or for mold or other issues but everything checked out fine and they looked awesome. So, another even longer story shortened, I ended up installing them into my house and they’ve held up great. Here’s a picture of the kitchen after 11 years that I took two months ago (April of 2018). I also used IKEA cabinets in my house in Florida which is a considerably less extreme place and, of course, they’re done just fine thank-you-very-much. How They’re Made These IKEA cabinets are constructed of “boxes” made of MDF that are laminated with a melamine foil. When you put your kitchen/galley together you build these boxes/frames and then place drawers and doors in/on them. The door and drawer fronts are made from a variety of materials depending on the style you choose (link to their 2018 kitchen cabinets catalog). They also utilize great hardware like Blum “soft close” drawer slides. Simplified Repairs Because of the modular way these cabinets are designed you can actually change out just the drawer and door “fronts” at any time with another style if you want to change the look of your kitchen. I didn’t realize how big of an advantage this was until shortly after I built my first van and came to a hard stop on the highway. I used had used “grabber latches” on the drawers under the bed area (more on those below), but they clearly were not strong enough and one of the drawers flew out landing hard against the floor. The drawer slide itself was broken from the force and the door front was smashed up too. After the adrenaline and anger dissipated, I realized that I could simply visit the nearest IKEA store and get a new drawer and “front” which is what I did the next day. I was able to make that repair in less than a half hour in the parking lot with only a screwdriver. If this was a custom built drawer that repair would have been impossible and that situation a much bigger bummer. Making Them Work In A Van There are some important things I did to minimize the limitations of these IKEA cabinets in a camper van context. When building the cabinet boxes/frames, I used a heavy-duty construction adhesive at all the joints in addition to the provided hardware. This should make those connections more durable and reliant if the hardware fails due to the constant vibration of driving. In my experience using these cabinets in the rainforest of Panama, I knew that the melamine foil that covers the cabinet boxes prevented moisture damage/swelling – even in such a high humidity environment. But, if that foil was damaged and the bare MDF was exposed, it would fail. So, I took the time to apply several coats of paint to any exposed MDF areas – notably on the backs and bottoms of the boxes where there was no melamine foil in order to protect these areas from moisture damage. I had to trim some areas of the cabinet boxes/frames to match the contour of the van walls where the backs met the body. I didn’t put any wall paneling up behind the cabinets so that they could be positioned as far back against the van wall as possible (note: these were also painted to resist moisture). I didn’t use the the IKEA “rail system” that you would normally in a stationary home for installing the cabinets. Same goes for the standard plastic “legs” you would normally use underneath the boxes/frames to adjust how far off the floor they stand and to be used to attach the kick plate/plinth. Instead, I made 2×4″ “rails” which are fastened to the van subfloor and then screwed each of the cabinet boxes to these rails in several places. I also fastened angle brackets in the upper back corners of the cabinet boxes which are screwed into the van body. These strong connection points to the van itself ensure that the boxes are firmly in place and make them considerably more rigid. Finally, I screwed each cabinet box to each other for even more strength. With all these attachment points to structural elements, the cabinets couldn’t be budged. I had to add latches to keep the doors and drawers shut when driving – see below for more info on that. I also used IKEA “cover panels” in a few places. These are panels they sell that are designed to literally cover the sides of exposed cabinets. For example, if you have a row of cabinets and the last one in that row is “seen” (not up against a wall/etc.) then you would use a cover panel to cover up the exposed side of that cabinet box/frame with the same material/finish as the rest of the cabinets. As an example, I used a cover panel designed for a “tall/pantry” cabinet as the front wall of the bath/shower that you see directly adjacent to the sliding door so that this finish matched the galley cabinets. I also used cover panels to craft my own doors/drawers in places like underneath the refrigerator that houses the hot water heater so they matched as well. One additional note, unlike most IKEA items, you don’t go to the store and just pick them up yourself in the warehouse are of the store. Instead, you actually have to go to the kitchen department in the showroom and place an order with an kitchen specialist and pay for that order. Then, they “pick” the items for you. You hand them your order and they give you a cart (or many carts) full of flat-packed goodness. Grabber Latches: Keeping Drawers/Doors Closed When Driving Note: this section of the post was updated in February of 2019 to reflect my latest build. So, latches are very important. Since IKEA cabinets are normally installed into stationary homes, they don’t have any latching mechanisms and while the “soft close” drawers so have some resistance when pulling to open, they DO need proper latches to keep doors and drawers closed while driving. After much experimentation in my first, and now my second build. I ended up using grabber latches for most of the drawers and doors. I actually used a few of these on my first build as well but placed them in the “typical” location – up front where the door or drawer front meets the cabinet frame. However, in this location, these type of latches were too big (tall) for the shorter drawers and I needed a different type of latch. I ended up using “roller latches” on those which worked fine. In my second/current build, I decided to move the latches to the rear of the cabinet for drawers. This eliminated to “too short” problem and, because the latch is now centered in the span of the drawer width, the pull is a bit more even compared to the latch being installed in the front on either the left or right side. This required that I add some simple wood framing to the base cabinets so that the “receiver” part of the grabber latch would have something to be fastened into at the right spot. I used these 5lb “pull force” latches on the smaller drawers and these 10lb “pull force” latches on the larger drawers and the one door in the middle of the galley span. Below are some photos detailing this installation. This shows the simple framing that I added to rear of the base cabinet. This photo shows the “receiver” part of the latches installed on the vertical framing at the back of the cabinet. One of them is circled in red. This shows the other part of the latch installed on the back of a drawer. Push-Button Latches For the three drawers that are located underneath the bed, I wanted a “positive latch” since the position of these drawers make them most susceptible to coming out under the force of hard braking, etc. So, on those drawers I used these “push button” latches. With these latches the “tongue” is actually physically behind the “catch” when closed (pushed in) and then drops down when open and the “button” of the latch becomes a handle for opening the drawer. Unfortunately, IKEA cabinets don’t have any place to put the “catch” – there is no horizontal support between drawers. The base boxes/frames are designed to hold innumerable combinations of drawers and drawers of all sizes and therefore, when you assemble those doors/drawers into the boxes you just put the hinges/drawer slides into the right pre-drilled holes. So, I had to add a horizontal support at the correct place for each of these 3x drawers in order to install the push button latches. IKEA Cabinet Pros Style, fit and finish. They look awesome and frankly, nicer than what most of us DIY’ers can accomplish on our own. You can see some photos of the finished result in the gallery below. High-quality hinges and drawer slide hardware is included which provides soft close and smooth functionality. Many issues can be repaired on the road if necessary by visiting the nearest IKEA store for a replacement part vs. needing a shot/tools to fix a custom cabinet. Time savings: you don’t have to build these from scratch. If you don’t have carpentry skills, you can use these and still end up with great looking cabinets. It’s easy to pull IKEA drawers “out” off their rails – you just pull them out and make a certain kind of pull upward on the drawer and it comes right off. The doors come off their hinges too with a small “latch” on the hinge. This is super handy when you need to get to things for repairs, to retrieve things that have fallen behind the drawers or for cleaning. There is a photo of this in the gallery below. IKEA Cabinet Cons The MDF material that the cabinet boxes are built with is heavy; heavier than plywood. I took this into consideration when planning the van and balancing the weight of all the components across the various axles/sides of the van. Ultimately, these are cargo vans and have enormous capacity. Even with this heavier material (and all the other stuff) I didn’t have a problem going over weight. If the MDF gets wet it’s game over. Unlike plywood which is more resilient to water damage, if these cabinets get flooded or really wet they’re toast. This is something that I just accept. However, if a cabinet gets ruined, I can replace it in a very modular way. You’re “limited” to the range of cabinet sizes that they offer. All the “base” (not upper) cabinets are 24″ deep and come in a variety of widths including 15″, 18″, 24″ and 30″. So, depending on your floor plan/design, this could be a limitation. Needing to modify the cabinets with a horizontal support between drawers if using push push button latches like these (more details on that above). At the end of the day, I’m very happy with the outcome and I’d use them again! What I Used & How It Works IKEA calls their kitchen cabinets Sektion. They sell a huge variety of individual cabinet configurations which are organized into three categories. Their “base” cabinets are installed on the floor and normally normally covered with a counter. Their “wall” cabinets are normally hung on the wall above the counter. Finally, their “high” cabinets are tall and span from the floor to the top of the “wall” cabinets for use as pantries or similar. I used entirely “base” cabinets. The “base” cabinets come in a wide variety of widths. Depending on the particular cabinet model, it may be offered in 15″, 18″, 24″, 30″ or 36″ versions. All of these “base” cabinets are available in the standard 24″ depth used in stationary houses. Some also come in 15″ depth as well. There are tons of various types/models of “base” cabinets. Some have only doors. Others only have drawers. Others have drawers with hidden drawers inside. There are more options that you would imagine! However, they’re all built on the same foundational “boxes”. For example, if you had two 24″ wide and 24″ deep “base” cabinets in your design – one with one door and another with 4x drawers – the actual 24″ “box” for both would be identical. Then you would distinguish them (build them out) with the components included with that model. One would come with a single door (and hinge hardware) and the other would come with the four “modular” drawers (and slider hardware) which are installed into the “box”. Here’s a link to a recent (when this post was written) IKEA Sektion Buying Guide/Catalog. Once the “boxes” are built and the specific components that make that cabinet installed (drawers, doors, etc.), you apply what IKEA calls a door or drawer “front”. So, in the case of a cabinet with a door, you’d have one “door front” that attaches to the front of the “box” with it’s supplied hinges. Or, in the case of drawers, each drawer would have it’s own “drawer front”. This allows all the modular components and the staggering array of cabinet configurations to be “styled” with whatever “front” style you prefer. Even more clever, you can change out the “style” of an entire kitchen (or galley) very quickly and reasonably affordably by simply taking off the old door/drawer fronts and replacing them with a different style/look (new door/drawer fronts) while re-using all the of the existing structure (boxes). If you take a look at the buying guide, you’ll see that the first many pages show the various door/drawer styles – everything from dark wood tones to pure white is available. Toward the end of the buying guide is a detailed overview of all the cabinet models, the sizes that model is available in and the cost for each with the various “fronts”. So, when you purchase IKEA cabinets, you need to specify the cabinet “model” itself (it’s unique combination of drawers, doors, etc.), what size you want (in width and depth) and what door/drawer type you wish to use with that cabinet. Ultimately, this results in a whole pile of flat-packed goodness that you get to assemble into the final cabinet! It’s all a bit confusing which is probably why you must order any kitchen cabinets from an IKEA kitchen representative in their kitchen department. You don’t just pick up a box from the “warehouse” part of the store like you would for most of their products. I’ve found the kitchen folks very helpful. Below is a table of all the cabinets I used in my van. All of the door/drawer fronts are the “Veddinge” style. Location Model Dimensions Galley Rear B4E (4x drawers) Width: 15″, Depth: 24″ Galley Middle B1D (1x door with shelves inside) Width: 18″, Depth: 24″ Galley Front B4E (4x drawers) Width: 15″, Depth: 24″ Clothes Storage Under Bed Loft B3EE1I (3x drawers with 1x inner drawer on top) Width: 18″, Depth: 24″ Rear Door Gear Storage Under Bed Loft BS3EE (3x drawers) Width: 30″, Depth: 15″

Recommended Products for a DIY Camper Van - What I Used

Why I Picked the Promaster for my Camper Van Conversion

I’m often asked why I chose the RAM Promaster over the Ford Transit or the Mercedes Sprinter for my camper van. I drove them all and researched this question extensively. Ultimately, all of these vans are fantastic and there are aspects of all of them that I like but I’ll break down why I chose the Promaster despite its horrible name. I really don’t like the name. But, here’s why I love the van. If you’re considering a diesel Sprinter van, definitely read through this Instagram post. George from Humble Road has a great video comparing the Sprinter to the Promaster. Spoiler alert: he would choose a Promaster for himself. How it drives. The Promaster is the only of these three choices that has front wheel drive and I like the way it drives, handles and parks. Width.The Promaster is also the only of these three that is wide enough across (on the passenger to driver side dimension) to fit a standard full-size bed that way versus needing to either cut down the length of the mattress or position it lengthwise (rear to front). This is a significant space saver in my layout. Ducato history. Even thought the Promaster is pretty new to North America it’s really just a re-badged Fiat Ducato which has a long history in Europe so the platform has been road tested for years. It’s also the number one base for camper conversions in Europe where there are a lot more suitable van choices. I like the way it looks. This one is simple, I just prefer the look of the Promaster the best. I especially like the front profile of the van. Somehow it reminds me of the “smile” shape that I would see in the front profile of my old Volkswagen campers. The Sprinter is nice too but I don’t like the look of the Transit. Sorry. Value. The cost of a Promaster is lower than the other vans – particularly the Sprinter. In addition, getting parts and service is easier and less expensive at the RAM/Dodge dealerships than the Mercedes dealerships. Which Promaster Model To Get For A DIY Camper Conversion? After I settled on the Promaster, I had to decide which version of it to use for this conversion. I had already decided that I wanted a new or nearly new van – since I was going to invest a ton of money and time into the build out, I wanted to be sure that there was plenty of life and a solid warranty on the van itself! The Promaster comes in three “wheelbases” – there’s a 118″ wheelbase, a 136″ wheelbase and the 159″ wheelbase. But that’s just the distance between the wheels. The actual total length of the 118″ wheelbase van is 195″ (16.25 feet), the 136″ wheelbase model is 213″ (17.35 feet) and the total length of the “standard” 159″ wheelbase is 236″ (19.6 feet). Then there is an “extended version” of the 159″ wheelbase (EXT) which is 250″ long (20.83″). This is all illustrated in the image below. Then there is the various suspensions which refer to the payload capacity of the vans and how beefy their suspensions are. These are referred to the same way as RAM trucks; 1500 (GVWR of 8500 pounds), 2500 (GVWR of 8900 pounds) and the 3500 (GVWR of 9350 pounds). Importantly, the “extended version” of the 159″ wheel base is only available on the 3500 versions of the van and seems to cost about $3000 more for that additional 14″ of length. You also have to consider if you want the “low roof” or the “high roof” version of the Promaster. Each of the wheelbases/suspensions are available with the high roof except the smallest, 118″ wheelbase van. I think that the high roof is much better for a camper van that you’re going to be living in and also gives you the ability to elevate your bed/loft in a way that gives you space below the bed and adequate space for the bed area as well. I built my van, Miles Van Camper, on the high roof version of the 159″ wheelbase with the 2500 suspension. While the extra 14″ inches of the “extended” version would have been nice, my design allowed me to fit everything I wanted into the standard 159″. It’s also easier to drive and fits perfectly into standard parking spaces! I also chose the gasoline engine over the diesel option. I would definitely recommend making sure the van you buy has the backup camera and cruise control which, believe it or not, is an “option” My Experience with the Promaster I’ll just start this off with a hearty knocking on wood. I’ve had great experience with the Promaster. If find it comfortable to drive, it has plenty of power and seems to ride better the more stuff you put in it and the heavier it is! It’s remarkably agile for such a large vehicle. The only issue I’ve had was a faulty airbag sensor that happened right after I purchased it. That took a few trips to the dealer to figure out but was not a major issue. There is a “feature” that I don’t love but I presume the engineers are smarter than me. When you’re driving downhill on grades or passes the van engages to provide some additional slowing/braking power. I wish that could be turned off sometimes. The stock speakers are lousy but that’s the case for all cars I think so I did upgrade them. So, overall, I’ve very pleased and hope that it holds up and continues to be awesome and reliable! Other Resources This is a handy comparison page for the different versions of the Promaster on RAM’s site Sportsmobile has a really great page that details the dimensions of the Promaster, Sprinter and Transit vans here on their site. I made a PDF template document for planning the interior layout of a Promaster 2500 (either the standard 159″ wheelbase or the extended version). It’s designed to scale such that one inch in the document is one foot in the van. I used Adobe Illustrator to plan my layout because I come from a design/video/web background rather than a engineering background. So, if you open this document up in Adobe Illustrator you can use this “one inch to one foot scale”. Otherwise, there is a visible “grid” where each cell in the grid is equal to one foot. Download this Promaster Layout template here. I also have a detailed electrical plan/diagram for my camper van here in PDF format. When it comes to finding a van to buy, I found CarGurus way better than the other options like Craigslist, AutoTrader, etc. I wrote a blog post that details all the parts I used for my build outside of what you can find at any hardware store. Great video comparing the Sprinter to the Promaster including a bunch of dimensions. Our store!