Step 5 : Electricity & Dressing

8 August 2017 4 Comments

Step 5 : Electricity & Dressing

To finalize our small van, we had to proceed to additional storages installation, especially for all that concerns the clothes part. Therefore, in addition to our two storage bins, placed under the bed, we created new supports. As we could not install proper shelves, we opted for elastic nets that we made by ourselves with the help of molly bolts and an elastic cord. Molly bolts take their anchors on the “false ceiling” of the van, between the car body and the carpet, and then we placed our cord to form a kind of net.

Take about the string tension, the elastic has to be stiff enough to hold the stuff.

We also bought two small baskets that we hung with carabiners on an iron bar previously fixed on the interior body of the van. Two nets and a basket per person, that will be our dressing room during our trip.

As a bonus and to give us a little more comfort, we decided to proceed to a secondary batttery installation, in order to use the electricity in our small mobile home. To do so, we went in a junkyard to buy a “second hand” battery identical to the first one. Then we bought a converter 12 / 220V in 1200W, enough powerful to load our computers and telephones at the same time, then a relay kit to be able to install everything without problem.
We made the electrical installation by ourselves, simply following the schema provided in the “second battery” relay kit . The relay allows the secondary battery to be charged only once the main battery is full, and it also secures the main battery when we use the secondary battery when we are stopped, so that we can not draw electricity from the main battery.

Installing this electrical circuit without a relay or a switch can result in the risk of emptying the main battery and not being able to start the vehicle.

Now, on your way to new adventures!

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