WVvan
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Some LEDs arrived in today's mail. A quick mock-up.
This will not be the next project I do but it is now officially in the stack.
If I could just get the stack to shrink a little.
Open the pod bay doors Hal.
Once I exit Hal, this is what I do.
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WVvan
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Kitchen Cabinet, Post 1
This is one of those project where I'm starting to write about it before it's finished. Hopefully I can keep the build ahead of the documentation. I'm calling this project simply the Kitchen Cabinet but there's more to it than that. Having an electric pump based running water system was always in my mind for inclusion in the van. Came up with a myriad of possible designs but settled on a mostly self-contained system where I'd fit as much as I could into a single cabinet.
First off have to figure out the size of the cabinet. Start with the fresh water supply. I'll be using two 5 gallon plastic jerry cans. You can see one of them in this picture. These are the same ones used by the US Military. They even have "Property of US Government" molded into the side. Bought the cans from LCI.(link). They are currently around $25 each.
If you look to the left in the above photo you can see a 2-1/2 gallon red plastic fuel can. I've been car camping for years and the red can has been my main water carrier. One of the first things I do after getting back from a camping trip is to take the water can and dump whatever is left in it into the washing machine then dry out the can. It's a good system so I'm using it with the van but upping the size. I bought three of the 5 gallon cans but two should be more than enough for the majority of my weekend getaways.
I want to position the cabinet opposite the sofa-bed, with one end by the rear wheel well and the other end where the two side doors meet. So I was planning on building a mock-up when serendipity hit. My furnace had been getting up in years and I decided to have it replaced before winter hit. Of course we didn't have a winter this year but that's another story. So the local HVAC guys were replacing the furnace when I spotted the box the new one was shipped it.
Say "Hello" to my kitchen cabinet mock-up.
After inspection Tiger agrees that it's the right size for the water cans.
Check walkthrough space with sofa-bed in sofa positions.
Doesn't contact the cabinet in bed position.
Next check the counter top space. How will my "sink" fit.
As you can see I didn't buy a real sink. I'll be using a 8-quart stainless steel bowl I bought at Wally-World (Wal-Mart) for around $10. The bowl will be drilled out for a drain.
Draw a circle on the box to represent the sink and check that with the fit of my induction cooking unit.
I'm going to need some more counter space. Think I'll incorporate a drop leaf. Looking through my box of yet-to-be-recycled cardboard I found a near perfect size for a drop leaf. A Ledo's large size pizza box.
Take a bunch of measurements.
  
Here I'm measuring Tiger's attention span.
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cargovanconversion
Florida, USA
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Joined: 02/16/2012
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I use a simple CAD program to do the layout. Should have used boxes instead.
Van.
My website describes the conversion of my Dodge B-250 van into a small RV. I deal with a lot of woodworking, but hope to be quite specific on solar as well.
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WVvan
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Kitchen Cabinet, Post 2
Take my measurements and come up with a plan.
I originally wondered if constructing the cabinet like a modern building, steel superstructure with non-load bearing walls, might be the best way to save weight since lighter is better. Once assembly began and I started really thinking about what I want to do, a steel framework is the only way to go. Cut out lengths of 3/4" angle iron.
I overlapped the base angle iron instead of miter cutting because of the step edging. Had to notch the top edge for the uprights.
Here's the finished framework next to the mock-up. I used the same overlap weld for the top frame after seeing how the bottom turned out. It's less work and should be fine since the top will be heavy plywood.
Do test fit in the van.
Here's the step edge I was trying to clear with the overlap.
Rough cut a countertop. This is purposefully larger than needed since I'll be refining the design.
Here I'm trying to find what would be the perfect height for the counter top. I've got a couple of white dishpans that will become part of the cabinet design. The thought is I'll wash dishes in one pan, rinse in the sink and stack in the other dishpan. The sink would be recessed so it's acting as a mixing bowl in my pantomime. On the floor to the left of the cabinet frame is a stack of wood scraps I was standing on. Varied the thickness of the wood stack so I could change my height relative to the countertop. Tried different thicknesses until I found the one height that felt the best.
Now that I've shop tested the frame it's time for a road test. Take the frame and the countertop and go camping.
Spend some time living with the cabinet frame inside the van and see how it fits.
Also took along one of the 5 gallon water cans to test different configurations of how to store the water. Took notes and make sketches.
Once I got back to the shop, changed the frame by making it two inches shorter and one inch narrower. The advantage of the steel frame. Just cut it and re-weld it.
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edited 05/09/12 09:14pm by WVvan *
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MAU MAU
New Hampshire and Maine
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Joined: 01/15/2012
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I like the fact that you are actually testing your concepts under real camping conditions before you commit to a finalized plan.
Looking forward to your next installment.
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WVvan
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Kitchen Cabinet, Post 3
I now have a frame. So what do I do with it? First off decide how the water cans will go. Set it up so the cans will be inserted through the back of the cabinet with the van's left side cargo door open.
With the cans there I want the sink to go, looking at it from inside the van, on the left end of the cabinet. So where does it drain to? Here's the area directly under the cabinet. I've removed the metal shield from around the Webasto heater fuel pump. I'll have to construct a greywater tank that will fit in here somehow. Easiest is for the drain to come through the floor between the step and the frame beam.
To line up underneath, the drain will have to go along the side the cans about here.
To hold the cabinet in place it will be bolted through the floor. The 3/4" angle iron isn't very wide so weld on two small plates for hold down bolts.
Noticed the right side water can is pitching forward since it hangs over the step. Add a metal brace to support it. If you notice the hole in the brace it's because this is a leftover piece of one of my attempts at a lifting lever for the sofa-bed. Recycle.
The left water can is directly over the hot air outlet from the heater. Will have to create a passage for hot air ductwork by raising the left can. Construct the platform from 1/4" steel rod. I'll be using this steel rod a lot.
Add a brace on the left side of the water can.
Add bracing for the right side can.
Add bracing for the back of the cans.
I don't have a detailed plan. Just making it up as I go.
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cargovanconversion
Florida, USA
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I wondered, why did you go with the water jugs and not with a regular RV water tank?
Keep up the great work!
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landyacht318
Near a large body of water
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I Use a single 7 gallon Reliance container with a PVC stem and a check valve on the end.
I chose this method rather than a RV tank so I could easily remove the tank and take it to a filtered water dispenser.
I did not want to have to use a RV Tank or make a filler adapter for a a below the body regular tank.
I would love to have the room that 7 gallons of H20 takes up inside my cab, but I hate the taste of hose water, and my system is just convenient.
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WVvan
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The removable water cans are so convenient I didn't spend much time considering a regular RV water tank. I'm sure there's pros and cons for either method but I regularly camp where hand pumps are the water source. An external hookup wouldn't work. The other big one for me is not having to worry about sanitizing the tank or skunky water. I know from using the same small jerry can for years that as long as the tank is dried after each trip that's not a problem. Also this way the van plumbing is that much simpler.
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WVvan
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Kitchen Cabinet, Post 4
Start work on making the sides for the kitchen cabinet. With the metal frame supporting the load on the cabinet the sides don't have to be very thick. I'll be using 3/8" plywood.
That's the same thickness that I used on the van floor. Here's the piece that used to cover the back of the van before I re-did the basement hatch.
The front piece for the cabinet will be cut from it.
Use T-nuts to secure the plywood to holes drilled in the metal frame.
I originally tried 4-40 sized T-nuts but they didn't have enough grip in the plywood so removed those and upgraded to a mixture of 8-32 and 10-32s.
With the sides mounted on the cabinet I can trim the 3/4" plywood countertop to it's final size. Plan out where I want to place the sink.
Once I've decide on the position, flip the sink over and draw a line along the edge.
Use calipers to get the distance from the outside to inside edge.
Then use the calipers along with the first circle to mark the cut I'll need to make.
Drill a pilot hole where the jig saw will begin.
Then cut out the circle with the jig saw. Since I'm not shy about pointing out my mistakes in this build you'll forgive me for crowing about what nice job I did on this free hand cut. It's not a perfect circle but pretty darn close. I was pleasantly surprised.
Once the sink was dropped into place it couldn't shift sideways more than 1/8". Line up the faucet on the sink.
Mark the cut outs then use a hole saw.
I bought the faucet at Lowe's for around $45. Picked this particular model solely because the spout is high enough to reach over the edge of the white dishpans.
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