Making a Tufted Headboard and Footboard for Your Van

You know how some projects are tough and time consuming but totally worth it? This is one of them. In our house, we had a beautiful velvet, tufted king-sized bed. The look and feel of the headboard was luxurious, and we loved it. Since we knew we would be selling that bed when we moved into the van, we wanted to create that same feeling in our bed inside the van.

Our bed height is at the bottom of the rear window cavities so these cavities are the location of the headboard and footboard. We filled these cavities with insulation; 1” of Polyiso and then inserted the headboard and footboard. 

Here is how we created the headboard and footboard: 

Materials

Makes 2 headboard/footboards size: roughly 53 5/8″ by 25 ½”

• Foam board for template making
• Qty 2 of 4’ x 8’ x ¼” Plywood (make sure the thickness is actually ¼” otherwise the staples may poke through)
• 2″ thick foam
• Batting
• Super spray adhesive
• 5 yards of Upholstery Fabric (This is what we used.)
• 4 packages of Half ball cover buttons to cover 5/8″ size or 3/4″ size
• Upholstery thread/wax thread
• Upholstery needle

Steps

1. Choose an upholstery fabric that suits your style. We chose a light grey velvet fabric. Acquire roughly 5 yards of fabric. We had a little extra but better to have too much than not enough. Don’t forget to watch for sales, fabric can be expensive.

2. Create buttons to match or have someone make them. We decided to make them ourselves, but we have read online you can get them made for a similar price. So next time we will look into that option before making them again. We used a Dritz Craft Cover Button Kit with Tools. The instructions are fairly easy to follow but we had to use a clamp to aid in clamping the jig closed. We had a hard time closing the buttons by hand. This was probably because of our fabric choice. We also applied a small drop of gorilla glue to ensure the buttons stayed closed.

3. Thread about 8-12 inches of upholstery thread through the loop on the back side of the buttons. Tie a knot to the back of the button, but make sure it leaves two roughly equal length strands of thread that will both be pulled through the plywood panel. 
4. Create a template from foam board to fit the window cutout cavity. There are various ways to make templates, but we usually use a compass to scribe a line onto the foam board. Here is an article discussing how to scribe lines with a compass. We also used two pieces of foam board: one for the left side of the cutout, and one for the right side of the cutout.
5. Using the template from step 3, cut the ¼” plywood to fit inside the window cutout cavity. Sand all edges smooth to the touch.

6. Drill holes in a triangular grid pattern with 7″ between each adjacent hole, like the pattern shown below. The holes need to be large enough to easily insert the needle but smaller than the width of the ⅜” staples. The larger you make the hole, the easier it will be to find when tufting. A 3/16” drill size will be large enough to thread the needle through, but small enough that you can staple over the hole with a ⅜” width staple. We used a smaller drill bit, which will be shown in the photos, but it was tough at times to locate the hole using the upholstery needle.

7. Cut the 2″ foam to the same shape as the plywood. Use thinner foam if you want your bed to be longer.
8. Use spray adhesive to attach the foam to the plywood. This keeps the foam in place while working on the tufts.
9. Using a small knife, cut out small holes through the foam at the drilled holes.This will make the tufts go deeper, for a more dramatic effect.
10. Attach the batting over the foam and plywood using ¼” staples in the back of the board. The batting should be taut but not too tight. Try not to bunch the fabric when stapling; the ¼” staples may not grip and the headboard needs to rest as flat as possible in the cavity. Not a problem normal DIY headboard makers have. Trim away excess material from the back of the headboard.
11. Place the upholstery fabric over the batting, making sure to leave plenty of material near the edges so that you have material for tufting and can staple it to the back once the tufting is finished.
12. Prepare the first button by threading the two strands through the upholstery needle. Make sure you loop over enough thread so that it will not pull out of the needle while inserting through the fabric and foam.
13. Now for the fun part. Starting in one corner, with the upholstery fabric draped over, insert your first button in the hole using the threaded needle. Put a staple directly over the hole, making sure that the two threads are on opposite sides of the staple. Pull tight but not all the way. Arrange the tufted look by creasing the fabric in 4 corners. Pull all the way tight and tie a knot over the staple on the back of the headboard.

14. Continue to the next hole and button. Ensure the fabric is not too loose or tight between buttons. We did one full row before continuing to the next row. 

15. Once all tufts have been completed, staple the upholstery fabric to the back of the headboard in the same manner as the batting. It is important to continue the tufts around the corners for all of the buttons on the edge. If your fabric and batting are fairly thick, then sometimes you can have issues where the staples will not engage with the plywood. If this occurs, one way to prevent it is to locate the staple just past the batting but still over the upholstery fabric. This way the staple will only be going through the fabric.
16. Trim all of the excess fabric and button strings.
17. Tada, now you have created a tufted headboard. Repeat all of these steps if you also want a footboard. We attached our headboard and footboard by wedging it between the wall of the van and the bed frame, which was super secure. The tops of the headboard and footboard were secured with other trim pieces in our van. However, all van builds will be different, so you may have to devise your own method of securing. We also thought to use industrial strength velcro but this may not hold up over time (heat). 

Here are some of the websites we used for inspiration. I find reading multiple instructions provides multiple points of view. So check them out.

• http://www.schuelove.com/2011/12/tufted-headboard-tutorial.html
• https://placeofmytaste.com/make-tufted-headboard/
• http://littlegreennotebook.com/2012/02/diy-tufted-headboard.html/
• http://www.dorseydesigns.com/tudted-headboard-with-nailhead-how-to/

If you have any further questions, you can reach us on Instagram or in the comments below. Tag us in a photo if you create your own. We’d love to see it!

Water System

The goal of this article is to provide an overview of the design and installation of our water system in our campervan. Our water system includes the following components:

• Fresh water system:
  • Fill inlet for filling the fresh water tank.
  • 16 gallon fresh water tank.
  • Screen filter, electric pump, accumulator, and ½ micron filter.
  • Sink with a dual-spray pull-down faucet.
• Grey water system:
  • P-trap to prevent grey water odors from entering living space.
  • 8 gallon grey water tank mounted under the van.
  • Drain outlet with removable flexible discharge hose to drain grey water.

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Background

In October 2019 we upgraded the water system in our campervan. Our first water system used two jerry cans to hold fresh water and one jerry can for grey water. This system worked fine, but there were several reasons that convinced us to upgrade. To fill up on fresh water and dump the grey water we had to pull all of the jerry cans out of the sink cabinet, fill at the water fill station and dump the grey water, and then carry them back into the sink cabinet. There were several annoyances in this process:

1. We keep a lot of stuff in the sink cabinet in front of and on top of the water tanks. We had to unpack all of this stuff every time we filled our water. 
2. After filling we had to make sure the tank wasn’t too full or else it would leak out of the top of the jerry can once in the sink cabinet. 
3. Once the tank is filled it weighs roughly 50 pounds, so lugging it back into the van and then into the sink cabinet isn’t the easiest process. 
4. Having grey water inside the van can get a little smelly. Grey water treatment formula works pretty well, but there is always still some lingering odor. 
5. It was very difficult to know how full the grey water tank was. In one instance we overfilled it and spilled grey water on our floor. It was a little gross, and we used a lot of vinegar to clean.

To overcome these problems, we designed the new system with the following features:

1. A fixed fresh water tank with a fill hatch inlet. This eliminates unpacking the sink cabinet and lugging heavy tanks in and out of the van.
2. A semitransparent fresh water tank. This prevents the possibility of overfilling.
3. Grey water tank mounted underneath the van. This greatly reduces odors since the tank is no longer in the living space. It also means that if we accidentally overfill the grey water tank, the only thing that happens is that it spills on the ground beneath the van. 
4. Dump line with flexible drain hose. This allows us to dump grey water at dump stations without removing the grey water tank. 

I’d like to thank Build A Green RV for the inspiration in the design of this water system. The main difference between our systems is that he built his grey water tank and I purchased it. Check out his site for additional inspiration.

Fresh Water System

Materials

Materials required in the construction of the fresh water system are shown in the table below. The order of the components in the table follows the flow of fresh water through the system, starting with the fill hatch inlet and ending at the kitchen faucet. 

Line	Product		Ordered	Price	Total
1		Valterra White Gravity Fresh Water Fill Hatch Inlet RV Trailer Part Number: A01-2003BU	1 each	6.25 each	6.25
2		1-5/8 in. O.D. x 1-1/4 in. I.D. x 24 in. Clear PVC Vinyl Tubing Part Number: HKP001-PVC019	1 each	7.29 each	7.29
3		3/4 in. – 1-3/4 in. Stainless-Steel Hose Clamp Part Number: 6720595	2 each	1.10 each	2.20
4		1-1/4 in. MPT x 1-1/4 in. Insert Brass Male Adapter Part Number: EBMA125NL	1 each	9.98 each	9.98
5		T Plus 2 in. 4 oz. Teflon Pipe-Thread Sealant Part Number: 23631	1 each	7.58 each	7.58
6		Banjo TF125 Polypropylene Bulkhead Tank Fitting, 1-1/4″ NPT Female Part Number: TF125	1 each	12.71 each	12.71
7		16 Gallon Rectangle Flat Bottom Tank Part Number: SP0016-MM	1 each	61.95 each	61.95
8		Concord 304 Stainless Steel 1/2″ Barb to 1/2″ Female FPT Fitting Part Number: B07F2NMDKM	1 each	7.25 each	7.25
9		5/8 in. O.D. x 1/2 in. I.D. x 10 ft. Clear PVC Vinyl Tubing Part Number: 702361	1 each	5.18 each	5.18
10		5/16 in. – 5/8 in. Stainless-Steel Hose Clamp Part Number: 6260294	1 each	0.97 each	0.97
11		1/2 in. I.D. Barb x 1/2 in. MIP Lead-Free Brass Hose Barb Adapter Fitting Part Number: 800189	1 each	4.98 each	4.98
12		1/2 in. FIP Polyoxymethylene Barrel Bulkhead Union with EPDM Washer Fitting Part Number: 800469	1 each	14.45 each	14.45
13		SHURFLO 94-591-01 Pump Silencing Kit Part Number: 94-591-01	1 each	24.27 each	24.27
14		SHURFLO (255-313) 1/2″ Twist-On Pipe Strainer Part Number: 255-313	1 each	8.53 each	8.53
15		SHURFLO 4008-101-A65 New 3.0 GPM RV Water Pump Revolution, 12V Part Number: 4008-101-A65	1 each	76.95 each	76.95
16		SHURFLO Black 182-200 Accumulator Tank Part Number: 182-200	1 each	43.72 each	43.72
17		Oatey 0.6-in x 43-ft Plumber’s Tape Part Number: 456833	1 each	1.98 each	1.98
18		B&K 3/8-in Compression x FIP Adapter Coupling Fitting Part Number: 877158	1 each	6.14 each	6.14
19		Filtrete Advanced Under Sink Quick Change Water Filtration System. Includes 6 Month Filter (3US-PS01). Part Number: 3US-PS01	1 each	39.70 each	39.70
20		B&K 3/8-in Compression Tee Fitting Part Number: 877186	1 each	8.46 each	8.46
21		Homewerks Worldwide 3/8-in Compression 12-in Braided Stainless Steel Faucet Supply Line Part Number: 751638	2 each	5.22 each	10.44
22		Project Source Brushed Nickel 1-handle Deck Mount Pull-down Kitchen Faucet Part Number: 831710	1 each	63.28 each	63.28

Flow Diagram

The flow diagram below divides the assembly of the fresh water system into three categories: filling, pumping, and supplying. The items in the diagram are clickable links to product pages. The blue arrows in the diagram indicate the direction of water flow. Application of thread sealant is shown in four areas. The area inside of the tank is outlined in a dashed box. We used a stainless steel fitting as a weight for the flexible hose so that it stays at the bottom of the tank.

Description

In the following sections we will describe each of the three categories of the fresh water system identified in the flow diagram: filling, pumping, and supplying of the fresh water.

Filling

We wanted the fill hatch for our fresh water system to be located on the outside of our sink cabinet, so that when you open the slider door it is easily accessible. This makes it a very simple process to fill up water at fill stations. It also prevents spillage from going into the van while filling.

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To attach the fill hatch we cut a 3.5 inch diameter cut out in the upper right corner of the sink cabinet as shown in the image below. We didn’t have a 3.5 inch hole saw, so we used the largest one we had and then used a jig saw to get the final diameter.

To hold our fresh water, we purchased a 16 gallon tank with a 5 inch tank lid. We looked at so many tank options, and it got to be quite overwhelming trying to decide which one to go with. I will give the reasons that we eventually chose this tank as maybe it will help others in the selection process:

1. This particular tank fits really snugly in our sink cabinet. It is 14 inches wide, which is exactly the interior width of our sink cabinet. That means that it doesn’t budge, which is important as it weighs roughly 130 pounds when full. We found an 18 gallon tank that would also fit in our sink cabinet, but it was roughly twice the cost for only two more gallons of water. This didn’t seem worth the extra expense.
2. The price of the tank is pretty reasonable compared to many of the other tanks we looked at. We actually bought this tank off of Amazon for $86.99 with free shipping. As of writing this article it is no longer available on Amazon, so I’ve included the link to the tank on plastic-mart.com.
3. We like the 5 inch lid that comes with this tank. Many tanks designed for RVs, boats, etc. do not have any kind of lid, just NPT fittings for attaching plumbing. We like the lid because removing it allows us to get at any part of the interior of the tank. So if we ever get bad water, we can empty the tank and scrub the walls to clean it off. In addition, this particular lid has a spring-loaded vent, which means the water pump will not create an air vacuum at the top of the tank as water is pumped to the sink. And because it is spring-loaded it stays closed when the pump isn’t running, keeping the system leak-free while driving.
4. One minor drawback to this tank is that there was no option to add fittings when ordering. This wasn’t too big a deal as bulkhead fittings are inexpensive. The two bulkhead fittings that we bought cost roughly $28 compared to the $20 to add standard fittings on other tanks we evaluated. There are also two benefits to going with bulkhead fittings over the standard fittings. One, you can place them wherever you want on the tank. Two, you do not have to plug any of the standard fittings that you do not use. 

To install the 1-¼” FIP fill line bulkhead fitting into the tank, I used an adjustable hole saw to drill a hole into the top of the tank. See the pictures below. The bulkhead fitting is pretty easy to install. It includes a compressible gasket for creating a watertight seal to the tank, and a reverse-threaded nut to tighten the assembly onto the tank.

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Although this section of the article discusses the fill portion of the fresh water system, I must briefly discuss the second bulkhead fitting which is used to draw water from the tank to the pump. The reason for this is that it would be impossible for me to drill the hole and install the bulkhead fitting after installing the tank into the sink cabinet. The ½” FIP pump line bulkhead fitting is installed in exactly the same manner, except with a smaller setting on the adjustable hole saw. Below are a couple pictures.

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The picture below is the installation of the fill line inside the sink cabinet. When this photo was taken I wasn’t convinced that I would need thread sealant as the line would never be under pressure. However, when we tested the system it leaked, so I added thread sealant and fixed that problem. We used the spreadable thread sealant on larger fittings, and the tape on smaller fittings.

Pumping

You may have noticed that the pump line bulkhead fitting is on the top of the tank, which isn’t normally how these tanks are done. In normal RV fresh water tanks the pump line fitting is located on the side of the tank near the bottom (i.e., where there will always be water unless you are completely empty).

So why did we install our pump fitting on the top of the tank? Well, the main reason is a fear of leaks. Even though we have tested the system with water and it does not leak now, I would be a little weary of assuming that will be true after a year or two of driving the van all over the place. With potholes, dirt and gravel roads, and other road hazards, it is not always the smoothest journey in our van. I had a vision of hitting a nasty bump in the road, jarring the bulkhead fitting enough to start a leak, and then leaking 16 gallons of water into the floor of our van. That would be a nightmare. 

However, with the bulkhead fitting on the top of the tank, even if it does eventually loosen over time, it won’t leak all 16 gallons into our van. At most, it might leak a little water as the water sloshes around in the tank when we are driving. But this would probably not be catastrophic and we would likely notice it happening as we open our sink cabinet just about every day. 

In order to reach water at the bottom of the tank from a bulkhead fitting that is installed at the top of the tank, we attached flexible tubing to the FIP connection on the bulkhead fitting on the side in the interior of the tank, as shown in the photo.  We discovered after using this system that the flexible tubing does not naturally sit on the bottom of the tank. So we added a stainless steel barb-to-FIP fitting to the end of the flexible tubing to act as a weight and keep the inlet always on the bottom of the tank. 

The photos below show the rest of the pumping assembly. Once outside the tank, a male NPT union is used to connect to the pump hose. This hose is recommended by Shurflo as it helps to reduce pump noise compared to rigid PVC. On the other end the hose connects to a pipe strainer, which keeps particles out of the pump. The pipe strainer connects directly to the pump. The pump is manufactured by Shurflo, which seems to be one of the more popular pumps used in campervans and RVs. We have been using it for over a year with no major complaints. 

After the pump we have an accumulator that is also made by Shurflo. An accumulator is basically a small tank with a diaphragm that can be pressurized on one side via an air pump. The purpose of the accumulator is to reduce pump cycling and smooth faucet pulses. 

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Supplying

The accumulator connects to the Filtrete filter system (below left) through a brass ½” FIP to ⅜” compression fitting that connects to ⅜” flexible tubing. This flexible tubing comes with the filter system. Our filter is a 0.5 micron filter that reduces chlorine taste and removes sediment and microbial cysts. We replace the filter every six months. If you plan on drinking the water from your water system, we would highly recommend getting a water filter; water quality at fill stations is highly variable.

To connect the filter to the sink, a ⅜” compression tee is required to split the line into two, as shown in the photo below right. These two lines connect to the hot and cold lines of the faucet through flexible braided hoses. We do not have a hot water heater for our sink; we haven’t really seen a need for it. If we wanted to add a hot water heater, it would be installed between the ⅜” compression tee and the flexible braided hose on the hot water side of the sink. 

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That sums up the fresh water side of our water system. The following section describes the grey water system. Here’s one more photo of the sink, being used by our niece and nephew. Of course they are using it for it’s most common purpose: washing dishes!

Grey Water System

Materials

Materials used in the construction of the grey water system are shown in the table below. The order of the components in the table follows the flow of grey water through the system, starting at the sink and ending at the discharge tubing.

Line	Product		Ordered	Price	Total
1		NORRSJÖN Sink, stainless steel, 14 5/8×17 3/8 “ Part Number: 691.576.49	1 each	171.50 each	171.50
2		Keeney 1-1/2-in Plastic Sink Tailpiece Part Number: 911597	1 each	2.69 each	2.69
3		Keeney 1-1/2-in Plastic P-Trap Part Number: 24650	1 each	3.84 each	3.84
4		Keeney 1-1/2-in Plastic Elbow Coupling Part Number: 25033	1 each	6.38 each	6.38
5		Charlotte Pipe 1-1/2-in x 1-1/2-in dia PVC Schedule 40 Hub Trap Adapter Fitting Part Number: 22651	1 each	1.08 each	1.08
6		Oatey Rain-R-Shine 8-fl oz PVC Cement Part Number: 797860	1 each	8.98 each	8.98
7		Charlotte Pipe 1-1/2-in dia x 5-ft L 330 PSI PVC Pipe Part Number: 23831	1 each	6.12 each	6.12
8		AMERICAN VALVE 1-1/2-in to 1-1/2-in dia Galvanized 2-hole Pipe Strap Part Number: 302297	1 each	0.58 each	0.58
9		8 Gallon Duracast Water / Waste Holding Tank Part Number: 130008	1 each	56.99 each	56.99
10		Peel & Seal Instant Waterproof Repairs 6-in x 25-ft Aluminum Roll Flashing Part Number: 154017	1 each	16.48 each	16.48
11		1-3/8 in. x 48 in. Zinc-Plated Punched Steel Flat Bar with 1/16 in. Thick Part Number: 802067	2 each	7.98 each	15.96
12		#14 x 3/4 in. Hex Head Zinc Plated Sheet Metal Screw (50-Pack) Part Number: 801332	1 pack	8.55 pack	8.55
13		LASCO 1-1/2-in x 1-1/2-in dia Plug PVC Fitting Part Number: 317773	1 each	1.88 each	1.88
14		LASCO 1/2-in x 1/2-in dia Plug PVC Fitting Part Number: 23526	2 each	1.16 each	2.32
15		LASCO 1-1/2-in x 1-1/2-in x 1-1/2-in dia Adapter PVC Fitting Part Number: 23903	1 each	1.44 each	1.44
16		HYDROSEAL Kaplan PVC 1 1/2″ True Union Ball Valve with Full Port Part Number: KPES.0150	1 each	24.50 each	24.50
17		LASCO 1-1/2-in x 1-1/2-in x 1-1/2-in dia Coupling PVC Fitting Part Number: 23901	1 each	0.91 each	0.91
18		HoldRite 2-in to 2-in dia Galvanized Hanger Iron Part Number: 302279	1 each	1.56 each	1.56
19		LASCO 1-1/2-in x 1-1/2-in x 1-in dia Bushing Bushing PVC Fitting Part Number: 23917	1 each	1.44 each	1.44
20		EASTMAN 1-5/8-in x 6-ft PVC Bilge Pump Discharge Tubing Part Number: 814327	1 each	9.20 each	9.20

Flow Diagram

The flow diagram below divides the assembly of the grey water system into three categories: draining, storing, and dumping. The items in the diagram are clickable links to product pages. The blue arrows in the diagram indicate the direction of water flow. Application of thread sealant is shown in four areas. The straps are used to secure the grey water tank on the underside of the van. The plugs are used to plug three out of four of the NPT fittings on the side of the tank.

Description

In the following sections we will describe each of the three categories of the grey water system identified in the flow diagram: draining, storing, and dumping of the grey water.

Draining

On the underside of the sink, inside of the sink cabinet, is the plumbing to get the grey water from the sink into the grey water tank. The part just under the sink is called a tailpiece. The next piece is called a p-trap; it is actually composed of two pieces so you can orient it in whatever direction works for your application. The p-trap reduces odors in the sink by creating a j-bend where water is trapped at the bottom of the bend. This water barrier prevents odors from the grey water tank from coming up into the sink. If you travel on a bumpy road and find that your sink is a bit stinky afterwards, likely what has happened is the water in the j-bend has been sloshed around and found its way down the drain piping. Just run the sink for a few seconds to fill the j-bend back up and it’ll help with the smell.

After the p-trap, there is a piece called an elbow extension. This piece goes to a 1-½” adapter to connect to 1-½” schedule 40 PVC. Primer and cement are used to connect the adapter piece to the cement. There is a good article here about how to apply primer and cement if you are unfamiliar. The PVC pipe is secured with a pipe strap to the wood piece in front of the tank, as shown in the photo above.

This PVC goes through the floor of the van into the grey water tank. I drilled a hole through the floor of the van using a 2” diameter hole saw, as shown in the photos below. 

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Storing

To hold our grey water, we purchased an 8 gallon holding tank with the standard fittings installed. Choosing the grey water tank was about as difficult as choosing the fresh water tank. The first thing that I did was get underneath the van with a tape measure and measure the constraining dimensions.

Here are some photos from the process below. There is an emergency brake bracket on both sides of the van, even though only one of them is used. Don’t ask me why this is the case. You can see it in the first picture below. I contemplated whether or not to remove it, but I decided it wasn’t worth the hassle. This bracket limits the overall width to 12 inches. The overall length is 20 inches, and the overall height is 10 inches. The height requirement is based off of the location of the rear strut attachment point. In summary, we needed to find a tank with dimensions less than 20”L x 12”W x 10”H. The 8 gallon tank that we decided upon has dimensions of 18”L x 11.5”W x 10”H. It was about the largest that we could fit underneath the van without grinding off that unused emergency brake bracket. 

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In the picture below the tank is held in place with a pneumatic jack. It’s a pretty good fit. The top two fittings are blocked by one of the support beams that make up the frame of the van, but this isn’t really a big deal because we aren’t using them. 

With the tank held in place by the jack, I used a permanent marker to outline the location of the hole drilled through the floor of the van on the top of the tank. See the two photos below. I then installed fittings into all four of the standard FIP fitting points on the side of the tank as shown in the bottom right image. Thread sealant was used on all four fittings. Three of the fittings are plugs, and the last one is a 1-½” PVC NPT to socket adapter fitting. 

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You may be asking at this point why we didn’t leave the small fitting at the top open for venting. Grey water tanks need to have a way to let air in and out near the top of the tank, otherwise they will fill and drain very slowly. In lieu of using the top fitting as a vent, our drain pipe comes into the top of the grey water tank without any sealing between the outer surface of the PVC and the tank. Since the OD of the PVC pipe is 1.9” and the hole that we drilled in the tank is 2”, there is a 0.05” gap between the pipe and the tank. This works very well in allowing air in and out of the tank. It’s possible that a little grey water could leak out, but not very likely. The water would have to splash up right where the 0.05” gap is located. If a little water does spill out it’s not the end of the world; our grey water isn’t that dirty. 

We then put the pipe into the sink cabinet to determine how long the drain pipe into the tank needed to be (see top left photo below). We wanted it to stick into the tank 2 inches. After cutting the pipe and cementing on the adapter fitting we installed the pipe into the sink cabinet (see top right photo below). The PVC pipe sticks below the van by 2 inches (see bottom photo below).

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After getting the PVC pipe in place we also sealed it with caulk on both sides as shown in the photos below. Make sure to clean the area around where you will be caulking before applying it or it will not stick well. We generally use vinegar to clean and then dry thoroughly before applying. 

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We wanted some protection between the plastic tank and the metal on the underside of the van because this seems like an area with a potential to rub. To provide this protection we used aluminum waterproofing tape. This stuff is used in a lot of different applications, mainly to seal and repair leaks. It is composed of a rubberized asphalt adhesive with an aluminum backing. We covered the top of the tank with the tape, and put two strips along the bottom where the straps hold the tank in place.

To hold the grey water tank in place we used metal straps underneath the tank that are screwed into the body of the van on two separate crossbeams. The steps involved are as follows:

1. The first step was to figure out where to bend the metal bars. 
   • To do this I put the tank in position using the pneumatic jack, as shown in the left photo below. Then I took masking tape and ran the tape in the exact locations where I wanted the straps to be. Make sure to clean the van frame members where the tape needs to go or else it will get dirty and not stick in place.
   • After placing the tape, I used a permanent marker to mark on the tape at each bend location. Then I removed the tape and taped it directly to the metal bars (see photo below right). I labeled the straps “edge” and “middle” so I wouldn’t lose track of which one was closer to the edge of the van and which one was near the middle of the van.
   • With the tape as a guide, I placed the strap into a bench vise at each of the bend locations and hit it with a hammer to make the bends. To get the bends right was a bit of guess and check. I would bend it until it seemed right, then take it out of the vise, and go check it underneath the van while the tank was still held in place.

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2. To hang the straps, we used self-drilling #14 x ¾” hex head screws. Below left shows me under the van drilling in the screws; it is a tight squeeze. Below right shows the tank secured in place. I tested the snugness of the fit by trying to get the tank to move; it wouldn’t budge in any direction. There’s a little bit of a gap visible between the straps and the bottom of the tank; this is because the bottom surface of the plastic tank is slightly concave. I don’t know if this is intentional in the design, but it could be done that way so that it flattens out as the tank is filled with water. 

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Dumping

The dump line is fairly straightforward once you understand the basics of connecting PVC with primer and cement. The PVC used for the dump line is all cut from the same 5-ft 1-½” PVC pipe that was also used for the drain line into the grey water tank. In the previous section, I showed the installation of the 1-½” PVC NPT to socket adapter fitting using thread sealant to the 1-½” FIP connector on the side of the grey water tank. A separate flow diagram just for the dumping portion of our water system is shown below to make clearer how everything is connected. Once again in this diagram, you can click on individual components to be taken to the product page.

The image below shows the entirety of the dump system. After the socket adapter, there is a short piece of PVC that is primed and glued into the socket adapter on one side and into the ball valve on the other side. You can get cheaper ball valves at hardware stores, but I decided to spend a bit more on this one. It’s a lot easier to open and close, and it is a union ball valve so it can easily be removed if there is a problem. After the valve is another short piece of PVC, followed by a coupling union. This coupling union is supported by a 2” pipe hanger that is screwed into the underside of the van, as shown in the photo below.

Following the coupling union is a reducing bushing from 1-½” PVC to 1” PVC. The last piece in this assembly is the 6-ft flexible discharge tubing. This piece fits snugly into the end of the reducing bushing. When draining the grey water, we attach the discharge tubing to the bushing, put the other end into the dump drain, and open the ball valve. Even though the discharge tubing is not sealed to the bushing, it does not leak when draining the grey water. Below is a photo of the discharge tubing being attached to the end of the bushing.

Final Thoughts

With the new system we have found a significant reduction in the effort and time required to dump and fill our water. With our old water system we generally needed about 20 minutes to dump the grey water and refill the two fresh water jerry cans. Now, the whole process takes less than 5 minutes. It’s also much easier because we don’t have to lift 50 pound tanks of water multiple times. 

We have been checking on the undermounted grey water tank when we dump just to make sure it isn’t getting loose; so far it has remained very snug. There has also been a significant improvement in smell. With the old system having the grey water tank inside the van, we would sometimes smell the grey water, especially when opening the sink cabinet. Now, we hardly have any odor at all. 

Please reach out if you have any questions. The best way to reach us is via DM on Instagram, @dolly.the.rambler. You can also leave a comment below.

Collapsible Queen Bed Design

The bed is one of the most important functional design aspects of your campervan. You will spend more time in your bed than any other part of the van. Why do I say this? The number one reason that people choose vanlife is freedom to travel and get outside. Whether it is hiking, biking, surfing, laying on beaches, touring around cities, or just reading a good book in the forest, vanlife allows you to get to the places where you can do all these things. As a result, during the day you will not spend much time in the van; you will be doing these activities that you built the van to do. But we all need sleep, roughly 7-9 hours of it every night, and you want your bed to be comfortable so you can recharge for the next day. 

Furthermore, the bed takes up a lot of space; in our 136” wheelbase ProMaster, our bed takes up half of the living space. With two people and a dog, things can get a little tight. Fortunately, there are clever ways to reduce the living space footprint of the bed. The overall size of our bed can be easily cut in half, so that it only takes up ¼ of the total living area when we are not using it. This additional space allowed us to design a dining area in our van where we can comfortably sit across from each other to eat our meals. As an added benefit of the design we chose, it can easily be converted in less than a minute without having to remake the bed every time. To learn more about this design read on. 

Disclosure: This site contains external affiliate links that may result in us receiving a commission if you choose to purchase the linked product. This is at no additional cost to you.

Overview

The bed we designed for our Promaster Campervan uses a “queen short” foam mattress, and we sleep with our heads on the passenger side of the van and our feet on the driver side of the van. It is the same width as a queen bed, but is five inches shorter in length (75” vs. 80”). If you are taller than 6 feet, this bed design may not be the best option for you, and you might want to consider bed designs where the occupants lie along the length of the van rather than along the width of the van. The advantage of sleeping crosswise is that it gives you more space in the rest of the van. 

One of the reasons we chose the ProMaster (over the Transit or Sprinter) is that it has a max cargo width of 75.6 inches (6 feet, 3.6 inches) at the height of the window cutout panels (roughly waist height), which is two inches wider than the Transit and four inches wider than the Sprinter. A queen short mattress is 75” long by 60” wide; so, being able to orient the mattress crosswise allows us to gain 15” of length in the front section of the van. When you are dealing with small spaces, 15” is a pretty huge improvement. For perspective, our sink cabinet is 22.5” wide.

Our bed is designed to be collapsible; the bed can be pushed inward until the width is one half of the original width. See the short video below where we demonstrate the conversion. When the bed is collapsed, there is a dining area underneath with two bench seats and a movable table. To collapse the bed, there are two separate pieces that make up the bed slats and side walls. These slats slide into each other when the bed is collapsed. When the bed is fully extended, the slats are separated. In order to make the bed collapsible, we had to cut the foam mattress in half down the center. When we collapse the bed, the front half of the mattress is folded over on top of the rear half of the mattress.

Also, if you have any additional questions you can contact us, and we will answer as quickly as we can.

View this post on Instagram

🔊 We get more questions about our bed than any other part of our van. So we wanted to share this video demoing our bed to dining conversion. It takes us less than a minute to convert either way. Any questions?

A post shared by Dolly (Hillary & Andrew) (@dolly.the.rambler) on Apr 11, 2019 at 8:19am PDT

Bed Support

In a lot of van bed designs, there are support legs that come down to the floor, similar to legs on a normal bed. However, the walls of a cargo van are very strong, and can be used to accomplish the role of bed legs. This allows you to free up more space in the area underneath the bed. In our van design, this allowed us to store four bicycles crosswise underneath the bed on a slide-out bike tray, which would not have been possible with supports going to the floor.

Materials

Materials required for construction of the bed support are shown below. Most of the materials used in construction of the bed frame were purchased from McMaster-Carr, with the exception of the 1” thick trim boards and most hardware, which were all purchased from a home improvement store.

Line		Product	Ordered	Price	Total
1	3310T62	Strut Channel, Slotted Hole, White Powder-Coated Steel, 5 Feet Long	2 each	22.80 each	45.60
2	3310T62	Strut Channel, Slotted Hole, White Powder-Coated Steel, 6 Feet Long	1 each	25.92 each	25.92
3	33125T168	Strut Channel Connector, Tee, Powder-Coated, Steel, 5-3/8″ Height, White	2 each	12.14 each	24.28
4	3259T34	Strut Channel Nuts, Zinc-Plated Steel,, M8 Thread Size, packs of 5	2 packs	4.85 per pack	9.70
5	211685	5/4 x 3 x 10 Primed SPF S1S2E Trim Board	1 each	14.71 each	14.71
6	136867	Hillman 8mm x 50mm Stainless Steel Coarse Thread Hex Bolt (5-Count)	1 pack	4.46 per pack	4.46
7	136845	Hillman 8mm x 20mm Stainless Steel Coarse Thread Hex Bolt (5-Count)	2 packs	2.98 per pack	5.96
8	59406	Hillman 5 Count 8mm Metric Split Lock Washer	3 packs	2.20 per pack	6.60
9	44340	Hillman 5-Count 8-mm Zinc Plated Metric Flat Washer	3 packs	2.15 per pack	6.45

Steps

1. Cut primed pine board (line 5) to fit between the rear vertical pillar and the middle vertical pillar of the van on each side (2 pieces total). In our ProMaster, this came out to be 54 ⅝ in. 
2. Align primed pine boards in van with the top edge of the board flush with the M8 threaded holes. 
   1. Use a pencil to mark the center point of each threaded hole on the primed board. 
   2. Drill clearance holes (> 8 mm) 2 in. down from this mark. These holes should be large enough that the M8 bolts will pass through easily.
3. Paint the primed boards. 1-2 coats should be sufficient. 
4. Use the hole pattern from the boards to mark hole locations on the side walls of the 5 ft. unistrut pieces (line 1). The hole pattern on one side should be a mirror image of the hole pattern on the other side.
   1. The unistrut and boards should be aligned at the rear of the van, and the unistrut will extend beyond the board on the other end by 5 ⅜ in. 
   2. Drill clearance holes (> 8 mm) at ½ the height of the channel (channel height is 1 ⅝ in., so clearance hole should be drilled at a height of 13/16 in.). These holes should be large enough that the M8 bolts will pass through easily. 
   3. To be able to screw the hex bolts into the wall with a ratchet driver, I had to use a hole saw to drill a hole large enough to fit the ratchet bit on the opposite side of the unistrut channel. See photo.
   4. Optional: prime and paint the drilled holes if you are concerned about rust. 
5. Use the 50mm M8 bolts (line 6), lock washers (line 8), and flat washers (line 9) to screw the boards and unistrut channels into the existing M8 threaded holes in the van wall where there had originally been heavy-duty cargo D-rings installed. They are located at the midspan and rear of the van. There are 4 total, 2 on each side. 

6. The 6′ piece (line 2) spans between them at the middle of the bed. This piece must be cut to fit. 
   1. Measure between the two 5’ unistrut pieces (line 1) to get the total length. In the ProMaster this measurement is 68 ¼ in.
   2. Cut the unistrut to the length found in the previous step.
   3. Optional: sand the cut edge, prime and paint.
7. The piece you just cut attaches to the 5’ pieces with two heavy-duty Tee connectors (line 3), one on each side. 
   1. Use ten 20mm M8 bolts (line 7) with lock washers (line 8) and flat washers (line 9) screwed into strut channel nuts (line 4).
   2. Do not fully tighten the bolts. This crossbar should be left loose until the bed frame has been built.

Bed Frame

Materials

Materials required for construction of the bed frame are shown below. We constructed the bed frame in two halves which rest on top of the bed supports. The back section of the frame is attached to the unistrut with wood screws and washers. The frame is constructed of 1” x 3” nominal (0.75” x 2.5” actual) premium pine boards for the slats and side supports, 1” x 4” nominal (0.75” x 3.5” actual) premium pine boards for the faces, and a thin 1/16” thick aluminum support to keep the moving section of slats from falling down when sliding back and forth. Premium pine boards are more expensive than the non-premium boards, but are much straighter, which is very important for a sliding bed. The wood is finished with polyurethane on the slats and paint on the faces. In addition, we applied drawer lubricant at all sliding interfaces, which helps to keep it sliding smoothly. We also purchased a bag of plastic tile spacers from Lowe’s. We used these to keep a consistent gap between adjacent bed slats during construction of the two halves of the bed. You don’t want the slats right next to each other or it will be difficult to make them slide.

Line		Product	Ordered	Price	Total
1	83708	(Common: 1-in x 3-in x 6-ft; Actual: 0.75-in x 2.5-in x 6-ft) Pine Board	16 each	7.12 each	113.92
2	83711	(Common: 1-in x 4-in x 6-ft; Actual: 0.75-in x 3.5-in x 6-ft) Pine Board	2 each	9.72 each	19.44
3	11325	Steelworks 0.0625-ft x 1.5-in Aluminum Metal Flat Bar	1 each	13.98 each	13.98
4	35051	Hillman #8 x 1/2-in Silver Zinc-Plated Flat Interior Wood Screws (100-Count)	1 pack	5.98 per pack	5.98
5	35054	Hillman #8 x 1-1/4-in Silver Zinc-Plated Flat Interior Wood Screws (100-Count)	1 pack	5.98 per pack	5.98
6	35058	Hillman #8 x 2-1/2-in Silver Zinc-Plated Flat Interior Wood Screws (50-Count)	1 pack	5.98 per pack	5.98
7	6205001	Gorilla Wood Glue, 18 ounce Bottle	1 each	4.57 each	4.57
8	E914	Elmer’s E914 Carpenter’s Color Change Wood Filler, 16-Ounce, Natural	1 each	12.58 each	12.58
9	622224444	Minwax Polycrylic 32-fl oz Matte Water-based Polyurethane	1 each	17.97 each	17.97
10	6405-12604	ProClassic Alkyd Interior Enamel Semi-Gloss Extra White	1 gallon	77.99 gallon	77.99
11	6510-29696	Extreme Block Interior/Exterior Stain Blocking Alkyd Primer	1 gallon	42.29 gallon	42.29
12	B750-1203	Slideez Lubricant	1 each	8.59 each	8.59
13	837777	TAVY 100-Pac 1-in W x 1-in L 1/16-in Green Plastic Tile Spacer	1 pack	5.18 per pack	5.18
14	796760	Top Choice SkyPly 3/4-in HPVA Maple Plywood, Application as 4 X 8	1 each	55.98 each	55.98

Okay, you might be looking at the materials list and balking at the cost of paint. We ordered the paint and primer in gallon sizes because it is much cheaper than buying it in the quart size. We used this paint for every painted surface of our van. It is designed for trim and doors, so it is very scratch resistant. We also went with semi-gloss over satin because it is easy to wipe clean. You do not need to order in this quantity unless you are planning to use this paint in other aspects of the van build. One gallon of paint and primer will go a long way in a van. 

Also, you will probably use lots of plywood in your van. The piece that we bought for the bed made multiple other pieces in our van build. Try to figure out the optimum cuts for each piece of plywood that you buy to create as little waste as possible. This will help you save money. You will still most likely end up with a large amount of scraps by the end of it all. Giving it away on Craigslist is a fast method to rid yourself of all the extra wood and plywood. Or you might be able to find a way to donate it all.

Cut List

Below is the list of cuts that we made for this project. These should work for a Ram ProMaster with 136” wheelbase, but you should double-check all measurements against the actual van measurements. If you are adapting this to a different van, these measurements will not be valid.

Part #	Part Description	Material	Quantity	Length (in.)
1	Side Supports	Line 1	2	71 ¼
2	Side Faces	Line 2	2	71 ¼
3	Aluminum Support	Line 3	1	71 ¼
4	Slats	Line 1	28	30

For a queen size bed the width of the mattress is 60″. However, we designed the bed frame with an overall width of 59”. Since we were cutting the mattress in half, we wanted it to fit snugly in the bed frame so that we would not notice the divide between the two halves of the mattress. When the bed is out, the slats have a little bit of overlap in the middle so that they all rest on the center support. We cut each 6′ board into two pieces, each with a length of 30″. This gives 1″ of overlap in the center of the bed, where all of the slats are resting on the center support unistrut.

Steps

1. Side supports (Part #1), side faces (Part #2), and aluminum support (Part #3):
   1. Measure the distance between the painted pine boards installed on both sides of the van in the previous section (step 5). In our van, this measurement was 71 ¼ in.
   2. Cut two 1-in. x 3-in. Boards (line 1), two 1-in. x 4-in. boards (line 2), and the aluminum flat bar (line 3) to the length measured in step 1a. The 1×3’s will be the side supports, the 1×4’s will be the faces, and the aluminum support will keep the slats from falling down while opening and closing the bed.
   3. Sand all rough edges and surfaces, especially on the cut piece of aluminum.
2. Slats (Part #4):
   1. From the 14 remaining 1-in. x 3-in. boards, cut each piece into two 30-in. pieces, for a total of 28 bed slats. 
   2. Sand all rough edges and surfaces
3. Attach side support to side face (only for one side; we will do the other side later in the build):
   1. Use the diagram below as a guide. Tip: use 2-3 scrap pieces of 1×3 boards placed underneath the side support to ensure a consistent ¾ in. gap along the entire length. 
   2. Apply wood glue (line 7) to the mating surfaces. 
   3. Clamp the side support to the side face using 2-3 wood clamps. Make sure the scrap pieces that you are using to ensure a consistent ¾ in. gap are appropriately positioned during the clamping process. Wipe up any excess wood glue with a damp rag. 
   4. With a 5/32-in. drill bit, drill five pilot holes evenly spaced along the length of the side face, drilling into the side support. Drill to a length of 2 ½ in. See diagram for placement. 
   5. Find a drill bit that is roughly the same diameter as the head of the wood screws (line 6). Drill over the same five pilot holes in step d. to a length of ¼ in. This will allow you to countersink the wood screws so that you can put wood filler (line 8) over them before painting.
   6. Screw the 2 ½ in. #8 screws (line 6) into the pilot holes until the head of the screw is countersunk below the wood surface. Apply wood filler (line 8) over the screw head. Once the wood filler has dried, sand surface with fine grit sandpaper until it is smooth (later this surface will be painted).

4. Place the side support + face from Step 3 and the other side support (Part #1) on the unistrut bars roughly 30 in. apart. The assembly of the slats to the side supports is done with the bed frame upside down. The side support + face from Step 3 should be placed upside down at the edge of the unistrut as shown in the photo below.
5. Place the slats (Part #4) across the two side supports with two tile spacers between each slat (see photo). Also, make sure tile spacers are placed between the end slats and the pine boards installed adjacent to the unistrut in Step 5 of the bed support construction. Note that the last slat to be installed will not fit. It will be too wide by roughly 9/16 in. You will need to cross-cut this last slat to fit. Measure the width of the gap that it must fit into and subtract the thickness of two tile spacers from this measurement (⅛ in.). The easiest method for making this cross-cut is with a table saw, but if you do not have a table saw it can also be done (carefully!) with a circular saw or jig saw.

6. In this step, you will wood glue and screw every other slat onto the side support + face that was assembled in Step 3. Tip: use a pencil to mark every other slat so that you don’t accidentally glue and screw the wrong slat to the wrong side. In a ProMaster, there should be a total of 14 slats that will be glued and screwed on this side of the bed. For other vans, that number might be different.
   1. In each of the marked slats, drill two 5/32-in. pilot holes to a depth of 1-¼ in. These pilot holes should go from the slats into the side support beneath it. Tip: use electrical tape wrapped around the drill bit as a marker to know how deep to drill.
   2. Find a drill bit that is roughly the same diameter as the head of the wood screws (line 5). Drill over the pilot holes in step a. to a length of ⅛ in. This will allow you to install the screws flush to the surface of the wood. This is important to aid in sliding so that the screws will not catch on any surfaces.
   3. For each slat (one slat at a time since you do not want the wood glue to dry prematurely): 
      1. Apply wood glue to all the mating surfaces between slat and side support + face. 
      2. Screw two #8 x 1 ¼ screws (line 5) into the pilot holes drilled in step 6a-b. 
      3. wipe up any excess wood glue with a damp rag.

7. Repeat step 3 for the other side support and side face.
8. Now repeat step 4, except that since both side faces are installed, you will not be able to place the side faces over the edges of the unistrut. Instead, stack several pieces of scrap wood on a few locations of the unistrut to keep the pieces from falling inward.
9. Repeat steps 5 and 6 to attach the remaining slats to the other side support + face. Note that you will not need to cross-cut a slat as instructed in step 5. 
10. Now is a good time to check the operation of the sliding of the slats. Take the bed frame and flip it over on the unistrut (see photos). slide the two halves apart from each other to insure that they move freely.

11. Sand the top edges of all of the slats as shown in the photos. This will help the pieces slide into each other more easily. 

12. The aluminum support is used to keep the slats from falling inward when the bed slides in and out. To install:
    1. With the bed frame in the fully closed position and the tile spacers still in, place the aluminum support adjacent to the rear side support (the side support that will be at the back of the van), as shown in the photos. 
    2. Note that the aluminum support will be attached to the moving portion of the bed frame, not the fixed rear part of the bed frame.
    3. Mark each location on the aluminum where the aluminum will be attached to the slats. Again, make sure these locations are coinciding with the moving portion of the bed frame.
    4. At each of the marked locations on the aluminum support, drill a 5/32-in. pilot hole to a depth of ½ in. through the aluminum and the slats. Tip: use electrical tape wrapped around the drill bit as a marker to know how deep to drill.
    5. Find a drill bit that is roughly the same diameter as the head of the wood screws (line 4). Drill over the pilot holes in step d. until you can flush mount the screws into the aluminum. This is important to aid in sliding so that the screws will not catch on any surfaces.
    6. Screw the ½ in. #8 screws (line 4) into the pilot holes until the head of the screw is flush to the aluminum.

13. Place the bed frame back into the van in the fully collapsed position, as shown in the first photo below. Align the back end of the bed frame with the back end of the unistrut at the back of the van. The crosswise piece of unistrut should still be loose, and now is when you will position it and finish tightening all ten of the M8 bolts. Because you will be making a divider wall between the garage and living area, the edge of the crosswise unistrut that is visible in the photo should be recessed back from the side face by ¾ in. This way when the plywood divider wall is installed it will end up being flush with the bed face when the bed is closed. See second photo below from the finished product to demonstrate what this will look like. Tighten all ten M8 bolts on the tee connectors. 

14. In order to separate the garage from the living space of the van, We installed a ¾” thick piece of maple plywood (cut to fit) with wood glue and pocket screws; this was installed in front of the spanwise piece of unistrut.
    1. Make templates using foam board, cardboard, or your template making material of choice. See our photo of one of the templates we made.
    2. Trace templates onto maple plywood. Make sure you double check some key dimensions so you don’t cut this piece wrong. 
    3. Cut the plywood to fit. Check that it fits properly in the van.
    4. Prime (one coat) and paint (2-3 coats). Allow to dry.

15. Install divider wall from step 14:
    1. We installed the divider wall using a Kreg pocket jig and pocket screws. Make sure to follow the instructions that came with your Kreg jig to set the collar depth and the placement of the jig. If you do not have these instructions, they are also available here.
    2. We purposefully did not include pocket screws in the material list. This is because the length you want to buy will depend on the thickness of the material that you are screwing into. We drilled pocket screws from the divider wall into the floor of our van, into the wheel well boxes, and into the side panels. Each of these items has a different thickness, so requires a different length of pocket screw. Choosing the appropriate length for your pocket screws is also covered in the instructions linked in 15a. 
    3. Drill your pocket holes. We did roughly 6-8 in. between each pocket hole. Try to drill into as many features as you can so that it is solidly installed. Tip: choose pocket hole locations where they can be hidden. In our van we have bench seats in front of the divider wall with storage inside. In the photo below you can see that we have positioned pocket holes inside of the bench seats. We also put a few pocket holes on the other side of the plywood (not shown in photo), which is rarely seen.
    4. Apply wood glue to all wood-on-wood mating surfaces and place the divider wall into its desired location. Screw all pocket screws into pocket holes to secure the divider wall. Wipe up any excess wood glue with a wet rag.

Mattress

Here is the specific foam mattress we are using: Zinus Deluxe Memory Foam 8 Inch Mattress, Short Queen. It is quite comfy! As mentioned earlier, we cut the mattress in half lengthwise so that the two halves can stack on top of each other when the bed is put away. To cut the mattress in half we used an electric knife.

We covered each half of the mattress with its own queen size fitted sheet. Another option would be to have custom sized mattress covers made by a seamstress. We chose this option because it was cheaper and quicker. 

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Electrical System Background

Designing the electrical system for your campervan is one of the more daunting tasks of a van build. You will be dealing with potentially high voltages and currents. If you don’t properly size your wires and fuses or have poor connections between components, you could have a fire risk inside of your living space. If your battery is undersized or you do not have enough solar panel capacity, you risk depleting your battery and not being able to use any of your electrical appliances (refrigerator, water pump, lighting, vent fan, etc.). There are a lot of things that can go wrong, and you should make sure that you do a ton of research before starting this step of the van conversion process. And, if you still don’t feel comfortable doing it yourself, consider getting a professional to design and build it or buy an all-in-one kit. There’s no shame in getting help, we all need it some time!

The goal of this article is to give you an overview of the different components involved in the design of the van’s electrical system so that you can become familiar with how the whole system works. This is not a step-by-step how-to guide on designing, building, and installing a campervan electrical system. I do plan to write a step-by-step guide in the future, and once it is done I will update this page with a link to that article. You can think of this as the background information that you will need prior to the detailed step-by-step guide.

Another disclaimer: each of the topics below can be discussed in far greater detail than what I have written; you will find all kinds of information on the internet if you go searching. My goal is to try to focus on the information that I think is the most helpful and useful. I am always trying to improve; if you feel that there is something that is missing, incomplete, or incorrect in this article, please reach out and I will address your concerns.

In a campervan electrical system such as the one we have in Dolly, the system can be divided into the following subcomponents:

1. Power Generation and Energy Storage: this is how you generate and store the electricity that you use in your campervan. It includes charging your house battery from sources such as the alternator, solar panels, and shore power (optional – we don’t have it).
2. Power Consumption: this includes all the electrical loads that you install in your campervan. Common items include refrigerator, lights, water pump, vent fan, etc. The main items that need to be considered are correctly sizing wires and fuses, and how to make good connections between wires, busbars, fuses, etc.

This page discusses some of the basics required to understand electrical systems. If you are already comfortable with calculating power and energy from voltage and current you can skip this entirely.

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