A Boy and His Van: Moby the Great White Van Is Road-Ready at Last!

Those of you interested in my van conversion project have no doubt been waiting with bated breath for news of the van’s completion. It’s only been… WHAT?!? TEN MONTHS AND 23 DAYS?!? …since I last wrote about my struggles to complete the conversion. In my defense, three days after that last blog post, I had a bit of a bike crash on September 5^th, and ended up with a badly torn rotator cuff (including two severed tendons that really kinda needed to be reattached), had surgery on October 22^nd, and spent about the next six months rehabbing my shoulder before I could do any significant work with that arm. 

The winter-long layoff on the project got me to fretting about the sole remaining major task, plumbing in the kitchen sink, water heater, and shower, and my utter incompetence to complete these tasks. I had been no more competent to accomplish anything else on the van project, of course, and had still managed to muddle through. For some reason, likely the many idle months, the thought of doing the plumbing work really messed with me. After those months of fretting, I finally decided that I would pay someone more competent than myself to accomplish these tasks, and found my man in Doug of RV Repair & Renovation in rural Medford, who told me he could fit the work in between larger projects “sometime in May.” May turned into June, but Doug finally turned the van back over to me late in the month, leaving only some finishing details to complete.

I’m beyond thrilled to report that Moby the Great White Van (henceforth to be known as Moby) is now 100% done and ready to hit the road!
Though I didn’t do all the work on the project myself (besides the plumbing, I also hired out some body work to address cancerous rust to Valley Autohaus), it still feels like a major accomplishment to have this sucker done.

 

Here are a few details on the build should you have any interest in reading on:

• ·      All the power for the van (for 12-volt lighting, mini-fridge, plumbing system pump, and inverter for 120-volt plug loads, including the seven-gallon mini water heater, two-burner induction countertop stove, phone chargers, speaker, etc.) is provided by two 100-watt Renogy solar panels and the 170 amp-hour Renogy lithium-iron phosphate battery they charge. No propane or other fossil fuels needed (other than the diesel fuel to move the rig down the road, of course…).

·      Most of the lumber and other wood used is reclaimed, including the cedar fence planks
used to finish the walls.

·      The cabinet countertops are made from raw ash lumber I purchased from Glenn Switzer at the Workshop at the Gardens (from a tree harvested on-site at Switzer’s Nursery).

·      The tiny fold-down table is made from black walnut milled from a tree that blew down on my father-in-law Loren Larson’s property in Walden Place many years ago. Loren provided major assistance in making the countertops and table!

·      The van walls and ceiling are insulated with 2” to 4” of two-part polyurethane foam insulation (roughly R-13 to R-26).

·      There is no air conditioning (other than for the cab of the van), but there is a 10-speed ceiling fan that can move air in or out, which provides good ventilation coupled with the two screened windows.

·      There is a huge amount of storage space under the queen-sized bed, including room for two bikes.

·      The flooring is Marmoleum Click tiles (made from all natural materials).

·      The tiny shower stall also houses a composting toilet (made by Nature’s Head).

 

Anne and I are ready to take Moby on the road Wednesday for a quick one-night shakedown outing to Duluth and the North Shore and have multiple adventures planned for the near future. Onward!