[DECLASSIFIED]: "RHONDA"

Location: Denver, CO
Make/Model: RAM Promaster 2500
Wheelbase: 158" High Roof
Color: White
Year: 2020
Mileage: 28,000 mi

Description: empty, smelled like a work van, minor imperfections on exterior (door dents), pure beaut.

>>>>>>>

Never have I been so excited to make a purchase. I must say though, the process of buying a vehicle still stinks and really tried to ruin that excitement. I'm usually an informed shopper and will rarely go into a store without knowing exactly what I want, to hopefully make the purchase as seamless as possible. These sales guys give sales guys a bad name. Long story short, you will have to jump on these listings or they will get grabbed by companies buying them by the dozen for their fleet.

As I said, this process stunk. It was near impossible finding a van that wasn't spoken for, high milage, or the victim of unqualified drivers - smashed vans were plentiful. Maybe it is different now. Third one was the charm and worked, I found Rhonda.

All was well.

I had my wheels and she checked all the boxes. May have overpaid but the commercial vehicle game is no joke, horrible time to buy a vehicle. I left satisfied, biggest grin on my face. Through my journeys I found 1500's & 2500's pretty close in cost, vehicles with 25-60k miles ranging between $45-55K out the door.

Purchased a hula girl for the dash that night.

Arrived in Tampa the following week with Rhonda full of crap. Rented a small workshop (large storage unit with electrical) and got to work. Ended up spending more time by my sisters though, the heat in Florida is the nightmare as advertised, even going into winter. I got used to it eventually.

BUILD: 10.15. 22

Objective:

Operate as:

1) Single camp/cycle hauler, and
2) King size camp for two.
3) Fully self sustained, cycle charging station (lots of battery power)
4) Transformable.

To Include:

(2) 200W solar panels, 400ah battery bank, 12V electrical, 110V electrical 3000W inverter, DC to DC charger off the alternator, full kitchen, toilet

Notes:

As far as the work ahead was concerned I was confident. I knew cutting into the newly purchased vehicle was going to hurt. This oven I now called home wasn't going to help the process either. I've done most of this before, though only in small spurts. Of course the solar/electrical runs would be new, that would take time, I was planning on it.

What I ultimately wanted to achieve was a system where I didn't have to worry about power. "Amp hours" and "Watts" were both entering into new cat and mouse games.

Step 1: Flooring

Estimated Work Time: 8 hrs
Estimated Material Cost: $1K - 2K
My Materials:

Self adhesive foam insulation
Cork mat roll
Manufacturer vinyl floor mat
Vinyl waterproof flooring
Driver/passenger 1 piece floor mat

After a good scrub, the first step came with the first issue... Murphy's law. I am 6'2, when it's humid, so clearance was always the priority. I had no interest in building a van I couldn't stand up in.

With the 1/2" thick, 1x3 lumber, used for framing the ceiling, along with the shiplap, I was already losing more than an inch. I needed, or at least thought I needed (there were no calculations on this) support up there for what I had planned. So I would take it from the bottom.

The only option left to mitigate the clearance issue was to rig the floor with what I would call a compromise, which always seem to sting:

I skipped the subfloor, put self adhesive foam insulation in the louver grooves
Covered the entire footprint with cork matting (prevents squeaks, minimal insulation value, softens feel).
The stock mat that came with the van went on top
Vinyl waterproof flooring - mine got the job done.

I would spend more money on the flooring next time as the cheaper brands tend to break easier during installation. Was the only one stocked with the pattern wanted so I pulled the trigger.
If I had the room I would have also built the subfloor. Usually people will put strip wood between the groove and lay a plywood subfloor over top before they install any flooring

Step 2: Framing/Carpentry

Estimated vDuration: 40 hrs
Estimated Material Cost: $1.8K - 3K
My Materials:

Sound Deadening Sheets (Amazon)
1x3 - 200 LF
2x2 - 200 LF
2x4 - 48 LF
1x6 - 24 LF
Birch Plywood - (2) 4x6 (1/2")
Pine Panel Board - (5) 2x6 (3/4")
Pine bead board - (1) 4x8'
Shiplap Prime - (15) 1x6x8'
Aromatic Cedar - 1 pk
MDF Bead board - (2) 4x8
Trim - 50 LF
Self drilling drywall screws -
Vanity Cabinet - 1 ct
Butcher Block Counter (Acacia) - 24'x60"
Swivel Seats (2)

For the framing the goal was to construct a bed situation that could slide out and have full, queen & king mattress options. To do this I needed to frame the bed on the cross support bar that was going the length of the back end, about 27" from my flooring. I found the trifold mattress and built the remaining dimensions around it.

The passenger side wheel was boxed out and used as my electrical cabinet. I incorporated a ledge into it for the heavy duty slides that would come from the bed side. With this, the pulled out bed wouldn't be bearing the full load. It turned out good initially, but the humidity would get the better of the cheap wood i used on the slide system. Finishing it before construction is the correct move. I needed to revisit.

Cabinet/vanity I picked up from Home Depot, along with the butcher block counter top. Hardware & Sink I found on Amazon. Cut out the template and routed all the edges with a 1/2 router cove bit.

Walls were solid plywood supported by the 1x3 framing, which ended up being about 12 inches or so apart. Ended up painting it all white. Used vinyl wallpaper for the backsplash, that worked out pretty well for what I needed.

3/4" project board was jigsawed, routed, stained, finished, sanded and finished again and again. Looks like glass! No warping everything rock solid!

I cut (2) 14"x14"holes in the roof for the Maxx Fan situation I drew up (1 up front and one in the back). Framed the cut outs with 2x2 strips and used marine adhesive to stick them to the inside of the roof. The bead board was light and the pin nails did the trick, have yet to have an issue.

For the ceiling i opted for a 4x8 stained piece of bead board over the lounge area, white shiplap filling in the negative space.

The ceiling near the front fan gave me issues down the line, I believe from the weight. I had to repin it with bigger nails and patch her up about 8 months in.

Outside of that we were good, wood decor was something i built for a previous space and worked out well.

In Conclusion:

Seal everything well, especially in Florida.
The shake adds more force than you might think.

Step 3: Rack/Solar Set Up

Duration: 30 Hrs
Estimated Material Cost: $2.5K - 4K
My Materials:

Angle Iron - Steel
Aluminum Tubing
(2) Renogy 200W Solar panels
Renogy Solar Controller 40 amp
Nuts & Bolts
(2) Renogy litium smart batteries (200ah)

The solar part of the electrical wasn't the worst. Initially I purchased the flexible 200W Renogy units but the aluminum frame I built just wasn't doing it at least not through NM wind storms (nearly tore them off). I circled back and purchased a different pair later simply because they were on sale and had good reviews, also the saved weight on the flexible ones just hurt me in the end.

I purchased Weather Guard Roof Channels as they were pretty low profile and I figured I could build out the rest. The angle irons were bolted to the panels and then I used T slides into the channels, worked perfect this time around, I also had experience the second time. Put some cedar strips on there so to have something easy to attach some D-rings to, and hide the panels.

From the panels, the 10 gauge wiring goes through a (2 1/2") hole in the roof I cut out. Sealed with a wire boot from up top, down to the Renogy 40 amp solar controller.

Next, to a 40 amp breaker, and into the battery bank: (2) 200W Renogy lithium smart batteries.

to get power from the alternator (while driving) a strong +/- connection from the van battery into the 40 Amp DC to DC charger then to the Renogy battery bank. This will charge the batteries from the vehicle alternator with the wiring supposedly having a smart connection that will ensure it only charges when 1) the car is on, and 2) the vehicle battery is up to par. I put a cut off just for peace of mind - 40 amp breakers on both ends - not sure if that was necessary but I did it.

Step 4: Electrical/Lighting

Duration: 85 Hrs
Estimated Material Cost: 1k - 1.5k
My Materials:

System Monitor
Renogy 3000W Inverter
Breakers
12ga romex
20amp plugs
Wiring/Cables
Fire extinguisher
Mulitmeter

**Please note, the distance of your cable runs, your controller, solar and inverter rating all contribute to the gauge wiring you will need and thus the price. Cables get very expensive as they get thicker I have not listed those as you will need to do additional research, I recommend from a licensed electrician unlike myself.

From the batteries placed in parallel - the thick a** positive cable went through an ANL fuse, a main cut off switch, then to the positive bus bar. The negative, from the other end of the battery bank (parallel remember), went directly to the negative bus.

Now that we had a successful 12V system I connected the following to the bus bars (Power from batteries is still cut off during rest of work):

12V Fuse Box:

Which ran lines for the following:

(2) Maxx Fan
Cooler/Fridge
Water Pump
Puck Lights w/ dimmer
Subwoofer
Strip Lights
Neon Light
Reading Light

RENOGY 3000W Inverter:

From here 12ga romex was ran continuously to 4, 110V outlets for the following:

Air Fryer
Induction Cook Top
(2) 120v Utility outlets

An additional line would be added for AC down the line:

Dometic Penguin II
Dometic Soft Start

Romex cables were fitted with 20-amp ends which could be plugged directly into the inverter, or shore power when available.

**Note: these roof air units will blow/trip your 3000W inverter of fuse/breaker during its peak draw (start up). The Renogy owners manual indicates a "3.5 Kw Generator" is needed. With no other info on the matter, I opted for the soft start solution. Thing is like $300 and claims to redistribute the power. This allows operations from a 2000W inverter. Will update once installed.

Step 5: Plumbing

Duration: 8 Hrs
Estimated Material Cost: $400 - $600
My Materials:

Tanks
Sink
Faucet
Water Pump
Pump Switch
12v Wiring

This one was pretty straight foward, used the template to cut out hole for sink. Followed the directions from there.

Step 6: Finishes/Furnishings

Duration: 50 Hrs
Estimated Material Cost: $1K-2K
My Materials:

Kilz Primer
Cabinet Paint (white)
Chestnut Stain
Poly Seal
Rubber Coating (Bumper)
Vinyl Wallpaper Backsplash
Neon Sign
Tri-Fold Mattress

Alternated Stained panel boards and white shiplap/bead board throughout the van. Tried to use pin nails as far as I could but the ceiling needed construction screws to feel good. Patched and painted....hit the the road.

[BUILD VIDEO SOON]

DIY ESTIMATES

I was lucky enough to be able to watch people work hard with their hands my whole life. Even with that, more time was spent in preparation than actually doing the work on this thng.

The cost of tools, incorrect purchases, time for experience, planning, head scratching, deliveries, and constant MF's are not included in these estimates, There are both cheaper, and more expensive ways to do everything that was done, but here is a good ballpark:

Total work hours: 200-250 hrs. (with the correct tools)
Estimated building material cost: 5 - 10k
Estimated solar & electric cost: 2-5K
Trips to Home Depot: >100

If you have any additional questions or need help with a project please reach out to Jimmy@CampArbor.com

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