Van Mods

Our final van modification? A name change - hereafter known as V-ger. Until we change our minds again...

Excited to be back messing about in his dad’s woodworking shop, Brian spent several weeks completing some pretty awesome and quite useful custom modifications before we set off for the great outdoors in our Winnebago Travato …

• New Bump Stops (Sumo Springs)

The first fix-it item to take place - new Sumo Spring bump stops. Yes, the original ones were OK, but these new ones raised the back end another inch. A mere inch? Who cares? Well, our generator is positioned at the lowest point under the vehicle and only 6” off the ground. That’s a little too close for comfort. In fact, I once backed Brian into a parking spot and forgot that said low generator was behind the wheel base. That expensive generator juuuuuuust baaaarely whisked the top of the curb. After that near disaster, I am more vigilant. But having that extra inch has been really helpful for clearing higher curbs or road debris or small children (just kidding).

• Battery monitor

One major reason we bought the Travato is its similar setup to a cruising boat. A solar panel on the roof allows us to boondock in remote areas without attaching to power for a day or two at a time. But doing so requires constant vigilance of power usage. The refrigerator runs exclusively off of the coach 12 volt batteries and is the largest battery draw. Our existing battery monitor is almost useless, blinking when full and in trickle charge mode, otherwise notating the voltage as it depletes which is the least accurate method of measuring. Worse, when the sun is charging the batteries, the current gauge only shows the solar panel output voltage, not the actual battery voltage.  So unless we cover up the panel or wait until dark we really have no idea what state of charge the batteries are at. Useless. As a rule, batteries should never be depleted below 50% charge; and if you want to keep your expensive battery bank healthy and lasting longer, an 80% minimum is best practice. (Brian gets jittery when it gets below 80.) So in order to view the more accurate ‘percentage’ method, Brian installed a Balmar Smart Gauge. (We have two friends with the exact same gauge on their boats.)
 
The entire installation took only one day (once we got all the parts) but most of that time was spent dinking around with the batteries. Each battery sits on a tiltable “shelf”, tucked up into the chassis and impossible to access without tipping at a really dicey angle. Brian raised the van on wood blocks (in order to crawl under the low clearance) and then used a motorcycle jack to keep the battery shelf from sliding out of its slot, hurtling this hazardous 75 pound hunk onto the pavement (or someone’s head). I got the job of making sure the jack didn’t roll away. Yeah, that means I also had to be under the elevated van – good times.
 
After drilling the necessary wire access hole in the bottom of the van and cutting an opening in the wall of the bed for the gauge, Brian ran electrical wires from the battery post into the interior. Our new meter works as expected and is reasonably precise, within a couple points plus or minus. As on the boat, Brian is once again content, now possessing this immediate information. Picture Mr. Burns from the Simpsons – a giddy “amp accountant” reveling in his “bank status” and dictating whether or not I can “afford” to watch an episode of Downton Abby. Loan… DENIED!

• Bedside tables

One major feature lacking in our Winnebago Travato K is a dining table. We could eat from the captain’s chairs but we love lounging on our couch-beds. Aside from perching plates precariously on our laps, there’s no suitable place to rest a floppy paper plate or a drink. We didn’t like the idea of a cumbersome shared tabletop sprouting up from the floor between the already narrow walkway, even if it was removable. So we decided on two mini tray-tables.

Our TV-tables are made of three types of solid wood (sapelle, cocobola, bubinga) and finished with a clear gloss. Brian fabricated brackets from aluminum bar stock, using the existing window trim screws to avoid drilling any new holes in the van metal. Each table has two screws protruding from the back that slide and lock into these brackets. And there’s a single support leg that rotates down into a routed space for flat storage vertically under the bed using Velcro. Plenty strong for a drink and a plate of food, they only take a minute to set up or take down. For us, it’s the perfect solution. Now we can eat dinner while lounging on our respective beds watching Downton Abby (but only when we have sufficient amp credits or plugged into electricity!) Our ‘tiny house’ living room is complete.
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• Spicerack/backsplash

My original 1-1/2” backsplash is about as inadequate as using a garden hose for a parking curb. It doesn’t block water from splashing or food from falling into the inaccessible black hole in back of my tiny kitchen cabinetry. I’d read a Facebook post about a grape accidentally dropping into that abyss with the owner having to remove the fridge to get it out before it rotted. Yuck. But worse, the thought of what happens when you don’t see it fall? So Brian made me a beautiful 4-1/2” backsplash with a built in spice rack out of the same wood as the tables, sapelle. I insisted it be made removable so I could clean up liquid spills, lest it seep into/underneath the wood. So he crafted toggle clamps on the back side that loosen with a quick turn of the screw instead of drilling into the Corian. It works beautifully: my spices are easy-to-access and organized and the piece looks as though the van was born with it.

• Windshield shades

We purchased and installed retractable front windshield shades from Eclipse Sunshades. The ones that came with the van are cumbersome to put up each night and take up tons of room in the overhead compartment. We found and copied this solution from the Winnebago Travato Facebook page, an extremely helpful tool filled with owner ideas for van modifications. These install vertically along the far left and right windshield edges and stay in place while driving. We don’t even notice any peripheral vision blocking. Closing them is a snap, just Velcro shut in the middle. While they are not blackout shades, they block the sun when parked for a few hours sightseeing and when stopped for the night they provide sufficient shielding from onlookers with no background shadowing visible. The ease of use and added storage space was worth the $50. They are so convenient, we have already discussed our future despair and solution when, inevitably, we damage one from too much use. Yup, buy another set!  

• Shower curtain

The shower curtain that comes with the van uses snaps that fasten around the upper portion of the bathroom. Lame. We figured it would be annoying to put up and down every time. So Brian installed a bendable slide utilizing about 30 spring grips that attach to the curtain top. Now we can slide the curtain in a U-shape around the shower basin and rope it off when done, leaving the curtain in place at all times. It IS a much better solution, but not as necessary so far since we have been staying at State Parks with shower facilities or relatives houses. We plan on using it much more next summer when we head out west boondocking in isolated wilderness.

• Sewer hose holder/”bumper step”

Brian really wanted to upgrade to a Rhino sewer hose as the one that came with the Winnebago was (pardon the pun) crappy. It wasn’t long enough. It’s rather thin and chintzy. There’s no 90-degree bend at the end allowing proper fit into the sewer hole without stepping on the end to keep it in place (I don’t want my shoe anywhere near that sewer hole.) But the most important thing…there’s no “pee-viewing window”. While watching your pee+ stream from the tank into the sewer seems a bit (OK a lot) gross, consider the alternative…
 
Just today, we witnessed what we recognized as inevitable with the windowless hose: camper thinks sewage is done streaming, camper unhooks hose prematurely from trailer, camper eyes go wide as he sees his shit-stream is NOT done flowing and actually is still flowing quite profusely, stuff splashes everywhere (on the ground, the trailer, the camper), camper swears loudly, camper fumbles to reattach, camper (grumbling) resolves to buy a better hose. Who hasn’t done this to one degree or another! It only took us one use of the crappy hose to agree this was a priority. After watching that spectacle, we our looked at each other and smirked. WHO wants a crappy crapper hose? Not us.
 
But storing the additional 90-degree attachments and the longer 15ft hose was problematic. Brian researched and found the adjustable Sanitube storage tube to hold everything in a sealed container. But he could find no good way to attach it under our van. We really didn't want to store it IN the van (gross) and didn't desire the added length, weight and cost of a Stowaway trailer hitch storage box. So Brian came up with this idea of a “bumper” of sorts, fabricating a 5ft wide bracket made from 1” square steel tubing that attaches the Sanitube to the trailer hitch. As an added feature he welded a step on top to protect the tube, making it easier when getting in and out the back door. He painted the whole thing black to match the tube and added non-slip tape to the step (‘cause he thinks of everything). The whole contraption sticks out only 7 inches from the bumper. After having used it many times now, we are very pleased with our new gadget; it makes an icky job much less so. Plus, we will never be THAT guy.

 
V-Ger
Amid Brian’s month-long van modification session and the beginnings of my TransUnion death debacle (see last post), we squabbled over what to rename the van. Alas, Brian didn’t like the name Winndigo. Too hard to say. What?!  I thought it was cool, whatever. Brian liked Silver Bullet (no way, too much like the Budweiser slogan… wait, I think that IS the slogan). I wanted to name it KYLE: Kickass Yuppie Liveaboard Expediter or TIMMY: Travato Inspires More Miscellaneous Yondering. But Brian didn’t like my Southpark references. Sigh.
 
What about V-Ger? From the first Star Trek movie “The Motion Picture” (1979 and yes, the worst one) in which the newly self-aware NASA Voyager 6 satellite assumes its name is “V-Ger”, rather than Voyager, because moon dust covered up the “oya” portion of its name on the ships’ hull.  Not such a smart satellite. Yeah, we just spoiled the surprise ending if you haven’t gotten around to watch the 40 year old movie yet. Anyway, we feel it’s fitting:

• our silver van looks a little sleek and space-shippy;
• it’s intended purpose is for us to voyage where we haven’t gone before;
• while self-aware satellites (or vans) usually are NOT a good thing, self-aware humans ARE… and so we shall strive, in honor of Spock;
• and finally, if you don’t get a little dirt on your space vehicle, you haven’t really explored!