Built on a 2012 chevy e3500 chasis with a duramax 6.6l diesel holy grail of a power plant, this is the next evolution in the vaxrv vanlife. Customizations to come! The only ambo I got with crypto is a dambo!
The latest adventure was going to Wasteland Weekend in the apocolyptic scrub deserts of California. It was a fun excuse to make costumes and drag the trailer out of the drive way and make sure everything is still humming along. It was hot as balls in southern cali but we had the generator and the AC unit in the trailer kept it nice and cool for the peak heat of day. Here are some shots from the trip.
In this installment of the trailer remodel series Ill touch on the insulation. I chose RMAX insulation, its the same stuff they build hexayurts out of and works well. I used 2in thick on the ceiling and 1in on the walls. Protip the broken boards are usually 20% off. find ones in the right size and repair with aluminum tape.
I used self tapping steel screws to attach the thin finishing boards to have some ribbing to attach the insulation to. I used small squares of thin board as washers to keep the screws from pulling through the soft insulation.
heres another angle.
both panels up
side walls i finished in gaffer tape to keep the foam from making a huge mess. with a sharp razor this stuff is easy to cut quick.
next side went in quick but had to work around the inverter
another view
side trim installed. theres a big removable piece to cover the back cargo door that fits tight and lets you access the storage under the bed without letting the AC up top out. More pics coming soon!
Solar power is essential to me in a trailer. I went with 2 175 watt panels and four 6v deep cycle trojan 105 batteries. I added a distro box for the DC and the ac is ran independant with the ability to plug it into the xantrex 2000 watt inverter if needed.
wiring coming along (wasnt done yet)
inverter mount and trimetric meter
after insulation
2×4 mounts to the steel girder underneith
the exposed black struts are what the mounts attach to for reference. my wood slats are to attach the insulation
mounts have hinges for future angle tweaking
mounted and 3 way splitters installed for a future panel addition. panels are lag bolted into the 2x4s on custom aluminum L brackets
So I determined that if I’m taking the trailer to burning man I’m adding AC. I’m also retrofitting it with full rmax insulation. I picked up a LG Electronics LP0910WNR 9,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner
 that has a hose to vent out the hot air. I set it up to vent out of my existing cable output port and wrapped the hose with Reflectix 6-Inch by 25-Feet Spiral Pipe Wrap
 to give it some insulation in addition to making a custom vent cover to keep dust out. this Scotch Aluminum Foil Tape 3311
is great as well for keeping it all together.
the installed unit is ratchet strapped in for easy removal
there is a view of the rear port setup before insulating with bubble foam
heres the custom exit vent
its messy but theres the setup
So I undertook a large remodel of the trailer for burning man. I’m adding a solar rig, wall to wall RMAX insulation and a 9000 BTU AC unit. I’ll be posting a series of blogs in the upcoming days about it.
I’ll be posting back logged blogs about the adventure with links to the various things I’ve added.
The Dodge has been reclaimed by the city, due to draconian policies regarding parking in Berkeley my RV was towed and the tyrants in charge of the tow service wanted thousands of dollars to get it back (no thanks, keep it.) Unluckily for them I was still renovating, so I had my solar rig pulled out for re-roof sealing and painting inside, so the most expensive parts of my RV happened to be in the house. whew, dodged a slight bullet.
Update 12/2013: I’ve changed my idea about what I want in a RV now and decide a truck and trailer is far more useful. I got a wells cargo 6×10 trailer and its now outfitted to be a mini toyhauler slash rv. Its all wired up for 110 but I still need to integrate the old RV deep cycle array into the fray and I’m going to keep the solar cells unattached and just have a decently long line to run them out and set them up on ground stands when I want to use them. Expect updates on the project soon.
Here is a gallery of shots of the exterior of the rv since I painted her white.
So I got the weekend off and got the itch to paint over the funky hippie rainbow living room, thank god, coat one is near done and it wont look good until I get another two or three on there!
*update* I finished the last coat today, and wow I didnt realize how vast the improvement was until I looked back at how it used to be. Jesus it looks so much better white.
I’ve went ahead and bought some upgrades.
First up is a Alfa 1000mw usb wireless card with a standard screw in antenna port (so later on I can upgrade antennas) Its also got a 15 foot extension cable enroute with it. should improve my ability to find random hotspots = ]
Second upgrade is this lcd tv mount to mount my flat screen samsung lcd to the wall. I’m still debating placement and height, as I want to be able to see it from the bed above the cab but also ideally have it usable as an eternal monitor when working down below from the sofa. will post pictures and a blog on installation once it arrives.
