The build , the conversion finished, but there are a few other things to mention, gear inside, and out. I will keep this very short, too many of these early posts just go on and on and on .... There were a few other important pieces of equipment that went into or on the van which I want to mention, so here goes.
1. Roof rack. Bought a great roof rack from Vantech, H1 3 Bar Steel, for Sprinter (US$440). I needed a rack for my observation lounge and to support my awning. Plus, never know when you might need to lash something to the roof. Rack went up well, really like the way it attached to the rain gutters, very secure. 2. Portable, 12v refrigerator/freezer, real important piece of equipment, especially if off the beaten track. Plus, not sure if I have seen any place which sells ice in South America, at least not in Peru. There are actually a number of options out there, choices to make, but I went with an Engel Eclipse MR40F, made in Australia (US$800). Model I chose is 38L chest fridge/freezer, which runs off a car battery. Also, this model has a lid which opens more like your classic ice chest, cooler, which I felt would work better in my kitchen cabinet. I just hope I actually get to use it, serious issues with Peruvian customs, my customs broker, and just the insanity which is Peru. 3. In order to preserve the charge of the starter battery, I bought an IBS Dual battery system (US$350, about). Idea here, from the overlanders, is to get a second battery, deep-cycle battery, and use this system to connect the two batteries together, and, protect the starter battery from losing its charge. A deep-cycle battery is designed to be discharged fully, and then recharge. I will connect the fridge to the second battery, and the IBS system will keep this operational, while protecting the primary battery. Sounds like a great system, hope it works. 4. You got to have some shade, and outdoor living space, so you need an awning. Awning I chose, another product from Australia, ARB, great stuff for the overlanders. I bought an ARB 2500, the big one, 2500x2500 mm (MSRP US$305). It mounted ok on my roof rack, but most of minor issues had to do with the mounting hardware and system used for this awning. Got it work though, and think it will be very cool, and very useful. 5. One very important piece of equipment which many just do not seem to discuss, is the toilet. I went with a Dometic 972 ( think), portable toilet (about US$80 for 2.6 gal model, US$120 for 5 gal model). Have not used it yet, but I think is very important not to always worry about where to take care of business, and these portable, chemical toilets are supposed to work great. I did also have to buy special toilet paper, and chemicals for the holding tank, but no big deal. I will pee in a bottle as I have done many times before (i.e., in a sea kayak, just cannot always get to shore when nature calls). 6. And to sleep on, I bought a 6" memory foam mattress from Wayfair.com (about US$70), full-sized which I cut to fit my bed platform (70"x43"). I have slept on it a number of times so far, very nice. 7. And lastly, I bought a ladder for the back, in order to get to the roof, and the observation lounge. I was not happy with this company, though ladder fine. When I opened the box, was missing hardware and gaskets, plus, they charge me almost as much for shipping as the cost of the ladder. When I remember the name, I will post later. This total cost, ladder and shipping ended up being almost US$150, way more than I think I need to spend. There are a few other pieces of equipment which I had, or bought, but those listed above are those more specific for the van. Below, some images of the equipment. I "borrowed" these images from the web, mostly manufacturer's web pages, imagine they won't mind, free advertising. The van was ready to go.
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Brian C.L. Shelley, Ph.D.My South American Adventure. Archives
August 2018
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