Day 253: Sink installed, water pump is working and no leaks! However, the gray water tank is not working out.
The gray water tank, the big green tank on the right, is too
tall and it does not match up with the sink drain adapter. We have another one on the way. The big white box on the left is the water
heater. It works great! I may install one of these under the sink in
our kitchen. It heats up to target
temperature within an hour. It also
holds heat well after the electricity is removed. Having it under the sink means instant hot
water!
Water tank, water pump and hoses installed and not leaking. Missing a hot water hose to the shower but
that will come later. We went with ribbed push on connectors instead of Pex. Pex tools are a bit too expensive to buy for just one small job like this van. With the push on connectors if I need to change anything while on the road I only need a screw driver.
From the top of the tank on the left is the vent line which allows air to escape while filling the tank. The garden hose on the top right is our fill line. Its a drinking water quality hose so no worries there. We debated installing a fill cap on the out side of the van which is common on all campers and RVs. However those units will spend all day sitting in a camp site well away from random pedestrians. The van will be our only mode of transportation which means it will be sitting in parking lots all day. I have read blogs where people will open the fill cap and put little surprises in your fresh water tanks just for fun. One guy said he and his wife came back to the van late at night after dinning out to find a drunk dude relieving himself in their fresh water tank. Glad they caught him! Otherwise the conversation the next morning would have been "Honey, does the coffee taste funny to you?". Our fill hose is the garden hose which is safely stored inside the van. It is long enough so we can make the connection well outside the van to a fill line. I feel much better about this arrangement!
Day 263: Received a deck sample to test out the match up to
the roof rack frame. Technically its
boat dock material. So basically, I am
putting a Boat Dock on our van roof. The
decking is non-slip, heat resistant weighs a full third less than treated
lumber, all fasteners are hidden and never needs maintenance.
Plus, it has a 10-year warranty.
The only problem is it is still on back order.
Day 274: testing out the shower connections, this time with
a hot water hose. Funny it has better
water pressure than our home shower. Since the shower is installed in
the very back of the van and the hot water tank is 12 feet toward the front a
lot of cold water is between the us and a hot shower. Since the fill line to the tank is right
beside the shower head, we will simply run the shower into the fill line until
the head starts heating up. The hose fitting to the left is the drain for the tank.
Finally! Plumbing is done. Of all the task required to build this van plumbing is easily the hardest one I had to tackle. I have a much higher level respect for both electricians and plumbers. Their estimates may seem high but from now on I will gladly pay it to keep from having to deal with it myself.
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