[Mike Cullen]

I bought a 2016 Transit T-150 with low roof, medium length. Sportsmobile will install a pop-top in January. I will be doing the rest of the conversion. I chose the pop-top because I like the fresh air and want to keep the van in my garage. I've owned Turtle Top Pop-Top vans in the past. Actually I took the Turtle Top off my 1978 Ford Econoline and transferred it to my 1992 Econoline van, using the same top for a total of 28 years. My only regret is I didn't transfer it again to yet another van since they cost about $7000 installed.

I'm retired and will take my time to do a safe and nice looking conversion. Hope to use this site for guidance in the process.

 

[pjtezza]

Hi Mike! I have the same plan. I have a 2015 T350. I bought my particular van because I got a really good deal on a pop top compatible low roof, medium length van that had been sitting on the Ford dealer's lot for about a year. I also liked that it was silver and had the EcoBoost engine. I have an appointment with Sportsmobile for the popup top in October. I might have had Sportsmobile do the full conversion, but they couldn't take appointments for that until Spring 2017. So, I figured I'd see how far along I could get with the conversion work on my own. I started with mockups made with Coroplast. I'm far enough along now that the end is in sight.

 

[Mike Cullen]

Coroplast

Had to look up Coroplast meaning. Seems like an interesting concept on how to design the RV. I might consider this instead of my usual trial and error method Actually, I have been using the plans from the Sportsmobile (SMB) website to play around with the designs and Coroplast mock-ups might be a way forward.

I'd be interested to know your plans for electric, gas (if equipped), water, bath/shower (if equipped).

I'm thinking all electric with Li-ion batteries. Lots of fresh water most likely under the floor, gray water also under the floor, a toilet sitting on a black water tank, and possibly a shower. I've read a lot of opinions against the shower but my goal is to camp in primitive National Forest type campgrounds and to create a level of luxury (i.e. shower) that my wife will come along.

The thinking on going without gas comes from a conversation with SMB people; apparently it is a trend. Gas introduces a lot of safety issues. I expect that my normal mode of use will be short 1-3 day stops at camp grounds with driving in-between where the batteries can be charged. I may also look at solar but am not counting on it; instead I will use high efficiency electric fridge (possibly augmented by ice), no heat, and a TBD method to heat the shower water. This may be a combination of solar water heat (I've used those black bag showers on tent trips) augmented by electric water heater (although I haven't identified these yet). For cooking I would probably use small propane tanks, and then mostly outside.

Any insights into what you are doing or comments on my ideas would be appreciated.

Mike.

 

[orton]

You may get some ideas here:

http://www.ortontransit.info/

I use a lot of large pieces of cardboard to make test panels etc.

 

[BabyBuffy]

Thinking outside the box you might give consideration to learning to like cold showers...that would solve one problem. Your wife would need some persuasion I reckon...

http://www.thehackedmind.com/7-reasons-to-take-cold-showers-and-1-that-really-matters/

 

[pjtezza]

Though the precise dimensions are different, the final result is a lot like this mockup. Later, I have had an endless supply of coroplast scraps to use for "story sticks". IMO, the key to making peace with Coroplast for mockups is to have a quick and easy way to cut it. After a while of using a nice utility knife in combination with a drywall T square, I built a pair of custom cutters, one for full depth cuts and another for partial cuts to make corners. I can post pics of the cutters if there is interest.

Coroplast is essentially cardboard made of plastic. 4'x8' sheets are inexpensive at my local Home Depot. The white is utilitarian, but I think the clear version looks cool and am considering using it for my final paneling of walls, cabinets, etc..

The cool thing about DYI, is you do what you think best! In my case, I decided to use propane for cooking and heating. I have a temporary BBQ propane tank now, but I plan to mount a horizontal tank under the RV as several others on this forum have done. I camp off-grid a lot in the cold. I did the math, and, IMO, trying to heat with batteries was not realistic. You can heat with gas (or diesel), then cook with electricity, but I kind of like the idea of adding capacity with a second fuel tank. And propane is well understood and costs less.

I really dig lion battery systems, but, after some research, I decided that the lion supply chain for RVs wasn't mature enough yet. For now, I'm doing something cheap and simple - I added 1 AGM house battery and I'm charging it from the van alternator.

 

[pjtezza]

With regards to pleasing the wife, we have similar objectives! I had a 26' Class C Tioga RV prior to the camper van, so I know that the toilet is a high priority.

The Tioga RV had a traditional toilet with a large black water tank. For a toilet, it worked well and it didn't smell bad. The black water tank was too big so I typically had to add water to dump it (you have to fill it to 3/4 to make sure it will empty properly). The tank size issue would be easy to solve, but another problem we had with that setup was that it wasn't possible to empty the black tank anywhere but an official RV waste station, and we pretty much always ended up with the RV at home with non-empty tank (not ideal if your next trip is a month away).

By far, the portable toilet is the least expensive option and also solve the non-empty black tank problem. It could potentially be extra gross to empty, but I've read some reviews that make it seem comparable to emptying a black water tank. Some portable toilets are unusually short, but I found a regular height, self-contained unit that can be permanently mounted and gets good reviews: http://www.thetford.com/product/porta-potti-curve/. According to the reviews, the main weakness is that the electric flush unit can give out. In that case, you can manually flush by pouring in water until your inexpensive replacement has arrived.

In my layout, the "downstairs bed" leaves just enough room to permanently mount the toilet and create a small closet around it for privacy. With the low roof, between the beams, there is just enough headroom. Once the popup top is in place, the toilet closet will be as far away as you can get from the bed in the limited space available.

Many class B RVs have an integrated toilet/shower closet. Something like this *might* work after I put the popup top on, but without the popup top, space is just too limited and an outdoor shower seems like the best option. Laurie wasn't much of fan of the Tioga RV's shower anyway.

 

[pjtezza]

For gray water, I have a temporary 5 gallon tank under the sink. I like these tanks the best because they are nice and rectangular and have standard threads (aquatainers have weird threads): http://www.tapplastics.com/product/plastics/plastic_containers/stackable_bottle/237. I'm planning to mount a gray water tank under the van on the passenger side as others on this forum have done.

I need the fresh water tank inside the van so it won't freeze. (The gray water tank can freeze or you can use anti-freeze.) I have another 5 gallon tank to the right of my refrigerator and a small 12V pump that connects it to the sink.

Well, I think the only thing I haven't told about is the refrigerator, so here is the one I ended up with: Norcold NR751BB. It just barely fits - getting it to fit was one of my happiest moments in the project!

 

[jhtransit]

West Coast folks are lucky to have Tapplastics available. It's $50.00 to ship $30.00 worth of containers to Florida.

 

[Michael Ophus]

some people here have installed them in there transit van conversions: (no holding tank toilet) http://www.natureshead.net/ others here in the transit forums have installed these demand hot water heaters: https://www.amazon.com/Eccotemp-L5-Portable-Tankless-Outdoor/dp/B000TXOJQ4?ie=UTF8&redirect=true (use the ford transit forum search box at the upper right to find the install threads for them)

https://www.amazon.com/Eccotemp-L5-Portable-Tankless-Outdoor/dp/B000TXOJQ4?ie=UTF8&redirect=true

 

[Ding Batt]

Hi Mike! I have the same plan. I have a 2015 T350. I bought my particular van because I got a really good deal on a pop top compatible low roof, medium length van that had been sitting on the Ford dealer's lot for about a year. I also liked that it was silver and had the EcoBoost engine. I have an appointment with Sportsmobile for the popup top in October. I might have had Sportsmobile do the full conversion, but they couldn't take appointments for that until Spring 2017. So, I figured I'd see how far along I could get with the conversion work on my own. I started with mockups made with Coroplast. I'm far enough along now that the end is in sight.

I would appreciate a good write-up and some pictures when the top is installed.....may go down the same road myself in the future.

 

[orton]

To get a portable toilet to the correct height just make a box pedestal between the floor and the toilet bottom. Buy a toilet that has mounting fittings on the bottom.

In my case the toilet is mounted in the shower enclosure and the pedestal will be a stainless tank for the shower water. Tank water will be electrically heated and pumped out with a small cylindrical 12 volt DC pump.

 

[pjtezza]

Tap Plastics is crazy! They don't always have the lowest prices, but where else can you just walk in and buy plastic rods, sheets and film off the shelf? I love the way they have gone all in for the plastics business. There's a great future in plastics!

 

[skagitstan]

some people here have installed them in there transit van conversions: (no holding tank toilet) http://www.natureshead.net/ others here in the transit forums have installed these demand hot water heaters: https://www.amazon.com/Eccotemp-L5-Portable-Tankless-Outdoor/dp/B000TXOJQ4?ie=UTF8&redirect=true (use the ford transit forum search box at the upper right to find the install threads for them)

We went with an Airhead composting toilet, similar to the nature's Head.
We decided on the Airhead mainly because it probably is a bit more compact and doesn't require as much clearance behind the unit to remove the bucket. The Nature's head requires a couple of inches there to tilt back the top.
Link to Airhead:http://airheadtoilet.com/
And a pic of it installed in Annie:

 

[Mike Cullen]

Whoa, thanks for all the input. The ortontransit.info site is amazing and spot on many of my wants.

I hope to give back to this community with some ideas as I go along. But one quick bit for Orton regarding horns and lights. Having woken up the Everglades campground while sleeping in my car twice in one night (I was initially afraid of gators before I learned I would be safe in my tent) I figured it out. If you lock the doors and then try to break out of your car you will trigger the anti-theft system. If you don't lock your doors you will not trigger the system; simple as that.

Another issue is having this thread in the "introduction" area. I haven't participated in forums before but fear I'm violating some sort of policy by expounding here rather than one of the topic areas. Any way to move the thread without losing all the good info?

Thanks again.

 

[orton]

Thanks for the comment. More info to be posted as I get closer to completion (if that ever happens).

I bought Transit without any security options but I got something anyway. The two times it had a fit was when I was entering the vehicle. Have no idea what I did wrong. 2 times was enough. Horn disconnected.
If I decide I want a horn I can buy a button and find 12 volts somewhere. Maybe find a computer with voice recognition and just yell "horn" to make it blow. That would make it complicated enough so it fit in with the rest of the vehicle.

 

[Taz Pengra]

"Siri, please honk the horn three times in rapid succession"

 

[Michael Ophus]

Another issue is having this thread in the "introduction" area. I haven't participated in forums before but fear I'm violating some sort of policy by expounding here rather than one of the topic areas. Any way to move the thread without losing all the good info?

Thanks again.

we are a somewhat new forum here and we seem to be more laid back here then the other forums. so feel free to post anything in almost any thread and only a very few here will appear to be unhappy with it. also the search box here is all but worthless because in some cases there are 50 threads covering the same subject. i do not know how to move a thread except to start a new thread, so you can continue with this one or start a new one, either way many here will be more then happy to answer all of your questions that they can! (and answer some that they can not!) (yes, i am one of those anal retentive types from the other forums that believes in proper forum usage and the organization of info. but i am starting to mellowing with age here, and if you cant beat them join them!)

 

[Taz Pengra]

THAT is the toilet for a campervan! No water tanks, no mess. And it doesn't take up much space. I think if someone needs to have a toilet in a van for some reason, the airhead or similar is the way to go. Cheaper and easier would be the Wag Bag or DIY versions, fine for limited use but you have to dump the bags every so often, not a big deal if you're on the road.

 

[pjtezza]

I would appreciate a good write-up and some pictures when the top is installed.....may go down the same road myself in the future.

Here you go: http://www.fordtransitusaforum.com/...3921-pj-s-camper-van-popup-top-installed.html