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.
Going to create DIY RV with Sportsmobile pop-top
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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.
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.
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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.
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.
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