[eranrund]

Forgot to add some photos from last night's adventures in layout experiments and some minor shower progress.
Here's the mattress and galley mocked. There is some plywood underneath the mattress that allowed me to sit on it. This is a 6" twin-size tri-fold mattress that I like. I used the full (or was it queen?) size in the sprinter and plan on doing the same here. Being tri-fold makes it easy to remove and store, if for whatever reason I want to put something bulky on the bed. This came in handy once when I was moving apartments.

And here it is with the current shower frame work-in-progress, but the shower frame is not flush with the wall since I was getting ready to drive home and didn't want it touching the wall as I drive. Already got a few tiny scratches on it from the 8020 rubbing on it when I wasn't paying attention.

 

[orton]

Forgot to add some photos from last night's adventures in layout experiments and some minor shower progress.
Here's the mattress and galley mocked. There is some plywood underneath the mattress that allowed me to sit on it. This is a 6" twin-size tri-fold mattress that I like. I used the full (or was it queen?) size in the sprinter and plan on doing the same here. Being tri-fold makes it easy to remove and store, if for whatever reason I want to put something bulky on the bed. This came in handy once when I was moving apartments.

View attachment 161096

And here it is with the current shower frame work-in-progress, but the shower frame is not flush with the wall since I was getting ready to drive home and didn't want it touching the wall as I drive. Already got a few tiny scratches on it from the 8020 rubbing on it when I wasn't paying attention.
View attachment 161097

Be sure to check under van floor where the shower drain will be located.

I had to offset the shower pan drain to miss the "frame rail". The low point of my SS drain pan sits on the steel floor with a 1" OD SS tube protruding through the floor with the 1" ID drain hose installed under the floor. No trap required because the drain piping path goes down below the grey water tank and then back up into the tank bottom which creates a "trap". When not in use I do put a rubber cork in the drain to prevent any loose small parts getting in the drain because I do not have a strainer in the shower drain. Use same 1" ID hose for the sink drain but do not need a sink plug because sink has a strainer.

I notice in your picture the aisle width between the shower and the sink cabinet appears to be very narrow. I wanted the aisle width much wider. I have 23 1/2" between the front edge of the shower cabinet and the front edge of the sink counter top.

 

[eranrund]

Be sure to check under van floor where the shower drain will be located.

I had to offset the shower pan drain to miss the "frame rail". The low point of my SS drain pan sits on the steel floor with a 1" OD SS tube protruding through the floor with the 1" ID drain hose installed under the floor. No trap required because the drain piping path goes down below the grey water tank and then back up into the tank bottom which creates a "trap". When not in use I do put a rubber cork in the drain to prevent any loose small parts getting in the drain because I do not have a strainer in the shower drain. Use same 1" ID hose for the sink drain but do not need a sink plug because sink has a strainer.

I notice in your picture the aisle width between the shower and the sink cabinet appears to be very narrow. I wanted the aisle width much wider. I have 23 1/2" between the front edge of the shower cabinet and the front edge of the sink counter top.

I have been blessed (or cursed, depending on which day you ask me) with the Ford CAD files, so it will be fairly easy for me to figure out where to drill a hole without hitting the frame (or so I hope). Drilling is stressful for me since I also need to avoid the radiant floor loop. I CNC plotted it on the floor plywood, so that will be my reference and in the CAD software I can see how it overlaps the frame:

The big grey blob on the top right is the 18 gal water tank. Annoyingly, I didn't put floor heating under where the shower pan is now set to be, because that is where I originally planned on putting my fridge. Too much work, time and waste to redo that part. Oh well.

With regards to the drain, I am still debating on how to do it. I can either do it the way you suggested, or with a Hepvo trap and enter through the top of the tank. Your way has the very nice advantage of not losing a couple of inches for the plumbing - assuming I can go straight down. That big red beam might be a problem...
When specing out my grey water tank I asked for two ports on both the bottom and the top of the tank. One of the top one is going to be used for a level sensor, but the other one can potentially be used by the shower. Do you have any thoughts on the pipe ID that is recommended for a shower? If I go through the top I can do 1.5". I have 1" ports on the bottom - figured for a sink that will be sufficient but maybe the shower will benefit from a bigger ID?

The photo in the previous post showing the 8020 skeleton does not show the real width of the isle because the shower skeleton is not flush against the wall. It's placed there so that the 8020 does not rub against the van sheet metal and scratch it while I'm driving. When placed at the correct location, I think my isle ends up being 21.5". Could be better but I think this is acceptable for me.

 

[orton]

I wanted as much height in the shower as possible so that is why I did not want a raised shower floor.

My shower drain line has a 3/4" copper tubing as part of the piping. The 3/4" copper tubing 90 fittings have an OD of close to 1" so 1" ID rubber hose and a hose clamp work. I was concerned about the drain diameter but it has worked fine for the way I shower. I get wet, soap and rinse so do not have a constant flow of water. Use a garden hose with a radiator 90 degree fill valve that has a on/off valve so not constant flow. I only use 2 1/2 gallons of water for each shower. Maybe the drain size would not be adequate if I had a regular always on shower head. I wanted to limit the water used for a shower to conserve water.

PDF drawing of my 14 ga. SS shower drain pan:

68b108_2999b004af804475aeecede7dae41277.pdf (filesusr.com)

Notice the offset drain to miss the frame rail. Pan only sloped in two directions instead of four. Drains fine unless I am parked van nose up or down. Then still not a major issue. It eventually drains when van is moved.

My grey water tank level gage is rather simple. I have a 1" square SS tube welded to the inside of the tank wall that stops 1/2" below the top of the tank. When full the overflow/vent tube dumps water to indicate a full tank.

 

[eranrund]

Made some good progress over the weekend towards mounting the gray water tank.

I began by adding a bunch of 1/4-20 and 5/16-18 plusnuts at a few available holes on the driver side wall:

I then proceeded to fabricate a bracket using 1/8" L steel piece. I drilled holes for all the plusnuts facing the ground, and welded tabs for the others. Unfortunately I neglected to properly clamp the assembly while welding, and it cupped a bit. Had to enlarge the holes, but in the end it all fit. Some big washers will be necessary in some places.

The bolts seen here are going into the plus nuts. The empty holes are for me to do as I please, which in this case will be to attach smaller L pieces to hold the grey water tank.

For the other side of the tank I used the fuel tank bolts and another bracket made out of the same 1.5"x1.5"x1/8" steel stock:

Not pictured is another L piece and 5/16-18" SS threaded rod that is attached to the holes seen above.


And a test fitting of the mounting. I placed a bunch of bolts spaced 5" apart since I didn't feel like taking careful measurements of both sides - figured I'll place plenty of bolts and see which ones line up nicely with the threaded rods on the fuel tank size.

I was hoping the tank can go all the way to the front such that the front of the tank touches the vehicle beam. That didn't quite work since I have an unused port on the tank (I over-speced it when I ordered, to have ports on both front and rear) and that port is hitting the fuel fill hose. Nothing a 1" wooden shim won't solve.

Before continuing I took everything down to paint the brackets, which I have not completed yet. I am also going to mount a piece of 1/2" BB underneath the tank, to protect it from any kind of road debris. At the front of the tank I will add a 1" piece of wood to space it so that it cannot fly forward, but it also does not rub against the fuel fill hose.

I'm pleased with how this is turning out - it appears that with the drain ports facing the rear of the vehicle I will not be blocking the jack point (or only minimally so, in which case the drain valves could be removed if necessary.

The biggest remaining TBD right now is how to prevent the tank from moving backwards. I'm sure some assortment of L brackets, bolts, and Mig wire will solve that.

 

[Bajabound]

Nice work!
Quite sure you and I are not the only people on this site that have had some difficulty aligning/threading multiple plus nut holes across a large uneven surface. 😁

 

[eranrund]

Nice work!
Quite sure you and I are not the only people on this site that have had some difficulty aligning/threading multiple plus nut holes across a large uneven surface. 😁

Thank you!

They weren't kidding when they said there are no straight lines on the van...

 

[eranrund]

Small incremental steps... I built the shower pan base - not a particularly exciting or elegant part of the project but gets the job done. This will sit inside the 8020 frame and will ideally be removable, in case I ever need to replace the pan or do any work on the drain.

I also started working on the battery pack. I am replicating @natecostello's beautiful design. So far I have wrapped the cells in Kapton tape and did an initial test fitting. Still need to cut the side panels and trim the plastic board that I added as extra insulation between the cells.
My current plan for bus bars is to crimp 1 AWG cables. That's going to be fun...

Also getting closer to mounting the gray water tank. Need another coat of paint on the wood piece that sits underneath it, and maybe order some tank heater pads.

 

[takedown]

The crimping tool from Temco makes quick work of large gauge crimps. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0813S6ZT7?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

I'm crimping 4/0 with it as well as 6 awg. I tried 2 other tools that did not a good job at all.

 

[eranrund]

The crimping tool from Temco makes quick work of large gauge crimps. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0813S6ZT7?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

I'm crimping 4/0 with it as well as 6 awg. I tried 2 other tools that did not a good job at all.

Thank you for the recommendation.
It looks pretty similar to the one I currently have - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XR8BY65/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 - which is not the most pleasant to use.
I wonder if you think the one you recommended is easier? I would happily upgrade to make the crimping process more tolerable.

 

[takedown]

The one you have is the one I had before and it depends on the correct lugs. It never got the crimps right. This one does the hammer crimp style which doesn't look as professional on the outside, but you don't see it once you heat shrink.

Definitely get the temco, it's night and day. No switching of dies, just set and squeeze. It also has a great range.

 

[eranrund]

The one you have is the one I had before and it depends on the correct lugs. It never got the crimps right. This one does the hammer crimp style which doesn't look as professional on the outside, but you don't see it once you heat shrink.

Definitely get the temco, it's night and day. No switching of dies, just set and squeeze. It also has a great range.

Interesting, that's useful information. Thank you!
While we're on the topic of crimpers, this was also recommended at some point: FTZ Correct Crimp Heavy Duty Lug Crimp Tool
I wonder how do they compare. I'm going to be making a lot of crimps so don't mind investing in a quality tool that makes a good consistent job.

 

[takedown]

That one looks pretty cool. It probably produces the more professional looking crimp where it's a box or hexagon. That's probably where I would have gone next if the temco didn't work. It doesn't appear to have to change dies which I think is the drawback to the yellow one and you are at the mercy of the die/lug fit.

AM Solar sold me a hammer crimp where you literally beat the thing with a hammer and it worked, but didn't give much control.

 

[eranrund]

That one looks pretty cool. It probably produces the more professional looking crimp where it's a box or hexagon. That's probably where I would have gone next if the temco didn't work. It doesn't appear to have to change dies which I think is the drawback to the yellow one and you are at the mercy of the die/lug fit.

AM Solar sold me a hammer crimp where you literally beat the thing with a hammer and it worked, but didn't give much control.

It does seem to be out of stock until late Nov so that might simplify the decision...

I personally wouldn't trust the hammer crimp - I want to ensure adequate force has been applied to result in the desirable cold weld (I think thats the term?) and I think that's not possible to guarantee with the hammer.

 

[orton]

The easy way to get high quality crimps without a tool is to have your local battery store to make the cables. I used the local Interstate battery store.

Make cotton ropes the length eyelet to eyelet that you want. Put a tape on each end of the rope indicating eyelet size and if straight or 90 degrees. Add another tape at center of the rope indicating cable size and color. Take your ropes to the store and have then make the cables.

 

[eranrund]

The easy way to get high quality crimps without a tool is to have your local battery store to make the cables. I used the local Interstate battery store.

Make cotton ropes the length eyelet to eyelet that you want. Put a tape on each end of the rope indicating eyelet size and if straight or 90 degrees. Add another tape at center of the rope indicating cable size and color. Take your ropes to the store and have then make the cables.

Given that I need to make 23 bus bars that might be an interesting option. I wonder if they use nice cables/lugs. Since these are bus bars, I really want to try and get the resistance as low as I can...

 

[orton]

Given that I need to make 23 bus bars that might be an interesting option. I wonder if they use nice cables/lugs. Since these are bus bars, I really want to try and get the resistance as low as I can...

If you are going to the meet Saturday, I can remove some panels and show you the cables and bring the rope samples.

My house electrical only has a 1000 watt inverter and a single 255 amp-hr AGM battery so few cables required. They cost about $100 from Interstate. Less cost than buying a crimper and making my own cables. Cables are higher quality than what I could have done. No left over cables either.

 

[eranrund]

If you are going to the meet Saturday, I can remove some panels and show you the cables and bring the rope samples.

My house electrical only has a 1000 watt inverter and a single 255 amp-hr AGM battery so few cables required. They cost about $100 from Interstate. Less cost than buying a crimper and making my own cables. Cables are higher quality than what I could have done. No left over cables either.

I am indeed coming and looking forward to saying hi!

 

[Princess_Fluffypants]

I have been blessed (or cursed, depending on which day you ask me) with the Ford CAD files

You gotta share the love/pain on that!

 

[eranrund]

You gotta share the love/pain on that!

Unfortunately they had me sign an NDA and I am uncomfortable violating it.
But I encourage you to try - I requested specific parts on Have a Question? Contact Us - Powered by Kayako Help Desk Software and used a company email address.