Ford Transit 2016 DIY campervan conversion

[booster]

Originally Posted by avanti

I am in an interesting position wrt gas vs induction. My van is equipped with a conventional propane system. But, after my upgrades, I now also have plenty of battery, inverter and charging capacity as well. The only things that the gas system support are the cooktop and a genset that I am very close to pulling for lack of need. Assuming that I DO eventually remove the genset, I will need to decide whether to also pull the whole propane thing and convert to induction. I am still not sure, but I think we will pretty likely stick with the propane. It is a sunk cost, and with many years of experience across two rigs, we have found propane to be almost completely trouble-free (just don't use a junk regulator). Yes, we could save a bit of weight, but our rig has plenty of head room in that regard. When used only for cooking, our current tankful of propane will last approximately the rest of our lives. There just isn't much of an argument to switch, other than some kind of abstract "purity" argument. Maybe not everyone agrees that gas provides a better cooking experience, but we certainly find this to be the case. Plus, you can make toast with a gas cooktop, but not with induction.

If I were starting from scratch, it might be a closer call. It would be hard to justify the cost of an entire propane system just for cooking. Even then, I would seriously consider a gas cooktop fed by small propane cartridges.

We would add one, at least for us, HUGE, use for having propane. That would be the ability to cook outside on a gas grille. IMO, there is no way that a hot plate (oops induction burner) can duplicate what you get off a grille. Yes, you can use charcoal, but we did that for a while, and the "improvement" over propane was minimal, and the hassle factor large. We also tried using the grille on the little bottles, but it also was a major hassle and environmental nightmare.

For us, chicken, burgers, brats, pizza, veggies, on the grille can't be duplicated, even closely, on an induction burner. Your opinion may be different, but we will not be going without propane in our adventures. Camping without an outside grille cooking source would just not seem like camping as we use the grille nearly daily. As Avanti does, we have plenty of electric power available to get rid of the propane, but it won't be in our plans.

I do have a hot plate in my shop, but I only use it to check thermostats and stuff like that

[avanti]

Yeah, getting a propane grill is on our list. Don't know how it will fit into our lifestyle, but I wouldn't be surprised if our experience matches yours.

What kind of grill do you recommend?

[GeorgeRa]

Grilling and camping are mutually inclusive for us, without LPG on board we just use small LPG bottles. Having in the past an LPG quick connector outlet was nice. For just 2 of us we use a small but sufficient Magma, its folding legs makes the unit small. It has a front shelf for convenience.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[booster]

We also use the Magma grille, in the 9X12 size in the van, and got a 12X18 for at home because they work so well.

I don't know what they do to make them work so well, but they just seem to grille everything better than anything else we have tried or seen.

[Davydd]

If you are using the usual propane burner inside and not a grill then induction cooking is the same with skillets and pots with more convenience including if you are experienced heat control. If you are talking about grill cooking on a flame then that's different. But I will not flame grill cook inside our B. We also carry a portable grill for that outside. I had a B that was also capable of an outside propane hookup but quite frankly the canisters were more convenient.

[mojoman]

Propane produces CO2 and water vapor and always worried me having gas in a small confined space. We bumped the stove knob one afternoon and it slowly filled are class A with gas while taking a nap. The alarm worked but it still got pretty heavy inside. What if the alarm didn't work?

[avanti]

Originally Posted by mojoman

What if the alarm didn't work?

The same thing that would happen if your brakes didn't work going down a mountain pass.

I think those alarms are pretty fail-safe. But, your story does underline the importance of having one and that it be properly installed down by the floor.

I am always reassured when the alarm goes off when I get a propane fill-up.

[avanti]

Also, don't forget that modern burners have safety features that prevent them from emitting gas unless a flame is present.

[booster]

Originally Posted by avanti

Also, don't forget that modern burners have safety features that prevent them from emitting gas unless a flame is present.

I was surprised that our water heater and furnace are interlocked, but not the stove, which is much easier to accidentally bump on if the cover happens to be up. We never use the stove, so I am tempted to add a shut off on the gas line to it, if I can find a good spot to do it.

[avanti]

Originally Posted by booster

I was surprised that our water heater and furnace are interlocked, but not the stove, which is much easier to accidentally bump on if the cover happens to be up. We never use the stove, so I am tempted to add a shut off on the gas line to it, if I can find a good spot to do it.

That is surprising, and not good. How old is the cooktop?

Interestingly, the Sunlight Class-C rig we rented in Iceland had three separate shutoff valves mounted right below the sink, so you could very easily shut off gas to the cooktop, fridge, and furnace/water heater individually. Took me a few minutes to figure out why nothing was working.

[booster]

Originally Posted by Davydd

If you are using the usual propane burner inside and not a grill then induction cooking is the same with skillets and pots with more convenience including if you are experienced heat control. If you are talking about grill cooking on a flame then that's different. But I will not flame grill cook inside our B. We also carry a portable grill for that outside. I had a B that was also capable of an outside propane hookup but quite frankly the canisters were more convenient.

How in the world can handling, buying, hauling, properly disposing of, the canisters be more convenient that just plugging into the van tank? I think it is something like 30 canisters to one fill of our Roadtrek tank. Seems like an incredible waste, from an environmental standpoint, besides.

[Davydd]

Originally Posted by booster

How in the world can handling, buying, hauling, properly disposing of, the canisters be more convenient that just plugging into the van tank? I think it is something like 30 canisters to one fill of our Roadtrek tank. Seems like an incredible waste, from an environmental standpoint, besides.

You're tethered 12 foot max from your B for one. It makes it inconvenient if the picnic table is farther away or if you set up for a communal pot luck. I've never carried or used more than 2 canisters on a trip with my outside grill. You can recycle canisters and in the big picture of things it amounts to nothing compared to the tin cans, bottles, and cans you use.

I also carry charcoal and a Dutch oven that I will use more outside. We have an electric crockpot. We are debating buying one of those pressure cookers to take with us. They use electricity too. And as you know we have 120VAC 24/7.

Since I am not dependent on propane for anything so why carry the extra weight of a built in propane tank? They take up the space of 30 canisters.

[wincrasher]

I use a portable induction in my bus. Still have the gas cooktop, but use the covers so I have more counterspace. I like having the option of having both. Power demands on the induction are about the same as the microwave, so pretty high.

I'd probably never want to go with the built-in induction top. You have much more flexibility with the portable unit, plus you have more counterspace and the ability to allocate it how you wish.

Most of my meals are in the instant-pot these days anyways, which is similar in electric load, but much smaller countertop footprint.

[atoine]

We just upgraded the pressurized water system (Pressurized Water System | FarOutRide) with a quick-access shower/bike-wash/filling-station.
It's actually really convenient to fill our hydration pack or wash our legs/feet after a muddy ride!




Good product, we found it on Amazon: http://amzn.to/2tDWePz

Next on the to-do list: Air Lift 5000 Ultimate Air Spring kit #88213 (http://amzn.to/2tnJuBr) + Wireless Controller #72000 (http://amzn.to/2uAo6Zl).

[atoine]

We hesitated a lot of getting the extended-length Transit, knowing that it would limit our off-road capability. Indeed, it did not take too long before we bent the metal bracket that holds the trailer wiring in the back...


We're still happy with the extended-length (we'll spend more than a year in the van, so space is crucial), but we wanted to improve the overhang ground clearance a little. With the Air Lift Springs Kit (Ford Transit specific kit #88213) and the Wireless On-Board Compressor (#72000), we can raise the overhang height up to 3 inches on-the-fly! (and lower it back down back on paved road).

Here is the installation write-up (there is a video of the Air Lift in action inside):
Air Lift 5000 Ultimate Air Springs Kit Installation | FarOutRide


Good day!

[atoine]

And here is the only part of the conversion we didn't build ourselves: the mosquito screens. We've seen them installed on other vans near our area and we just knew we couldn't match the quality and functionality of those (and it would take us forever to make).

They're completely "hermetic", the rear door fabric is waterproof (we will shower back there) and the magnetic door works really really well. It's truly an outstanding product, but it comes at a truly high price tag... moreover, they're custom made by a small local company north of Montreal and they insist on installing it themselves because the magnetic door is sensitive to installation. So I doubt they ship them, but you could always drop them a line: Accueil - ROLEF | Produits sur mesure pour véhicules (there is an option for "english" in the menu...)

They are hold by the door seals, velcro and some sheet metal screws where the tension is higher.

No more bugs!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEMVXuq4Ut4

[Phoebe3]

Ohhh, that is waaay cool!

[atoine]

In exactly 5 days, we move in the van! No more house!

We're in the process of packing the van.
One does not simply pack a van… as stuff is added, more shelves & hooks & baskets & misc-wicked-storage-features are added to make room for everything. Test drive, realize everything is falling off, add features-so-things-wont-move, repeat.

And all the unfinished business ("yeah we'll just do that later") popup, so this is really time consuming...

We're exhausted, but we're fueled by the adrenaline rush!

A few pictures of the latest work:
Countown to Full-Time Vanlife: 5 Days | FarOutRide

Note: yeah, we have a lot of stuff in the van. But this is all we own now, we did not rent storage space. Bikes, boards, climbing gear, bed, BBQ and a toilet; life will be simple for the next year of so!


Cheers!

[Phoebe3]

You've really worked hard and it looks like you got everything ready to go! Have a great time in your van and keep us posted on your adventures!

[Ron J. Moore]

Wow, that is a well laid out B...ya did good! The water system is an interesting item...spend the day on the trail and hose down your bike, neat! Enjoy your journey's. Ron