Camper build the final stretch Pt 2

The VSR (Voltage Sensitive Relay) has arrived, and I've wired it in. This isolates the camping-battery from the van-starter-battery UNLESS the VSR detects > 13.3V which implies the alternator is running and connects both batteries to share charge. Otherwise at 12.8V it disconnects and ensures you don't flatten your starter-battery by running camping devices for days on end. During winter I decided solar wasn't an ideal means of charging the camping battery exclusively.

The charge cable is some old 15amp 3-core-flex 240V junk I found in Wes's pile at work. We threw out absurd volumes of really crusty heavy guage 3-phase wiring when we moved into the factory and Wes re-wired to suit his business. This was some usable light guage remains and was being stripped down for short wirring in gizmo control boxes and would have taken 20yrs to have been used. It was gizmology material only.

All that remains is to finish sewing up the curtains. I'm waiting on magnets on order to finish them. The magnets will be sewn into the ends to give proper block-out as the van is all kinds of crazy-shape. The spring-wire supports have been hung already. You can imagine the standard campervan white vinyl sheathed spring curtain rails...

Camper build the final stretch

• I've varnished and installed the divider wall and glued the handle into the sliding door. (installed handle not shown)
• The increased size of the sliding door due to the reduced chair size now allows for a regular bar-fridge to be installed under the bed!
• I whipped up some cushion covers from some leftover material I had laying around from a sofa project years ago.
• Dad had some trees down, so I grabbed some post-like pieces from the debris. I don't know what these are for yet...
• The posts are stored at work in the 6 metre racking to dry 'till we need the space at work.
• I grabbed an eski-sized 12V-24V-240V, 35L fridge/freezer from Jaycar to sell with the van. Currently testing on the bench. People are lazy and want a drive-away package. I'll be doing the same with a camping stove.
• I just need to install some mount points for camper-curtain-spring-line and then sew up the curtains and I'm almost done...
• ...oh and then install a Voltage Sensitive Relay (VSR) to the spare battery so it charges while driving instead of only via solar. It's on order...
• THEN...I'm done

Campervan build THE FINAL GLUE-UP !!

This is the FINAL glue-up for the campervan internal build. All that's left for manufacture is the final sanding/varnishing of this divider-wall piece, and then upholstery and optional stuff. Upholstery includes padding for the seats and some curtains. Optional stuff is luxury items like additional lighting switches, 2nd battery charging relay etc...

Once the upholstery is done, I'm off to register this with VicRoads as an actual campervan. I don't HAVE to, it can remain registered as a regular vehicle, but this final step will reduce the annual registration somewhat, and add some notoriety to the build...

These images don't reall show what's going on...but they're the final manufacture step, so they're posted here for me to bask in. Everything was made with the last of my materials and offcuts, which included laminating some 3mm ply sheets together to form some usable sheets of 6mm ply for the sliding door. There is a 'barn door' look to the sliding door that divides the main camper from the storage area under the bed, and another whittled down stick from the yard as a handle.

Laminating some leftover and not-so-good sheets of 3mm ply to form a more robust 6mm sheet. Compressing a large flat surface is surprisingly difficult without a vacuum system.

The small drill-vise in the middle of the image is another hard rubbish find. It's actually better quality than the one I bought which is a little above it in the image.

Oh and the small vice mounted to the wooden-board is another hard rubbish find. I did a blog post on the refurb for that one back when I got it.

I found the Bosch toolbox on hard-rubbish. It's in perfect condition with padded insides and a slide-drawer. I keep my cheap Ozito drills, batteries, and charger in there.

The new compressor is absolutely awesome in the workshop. Even if its only job was to blast everything (and your clothes) with air to clean-up after each job, it would pay for itself in awesomeness in no time.