Kyle’s Van Engine Conversion, Part 3
Well with a few longs days that turned into nights, and a lot of help from my father, and girlfriend Breanna, we managed to get the interior back together and installed the Thursday morning of Folk Fest. With no time to test it we loaded up the van, made it to Birds Hill and set up our camp site.
I am happy to report that everything worked out perfectly. There are a few slight changes still to be made as well as some wiring to clean up, however having the kitchen in place really made the van start to feel like the camper I knew it could be.
Along with getting the kitchen working and installed we also installed new faux flooring and built a new matching kick panel for below the rear bench. On the kick panel, I added some tie down points to secure larger items in the center floor section when driving. So far this has worked great for taking our bikes with us on camping/ day trips safely. Under the bench we installed a 1500-watt power inverter and the biggest deep cycle battery I could find/ fit under the bench. This combo worked great for the 4 days of folk fest and should only improve once I add in a solar panel or two. The goal is to be completely self sufficient when camping, as the best spots are typically not found in crowded campgrounds.
One of the best additions to the van has to be the 8-foot ARB awning that is now installed on the passenger side of the van.This turned out to be great for the very hot sunny days we experienced at the festival as well as provided us a nice dry space to watch the rain from during a small rain storm.After using the awning just a few times on this van I really wished I would have had one on my old Westfalia, as it really opens up the living space of the van.
The next few weeks I plan to drive the van as much as possible to get it ready for Breanna and I’s west coast trip at the end of August.We are trying to keep a pretty open schedule and itinerary for when we are on the road, so if you have any suggestions for places to see between here and Tofino let us know!
Also, if you would like to see the van up close and or pick my brain on anything you have seen or have read on my blogs, we have the perfect opportunity. I am happy to say that for the first time in the four years I have owned the van, it will be on display at the Dubs at the Lake Car Show in Killarney the weekend of August 18 – 20, 2017. The show is scheduled for the weekend before we are set to head West, so the van needs to be as ready as its ever going to be by then.