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Crimping tool
These are used to crimp terminals onto wires for the 12V electrical system. The top tool with the yellow handles is the cheap version we bought first. It can be used to cut wire, strip insulation, and crimp terminals – but it does a bad job of all these tasks. So after struggling with this…
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Butyl tape
Has the consistency of chewing gum that hasn’t dried. Stays that way. Used it to gap fill between the bumps on the roof and the homemade plastic insert when trying to make a flat surface to mount the roof light and fan. £11 from LeisureLines.
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Sikaflex 512 Caravan sealant
This adhesive cures (unlike butyl tape) but stays flexible. Used to seal and stick the homemade plastic inserts to the roof under the roof light and fan. £9 from LeisureLines.
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Sika Lastomer 710
Butyl based sealant which stays sticky and flexible. Used to fix the roof light to the roof. Recommended by Dometic who made the roof light. £9 from LeisureLines.
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2017-07-09: Fitting roof light and fan
We fitted the fan and the roof light this weekend. Each job took a whole afternoon. I started with with the Maxxfan. I didn’t take many photos because the whole job was a bit stressy and I wasn’t sure it was going to work. I needed to concentrate. The Maxxfan is great – we were…
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12V Fusebox
We run all the power from the battery to this fusebox, which then gives us up to 12 circuits for all the van systems. This is a pretty solid fusebox, but one thing to note is that it has 2 separate 6-way positive buses. That’s a feature that some people need, but we don’t. So…
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2017-07-02: Starting the electrical install
This weekend, we started running cables and mounting components so we can get the electrical systems hooked up. We already have the solar panels on the roof, and the battery fitted under the passenger seat. We also have a fair amount of conduit routed through the side panels of the van so we can run…
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China Is About to Bury Elon Musk in Batteries
Interesting report from Bloomberg: as demand for Li-Ion batteries increases, we should expect to see affordable Li-Ion become much more widespread and available for other uses – such as portable power in camper vans, etc. While this is on the 5–10 year horizon, it’s interesting to keep tabs on. We’ve already seen a similar effect with GPS…
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Locknuts (nyloc nuts)
Locknuts have an unthreaded nylon insert which takes the thread of the bolt when tightened. This holds the nut more securely against vibration, which is exactly the sort of thing you have to think about in a van, but doesn’t crosss your mind when building more stationary objects. £3.50 for 100 from Screwfix.
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2017-06-25: Solar panels
Another big job done this weekend, and one we faced with some trepidation – installing the solar panels. While they’re not yet wired up, they are now mounted on the roof. It’s a very tight fit up there, as we want to fit 2 large panels (1m x 1.3m) as well as a roof…
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Andrew Sleigh 