Category: Stuff
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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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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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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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175W 12V Monocrystalline Used Solar Panels
We bought 2 of these used 175w panels from Bimble. They seem to be in good nick, and a lot cheaper than the new alternative. Given the frequency with which we get scraped by low-hanging branches, I’m also not so keen to invest in something super-pricey on the roof. We also bough various extras including…
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30A MPPT Solar charge controller
We’re relying heavily on our solar panels for power, and I wanted the most efficient controller possible – so MPPT wins out over the cheaper PWM option. This is the MPPT controller that Bimble sell, and it seems to be OK, from what I can find online. We got the 30A Tracer3215BN version, with the…
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110Ah 12V Leoch Gel Battery
I’ve spent more time than I care to remember researching battery technology. In summary, we decided to go for a sealed battery (not a cheaper wet lead acid design), and of the two options (gel or AGM), we went for gel, which is more compact – we want to mount this in a small space…
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Floor underlay foam
This is 5mm rigid foam in sheets. We used it underneath our plywood floor. It’s designed for laying laminated flooring in houses, and we’re solving a very similar problem. We taped across the seams with Duck tape. It’s easy to work with, cheap, and the result seems to be good so far: the floor is…
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Window Fitting Kit
This is the kit they recommend for fitting this window. It does the job, but the kit has two flaws: The adhseive is only just enough to go round. We could have squeezed maybe another inch or two out of the tube, and we weren’t being overly generous. Since you need a continuous bead to…
Andrew Sleigh 