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Like others have said, it's a mistake to run any sort of electrical heating device off of a solar power system. This includes, kettles, electric blankets, hair dryers, etc. They simply require too much power unless you have a huge battery bank and a very large inverter.

For charging phones, you could just wire up your own cigarette lighter port. You can buy a combo cigarette lighter port and 2 USB ports for like $7 at Walmart. You just have to wire it into your car's 12V system and stick it to your dashboard or something. You can use a cigarette lighter inverter in it for small devices. It might be enough to run a laptop charger. You'd have to check the amperage limits. (I use a cigarette lighter inverter for my phone's special AC Adapter which has quick charge. I don't get quick charge just using a USB port.)

Have you considered buying a "solar generator"? They're all-in-one solutions for moderate power needs. It's basically a box that contains battery, inverter, and charge controller. All you need to do is add solar panels. The portable folding ones might be good, or you can get traditional ones and mount them on your roof. Here's an article about them that links to other comparisons between them. He even built his own using relatively inexpensive batteries (with an added battery management system), and a normal charge controller and inverter.

That site is run by William Prowse who has a ton of useful videos and tutorials on solar power, including several plans.

Of course, you can always build a full solar power system by buying all the separate parts and wiring them together. I'm not going to lie, it's not easy. The best thing to do is watch hours of YouTube videos and read tons of forums posts and articles to learn about all the parts, what they do, and which ones work with each other. You gotta watch out for misinformation, though. There are some... "older people" who are set in their ways and will tell you all you need are lead acid batteries and a PWM charge controller instead of an MPPT one. What those mean is a topic for a different day. Or you can follow a plan online and buy the exact parts they do, but then you wouldn't know how to adjust it for your own needs.

Here are some of the questions you need to be able to answer in order to design a solar power system:

• How many watts of power do each of your devices use, and how many hours a day do you plan on using them?
  
  • You can buy a Kill-A-Watt to accurately measure the wattage your AC devices use.
    
• How many rainy days in a row do you need to survive before you have to either stop using power or charge your battery through other means? (Alternator, generator, wall charger.)
  
  • 2-3 days is the most you can really hope for in a van. You simply don't have enough space for panels.
    
• How much sun (insolation) do you get, on average, in the locations you will be at the times you plan to be there?
  
  • Are you going to live year-round in one place, or travel all over?
    
  • Do you plan on spending any time in Winter in Northern locations with less sun?
    
    You buy large enough batteries so that you can get those 2 days of usage, and you buy enough solar panels so that you can get back those two days of usage with one day of sun. For the most part, the number of solar panels you can fit on your van is the limiting factor. You can buy a ton of batteries which will last you a week, but there's no point if you can't charge them back to full in one day.
    
    Regarding batteries, you also have to account for the fact that traditional lead acid batteries take a long time to charge because of their high internal resistance. With too large of batteries, if you discharge them too deeply, no amount of solar panels will help. The batteries can only take so much current at once, and there simply aren't enough hours of sun in a day to provide it, no matter how many panels you have. If you don't charge the batteries to full regularly, you will literally destroy them. (None of this applies to lithium ion batteries, which are so much better for solar, but they cost a lot more up front, but last much longer.)
    
    It's a balancing act between battery size, solar panel wattage, and amount of sun.
    
    Then you have to answer these other questions:
    
    
• What's the peak amperage my panels will provide based on location, time of year, angle of tilt (or not), and coldest ambient temperature?
  
• How large of a solar charge controller do I need to support the above?
  
• How many continuous amps can my battery bank provide?
  
• How many continuous amps do I need to support an AC inverter of a given size?
  
• Do I need a pure sine wave inverter, or can I get away with a cheaper modified sine wave one?
  
• How large do the wires need to be that go from my battery to inverter, or charge controller to battery, or the battery to fuse box and then to my 12V devices? (fans, fridge, lights, etc.)
  
• What size fuses do I need for all these connections?
  
• And much more...
  
  You can forget about all that and just follow someone's plan online. Well, except the fuses and wires for each 12V device. You'll still need to figure that out. Will Prowse has this "Classic 400W solar package" that you can follow to the T and get by just fine, but you won't know if that's even good enough for you until you figure out your power usage. But if it is, then the article and video are great.
  
  There's even a link to everything on Amazon, although the last time I checked, the specific charge controller he links is no longer available except from random sellers. There's a newer model instead. Oh, wait, he links to eBay now, but it's $51 more expensive than the new model on Amazon ($209 vs $158). I would just buy the new model. It's what I did. But the rest of the advice, plans, etc, is pretty good. Except all inverters suck if you read the negative reviews, even the one he links. They often can't really handle the wattage they claim. (I personally went with a Samlex brand inverter, which was nearly the same price, but less than half the wattage rating, which is much more realistic.)
  
  I used his videos a bit in helping design my system, but I have 600W of panels to suit my higher needs, so I had to scale some things up. I run two strings of 3 panels in series (2x3). This gives me a good balance of voltage and current.
  
  I don't have a battery that can support a 2000W inverter, so I bought a 600W one. I bought a 170 Ah Renogy lithium ion battery. Renogy suggests no more than 100A of continuous draw (more than 150A, and it will turn itself off). 100A is less then gentle to the battery, though. You can multiply the DC amperage by 10 to get an estimate of the wattage of an inverter it can run. So 100A could run a 1000W inverter. If I bought a second battery and wired it in parallel with my current one, I could get 200A continuous, but this battery was $1300. I'm going to live with what I got for a while. (In retrospect, I should have bought 2 100Ah batteries instead, but supply was very limited, and they cost more per amp-hour, $950 each.)
  
  After my (literal) months of researching and teaching myself about batteries, solar power, and all that, I have come to the conclusion that buying lead acid batteries is a mistake. This includes traditional flooded lead acid, sealed AGM, deep cycle marine, etc. Unless you treat them super gently, charge them to nearly full every day, never discharge them lower then 50%, equalize the cells on a schedule, etc., then they will only last a couple of years before you end up buying new ones. In the long run, lithium ion is cheaper.
  
  Good lithium ion batteries can be discharged "100%", be left for long term as low as 20-30%, don't need special equalization, weigh half as much, and have almost zero internal resistance so they charge faster. And they will last 10 years, easy. Even longer if you treat them extra gentle. The only problem is the upfront cost. I could have purchased 4 Trojan T-105 6V deep cycle golf cart batteries for 1/3 the cost of my one battery, and I would have had even more capacity, but the size, weight, fragility, and the whole spewing acidic vapor was a turn off. In 10 years, I'd probably replace them 3 times, at least, making them cost the same or more. I've read many experienced solar power users say you should expect to replace them in 1 year because you're going to do something wrong in your first year and ruin them.
  
  (There is one downside to lithium ion batteries I should mention. You can't charge them directly from a van's alternator. They draw too much current and will fry it! You instead would need to use a battery-to-battery charger. A found a good one for about $200, though I didn't buy it and I don't have a link handy. Just something to consider.)
  
  (Continued in reply)

Been full timing it for a year and a half... still not done my build but I wanted to share these. Finally pulled out the Reflectix and installed some custom curtains. They turned out really well and haven't seen anyone else make curtains quite like this for their van so hopefully it can provide some inspiration.

The backing is from this blackout material:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072N97YWJ/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Both pictures are photos I've taken that remind of of beautiful places I've been. The one on the left is a thunderstorm in Kansas. The one on the right is a photo from my paraglider in the Owens Valley.

I got the photos printed here:
https://www.zazzle.com/create_your_own_fabric-256202185481409771

It was quite a lot of work to figure out how to measure the photos to get them to line up. I basically made two copies of the image and then cut off left and right portions that would not fit on the print dimensions of the fabric. Then I measured the area they would sit and left like an extra inch for a bit of extra room on the edges. I found that lining them up in advance and figuring out the exact overlap worked best. Then in the back panel I sewed in strong earth magnets so they stay in position!

Electric pump user here - it's super noisy, but flows great, even with the major resistance of two huge filters in the way. Admittedly, I bought pretty much the cheapest pump possible, currently $30 on amazon.

Been using it for years, works great, self priming too which is super useful.
Photo of install including filters. First is a 1 micron sediment (I think, it's been a while) and second is a carbon matrix. First gets rid of any sorta "large" gunk, second removes bad tastes, chemicals, you name it. Same material as pitcher style water filters.

Also pinging /u/dcdcd101

Look into updating the plumbing to PEX (white /red) if possible. It's a nightmare to go behind all the fixtures, but PVC (grey pipes) gets old and if it cracks it's a major problem.

Also roof and window seals, another bane of the old RVs. Make sure they're all good, or redo them. Leaks like that, aside from mold, tend to swell anything water comes in contact with.

Fridge, furnace and water heater - clean everything as best as you can. Burners especially. For the water heater - flush it good a couple times and replace the drain plug with a zinc anode to extend its life. Upgrade them all as soon as you have the means to.

Amazon also has propane and CO detectors. Make sure they're up to date, and put at least a 50w solar trickle charge panel on the roof for your house battery, as the propane detector has the nasty habit of draining it.

Finally, I'd look into upgrading whatever furniture you can. Mostly the folding couch if there is one. Motorhomes like this are / were designed for seasonal living in, and everything inside isn't designed for full time occupancy. Add the fact that it's a moving vehicle and thus subjected to vibrations and flexing. Last thing you want is your stuff to come apart while you expect it less.

Source: I'm on my 4th RV and been through all the crap I'm telling you about 😁

Glad you found my experience useful. Depending on your setup, you might find the below mattress useful. It folds up and you can use it as a seat. You might want to go with a full-blown mattress for more comfort, but this is a great space-saver, and pretty comfortable for what it is. Good luck.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075S5JTGW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I did this - not with reflectix but with blackout curtains. Just cut the curtain to fit each of my windows and I use some industrial strength magnets on the frame to hold them up. I didn't sew them into the fabric, though you easily could by just measuring extra and folding it down over the magnet and sewing around it to make a little pocket. I just have a magnet in each of the corners, and take the top 2 off and let the curtain hang down. They don't get in the way, and I don't have to worry about messing around with it too much - they hang right back up super easy! The magnets I'm using - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IYFO7KM

> https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00TT9I2PS

The above is all you need to link to Amazon, the rest is tracking stuff. :)

The canister and hoses and such on the site are all standard stuff. If you want to know what the filters do, they list those with more detail (and the filters are really the only interesting part).

But I'm not necessarily saying that store and only that store, just that it's one that has a great assortment and quality filters.

http://www.aquacera.com/ceramic-filters.html - describes the combo filter. It's pretty cool, ceramic and active charcoal in one, that's usually a two-canister system. Note they have different models, gravity fed or pressurized!

The multi canister systems are most likely done to be part of a pressurized system though, I believe. See the text in your link that says "Feed Water Pressure: 20-85 psi" - that system is aimed at filtering everything coming into an RV, most likely.

But you shouldn't just buy something off Amazon even so. You should do web searches until you find a decent seeming shop, be it the one I googled up and linked or some other that specializes in RV filtration and then contact them and ask for advice. Every satisfied customer gives them word of mouth advertising, after all, and you don't really know what you need. When you don't know what you need, ask a bona fide expert.

I don't think i see your logic regarding your alternator's charging capabilities.

So here is a quick mental check: A 40 Amp DC-DC charger or a 40A isolator will pull 40 Amps regardless if your alternator was a 1000 Amp alternator. Alternators have the ability to change their output capabilities depending on the load. A 150 Amp alternator isn't looking to dump 150 amps all the time, think about your starter battery: if you were constantly dumping 100 amps into that battery you would damage it.

Other than that your parts look good!

A couple pointers... With the Renogy controller the remote meter is pretty much a must on most models, the MT-50 i think is the name. Also how are you mounting the panels? Renogy's Z-brackets are a great solution.

Finally i would strongly recommend (3) heavy duty switches for the following: 1) Loads 2) Solar 3) Battery. The logic here is that whenever you power on/off your system there should be a sequence. Never allow solar energy to enter your controller without the battery connected so that the power can be dumped somewhere. A load switch is also useful if you ever have a short you can switch all your loads off quickly. A switch that is impossible to accidentally flip is the correct solution here, like this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QTYH995/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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Feel free to ask anymore questions!

I made a crate that is really deep, and put my little succulents in there. I use the 4 inch terra-cotta pots for them, and even if they’re sideways on a steep angle), they’re okay.

For the small terra-cotta pots, I put my succulents in small plastic/nursery pots, put moss on the bottom of the terra-cotta pot, then put the small plastic ones inside the terra-cotta pots. This way, I can move them to a countertop to water, the look nice (the plastic pots alone they come in Irk me), and they aren’t stuck being glued down/rotting. I’m still not sure if I want to glue them to the crate so I’m doing this to leave that option open. :) Basically, I put a pot inside a pot, and using moss for presentation purposes.

For my bigger babies, I bought the “self watering” containers. The bottom snaps off and is a tray, so I glued the bottom tray to the shelf, and snap off the top to also put on a different watering tray. I used a contact cement to adhere them, and so far they have been really sturdy. I feel like the shelf would come off before my plants, lol. Basically, I let them be, they snap off the tray when I need to water them, then put them back on. Easy, they stay sturdy, and nothing is left to risk rotting roots!

When you pot them, try to put them further down? This way, if you bump or are on an angle, you’re not stuck with the soil and plant getting tossed around!

These are the containers I use from amazon. I love them, and they come in all sorts of shapes and sizes: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003599IUG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_pvWyDb4A16S9H

I'm a bit late to the discussion, but you got me thinking about this for myself. I did a DIY sauna one time with a friend on a multi day camping trip and it was amazing. It was pretty ghetto seeing as how we used a tarp as the structure, and heated rocks in the fire. We dug a hole in the tarp structure to hold the rocks (the ground was dirt). We stuck the rocks in the fire when we woke up, and kept the fire going all day. When we were done making the tarp structure after dinner, we took the rocks (which were glowing by this point) out of the fire with a shovel, and put them in the hole in the tarp structure. I was very surprised at the amount of steam that came off when we poured the water on once we were inside. Word to the wise, don't continually hydrate yourself with beer (it's very easy to do), you will not feel well in the morning (you obviously sweat out a lot of water in the heat).

More to the point, you got me thinking about purchasing a cheap large tent, and a bucket like this. You would also need rocks that could be heated. But essentially the same as before; build a fire around the rocks, heat them for 1 hour + (the longer the better), set up the tent. After an hour or so, dig the rocks out of the fire, put them in the bucket, and then go in the tent, and splash water on the rocks. A portable tent and bucket could very easily fit in a van.

For heating Im someone who gets over heated in 50°F weather (idk the celcsius conversion but essentially its cold for most people). In my case i would find a personal space heater, as the one i own already makes me sweat with one blanket on and the thing on low heat pointed at me. Idk what the power consumption is but if u just keep the van well insulated and are cozied up with a bigger electric heater than maybe you'll be fine.

As far as water goes I would just get a big 5 gallon bottle from the grocery store (unless that's just a stupid American thing idk). Often keeping one and just bringing it back to the store u can refill it for way cheaper than the original purchase.

Also for a toilet ive heard composting ones are pretty great but thats something I havent looked into yet.

When it comes to how you would power the van id say that one will be hard because I heard the UK is mostly cloudy meaning solar could work but youre not going to get much out of it and really only could charge a phone or something off it. There are giant battery packs you can buy like
this: CyberPower CP1500AVRLCD Intelligent LCD UPS System, 1500VA/900W, 12 Outlets, AVR, Mini-Tower https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FBK3QK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_gLXqDbNZ1G63C.

obviously that's american plugs so find something suitable for your power draw and for your socket type. That you would have to plug in somewhere else to charge though which could take some time #1 but it would at least be portable in a sense rather than strapping batteries down and having those external camper plugs that you would have to drive somewhere to charge up.

They help, but its not gonna magically make the van cool down to 70 if it's 110 out. What is nice is that each little fan draws about 10 watts. You could buy a 20 or 30 watt solar panel and install a cigarette plug on it and run 2 or 3 fans all day without having to worry about drawing your battery down. What's your upper temp limit before your asthma starts bothering you? If the humidity is low enough where you'll be travelling (mostly out west), you could make a swamp cooler out of a 5 gallon bucket. They get you about a 20 degree drop over ambient and all your powering is a fan and water pump. Could probably do that on a 30 or 50 watt single panel as well. If money isn't an object, they sell these:


https://www.amazon.com/MightyKool-12-volt-120-Converter-bundle/dp/B07CQW2R61/

Looks like max power draw on high is 30 watts, so you could still run this off a small solar cell on sunny days.

The electric cars have all electric air conditioning in them since they don't have a gas motor to turn the compressor. You won't be able to come close to what they can do unless you leave your engine idling all day or do major retrofitting.

I had a similar problem, the drill bits would snap as soon as the drill cut through the metal, no matter how careful I was.

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So I bought these:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01DPDH2UY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


They're supposed to be for centering the bit when drilling holes for hinges etc. but you can swap out the drill bit for a metal bit, the spring loaded outer cover helps to stabilise the drill bit, so that now, when the bit goes through the metal, it doesn't jerk and snap the bit.


They're also gonna be great for if you need to drill out a sheared bolt etc..

No problem. And yes its fine to have the car running while charging, its like having something plugged in to the cigarette lighter while the car is running. Speaking of which I would go with something a lot less robust that doesn't have to be hard wired to the battery with those terminals like the link you posted. Try something like this that you can just plug in to the 12V outlet on the dash:

https://www.amazon.com/BESTEK-300W-Power-Inverter-Adapter/dp/B004MDXS0U/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1539870706&sr=8-13&keywords=car+cigarette+lighter+adapter

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Keep in mind that 300W you calculated probably means 300W when all of your devices are plugged in at the same time. So you won't constantly be drawing that many watts.

This one has okay flow rate, still need to see how practical it will be. I'm positive I'll be ok though, otherwise replacing it with an electric one.

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https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FHQL6K/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I use multiple power banks so there's always something available. The MaxOak was purchased in 2016 so there may be a newer model available. It has been really good for a laptop though. The 26800 might work for your purposes. The small Ankers charge quickly and pack a surprisingly good punch.



MAXOAK Laptop Power Bank 185Wh/50000mAh Portable Laptop Charger External Battery Pack

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YP823NA/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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Also use one of these:

Anker PowerCore 26800 Portable Charger, 26800mAh External Battery with Dual Input Port and Double-Speed Recharging

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01JIWQPMW/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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Have three of these for on the go:

Anker PowerCore 10000 Portable Charger, One of The Smallest and Lightest 10000mAh External Battery

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0194WDVHI/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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Just purchased one of these but it takes FOREVER to charge so it may end up living somewhere else:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07776PVH5/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Dropper seat posts also help make the bike small when storing it on a pull out.

I am converting a van and will use something like this:

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https://www.amazon.com/Delta-Cycle-Hitch-Locking-Mount/dp/B000ACAM7E/ref=sr_1_7?dchild=1&keywords=bicycle+front+wheel+mount&psc=1&qid=1572292256&sr=8-7

You can use these on a pull out or on the wall to secure your bike. The item you pictured is really only for your house, in a vehicle it would let your bike flop around.

I looked at that site but the products are not reviewed and the descriptions are garbage. For instance, how much micron is that filter?

What about this one? https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00TT9I2PS/ref=pd_aw_sbs_201_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=SB0X2FZZASED6Q085YNR&dpPl=1&dpID=81w3z3GbU7L

I also saw several with one filter but is this essentially what I'm going for?