Retirement Party

On 4/20/2023, 50+ of my friends, family, and favorite people gathered to wish me farewell and Bon Voyage. It was an amazing opportunity for me to see folks that I have worked and played with during my 40 years in Colorado. It was wonderful to see so many familiar faces, and to bring together teams that I worked with at several stops along the way to my retirement! Many happy tears were shed. I love you all (you know who you are.

Insulation (Finally)

With temps in the seventies, it's finally warm enough to glue 3M Thinsulate to every nook and cranny (what's a cranny?).

Toilet and Propane Compartments

The first thing I did was to enclose the wheel wells. Then I constructed the compartments that house the toilet and two 20 pound propane tanks.

Battery Deck

This is the level where the battery, fusebox, and all charging components will live. These include the Solar Charge Controller, a 2,000 watt Inverter/charger, and a DC/DC charger. This means that I will be able to charge my 200 amp hour battery through the solar panels, from the Inverter/Charger, and from Gravytrain's battery (when the engine is running). More to come on all of that.

Augie's Command Post

If you ever saw Augie's spot in my previous camper, you get the idea. The passenger seat is converted to a comfortable spot from which to view the road and provide helpful navigation tips.

Pulling Wires

Between lighting, two ceiling fans, a refrigerator, a furnace, built-in phone chargers, 12 volt plugs, and 125v outlets, I pulled more than 300 foot of wire through this van. I could have been more efficient, but my goal was to have every circuit be one wire run from the appliance, through the walls, to it's fuse. This eliminates failure points within the walls.

Paneling

I decided to pre-paint all of the paneling, rather than to try painting it all after installation. To this end, I bought an inexpensive sprayer on Amazon and waited for good weather. Successfully painted seven 4x8 foot panels.

Ceiling Panels

I'm using 4x8 foot sheets of corrugated plastic to create templates...

Ceiling Panels

...this allows me to transfer accurate markings to the panels...

Ceiling Panels

...and slip the panels right in.

Fan Trim

I built these frames for the fans in case I needed some slop in fitting. I didn't, but they look pretty good anyway.

Back to the Battery Deck

This is why I have been putting off working on this part of the build. It is the most complicated, most expensive, and most dangerous part of the build. DC power is very picky about amperage, and requires math (yikes) to determine the proper gauge of cable needed for each connection. Too many amps in too wire that is too small gauge = fire!

Battery 

This big, bad boy is my 200 amp hour battery. It weighs about 40 pounds! Above it in this photo is the Solar Charge Controller. All of the components have built-in intelligence to help them work together to keep the battery charging while not over charging it.

Inverter/Charger

This monster is 50 pounds of electrical magic! It inverts DC power to AC power and uses shore power (RV talk for power from plugging into an outside source) to charge the battery.

DC/DC Charger

This device charges the battery from Gravytrain's battery when the engine is running. It stops when the engine is turned off. This prevents draining the vehicle's battery when camped.

Fuse Box

All of the 12v circuits are fused here. The big, red switch is the system kill switch.

Final Configuration of the Battery Deck

This represents about three weeks of nervous sweat and trepidation. When I could finally test everything all together - and it worked - I just set down and got thoroughly stoned!

Control Panel

Now back to the 300 foot of wire. Most of it goes to or through the Control Panel.

Control Panel

120v AC Outlet, 12v DC meter, Passenger Side Lighting Control, Furnace Thermostat, Shore/Inverter Switch (this controls all 120v outlets, determining whether power is coming from shore or from the inverter), USB Charging Station, 12v Outlet, and Driver Side Lighting Control. With all of these now wired and working (another bong fest), I can finally start closing the walls.

Propane and Water Lines

I just realized that I don't have any photos of this. Sorry. There are two propane lines, one for the furnace and one for the cooktop. Water line is simple, the primary line is in the wall, but there will be much more to come when I start plumbing the 12v water pump.

Paneling Templates

The white panels on either side are stapled into position, then tweaked for a good fit. Next they come out and get transferred to paneling sheets.

Driver's Side Wall

The template worked well. The imperfections in the ceiling and the top of the wall will be covered by cabinets.

Driver's Side Outlets

Three 120v outlets and one 12v outlet.

Indoor Paneling Complete

All of the major paneling has been installed, and the walls are closed. I still need to panel the doors, but I haven't decided exactly how I'm going to do that. I'll be templating one of the back doors this afternoon to see how the paneling might look applied directly to the doors.

Building the Bed Deck

This wall encloses the battery deck and starts the support system for the Bed...

Building the Bed Deck

...it also incudes an access door for the cassette toilet. I'll be staying with friends or at campsites mostly, so I'm not sure I'll ever use this thing, but as I've told many of you, "I don't need to use the toilet in the middle of the night very often - but when I do, it's important!"

Quasi-Maiden Voyage

Took Graveytrain on a short, day-trip to a friend's place to celebrate Independence Day. She was the center of attention.

Battery Deck Cooling Fan

I installed a small exhaust fan with a thermostat  to help cool the battery deck once it's covered by the bed deck.

Bed Deck Templating

Once again, I used corrugated plastic to create a template for the bed deck. The hatch will provide access to the battery components.

Bed Deck Hatch

The deck is constructed of two stacked plywood sheets, and I used a size difference to create a removable lid.

Bed Deck

I have a bed! The two devices on the right are Bluetooth modules for communication with battery controllers.

Wall Cabinets 

Here I am, working hard. Watching paint dry on my wall cabinet dividers.

Wall Cabinets 

These are the dividers for the cabinets installed.

Wall Cabinets 

After adding a floor for each compartment, I attached the cabinet face...

Wall Cabinets 

...then the doors.

Comfy Chair 

Next, I built myself a comfy chair. The lid raises to provide some extra storage.

Comfy Chair 

This may have been a strategic error, as I now find myself sitting in it quite often, contemplating  my next move - which is building the wall cabinets on the passenger side.

Passenger Side Cabinets

Repeating the process on the driver side, these cabinets took a bit less time.

Passenger Side Cabinets and Bed Test

All overhead cabinets now complete, and the bed fits! On to driver side floor cabinets, which will house the furnace, fridge and more storage.

Driver Side Floor Cabinets

Dry fit successful. Now paint.

Officiant

Took about 30 hours off the build to bounce back to Colorado and officiate the wedding of two great friends. Getting ordained by American Marriage Ministries took about ten minutes online! The couple wanted a mix of Father Guido Sarducchi and Rodney Dangerfield. I think I delivered.

Driver Side Countertop

Safely back in Ohio, I'm working on the butcher block countertops... Cut to size and rounded one corner. Then routed the edges with a quarter inch round over bit.

Wood Conditioner and Stain

Used a golden honey color. Now three coats of flat polyurethane. Back to the cabinets.

Polyurethane 

Three coats, looking good.

Fridge Drawer

The refrigerator is a top loader, so it will sit in this tray and pull out of the floor cabinet.

Fridge Drawer

...like so!

Floor Cabinet Face

Glued, screwed, and tattooed!

Floor Cabinet Face

Installed with fridge drawer and furnace grill. Tomorrow: Drawer boxes!

Drawer Boxes

I havta build three of these. They gotta be as square as Ned Flander's Netflix playlist... and they are.

Drawers!

I hate hanging drawers. The good news is that these are likely the last that I will ever do.

Countertop Installed

Well, it's either a bullet train or the light at the end of the tunnel, but this build really feels like it has hit the home stretch. Next I'll start framing the driver side window.

Summertime, summertime...

As things begin to wind down with the Gravytrain build, I felt confident enough to take the evening off, and catch a Columbus Clippers ballgame. We beat St Paul seven-zip and hit three triples and two homers.

...sum, sum, summertime, summertiiiiimmee!

After a good day working on Gravytrain, we burned some of the scrap lumber I have generated since May, and toasted up some weinnies!

Window Trim

Built and dry fitted the window components today tomorrow: Sanding, painting, and installation.

Passenger Side Window Complete

It looks great if you are unaware of the mess of shims and glue holding it all together.

Drawer Faces

This will complete the driver side. Tomorrow I start building the passenger side floor cabinet. Thankfully, no drawers on that one, but it does hold the water pump and 99% of the plumbing. That's the final hurdle... YouTube save me again. Getting close now...

Computer Workstation/Television

First test success! Logged into Wi Fi hotspot on my phone. Watching YouTube TV - which is critical, as NFL Sunday Ticket is on YouTube TV this upcoming season. In fact, this post was created in Gravytrain, unteathered, running off her own battery. I've watched about an hour of live TV now, and the battery is down to 99.7%.

Driver Side Nears Completion

Waiting for delivery on the two additional drawer latches. I have sneaked out to Gravytrain in my driveway at 10pm to upload this shot, and practice starting up my self-contained, connected workstation. This shit is getting real.

Captain's Platform

Allows for more practical use of the swivel seat by providing a comfortable foot rest.

Passenger Side Floor Cabinet

Building the side walls. Used my router to cut out the door openings. Now paint.

Augie Approves

She seems to like the bed. Her question: "Where do you sleep?"

Dry Fitting the Passenger Side Floor Cabinet

Now paint and YouTube plumbing videos. 

Dan the Plumber

45 minutes at YouTube University and I had the confidence to tackle plumbing the primary water line. pressure test was successful! Another huge milestone - and another reason to celebrate with a strain of sativa called "Apple Fritter." (smile emoji)

Branded

Decals applied to both front doors. Estimated launch date: 9/21. Wow.

Passenger Side Floor Cabinet Construction

With infrastructure plumbing complete, I'm working on the countertop...

Countertop Conditioned and Stained

Three coats of polyurethane, comin' up!

Water Access Door (closed)

This is where my on-board water system lives. 

Water Access Door (open)

Folds down to a little outside table.

Passenger Side Floor Cabinet Countertop and Sink

This little countertop gave me fits, but in the end, I think it came out great.

Bike Rack

Thanks again to Rick and Bob, who helped me build another "erector-set" aka bike rack. Loaded up the seventy-five pound e-bike. That's a long lift for an old man. But I was up for the challenge. This rack is very cool, because it swings away from the rear doors allowing full access...

Bike Rack

...like so.

Primary Construction Complete

I often wondered, during the last 10 months, if this day would really come, but here it is!

Primary Construction Complete

10+ years of saving and planning have come to fruition, and I'm very proud of the accomplishment, but as anyone who knows me can tell you: "Of all the things I'm good at, and it's a long list, modesty is right at the top!"  ;)

Launch Date

in the jungle, the Gravytrain sleeps tonight. Three days to outfit her and move in before Monday's launch. Be sure to join Augie and me as we "Driveway-surf" our way north, to Michigan's upper peninsula. If you're on my way... stand by...