All things travel, adventure and vanlife
We live in our van full time so having a bathroom was pretty important to us. We have a full wet bath with a shower and composting toilet and it is definitely one of our favorite parts of our van build!
Nature’s Head Composting Toilet – One of our favorite things in the van! No nasty smells, saves water and no black water tank dumping!
Nautilus Shower Door – We love this door because it is retractable and SELF CLEANING!
Continuing off of our solar setup here is everything we used in our electrical system.
AIMS Power 2000 Watt 12 VDC Pure Sine Inverter Charger w/ 6000W Surge
*The Aims Power is great it just has trouble running our Bosch hot water heater. So if you are installing that water heater we recommend getting a larger inverter like the Victron 3000 watt inverter.
2 – VMAX XTR8D-350 8D 12V 350Ah Deep Cycle AGM SLA 12 Volt 350Ah Battery
These batteries have been great no complaints on their performance. They are just super heavy and bulky, take up a ton of room in our garage and I am not even sure they make the 350 amp anymore. At the time of our build lithium was out of our price range but we’ve installed these in clients builds and were very impressed so in a future build we would definitely go with Battleborn lithium batteries.
Blue Sea 5026 ST Blade Fuse Block w/Cover – 12 Circuit w/Negative Bus
2 – Dream Lighting LED Recessed Ceiling Light for 12volt DC Automotive Interior
Wall Mounted Glass Touch Panel LED Dimmer Switch
ANJOSHI 100A Auto Car Protection
Victron BMV-712 Battery Monitor
Blue Sea Systems 300 Amp m-Series Battery Switches
AC Infinity AIRPLATE S1, Quiet Cooling Fan System 4″ with Speed Control, for Cabinets
TopstrongGear Solid Brass 0/2/4 Gauge 100Amp ANL Fuse Holder with 100Amp Fuses(2 Pack) (100 Amp)
TopstrongGear Solid Brass 0/2/4 Gauge 250Amp ANL Fuse Holder with 250Amp Fuses(2 Pack) (250 Amp)
Blue Sea Systems Common BusBars (100A-250A)
12V 140 Amp Dual Battery Smart Isolator by KeyLine – VSR – Voltage Sensitive Relay
Midnite Solar Circuit Breaker, 100A 150VDC, 1-Pole, Din Mount, Model MNEPV100
MidNite Solar Photovoltaic DC Circuit Breaker – 20 Amp, Model# MNEPV20
Havelock Wool – Improves indoor air quality, manages moisture, absorbs sound.
Polyisocynurate Foam Board – PolyIso has the highest R-value per inch of any rigid board insulation. We installed this on the ceiling and window panels along the sides of the van.
Spray Foam – The rocker panels in the Promaster are known for water getting in. We really wanted to use wool throughout our whole build but after it rained we ended up taking out the wool from the rocker panels to check, and it was indeed wet. So we used spray foam instead to fill all the rocker panels and to act as a sealant.
Kilmat Sound Deadening – We put kilmat on the ceiling to help reduce rain noise. You will need a roller for this product, you can get the one we used here.
Bubble Reflectix – We used reflectix as an extra layer and vapor barrior on top of all the insulation. We also put this under our subfloor instead of foam to save the most headroom space. If we used foam board on the floor and ceiling, Ethan wouldn’t be able to stand up straight (he’s 5’8).
Silicone – We wanted to keep water out as much as possible. We used silicone throughout the van whenever we saw a hole. If you have a Promaster be sure to check around the wheel wells and seal anywhere you can see daylight.
Spray Adhesive – We used this to stick the foam, wool and reflectix on the walls, ceiling and floor.
Rustoleum – When we were pulling off the wall panels that came in the van, it left behind some scratches. We painted any bare metal showing throughout the van so no rust occurs.
A vent fan is a necessity in a van especially for us since we have a shower as well as a stove/oven. This MaxxAir fan is awesome because it has different settings that can suck air out or in and comes with a little remote so you can set your temperature!
What you’ll need:
GE Silicone 2+ Window & Door Caulk, 10.1 Oz. Tube, Clear
Scotch Delicate Surface Painter’s Tape
Tools Used:
DEWALT 12-Volt Max 1/4-Inch Impact Driver
DEWALT 12-Volt Max 3/8-Inch Drill Driver
Pro Tip:
Make sure to vacuum EVERYWHERE as you go and right after the cut – this is VERY important as rust can develop from those tiny metal shards! Also tape up a trash bag where you are going to be cutting the hole, this will help reduce metal shards from getting everywhere inside your van.
