EVC Galley Makeover (and more): Winnebago Nuke & Pave

[bcolins]

Just noticing that you are in Austin, TX as well. When I get my 95 EVC up and running, I would like to meet and see your EVC build.

Brian (in East Austin)

[VanGeek]

What a great idea! Super cool and looks great.

[shirk]

Those cargo pockets are sweet. Where are they from?

[kourt]

The cargo pockets are a standard Bus Depot offering. They look great in black, but also take a coating of paint very well.

Someone asked about the LED lights--see the first post in this thread for a materials link on those.

Kourt

[Zeitgeist 13]

kourt, are you still pleased with the performance of the Dometic fridge? I hope so, because we're following your lead and bought the same model for the EVC cabinet buildout in our Weekender. That was an expensive pill to swallow.
_________________
Casey--

'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik?

[kourt]

Yes, I'm still very happy with it.

The volume is the same as a Truckfridge TF-49, but better, because the interior can be reconfigured. The freezer box can be removed to provide more overall room for refrigeration--sometimes you just don't need a freezer.

The Truckfridge has a better door pocket design. I think the Dometic is designed to hold wine/champagne/water bottles in the door. I seldom carry bottles that big, so the door is somewhat wasted space. I am looking for an optional shelf that the door appears to be designed to accept.

The cooling functions--especially the variable speed compressor functions that run the fridge faster when a surplus voltage is present--are noticeably better than any fridge I've used.

It's quiet, and it can be constantly connected to 12v DC and turned on/off by switches inside the fridge, which is a nice ergonomic touch.

I like the built-in door prop, so I can air out the fridge without letting the door swing around (or slam closed) while I'm driving.

I was very good at packing the old TF-49. It is taking me longer to learn how to pack the Dometic, but it's coming along. Some of the shelving and storage in the Dometic are just inefficient, but you can remove those things and reconfigure it. In other words, you have more options.

I hope it works out for you--stay in touch.

kourt

[Zeitgeist 13]

Thanks, that's really reassuring to hear. The fridge arrived today and seems to be a nice piece of kit, though a tad smaller than the TF135 I had installed a while back--a real power hog.

I'm also currently designing the water system for the van, and want to use a similar tank level gauge. Can the sending unit be modified to vary the length? The link you posted suggested to leave 1/2"--1" space at the bottom to act as a reserve. I'm having a hard time finding a sending unit that fits within that range, so I'm hoping to get a longer one and shorten it if possible.

Thanks again for all the guidance.
_________________
Casey--

'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik?

[kourt]

The sender is the KUS SSS/SSL model, and you have to commit to a sender length at the time of ordering.

That will require measuring carefully for your sender mounting system. Not sure what you're using for a water tank. I bought the 9.5" model to use in the Eurovan Winnebago tank, but I also put an inspection port on the tank and mounted the sender in the port cap itself.

kourt

[kourt]

All work and no play makes Kourt a dull boy. So I took a break from home (I'm converting part of our attic to a living space) and van projects, and we went to the Texas coastal bend for two nights.

Mustang Island State Park was nice on a Sunday night--we had the beach to ourselves. Plenty of wildlife--pelicans, gulls, coyotes, and ghost crabs. Lots of jellyfish in the gulf washing ashore.

The beach was very narrow due to tides and prevailing winds, and I think this was the real reason we had it to ourselves--the narrowness scared everyone away. At high tide, it reduced the driving lane to about a 20' wide path from the tide limit to the dunes, and that path was either powdery soft sand or strewn with seaweed. The Eurovan took it in stride.

Winds were strong at 20 MPH throughout the stay, with overnight storms hitting us both nights, including a spectacular lightning show over the gulf around 2AM Tuesday morning.

The menu included beach pizza on Sunday night, omelettes and mimosas Monday morning, hamburgers Monday night, and breakfast tacos Tuesday morning.

I flew a kite most of the day Monday and made radio contacts with most states from West Virginia through Idaho.

This was the first deploy of the ARB awning and it was reminded of what a great help it can be on a sunny day.

The photo below also shows the Gary Lee rack on the tailgate with standard shelf (holding our recycling bin) and a custom short shelf (storage for the Magma grill).

This was also the first trip for the 200 watts of solar I put on the van last week. With intermittent sun, we recharged to within 95% of full house battery capacity by 3PM each day, and that's with a fridge running, charging lots of devices, and transmitting radio traffic all day.

When we left the beach on Tuesday morning, the sands were still quite dry and powdery, so I deflated to 20 PSI on the front tires, and experienced confident traction on the way out. The on-board air compressor made quick work of reinflating to proper pressure once back on the pavement.

The drive home was rainy but the van handled well. Of course I thoroughly washed the van immediately on return home. Now I just have to get all the sand out!

This was our second trip together in this new Eurovan after nine years with a Vanagon Westfalia. We're learning the differences and adapting, and that can be a test of our expectations when the old Vanagon did so many things so well. We agreed, however, that having this new van stride easily through some challenging beach driving and stormy weather was nice. We trusted this new van through a crucible and it delivered a great memory.

kourt

[bcolins]

I have checked out the beach camping there but was warned against camping overnight due to the high tides when I was there, so have generally ended up camping beachside in Port A and also at Malaquite Campground on Padre Island National Seashore.

How were the temps and humidity while you were there? I normally camp there in October and February, but was actually thinking last week that it might be OK there,.....then it got hot this week.

[kourt]

We've also camped at the PortA city beach and the Padre Island Nat'l Seashore (PINS) beaches. We've been going to the area for 25 years.

The city beach is deep, and has bollards to keep car traffic off the surf zone, but lacks wildlife and suffers from the late night crowd who do donuts in the sand with their cars, or drive their golf carts (with huge sound systems) down the beach at 2AM blaring Kenny Chesney, usually right past our van. Really inconsiderate.

PINS is a great place, but it's harder to get back to the headquarters to use the bathroom, and it, too suffers from occasional public abuse. The state park is nice because it's gated and fee based, so the traffic (especially at night) is very low, and it has its own police force.

The air temps got up to 85 during the day and were quite warm at night, still in the low 70s. Only a comstantly blowing wind will guarantee comfort, and that same wind is the only thing keeping the mosquitoes away. If there is no wind, you will be attacked!

The best camping day I ever had at Mustang Island was back in February 2016 when we had fifteen Vanagons on the beach. The weather was mild and perfect. Looking at the photo below, it is hard to believe now. The state park beach was so much deeper back then. There's no way we could have had room and confidence to park like that now. Hurricane Harvey in 2017 really changed that that beach forever.

kourt

[bcolins]

Agree with your thoughts on Port A and Padre Island NS.

That's a great shot of all the Westys on the beach!

Brian

[kourt]

More media from the beach.

Yours truly, in a Kermit chair that travels with the van:

Operating radios on 40 meters. The rear bench and galley mods were built for exactly this kind of ergonomics:

Monday morning sunrise. You can see the 200 watts of solar on the roof here:

Monday afternoon under the awning, thankfully windy:

Omelettes on Monday morning, using the Lodge griddle:

Link


Beach camp on Monday. The kite flying the antenna feedline is in the foreground:

Link


Driving out on Tuesday morning. High tide and seaweed:

Link

[bcolins]

Noticing the seaweed. There was a segment on the news this morning talking about the huge problem that seaweed is presenting this year, notably in Florida. The Seaweed "Train" coming onto the shore in Florida is 5,000 (that's five thousand) miles long and over a mile wide in many places,.....Florida can't keep up with removal.

I would think driving through deep seaweed on soft sand would be problematic, but you appear to be making good progress through it.

Noticed a "Kermit" chair,...often found in the camping gear of a BMW motorcycle rider. Do you ride?

Brian

[kourt]

Yes, I acquired the chair when Aerostich came to Austin and had a pop-up sale. They needed a motorcycle in their retail space for a week so that riders could sit and be fitted in a riding position. I loaned them my old 1985 BMW R80. They tried to give me a gift certificate in exchange, but I noticed their staff were using Kermit chairs in their travels. "Just give me one of the Kermit chairs," I said, and that sealed the deal.

The R80 is gone and now I have a 1992 BMW K75S ABS, that has been my rider for four years. It's also about to be sold. Not sure what comes next.

The seaweed on Mustang Island was normal seasonal stuff, but I have seen those reports as well and wonder if that big seaweed problem from Florida might get to Texas someday.

Brian, I'm sure we'll meet sometime this year. Find me when your van is back together and we'll talk shop--that will be fun. Sounds like you may have the motorcycle bug, too.

Today the van was used to move eight sheets of OSB subfloor for the attic project. Back to work for Kourt.

kourt

[bcolins]

Ha,....Yes,....I have carried an 8x4 sheet of Baltic Birch in my other EV,..my 2003 MV. I was building a cargo drawer for the back of the van. (Which worked out very well)

I had to stop getting the Aerostich catalog,......There was always something I did not know existed moments before opening the latest catalog,.....and I now had to buy it.

I just sold my 2007 R1200RT and my 2008 R1200 GS Adventure (that I rode to the west coast of Mexico a few years ago) and bought a 2018 R1200GS I finally have all the feature I want on one bike,.....with the exception of the power adjustable windshield that the RT had. Loved that feature and its ability to deflect rain, direct air flow so that rain on my face shield would just blow off,....and adjust airflow depending on ambient temps.

I was sales manager at Lone Star BMW for the last two years, and later, Alamo BMW Motorcycles in Boerne/San Antonio. Retired about 3 years ago. Oh,...and I do have a Kermit chair!

I'll reach out to you when I get my EVC running and driving Kourt.

Brian

[kourt]

Latest post: adding artificial rain gutters to the poptop. I made an extensive post here to keep it in context with another poster's question. Preview photo below.

Kourt

[Blaque Jacques]

Kourt, thanks for the great post! I came across it when looking for info on the Dometic Fridge. I'd previously installed a TF 65 in my old '99 EVC and am looking at a good solution for my new '02. It looks like you installed the CRX 65U. the CRX PRO65 is currently on sale for $600 and looks great. I cant find any info online about the difference between the pro and the U. It looks like the U is about 2" wider. Does anyone know the difference? Also, the depth is a couple of inches more than the TF65. Did you have any problem with the installation due to the increased depth of the Dometic?
_________________
86 2wd Westy GW2200. 97, 99 02 EVC. Lots and lots of bikes

[kourt]

That Pro65 looks like a good unit at a good price.

My fridge sits a little proud in the galley, and that is necessary due to its depth.

kourt

[kourt]

Update:

In my first post I referenced a 12v folding cold-only faucet sold on Amazon.

This faucet failed after 14 months of use. The faucet is designed to use several slip joints, protected by o-rings, to allow universal movement. The primary slip joint for the lateral rotation of the faucet head became worn and would pop the whole faucet head off the base with the slightest provocation or water pressure.

I see now that Amazon sellers are offering a solid brass version of this same faucet for around $99. I did not buy it.

Instead, I went back to the tried-and-true Shurflo cold water faucet. I had this faucet in my Vanagon for nine years without problems. It's reliable and well built and easy to use.

kourt