Salvagepunk track day camper van is a 2kw solar generator on wheels
It's big. It's orange. It sticks out like a sore thumb. It really deserves the "____AF" license plate the DMV is denying it. What started as a project to build a suitable support vehicle for camping out in the speedway paddock on motorcycle track days, has ultimately become a sort of ultra-utilitarian kludgepunk apocalypse survival van... and it can be yours, if you want it.
As much as it saddens me, it's time for this culmination of years of labor and learning experiences to move on. Thus, I wanted to make sure I properly recorded the details of this build for posterity before it finds its new home.
As Joerg Sprave would say, Let me show you its features!
The base platform is a 1999 GMC Savana 3500 extended passenger van, but it started its life as a CalTrans state owned work vehicle, which meant it was not officially registered until I bought it, and I had to convert it to classify as an RV to avoid insane heavy commercial vehicle tax. Virtually none of the original conversion remains at this point, as its been hacked and modified constantly since then.
Starting with the obvious, the core of this build is the solar array. This consists of 8x 250 watt panels mounted on a custom welded square steel frame. Extensive planning and great care was taken in its construction to minimize the extra weight and size which this added to the already very large vehicle. The frame is hinged, with special geometry to allow it to fold out up to 90 degrees on one side, and past 90 degrees on the other, while folding down close to the profile of the vehicle securely when not in use. The end result is short enough to enter parking garages and drive thrus at only 86 inches, and maybe only 300 lbs heavier overall. Surprisingly, the aerodynamics of the van did not suffer from the addition of the panels, and at or below 55 mph, it still gets low double digits fuel economy on 87 octane gas.
The panels are wired in both parallel and series, although I have learned a lot more about solar clusters since building it and would have done it differently for greater efficiency if I had done it today. folded out in full sun, they put out very near to their optimal 2000 watts, although that falls off dramatically when the panels are folded down or shaded.
The panels feed an MPPT hybrid charger/inverter via a custom combiner and circuit breaker box which manages multiple power sources, so that the 4.8kW/H of Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries mounted to the bulkhead behind and under the passenger seat can be charged by Solar, shore power, or even the van's onboard alternator via a secondary inverter, and the load can be prioritized to feed from solar first, shore power second, and batteries third. The four 12v 10AH batteries are connected in 2 parallel 2 series with individual battery monitors in addition to the full 24v bank monitor displaying on the bulkhead.
The 110v AC power from the inverter feeds its own 12v DC power supply separate from the vehicle power, for running 12v DC accessories like the ceiling hatch exhaust fan, lights, etc. There are 4 outlets mounted on the bulkhead each pair with their own GFCI protection, and power strips mounted elsewhere in the van are routed to the outlet box. The system is fully isolated and ground is referenced to the vehicle ground.
The inverter can provide 3kw of power when drawing on reserves stored in the batteries or shore power, more than enough to run a 14k BTU dual hose portable air conditioner in the back to keep the inside of the van livable on hot summer days. The A/C hose inlet/outlet is built into a coroplast louvered box that allows it to both draw in and to vent out stealthily from the back window without efficiency losses from recirculating the same hot air back into the condenser.
The back of the van is separated from the cockpit by a curtain but also has a locking steel bulkhead door for where extra security is needed. Both the side doors and rear doors have heavy duty internal shackle puck locks mounted externally with hardened steel carriage bolts to deter thieves.
Inside the back, there is thick carpeting atop a soft pad for comfort, a captain's chair with a removable swivel base and seatbelt, a ventilation hatch with fan, many wall-mounted storage pouches, velcro pads, hooks, and tie downs, a place to string up a hammock, and a self-locking motorcycle wheel chock with tie down points recessed in the carpet. A vertical stack of storage baskets in the back corner help keep various ratchet straps, tie downs, chains, locks, and lifting equipment.
Did I mention lifting equipment? It also has a crane hidden away in the back bumper. Flip up the cover, and it folds out, with a winch and cable rated to one ton, it can be used as an engine hoist, or to lift heavy cargo into the back. Who else do you know that always has a cherry picker with them when they travel?
The bumper also supports a class 3 hitch, and can tow a tandem axle trailer up to 10,000 lbs. Conveniently, the crane on the back can be used as a scale to measure tongue weight when loading the trailer.
In the cockpit, there is astroturf (just because) and a 2 channel LCD display set into the sun visor that can be folded down to view backup cameras both on the back of the van and on the back of the trailer when towing. A weather sealed BNC connector on the back bumper next to the 7 way trailer plug connector allows analog video transmission from a camera mounted on the back of the trailer, making backing up and parking the trailer a breeze, and the camera on the back of the van offers a clear view of the trailer hitch for easy coupling.
On the front of the van are two folding posts, which make for convenient traffic cone storage... but their true purpose is to fold down like the forks of a forklift, and carry stacks of railroad ties or other long, bulky objects on the front of the vehicle. I've never actually used them for this purpose.
It could use a fresh coat of paint, and an AC compressor pressure sensor gasket so its massive volume of expensive refrigerant doesn't keep leaking out... but other than that it's all pretty much ready to go on its next long adventure. The vortec motor and automatic transmission have been reliable even going on 271k miles now, and I expect may even have another 100k left in them at this rate. They've needed very little but oil and a few aged out sensors since I got it. I've taken it across the country and back hauling a trailer and lived out of it for a summer, although the low ceiling makes it less than ideal for long term habitation.
Follow the link for a complete gallery including building and assembly photos: