I looked at so man y different RV water storage tanks and portable water containers online, just trying to find something that matched m y needs but I constantly ran into snags that sent me back to the drawing board...
Eventually I decided that I had to get out of my analysis paralysis, so I just moved forward...
I bought six 5 gallon Coleman water storage containers hoping that the measurements were true and they would all fit in the area I had reserved. One container would be m y grey water tank, two of the others I would use for potable water, and the other three would be my tap water supply. I also ordered a 12V pump that I was going to use for the tap water supply and then I would add a hand pump for the potable water. I ditched that idea due to the high cost of a good hand pump and ordered another 12V electric pump for the potable water supply as well as 25' of high quality tubing that was safe for drinking water...
I already had the wiring routed to the rear of the van so I decided to mount the two pumps between the rear cabinet supports and since the pumps were so small they didn't take up much space. I also installed two strainers in the suction side of both p umps to prevent debris from getting into the pumps and ruining them...
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| My finger is in the way but you can see the mounting location of the pumps. |
Eventually I also added some insulation to help muffle the sound of the pumps running, but I don't think they were really that noise y to begin with. Note that the water containers have not been installed, nor the sink and faucet...
What about a sink? Well, I decided upon a vessel sink for several reasons. I didn't lose an y area under the cabinet since all that was below the countertop was the drain only . I didn't want to lose all of my countertop area at the back, and for strictly aesthetic reasons, I just like the look of the vessel sink. I mentioned in the beginning that originally I was working towards building a tiny house. Well, I wanted to put as much of a tin y house feel into the van as I could. Cozy but functional, well grounded and earthy, with a bit of pop, so here is what I came up with...
I really loved the feel of this sink and the faucet. The white egg shaped sink just seemed to fit the van perfectly, and the faucet has a functional antique feel to it, which just adds to the ambiance, and when I found them both on sale and spent less than $100 for the pair, I was happy...
The faucet came with the standard steel braided hoses attached. I cut the factory ends off of both hoses and routed the HOT side spigot to the tap water tanks, and the COLD spigot to the potable water tanks. Since the p umps work off of pressure, you simply open the spigot of choice and the proper p ump comes to life. This was also one of the few vessel sink faucets that would swivel, so you can swing the faucet out to the back and use it to fill a glass or a pan with no problem...
The sink drain tube goes straight into the 5 gallon Coleman container I have marked for grey water. one reserve container of tap water fits on the left side of the grey water tank, and the other four fit well on the right side with the two containers being used for the p umps are in the middle where they are easy to access along with the grey water tank...
I really like this picture mainly because it shows off the beautiful wood countertops and sink, but you can also see the arrangement of the tanks and supply hoses...
The Coleman water containers come with a plastic spigot made into the screw top. I ended up just cutting the spigot portion off of the two supply tank tops and the hole was about the perfect size for the supply hoses. You can't see the drain tube to the grey water tank too well, but I added a short piece of clear tubing which fits snugly into the top of the container where the top screws on. So snugly in fact that you have to leave the vent open on the back or the sink doesn't drain well. The drain tube unscrews from the bottom of the sink very easily which lets you remove the tank for disposal...
Something that I had built into the rear cabinet early on, was a workstation surface that could be attached to the rear cabinet and would allow you to cook or prep food or even use it for a work surface...
This work shelf is notched at the front to fit around the two rear cabinet supports and it rests on the rear door spring supports. Two braided hemp cords run though the rear corners of the surface and hook into the sides of the doorway for additional support. I use this for cooking, washing dishes, and it really is nice...
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| The additional wood supports attached to the main support are there to lock in the work surface and keep it stable. |
You may also notice that I added a propane tank on top of the rear cabinet on the right. The tank has a long hose that can be attached to the cook stove for use inside or out...
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When you are traveling or don't need the extra countertop space, the panel pulls out and slips down behind the rear cabinet in-between the two doors for storage...
You may also have noticed the door panels. I cut a piece of luan paneling for each of the four doors and left them open so I co old utilize them for storage...
They just dress the van up a bit when you're parked and camping with the doors open...
Now a few notes about the bells and whistles...
I really wanted to keep this build fairly simple, but I also wanted to be able to have a computer so I could keep in touch with friends and family...
Continue to Converting Anastasia / Part VII
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