Slow Progress on the Van

Haven't done much, lately.
Did some driving to figure out the Diesel consumption. Seems around 7 l per 100 km. Not too bad, could be better though.

The blind-out curtains came as a pair. In a previous post, you have seen installation of one of such curtains on a shower curtain rod. Light suppression was OK and so was sound suppression during driving.
I figured, double that can't be bad. So, I installed the second curtain back to back with the first one. Doing that not only doubles the thickness, it also adds a few centimeters to the total width. The plan is now to pin down the edges of the curtains to the vehicle by means of magnets.

Also, rerouting of the LED chains was overdue. So, I did that, nothing particularly interesting to report here.

All in all, nothing worth taking a picture of though.

And yes there is more, I did buy a "battery combiner". My choice went to a Victron Cyrix-ct 120A relay. This thing, usually used in yachts. It is good for combining a service battery with the starter battery and can be used in either 12V or 24V systems equally. This particular unit does not require the alternator signal. The unit measure the voltage on the start battery terminal, if said voltage is above 13V (or 26V respectively), it switches through to the service battery.
The next steps will be to shop for a deep cycle battery and to build a mount and panel for it.

Reversing Distance Sensors

The previous photos clearly show one feature of the Vito van: no windows in the cargo part of the van. Well, yes, that's what I opted for in the first place. However, reversing is somewhat slow and one need to be extremely careful. The previous owner managed to get a severe dent in the right rear door.
Actually, even changing lanes also needs extra attention, but that's another topic all together.

Reverse parallel parking in front of my house is relatively easy, since I got a nice maple tree in my front yard, which is a perfect visual beacon when looking through the mirrors whilst reversing.
However, some more info would be such a good thing.

Hence, I decided to order an aftermarket distance sensor system. Initially I thought about a camera, however, there seem to be limitation to those cameras. So, a sensor system it is!

After having looked at tons of reviews, I decided go order a relatively simple one from conrad electronics:  Parking aid (corded) Rear acoustic, visual CE

The scariest bit was to drill the holes in the rear bumper. I wanted to remove for doing said task, however, I was unable to loosen the screws, hence, I did it blindly. And yes, I could have oped for marking everything properly and stuff... but that's not me. Holes are in, so so, but who cares?

The hardest thing turned out to find a route for the sensor cable to the inside of the vehicle. For now those cables are just routed from under the rear bumper, over the same and through the left rear door. 
I figure, I will just created a passage through the rear bumper as to better hide the cables. Never the less, those cable will be are routed between the rear door and the door frame.

Photographs will follow! So, stay tuned!

UPDATE:
The pictures I promised. The solution is not pretty, as stated above, but, it get's the job done!

the 4 sensors - the dent in the right door was achieved by a previous owner

cable routing - small hole in the bumper, right at the red electricians tape is

Quick Tip: LED Lighting

Usually vans got lighting in the back cabin, which is operated from the starter battery. Mine was equipped with a 12V 10W incandescent festoon bulb. 10W at 12V means that there is a current of almost 1A (0.83A) going through the light. Although this is acceptable for sort time use, in my book such an energy consumption is somewhat high for longer evenings.

Modern days know LED lighting, which is about 90% more efficient than incandescent lighting. However, the electronics of some LED light sources cannot cope with varying power, have the light source failing.
There are also some cleverly designed electronics which are tolerant to voltages between 8 and 30V.
The local marine equipment store offers products of the Swedish make Båtsystem.
My light source of choice was the 94Spool1. Power rating for this source 0.7W (0.66W according to the packaging), resulting in a current of 0.058A (0.055A). Such a low current encourages of using the van's lighting all night long.
The only "problem" with this particular light source is, that it's got only one side that emits light, so orientating the source correctly during installation is important.

Update on the Solar Lighting

Yesterday I posted the quick-tip about using solar charged garden lights for nighttime illumination inside the van.
It seems I got lucky again by the choice of van I made. My Vito got those little tiny triangular window which as windows to look through are entirely useless. Most of the view is blocked by the dashboard anyway...

tiny window

And then it struck me! Windows let in light. If the solar collector is small enough, there actually might be a good use for those tiny windows. Solarvets are pretty small, guess what? The 12 LED version fit just perfectly!

Solarvet sitting in the side window

The trick now is to get the wires into the living area of the van. Since the cable is so thin, it can be squeezed underneath the door's grommet easily.

Wiring through the door's grommet

Next issue to consider, those light only switch on in darkness. Of course, one could imagine to modify the electronics, but for me, that's too much of an effort. On the right hand side of the dash, there is a compartment... so, the solar/battery unit can be just put in there, up-side down.

Lights on position in the right dash compartment

Now to the LED part of the story. To keep things simple, I just wound the LED-chain about the vehicles internal skeleton. Nothing fancy yet, but it get's the job done.

LEDs all shining

I figure, it could be a good idea to add a switch to the cable, somewhere in the living area. We will see...

Charge Your Battery on Solar Power

Right, this is a non-IKEA tip! Actually, the store (kijkshop) is something really Dutch. I figure, similar products are available around the globe.
I purchased this product many years ago, with an entirely different scope in mind. However, today, it comes handy when backing up the batteries in my van.
And here it is:
http://www.kijkshop.nl/product/119632/proplus-accu-druppellader/
Once I installed the second, i.e. house, battery, the solar thing will charge it up... at its own pace.

Almost free (solar) Lighting

Here's a quick-tip for you:
IKEA offers some solar powered LED garden lights, called SOLARVET. All things considered, those are really inexpensive (even less expensive in Europe, it seems).
I will use those behind the windscreen, inside the van. This way, I can blind the solar cells, forcing the thing to illuminate. Also, I will insert a switch between the main unit and the LEDs, thereby adding control over the illumination provided by the LEDs.
For larger vehicles, there is a 24 LED version of SOLARVET available.