Unicell Fiberglass Van conversion

[Kevin in Denver]

Hi I'm Kevin (Casita owner) and this is Siena the off grid van conversion.
Unicell makes these beautiful bodies, this one is a 2012 and when you wax it, it looks brand new.

What I'm going for here is something all-electric, freezeproof, and off grid. The Inergy Kodiak makes the wiring pretty simple. You can't even tell there is 800 watts of solar on top.

It seems to be a huge market mainly for millenials trying to save on rent through Urban Stealth Camping. There is no dedicated shower, but the idea is to join a health club for $30/month and shower there.

More photos at https://www.outdoorsy.com/rv-rental/..._93541-listing

#vanlife on instagram

Please direct me to more fiberglass conversions like this and chime in with your opinions!

[John in Santa Cruz]

all electric heat and offgrid don't work real well. when its cold, its rarely sunny, and heat requires a LOT of juice.

[Donna D.]

Hummm, 800 watts of solar on the roof is meaningless since it doesn't power anything. It's about batteries and charging. How many and what kind of batteries and where are you storing them? Where I live there are far too many gray days to go all electric and expect to be comfortable.


Interesting idea to see where this goes...

[Glenn Baglo]

Could you live full time in the city with just a porta potty?
yes
no


If you didn't give a crap.

[John in Santa Cruz]

Inergy Kodiak.... its a 90AH (1100WH) liion battery pack with integrated controller and inverter.... that costs $1500. yeouch.

that would get you 1 whole hour of 1000 watt heat (which is the typical portable electric heater on LOW). then you need to wait for 3-4 hours of direct sunshine before you can get another 1 hour of heat.

oh yeah.

[k corbin]

Heat can be done with a diesel fueled heater or of course propane. There is also the option for putting in a small wood stove. Those tiny wood stoves being used in caravans are more common in Europe as they have a varied choice in tiny woodstoves which sell for use in the canal boats. But the USA market also have a few different model of tiny woodstoves.



I myself have a diesel fueled heater that is also a cooktop. The diesel heaters have exhuast to the exterior and they remove humidity from the interior when they operate. I did not need to put propane lines into my remodel scheme. But I do have a portable, one burner butane, camp stove that I can use for quick water heat up or for taking outdoors on hot days.

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by k corbin

Heat can be done with a diesel fueled heater or of course propane. There is also the option for putting in a small wood stove. Those tiny wood stoves being used in caravans are more common in Europe as they have a varied choice in tiny woodstoves which sell for use in the canal boats. But the USA market also have a few different model of tiny woodstoves.

All kinds of ways/methods to heat or cook, but other than silent, you'll no longer be 'stealthy' and that was the OPs point.

[stude]

Originally Posted by Kevin in Denver

Hi I'm Kevin (Casita owner) and this is Siena the off grid van conversion.
Unicell makes these beautiful bodies, this one is a 2012 and when you wax it, it looks brand new.

What I'm going for here is something all-electric, freezeproof, and off grid. The Inergy Kodiak makes the wiring pretty simple. You can't even tell there is 800 watts of solar on top.

It seems to be a huge market mainly for millenials trying to save on rent through Urban Stealth Camping. There is no dedicated shower, but the idea is to join a health club for $30/month and shower there.

More photos at https://www.outdoorsy.com/rv-rental/..._93541-listing

#vanlife on instagram

Please direct me to more fiberglass conversions like this and chime in with your opinions!

retty rough finishes? I know longer have the tools but with what we do still have I can do a better job than that.
Stude

[stude]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

Could you live full time in the city with just a porta potty?
yes
no


If you didn't give a crap.

:yes I could as it you can dump them just about anywhere where as if you had a built in you have to find a dump station and in a big city it is impossible but I can dump porta potti in a service station toilet, johnny on the spot if door open at any construction site, or friends bathroom toilet. I would rather have a porta potty only because I boondock if in a Class B or Camper but if MH different story.
stude

[Kevin in Denver]

The cheap 110v fan forced heaters do use too much electricity. Low setting is usually about 700W.

A gas generator to provide electricity for heat is probably too noisy and too much hassle and not stealthy or practical in the city.

The vehicle engine is not too economical, but it is fairly quiet and stealthy.
My current method is to use a coolant-fed unit heater with 12v fan. So when it gets too cold, you start the engine which not only heats the living space, but recharges the batteries. A remote starter makes starting the vehicle easier.

The Kodiak is currently the only "solar generator" that can recharge at 50amps, which can come from the vehicle alternator. The Kodiak also can piggyback several AGM deep cycle batteries. Yes, the Kodiak is expensive but it simplifies the whole mess. In the worst case, you might have to find a plug for shore power somewhere.

[Glenn Baglo]

Originally Posted by Kevin in Denver

The vehicle engine is not too economical, but it is fairly quiet and stealthy.

No concern for the environment?

[Tom 72]

I am also in Denver. Although rents are sky high, $90 a night or >$2,700/mo is ambitious for rent. It seems high for a student or employed person who is not building equity. It might work well for a few nights. If it works as a rental, great. It is attractive as a DIY.

Box vans make nice spaces, however this one and most have those Todco roll-up doors at the back to seal & insulate. I'm no judge of the 35 cents a mile over 150 miles. I like the box van as a DIY conversion, but students or retirees on a budget will build their own. The 1st link below was under $5,000 total. The 2nd was likely more for the van, less the interior:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC8vxjfLEHw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZObgbXOgHM

[Byron Kinnaman]

Originally Posted by Kevin in Denver

The cheap 110v fan forced heaters do use too much electricity. Low setting is usually about 700W.

A gas generator to provide electricity for heat is probably too noisy and too much hassle and not stealthy or practical in the city.

The vehicle engine is not too economical, but it is fairly quiet and stealthy.
My current method is to use a coolant-fed unit heater with 12v fan. So when it gets too cold, you start the engine which not only heats the living space, but recharges the batteries. A remote starter makes starting the vehicle easier.

The Kodiak is currently the only "solar generator" that can recharge at 50amps, which can come from the vehicle alternator. The Kodiak also can piggyback several AGM deep cycle batteries. Yes, the Kodiak is expensive but it simplifies the whole mess. In the worst case, you might have to find a plug for shore power somewhere.

700 watt at 120 volt AC = 700/120= 5.8 amps.



It might not work so well.

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by Byron Kinnaman

700 watt at 120 volt AC = 700/120= 5.8 amps.



It might not work so well.

yeah, and at 12VDC == 58 amps, and that's not allowing for inverter conversion inefficiency

like I said, 1 hour to pretty much totally flatten a typical RV battery (or that $1500 fancy-pack mentioned in the original post)

[Kevin in Denver]

The best heat source would be the gasoline Espar or Webasto heater, but they are quite expensive and complicated compared to resistance heat plus engine heat.

$90/night is just the price on Outdoorsy, where folks are looking for an RV.
$90/night is cheap for an RV. $800/month is our target long term rental price, and Outdoorsy isn't the right place to market that.

We have a solution for the rollup doors involving two foam insulated fiberglass residential doors.

[ShelbyM]

I'd suggest cash upfront, hefty deposit and good insurance. I'm guessing anyone who would want to rent that may be pretty sketchy. Nevertheless, good luck!

[John in Santa Cruz]

This discussion is pretty far off track for Fiberglass RV, 'vanlife' has its own sorts of forums.

[k corbin]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

All kinds of ways/methods to heat or cook, but other than silent, you'll no longer be 'stealthy' and that was the OPs point.

My diesel heater/cooktop is just fine as far as being stealthy. It does not have a noisy blower, it has a small computer fan for distributing the heat. No one standing outside is going to notice it especially when boondocking in a city where there is always background noise even at night. But to save on battery power I have an Eco fan, the blades spin silently, there is no motor, it is powered by the heat put out by the stove. So yes there are all kinds of ways and methods to heat and cook and some of them are silent and that was why I mentioned it to the OP.

[Kevin in Denver]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

This discussion is pretty far off track for Fiberglass RV, 'vanlife' has its own sorts of forums.

Agreed.

Back to the point about the Unicell fiberglass box, I think the used one-piece Unicell vans are undervalued compared to the more common fiberglass reinforced plywood (FRP) construction.

Used fiberglass RVs and travel trailers tend to be worth at least double the competition. Currently there is no price premium for used Unicell vans.

If you were going convert a new van, I'd say the best place to start would be with a Promaster Cutaway upfitted with a Unicell box. So much room and no need for custom curved cabinetry.

https://www.unicell.com/wp-content/u...ster_Final.pdf