Mongaup Pond is a great state campground about 2 hours North of NYC (once you’ve cleared city traffic, which could take 2 hours more).

Just when I’m feeling disappointed at driving a hundred miles without seeing another VW, some kid who’s admiring the Letsgo at a small-town diner invites us to see his project Beetle…and a 60s Impala…and an old Willys jeep…and a late 50s Dodge…and an El Camino with a new crate 454. There was one late-model car in the driveway, a Sunbird. “Someone gave us that thing.” sufficed for the Sunbird, but we got the full tour of the family’s collection. And now another innocent young soul has a developing case of Vanagon addiction >;^)

Dog reflected in Vanagon door:

Looking at our Vanagon, the Best Woman Ever observed that it seemed to be saying “Let’s go, guys!” – so I just had to order a vanity plate.

LA Times writer Dan Neil summed it up well – “The pleasure of cars isn’t about high-end audio systems and heated seats. It’s about mechanically multiplied self-determination. Free will with leverage.”

The $40 battery isolator ate hours of my time, and to no avail – never found a wiring combination that worked.

I decided to use a relay instead, since it’s cheaper and (most importantly) I know how it works…it’s not a mysterious black box with an annoying voltage drop.

So the quest began; I went to Strauss Auto and Pep Boys asking for a 30-amp continuous duty, normally open, 12v relay. The answer at both places was “uhh, duh, what kind of car is it for?” They could not look up a part by what it is, they could only drill down by application (they type make, choose a list of models, choose year, etc). At Strauss, nobody even knew what a relay was(!).

That’s OK, I’ll try Radio Shack, it’s a pretty common, normal kind of part. Nope. Radio Shack is apparently no longer interested in customers with the intelligence to build or repair anything; they stock ZERO electronic components – no resistors, relays, anything. So WTF is the point of their existance? All they have now is the same crap I can get 25% cheaper at a big box store.

I wised up and went to Danken auto parts, where they actually understand what they’re selling. I told the guy what I needed, and he knew more about it that I did – the way it SHOULD be when you go to a specialty store! The part was $9, and an hour or two later I had it all hooked up and tested.

Now my second battery charges when the engine is running and all the camping accessories are isolated from the starter battery.

Joe’s Auto Glass on 7th Avenue in Brooklyn went above and beyond the call of duty to get this thing in. As it turned out, the supposedly Vanagon-sized jalousie window was too long front-to-back to fit in with the gasket. They ground down the ends and put it in with screws and urethane, and it fits pretty well. I’ll definitely have to make some sort of bezel for the ugly edges, but I’m so happy to have it in there! Also happy to have a solution that, while not exactly O.G., is completely reversable in case I sell the car or change my mind at some point. (The screwholes would be hidden by the gasket upon reinstallation of the original sliding window)

Still haven’t got the isolator working…I can’t help thinking how simple it would be to do it with a continuous duty normally off relay, triggered by the blue wire from the alternator which activates the relay for the “charge” idiot light.

A fairly small gauge wire (with a fuse) to charge the 2nd battery should prevent any sudden, drastic transfers. So simple and cheap…I think I’ll try to return the isolator…

I’m stalled in the middle of installing a battery isolator to keep the second battery full and prevent draining of the starting battery. Most of the connections make sense, but I’m unsure which terminal on the alternator would be the “S”…matter of fact, the only one I can see a label on (without pulling the alt) is the “B+” that the fat red wire goes to.

My current battery has two connections on the positive terminal: fat black cable and about an 8 gauge red one. My experiments suggest that the red is for starter and the fat is hot line from alt, so I connected the fat one to the “ALT” post on the isolator and left the red one on the starting battery+ terminal. (of course all ground straps are disconnected and taped out of the way while I work)

My Bosch alternator has two connections – the fat red cable at B+, and another blue one that looks to be about 14 gauge. Is this blue one the “S” terminal of which the below diagram speaks? I just can’t see in there and don’t want to pull the alternator just to check that.

With the main battery hooked up to the “battery 1″ position on the isolator, the thick cable on the “alt” post, and the smaller red cable still at battery+, accessories work but the car won’t start. From what I’ve read, the alternator is probably stopping it from turning over because there’s a control line missing. Could that blue wire on the alternator be the thing to connect to the isolator/starting bat+?

If I jumper the “alt” and “bat1″ terminals on the isolator, the engine starts right up, but there is constant 12v going to the second battery, exactly the thing the isolator is there to prevent. So far, the battery idiot light is doing what it should.

Apparently the information I’m googling for here is so basic that everyone assumes you already know it – ah well, I’m used to that kind of thing, the perils of being self-educated.

Here’s the diagram that came with the isolator:

Umm…help!

Just got back from a 4-day campout with a bunch of friends, and couldn’t be happier with “Let’s go!”, which seems to be the van’s name.

I got a 120 ah deep cycle Energizer battery from Pep boys for about half the price of an Optima with half the capacity. A group 27, its box just barely fits beneath the zbed. In the hours before leaving, I wired some lighter plugs, the flourescent light, and the radio to it. Next week, maybe I’ll get it onto the alternator with a relay or isolator (the debate rages over which is best), but the solar panels topped it off quickly after each use.

Found the perfect place for the fridge while camping, since I still haven’t found my seat swivels. It’s a bit fussy on propane; seems to stop working though it’s still showing green on the meter, but a restart gets it chilly again. I’ll have to experiment to see how long it can run on 12v with the big new battery. Anyone know why they tell you not to use the propane and electric elements at the same time? Please leave a comment!

Solar panels tilted up to maximize the morning sunlight, solar shower on roof heating up 5 gallons of bathwater (gets TOO hot in just a few hours of sunlight, an incredible return for $10 investment):

I braced the rear hatch with some tent poles and hung a tarp – instant shower room! The bracing is necessary to make the hatch hold the bag of hot water up:

In the past I’ve spoken highly of the Mr. Heater Portable Buddy, but after a near-disaster this weekend I’m withdrawing that. It’s not the fault of the unit, just that the space is too small for it. A pillow fell onto the heater and burst into flame. All it took was a few seconds of distraction (I fell out of the open rear hatch and my girlfriend was overcome with hilarity. Popped my head back up and saw the smoke rising behind her.. “FIRE!”) Fortunately I didn’t have to use the extinguisher, but no more Mr. Heater in that tiny space.

What a joy camping with loved ones and a Vanagon!

Finally installed the solar charge controller in the van, with a fuse block for accessories running off the second battery, which at the moment is small 10ah one from an uninterruptable power supply. I salvaged a plug from an old phone charger to fit the 12v dc in on my flourescent light and it worked great. Put the solar panels on the roof and they pivot perfectly on the u-clamps:

Also finished another curtain rod and covered the old Zbed armrest in blue fabric. It’s almost too narrow to be useful, but until the side cabinets happen it’s something.

This is one of those days that test one’s determination to keep the vehicle essentially stock and intact underneath the improvements. For the solar panel wires, 120v hookup, and maybe water, I’ll be making an insert for the sliding window, but it’d sure be nice to just get some rubber grommets and drill a few holes. Then I’d like to put a couple of vents in the roof, and westy-style utility ports…just screw the darn solar panel hinges to the roof itself…bolt that playground ladder I dumpstered onto the rear hatch for rack access and a place to hang bikes…

But it’s still 99% O.G….Even the curtain rods are mounted to utilize/hide whatever TF the previous owner had screwed on there.

Next weekend I’ll try it all out on a 3 day camping trip with a bunch of friends…

Before:

After:

Now if someone has one of these, I’ll have whole doors:

And finally, the obligatory dog photo. Twilight at the dog beach in Prospect Park