Upon quitting my civil engineering desk job and mounting the Kul Kamper to the Ram, I moved the final portion of the construction home to my grandparents house. Here, I would be able to undertake the full time endeavor of all solar, electrical, plumbing, and interior finishing while visiting with family before the journey westward.

 

As I sit now, writing this post in Utah after 2 years and 3 months of full time tiny house living, I’ve come to realize the adventure has been a success! Its 30 degrees outside, and I am wearing nothing but boxers inside my 80 degree house with a breakfast burrito belly while charging my laptop with the power of the sun. The truth is, the adventure and life in general has been so darn good, that it’s delayed my telling of the construction story, for which I apologize to many of you who have been doing some van buildouts and asking for ideas. Some of the most amazing friends I could ever ask for have welcomed me into their lives; their smiles and light have burned so bright and they have all too often threatened me with a good time. Thank you.

 

So for those of you that just want to see the photos, here ya go! Otherwise, if you are doing a van buildout or tiny home construction, feel free to scroll through the photo mosaics and read the details of each component, as there are such numbers for solar and fresh water gallons that may interest you.

Once I arrived to my grandparents house, unloaded my wheelie machine and all the construction products and appliances I had gathered over the previous 11 months, it was time to make the now watertight shell into a place to live. I will say, at this point, very few measurements were taken compared to simply using the human eye as a guiding tool for fitting all the things inside, in an efficient space. Literally, I had stacked items up on milk crates and tested where things should go by actually placing them in a spot and seeing how it felt. It just seemed like things HAD to be where they now sit.

To begin, let me shed some light on the situation… By adding some solar! The great Thomas Edison had envisioned the entire world being electrified by the ever so efficient and safe low voltage Direct Current; thus I too thought it best to keep all my appliances, lighting, and charging system in 12 volts DC. To provide and store charge for my lighting and appliances, I have installed two Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM) 104 Amp hour batteries, which are sealed and do not emit deadly gasses while charging. These batteries are charged solely by solar. Originally as pictured, I installed one 140 watt panel shipped from the Solar Panel store in Colorado. My initial calculations on draw from appliances called for only this one panel, however, after realizing the true number of usable solar hours available, I was coming in a bit low- especially in the Eastern USA. So, on my way to Utah, I stopped at the store in CO and picked up one more matching panel- so 280 watts in total. Which has been working wonderfully!

 

The panel feeds through the roof at ~12-15 volts and is managed by the Sun Saver Duo, a charge controller. This device is the essential brain of the charging system. Without this, raw power would be transmitted to the batteries and lead to overcharging or undercharging them. To make a long story short- this device is the magic box that transmits the correct voltage to your batteries from the panels and properly charges based on the state of the batteries. To reduce electrical losses and maximize efficiency, I used 10 gauge wire to transmit from the panels to the charge controller to the batteries.

From the batteries, I then ran 10 gauge red and black wire up to my “fuse box.” The Rig Runner was chosen for a fuse box to allow for distribution to all my appliances and to utilize the extremely efficient, safe, and easy Anderson Powerpole connectors. These connectors are very popular in the amateur radio industry because within a few seconds, you can turn the end of a wire into a plug, which can be plugged into another wire or a fuse box/ distribution panel or appliance. Appropriate sizes of connectors must be used based on your amperage, and now, two plus years of using them, I have had Zero issues.

 

Now that my batteries were installed and able to be charged by the sun, I installed the appropriate gauge wire (mostly 14 gauge) to the locations where my appliances would be. This included chiseling out a small slot through the surface of the insulation and framing so that the interior wall and ceiling paneling would lay flat. Normally in regular houses with high voltage AC, wires must be run in conduits for safety, however, with all splices cleanly soldiered and heat shrank, my uncle (an electrician) said I would have no issues with hot spots or overheating at 12 volts DC.

This process of running wires was especially tricky when mounting the ceiling lights above the 4×8 foot 1/8” panels, such that it was the one single situation that I HAD to enlist an extra hand to help thread the wires through the predrilled holes in the already glued up surfaces. Thanks Uncle Danny! The night these ceiling panels were installed and lights turned on for the first time, was truly surreal. My creation was starting to feel like a home. The lights were purchased on amazon and are 12 volts, LED, where all four draw less than 3 amps when turned on and are plenty bright. Lastly, the roof vent is a fantastic fan vent and it pulls some serious air with minimal electrical draw!

 

Next on the order of business: the plumbing. To have the ability be totally off grid for a few weeks at a time, I had decided on 72 gallons of fresh water. This was achieved with two tanks, which were rectangular and continuously poured at 3/8” thick and marine grade. In this way, I could mount them in any orientation and insert fittings on any position. As pictured, the best and really only way these both would fit is behind the batteries and underneath the countertop. I ran an elaborate filling system which originates at a garden hose bib on the outside and fills a hole in the top of the upper 37 gallon tank. With this hole in the tope, I could either use a pressurized hose connected to the exterior bib to fill my tanks or literally pour jugs of water into the top from the inside of the house. This versatility has come in very handy based on my location and water availability.

 

All plumbing was completed with 1/2 inch pex tubing, red and blue with copper crimp fittings. Not only is this pex material slightly better for extreme cold and heat scenarios, it is also very leak proof, flexible, and versatile in tiny spaces. Again, not a single issue in over two years. You might be wondering, why red and blue pex? Well, because I have instant hot water. So, I will try to explain to you just how my fresh water works, but it may be best to see it in action on my youtube channel.

The two tanks are plumbed together, with a vent standpipe on the lower to allow for proper filling and draining while water is being extracted by the pump. At the bottom of the lower tank, I ran a soft braided hose to the 12 volt instant-on flojet pump. From there, another braided hose to the 12 volt fast actuating ball valve. The ball valve is connected to a momentary on switch that is activated by bumping your knee against the cupboard door. In this way, water can be conserved by leaving the faucet open and just activating the pump for a splash of water at a time if needed. This is been a truly amazing idea that I saw done on the internet. The soft hoses were critical to reduce “water hammer” when the pump turns on and off. From the ball valve, I ran cold water to the cold side of the sink. But in this cold run, I placed a Pex “T” which would split off and go to the instant hot water heater.

 

I chose the Eccotemp L5, which operates from propane. It does a fantastic job and can make the water scalding hot, even if the inflow is in the 40 degree range. From the outflow of the Eccotemp, I ran the hot water to the hot side of the sink intake, but again, put in another “T” to the shower head. In this way, the sink can be run entirely of cold water or a mix, or straight hot water, which can be adjusted on the Eccotemp. The shower, really has no reason to be cold, so it is solely fed from the Eccotemp. Lastly, I installed one last “T.” This final split was from the hot and linked back to the main garden hose bib filler, with a ball valve such that the filling port on the exterior of the house could actually be reversed and flow hot water out for hosing off the wheelie machine or other muddy toys. To this day, I’ve only used it once, and found that local pressure washers do a better job, but it’s nice to have this capability if you were in the middle of the desert and didn’t want to put a muddy mountain bike in your living room!

But yes, you heard that right, there is a shower- both indoor and outdoor! I actually left Pennsylvania with a handful of things not totally complete due to a wintery weather day in October. I realized I had to get across the mountains of Colorado sooner than later. So, pictures of the shower are from once it was in full operation in Utah. Essentially, a 360 degree shower curtain can be pinned up in about one minute. The 24”x36” shower pan recessed into the floor easily catches the gray water and is gravity fed to the 6 gallon gray water tank. The sink also uses regular 1-1/4 inch pipe, which feeds to the gray water tank via gravity. You might be wondering exactly how a 6 gallon gray water tank holds both sink and shower water from 72 gallons of freshwater. The answer is it doesn’t.

A 6 gallon gray water tank was chosen because I don’t expect to ever park anywhere that I’d use more than 6 gallons of water and not be able to drain the gray water onto the ground, a bucket, or a legit RV dump station. The outflow of the gray water tank has both a ball valve on the inside of the thermal envelope and a hose bib on the outside. In this way, I screw on a regular garden hose and simply open the hose bib. The ball valve on the inside is CRITICAL to creating a silcock , which prevents freezing of your outflow pipe. My first winter in the Kul Kamper, I actually forgot I had installed this interior ball valve, purchased heat cable, and was about to install it when I got to digging in the tight space- plumbing miracle of the gray water outflow and noticed it again. Problem already solved!

 

You might be wondering just where the exhaust to the propane hot water heater goes to. Well, that is best told when detailing my other fuel source- propane. Overall, my tiny house is now fueled by three fuel sources: diesel, solar, and propane. Propane, I found to be the most efficient and easy fuel to cook with regularly when not in a house with high voltage AC. In fact, I’ve come to love cooking with propane, as it is instant heat and easily adjustable. The only down side to propane is the deadly fumes created as a by-product. BUT since I didn’t want my house to smell like salmon and spices all the time, I installed a stovetop hood vent. With this placed over the countertop, directly above my stove and propane water heater, all the carbon monoxide and cooking smells are extracted via the Camec twin turbo slim exhaust fan, which I imported from Australia.

Speaking of cooking, my stove has proven to hold true to its reputation: Coleman’s last a lifetime, but Cook Partners last for generations. I highly recommend a Cook Partner, it is fully welded aluminum, easily folds into a briefcase style for transport with wind deflectors, and has stainless bars that are especially placed close for tiny pots and cups right over the burner. I chose the route of this portable two-burner stove because it is easily removed for additional countertop space, or with an additional hose, moved to outside.

To polish off the rest of the interior, I will say, Do Not compromise on things that are important to you. I installed a double bay full size Franke cultured granite sink with glass cutting boards that fit over each bay. A full size memory foam 11” thick mattress sit above the cab-over portion of the kamper. This bed now pulls out into the living room with new cabinet space overhead, but that alone is a separate story that I didn’t complete till after a year of living in the kamper. A booth seating area butts up against another critical item, my 60L Engel fridge/ freezer. This fridge was the single most expensive appliance of the project at $1400 but has been worth every penny.

 

A fridge and energy source was a tough decision, and already knowing I had propane available, I thought why not get a 3 phase fridge: propane, DC, or AC electric. Well, after a lot of research, I learned that 3 phase fridges are wildly inefficient and thus went with what I know is right: 12 volt DC. Not only would I then be able to keep my items cold for free via the power of the sun, this fridge has only one moving part: the swing-arm compressor. It draws only 2 amps of 12V power when running.

I must admit though, at first, I was slightly disappointed with this appliance. Because it was a 2/3 fridge and 1/3 freezer, I just couldn’t keep the fridge portion cold enough unless the freezer side was turned low to freezer mode. Well after making some calls and research, I learned that this is a constant battle with any single compressor unit on the market. Items next to the cooling surfaces will always be coldest and items not next to the condenser will be slightly warmer. So this fridge is split in “half” with a fan that blows cold air from the freezer portion to the fridge portion. After actually looking at the situation, I realized my condenser plates were highly frosted up! So just like any normal freezer, you must defrost this one when it builds up, so everything can remain functioning properly. After doing this, everything worked great and continues to do so! I keep meats and drinks in the freezer side at just about freezing, and the fridge side has eggs and veggies.

 

A house would not be complete without a toilet, and after much research, I thought I had the answer: a Thetford Curve Porta Toilet. This toilet is only $100 and does a great job of being portable, hygienic, and mostly smell free. I place it in my large cupboard below the sink and set it out on the floor (or my back porch) when in use, but I must say, that no matter how much deodorizer you put in the black water portion, when you flush it and open the valve, there can be a slight smell. It normally is not bad at all, however if starting fresh with a new build, I would go with something different. In fact, my friends Zach and Mindy, have in my opinion, THE best toilet in their sprinter van: an Airhead composting toilet. Originally I was against composting and incinerator toilets but now see the value. There is ZERO smell. While a good toilet may cost as much as my fridge, I will hold off, as the Thetford does the job quite well.

Lastly, yet without a doubt, very most importantly, I must tell you about my heater. When constructing the Kamper, I thought both AC and heat would be necessary to be comfortable. Not only was I wrong about that, but I was wrong in my initial choice of the appliance to achieve this. I went with an all-in-one unit, which acted as an AC, heater, fan, and dehumidifier- a Climateright. This unit is rated for an appropriate amount of BTU’s for the kamper and is marketed to climate control small campers and fancy dog houses. A few issues I had with this unit for the first year was it ran only on AC 110 volt, and it wasn’t really good at any of its features. Because it used only regular AC power, I had to fire up my generator each time it needed used. Because of that, it often got quite cold in the kamper over winter. I would have to fire up my Honda generator and get the kamper up to temperature, which could sometimes take hours. This also made for a loud evening, sometimes in places that I wanted to be a bit stealthier. The real deal breaker was it never really blew hot air, but only warm air.

 

Thus, my second winter, I installed the most life changing device I have ever purchased: a Webasto diesel furnace. I went with the Air Top 2000 STC and the multicontroller HD. This amazing unit is the size of a 2 liter soda bottle, runs on full blast for 20 hours from only one gallon of fuel, it’s very quiet, uses 12 volts DC to power the fan, and outputs air so hot that you cant hold your hand in front of it. Most importantly, it can run on the thermostat, on a timer, or on a scheduled day, time, and duration. Truly a game changer to open up your door, flip on the lights, and it already be 70 degrees inside during full-blown winter. This unit costs $800, and I imported it from England. I believe they are now sold in the USA and have an upgraded RV package with enhanced timer systems.

I would highly recommend a diesel furnace in general, because of their efficiency, ease of installation, and powerful heat. I went with webasto because you can adjust it for elevation changes yourself, unlike the Espar unit. Even if you don’t have a diesel vehicle, you can mount a simple tank somewhere on your van or tiny house and pull from it with the 12 volt powered fuel pump. Because this was a change from my original heater, I wasn’t able to integrate it within the kamper as well as I would like to. However, I built a small shell to house it and just plumbed into a 5 gallon tank to keep the entire tiny house a self-contained unit from the truck. During winter, my house stays at 70+ degrees and I fill the tank no more than twice per month! Clothes not allowed.

 

Well if you’ve made it this far through this book of a post, you probably have questions or I’ve missed something you must know. So feel free to send me an email via my contact page!

 

Cheers,

Kul Whip