Day #66 Van Build – 8/30/25

We have some company today, so there was limited time for the van build. But, I still got a few hours in.

I focused on the electrical cabinet and started out by connecting the two batteries together electronically. This meant connecting the positive terminal from one battery to the negative terminal of the second battery using 1/0 size wire. Since these are heated batteries, I also had to connect the heating circuits of the two batteries together using a much smaller wire. Once they were connected electronically and the battery terminal covers were reinstalled, I secured the second battery on top of the first one. I bolted the two batteries to each other using eight #10×32 screws. They were very solidly connected. I then connected a fuse holder to the top battery’s positive terminal, but then had to stop because I ran out of copper wire lugs to create the last two wires that I needed to complete the electrical connections in the system. It was very frustrating to have to wait for these wire lugs to arrive, but what are you going to do? Here is a picture of the electronics cabinet with both batteries in it.

I did some other items on the van with the time I had. I secured the wire from the negative battery terminal of the first battery to the distribution bus. I made the positive wire connection to the van battery for the alternator charging. I secured the top battery to a section of aluminum extrusion to complete the bolting down of the batteries (they are not going anywhere). Here is a view of the top battery secured to the aluminum extrusion using three L-brackets. You can see them on the left of the top battery.

I installed the wall panels behind the electronics cabinet, which I could do because this cabinet is fully bolted down and not moving. Here is a picture of the walls installed behind the electronics cabinet. There are only two wall panels in the van that have not been installed and those are behind where the galley will go.

That was it for the day. I was going to connect the solar panels on the roof of the van together and to the electrical system, since I have the solar isolator installed to prevent the electricity from entering the system. But it was too sunny and hot in the afternoon to be up on the roof of the van. So, I’ll wait to do that one morning when its cooler.