Battery Monitor

The monitor will be located on the wall next to the side doors and connected to the batteries with 4 small wires. A short piece of Cat5 cable will do the job, because the battery compartment is only a few feet away.

 monitor and battery compartment

 

The cable is guided through the door channel to the floor, where it will be connected to the battery bank at a later time.

 

The cabling is left as is, until the hardware is installed.

Battery Charger

Under the bed are two shallow window compartments, which are above the wheel housing. Adjoining is a regular compartment that will contain most electrical devices, such as charger, inverter and controller. It has a removable side-wall for easy access.

 

Because the wheel housing is in the way, any cabling will have to go through the shallow compartments. A hollow core separation will serve as a divider between the two spaces, while at the same time hiding the wires.

 

The divider consists of two 1/8” plywood sides, one solid base and a top divided in three, for later access to any cables.

 

The parts are glued together in several steps and sanded to final dimensions.

 

The divider easily slides in at one side of the compartment.

 

After fitting, a few holes are drilled on both sides of the compartment, that will accommodate the wiring.

After a final check, the divider is glued-in and reinforced with two nails.

 

The actual wiring is just a matter of pulling the Romex wire through the divider and along the wall towards the right rear brake light.

The wire is then connected to a 110V power inlet, that will be installed below the brake light.

An extension cord plugged into the power inlet at the outside rear of the van, will power the battery charger.