Finally mounted the solar panels to the roof! I built a frame with aluminum tubing and mounted it with a hinge toward the front (hence the holes – small, well-siliconed rivet holes) and the back secured on an extra Thule bar I had lying around. The Thule end can be disconnected to raise the panels up to whatever angle gets the best light, and there’s a removable, clear plexiglass shield over the whole thing for hail, road debris, etc. Also installed some coathooks and invented hardware to mount one of the removable cabinet lids as a dining/work table, but no pix yet as it’s not quite done.

New muffler today, only had to split one nut with a chisel. My neighbors will be grateful Fortunately, I had checked my muffler strap beforehand and ordered a replacement. Below right you see what the stock VW one looks like after a few years and on the left, one of Terry Kay’s fantastic hand-made stainless steel straps. Not only better, but actually much cheaper than the VW part. Also replaced the broken spare tire lock with a new one and picked up aluminum stock to make a tiltable frame for the solar panels. Tune in tomorrow…

Sitting here in my office at work, where I’ve built a little fort of UPS boxes to keep pesky producers away :-p A new muffler + installation hardware, a big fresh water tank to go under the sink, a powered roof vent, and another solar panel will all be taking a cab ride home with me today. Gonna be some major updates to this site on Sunday! The Plan: This weekend, I’ll replace the rotten old muffler and nonexistant tailpipe, find plumbing fittings to route the sink drain around the new 16 gallon freshwater tank that comes within 3″ of the drainhole, evaluate the wisdom of installing a 14″ powered air vent above the stove area and maybe cut a 14″ hole in my roof and install it, make a cover for the propane tank storage area that can double as a nightstand, give said propane tank area a vent to the outside (beneath tank, propane being heavier than air), hardwire my voltage inverter…

Someone on thesamba.com asked about how zbeds fold out, and it was easier to make a diagram than answer in text, so I thought I’d add it on here. (engine pictured is the 1.9…if you have the 2.1, imagine a slightly larger hamster) Here it is in seat configuration: …and here it is folded out to a bed:

I decided to make the rear-most cabinet slatted rather than solid, partially for anything that might need a little air such as damp sleeping bags, but mostly just to do something different. Every bit of cabinetwork I’ve done here is pretty much a first time for me, so all the parts have their quirks where I learned how not to do things. (Hint: the tiny head of a finishing nail is far less distracting than Plastic Wood that isn’t perfectly matched to the real wood around it) With this complete and a secure anchor point for the bulk propane tank, it’s really starting to come together – which is good, as we’ve got an extended road trip planned in about 6 weeks! Quite a change from this:

Craigslist score! Big ol’ Thule roof pod. Strap is there while I wait for a new lock cylinder to arrive, but still a great deal. It’s mounted so far back because the solar panels will have to fit in front of it. Gotta love Craigslist – also got a “Bones” bike rack off there last week. Combined cost of the rack and cargo pod? A two-digit number =) Final coat of polyurethane is drying on the seat-side cabinet:

There are no 90 degree angles in this vehicle; I’ve resorted to cutting everything a little oversize and belt-sanding it to a flush fit after or during assembly. Still, I’m happy with how the rear cabinets are coming so far…this one’ll have two doors on the front, and the top lifts off as you can sortof see in the blurry photo.