Hot Air

Hot Air

Those of you that follow me on social media probably think I’ve hardly made any progress on the van project lately, as I haven't shared a video update in ages. The truth is that the van project is almost entirely complete, it’s just that those videos take me so long to edit that I’ve fallen very far behind on the social media portion of the project. I’ve continued recording everything, and will absolutely share all of the videos as soon as I get them edited, but I apparently haven’t had enough bandwidth to work on the van and be a social media manager simultaneously. But don’t worry, plenty more videos are coming!

When I designed the van, my initial thought was that I’d drive towards warmer weather, so I didn’t plan on installing a heater in the van. But… I’ve recently become intrigued by the idea of driving through Oregon, Washington, British Columbia and possibly even Alaska, which made me realize that I should probably have a heater after all. 

So I began researching options. 

There are electric, space heater type options, but they consume tons of electricity and would deplete my battery bank rapidly. Then there are propane heaters, which I was considering since I’ll already have propane on board, but I kept hearing how propane heaters can add additional humidity to an already high-humidity environment, which can lead to mold and mildew, so I passed on that idea too. 

I eventually found a third option: a gasoline heater. Gasoline heaters are pretty slick in that they are designed to pull fuel from the van’s gas tank, meaning that as long as my van has gas in the tank I’m able to run the heater. They are not cheap, and are complicated to install, but it seemed like the best option.

So I pulled the trigger and bought one. 

For multiple reasons I decided to install the heater underneath the passenger seat, pointed towards the living area in the back of the van, which is a location I see most people choosing for this type of heater. The problem is that, in order for the heater to operate correctly and safely, all of its main components—the fuel line, fuel filter, fuel pump, cool air intake, electrical wire and exhaust pipe—need to pass from the interior of the van (where the heater will live), through a 5” hole that I cut in the van floor, down to the underbelly of the van. Once down there, all of those vital heater components need to be securely mounted amongst the equally vital van components, while somehow avoiding the van's molten hot exhaust system. 

I spent literal hours laying on my back underneath the van, completely unsure of how I was going to make everything work. In fact, I’m not ashamed to admit that at one point I felt so overwhelmed and inadequate with my abilities that I began to research shops where I could take the van to have a professional finish the install for me. But that feeling didn’t last long and I eventually got back to work. 

After numerous stressful days, I somehow managed to get everything installed, which was a massive relief, however I had yet to fire the heater up. What if, after all that, the thing didn’t even work? What if I did something wrong? I had put so much time and energy into this install and would have been completely deflated if it didn’t work. 

I busted out the instruction manual, followed the ‘pre-start’ protocol, set the desired temperature, hit ‘start,’ and waited. My heart was pounding. I placed my hand in front of the heater vent and began to feel cool air blowing onto my skin. Sure enough, little by little, that cool air got progressively warmer until, to my absolute delight, I began to feel hot air blasting against my skin.

It was working! It was actually working!

Now that the heater project is behind me (praise Jesus), there’s really not a whole lot more that needs to be done on the van. I have a ‘dining room’ table to install, which should be quick and easy (just waiting for it to be delivered), and then, apart from a little bit more detail work, the project should be complete! I’ve already started moving some of my stuff into the van and hope to hit the road on my first adventure within the next couple weeks. It’s hard to believe that, after 8 months of ups and downs, trials and tribulations, the project is coming to an end.

Now I just need to decide where my first van adventure will be. Any suggestions?

“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.”– Hellen Keller