Do-Overs on the Promaster

Over time, we have changed and upgraded Buster the Wonder Van.  The last time I posted to this account we'd just added a Fiamma awning, which was a great addition.  It's easy to deploy, and provides a big, dry outdoor space for us here in the rainy NW.  

Refrigeration:  We are still using the same NorCold refrigerator--a chest style 12-volt.  It works well, and is pretty easy on the batteries.  The downside was the cigarette-lighter-style plug in, which could easily get shaken loose on rough roads.  We rewired it more directly into the 12 volt system, and now it never falls out.  

Toilet:  The Porta-Potty was a pain in the neck.  Emptying it was messy, smelly and heavy.  We'd lived with one in the bush in Alaska for 9 years, and thought it was a good solution for the van because it was compact, but it wasn't a great solution for lots of reasons.  We replaced the Porte-Potty with a C-head composting toilet and are really happy with it.

The C-head has a pee diverter and a bucket for #2.  We use wood shavings in the #2 bucket--the kind that are sold for small pet cages, and we have NO smells.   We dump the pee jug every day and rinse it out, because that will smell after a couple days.  But the poop part is truly odorless.  We had considered at composter, but couldn't believe it wouldn't smell. We were convinced when our friends Anne and Ray who have a C-head on their boat used it continuously for a month-long boat trip, and swore it did not smell.  We have our C-head in a cupboard under the sink--it slides out when needed, and is hidden the rest of the time.  This has been a great addition.  (Follow the link and look at this great product.)

Water:  We are geezers, and wanted to get away from lugging a 5-gallon under-sink potable-water container INTO the van, and a 5 gallon gray-water tank OUT of the van every few days when we're on the road, so we decided to add a 20 gallon, over the wheel-well  sealed water tank.  It fits perfectly under one of the bench seats.  We fill it with a hose through an external filler pipe that has a locking cap on the exterior of the van.  Installing it in a finished van was a bugger, but with perseverance and a good deal of swearing, we got 'er in.  

We use the same foot pump arrangement to get water from the new tank to the sink, and just had to add a longer hose to snake behind the bench seats to the sink.  We ran a gray water pipe out of the van and through the floor to drain the gray water into a bucket that we place under the van when we are camping.  We dispose of the gray water either in the bushes in remote locations, or in a designated dump in developed campsites--a small bucket of grey water beats wrestling 5 gallons of gray water out of the van.  We still use a 3/4-gallon pumper pot for hot water.  That's a perfect solution.  It stays really hot and can be added to cold water to do dishes, or wash ourselves.

Solar:  Our current batteries--both the two AGM house batteries and the stock starter battery--are charged when we drive or when we hook to shore power.  When we run a 'fridge and lights in the van, the house batteries will run down to about 75% in three days with no engine or shore power.  We think adding a 2x100 watt solar panel, something like these from Lowes,  into the system might be a smart idea--certainly smarter than starting the engine and running it for 30 minutes just to boost the batteries. 

Heat:  In the winter, we've mostly we've stayed in campgrounds with electric services so we could run a small electric heater.  However, in the spring of 2022 we added a Wabasto heater.  It runs on fuel from the van's gas tank.  The combustion chamber is sealed, and draws air from the outside the van, and vents to the outside, making it the safest off-grid heater we could find.  

We're happy with everything else on our van.  The table is big enough for 4 people to eat around on the rare occasion when that happens, and it's big enough for the two of us to work on various projects simultaneously.  The bench seats are comfortable for sitting and lounging, and the storage under them is big--even with a water tank now taking up space in one of them.  The memory-foam cushions make into a bed that is queen-size wide, and not quite queen-size long, but super comfortable.  We both say we sleep as well in the van as we do at home.   To cook, we usually set up a camp stove outside the van either on a picnic table in a campground, or on a roll-up table we have on board.  We like cooking outside under the awning--first of all because we like to feel that we are camping and haven't completely gone over to the dark side of RVing, and because it keeps all the cooking moisture and smells outside.  

Buster doesn't have a built-in shower, a micro-wave, TV, electric water pump, water heater, indoor cooktop or oven.  We like it that way--in fact, we're kind of smug about how simple yet comfortable the van is--even though we've made it more complicated over the years since we first did the conversion.  

Fiamma Awning for the Promaster

Well, we tried the cheap route with the set-up and clamp-on awning (see my post about the Ezy-Awning.)  It worked, but it was enough of a hassle to set up and tear down, that we didn't use it unless we were going to stay put for a couple days.  Also, it was easier to set up if we had a step ladder handy, but since we don't travel with a step ladder, it really took some gymnastics to set it up.

Soooo, we decided to slash out the cash and buy a Fiamma awning.  The US dealer for Fiamma is in Florida, and while the folks there were very helpful, getting a hold of them is difficult.  According to the Fiamma website, they make brackets for a wide variety of vehicles, so the awning can be easily mounted to most recreational vehicles and vans.  The Promaster brackets are made to fit over the three mounting buttons that are on the roof of the van.   Seemed easy, and looked perfect. 

But of course, things never workout that easily.  First of all, the brackets didn't fit in the way they are shown in the diagram.  The red arm labeled "A" was too short to reach the front awning support, mainly because the leading edge of the awning...the part above the gap, was already resting ON the top of the van, with no gap at all. 
 

 Luckily, Howard is a handy bloke, so he made some 3/16" aluminum shims to put under "B".  This allowed the front of the awning to slip into the V-formation on arm A.  You can see the shim (covered in glue) in the photo below.  This allowed the front support of the awning to slip into the front support arm (A).  But still did not allow the awning's leading edge clear the top of the van, as shown in the second photo below.

When we crank the awning out, it takes a couple of twists before there is enough force to pop the leading edge loose from being wedged between the awning housing and the van roof. 

As you can see there is NO gap like the Fiamma diagram above shows.  We figured (hoped) Fiamma would have worked out the brackets for the Promaster, since the Promaster is the same as the Italian Ducato, which has been in production for years, but apparently not.

We have left messages for the Florida Dealer of Fiamma USA two days ago, but have not had a return call, so for the time being we are waiting.  What we really need to do is pry the darn thing off (yikes that SikaFlex sticks like mad) and add at least another 1/16th thickness to the shim, but we wonder what stress that will put on the back bracket--this thing isn't light.  In any case, if you have a Promaster and want a Fiamma awning...proceed with caution.

Ezy-Awning Meets the Promaster

We opted for the 8x11 foot awning for full coverage

From the first time we took the Buster-mobile on our first outing, we have wanted to add a canopy.  We cobbled one together from an old sail and old dining fly poles, and it worked OK, but not great.

Most of the canopies/awnings we looked at didn't appeal to us for these reasons:

1.  They were too expensive.  $1000 or more just for a little rain protection or shade seemed looney to us.

2.  They needed to be permanently mounted to the roof of the Van which meant putting holes in perfectly good sheet metal, AND making us too tall for the cheap seats on the ferry.

3.  If they weren't permanently installed, they took up WAY too much space to haul around, were heavy, and involved an engineering degree to deploy them.

Ezy-Awning bags

Then we found Ezy-Awning from the Bus Depot.  It met all our needs.  It was cheap, at $119 plus shipping. When not in use, the awning fit in to two bags about the size of those fold-up camp chairs.  When in use it has shock-corded tent poles holding up the roof, so it sheds water like a champ.

This video shows an Ezy-Awning being set up on a VW Westie.  She actually labors it longer than need be, mainly because she's trying to make it all clear to the viewer.  From the decision to set it up, til we say, "there, that'll work", takes us about 10 minutes.  Same with taking it down.

homemade bracket to adapt Ezy-Awning to the Promaster

The Esy Awning is made for VW vans that have rain gutters.  It comes with three clamps that clamp the side toward the van to the rain gutter.  Unfortunately the Promaster doesn't have rain gutters, so we need to come up with plan B.  Howard used the Ezy-Awning clamps and bolted three adapters that he machined from C-channel aluminum.

Their are three mounting pegs on the roof of the Promaster, presumably for roof racks.  Howard's key-hole slotted brackets drop over the pegs, and slide about an inch toward the rear of the van to lock in place, and make a very sturdy connection.

So in a nutshell, here's what we like about the Ezy Awning:
1.  Cheap
2.  Easy to set up
3  Drains well with not puddles.  The back edge drips into the channel on the  van roof.
4.  Only two poles makes for a very useable space.
5.  Tie downs and the shock-corded support poles make the awning very wind resistant.
6.  It's light weight.
7.  No storage problems either when we are hauling it around with us, or when we store it between camping trips.

Taking the Buster the Promaster on the Road

After all the theorizing about how the camper van would work on the road, we loaded the Buster-mobile and hit the road.--1800 miles in almost 3 weeks, in two countries, through four mountain ranges, onto eight ferries, two major highways, many country roads, and several logging roads.  As a vehicle the Promaster handled extremely well, and was very comfortable for both driver and passenger.  We must have said about a thousand times, "I really like this vehicle."

As a camper, we LOVED it.  It worked very well for us.  Our stuff fit, we slept like logs, had a comfortable space to sit and eat, write, draw, and read.  We enjoyed the convenience of our galley, storage space, and porta-potty.  Our water system was adequate because we were always in places where we could replenish our supply.  In the future, if we camp in a more remote location without access to potable water for more than a couple days, we'd need to take another 5-gallon jug with us, but mostly that's not the kind of camping we have in mind.

the seat cushion now divided into 2 sections

We did decided to make a few tweeks to our lay-out.  First of all, both our bench seats that  convert to the bed had one long seat cushion each.  We decided to split the lids to the benches in two, and also split the cushions into two sections.  This made it possible to access either the left or right storage space under the bench without as much effort.  I thought about doing this originally, but was afraid the cushions would shift too much when we were sleeping on them.  We tested the new cushion configuration on a recent 5-day venture to the Washington Coast, and found they stayed in place just fine.   The bench lids are covered with felting that is used in automobile trunks.  The friction keeps everything in place.

Note the seatbelt holding the fridge in place.

The only other change was to shift the position of the Norcold chest refrigerator.  Instead of being next to the passenger-side bench seat on the left side of the sliding side door, it is now behind the passenger seat, and belted in with a repurposed seat belt.  By the way, we really like the chest-style fridge.  Having used small upright refrigerators in the past, this one worked much better--it could be packed tight, nothing falls out when you open the door. , and it worked very efficiently on the 12-volt system.

We also decided we want an awning, and not the cobbled-together thing we made out of an old sail shortly before we left, but a real awning.  We think we've hit on the perfect solution, and will write about that in the next post.


One of the things that attracted us to the Promaster in the first place was the efficient Dodge V-6 engine and it's highway mileage rating of 24 miles to the gallon.  We had Buster pretty loaded on this trip, and traveled very few miles on anything approximating a highway.  Even so, we got 20 miles to the gallon, so we were happy.

Adding a Window…Gulp.

Even though Howard longed for a Sietz window over the galley space where the poppy quilt had been hanging, he had to face the reality that finding one in the US was not going to happen, and importing one would be hideously expensive.  In the end we ordered a window from Motion Windows in Vancouver, Washington.

The windows are made as replacement windows for RVs and trailers, but since the sides of the Promaster are basically flat and straight, we figured a trailer replacement window would work for us.

The one we got is a double pane, slider with a screen.  Jeff at Motion Windows was very helpful and answered a million questions for us about ordering the window (custom sizes available) and the instillation.  Never the less, when the window came, it sat in the garage for quite a while awaiting a surge of the wild abandon it takes to saw a giant hole in the side of your brand new vehicle.

Now that the window is installed, I like it a lot.  It lets lots of light in, along with ventilation.   It looks like it was factory installed because the black trim matches the factory windows.  I made the same red accordian pleated curtains as I did for the other windows.

So that's the majority of the big (AKA expensive) jobs done.  We are thinking we'll probably get a swivel seat base for the passenger seat at some point, and though we've made a canapy from leftover dacron sail fabric to go over the side door, we've never really tested it out in campling conditions, so it might end up blowing away in the first puff of wind.  All will be revealed in due time.

Privacy Curtains and the Art of Recycling

We used to have a place on the island called the Exchange where we could take things we no longer wanted, but that still had a bit of life left in them, and where people who were looking for usable items could go to retrieve them.  It was a wonderful place and must have kept tons of stuff out of the landfill.  We've made both deposits and withdrawals from the Exchange over the years.  Unfortunately, the Exchange burned to the ground about a year ago, leaving us with usable stuff that we'd like to get rid of and wishing we could go shop the Exchange for a piece of metal, or 1 foot of pipe.  At least a dozen times while we were working on Buster, we've said, "dang, I wish the Exchange were in operation."

But, if the Exchange had been in operation this last year, we would have had to have done something different for our privacy curtains because I recycled a shade I took down in our kitchen.  Now we don't have curtains on our windows at home, but sometimes, in campgrounds, you need them either for privacy or to cut down on the light.

So starting with my old, stained, accordion pleated shade, I cut the metal top and bottom rails off it, and spray painted the interior side red.  (I  LOVE paint--it's transformational, and I am willing to try to paint darn near anything.).  Then I cut the pleated material to size, and sewed some industrial strength Velcro tabs on the curtain, and glued the other side of the Velcro to the van.  These meet my criteria for curtains:

• they are out of the way 99% of the time
• can easily be removed completely
• can be deployed in a snap if needed  
• AND, they were my favorite price, which is FREE.

Folded out of the way and held in place with little velcro strips.

pulling the curtain up

velcro tab on the back of the curtain, and matching piece on the metal of the van

The Bed

We are pretty pleased with the bed.  It takes about 5 minutes to set up, including putting the bedding on, and about the same to put it all away.

The table legs fold up, and the table top fits perfectly between the benches, resting on to rails that run the length of the benches. 

We use the big seat cushions for the middle sections of the bed, and the two smaller cushions for the head and foot sections.  I made the cushion slightly larger than the space, so they would be a tight fit and not slide around during the night.  Since the tops of the benches are covered in trunk-lining fabric, that also keeps things from shifting.

We sleep crossways...our heads where the small red cushions are in the photo.  Originally I was going to buy a double sleeping bag, but then nixed that idea in favor of making up a regular bed.  We put a mattress pad and bottom sheet on the cushions, and then cover up with a comforter that has a fleece duvet cover.  We are warm and cozy.  A sheet and duvet cover are much easier to wash and dry than a double-sized sleeping bag.

The final size of the bed is 60 inches wide and 74 inches wide--a short queen-size, but since neither of us are 6'2", it works for us just fine.