Category Archives: DIY

Campervan: October updates

Bike rack has been finally installed, thanks to the custom made attachments provided by Tim from Stainless Design and Fabrications

Wall panels have been installed and covered with PVC sheets. Some parts of the wall have been carpeted and the arch between driving area and cargo installed. Power socket and water inlet are ready too.

The roof is ongoing, hopefully will be ready by November.

Campervan: July updates

So far, the insulation has been done using a close cell spray foam.

It provide a good thermal and acoustic insulation, but is a bit messy to apply and quite expensive. I won’t use it again and go for thermal panels next time.

Rear ladder has been installed and the bike rack and the solar panels are ready to be installed to, unfortunately I had to create (a company is making it) some custom stainless steel parts:

  • t-nuts for the solar panel due the non-standard roof rail.
  • left hand plate for the bike rack, due the installation on the left side.

But we did not resist to spend one night in Wales and test the comfort of the van

 

Today I tested the Navigator, I will write a post (with full instructions and code!) about some changes that I made to solve some problems, meanwhile a some media that show the idea of the final design.

 

The bed is under design, I have been in contact with a company near home to discuss about. Here’s a sketch:

Campervan: April updates

I am currently working on the computer wiring and the cab is partially dismantled. Is the right moment to work on cab isolation too.

The computer wiring roughly involve:

  • Monitors cables (2x HDMI, 2xUSB)
  • Main Power feed (12v to 5v step-down converter)
  • Rear camera (HDMI cable + ribbon cable and some adaptors)
  • GPS Sensor
  • Switcher

 

Meanwhile some other parts has been done:

  • Heater system, installed and tested
  • Swivel seats
  • Kitchen extractor fan
  • Skylight fan
  • Wiring from main battery to DC/DC charger
  • Side trims waterproofing
  • Roof painting and some small rust clean up

 

Changing the front seats.

Navigator 2: Install Navit

Navit is a free and open-source car navigation that support for various vector map formats. Is written in C/C++ and can run on a wide range of machines, included Raspberry Pi.

Installation:

Before start the installation, be sure to have the GPS module connected and working on your Raspberry Pi (previous post).

  • turn on the raspberry and open the terminal
  • update with sudo apt-get update and sudo atp-get upgrade
  • configure GPS listeners from boot: sudo nano /etc/rc.local
  • copy those commands:
  • sudo systemctl stop gpsd.socket
  • sudo systemctl disable gpsd.socket
  • sudo gpsd /dev/serial0 -F /var/run/gpsd.sock
  • save and reboot
  • open terminal and type: sudo apt-get install navit
  • download a map (.bin), use Planet Extractor, quick and simple (you can use Garmin maps too)
  • copy the map inside /home/pi/navit directory (you can rename it with a shorter name)
  • navigate to /etc/navit
  • open the navit.xml file: sudo nano navit.xml
  • search for the line <mapset enabled=”yes”> … </mapset> and change yes to no
  • now look for the line after: <!– Mapset template for openstreetmaps –>
  • in the line after, set your map path instead of: “media/mmc2/Mapsnavit/osm_europe.bin”

  • save and close
  • start Navit

More information about configurations can be found here: Navit Wiki

 

Sprinter Computer Board Planning

Project objective: create a board computer for a camper van

Primary Functions: 

  1. Sat-Nav
  2. Reverse camera
  3. Media Player

Secondary Functions:

  1. Proximity sensors
  2. Dash Cam
  3. ECU Interface
  4. Wifi / Satellite connection

Hardware:

  • Raspberry Pi 4
  • 7″ Touchscreen
  • Neo 6M GPS Module
  • x2 USB Camera or
  • future development: ultrasonic sensors, ODB2 Interface, USB HD and Sim module

Software:

  • Navit (sat-nav)
  • mplayer or OpenCV (reverse camera)
  • Qt5 – PyQt5 – GUI (software management / Interface)
  • custom code (Python, C/C++)

The project will be installed on board of the Sprinter Campervan (still looking for a good name… ! ) and will be called Navigator, inspired by the movie Flight of the Navigator, 1986.

Some parts have been developed, some still on going, other still on planning. I will post updates and full tutorial for replicate the project.

All related post can be found inside the Navigator category.

Campervan Windows Installed

Campervan planning