The first drawback and the positive things about the issues

My first rookie mistakes add up and seem to overthrow my plans. But how was that happening, and why? Let me tell you this story in a shortcut version from the beginning on. First:

Law, rules, and official stuff 

I need to get the van converted to an RV. Not physically but on paper. At this early point, you might ask why the first time since it is the physical part that matters. Obviously, I am absolutely fine sleeping in a bed and cooking on a heater even if this is not registered with the van. Right? Right!!
And here comes the huge but: BUT if something happens, I have an insured cargo truck, not an RV with thousands of euros worth of equipment inside and on the roof.
And that, in a nutshell, is why I need to register the van as an RV. Insurance.

Ok, so that cannot be that hard right? Walk in the park – basically. I can almost feel a cold shiver running down my spine at the point I’m writing this.

So what you need to get any car in Austria registered to an RV are the following things within the car: A bed, an option to cook and water. Elementary stuff. My sister, for instance, has had her van re-registered months ago with a bed, a camping gas stove and a bottle of water. Easy. My sister and her surf van – side by side comparison.

The bigger issues: While my sister’s cooking system is absolutely essential and removable, mine is fixed and needs a separate check. And boy, did I mess up my stuff on this particular topic. So as you might know from a previous blog, this is what my kitchen cupboard looked like before the first testing. 

Short form of my mistakes:

1st: The gas system needs to be in a separate closet since there are 12v power plugs in the same area.
2nd: There has to be a hole in the bottom part of the cupboard. For a 11kg gas filling at least 2×10 cm so if there is a leak, the gas can escape out of the vehicle.
3rd: The gas warning system is far too high to be really useful.

So I mounted a cupboard which can be tipped over to remove and refill the bottle. From the first adapters to the closet I have installed an airtight tube, so it is separated from the power plugs. 

For the hole, I cut a 2 by 15 cm hole in the floor, covered with an aluminum grid. What I haven’t managed up to this day is a cover for the hole below the vehicle, but that’s on my list. For now, that should be enough.

The gas warning system will be mounted inside the cupboard so it should work out as well.

And now disaster strikes:

I have a fixed timetable, and I would be already on my way it wherent for the insurance and gas parts. To be completely honest with you I am entirely grateful for the whole gas-situation since my mistakes where rookie stuff I did already know, but I pushed them aside over and over again until I basically forgot them.
Get to the point would you? Yes, yes I’m getting there. Wait a minute.
So while waiting for the 2nd appointment to get the system checked, I wanted to go to sleep yesterday around about midnight. Getting back to the van, as usual, climbing inside preparing my bed. As a side note there I often use a USB – Bluetooth speaker/light combination, so I did not notice anything at first. I plugged in my laptop and started my power converter which started up with a long beep as always. But I noticed that my laptop is not getting charged at all. With a second beep, it jumped to Overpower which is a safety feature and will prevent further damage to the device. Nothing spectacular here. It has done it a few times – power off, power on and it worked again. Not this time.

I had it disconnected from all electronics, same effect. Even disconnected from the battery for about half an hour but still nothing.

Sending the device back and getting a replacement is absolutely out of my timeframe right now. Without electrics, the first trip could be somewhat challenging and unpleasant as well.

So now I am sitting there and waiting for a response from the manufacturer or its service provider if it can be fixed and keep asking me: Why me? (And so on and so forth. Basically bitching around with a grumpy mood)

 

The plus sides of all those issues:

The plus sides are overwhelming, even if not recognizable at first. But think about it. I am not on the road right now. The gas could be dangerous, in fact in a worst case scenario I could have been choked to death while I sleep, burned with my wooden wonder work or might have blown myself the f**k up in an impressive fireball. (If I had to choose I’d so go for the explosion) But luckily, I’m gonna be safe after completing the tests.
And the power inverter? Well, there is a backup from a friend of mine which is capable of 2k instead of 1k watts – not so fancy, but it works. In addition, I have already ordered another 12v to 300watts power inverter which you can use with a cigarette power plug in the car. Just a backup, since the 12v power, plugs kept on working – apparently since they come somewhat direct from the battery. With all the things in mind, the trip should be safe and sound. The sheer thought of a small backup power system will let today’s sleep be far better than yesterdays.