Electrical Diagram for Cargo Van

Now that I have my sights set on a certain cargo van, I have started planning for the electrical system. I have made many trips to car audio, home improvement, and RV stores asking questions about my proposed configuration. Here is the beta version of my electrical system. The only thing I have to do is figure out which cord goes where and where to connect a continuous duty solenoid :)

Historic Yorktown

I'm testing Picasa's ability to post pictures directly from it's interface. Picasa is a very powerful tool I can use for directlyuploading pictures to the blog, my facebook, email, GIMP/Photoshop, and Geotagging on Google Earth. I will post my finalized photos to the blog and work on Geotagging them in the future so you can visit the same spot if you want :)

The Plan

I have decided to buy a Cargo Van and spend the next few months making it live-aboard-able.  I am looking at trading in my current car, a Mazda 3i, for a Dodge Ram or Ford Cargo Van that costs about the same.

I will keep track of all the moves I make and knowledge I gain in order to make this happen.

Currently, I am on AutoTrader.com, craigslist, and looking through the local Trading Post newspaper for the best deal I can find on a cargo van. 

I am also researching everything on converting a cargo van into a modern pirate ship :) A great resource is this web site here: http://cheaprvliving.com/ Users cover everything from their stories to setting up electrical systems in their vans. This is an essential resource to me now as I have no knowledge of electrical systems. 

Not a lot of people understand what I am doing, and most mock me for it, but that is to be expected. Humans naturally fear the unfamiliar and unknown. I thought about this idea after reading Walden by Henry David Thoreau. Essentially, living on the bare essentials and learning to appreciate nature. He referred to houses as "well-manicured coffins" that we spend so much time paying off and it distracts us from appreciating the important things around us. 

Flexibility, determination, and an open mind will help me accomplish my goals.

So, aside from the philosophical side of my actions, I am researching electrical systems and cargo vans.