Installing extra battery in the car

Well since I am about to go on at roadtrip I need extra power. The car battery just wont be enough when it rains and a lot of electrics (computer, charging mobile phone, camera and so on, at least that is my motivation for getting it) is used. I don't like to have to start the engine to charge the battery all the time, it´s bad for the environment.
This marine 80 amp 12 volt Tudor Exide (lead) battery was bough about a year ago. I keep it in the apartment on the winter so it wont get frozen. I continuously charge the battery with a ctek charger about every month since a battery like this gets damaged if it gets below a certain voltage.

The battery is connected to the car battery through a big switch. It can then be charge from the car alternator when the switch is on. I installed the battery cables earlier, you can read about it here.

Since I did the same thing on my previous car I didnt think it was a big thing. Here you read about previosly installation.

Well getting ready, now in the car, but not connected fully..

First night in the Starlet! (Björnön)

After installing the bed I decided to go try it out. I decided to go the island Björnön, that place is usually very nice. I now the area and so on. That island is very close to my home (about 12 km), and there are a bridge so you can drive over to it.

I think it is the third time I sleep in this parkinglot. However the first one with the Toyota Starlet car. I was exited to try it out! Will the bed be ok? Is there something I need to improve and so on..

Of course there was a car in the middle of the night that found it fun to skid around in the parkinglot, waking everybody. Small stones were flying, but it did not hit the car (I think). Thankfully. You wake up by hearing some engine sound, tires turning and stones flying. Always the same story.. When you are newly awake you don't get what is happening the first seconds. Well after a while I could go back to sleep again.

I have put an bungee cord in the top of the boot cover and then put a bluish fleece blanket. I kept the hat-rack and slept under it. You can see the cushion (pillow?) and the mattress.

A view of the driver-side of the car. As you can see a black fleece blanket has been hanged.

These were my neighbors for the night. A family with some small kids. An old Mercedes bus towing a turquoise car. I cant even se what kind of car it is? What is it for? Knowbody knows.. Was this a family with to much stuff? :)

Here you get a view of the parking lot. Behind the trees is the sea Mälaren.

Inside the vehicle. Me lying. The curtain solution works great!

Black fleece blanket as side curtain

The car is pretty stealth. Of course you suspect that somebody is inside the car but, if you don't look you will not notice anything special.

Early morning, rise and shine. I slept ok even though the car skidding in the night. But it takes a couple of nights before you sleep really well. The body needs to get used to the "new" environment and so on. It really takes some time for the mind to relax and be comfortable.

Well everything went smooth, I think this solution will work very well on my roadtrip! Next I will install an extra battery. More on that later!

Preparing the Toyota Starlet for sleeping in it

How am I gonna sleep in the Toyota Starlet you may ask?

Let me tell you. The approach to the "new" car was a bit different than the Kia. On the Kia Pride I could push the front seats forwards (max) and recline the backseat to make it "almost" flat towards the backseat. That solution was not possible with the Toyota Starlet. Yes! Of course I tried it, don't make me out to be a fool. ;)
So... on the Toyota I decided to remove the front passenger seat. (Yes, I might have showed this before, but it was a long time ago, and you probably have forgotten it haven't ya?)
I also removed the sitting seat ( in the back so that the backseat could be folded almost flat to the boot floor.) Are you getting anything of what I´m trying to explain here? I guess not, ...
..anyywaaaaay...
Ok, so when the seat was out, I had to find something to support a bigger board (that I took from an working office desk, which I earlier scrapt). So.. I found a cooling box and a plastic box that fitted not perfectly, but "ok" according to my "standard".. I will explain more in the pictures that follows.

Here you see that the passenger chair has been removed. Here are the board (wood) put on top the cooling box and another plastic box. Not totally flat but "ok". LEAVE the fashionistas opinions outside the car.. :)

To smoothen things out I put a sleeping underlay on top of the whole thing. The pieces that is missing from the underlay I blame on Rasmus, a dog (poodle)  that I had before. On top of this goes the mattress.

So here the foam mattress is put into the car. It is an Ikea Moshult mattress that is suppose to be "firm". And yes. it it pretty firm. The size is 80x200 cm. That turned out to be a perfect size. You can also see a sleeping bag, and a warm fleece piece to the left.

Okey, so here the bed is ready to sleep in. As you can see the bed is not totally flat. It's a little like sleeping on a small hill with some slope. I figured that more blood in the head (because of the slope) would only make me smarter.. (win-win?) When sleeping the feet are closest to the dashboard. A good bed I must say. I will use it on the 2014 roadtrip. Coming up! The only problem that I have found is that the gear-stick is under the bed, so you have to drive the car lifting somewhat the bed up, when changing gears that is. No big problem I would say.. What else? On this picture I have also fitted the new curtain holders to the handles in the roof. Works super I must say! Also Ikea stuff.

This solution I am very happy with!. Since I used parts that I already had, the only thing costing was the mattress and some sheet and cushion. About 5-600 Swedish crones or 70-80 dollar (yes everything i more expensive here in Sweden than in the states, more taxes and so on.) I think it will work nicely on the holiday roadtrip. More info about that coming up soon.

Til next time, bye!

Is somebody sleeping in the van?

Today a college at work asked me if I had seen the red american van on the parking lot.

Actually I had. I had noticed it before, but not really given it any closer look. The van seems to be moved around in the parking lot. And I also found it being here last summer when allmost everybody had vacation.

Anyway, the college had noticed a solar panel in the front window and that it had some kind of curtains, so you could not see into the back area of the van. He thought it looked weird and suspicious, he did not want to park his car beside this one. He asked me if I thought somebody was living in the car..

We decided to take a closer look and went outside to check it out. I took some pictures of it. Maybe you are better to decide.. Its hard to tell..

A GMC american van, heavy on fuel. Behind the driver-seat the black curtains are shut so you can´t really see anything inside the van except the front chairs.

The side window was tinted and had black curtains behind it, to kill all light inside the van.

The backwindow, the same. Really black!

A small solar panel is placed in the front window, I guess to charge the battery. Really small solar panel. Can´t give to much power. But perhaps it is there to just top up the start battery a little, who knows.

Well, probably there is nobody sleeping in the car. But from now on I will keep an eye on it. Not that it bothers me, but it is a little interesting. :)

What do you think?

My "survival box", it has just about all I need

So this is what I´ve got in my survivalbox. This box I always bring in my car when going on a roadtrip. I also have a victoryknow knife (swiss champion) in my car and a small mag-lite flash-lite but these are not stored in the box. If there is something that I miss I often find it in the box. :)

The container is about 15 liter, a Hammarplast smartstore (transparent so you can see what is inside it). It comes with a transparent lid/cover that you can snap into place. I also have fitted extra smaller storagebox inside the box. So it is like small compartments if you know what I mean.?

The lid is off, you can see some stuff but far from everything.

Just about all you need, except food and water.

Ropes are always usefull, you need them to hold lamps or other stuff. Or just hanging wet stuff/laundry.. Matches (storm), and a lighter for lighting heat candles is a must. Some time I use a kerosene lantern (for light and heat), and you need something to light it with.

Camper repair kit, never needed it though, some small lexan bottles (very durable), napkins and more.

Firematches, a nipper for cutting of small pieces of wood. A temperature meter (the plastic card). Some Velcro, barbecue tongs, wet napkin/serviette, heating"glove", steel wire, mirrors and a lot more.

Sewing kit, tealights and storm matches.

Some pegs for setting up shelter or whatever. Drinking glasses, can also be used to eat breakfast, Barbecue cleaner, dish soap/detergent.

Cutlery, fork, spoon, can opener and a small cutting board.

When something out of the ordinary happens, you are always glad you got the box!