Our 2004 Thor Sequence Camper Van - Part Two

 

In part One I showed you the driving area, today the living area.  To the right you can see the kitchen sink, and that is my Android Pad sitting on the counter.  That becomes important and I talk about it real later.  The brown on the beds are "Walensee Sherpa Fleece Blanket (Throw Size 50”x60” Brown) Plush Throw Fuzzy Super Soft Reversible Microfiber Flannel Blankets" that we bought from Amazon earlier this year...we decided to put them in the Camper Van.  Under each blanket is a bottom sheet...the one on the left is a Cot Sheet which is 31 by 75, and the one on the right is a Cot Sheet which is 30 by 80.  They are perfect fits.  In the far back is the bathroom and a closet with two drawers.  That "Dark Animal" is a stow-away who keeps saying, "I WANT to see Aunt Sandy, I WANT to see her NOW!!!"

 

 

At the foot of the longer bed, which is my bed, is the TV.  This is a smart TV which gives us access to our Amazon Prime Movies, and I am sure I can load RoKu and other stuff if we wish to.  It will pick up over-the-air channels, and cable if you are at an RV Park which offers that.  On the roof is a Winegard which, if you want to pay for it, turn into a Cellular Receiver and then you can turn that into a WiFi Hotspot.  We have an aircard from Verizon that has done us good, so we probably won't be going that route with Winegard.

As I mentioned in Part One, both front driving chairs will rotate around to the living area.  Marcia will have access to this table top desk, with 110 power and two USB charging hubs below for her power.  I have access to the counter top which includes the same amount of power.  Of course, we have to be plugged into 110v -or- the generator has to be on.

Between the two driving chairs are two small drawers...one comes equipped with a doggie dinner/water bowl!  Even Indy liked that, but she still is looking for her Aunt Sandy...

  

Under the kitchen counter is the microwave/convection oven, and half of a refrigerator.  I think the refrigerator size is going to be our biggest adjustment...more trips to the store, but bringing back less food.  That is one small freezer, that is for sure.  Not shown is a portable induction cooker, which I love...last year while at Sandy and Arny's we got one and I have used it inside our condo way more than the normal stove.

  

In the back is the bathroom and clothes closet.  The closet, pictured left, will hold our hang-ups, and at the bottom of the closet we will store a few misc items such as these adult washcloths.  The toilet area is also the shower area, which Marcia will really like since she needs to sit down to shower anyway.  Not shown behind the toilet is a sink which folds down over the toilet which includes its own water facet. 

   

The Electronics on Camper Van are very nice...as long as they work.  But just like any "on-off" switch to turn on lights, start and stop your water pump, to use the generator, to use the water heater, to use the A/C or the Heat (and other stuff)...but with this Camper Van all of those components (on/off switches) are incorporated into three electronic systems. In the upper left picture is the Truma Hot Water and General Heater control.  This is an electric device (need to be plugged into power or have the generator on), and it is instant heat and/or hot water.  On the right of the same picture is the inverter, which only runs the TV off of battery power.  That is a basic on/off switch.  The picture to the right is the main On/Off switch.  If you want to store your Camper Van for a prolong period, you would want to turn this to off.  I am not sure if the solar will work to keep the batteries from running down, if it doesn't, you would need to charge the house battery at least once a month...along with starting the engine...or have them on a battery tender to keep them charged.  I doubt we will turn this switch except when we need to change the house batteries or something like that.

Which leaves us with the BMPro, a complete power management control.  From these controls you turn on/off the Generator, the Lights, control the Awning, turn on/off and open/close the Ceiling Vent, control the Air Conditioner (on/off and temp setting), on/off the water pump, on/off tank heaters, control eight different light areas in which four can be dimmed, AND it monitors the solar power, the battery levels, the LP tank level, the Grey/Black and Water tank levels...and I think that's about it...all on that little, hard to read control center.  If it goes down, you are up a creek without a paddle.  That is the bad thing about all this electronics stuff.

THIS is where the Android Pad comes in.  Via Bluetooth, you connect to the BMPro system via the free App (at least some things are still free in this world) and have an easier to read and easier to understand way to control all these systems.  When I go over to the Camper Van, which I do just about every day, I can pull up near it, and connect to the system.  If I am going to go in, I will turn on the generator...then a minute or so later, turn on the A/C to it highest level.  A few minutes later I will go in and it is already cooling down.

From this screen you can turn on/off the generator, AND you can program the generator to turn on/off depending on the battery levels you choose, AND/OR the inside temperature of the Camper Van.  For the temp, you need to keep your A/C turned on so that when the generator turns on, and it is ready to accept a load, it will then turn the A/C on.  You can set the generator to turn off when the battery reaches a certain level, or the inside temps are at a certain level.  It allows for time levels too...you can set it to stay on for a minimum amount of time and to turn off at a maximum time.  If you don't set a time limit, it will turn off when the inside temp reaches your desired level or the batteries have reached a certain level.  Finally, you can set a "Sleep Period" when it won't turn on during quiet hours at a campground.  I have it set to turn on the generator if the batteries get to 12v, turn off it they get to 12.7v, and run a minimum of 20 minutes and maximum of 1 hour...with a sleep time of 9 pm to 7 am.  Because of shade at the Storage Area, the generator runs just about every day for about 20-30 minutes, or up to 90 minutes on a rainy day. 

With solar display you can see how much is being produced, and how much the battery is accepting.  We have 200w solar on the roof, which cannot be tilted to the sun unless you buy and install the proper tilting equipment.  If you really want to boondock camp, there is a port outside to plug in portable solar panels. 

   

These three screens show what your tank levels are, controlling the A/C system, and how to control the lights.  There are a few more screens, but this gives you an idea of what the Android Pad can do for you.

Well, we leave on Thursday for a three months trip, first to Marcia's brother's house in DeLand, then to Sacramento Area with a quick stop in Salt Lake City.  We plan to drive through Arches, which we have been to three or four times already...we love looking at the rock formations throughout the park.  We will leave Sacramento early enough to get home for the November election, and see a few friends on the way too.  My next blog will feature some of the things we have bought to make the Camper Van into a Camper Van Home.