We call our step van LUVe. Nothing to do with romance (although that’s part of the journey as well). LUVe stands for Live Uthing Vehicle. Here you will find items we bought to make our step van robust, functional, and livable. For nuts & bolts, electrical equipment, and some technical stuff go to our LUVe list on Amazon

Water hose

SPACE-EFFICIENT! The original expanding water-hose. DURABLE! Will never tangle, twist, or kink, easy to handle and storage. This use turn out indispensable when refilling our water tanks.

Our shower

A three Gallon Pump Sprayer is about the most efficient and effective portable shower while camping.

Simply fill half with cold water, top off with a kettle of hot water to your liking and enjoy a warm shower with water to spare.

For a full shower set up you will also need the following quality parts:

Instructions:

  1. Remove pump sprayer wand from hose and push brass hose barb onto pump sprayer hose.
  2. Wrap thread seal tape on the male end of the brass adapter and screw into hose barb.
  3. Wrap thread seal tape on the male brass fitting of the shower head hose and join both hoses together. Voila!

Our fridge 12V

This 80 Liter (84 QT) Portable Fridge Freezer is a Dual Zone unit, 25L/55L split. Each compartment can be set to the temperature you want via the digital control panel. Temperature adjustment can be set to use as a refrigerator, freezer or turned off.

Highest Quality Danfoss BD-35F Compressor – Maximum Cooling Efficiency with Minimal Power Drain. Multi voltage, runs on a standard household outlet of 110 Volt, as well as a mobile power supply of 12 or 24 Volt. High quality insulation to minimize exterior sizing but maximize internal capacity, Includes insulated protective cover.

Two years later… still working well.

Signal booster

Looking to overcome a weak cellular signal at home in a rural area or while traveling.

The “Smoothtalker Mobile CX6” has made our wireless internet connection reliable, no matter the weather conditions. It has allowed us to boost a poor 2G signal to a quality 4G signal.

Wall vents

These hingeless aluminum vents are incredible. They are industrial looking and mostly used in commercial applications such as stepvans. They may not be pretty, but they can’t be beat when it comes to multi-directional airflow inside of a vehicle.

I specifically installed them for airflow while the van is locked up and parked unattended. They can be installed vertically or horizontally. I installed them horizontally so I can leave them open while parked and without any worry of rain flooding the cabin.

Van windows

Instead of RV windows we opted for boat deck hatches in the roof and sidewalls. They are kind of like a heavy duty pop-up sunroof, but with corrosion resistant, anodized aluminum frames and a high impact resistant, smoked cast acrylic top. They open fully to a 180 degrees and may also be locked in a venting position. In the side walls they will be installed to open form the bottom up, which will allow them to remain open during rain, without wetting the interior.

To make a long story short, they offer more security, more durability and more ventilation, which equals more functionally and piece of mind.

Composting toilet

This is about as environmentally friendly as a toilet gets.

For use on the road, on the water, on the land or any other environmentally conscious off-grid purpose. Rather then dumping out raw sewage, this toilet produces compost ready for use.

Sink & shower base

Looking at RV showers, I decided that I want more durability. Stainless steel mop sinks are designed for tough jobs. Various sizes are available and the largest model is perfect for our needs.

Our clothes dryer

I know what you are thinking, this is a commercial salad spin dryer, but that’s the point. It is of commercial quality and size, which means it is durable and large enough for basic laundry.

Washing laundry in a bucket is easy enough, water, detergent and soak. Then mix it up with an Agitator and rinse, but now what? Wringing out laundry is the real feat, it is a thankless job and damaging to clothing, but that is where the Chef Master 9005 shines. No amount of wringing removes water as well as this high speed centrifuge and therefore dramatically reducing overall drying time.

Make sure to get the Chef Master Model 90005 though, other makes and models only look the same.

Our 12V vacuum

When is comes to cleaning up, nothing lends to that finishing touch like a vacuum cleaner. Nothing else compares when cleaning small spaces, crevices, nooks or even carpet and that is especially true in a vehicle.

I have used a similar Black and Decker Handheld Cordless Vacuum, with the same design and technology, at home for many years. It has worked really well for little jobs, so it made the decision for this mobile vacuum an easy choice.