I did it; I put in isocyanaurate under my floor. The "joists" or crossmembers holding up the floor are 3" tall, so there's a 3" gap between the bottom of the floor and the frame rails. I inserted the insulation in those gaps, just like you'd do in a house, except I didn't use the pink stuff, I used these 2" sheets of insulation. The floor itself is 1.75" thick wood, so I used 3" wood bullets with a 1.75" fender washer to screw the insulation into the floor above.
Above the floor is a sheet of polyethelene, a sheet of some kind of sound-dampening insulation, then a sheet of spongey stuff to make the floor give, then finally my fake-hardwood pergo.
I've noticed already that the floor stays warmer, especially after driving (the air whizzing across the underside of the truck cooled the floor down a lot). This is good. We'll see what happens after a night of cold air. Temperature here lately has been very warm during the day, like 65 degrees, then down to a cold 45 degrees at night. It's an unusually dry winter so we're getting desert-like temperature fluctuations. The wind is from the east so we're not getting ocean humidity.
I notice it's also a bit quieter in here now too! That's a big win.
The whole project cost me like $80. It took me from 9am to 6pm. I was exhausted afterwards-- I am not used to working like this. But it felt good to use my body for a change, instead of spending 14 hours a day in front of a computer.
I hope this insulation will help in the summer too. I noticed that the van would get intolerably hot on some afternoons after the sun went low enough to heat up the ground underneath the van. I noticed that the floor would be warm. I think the insulation will help prevent that heat from radiating inside. If this summer will be like this winter, I'll have plenty of opportunity to find out.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Happy summer in California
This is pretty amazing, it's like 65 degrees, it's New Year's Day, January 1st.
I've been spending lots of time on the beach. I love it. It's warm and sunny.
On the days we've actually had winter weather, I have found ways to use passive solar heating too: I just open up the door to my box, park facing south, and make the huge 3-sided solar collector known as "The Cab" do its work to heat the place up.
It was cold enough a few weeks ago that I realized there's a huge oversight in my insulation: the floor! The floor is not insulated at all. And it was getting freezing cold in here, due to the floor. So I have to go buy some isocyanaurate sheets, cut them up to fit in between the beams of my box, and insulate the floor. Then it'll stay toasty in the winter, and, I think, stay cooler in the summer too!
I noticed last summer that the van stayed so wonderfully cool in the mornings on hot days, but as soon as the afternoon came it got way too hot. And I couldn't figure out where the heat was coming from. I think heat was rising up off of the road in the afternoons and heating the van up. So maybe insulating the floor will help me this summer, which, if this is any indication, is going to be an exceptionally hot one.
I've been spending lots of time on the beach. I love it. It's warm and sunny.
On the days we've actually had winter weather, I have found ways to use passive solar heating too: I just open up the door to my box, park facing south, and make the huge 3-sided solar collector known as "The Cab" do its work to heat the place up.
It was cold enough a few weeks ago that I realized there's a huge oversight in my insulation: the floor! The floor is not insulated at all. And it was getting freezing cold in here, due to the floor. So I have to go buy some isocyanaurate sheets, cut them up to fit in between the beams of my box, and insulate the floor. Then it'll stay toasty in the winter, and, I think, stay cooler in the summer too!
I noticed last summer that the van stayed so wonderfully cool in the mornings on hot days, but as soon as the afternoon came it got way too hot. And I couldn't figure out where the heat was coming from. I think heat was rising up off of the road in the afternoons and heating the van up. So maybe insulating the floor will help me this summer, which, if this is any indication, is going to be an exceptionally hot one.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
It's now an RV
After the disaster of the $250 parking ticket, I decided to re-register my vehicle as a California Housecar (RV).
I went down to the DMV, filled out the paperwork, and went through a brief inspection. Got a new set of plates, and paid my new registration-- now $90/year instead of the $350/yr I had been paying. Great, that'll make me back the cost of that ticket, not only this year but for every year in the future.
Next: I have to get some work and start making some more money!
I went down to the DMV, filled out the paperwork, and went through a brief inspection. Got a new set of plates, and paid my new registration-- now $90/year instead of the $350/yr I had been paying. Great, that'll make me back the cost of that ticket, not only this year but for every year in the future.
Next: I have to get some work and start making some more money!
Monday, September 5, 2011
$250 parking ticket?
I just got a $250 parking ticket, for parking a commercial vehicle in a residential area.
Really? $250? For parking? One night?
That's almost as much as my registration. And my 6-month insurance payment. Both of which are due this month. It's also more than I paid in a whole YEAR of parking tickets back before I figured out where to park without getting ticketed. Or so I thought. It's certainly more than I spent on fuel to drive to LA and back last month. One ticket.
This is a deeply troubling development.
The ticket was stamped early in the morning, before sunrise, before most people are awake, so I don't think it was a neighbor complaint.
It might have been a particularly unpleasant and sadistic cop, with either nothing better to do, in a bad mood, but that wouldn't explain the outrageous fine for something so simple; cops don't set the amount of the fines.
So it was a city government either deeply corrupt and shaking down everyone they can for money, or on some kind of weird war march against... something, I'm not sure exactly what.
This is really bad. I'm in kind of a financial hole right now, and I'm not sure how to get out of it. I spent much more than I made last month, including on that trip, and I didn't work at all because of the trip.
The registration bill is $350, and the insurance is $350 too. This is ugly. What I really should do is try to get the vehicle re-registered as an RV, then the registration will be $80 or so, and insurance will probably be less too. I have the paperwork; I just need to make the appointment to go in and get it done.
So now here I sit. My source of random programming gigs has seemed to dry up. I have one project I can and probably should complete for money, even though it probably won't amount to that much, but I can't get motivated to do it, even though I don't want to disappoint the customer who's waiting for it.
Like the ticket, this situation is really my own fault, due to fatalism and weariness really. I was really tired last night, and I just wanted to sleep, wanted to be left alone. I picked a spot that I'd parked in many times before, even though it didn't really feel right, because I hadn't been back there in a year or so. The last time I was in that neighborhood, I got a ticket for not turning my wheel properly against the curb on a hill. Still, that was only $35. And I stayed away for a while. I really should have continued to stay away. I certainly will now. Whatever is going on there regarding cops and parking, I don't want any part of it, thank you very much. $250 for parking!
My work fatalism is similar. I'm tired. Even after fixing my glasses situation, I can't really focus my brain on programming. It's torture, it's not fun, and the only reason I do it is because people will pay me to do it. Reading code and documentation makes my eyes, head, and neck ache. Doing mechanical-related stuff doesn't wear on me as much, because I don't have to use my eyes and brain so much, I can use my body, hands, etc, and that's less strain. But all my van-related projects are mostly done, and I don't see any reason in making work (or spending money) on stuff that isn't really necessary. I just want to be left alone, to maybe read non-software-related stuff, and think about more human things.
I've felt this before: like I keep getting hit, and I want to crouch down in a fetal ball and wait for the beatings to stop. I felt it a lot when I first started vandwelling. But, what I've learned over the last few years is that there is that the beatings do not stop on their own, that they just get worse. I'll have to battle back on my own in order to obtain any real relief. And I'm so tired, so much just wanting to rest, to sleep, to grow old quietly and safely. That is all I want.
Really? $250? For parking? One night?
That's almost as much as my registration. And my 6-month insurance payment. Both of which are due this month. It's also more than I paid in a whole YEAR of parking tickets back before I figured out where to park without getting ticketed. Or so I thought. It's certainly more than I spent on fuel to drive to LA and back last month. One ticket.
This is a deeply troubling development.
The ticket was stamped early in the morning, before sunrise, before most people are awake, so I don't think it was a neighbor complaint.
It might have been a particularly unpleasant and sadistic cop, with either nothing better to do, in a bad mood, but that wouldn't explain the outrageous fine for something so simple; cops don't set the amount of the fines.
So it was a city government either deeply corrupt and shaking down everyone they can for money, or on some kind of weird war march against... something, I'm not sure exactly what.
This is really bad. I'm in kind of a financial hole right now, and I'm not sure how to get out of it. I spent much more than I made last month, including on that trip, and I didn't work at all because of the trip.
The registration bill is $350, and the insurance is $350 too. This is ugly. What I really should do is try to get the vehicle re-registered as an RV, then the registration will be $80 or so, and insurance will probably be less too. I have the paperwork; I just need to make the appointment to go in and get it done.
So now here I sit. My source of random programming gigs has seemed to dry up. I have one project I can and probably should complete for money, even though it probably won't amount to that much, but I can't get motivated to do it, even though I don't want to disappoint the customer who's waiting for it.
Like the ticket, this situation is really my own fault, due to fatalism and weariness really. I was really tired last night, and I just wanted to sleep, wanted to be left alone. I picked a spot that I'd parked in many times before, even though it didn't really feel right, because I hadn't been back there in a year or so. The last time I was in that neighborhood, I got a ticket for not turning my wheel properly against the curb on a hill. Still, that was only $35. And I stayed away for a while. I really should have continued to stay away. I certainly will now. Whatever is going on there regarding cops and parking, I don't want any part of it, thank you very much. $250 for parking!
My work fatalism is similar. I'm tired. Even after fixing my glasses situation, I can't really focus my brain on programming. It's torture, it's not fun, and the only reason I do it is because people will pay me to do it. Reading code and documentation makes my eyes, head, and neck ache. Doing mechanical-related stuff doesn't wear on me as much, because I don't have to use my eyes and brain so much, I can use my body, hands, etc, and that's less strain. But all my van-related projects are mostly done, and I don't see any reason in making work (or spending money) on stuff that isn't really necessary. I just want to be left alone, to maybe read non-software-related stuff, and think about more human things.
I've felt this before: like I keep getting hit, and I want to crouch down in a fetal ball and wait for the beatings to stop. I felt it a lot when I first started vandwelling. But, what I've learned over the last few years is that there is that the beatings do not stop on their own, that they just get worse. I'll have to battle back on my own in order to obtain any real relief. And I'm so tired, so much just wanting to rest, to sleep, to grow old quietly and safely. That is all I want.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Trip went well
Well I completed an 1000-mile round trip journey into the hot land and back. It went great! Everything worked more or less as planned.
The cab stayed nice and cool, and no coolant leaks or coolant smell, since I bypassed the heater core. Transmission ran great, engine ran great, all was well. I went down the coast, saw some beautiful country, stopped along the way at campgrounds on the cheap, toured around in LA, did my obligations there, and came back. It was a joy being at home no matter where I was.
I bought two new tires for the front, and moved the front tires onto the rear, replacing the two balding ones. So for the first time in the 4 years I've owned this van, I'm driving on 6 GOOD tires now.
I learned a few things. First of all, I'd overinflated my front tires, so my handling was kind of dodgy; it felt like the van was weaving all over the road whenever I went over any kind of bump or hill. I think my rear springs are sagging too; will have to find out what's involved in putting a new leaf in there. Bled a few pounds out of front tires and that improved the handling a bit. Also, I carried way too much fuel. There are a couple biodiesel fueling stops along the way, and they're very nice, and open convenient hours, so I could have done it all just by filling up along the way. The 5 gals of spare fuel I brought just added weight I didn't need, so I didn't use it on the way back.
Also, I know now what my MPG is. 10. Yes, 10. I get 10MPG. And biodiesel is like $4.60 up here. So it was not a cheap trip. Granted, that 10MPG includes winding down the coastal highway 1 at an average speed of 40MPH, so it's not really a freeway measurement. I took the freeway on the way back and I'm sure that was much better mileage.
And, in 100-degree heat, the fan and vent is useless. My insulation certainly works great-- it's 20-30 degrees cooler in the box than in the cab, for example-- but once the heat picks up in the afternoon, the fan is just moving the hot air around. At night, it can take an hour or two of running the fan full-on, before the interior finally cools down. And even with the sun shining brightly during the day, there's not enough sun to fully recharge the batteries from running the fan at full 4A blast at night. I think if I had to spend more time in that kind of hot climate, I'd have to say, nevermind the solar panels, just park in the shade as much as possible.
When I got back, it was time for an oil change (I do mine every 3,000 miles or so). I know, I should have done an oil change BEFORE driving 1000 miles through the heat, but I'd just changed it and it wasn't quite ready to be changed yet. So I waited until it'd been 3,500 miles, and the oil was FILTHY. Just disgusting, much worse than last time I changed it. Black, nasty oil. That'd mean carbon. Also, it was MORE viscous than clean oil, a lot more viscous. Biodiesel blowby? Maybe my rings are going, or my valve guides.
Another very odd thing: my air filter is filthy, but it's filthy with what a brown discoloration that looks and smells like biodiesel! It looks soaked. I'll have to get a postal scale and weigh it versus a clean one to see how much stuff is actually in there. But, how is biodiesel getting into my INTAKE air? The only thing I can think of is that perhaps, when I start up the engine cold in the mornings, and I always get a huge cloud of white smoke coming out, sometimes the wind blows some of that into my intake and it gets caught in the filter over time. Not sure though; that one is a puzzler.
The cab stayed nice and cool, and no coolant leaks or coolant smell, since I bypassed the heater core. Transmission ran great, engine ran great, all was well. I went down the coast, saw some beautiful country, stopped along the way at campgrounds on the cheap, toured around in LA, did my obligations there, and came back. It was a joy being at home no matter where I was.
I bought two new tires for the front, and moved the front tires onto the rear, replacing the two balding ones. So for the first time in the 4 years I've owned this van, I'm driving on 6 GOOD tires now.
I learned a few things. First of all, I'd overinflated my front tires, so my handling was kind of dodgy; it felt like the van was weaving all over the road whenever I went over any kind of bump or hill. I think my rear springs are sagging too; will have to find out what's involved in putting a new leaf in there. Bled a few pounds out of front tires and that improved the handling a bit. Also, I carried way too much fuel. There are a couple biodiesel fueling stops along the way, and they're very nice, and open convenient hours, so I could have done it all just by filling up along the way. The 5 gals of spare fuel I brought just added weight I didn't need, so I didn't use it on the way back.
Also, I know now what my MPG is. 10. Yes, 10. I get 10MPG. And biodiesel is like $4.60 up here. So it was not a cheap trip. Granted, that 10MPG includes winding down the coastal highway 1 at an average speed of 40MPH, so it's not really a freeway measurement. I took the freeway on the way back and I'm sure that was much better mileage.
And, in 100-degree heat, the fan and vent is useless. My insulation certainly works great-- it's 20-30 degrees cooler in the box than in the cab, for example-- but once the heat picks up in the afternoon, the fan is just moving the hot air around. At night, it can take an hour or two of running the fan full-on, before the interior finally cools down. And even with the sun shining brightly during the day, there's not enough sun to fully recharge the batteries from running the fan at full 4A blast at night. I think if I had to spend more time in that kind of hot climate, I'd have to say, nevermind the solar panels, just park in the shade as much as possible.
When I got back, it was time for an oil change (I do mine every 3,000 miles or so). I know, I should have done an oil change BEFORE driving 1000 miles through the heat, but I'd just changed it and it wasn't quite ready to be changed yet. So I waited until it'd been 3,500 miles, and the oil was FILTHY. Just disgusting, much worse than last time I changed it. Black, nasty oil. That'd mean carbon. Also, it was MORE viscous than clean oil, a lot more viscous. Biodiesel blowby? Maybe my rings are going, or my valve guides.
Another very odd thing: my air filter is filthy, but it's filthy with what a brown discoloration that looks and smells like biodiesel! It looks soaked. I'll have to get a postal scale and weigh it versus a clean one to see how much stuff is actually in there. But, how is biodiesel getting into my INTAKE air? The only thing I can think of is that perhaps, when I start up the engine cold in the mornings, and I always get a huge cloud of white smoke coming out, sometimes the wind blows some of that into my intake and it gets caught in the filter over time. Not sure though; that one is a puzzler.
Friday, August 5, 2011
The work gets easier
Doing work on my van has become an absolute joy. I love it. I know what I'm doing now, and that makes it fun.
I finally got my cooling system squared away. I did a bunch of research and realized I'd been misreading the test strips. Turns out I desperately need to replenish my SCA's, so I'm in the process of calculating exactly how much I need to add and will add it.
I think my heater core is pluggged up and possibly leaking too, but getting to it requires dismantling the entire dashboard, steering column, and ignition lock, so I just bypassed the heater. Bent the supply hose around double into a U and connected it to the return. Done. On this vehicle, the heater core is ALWAYS live, no matter whether the blend door is in the hot or cold position! So by disconnecting it, it'll probably stay a little cooler in here on the hot drive south.
My coolant was in what looked to me like perfect condition. I also checked the flow of my transmission cooler and it is excellent. I did find a bit of sand (yes, sand) in the coolant, but it wasn't magnetic, so I'm not worried about it. A friend said that it might be sand leftover from the cast iron block stamping! Imagine that.
The squeaking/parping sound may have been caused by transmission fluid dripping onto my drive belt and more or less ruining it. I cleaned it off good with rubbing alcohol and the squeak stopped. But I also did the transmission cooler line check, so perhaps the noise was coming from the trans after all. No matter; it's gone now either way.
Well that's it, I'm ready to drive. I might replace two balding rear tires first before this trip, depending on whether I can afford it. I'd like to bleed my brakes but that's easy, and top up my differential which is seeping. I probably should do an oil change, but I'm not really due for one until AFTER the trip, so I'll probably wait on that. I'm sure by then my air filter will be toast. This turbo breathes a lot of air, and riving around on dirt roads is rough on my air filters.
I finally got my cooling system squared away. I did a bunch of research and realized I'd been misreading the test strips. Turns out I desperately need to replenish my SCA's, so I'm in the process of calculating exactly how much I need to add and will add it.
I think my heater core is pluggged up and possibly leaking too, but getting to it requires dismantling the entire dashboard, steering column, and ignition lock, so I just bypassed the heater. Bent the supply hose around double into a U and connected it to the return. Done. On this vehicle, the heater core is ALWAYS live, no matter whether the blend door is in the hot or cold position! So by disconnecting it, it'll probably stay a little cooler in here on the hot drive south.
My coolant was in what looked to me like perfect condition. I also checked the flow of my transmission cooler and it is excellent. I did find a bit of sand (yes, sand) in the coolant, but it wasn't magnetic, so I'm not worried about it. A friend said that it might be sand leftover from the cast iron block stamping! Imagine that.
The squeaking/parping sound may have been caused by transmission fluid dripping onto my drive belt and more or less ruining it. I cleaned it off good with rubbing alcohol and the squeak stopped. But I also did the transmission cooler line check, so perhaps the noise was coming from the trans after all. No matter; it's gone now either way.
Well that's it, I'm ready to drive. I might replace two balding rear tires first before this trip, depending on whether I can afford it. I'd like to bleed my brakes but that's easy, and top up my differential which is seeping. I probably should do an oil change, but I'm not really due for one until AFTER the trip, so I'll probably wait on that. I'm sure by then my air filter will be toast. This turbo breathes a lot of air, and riving around on dirt roads is rough on my air filters.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Moore's Law and capitalism
I've said for many years that there is only one thing that capitalism does better than anything else, and that is: make cheap gadgets.
I'm thinking about this as I'm sitting here, I'm legally considered homeless, but I have no less than 7 microprocessors in here! Most of which were cheap or free. I also have at least as many embedded microcontrollers too, and another half-dozen sitting in a drawer as chips ready to be placed into some project or another.
I'm part of a technologically-advanced underclass. I'm told that in China there are huge masses of deeply poor people running around with tons of microprocessor gadgets as well.
Moore's Law keeps marching on; computers keep getting more powerful and cheaper every year. As for other things like food, medical care, etc, even energy, not so much.
There are some interesting developments attempting to apply Moore's Law to problems like energy (i.e. solar energy, battery-driven cars), but they're haven't become quite the self-accelerating spiral that the semiconductor and consumer electronics industries are yet.
I'm thinking about this as I'm sitting here, I'm legally considered homeless, but I have no less than 7 microprocessors in here! Most of which were cheap or free. I also have at least as many embedded microcontrollers too, and another half-dozen sitting in a drawer as chips ready to be placed into some project or another.
I'm part of a technologically-advanced underclass. I'm told that in China there are huge masses of deeply poor people running around with tons of microprocessor gadgets as well.
Moore's Law keeps marching on; computers keep getting more powerful and cheaper every year. As for other things like food, medical care, etc, even energy, not so much.
There are some interesting developments attempting to apply Moore's Law to problems like energy (i.e. solar energy, battery-driven cars), but they're haven't become quite the self-accelerating spiral that the semiconductor and consumer electronics industries are yet.
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