I bought the Exora with long term plans in mind – I wanted it to be a caravan or at least a small campervan for road trips. I have researched but there was no samples of modified Exora into a campervan. I wish I have a sample to follow. But then again, why not create one?
I was researching on fancy campervan boxes like these in the pictures and crazily thought of a DIY one too. Yet I gave up at the amount of work and skills needed. In the end I made a simple list.
If I were to go on a road trip, I will need
- Food – a simple portable stove, pots or pans, utensils, cutleries and bowls or plates, spices
- Water – drinking water supply, water for washing, a simple basin to collect water
- Sleep – sleeping area which the Exora provides great space and a sleeping bag should do
- Working area – perhaps a portable table which I have one in the store room
- Food storage – perhaps an ice box (which I already have)
- Luggage – A luggage bag should do
I reckon that I will not build a shower area or toilet in the Exora and could utilise public toilets at the highways as I travel. But a small area for morning wash up should do good.
Another area of concern is the electricity at night. I won’t be sleeping in a car with the engine turned on for air-conditioning. So I may need a small fan, powered by a battery and a mosquito net if I unwind some windows for air at night.
I saw this fan with LED lights and comes with a torch, powered by solar or DC power. I just ordered and yet to receive the little fan priced at RM33 excluding postage. Will review this soon.
Thinking of power at night, I was thinking of a car inverter which converts AC to DC and hook up with a car battery. I have used this inverter<–>car battery to power up a portable copier when I helped people registered BR1M. The dilemma is whether to charge the car battery at a workshop and wait for hours or to have a spare car battery on the go. The weight and price of a car battery may not be feasible.
I then saw this solar powerbank which claims 50,000mAh, comes with LED lights too. I have seen reviews online but I am a stubborn person who would like to test them myself. Not to mention, I always opt for cheap things too. I know sometimes the saying goes, penny wise, pound foolish. Will review this soon too.
Back to the plan of having a car inverter and a car battery, plus the dilemma of having an extra car battery, I found the solution with solar panel. A solar panel of perhaps 50W should suffice. I was made to understand that it should connects to a charge controller, then to the car battery and then to the inverter. The car battery serves as a storage of the solar panel charge. I have yet to build this set. Once I decide on a longer journey will I then try this and review.
I am a newbie at all these and just crazily testing here and there. I appreciate the efforts of many seniors who have blogged about their campervan journey. I hope they will share more of their journeys, DIY projects and how they fare too.
http://malaysia-campervan.blogspot.my/
This blog stops in year 2014
https://malaysiacarcamping.com
http://mycampervanmelaka.blogspot.my/
So far, I have bought these online from lelong.com.my (the price below include shipping)
- 2 units of 20L portable water storage bag (RM48)
- A roll and go cosmetic bag – could be useful to store cutleries and cooking utensils – and the 3-in-1 portable solar fan and light (RM55.50)
- Solar LED power bank (RM80)
- Bamboo charcoal large storage bag (RM18.90)
- Mosquito Net (RM25.50)
- TOTAL as of now RM227.90
Still need to purchase
- A small pot
- Portable stove
- Cooking utensils
- Plates, bowls, cups and cutleries
- Wash basin
More sharing to come….