I’ve titled this post “Kitchen Upgrade?” with the question mark because I am still undecided if it is an improvement or not. Mia wanted something a little less manual/analog for the sink. I wasn’t overly bothered by what came with Clifford the Big Red Van but I’m not against trying out a rather inexpensive project to see how it all goes.
I debated at first going with an electric pump and cold-water faucet that I could hook up to the 12V battery system. I found this webpage that had a decent setup and seemed doable to me. I came out with a total project cost in the $100-150 range, depending on how fancy I wanted to go with a faucet and pump, considering we have the basic stuff (sink, jugs, etc already) and didn’t need to buy everything listed on that webpage.
However, I had also seen on the Wayfarer Vans Fan Page on Facebook that a lot of people had been using this simple USB chargeable “faucet” designed for 5 gallon water jugs like you would use at the office water bubbler.
I ended up also picking up some food grade silicone tubing since what came stock with the faucet was nowhere near long enough.
The hardest thing to figure out was how to securely mount it to the countertop. I originally found online an idea of inserting a PVC cap and gluing or taping magnets inside the cap and then using some adhesive metal plates.
Instead, I ran to our local Ace Hardware and found this PVC piece that fit super snug on the inside of faucet base.
I ended up drilling two small holes on each side of the PVC plug and then using some long wood screws to attach to the existing holes in the countertop from the handpump screws.
I doubt the faucet will wiggle loose even at highway speeds or on gravel forest service roads. Time will tell though.
I ran the tubing through the existing holes that the manual pump hose had used. I have some left over cable ties from when I setup the van electrical system.
I probably could cut the tubing a bit shorter. I am hoping it will snake around the bottom of the water jug to get the most water possible. I probably need to weight it with something though.
The faucet is quite a bit louder than I thought it would be. The water output is decent though and it does seem to work okay in the overall scheme of things. We will do some trips and make a final determination on how it all works. I can always toss the manual faucet back in or go full hog with the 12V pump and faucet idea linked above.
As it stands the whole functioning system cost me about $35. Not the end of the world if we don’t end up liking it.
Thanks for reading,
-Pete
ON & OFF RHODES 