Last night, Dan actually drilled a solar pre-wire hole in hopes that we could cross it off the list and thus be able to re-install the headliner today. But after a late day of installing windows, it wasn’t the best choice because today we realized that we skipped a couple steps. We forgot to install a rubber grommet to prevent wire chaffing and also forgot to paint the exposed metal. Doh. No worries. It all got done today. For the project we bought this solar panel cable entry cover.
We fed the solar cables from the roof down to floor near the bench seat. We will be installing our batteries behind the bench instead of under the passenger seat because it will give us easier access to them. The solar cables were a thoughtful gift from our Sprinter friend, Marc. Thanks, Marc!! It’s exactly what we needed for this project.
We started the day with no food in our bellies. Luckily, Mila brought us two custom made smoothies. Thanks, Mila!
Ok, time to re-install the headliner. We are choosing to re-install it instead of creating new ceilings because it will save us time, money and add less weight to the top portion of the van.
We found these trim clips on Amazon that are supposed to be comparable to ones they sell at the dealership.
But they didn’t work out too well because they kept popping out of place. It might have worked if we didn’t have insulation added to the ceiling but it’s hard to tell.
The gray factory ones have a slightly different tip than the green ones from Amazon. So we will either have to try to hack them a bit for a better fit or go back to the dealership and admit defeat.
So here’s a photo of the headliner with the missing trim clips. It will stay in place while we drive today even though it doesn’t look the prettiest.
And now that the headliner is back up, the trim piece for the 2nd Fan-tastic fan could be installed. Also, will driving the van for the first time since the window install, we noticed that the blind/screen assembly was VERY noisy. We will have to figure out how to stop them from rattling so much.
Today was a short day because we have an afternoon birthday party to attend.
Here’s the video to go along with the day 13 build. Enjoy!
As always, thanks for following along,
Marlene
P.S. Don’t forget to also follow us on Instagram and for extra content, we are also on Patreon 🙂
0 Comments