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Specs

  • 200 amp hour AGM batteries

  • 1500 watt inverter

  • 190 watts solar

  • Outdoor propane shower

  • Cassette Toilet

  • Propane stove and oven

  • 40L Dometic fridge

  • 75L water tank

 

Black Betty

When we first got this van her name was big bird because she was bright yellow, and we loved the character it gave her but already had something in mind for our next project. We bought a spray gun and painted her “gun metal grey” which ended up being a little darker and made her look black in most lights. We also painted all of the grill, trim and tyres matte black and threw on a ladder and roof racks as well as a rooftop deck; Black betty was the adventure mobile we had been dreaming of. This being our first high roof van, we had a lot more space to play with, but this also meant more prior planning to make sure everything fit nicely. 


We decided to make the bed a little higher than originally planned because we needed to fit our mountain bikes underneath as well as our pull out platform for our shower. Inside we wanted her to be a little funky. We used a beautiful cottonwood live edge slab for the bench top and table, a nice big vessel sink with retractable looping faucet, turquoise blue mermaid scale splash back and carved trimmings for the window framing. We kept the walls and drawers white to brighten the space and make it feel more open, and used divider walls on either side to half close in the bed area - making it feel more like a bedroom, creating a little more privacy. 


We wanted to be able to chase any adventure that interested us and not have to worry about running out of food or power, so we needed a reliable battery bank. 200 amp hour AGM batteries, 1500 watt inverter, VSR dual battery charger, 40 amp solar controller and 190 watts of solar. We fitted a 40 litre Dometic fridge, oven, stove, hot water shower, toilet and a 75 litre water tank. 


With enough storage to house two people and a dog we were on our way, Black Betty took us across Canada, all the way from Whistler BC, to Gaspse, Quebec. Four months, 20,000kms and a summer to remember.