I’ve spent an age making my van ‘nice’. It’s no show queen, but most things that you can see are either retro or original, whilst everything you can’t see is pretty much new - sparky bits, gas system, heating, rebuilt engine, insulation etc etc. My aim has always been to have all the good bits of a 70’s van without the rubbish bits, sort of a T6 in a T2 dress. I’m pretty much there, but the final piece of the puzzle is the 12v charging. It’s got a decent 240v system for when we’re hooked up and has a leisure battery and solar charger set up - flexible 100w panel will be on the roof soon. But I’ve got nowt to plug anything 12v in to yet so it’s time to put some USB’s in to keep all the essentials topped up with juice. However…. all of the USB sockets you find online are just boring black lumps of plastic. Is there anything that doesn’t look, well, crap? I don’t want blue neon lights or a digital display, I just want something that you won’t see and think “tacked on afterthought”. this is the 12v switch panel as an idea (does left/right interior lights plus the heating at the mo). Might not be the prettiest thing but it’s kind of fitting and isn’t something I’d think was out of place, that’s the thing I’m going for!
if you really want to go retro, use din sockets. that is what was used in the 1970s's on computers and accessories until recently. make some adapters for usb chargers and keep them aside for when you want too charge your phone or plug something in.
Love the look of that panel I would be tempted to fit an old cigarette socket then just use a usb adapter when needed. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/154328825083 That type wouldn't look out of place .
Bloody hell, that never even occurred to me! I took hours refitting the original ash tray in the back, but a lighter?! Genius! Thank you!
i did think of that, I have some steel that would make a facia that some usb’s could be soldered on to, nice and flush. Might revisit the drawing board on that one
mine has one in the dash now. Whether or not it was original, I don’t know. But it looks pretty factory from the finish.
I did the same in the back, it has a cover rather than the fag lighting appendage. A bit like this. ... and plug in something like this to charge my phone.
Go with what was available in the 70s. If you fit a din socket and make up din socket leads it would look like someone added them in back then for something.
Not sure what you mean by “DIN”? If you mean the multi-pin jobs they used to use in tape recorders and the like, I’d suggest they’d look…just weird. They weren’t intended to be used as power connectors, and will only have limited current capability. There is the single-pin DIN power connector, as used on Westfalias, which is still available, but you’d still need to make up leads for your iPhone etc. And folk would assume it’s providing 12V instead of 5V frim the USB supply bodged behind it or - worse - plug the the lead/iPhone into a true 12V supply, which wouldn’t do your phone much good. Go with the boggo fag lighter socket (from the 70s, hasn’t changed) with a USB adaptor plugged into it, as above.
I have an old style DIN socket in my dash, might be contemporary 1970s but was certainly there when we got the van in the mid 90s. Cigarette lighter socket adaptors are readily available and while looking a bit ungainly, it keeps everything period looking when not in use.
