The tool bench
Calculators
The van-calculator sites that rank today are ad farms wrapped around arithmetic. Ours are the same arithmetic, minus the ads, plus something they can't copy: our defaults come from gear we own and test, every number is labeled EST, FIELD, or MEASURED, and estimates get replaced by bench data as it publishes.
Battery Bank Calculator
Build your real daily load appliance-by-appliance, pick chemistry and days of autonomy, get a bank size in Ah. Every default labeled estimate vs. field data.
answers: "how much battery do I need for van life"Solar Sizing Calculator
Flat-mount peak sun hours by region and season, 30% real-world losses, and an honest flag when your roof physically is not big enough.
answers: "how much solar do I need for my van"Wire Gauge Calculator
Voltage drop and ampacity checked together, ABYC-style, with fuse guidance. The tool for the "afraid I will burn my van down" stage of the build.
answers: "what wire size for 12v fridge"12V A/C Runtime Calculator
Anchored to our own festival field test — 100Ah lasted ~3 hours on low — instead of vendor runtime fantasies. Upgrades to measured data as the bench publishes.
answers: "how long will 12v air conditioner run on battery"On the drawing board
- Build Cost Estimator — Multi-build cost database first; calculator on top of real receipts.
- Alternator Charging Compatibility — Smart alternators, DC-DC sizing, and what your van can actually deliver.
- Fridge Power Lookup — Waiting on the bench: measured Wh/24h per fridge, per ambient temperature.
Want to know when a tool's estimates become measurements? That's what the Test Notes email is for.