While used cars are never perfect, used cargo vans, especially ones used that were used commercially, seem to have more than their share of abuse. Although the 2007 Ford E250 I eventually purchased was in better condition than many of the other vans I looked at, it has plenty of scratches, scrapes, and scuffs. One little thing that bugs me is one of the van’s two cigarette lighter adapters was broken and protruding from the dash. There are so many other things I should be focusing on, but every time I get behind the steering wheel this broken socket stares back at me. Last week while waiting for parts to arrive for another project, I decided to spend a few minutes and fix the broken adapter.

After removing the socket from the dash I could easily see that one of the plastic tabs designed to hold the socket in place was broken. I assume the van’s former owner yanked a cord out of the socket a little too hard, which broke the plastic tab. These cigarette lighter adapters are pretty easy to replace, but since the socket still works I decided to just repair the broken tab with a bit of hot glue.

The longer I work on this van the more my stable of Ryobi 18+ volt cordless tools continues to grow. When I saw this cordless hot glue gun on sale I decided to buy it along with what probably equates to a lifetime supply of glue sticks. While I don’t think every single tool needs to be cordless to be useful, I’ve already used this glue gun on a few backyard and driveway projects, and I can assure you that not having to drag an extension cord across the lawn and down the driveway was definitely worth the $20.

I don’t know about anyone else and maybe I’m just being paranoid, but I don’t like the the idea of a hot open outlet staring at me while I’m driving. I checked Amazon and covers for 12v sockets range anywhere from $5 to $15, depending on the style.

So, I decided to 3D print one.

I’ve owned a 3D printer for five years, and like a lot of hobbyists I quickly moved from printing random knick-knacks and desk clutter to making useful things. I recently filmed a light-hearted video in which I 3D printed a coat hook for my workshop after realizing I didn’t have a place to hang my hoodie. 3D printers are relatively expensive (mine cost $600), but the filament they use to create prints is incredibly cheap. As I recently wrote on my blog, after you print enough things it starts to negate the cost of the actual printer. I’ve printed more than a hundred items, so if you divide hat number by the cost of the printer, each print currently costs me $6 plus the cost of the filament, which on something like this is probably a nickel’s worth.

3D printing isn’t just about saving money on small items. There are literally millions of free models available to download and print. If you have the time and skill, you can design your own items to print, too. Fortunately I was able to find dozens of different 12v plugs and caps available to print, so I didn’t have to design one.

Rolls of filament come in different colors, and for the most part I don’t care what color I use. I’m currently working my way through a spool of blue filament, which means the paper towel holder, the sunglasses hanger, and yes, this 12v adapter cap are all blue. On the rare occasion that an item’s color is important to me, it’s much less effort to spray paint it than it is to keep inventory of multiple colors of filament and constantly swap them out. My van’s interior consists of two colors (gray and grey), so I grabbed a can of black spray paint and shot the plastic cap I printed with a couple of coats.

Now I don’t know firsthand but from all the #vanlife YouTube videos I’ve watched it seems like the struggle to keep electronic devices charged is real, and it also seems like 12v sockets are an essentially free source of electricity. As long as the van’s engine is running it only makes sense that a person would take advantage of that sweet, sweet juice flowing from the vehicle’s alternator. I already own one three-port USB adapter and have it inserted into one of the two ports on the dash, and I suspect once I actually start camping I’ll be using the other port to charge power packs and possibly run my refrigerator. I don’t know how often I’ll have that second port plugged in use and it’s possible I won’t use this cap/cover very often, but it was so cheap to print that I don’t mind. Projects like this are a perfect for 3D printers.

According to Abraham Maslow, “if the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.” When you own a 3D printer, an easy trap to fall into is trying to 3D print everything. There’s a reason screws, brackets, and bolts are made of metal, and I won’t be looking to replace things like that with plastic parts. That being said, cargo vans are known for their odd angles and #vanlife vans are all about creative solutions, so if I need custom parts in the future, the 3D printer will be on standby, ready to deliver.