Cascade Campers Founder gives in-depth video tour

Cascade Campers founder Zach Yeager published a 22 minute video to help van owners remember important details inside our converted vans. Kudos to Cascade for creating a useful, instructional video for their clientele. Even though I had my Ram Promaster City van converted a year ago (build #167), I learned some new tips from Zach’s video.

Dometic DC Refrigerator CF-25 model, 12 volt

Dometic refrigerators are electrically powered by DC adapters or cigarette lighter inside a vehicle. You can buy a hardwiring kit directly from Dometic if needed.

In June 2021, I ordered a thermal fridge cover from Amazon. Since the Dometic CF-25 weighs 28 lbs, I carefully lifted it out of its dedicated cabinet space. And wrestled the cover over the electric refrigerator after removing the wire basket. This was no easy task! The compressor end is much heavier. And you feel all the weight on one side when you lift the fridge by yourself. Highly suggest you find someone to help you install the optional cover. Your back & vertebrae will appreciate it.

It never dawned on me it’s possible to reverse the direction of the refrigerator by 180 degrees until I watched Zach’s video. If I cook outside, I can reverse the fridge so the lid opens back towards the inside of the van; making it easier to access food items while standing outside by the rear bumper.

Cascade recommends using a fridge thermal cover if living in the van full-time, or traveling in hot climates. The cover helps to insulate the fridge making it more energy efficient when keeping items cold or frozen.

CF-25 refrigerator is one of the lightest in weight (28 pounds) for the Dometic product line. It can hold up to 24 quarts of food or 27 beverage cans.

Red LED Lights are invisible to most flying insects & bugs

Inside the Cascade camper van, there are two red LED lights that are dimmable by turning a silver knob. There is one bar of red lights on each side of the van’s interior. The van also comes equipped with two bright white LED lights with high & low settings. What most people have discovered while camping is white light(s) from headlamps & flashlights attract a massive amounts of bugs. Whereas red lights appear outside their visual spectrum.

If you’re camping in a bug infested area, get yourself some red lights for your vehicle, camper, or tent.

For very low power consumption (4.5 watts) Amazon sells a 3.3 foot, 30 light USB, 20 changing colors LED strip that can also be cut to desired length.

There are several advantages having a professionally installed, camper conversion package. It makes troubleshooting & maintenance easier, especially if instruction manuals & videos are provided by the company. Cascade Campers are built inside Ram Promaster City cargo vans only. This allows Cascade to streamline costs by purchasing items in bulk. Resale value is retained at higher levels because name recognition is important along with builder reputation.

What I’ve gained from the Cascade ownership experience involves a sharing of ideas, interior modifications, & quick resolution of any quirks found. It’s reassuring to know other Cascade owners have experienced similar issues. And we help each other resolve them.