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The Kit

Every item, every kilo.

This is the build list for the electric three, not a wish list. Weights are the ones we carry, the roof budget is the one Kia publishes, and the items still waiting on a signature from Kia Canada or a P.Eng are marked as such. Nothing here is aspirational. The two large vans are not on this list: they arrived as certified conversions, and their page says what that means.

Cove & Current · North Vancouver, British Columbia · May – October

Dimensioned plan and elevation of the fit-out: dinette, tailgate galley slides, water tank, fridge, rooftop tent and body-mounted awning.
Plan view, tailgate at left. Dashed lines are geometry that gets measured on the real van before anything is cut.

The roof is the tight one

Kia publishes a 100 kg maximum roof load and rates its own accessory racks at 94 kg. This is where the tent lives, so everything else had to move off the roof.

Tent + rack + ladder (as built) 68 kg
If the awning went up there too 90 kg

4 kg of headroom with two adults still on the ground. Rejected.

Kia accessory rack rating 94 kg
Kia maximum roof load 100 kg

Static (parked) roof load for the PV5: not published. Until Kia Canada answers in writing, the tent carries a 170 kg occupant cap and the mount design gets a P.Eng stamp.

Sleep

80 kg · 4 items

  • Hardshell rooftop tent

    pending

    2-person, ~45 kg, mesh roof, 3-season rated, 170 kg max occupants

    Static roof load pending written confirmation from Kia Canada. Shortlist: Front Runner (42 kg), Roofnest Falcon EVO (45 kg), OLC Ultra Light (38 kg).

    45 kg

  • Roof rack platform

    pending

    Aluminium, cross-member mounted, 94 kg accessory rating

    Mount design requires a P.Eng stamp — the PV5 has no published Canadian roof hard-point coordinates.

    15 kg

  • Internal ladder + hatch frame

    pending

    Telescoping, stows along the bench wall, climbs from inside the van

    The best feature in the build and the one that needs a roof opening. If Kia or the insurer says no, this becomes an external ladder and the copy changes.

    8 kg

  • Bedding + toppers

    Memory topper to 5°C, 2 bags + 1 child bag, wool blanket

    12 kg

Storage & sit

86 kg · 3 items

  • Dinette benches

    Two 1000 × 400 mm benches across the width, storage under both lids

    Camp seating only. Two certified travel seats, front, always — say it on every page.

    55 kg

  • Table + child-bed mechanism

    765 × 1000 mm, drops ~150 mm to a 1450 × 765 mm child bed

    18 kg

  • Safety + camp kit

    Extinguisher, first aid, recovery boards, snow straps, bear-safe food storage, 2 chairs

    Bear-safe storage is required at most BC campsites. Listing it is a trust signal.

    13 kg

Cook

65 kg · 3 items

  • Galley drawer A — hob slide

    Single induction element on extension slides, 1000–1200 W setting, out the tailgate

    Sized for the worst-case V2L rating, not the best one. Kia publishes no confirmed North American continuous wattage.

    22 kg

  • Galley drawer B — sink + prep

    Deep stainless sink, pull-out spring tap, cutting board cover, bin

    23 kg

  • Compressor fridge

    40 L, 12 V, ~45 W average, freezer compartment

    20 kg

Water

65 kg · 3 items

  • Fresh water

    40 L tank under Bench A, 12 V diaphragm pump 3 GPM / 40–55 PSI + accumulator, deck-plate fill

    40 kg full. Two people, two nights, no refill, with enough left for dishes.

    44 kg

  • Grey water

    20 L removable tank under the sink drawer

    Removable, so it drains anywhere legal and never freezes into a problem.

    20 kg

  • Outdoor shower head

    On the fresh line, quick-connect at the passenger-side panel

    Optional, and free to include — it costs nothing but 3 L.

    1 kg

Power

18 kg · 1 items

  • DC panel, lighting, outlets

    Fused DC panel, warm LED strips, 4× USB-C, 12 V socket, pump controller

    18 kg

Climate

31 kg · 2 items

  • Insulation + lining

    Closed-cell foam throughout, breathable lining, cut to the Cargo shell

    The highest-impact comfort item in a wet-weather van, and the least photogenic.

    27 kg

  • Thermal blinds

    Every glass area, cut to fit, magnetic

    Cheapest warmth you will ever buy. Do not skip these to save weight.

    4 kg

Shade

22 kg · 1 items

  • Retractable awning

    2.5 m, body-bracketed above the sliding door — deliberately not roof-mounted

    On the roof it would put us at 90 kg of the 94 kg rack rating with nobody in the tent yet.

    22 kg

The whole thing, weighed

Interior fit-out 299 kg
Roof: tent + rack + ladder 68 kg
Awning (body-mounted) 22 kg
Fit-out total 367 kg
Two adults 160 kg
Weekend of gear 60 kg
As loaded 587 kg
Payload available 740 kg
Margin +153 kg

Still waiting on a signature

  • Hardshell rooftop tent

    Static roof load pending written confirmation from Kia Canada. Shortlist: Front Runner (42 kg), Roofnest Falcon EVO (45 kg), OLC Ultra Light (38 kg).

  • Roof rack platform

    Mount design requires a P.Eng stamp — the PV5 has no published Canadian roof hard-point coordinates.

  • Internal ladder + hatch frame

    The best feature in the build and the one that needs a roof opening. If Kia or the insurer says no, this becomes an external ladder and the copy changes.

When each of these is answered we update this page and the van specs on the same commit. If an answer changes the product — an external ladder instead of an internal one, for instance — the homepage changes with it, not three months later.