Our van’s lithium ion batteries exploded

A saga of (epic) proportions

Something a little different today. The dog connections will come in as always—Scout was front and center for this whole experience—but I also just want to record the utter craziness of the past several days to look back on (and hopefully laugh about) later.

If your van build also uses li-ion batteries… don’t sweat. They’re usually very safe! If you get the slightest inkling something might be wrong, though, disconnect everything and get help immediately.

TLDR summary

• Our van’s “house” batteries, 12.8 volt lithium ion blocks, burst open while in the cabinet beneath our bed between Wednesday May 3rd and Thursday the 4th

• Everyone is okay!

• We were able to disconnect the batteries and safely store them in airtight containers before they caught fire and without breathing in too many of the fumes

• We then drove the 21 hours to Colorado so our van conversion company could help us figure out what was going on

• After an absolutely chaotic week, Hermes is now functioning normally—and effectively has a b…