Installing Turova in your camper van: a weekend guide
A practical, no-drill-panic walkthrough of mounting sensors, routing power and placing the compute unit for full coverage of your rig.
You don't need to be an electrician to install Turova, but a little planning saves a lot of headaches. Here's the approach we recommend after fitting the system to everything from a compact Promaster to a 30-foot Class C.
1. Plan your coverage first
Before mounting anything, sit in each likely parking orientation and ask: where would someone approach from? For most vans, the slider door and rear doors are the priority. One sensor pod covering the entry side plus one covering the rear typically gives full perimeter awareness.
Tape the pods in place and live with them for a day before drilling. It's the cheapest way to catch a blind spot or a view blocked by an awning.
2. Mount the sensor pods
- 1Choose high, protected spots — under the roofline or above the doors.
- 2Aim for a slight downward angle to cover the ground near entry points.
- 3Use the supplied gaskets; seal every penetration against water.
- 4Keep lenses clear of awning arms, ladders and bike racks.
3. Place the compute unit
The Jetson enclosure should live somewhere ventilated and dry — under a bench seat or in a gear garage works well. Avoid sealed cabinets that trap heat. Keep cable runs to the sensors as short as practical to simplify routing.
4. Wire the power
Turova runs on 12V and connects to your house battery through a fused circuit. If you're comfortable adding a fused tap to your existing 12V distribution, this is a 20-minute job. If not, any van-life electrician can do it quickly. Never tap the starter battery — you want the system on your house bank.
Add an inline fuse at the battery end of the run sized to the spec in the manual. It protects your wiring and your rig.
5. Calibrate and test
Power on, open the app, and walk the perimeter. The setup wizard shows live LiDAR range and the camera view so you can confirm coverage and set detection zones — for example, ignoring the busy sidewalk side while watching the approach to your door. Trip it a few times to confirm alerts land on your phone.
Running entirely on solar? Read our companion guide on powering an edge-AI system off-grid to size your battery and panels with confidence.
