Builder

Aztec and LAF - Thanks for weighing in on the ethanol, I don't know if this is the right place for varied opinions on that. I'll have to look into it, maybe, probably not, ok, I won't, I'm bored of ethanol already... :)

Thanks Crusty, Looking at a diagram of the fuel tank/pump parts, unless it is not to scale it looks like you would have to have a quarter of a tank of gas to keep the pump covered. That's weird. Also, it looks like the only way to access the pump/filter is to remove the gas tank, so that must be an expensive repair/maintenance job! Looking at ethanol in gasoline in Alberta is a mess of opinion and changing stats. Apparently, labels say "May contain" and "up to 10%", depending on which grade of fuel. Lower grades of fuel seem to have ethanol. I gather the downside of ethanol is greater engine parts/seals wear. Probably the best answer comes on the day you call head office and ask! Otherwise who knows what is correct. Good learning today!

Hi Aztec, thanks for your feedback. Important things to research now! Does Shell in Alberta use ethanol in regular fuel? Does ethanol take water out of tank? Does crud float or sink in the gas tank? I should investigate fuel pump/filter in gas tank for maintenance schedule? Glad to know about more issues that I might need to problem solve in the future!

I noticed when driving with the fuel needle on E, the digital warning light and tone came on and the readout indicated I had 115km range. I was worried about the accuracy because when I exchanged the standard display dials for the metric display I wasn't sure I was putting the needles back exactly where they needed to be and a range of 115km does not seem reasonable on E. The manual warns against driving on empty due to crud at the bottom of the tank (isn't this what the fuel filter is for?!) but I drove on anyway having some confidence in the 115km range readout. Then, the readout became blinking dashes after counting down to about 110km - did it re-calibrate and realise I was about to run out of fuel. Anyone have anything similar happen when driving on empty? Anyway, I made it to a gas station and no engine issues with sucking up crud or water, hopefully. Side note, gas kilomerage: According to the van's computer I'm getting about 15 litres per 100km - on an empty van driven in cold winter. I'll update reading to MPG when I drive again next week. It was reading about 13 MPG when I first got the van a month and a half ago. Additionally, when I did get to fuel up it only accepted 90 litres, which is I understand 15 litres less than the tank holds. Rough calculation indicates I could have driven 100 more kilometres to actually empty.

Really nice in that configuration! I'm really liking running boards now! I hadn't thought about the before.

Found this Vent-Miser today at Value Village for $2.99 so I couldn't resist. Tested it out and it's very quiet. I doubt it would wake me up when it opens or closes. I'm still researching venting options in addition/combination with the roof Maxxair vent. How would you use this timed open/close vent? Trying to image how I can change the airflow in the van at different times of the day. One idea is have it installed near the bed so it will allow air to draw across the bed for a few hours while it is hottest at night and shuts down when it's cool. Or...opposite...on a cool or freezing day change where the air intake is. For the diesel heater vent? Change where the heat is directed at specific times of the day? Direct heat to under bed enclosure at night only while sleeping? House area during day? For cooling air across the electrical/battery bay? It runs on batteries. Maybe it's just too much a gimmick? lol

No spam that I remember seeing so, yes, great job. FYI I never access this site on phone, and am barely on FB so I don't see the stuff there so glad I can hang out here.

Great addition LAF - nice to see what they are going for, variety, etc. I wonder if you have WAY more in US than here in Canada - seems like it.

Thanks LAF, I've figured out how to create the finger joints for the curves and will used the existing bolts to hold it down and plugs covering the holes. It's cool to remember the inventiveness of the past. Long ago as teens we had fun with it but nothing custom made on the manifold. That would be a great artifact to drive into a vintage car show with, lol. Cancer and distracted driver warnings for sure! The aroma would drive everyone off the road - or on your tail!

Found a minute to drag the ironwood board out, all 16 feet of it! It has some really nice figuring to it. For the side step well and probably trim or something - not there yet. Also, pulled out of storage all my insulation (blue, reflectix), sound deadening mat, water tanks, pump, toilet, freezer, trailer hitch, tiny chair. Still not sure about installing a toilet and sink right away but I want to plan on where the tanks I already have will go. Mostly, to balance the weight. Did anyone actually do the centre of gravity calculations? Seems too complex for my cpu. That 12V freezer I have is a DIY and I had it running with a very impressive sipping of power. I will have to redesign the outer shell to fit in my van. Since I like to pre-prepare meals and freeze them it will work perfect. I prefer top loading fridges and freezers. I have a garage sale find which is food warmer but it actually gets really hot and I have several baking pans that fit inside - which will have meals frozen in them. Running around all day in the van means by supper time or earlier it is fully heated! Draws about 5-9Amps. Notice the do not use while driving warning lol. I imagine the pan could be partitioned if I was fussy about stuff mixing. Maybe a chocolate lava cake off to the side! Only one pan to clean! But then there are those Ninja air fryers. I like those too...just a lot more power required! Thanks for looking and for your helpful comments - always much appreciated!

Nice touches all over and cool colours! Great job.

Curiously, my Grandpa carved a Chippendale chair out of ironwood, so I've always been intrigued and inspired. He also built a few boats! When a supplier brought a bunch of ironwood in a few years ago there was one board that had a rippled grain so I had to buy it! I won't be putting it through the planer but will sure wreck a bunch of router bits though! I'm not sure which species though as a lot of woods are marketed as ironwood. It's buried right now so I'll post a picture of it when I can. I don't expect to need large capacity batteries to start and they are still on the shopping list but probably will get two AGM 125a/hr locally. In a couple of years I expect to update capacity and likely go for LiFePO to power things like induction stove, ninja cooker, demand water heater, TV, games console... ? This is what the grain looks like loosely. I think this sample is sapelle.

Nice camping spot! I see a reason to keep the handle grips now lol. Thanks for explaining SMB - good reason to pay someone to do conversion if able.

Here is the old battery and why I replaced it! Leaky, under sized and under rated. I've read that buildup can be caused by improper alternator performance?

Thanks RAD for the info. Marine plywood is a bit overbuild for my first attempt but I might use it in the future, Who/what is SMB? A supplier? Still getting used to the acronyms! I have some quality birch ply for my cabinets currently. I do like that location for a shower, if/when I decide to put a cabinet there. For the moment a cabinet there is too crowded. I want a fairly basic build for my first try. I'm trying to balance all the great ideas from other builds but it's a bit overwhelming. Keep all the tips, tricks and suggestions coming! I really appreciate it!

Thanks RAD, I could use some bedliner in grey to improve the worn driver and passenger step wells. That box storage is another great spot. I haven't had a careful look to see the attaching options - wonder what SMB? did? I'm thinking about putting spare diesel heater fuel tank under there somewhere.

Yes, I have a board that's been waiting. The nice thing is it very hard and will only get more beautiful with wear and oiling. I think I'm going to use it in a few other places, probably for trim.

Thanks OpenRoad - That's a great place to put the jack and kit. I wondered what I was going to use all that space for! I'm in the midst of wiring planning and yes I'm going to future proof the wiring a little by having redundancies back and forth. Both for the 10amp van accessory circuits and for house circuits.

So It Begins! Conversion to home comforts and work space/tool storage. Upper cabinets running length both sides, narrow cabinets with work surfaces on deck, rear doors area all tool storage, removable bed the width of rear above banks of sliding drawers out the rear. Big area for soft goods storage above driver. Fitted console storage. The insulation from homerdep wasn't enough and the temperature was only 20C but should have been 22C. The last quarter of the bottles didn't cure the same as the first mixture. It might have been low humidity that day too. I've been using greatstuff to fill in the gaps. I'll glue reflective bubble insulation to walls, with a gap and thin ply overtop. Floor is going to have 2 inches of hard foam, plywood on top with vinyl. Those are the two oval covers for nut/bolt access for suspension height adjustment?? I can't seem to find any reference in the manuals, including repair manual. I'm leaning toward keeping the access open but if those allow a simple 3" lift then maybe I should do that first, then ply over. Has anyone knowledge about this? Could it be easily put back into shape with an hydraulic press? These bumpers seem to be a popular part to replace! I got a replacement and de-rusted it. Need to still repair that corner. Several more areas need rust work repairs. The price was right! This side step was a real mess of plastic and I couldn't take it so it will be fitted with iron wood. Insulation glued to well. Also, I don't like all the handle grips so I won't put them back, they get in the way and so far I'm still nimble enough to crawl in without them! Still figuring out how to release the spare tire. It is rusted in place. The rods to turn the gear are all bent and twisted. Penetrating lubricant is in I just have to get time to bang around the accessible parts. Where in your conversion did you put the tire change kit and jack? That left side rear, cabin air exhaust vent seems weird to keep as all the walls will be sealed. Thinking about covering it and having another vent out for cabin air - even if only cracking the maxvent open. Other specs: 200W solar, 2 x 125amp/Hr batteries, 2000W pure sine wave inverter, diesel heater, Maxx air vent, no toilet or sink planned but a cooler as fridge is liikely as it is more work oriented for now.

Thanks RAD, I'll have to take a picture of it and show my local dealership. Doesn't seem to exist in the suspension section of repair manual, including exploded diagrams. I'm pretty sure it has to do with beefing up the height of rear. I'll let you all know when I figure it out!

Thanks RAD and LAF for the replies! I didn't know the thumbnails I see in posts are from them linking to a third party site - that explains it. I guess I will just have to size my photos to not take up too much room. Posts with thumbnails, if there are a lot of photos make it easier to read and see so I'll try to figure it out.

Is that what the two oval covers hide (at rear of van deck) are the nut/bolts to add the super Springs under that spot?

Hello, broken link in how to use forum post. I'm trying to figure out how to upload a photo or video which does not take up the whole page but is a thumbnail - see my test post in test post area. How do I do that please! Also, what does the "days won" trophy mean? Thanks

Thanks for the link but I think I'll pass. I like to make things and also the materials I bought are high quality and made in US, without a cancer warning. Did you buy this filter yourself and install it without issues?

Pays to search. This was partially answered long ago! I want to change my filter more often with lower cost, so I'm going to get a roll of the filter materials and make my own. I figure the cost of the two filter media plus free cardboard and foam is $5 ea. for 10. Fold two sheets of light carboard into accordian shape like the filter. Make these about 7x8 inches and 1/4 inch smaller than the real filter size - but maintain the thickness of about 1 1/4 inch. Sandwich the two filter materials into the accordians. Hold in place and glue cardboard frame around the edges of accordian. To stiffen the accordian I'll probably spray with a light fixative - if it feels flimsy. Put two strips of thin foam on the front and back edges and done! Basically, if you have one already just make it exactly like it. Of course it's all theoretical until the materials arrive. I'll let you know how it goes.