Building an Adventure Van

[Gummee!]

Originally Posted by jake28

Just make sure the carpet matches the...

Oh. Right. Not JM!

Sorry.



M

[Gummee!]

Originally Posted by Geek

I kinda like this "houndstooth" (tweed?) they used in the most recent flarespace van they just finished...

Tan or grey, but not that nasty stuff.

M

[Otis the Sasquatch]

Interesting setup I found @ thetruckersreport.com under the Expediter and Hot Shot sub-forum.
(This thread/page, post #31, in case pic goes bye-bye)
http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tru...options-4.html

I call it the "reverse mullet" because it's "business in the back, party in the front".








Nice, but at 6'7" tall, I'd have to spin the setup to run the bed against the wall and steal a little more of the Business End..







Otis

[ducnut]

Geek, Have you thought of these, to improve mileage?

[browneye]

Originally Posted by Lovin' it Strom

>snip
For a true adventure van, why not bedliner it flat black to halfway up...
>snip

Saw a new F250 4X4 the other day that was done this way and it looked great. Extreme durability.

Originally Posted by EJ_92606

I saw a matte black one and it looked pretty bad ass. Not sure how durable matte paint is though, although it could have been wrapped as well, not sure.

Matt paint is not any more or less durable, it's the same paint as gloss only with a flattener in it. The problem is that it can't be polished to eliminate any blemishes as you can never match the original sheen. With a gloss paint or clear coat you can wet sand and polish, even build up a chip and sand it down to match and completely hide it. Can't do that with a matt finish.

Silver is the best color to hide dirt. White is a close second and stays cool. White is VERY popular here in so-Cal.
As has been mentioned many times, black is the worst to keep looking good. I've had a couple of them and also never again. The new metallic blacks are a slight improvement from a maintenance standpoint.

[doc_ricketts]

Originally Posted by ducnut

Geek, Have you thought of these, to improve mileage?

Those airtabs, or homemade ones could be combined with the bumpouts/fairing over the rear windows to work real well. My father in law was in the trucking business and I tried to get him to install fairings on the rear of their trucks to improve mileage. This was before many truck lines now have them installed, so I lose out once more on a steady income.

[drc42]

Had not realized there wasn't a clear coat over the white paint. Sounds like I should get busy and wax mine before winter sets in any worse.

I had heard that one of the big advantages of getting other than white is all sprinters come off the line white then they spray the other color on top of that giving a thicker paintjob which I hear lasts longer. Don't know for sure if it is true but I heard this from a respected ADV er so it MUST be true right?

As far as color choice, I like the white on mine for 2 reasons. Cooler in the summer heat (great when I come back exhausted after an enduro) and is stealthy, people think it is just another plumber, electrician or Fed Ex truck.

[Geek]

Today's notes:

We woke up to 3 inches of snow on the ground the morning.
By the time it warmed up to where we could work without gloves.. the day only had about 2 hours of daylight left.

Aluminum sure makes a mess... you can't really "sweep it" as it sticks to everything.
Anyone know if this stuff will kill a shop vac?



..the crap is everywhere.. I'm contemplating putting a shower curtain around just the miter saw & drill press to catch the shavings .


I had to make a bracket today.. because I'm putting my wood inside the 80/20 slot - it eliminates that particular slot from being "bracketable".

Cut off a 5 inch strip of 1" aluminum I got from antiPaul...


drill three holes in it


grind all the sharp edges off and load it with fasteners..


..and voila. A custom connnector that fits the space s


When I think about how I enjoy making stupid little things like this to solve stupid little problems... and then I drop by antiPaul's and he has his cnc machines making shapes I can only dream of... it makes me laugh&cry at the same time. Rookie vs. Pro.
(I try and take placidity in knowing if he fubar's his computer he'll be calling me )

Here's an example of how the various joints are joined:



..and the results of today's hour and half: s


If it gets warm enough tomorrow to use the spray-on-contact-cement I'm going to laminate the back of each wooden panel with luxury liner pro.

[Geek]

Originally Posted by ducnut

Geek, Have you thought of these, to improve mileage?

There's a huge thread about them on the sprinter forum. Some guys have tried them but the jury is out on whether they actually accomplish anything.

Personally... I think they're so ugly I'd rather get worse mpg

[a1fa]

Even if it worked, you would be paying more money and having to recoup your gas costs ... never...

[Geek]

Diesel is $4.09 in Boulder right now

[EJ_92606]

Originally Posted by browneye

Saw a new F250 4X4 the other day that was done this way and it looked great. Extreme durability.




Matt paint is not any more or less durable, it's the same paint as gloss only with a flattener in it. The problem is that it can't be polished to eliminate any blemishes as you can never match the original sheen. With a gloss paint or clear coat you can wet sand and polish, even build up a chip and sand it down to match and completely hide it. Can't do that with a matt finish.

Silver is the best color to hide dirt. White is a close second and stays cool. White is VERY popular here in so-Cal.
As has been mentioned many times, black is the worst to keep looking good. I've had a couple of them and also never again. The new metallic blacks are a slight improvement from a maintenance standpoint.

Sorry but Matte is definitely less durable...you can rub right through it quite easily at least on my BMW F800, and as you say it can't be polished. Perhaps its the lack of clear coat....

[DirtySantana]

Originally Posted by Geek

Diesel is $4.09 in Boulder right now

Payed $3.79 this week in Broomfield.

[OaklandStrom]

Originally Posted by Geek

Aluminum sure makes a mess... you can't really "sweep it" as it sticks to everything.
Anyone know if this stuff will kill a shop vac?

Hasn't killed mine yet.

And if it dies, it's a great reason to buy one of the new quiet ones.

[Geek]

They have new quiet ones?? Do tell!