Van conversation

[J-mobzz]

Well it’s all wired, the aux 12 volt diesel heater is in and vented to the front of the bed. The factory ac / heat is vented to the front of the bed. And the 8” memory foam mattress is in. I’m going to black out the back windows and call it good for the Swell trip.
When I get back I’m making a cabinet behind the drivers seat to hang clothes and house the portable toilet. A small counter behind that connecting to the bed and then panel out all the walls. It’s really exciting to see it coming together.

 

[Hickey]

You ARE going with shag carpet, right?

 

[J-mobzz]

You ARE going with shag carpet, right?

Skipping the shag but full unicorn mural on the side

 

[Hickey]

 

[J-mobzz]

View attachment 136232

 

[J-mobzz]

Hey guys I’d like to add a low profile roof rack to the van. With my hightop it makes it a little tricky. I would love some ideas to make it aesthetically pleasing. I’m thinking something like the black line being 1.75 tube bent to just clear the roof with some cross bars then the grey line being another 1.75 tube bend to clear the front and connect the two sides.

Also I’ve made some progress. Ended up having Maaco bed line it as no one wanted to touch the peeling paint for under $5k I didn’t really post cause I know y’all are bedlinner haters lol.

 

[jeeper]

Wow. That looks sweet.

I like your roof rack thoughts.

EDIT: Make the hoop on the front come out a ways.. so you can add some light bars and such.

 

[I Lean]

Where does your black tube attach? Especially at the front, since the door kinda goes up into the roof. I can't tell if there's a handy rain gutter there or not.

Other than that, I like your direction. I might go a little smaller on tube size just to maintain as low-pro as possible. Maybe do something rectangular for the cross bars? Just for a change of pace.

 

[johnsonbz]

Hey guys I’d like to add a low profile roof rack to the van. With my hightop it makes it a little tricky. I would love some ideas to make it aesthetically pleasing. I’m thinking something like the black line being 1.75 tube bent to just clear the roof with some cross bars then the grey line being another 1.75 tube bend to clear the front and connect the two sides.

Also I’ve made some progress. Ended up having Maaco bed line it as no one wanted to touch the peeling paint for under $5k I didn’t really post cause I know y’all are bedlinner haters lol.View attachment 140250View attachment 140251

Make that rack line come all the way down the front of the door and mount at the hood hinge..it will disappear.

 

[Hickey]

I was just wondering where you'd been lately.

I don't hate the bed liner. I think it's a pretty good choice for a full-bodied gal like this one that's gonna see a lot of brush lovin and rocky mountain pinstripin.

 

[Corban_White]

I'm no help with the roof rack, but the van looks amazing! 😍

 

[J-mobzz]

Where does your black tube attach? Especially at the front, since the door kinda goes up into the roof. I can't tell if there's a handy rain gutter there or not.

Other than that, I like your direction. I might go a little smaller on tube size just to maintain as low-pro as possible. Maybe do something rectangular for the cross bars? Just for a change of pace.

I do have a rain gutter. That’s actually why I was asking you about clamps. I made a few for a side ladder with snowboard racks this week. I had to use drill bits and stuff. It was awful. Definitely going back to the Carl method for the next set.

 

[J-mobzz]

Wow. That looks sweet.

I like your roof rack thoughts.

EDIT: Make the hoop on the front come out a ways.. so you can add some light bars and such.

I know I thought about that too. But I kinda hate light bars these days haha. Idk definitely some cool stuff on the market but the stuff in my tax bracket seems played out. I do have a 20” behind the grill and it seems to be plenty of light for the speeds I’m traveling at night.

 

[glockman]

I dislike this whole van thing. Mostly because I think it reduces the chances of you buying a motorcycle to do another trip with me. Other than that, it's pretty rad.

 

[J-mobzz]

I dislike this whole van thing. Mostly because I think it reduces the chances of you buying a motorcycle to do another trip with me. Other than that, it's pretty rad.

I have zero issues buying another motorcycle other than the stupid prices right now. But I’m 100% down to do more adventure rides.

 

[BlackSheep]

Hey guys I’d like to add a low profile roof rack to the van. With my hightop it makes it a little tricky. I would love some ideas to make it aesthetically pleasing. I’m thinking something like the black line being 1.75 tube bent to just clear the roof with some cross bars then the grey line being another 1.75 tube bend to clear the front and connect the two sides.

Also I’ve made some progress. Ended up having Maaco bed line it as no one wanted to touch the peeling paint for under $5k I didn’t really post cause I know y’all are bedlinner haters lol.View attachment 140250View attachment 140251

that is looking great man!! you could make that black line slightly lower than, or at the level of the roof. you'd have to make small bends to bring the crossbars down to meet the main support bars (your black line) while giving you the clearance below the rack. This would put it pretty close but you'd have the option of playing with how high you really wanted to make the rack section by tuning the distance from the bend to your black line. I hope what i've written make sense.

 

[J-mobzz]

While I clearly am doing the van thing just for the gram I just can't seem to make it past that 7 followers hump I'm stuck at so I figured if update this. Once I hit 10+ followers I imagine that qualifies me as an influencer so you can probably catch me hanging with @Hickey trail friends at that point. Haha

The Van just took me on a 2400 mile trip that consisted of 5 concerts in 4 different states in 7 days. We did have to take a plane from Seattle to Denver and back to make it happen but the 2400 miles was all on the van. I really love this thing. Can go down to the beach and rally through the deep soft sand, cruise 80mph on the freeway and give us the closest thing to sleeping at home when it's 2am after a show and I am stumbling to the van. Some of the more recent upgrades included electric scooters. I got some for my boys and me this summer and recently picked on up for my girl. I realize these aren't off road accessories but damn the are fun and convenient when urban traveling in the van.



Still planning to do the transfer case swap and are gear the diffs and I'll definitely be rebuilding the front bumper. I also scored some rare and awesome access panels. I'll likely only be using one on this van but what a score. They replace the windows. And lift up. I snagged the power latches, wiring harness, struts, brackets and all the hardware. Will be pretty rad to press a button and have the side open up for the ultimate view in those perfect camp spot situations.

 

[Hickey]

That first picture is full attitude. 😂 Those access panels are a SCORE!

 

[BlackSheep]

Sounds like an awesome trip! I’m loving your van man!

 

[J-mobzz]

So I have racked up the miles on this thing over the past few years. Putting a little over 50,000 miles on it since I first bought it. And considering it’s pretty much only driven when it’s getting used for its purpose it seems like quite a bit. It’s taking me on several amazing ski adventures to places that I would never be able to afford hotels, including Banf sunshine and Lake Louise up in Alberta this winter.

But it was time for some repairs.
Over the past few days I have replaced upper and lower control arms with ball joints, inner and outer tie rods, sway bar links,wheel bearings, Brakes and rotors all around, windshield wiper transmission linkage and today I went and had the new tires mounted and balanced because I have an appointment with alignment specialist Friday morning.

I decided to go with more of a highway/all terrain I definitely see my fair share of dirt roads and light trail use but mud tires are rather loud on the road.

bolted them them up with instant regret. Oh well, I guess I’m going to use them now. Hopefully, the highway manners change my mind and they do OK in the snow.