PlethoraOfGuns
Adventurer
Oh, oops. Here you go.
Very important list. Got 1-2 complete. Working on 3 now.
Very important list. Got 1-2 complete. Working on 3 now.
Cummins Canoe (A Stepvan Story)
- Thread starter PlethoraOfGuns
- Start date
MANUCHAO
Aventurero
Best plan ever... ? ? ?
PlethoraOfGuns
Adventurer
Time to work on the entertainment center.
This area was too bland. Needed to be a more useful space...
Like space for a projector screen! Great space to hide this roll up projector screen we found in the trash. Roll it up, close the cabinet door, and now we have a hidden flatscreen tv!
Found a place to mount the projector. Needed to get some power down to the area. So we drilled some holes and ran some wire to some outlets.
Tidied up some other wires in that upper cabinet above the couch area too.
Getting more good use out of the scrap aluminum we pulled out of the van when we initially cleaned it out. Mounted that plate up under and tapped some holes for some bent screws. The bent screws hold the big rubber bands that secure the projector. The rubber bands will make it easy to remove projector and bring outside so we can watch movies on the big screen, the side of the van.
Whole setup works great! Comes out to about a 42" screen.
This area was too bland. Needed to be a more useful space...
Like space for a projector screen! Great space to hide this roll up projector screen we found in the trash. Roll it up, close the cabinet door, and now we have a hidden flatscreen tv!
Found a place to mount the projector. Needed to get some power down to the area. So we drilled some holes and ran some wire to some outlets.
Tidied up some other wires in that upper cabinet above the couch area too.
Getting more good use out of the scrap aluminum we pulled out of the van when we initially cleaned it out. Mounted that plate up under and tapped some holes for some bent screws. The bent screws hold the big rubber bands that secure the projector. The rubber bands will make it easy to remove projector and bring outside so we can watch movies on the big screen, the side of the van.
Whole setup works great! Comes out to about a 42" screen.
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thezentree
pretend redneck
SOLID movie choice.
PlethoraOfGuns
Adventurer
Haha, so nice some people recognize the film. Pull up a chair and grab some tissues!
PlethoraOfGuns
Adventurer
This place looks too much like a construction site. Lets fix this floor up all proper like.
While we wait for our last batch of polyurethane to dry, let's get this floor in! Ripped out our old temporary construction cardboard and did a super vacuum job on the interior.
Brought out the little portable bandsaw. Worked great at cutting these foam tiles down to size. Cut like butter. Until someone broke the only blade we had for that size saw! And apparently bandsaws aren't popular. We went to several hardware stores and nobody had saw blades of any size. Sears would always have these things, but that institution is gone now and nobody carries the tools we need! What a bummer...
So we had to run all the way into the shop to make all of our cuts for the rest of the day. This old machine is variable speed with a treadmill motor running it. A much nicer machine, but lots of walking back and forth for each cut!
But eventually we got it all cut and installed. Just need to figure out how to secure the edges by each door and we'll be good to go. This floor feels pretty good on your feet and will give us some insulation for the floor.
Also tracked down all the key blanks for this vehicle and had a locksmith make copies. Now we have two full sets of keys! No more getting nervous about locking the only set of keys in the vehicle!
While we wait for our last batch of polyurethane to dry, let's get this floor in! Ripped out our old temporary construction cardboard and did a super vacuum job on the interior.
Brought out the little portable bandsaw. Worked great at cutting these foam tiles down to size. Cut like butter. Until someone broke the only blade we had for that size saw! And apparently bandsaws aren't popular. We went to several hardware stores and nobody had saw blades of any size. Sears would always have these things, but that institution is gone now and nobody carries the tools we need! What a bummer...
So we had to run all the way into the shop to make all of our cuts for the rest of the day. This old machine is variable speed with a treadmill motor running it. A much nicer machine, but lots of walking back and forth for each cut!
But eventually we got it all cut and installed. Just need to figure out how to secure the edges by each door and we'll be good to go. This floor feels pretty good on your feet and will give us some insulation for the floor.
Also tracked down all the key blanks for this vehicle and had a locksmith make copies. Now we have two full sets of keys! No more getting nervous about locking the only set of keys in the vehicle!
PlethoraOfGuns
Adventurer
Driving this rig around, we almost get in accidents on a daily basis. Crazy people out on the road, crossing 6 lanes of traffic in one shot, stealing our braking space, rear-ending us at yield signs, etc. Good witnesses are few and far between. Have a dash cam in my last rig, should really have it in this one. We wanted a system that records front and rear, and with a screen that could be used as a backup camera if using the bumper fails to be an option. Also wanted a way to view all the cameras from phone so we can use it as a little security system when we sleeping inside, especially since we don't have any windows. After many weeks of research, we found one that fits our need.
We set to the annoying task of running the wires that uh, we forgot to run before. Luckily, the wires are small and our construction techniques allowed us to complete this task with relative ease. Very glad to have this little blog to look back on and view photos from the construction process. We know where all the wires and things are so we felt good about not drilling into anything important!
Loosening up some panels and using a snake to get the wires across the ceiling.
The fan trims were a great access point! This camera kit came with a very small connector, the red piece towards the left end of wire. This allowed us to drill a small hole to bring the rear camera wire into the vehicle.
Couldn't mount the rear camera in the center due to those running lights. So hopefully my OCD won't cause my brain to explode. Another good reason for mounting it off center was the fact that the wire from rear camera to front camera had, at most, 6" of slack. This kits are made for cars, not giant vans like this. We had no wiggle room to go on detours around things like lights and vent fans. We really needed a straight shot across ceiling from camera to camera, so this worked out great.
Ran the wires on surface in cab with wire loom and tape. Not too bad. We'll see how it works out in real life conditions. Lots of settings to figure out and get the app thing to the phone setup.
We also got that stupid vent pipe for the fridge insulated. Didn't want condensation building up on that due to the temperature difference.
Finally figured out a spot to store all this yucky stuff, the essentials. Got it secured too so we drive with the doors open and not lose everything. Because you know, one of the benefits to a step van is driving without doors.
We set to the annoying task of running the wires that uh, we forgot to run before. Luckily, the wires are small and our construction techniques allowed us to complete this task with relative ease. Very glad to have this little blog to look back on and view photos from the construction process. We know where all the wires and things are so we felt good about not drilling into anything important!
Loosening up some panels and using a snake to get the wires across the ceiling.
The fan trims were a great access point! This camera kit came with a very small connector, the red piece towards the left end of wire. This allowed us to drill a small hole to bring the rear camera wire into the vehicle.
Couldn't mount the rear camera in the center due to those running lights. So hopefully my OCD won't cause my brain to explode. Another good reason for mounting it off center was the fact that the wire from rear camera to front camera had, at most, 6" of slack. This kits are made for cars, not giant vans like this. We had no wiggle room to go on detours around things like lights and vent fans. We really needed a straight shot across ceiling from camera to camera, so this worked out great.
Ran the wires on surface in cab with wire loom and tape. Not too bad. We'll see how it works out in real life conditions. Lots of settings to figure out and get the app thing to the phone setup.
We also got that stupid vent pipe for the fridge insulated. Didn't want condensation building up on that due to the temperature difference.
Finally figured out a spot to store all this yucky stuff, the essentials. Got it secured too so we drive with the doors open and not lose everything. Because you know, one of the benefits to a step van is driving without doors.
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PlethoraOfGuns
Adventurer
Oh yea, here ya go. Got it off Amazon with a $60 off lightning deal. Haven't played with the phone app stuff yet, so I can't give opinion on the interface. But so far, the install was great.
PlethoraOfGuns
Adventurer
Hmmm, strange. Well it's an APEMAN C770 if that helps.
PlethoraOfGuns
Adventurer
Something that was on the list of things to do, but then the engine blew up and this went to the back burner, is the brakes. Well, this build added a lot of weight, so lets double check those bakes.
When we drove the van home after the purchase, the brakes worked great. Upon initial inspection showed pads and shoes about 50% life left. But recently, it's been feeling like the one or both of the front brakes are dragging for a little bit after hitting the brake pedal. After awhile, they don't drag anymore. Now you might call me crazy, but in my experience I've found that old rubber brake lines get weird inside. They sometimes let pressure through to the caliper, but don't release the pressure once you take foot off brake pedal. Just change the rubber hoses! Saves so many headaches.
Changing hoses, yea. But while we got it all apart, lets just change all the pads too.
Pretty anticlimactic. Both calipers needed a quick shot of heat to loosen up the bleeder valves. Please use never-seize on those threads so they can easily be removed next time. One day when time and funding allows us, we'll upgrade the rear brakes to disc brakes. The old drums should do us good for now as the shoes have some meat on them and even the parking brake works. Hopefully a wheel cylinder will start leaking so we'll be more encouraged to do disc brake conversion.
We also pulled the fridge out again. Installed a thermometer probe. I'm curious to see what the temperature is back there when the fridge is operating.
Got a bunch of thermometer probes. Not sure how hot is too hot behind a fridge, but we're looking at about 16 degrees warmer back there than inside the living space of the rig. What temperatures behind the fridge do you think we should start being concerned?
#1-Fidge
#2-Freezer
#3-Behind fridge
In-Interior
We put up a map to give us motivation to get up and go. But looking west, we see a lot of mountains that we think the lil 4 cylinder is gonna struggle with. There is no replacement for displacement...
...or is there?
When we drove the van home after the purchase, the brakes worked great. Upon initial inspection showed pads and shoes about 50% life left. But recently, it's been feeling like the one or both of the front brakes are dragging for a little bit after hitting the brake pedal. After awhile, they don't drag anymore. Now you might call me crazy, but in my experience I've found that old rubber brake lines get weird inside. They sometimes let pressure through to the caliper, but don't release the pressure once you take foot off brake pedal. Just change the rubber hoses! Saves so many headaches.
Changing hoses, yea. But while we got it all apart, lets just change all the pads too.
Pretty anticlimactic. Both calipers needed a quick shot of heat to loosen up the bleeder valves. Please use never-seize on those threads so they can easily be removed next time. One day when time and funding allows us, we'll upgrade the rear brakes to disc brakes. The old drums should do us good for now as the shoes have some meat on them and even the parking brake works. Hopefully a wheel cylinder will start leaking so we'll be more encouraged to do disc brake conversion.
We also pulled the fridge out again. Installed a thermometer probe. I'm curious to see what the temperature is back there when the fridge is operating.
Got a bunch of thermometer probes. Not sure how hot is too hot behind a fridge, but we're looking at about 16 degrees warmer back there than inside the living space of the rig. What temperatures behind the fridge do you think we should start being concerned?
#1-Fidge
#2-Freezer
#3-Behind fridge
In-Interior
We put up a map to give us motivation to get up and go. But looking west, we see a lot of mountains that we think the lil 4 cylinder is gonna struggle with. There is no replacement for displacement...
...or is there?
charlieaarons
Explorer
Get a pyrometer (EGT).
PlethoraOfGuns
Adventurer
See post #175. Already planned for this, haha.