Bikersmurf
Expedition Leader
Heck you could likely buy a dodge with a good one for less than that
Then part the rest out for beer money.
Cummins Canoe (A Stepvan Story)
- Thread starter PlethoraOfGuns
- Start date
Then part the rest out for beer money.
PlethoraOfGuns
Adventurer
Haha, good point! Plenty of old rust buckets out there for cheap!
PlethoraOfGuns
Adventurer
Ok, back by popular demand, we got the JB Weld out. And did other things while we waited for that to set up.
We cut out a whole bunch of the cooling fins and prepped everything really well. We globbed all that on and we'll see what happens. Hopefully we'll find a deal on a good intercooler at some point and this whole mess will not be permanent.
While we wait for the epoxy to dry, lets get some other stuff in the back done. Picked up a Ninja Foodi at a super sweet deal. Think it was a Best Buy return, but never used. Paired with the induction cooktop, this unit will be our oven, pressure cooker, air fryer, dehydrator, sous vide, and even yogurt maker! Forresty Forest gave us the idea for this thing. We'll see how it goes. Any suggestions, we're all ears.
Good news is that it just clears the upper cabinets!
And we found a storage place for it. Even got some straps on it for safe transport. How did we get those sweet straps you might be asking?
Sewed them on a foot powered Singer treadle machine from the 1800's! We broke 4 other modern plastic sewing machines, so we resorted to this "decorative furniture". And let me tell you what a joy it is! Really, it works great and is a lot of fun once you get the hang of it.
In addition to the those straps for holding things in place, we made some custom fitted sheets for the new mattresses we cut up. It was a pain to sew elastic into the sheets. Needed all hands on deck for this one.
Had scrap foam of all different sizes. We settled with 3" foam. Best way to cut big foam this this? An electric fabric/carpet cutter from 100 years ago of course!
And now we have real futon mattress! Two pieces so it can easily be handled and bring seatbelt straps up between mattresses when you need to seat 5 or 6 people in the rig.
The fabric we used was some old scrap sheets we had laying around so they don't match. The comfort isn't what I wanted. We should have gone 4". Maybe we'll get a layer of 1" high density foam at some point.
When you're living with multiple girls, you realize that they all have different cushion preferences. So needy! So one side can be 6" of foam which is really nice, or be stubborn and sleep right on the plywood like an animal! Either way, the bed is a lot nicer than before.
We cut out a whole bunch of the cooling fins and prepped everything really well. We globbed all that on and we'll see what happens. Hopefully we'll find a deal on a good intercooler at some point and this whole mess will not be permanent.
While we wait for the epoxy to dry, lets get some other stuff in the back done. Picked up a Ninja Foodi at a super sweet deal. Think it was a Best Buy return, but never used. Paired with the induction cooktop, this unit will be our oven, pressure cooker, air fryer, dehydrator, sous vide, and even yogurt maker! Forresty Forest gave us the idea for this thing. We'll see how it goes. Any suggestions, we're all ears.
Good news is that it just clears the upper cabinets!
And we found a storage place for it. Even got some straps on it for safe transport. How did we get those sweet straps you might be asking?
Sewed them on a foot powered Singer treadle machine from the 1800's! We broke 4 other modern plastic sewing machines, so we resorted to this "decorative furniture". And let me tell you what a joy it is! Really, it works great and is a lot of fun once you get the hang of it.
In addition to the those straps for holding things in place, we made some custom fitted sheets for the new mattresses we cut up. It was a pain to sew elastic into the sheets. Needed all hands on deck for this one.
Had scrap foam of all different sizes. We settled with 3" foam. Best way to cut big foam this this? An electric fabric/carpet cutter from 100 years ago of course!
And now we have real futon mattress! Two pieces so it can easily be handled and bring seatbelt straps up between mattresses when you need to seat 5 or 6 people in the rig.
The fabric we used was some old scrap sheets we had laying around so they don't match. The comfort isn't what I wanted. We should have gone 4". Maybe we'll get a layer of 1" high density foam at some point.
When you're living with multiple girls, you realize that they all have different cushion preferences. So needy! So one side can be 6" of foam which is really nice, or be stubborn and sleep right on the plywood like an animal! Either way, the bed is a lot nicer than before.
PlethoraOfGuns
Adventurer
Got some other stuff done while waiting to install "repaired" intercooler.
We got a Berkey! Everyone hypes these things up. We'll see how it stacks up. Got it well secured so we can travel with it setup.
And safety is always #2!
So we got some of these lil guys installed.
Hope we'll never need them, but they're there.
The new GPS is installed too! Wired it into the instrument dimmer circuit so it lights up at night so you can always be sure you're going in the right direction.
Finally got an air filter that will work for our application. Basically the same as the old one, just with a bigger outlet. Napa had them in stock.
Had to relocated/flip this bracket upside down and grind out a chunk to fit with the new intake pipe and filter.
Fits perfect! That support bracket used to mount from the top of the radiator support and went up diagonally through the silver air intake pipe to the top of that aluminum bracket on the firewall, top center of photo. That obviously wasn't going to work, which is why we relocated it underneath the air intake pipe.
The coolant overflow bottle used to be mounted where the air filter is now. So we relocated that to the drivers side of the engine bay. So much extra room in this thing to throw stuff! We kinda just drilled through the exterior body and bolted it all on.
Mounted the exhaust back on. Tightened everything down, no more leaks. And there we go, engine all back together and ready to fire up!
We got a Berkey! Everyone hypes these things up. We'll see how it stacks up. Got it well secured so we can travel with it setup.
And safety is always #2!
So we got some of these lil guys installed.
Hope we'll never need them, but they're there.
The new GPS is installed too! Wired it into the instrument dimmer circuit so it lights up at night so you can always be sure you're going in the right direction.
Finally got an air filter that will work for our application. Basically the same as the old one, just with a bigger outlet. Napa had them in stock.
Had to relocated/flip this bracket upside down and grind out a chunk to fit with the new intake pipe and filter.
Fits perfect! That support bracket used to mount from the top of the radiator support and went up diagonally through the silver air intake pipe to the top of that aluminum bracket on the firewall, top center of photo. That obviously wasn't going to work, which is why we relocated it underneath the air intake pipe.
The coolant overflow bottle used to be mounted where the air filter is now. So we relocated that to the drivers side of the engine bay. So much extra room in this thing to throw stuff! We kinda just drilled through the exterior body and bolted it all on.
Mounted the exhaust back on. Tightened everything down, no more leaks. And there we go, engine all back together and ready to fire up!
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Farfrumwork
Well-known member
Sweet. Nice work on those charge pipes and intercooler.
The open intake on a the blingy intake tube is so Fast and Furious - love it.
The open intake on a the blingy intake tube is so Fast and Furious - love it.
Todd n Natalie
OverCamper
PlethoraOfGuns
Adventurer
Haha thanks. There is nothing fast about this rig, just the furious part. "Step Van - The Slow And Furious".
The 3" black pipes were all part of a universal kit that someone donated. They were all painted black, so I grinded off enough to weld them and then just painted them black again. The 4" silver pipes I had to buy, and they came bare aluminum, so after welding I just didn't bother painting and it came out pretty good.
PlethoraOfGuns
Adventurer
Engine runs great! Lots of odds and ends to get this thing back on the road.
Got the doghouse cover back on and those custom charge pipes just clear! The engine oil dipstick is a little bit of a pain to get to now, but doable.
Unfortunately, the new turbocharger is about 2" longer towards the rear and the mounts for the exhaust had to be finagled in order to get bolted up. Was patient with some Aero Kroil and just the tip of a torch and didn't snap any exhaust bolts.
Figured this was a good time to change the oil. Been about 1000 miles since we put the engine back in, so the break-in period is complete. Adding oil is a bit tricking now too. Needed the use of 2 funnels to get the oil in the right hole.
Got the drain piping for the sink all done and secure. The exhaust for the boiler system goes through that box cover and was hitting and clanging. Took some carbon felt and clamped it there to act as insulation.
Got the passenger seat installed and the water fill/hot tub controls all figured out. This is a 7gpm pump that will cycle the hot tub water and be used to pump water from places like rivers and lakes. Just a simple switch to turn it on and added a 12v outlet for passengers use. There is a filter under the seat as well as the mounted heat exchanger that get hot either from the engine or the boiler.
These quick connect fittings will make it all very pleasant to change configurations. Right now, we have the two 25' hoses hooked up to pump water out of lake, through pump and heat exchanger, and then through 10' hose to hook up the pressurized city hookup or fill onboard water tank. The possibilities are endless!
Got the doghouse cover back on and those custom charge pipes just clear! The engine oil dipstick is a little bit of a pain to get to now, but doable.
Unfortunately, the new turbocharger is about 2" longer towards the rear and the mounts for the exhaust had to be finagled in order to get bolted up. Was patient with some Aero Kroil and just the tip of a torch and didn't snap any exhaust bolts.
Figured this was a good time to change the oil. Been about 1000 miles since we put the engine back in, so the break-in period is complete. Adding oil is a bit tricking now too. Needed the use of 2 funnels to get the oil in the right hole.
Got the drain piping for the sink all done and secure. The exhaust for the boiler system goes through that box cover and was hitting and clanging. Took some carbon felt and clamped it there to act as insulation.
Got the passenger seat installed and the water fill/hot tub controls all figured out. This is a 7gpm pump that will cycle the hot tub water and be used to pump water from places like rivers and lakes. Just a simple switch to turn it on and added a 12v outlet for passengers use. There is a filter under the seat as well as the mounted heat exchanger that get hot either from the engine or the boiler.
These quick connect fittings will make it all very pleasant to change configurations. Right now, we have the two 25' hoses hooked up to pump water out of lake, through pump and heat exchanger, and then through 10' hose to hook up the pressurized city hookup or fill onboard water tank. The possibilities are endless!
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PlethoraOfGuns
Adventurer
The rig is back on the road. But she isn't going without a fight!
New turbocharger doubled our boost and we're getting 3mpg more fuel economy.
Everything was going well until we was hearing this strange noise, that got louder and louder, and some gauges were going down, and others were going up. And then we started losing power, like all the power. And then we started losing consciousness. So we pulled off the interstate to find this surprise! The welds on the adapter flange I bought to go from the exhaust manifold to the turbocharger had completely gave way. They were very bad welds, no penetration. Flange totally separated and the turbocharger, exhaust, and intake were all just hanging there. I should have just made my own...
One good thing about this situation is that once it all cooled down, only took about 10 minutes to remove all the broken stuff! Yay step vans! Now to run around and find someone with a welder out here...
In the meantime, even though the engine might not have power, our electrical system sure does! Doesn't hurt to clean these guys up every once and awhile.
And with the power of the sun, we gots barbecue chicken wings!
New turbocharger doubled our boost and we're getting 3mpg more fuel economy.
Everything was going well until we was hearing this strange noise, that got louder and louder, and some gauges were going down, and others were going up. And then we started losing power, like all the power. And then we started losing consciousness. So we pulled off the interstate to find this surprise! The welds on the adapter flange I bought to go from the exhaust manifold to the turbocharger had completely gave way. They were very bad welds, no penetration. Flange totally separated and the turbocharger, exhaust, and intake were all just hanging there. I should have just made my own...
One good thing about this situation is that once it all cooled down, only took about 10 minutes to remove all the broken stuff! Yay step vans! Now to run around and find someone with a welder out here...
In the meantime, even though the engine might not have power, our electrical system sure does! Doesn't hurt to clean these guys up every once and awhile.
And with the power of the sun, we gots barbecue chicken wings!
PlethoraOfGuns
Adventurer
We were able to limp the rig around. After spending some time camping next to an interstate onramp, found a guy to help us out.
After meeting locals in parking lots, making long phone chains, came across this guy Mitch and his shop.
He was able to take care of us. Got some much better welds on this thing.
Local country folk are great. You would be amazed at what can be done if you do some impossible chores for them.
And back on the road! Just a slight hiccup on the road, but we expect these things driving this hoopty.
After meeting locals in parking lots, making long phone chains, came across this guy Mitch and his shop.
He was able to take care of us. Got some much better welds on this thing.
Local country folk are great. You would be amazed at what can be done if you do some impossible chores for them.
And back on the road! Just a slight hiccup on the road, but we expect these things driving this hoopty.
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PlethoraOfGuns
Adventurer
Life on the road is going pretty good right now since we had the turbo charger issue fixed. The flow of adventure mixed with chores is comforting.
Not sure how often we should be cleaning the solar panels, but it's fun to get up on the roof and at least one of us really really likes Windex.
Haven't figure out the best way to do laundry yet. We just carry dirty clothes in a sack and other cleaning stuff in a collapsible tub and wander around looking for an appropriate place to clean the clothes.
Sometimes you find an old slop sink and just use that.
Met up with some friends from all over. We spent a few days doing crazy random adventures down and around Alabama/Tennessee.
Yes, you can semi-fit 6 people in the rig comfortably. Need to make sure only 2 people stand up at the same time though. But during meals, 2 people at the table and 4 people on the couch works. I don't think more than 6 will work.
Cooking for 6 people, well, that turned out to be a struggle. Needed everything we had to make it work in a timely manner. As long as the induction cooktop isn't on full power, you can run the cooker at the same time. Also be sure not to run the microwave while either of the two are on.
And of course we had to run the hot tub. And it works great! Took about 25% battery capacity and about 0.5 gallons of diesel to get all that 55 degree water up to hot tub temps. Can easily fit 2 people laying down. 4 people sitting up. 6 people if you know them well enough not to mind ding dongs touching. To control the temperature, you just work the valve at the end of the hose to control the flow and everything else is automatic.
Unfortunately, making all that food and enjoying hot tub really does a number on the batteries!
Spent the next few days attempting to recharge the batteries. Really had to minimize how much power we were using to get batteries back. Cooking for 6 and other stuff will need to be a special occasion kind of thing. Also, don't listen to people when they suggest to park in the shade to camp.
Not sure how often we should be cleaning the solar panels, but it's fun to get up on the roof and at least one of us really really likes Windex.
Haven't figure out the best way to do laundry yet. We just carry dirty clothes in a sack and other cleaning stuff in a collapsible tub and wander around looking for an appropriate place to clean the clothes.
Sometimes you find an old slop sink and just use that.
Met up with some friends from all over. We spent a few days doing crazy random adventures down and around Alabama/Tennessee.
Yes, you can semi-fit 6 people in the rig comfortably. Need to make sure only 2 people stand up at the same time though. But during meals, 2 people at the table and 4 people on the couch works. I don't think more than 6 will work.
Cooking for 6 people, well, that turned out to be a struggle. Needed everything we had to make it work in a timely manner. As long as the induction cooktop isn't on full power, you can run the cooker at the same time. Also be sure not to run the microwave while either of the two are on.
And of course we had to run the hot tub. And it works great! Took about 25% battery capacity and about 0.5 gallons of diesel to get all that 55 degree water up to hot tub temps. Can easily fit 2 people laying down. 4 people sitting up. 6 people if you know them well enough not to mind ding dongs touching. To control the temperature, you just work the valve at the end of the hose to control the flow and everything else is automatic.
Unfortunately, making all that food and enjoying hot tub really does a number on the batteries!
Spent the next few days attempting to recharge the batteries. Really had to minimize how much power we were using to get batteries back. Cooking for 6 and other stuff will need to be a special occasion kind of thing. Also, don't listen to people when they suggest to park in the shade to camp.
PlethoraOfGuns
Adventurer
Always tweaking and modifying. Nothing will ever be perfect, and that is life.
The kitchen table guest bed works great. So far 3 people have slept there and no complaints. Fits a standard size sleeping pad perfectly.
Lately, we've been noticing the temperature behind the fridge to be climbing quite high. On average, it is about 25 degrees hotter back there than in the living space. On a summer 85 degree day, that means 110 degrees behind the fridge! The fridge also runs a lot, like a lot more than we think it should. So we took out all the food to remove fridge in order to investigate.
We think our original plan of convection venting just wasn't working effectively enough. Good thing we got this big computer fan just in case this happened. Mounted it over the side vent to pull air out. Inlet air will still come from lower PVC pipe behind bottom of fridge, where the temperature sensor is. The other end of that pipe is under the body behind the rear wheel.
We mounted a thermostat switch to the condenser coil assembly on the back of the fridge. Simple 100 degrees on, 85 degrees off.
Figured a way to wire it all up. Original plan of wiring the fan right to the compressor motor was not going to work. The thermostat switch setup works great. Fridge runs, it heats up back there, fan comes on and removes heat. Now the temperature back there is 5-10 degrees warmer and fridge runs a lot less, saving lots of precious battery! The fan is a bit bigger than we need. It draws 1amp and moves lots of air. One day we'll probably get a smaller one. But using 1amp to save who knows how many more amps from the fridge running all the time is a win in our book.
Found an old pot at the thrift store that will work with our induction cooktop. It's a little big, but the price was right. People must have given us some funny looks as we went through all the cookware trying to stick magnets to everything. Made 2 pounds of shrimp scampi. Lots of leftovers, which we love! Makes life easier to just pop already cooked food in the microwave. We've learned to pick our big meal days on days we have lots of sun and battery power.
We trade off duties and chores. This giant flat windshield is a magnet for bugs, especially in cicada brood season!
Eventually I got tired of driving, and it was time for my room mate to step up. Look out boys, this girl can drive stick shift!
The kitchen table guest bed works great. So far 3 people have slept there and no complaints. Fits a standard size sleeping pad perfectly.
Lately, we've been noticing the temperature behind the fridge to be climbing quite high. On average, it is about 25 degrees hotter back there than in the living space. On a summer 85 degree day, that means 110 degrees behind the fridge! The fridge also runs a lot, like a lot more than we think it should. So we took out all the food to remove fridge in order to investigate.
We think our original plan of convection venting just wasn't working effectively enough. Good thing we got this big computer fan just in case this happened. Mounted it over the side vent to pull air out. Inlet air will still come from lower PVC pipe behind bottom of fridge, where the temperature sensor is. The other end of that pipe is under the body behind the rear wheel.
We mounted a thermostat switch to the condenser coil assembly on the back of the fridge. Simple 100 degrees on, 85 degrees off.
Figured a way to wire it all up. Original plan of wiring the fan right to the compressor motor was not going to work. The thermostat switch setup works great. Fridge runs, it heats up back there, fan comes on and removes heat. Now the temperature back there is 5-10 degrees warmer and fridge runs a lot less, saving lots of precious battery! The fan is a bit bigger than we need. It draws 1amp and moves lots of air. One day we'll probably get a smaller one. But using 1amp to save who knows how many more amps from the fridge running all the time is a win in our book.
Found an old pot at the thrift store that will work with our induction cooktop. It's a little big, but the price was right. People must have given us some funny looks as we went through all the cookware trying to stick magnets to everything. Made 2 pounds of shrimp scampi. Lots of leftovers, which we love! Makes life easier to just pop already cooked food in the microwave. We've learned to pick our big meal days on days we have lots of sun and battery power.
We trade off duties and chores. This giant flat windshield is a magnet for bugs, especially in cicada brood season!
Eventually I got tired of driving, and it was time for my room mate to step up. Look out boys, this girl can drive stick shift!
PlethoraOfGuns
Adventurer
Rig made it to the Atlantic Ocean. More things to add and put together.
Everyone said we needed windows. Well, we don't feel like cutting more holes, so with this magnetic bug screen, we gots a huge window now!
And we got these cute fabric totes to store clothing. Wish the sides weren't tapered, but it's the best we could find after like four stores.
The roof makes a great vantage point to look at far away things.
Also good at spying inside through the roof vent! The puppy knows though. Puppies always know...
Everyone said we needed windows. Well, we don't feel like cutting more holes, so with this magnetic bug screen, we gots a huge window now!
And we got these cute fabric totes to store clothing. Wish the sides weren't tapered, but it's the best we could find after like four stores.
The roof makes a great vantage point to look at far away things.
Also good at spying inside through the roof vent! The puppy knows though. Puppies always know...
PlethoraOfGuns
Adventurer
More lazy days, trying out systems and dialing in our stuff.
Woke up one day to wild horses up in our camp.
But we made lots of good sun that day!
Plenty of sun to make ice cubes! Let me tell you how much of a game changer ice cubes are. We ration each other down to two ice per day. Our "ice maker" is slow and only makes small batches.
But yea, the wild horses would just roam around, probably looking for freebies from us. It was very exciting to see them up so close!
And when the horses have left camp, we're able to just lay around.
Woke up one day to wild horses up in our camp.
But we made lots of good sun that day!
Plenty of sun to make ice cubes! Let me tell you how much of a game changer ice cubes are. We ration each other down to two ice per day. Our "ice maker" is slow and only makes small batches.
But yea, the wild horses would just roam around, probably looking for freebies from us. It was very exciting to see them up so close!
And when the horses have left camp, we're able to just lay around.