Fred the Van. The More We Explore's Adventure Van Build Thread

boardrider247

Weekend warrior anarchist
I wish I could get a bubble top for $2k. I want windows, which brings the price up quite a bit, but I think it's going to be worth it. Did you guys get the wood-infused top?

I had 1 window put on the curbside and the wood covering the whole top. Fiberine used 1/2" OSB guessing it added 50-60 pounds to the top. Your van won't notice a difference.
 

tgreening

Expedition Leader
$5,000 for a fiberglass bath tub on the roof of your van? :D


Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't spend the 5-7k (plus?) that seems to be the going rate for a top either. My take has always been that if I'm inside the thing I'm either sitting or laying down, standing up only to get in or out, so headroom for me was never a thing.
 
Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't spend the 5-7k (plus?) that seems to be the going rate for a top either. My take has always been that if I'm inside the thing I'm either sitting or laying down, standing up only to get in or out, so headroom for me was never a thing.

thats where I'm at, thats why haven't pulled the trigger on it yet. I've decided not to.
 

lcavalletti

Observer
FYI< 100 watt flexible lightweight panels are $150 each on Amazon. mounted with 3m adhesive tape on my hardtop. plenty of power with two of them.
 

boardrider247

Weekend warrior anarchist
My take has always been that if I'm inside the thing I'm either sitting or laying down, standing up only to get in or out, so headroom for me was never a thing.

Hightops provide more then just a place to stand. You get more cubic footage for everything.
Having a high top allows me to carry surfboards inside the van rather then on top unsecured on a rack. The extra space is going to allow Steve to keep his bikes inside the van.
The bonus is being able to stand up.
 

mk216v

Der Chef der Fahrzeuge
Hightops provide more then just a place to stand. You get more cubic footage for everything.
Having a high top allows me to carry surfboards inside the van rather then on top unsecured on a rack. The extra space is going to allow Steve to keep his bikes inside the van.
The bonus is being able to stand up.

True, but you're also limited to a narrower width up there, vs if you have stuff on a roof rack, you can go a lot wider than the roof of the van. Different strokes for different folks.
 

p nut

butter
If I were spending a considerable time in the van for any length of time, I would most definitely do the hightop. If nothing than just the feeling of more open space. If you've ever compared a home with 8' and 9'/10' ceilings, you know what I'm talking about. Huge difference.
 

sixstringsteve

Explorer
Absolutely agree p nut. If this were just a weekend warrior rig, we'd just keep it as is and call it good, or maybe get a pop top if we were looking to burn money. As it'll be our ONLY vehicle, and our home for a period of a few months at a time, a high top it is.

Spoiler alert:
We just placed the order for our 24" bubble top from fiberine. We'll be doing an install video in a few weeks when it gets here, then we're headed to Arizona to get out of this cold state!
 

ujoint

Supporting Sponsor
Nice choice on the Fiberine. Did you have the roof reinforced? Get the side pieces too, makes it much easier to trim out.
 

sixstringsteve

Explorer
Yeah, I ordered the plywood-infused roof. But I think it's just on the top. What side pieces are you talking about? Do they add wood to be sandwiched in the sides so I can screw into the sides?

They haven't started building it yet, so it's not too late to add them. Thanks for the heads up.
 

ujoint

Supporting Sponsor
Yeah, I ordered the plywood-infused roof. But I think it's just on the top. What side pieces are you talking about? Do they add wood to be sandwiched in the sides so I can screw into the sides?

They haven't started building it yet, so it's not too late to add them. Thanks for the heads up.

They can add some 1x6 to the sides too, do it.
 

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