1986 Dodge B-250 extended bubble-top van for an unconventional guy

[rvpopeye]

Progress one step at a time is still progress!
You're gonna love that Fantastic !

 

[debit.servus]

...
You're gonna love that Fantastic !

     Installed it yesterday, and look forward to years of comfort from it. Discovered the high top is just a 1/4 inch thick, must have lost a lot of structural stregnth installing this vent. The first vent is always the hardest. This vent is installed in the most difficult spot.

     Installed near the highest interior point of the van, adjacent to the closet. The hardest part was cutting the hole, on a curved fiberglass roof, measuring and aligning without a easy reference point. Once I was satisied with the alignment, I decided to cut a 13x13" hole, measure, and gradually cut it to 13 3/4". It didn't have to be perfect or precise, just not noticably goofy. Fitted the fan, piloted 3 holes on the top of the curve for if/when I decide to put screws in. Put 4 layers of butyl rubber on the low sides, wasn't enough. The fan has to be installed & sealed before the rain came again. I didn't have a week to get another roll of butyl rubber, So I piled the DICOR on the butyl rubber and fill in the curve. Placed the fan in for the last time, knowing it had to be in the right position the first time or else I have a serious mess. Place the fan in, smoosh it and make sure it's level relative to the inside. Go back on the roof and inject the DICOR everywhere I can think of, then smoosh and see if there are any non-covered spots. Smear the DICOR in parts where it's most needed. Clean up the work site, remove everything from the roof. Take a bath to wash off the fiberglass. This is just a quick summary of my experience and some parts are omitted, I do not feel like being through right now. Pictures are coming.

     It is the new FANTASTIC FAN 2250 Model (Thermostat with Reverse Switch), I am concerned that they cheapened the new version some. Even if it's cheapened, a roof fan is the best comfort mod after air conditioning. If one is poor like me and does not have a roof vent, GET IT! A roof fan is one of the most important van mods for comfortable full time living. If one already has the tools, the parts are under $200. If one is really strung out for money, install a vent (under $100) and get the fan for it later. Vent convection if better than nothing.

     There have been so many times where the still air temperature is perfect yet the van is 10-20 degrees hotter because of no built-in ventalation. So many times I have sweat inside the van when cool air is just outside. So many times having to place a conventional house window fan in the passenger-side window to mimic the effect of the FANTASTIC FAN. So many spring and fall days where temperatures are bordering on hot, yet cant take advantage of cooling without opening doors and windows. So many times I have breathed stale and stinky air inside because I had no built in means of air exchange. So many times I desire clean, fresh air in the forest or at the beach; and have to play with cracking doors and windows to get some of it without leaving the van. So many anger moments because I knew FANTASTIC fans exist and other people have them yet I can't get it because of no money. So many times having to undo blackout panels to have natural light.

     Now, On upper-70 degree days, I could be comfortable without A/C running the FANTASTIC FAN. On those hot spring and fall days, run the vent, and only run the A/C during the hottest times. Now, take advantage of cool summer nights after hot summer days, and run the vent all night long. Now, using built in air exchange during cooking, cleaning, showering, sleeping, shitting, computing, travelling, scheming & dreaming. Now, breathe the purifying Blue Rain without getting the interior of the van wet. Now, coupled with a cool mist humidifier; have direct evaporative cooling with the FANTASTIC fan blowing in. Now, take advantage of convection on those swealtering days to lessen the load on the A/C (fan off, vent open). Now, have natural light streaming inside the van without exposing the interior of the van in the WALMART lot.

     Can't wait to dry out the van when San Jose gets a series of dry days with low humidity to dry out the van. Also can't wait to test out my evaporative cooling setup this summer.

 

[debit.servus]

Upgraded the kitchen sink to a larger, deeper & wider sink. The small camper sinks don't cut it for full-time living. Why it had to cost $30,000 because a car was totaled in the acquisition process I will never know the full answer. But anyway It's finally installed, the yellow camper hand-pump faucet removed and plans for a new flex faucet and soap dispenser are low priority (new faucet won't take me and the van to CANADA, woodgas will).

I had to get creative with the fitting and took pictures along the way and plan to create a howto when I am not busy as ****.

 

[Ballenxj]

Upgraded the kitchen sink to a larger, deeper & wider sink. The small camper sinks don't cut it for full-time living. 

That sounds reasonable. Can't wait to see both the sink, and water pump system you ended up using.

 

[debit.servus]

... Can't wait to see both the sink, and water pump system you ended up using.

I had to creatively fashion a drain adapter for 3/4" tubing, using hardware store parts.

 

[debit.servus]

_____Bought http://www.amazon.com/Dyconn-Faucet...p/B00PT46CE0?imprToken=j.0RBQHcOfqCwFaGltERzw , http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BGTO1WC?imprToken=j.0RBQHcOfqCwFaGltERzw , and https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001VLK0RA?imprToken=j.0RBQHcOfqCwFaGltERzw so I didn't have to think about them anymore.

_____Not ruminating and deliberating about not having these items anymore has already saved me a TON of time, even though none of these items will get me to CANADA. This is what being a dollar pincher is all about.

_____How the van is doing: inoperable probably because the transmission clutch is burnt out. The best and only attainable option is to pick a compatible transmission from a van or truck from PICK AND PULL, swap it, fill with fresh fluid and hope for the best.

_____Is there any way to tell if a transmission is capable of transmitting mechanical energy from engine to wheels in a salvage yard? AKA tell if the salvage yard trans is operational before taking it home, and swapping it with the vans stock trans???? Any advice could save me $200 plus days worth of time by not having to pick and swap the transmission twice.

 

[debit.servus]

What are the transmission's symptoms?
...

This is what Happened:

I went to the club in San Francisco on January 30th/31st. After the club event, everything was the fine until the engine changed sound (like there no load) and the transmission on the van began billowing smoke. It was taking more and more power to move the van. I kept going because I was in Downtown SF, wanted to get to a less dense place for parking. Van got to 6th St & Harrison before being %100 immobile. I ended up coming home in a tow truck with the van on the bed (at no cost thanks to AAA Premier).

So something is wrong with the vans transmission. Low fluid causing gears to slip? Transmission cooler pump busted? I don't know, nor am I comfortable diagnosing it on my own. The van has been dead in my parents driveway ever since.

 

[Ballenxj]

It's always bad when the magic smoke gets out.

OMG! I know this is no laughing matter, but..........................

 

[debit.servus]

... Be sure to give the donor vehicle a good shaking before you get under it to work, wouldn't hurt to throw some spare tires under it just in case. I've seen too many junk yard cars that have fallen off the stands. ...

At PICK AND PULL they remove the tires and rims and place the cars on rims in three spots. I don't think PICK and PULL provides anything to hold the car up while one is under it.

...
I would never hit the road without my 12v pressure washer!

Be very careful using that pump thing. At $14 I'm sure it isn't certified intrinsically safe for pumping flammables. As shown in the illustration I would just use a funnel and let gravity do the work.
...

Do you own a 12v portable tank sprayer too? Is it like the bucket system I ordered?

This is like those tank washers but with a 4 gallon square bucket, when empty it can be used as a place to store wet shower curtains! Plus the spray is reported to be very powerful compared to other products, which is just what is needed.

Lifting a 5 gallon gas can, releasing the spring on that stupid safety spout and then balancing the gas can to fill the tank on the generator; was a chore. Was actually looking at buying a gas-pump like system that attaches directly to the gas can, but realized it would take too much space and the gas can would still have to be higher than the filling point.

It's always bad when the magic smoke gets out.
...

Yes it is, smoke was billowing out front and back depending on speed. The fluid actually caught fire as it was peeing onto the street right as the van became 100% immobile, As soon as somebody pointed it out, without panic I immediately grabbed the fire extinguisher (mounted in the closet within reach of the front seats) pulled the pin, and sprayed at the flames saving the van. An $11 Dry Chemical fire extinguisher (with tax) is much cheaper than another van, carry two wall-mounted fire extinguishers in the van and thinking about mounting a third. If one does not have a dry chemical fire extinguisher for their rig, get one ASAP. It is extremely cheap comprehensive insurance.

 

[GotSmart]

Just ~~~ wow.   :-/

A $100 pressure washer is one item I have not seen in any van.    :huh:

P & P here will pull large parts and deliver them to the parking lot.  (moters, tranys, body sections) as it is much more economical to use the forklift and not have excessive damage to the unwanted components.  You might ask them.  They do advertise that service.  They can pull a motor and trany in 10 minutes as a unit.  Go and drop off the motor, and deliver to you the transmission.  The SJ yard shows a car trans is $100. Truck / van higher.

If you have trouble with large gas cans, get smaller ones. And look at the type of reviews before you buy from Amazon.

 

[GotSmart]

It's always bad when the magic smoke gets out.

Guy

:angel:      :sleepy:

 

[debit.servus]

Just ~~~ wow.   :-/

A $100 pressure washer is one item I have not seen in any van.    :huh:

This product is a powered sprayer that is designed to be filled like a 4 1/2 gallon square bucket. Unlike all the other powered sprayers this can hold things inside when empty, saving space when not in use.

P & P here will pull large parts and deliver them to the parking lot.  (moters, tranys, body sections) as it is much more economical to use the forklift and not have excessive damage to the unwanted components.  You might ask them.  They do advertise that service.  They can pull a motor and trany in 10 minutes as a unit.  Go and drop off the motor, and deliver to you the transmission.  ...

Thanks, didn't know that. I will need to call them as this makes things a LOT easier, even if the service costs $100. Does P & P buy dismantled parts, like I have a few not needed parts from other cars to sell to them for a few bucks?

If you have trouble with large gas cans, get smaller ones. ...

Found the cheapest fuel storage per gallon smaller than 55 gallon drums to be common 5 gallon plastic gas cans. Recommend SCEPTRE brand of gas cans.

The best plastic gas cans I've used are the SCEPTRE brand, because the can has a better shape plus the safety spout on the SCEPTRE can hasn't broken right away. The spouts on both MIDWEST CAN gas cans owned broke apart, and a replacement MIDWEST CAN safety spout is half the cost of a new 5 gallon gas can with a new spout! In California at least, the SCEPTRE 5 gallon gas cans can be found at WALMART for less than $20.

 

[GotSmart]

So you are willing to spend $100 on a pressure washer, which is definitely non essential, (it doubles as a wet storage!)  but complain about sub quality fuel cans.   :huh:  The idea is to NOT need to carry gasoline.  I have a spare bucket.  Seat, storage, something noisy to scare off critters when thrown...

P & P does not buy parts, they buy cars and sell parts.  Craigslist~~~

This is not about doing things CHEAP, but doing it while saving money.  If it costs an extra $10 to get two smaller cans (but it makes life easier) it is worth it.  That pump has less than 50% of 5 star rating.  I would not waste my money.  That is the gas can price difference.  

Kid, hard choices. 

DO I REALLY NEED _________ TO SURVIVE?

HOW MANY TIMES WILL I USE IT.

IS IT PRIORITY, OR JUST A WANT?

Yesterday I saw a 6 pack of mini LED flashlights with batteries for under $10.  I put  them back, as I have one I keep charged off of my solar.  First priority is to get the van running right.  I would not hesitate to drive my van to Canada today.  When I bought it I had to instal everything.  Motor, AT, drive shaft, R&R gas tank~~~ You get the picture.  I also cut out and replaces some metal. I am disabled.  If I can do it with my broken body...

 

[debit.servus]

The idea is to NOT need to carry gasoline. Looking not to have to siphon gas from the tank to fuel the generator for BM 2016 like I did for BM 2015. Yes there is a 35 gallon gas can underneath the floor of the van, but need more capacity for fuel storage. I have a spare bucket.  Seat, storage, something noisy to scare off critters when thrown... How does this relate to your previous sentence.
...
This is not about doing things CHEAP, but doing it while saving money.  If it costs an extra $10 to get two smaller cans (but it makes life easier) it is worth it. My observation and price watching says otherwise. 2 gallon gas cans cost $8-13 while 5 gallon cans cost $14-22 It would cost 2-3 times more to store 20 gallons of gas in 2 gallon gas cans vs 5 gallon gas cans. Saw SCEPTRE 5 gallon gas cans for $14 each in the Almaden Expressway COSTCO, in a space efficient jerry can shape. Must. Buy.
...
I would not hesitate to drive my van to Canada today. Good to know, you have more years on this planet than I have. So you're already established a long time ago. When I bought it I had to instal everything.  Motor, AT, drive shaft, R&R gas tank~~~ You get the picture.  I also cut out and replaces some metal. I am disabled.  If I can do it with my broken body... I can do it too. 

If/when the bucket wash system or the microwave goes bust within two years, then I get what I paid for them back through the protection plans I bought.

 

[GotSmart]

You honestly do not have a clue.

160 lbs of gasoline stored in the van? 

How many times has it been burning since you got it.  Only twice, or was there more?

 

[debit.servus]

...
160 lbs of gasoline stored in the van? 

The 35 gallon gas can is the vans gas tank, built in under the van. Next time I'll be consise with words.

How many times has it been burning since you got it.  Only twice, or was there more?

Two times a fire, being honest here.

Planning to buy 6 of the SCEPTRE cans from COSTCO, for 30 additional gallons of fuel capacity. How much does 1 gallon of gas weigh (excluding container)? Not obsessing about weight here, while not planning to tile the floor inside the van with lead bricks either.

One thing I've noticed here is people obsessing about weight like it's everything, going so far as to replace their stuff with lighter weight versions. Almost always, those lighter weight versions cost more than the fuel savings from carrying those lighter weight versions. Nobody has contested that notion, possibly because it's right. Replacing stuff in a van with lighter weight versions to save fuel almost never saves money. Whats worse is sometimes people throw those perfectly good heavier things away, wasting perfectly good stuff.

 

[FALCON]

The 35 gallon gas can is the vans gas tank, built in under the van. Next time I'll be consise with words.
Two times a fire, being honest here.

Planning to buy 6 of the SCEPTRE cans from COSTCO, for 30 additional gallons of fuel capacity. How much does 1 gallon of gas weigh (excluding container)? Not obsessing about weight here, while not planning to tile the floor inside the van with lead bricks either.

6lbs per gallon or so. Easily google-able.

65 gallons of gasoline???? I looked through a few pages of this thread but couldn't find why you wanted so much fuel. (?). That is a LOT!!! Just 35 gallons is a LOT.. We're talking 400lbs of gasoline. Enough to drive for at least 15 hours without stopping.

 

[GotSmart]

6 lbs a gallon.  You mentioned 20 gallons, in cans 120 lbs.  30 gallons, 180 lbs.  That is on top of the 210 lbs in the tank.  That is 390 lbs of gasoline! Flammable, explosive, toxic~~~ and you have had two van fires in the recent history.   280 underneath, and 240 in the passenger compartment.  

A B250 is rated for 1,500 lbs cargo.  At that weight the back end really sags.  It is not fuel savings, but the reality of YOU CAN'T TAKE IT ALL WITH YOU!  The van can only handle so much weight.  Too much weight and it breaks. It is 30 years old.  (Any rust on the supports?)  

You are still in the WANT stage, and have not made it to the reality of the actual need stage.

Pressure washer?  Definitely not a need.  Microwave? Want.  Six 5 gallon cans of gasoline???  :dodgy: Death wish. Especially if you are using a microwave and one can of gas is not 100% sealed or is venting.  1 gallon has the explosive power of 14 sticks of dynamite.   770 sticks of dynamite


BOOM!

 

[debit.servus]

...
65 gallons of gasoline????  I looked through a few pages of this thread but couldn't find why you wanted so much fuel. (?). That is a LOT!!!  Just 35 gallons is a LOT.. We're talking 400lbs of gasoline. Enough to drive for at least 15 hours without stopping.

The reason for that much fuel is to have enough to run the generator as needed for a week without needing to siphon from the gas tank. During BM 2015 I spent 3 precious hours siphoning gas from the tank. Time that could have been spent participating in BRC was instead spent at camp, to make sure the van could start off the battery the day after the Temple Burn. This involved unscrewing the fill pipe leading to the tank, because a green ball prevented full siphoning through the fill mouth; then using a vinyl tube to convey the gas from the 35 gallon tank into the two 2 gallon gas cans I had with me. Also used a water container for extra fuel capacity to only need to seperate the gas neck fill neck once. Having just one battery because of not having money nor time to wait in Reno pre-BRC, meant the genset was the life support machine for the starter battery, with a 120v HFT dumb charger pumping 10 amps of electricity into the deep cycle battery.

15 hours at what speed? Sorry but 35 gallons of gas gets the van 250 miles (San Jose to Reno).

Fun Fact: The avatar picture for debit.servus forum account is a screenshot of a video showing the vans sillouhette pre-sunset travelling down Nevada Highway 447, between Empire and Wadsworth post-BRC 2014. Plan to update this with van silouhette on grassy fields pre-sunset in the Canadian Summer, which will happen Woodgas or Not!

6 lbs a gallon.  You mentioned 20 gallons, in cans 120 lbs.  30 gallons, 180 lbs.  That is on top of the 210 lbs in the tank.  That is 390 lbs of gasoline! Flammable, explosive, toxic~~~ and you have had two van fires in the recent history.   280 underneath, and 240 in the passenger compartment. 
...

So right now fuel capacity is:
-35 gallon gas tank under the van
-(2) 2 gallon gas cans (4 gallons)
-One 5 gallon Sceptre gas can
Right now, have 44 gallons of fuel capacity.

-If I buy 6 of the SCEPTRE 5 gallon plastic jerry cans at COSTCO, 30 gallons.

74 gallons of fuel capacity before counting the tanks on equipment:

-If we count the tank on the 3200w HFT genset, 4 gallons.
-If we count the tank on the 49cc 2-stroke scooter, 1/3 gallon.
-If we count an empty aluminum Kerosene can, 1 gallon.
5 1/3 gallons on equipment.

So the grand total accounting for equipment tanks and gas cans not bought yet comes to 79 1/3 of gas, with all tanks full. Was actually planning to buy a 55 gallon metal drum to store gas but decided not to because mom and dad would not allow a 55 gallon drum full of gas in the backyard. Plus the risk of the barrel getting a leak when moved, leaking fuel on the ground causing a 5 alarm fire if ignited. At least if one 5 gallon can splits open the max spillage is 5 gallons.

A B250 is rated for 1,500 lbs cargo.  At that weight the back end really sags.  It is not fuel savings, but the reality of YOU CAN'T TAKE IT ALL WITH YOU!  The van can only handle so much weight.  Too much weight and it breaks. It is 30 years old.  (Any rust on the supports?)  

The back end will sag, yes. You should have seen the van as I traveled up 447, loaded with about 50 gallons of water, about 1000 pounds equipment, 1 week of food, 100-200 pounds of supplies, and beverages. Me and my best friend Jake in the cab, car canopy pipes and PVC pipes bungie corded to the runner boards, and a back platform meticulously piled high with more equipment and supplies secured with a rope and 2 dozen bungee cords. Have pictures of the extremely loaded van pre and post-BRC, and vowed never again. Commited to having a trailer for BM 2016 for back door access and taking the load off of the van.

Can't take it all with you, agreed. The van can only handle so much weight, that is why we don't see econoboxes towing 30 foot enclosed trailers. Very worried about the suspension or axles collapsing, and don't know where the supports are or what they look like to check for rust.

Pressure washer?  Definitely not a need.  Microwave? Want.

Set the bucket washer up inside the van and WOW! This is going to save me lots of work washing dishes and showering. The microwave will heat up water for showering and cooking, provided an electric source of course. Can't think of what more to say, feel like I have it made...

Now to land a few paid gigs or a JOB to pull a few hundred $$$ this month to offset the cost of all the acquisitions, and replace that transmission!!!! And acquire the heavy metal!! And build the gasifier!!!

 

[NeedAnEscape]

If you go with that much gas in cans, put it on the trailer, not in the van.