I bought my van FINALLY 2006 Dodge Caravan

[XERTYX]

Well I finally did it. I found the model van I've been looking for that's in my price range and local from a dealer my family has bought several cars from. 

I found it on their listing and sent my nephew (hobby mechanic) to look at it. He said it was well worth it and I went yesterday and worked a deal with them. I only had a sizable deposit amount and they agreed to hold it until next week when i have the balance. 

I'll have pics and such to come soon. And I'll try and post follow ups on my conversion build as it develops.

 

[highdesertranger]

congrats!!!!!! We need pictures when you pick it up. highdesertranger

 

[bullfrog]

You sound excited to get started. Go slow and make sure is in good shape!

 

[XERTYX]

Thanks guys. And yes I'll definitely share photos. I bought the parts and built a vlogging kit a few months ago so I may even film some videos for YouTube.

I forgot to mention one reason I wanted this particular van. It has the stow n go seating. Which I will be removing. I.E. below deck storage. Win win.

Also according to the carfax report it was once fleet maintained until its second owner which had it for about a year. I'm the third owner now so it's in pretty good shape cosmetically and appears to be in good shape mechanically.

 

[Zmann]

Nothing wrong with Dodge Caravans, been eye balling them myself just have son #3 to graduate and get on his feet etc.

 

[XERTYX]

It's not the first caravan I've owned. Dodge makes a damn fine machine in my book. The last one was an 01 before stow and go so I usually had the seats in storage to reduce the weight. I never built the van out back then though as I had a home base. I'd just always keep a tent and camping gear in the back if I was on the road.

 

[nature lover]

I had a daily driver caravan for years and liked it except brakes they were out so quickly in that vehicle and they don’t hold back when we were in Kentucky in the mountains you know putting it down in the lower gears didn’t make much difference at all you still had to use the paddle. Everything else about that vehicle was great. Good luck with it.

 

[XERTYX]

I have been watching some videos to get inspiration for how exactly I'm gonna build it out. I liked this one and found it pretty interesting. I would deffo want more solar than he has and a better charge controller. 



I do like his kitchen location though. Accessible from inside or outside. I think I'm going to try and build something along those lines. I had seen the mixing bowls turned into sink basins before and I think I'll do the same.

My bed I'm planning on building not a full or twin like a lot of folks do but a "narrow twin" as I've seen them advertised. 30"x75" so that would free up more floor space.

The stow n go space on the passenger side I'm thinking is where I'll put the batteries. My plan right now is for 4 29DC deep cycles from walmart. That's about 280 pounds on the passenger side. More than I weigh but more evenly distributed than on my side. I plan on building an airtight box around the batteries and drilling a hole to vent any hydrogen gas outside.

Fresh water tank I'm not sure if I'll be going with a real RV one or with a camping water carrier like a lot of influencers have in their rigs. I think it would be handy to go ahead and use a camping one so I can replace it if need be at walmart etc rather than order one and wait for it. So I'd like to get that as far as possible to the drivers side in the stow n go for ease of refill.

Maybe I'll build another box around the water storage as I'm thinking I might could locate the diesel parking heater under there as well and drill a hole to run the exhaust outside the van. Then I'd need to figure out a way to run the heat into the cabin without drilling a hole in the stow n go closure.. That one I'm not sure of just yet.

 

[Dingfelder]

Do you plan to have any kind of power hook-up?

Watched the video - virtually no how-to, just a showroom kinda thing. Still pretty cool. Would take a sharper eye than mine to make much of it in a practical sense. But that is saying very little indeed, as my practical sense is more or less how to fold a pizza slice to pretend you're from New York.

 

[XERTYX]

Yes at first I'm going to probably start out with 2 of the cheapest polycrystaline 100 watt solar panels I can find on craigslist. The plan is 4 115Ah 29DC marine deep cycles from walmart and at least 400w of solar with an EPEVER Tracer controller.

His video did give me an idea about how to mount the solar. It looks like he just used a 90° elbow and some flat bar.Kinda [font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]like this.[/font] https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbil...-Flat-Bar-with-1-16-in-Thick-802067/204225777

For my build I'm thinking I can fit 2 of the 100 watts side by side using the flat bar and angle such as this one.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbil...in-Zinc-Plated-Slotted-Angle-800517/204225758

The flat bar I think I'll have come out from under the roof rack and then use U-bolts to go thru the bar and around the roof rack. Then another 2 flat bars on each side mounted horizontally on the outside of the angle so I can remove 2 U-bolts and use them as legs to angle towards the sun from right or left when parked.

That's the plan anyway.

The guy that did that build seems to have done a great job. Cost was a huge factor for him as it is for most of us. He has a video on the budget. I think it was like $3k canadian dollars. Around $2k USD if I remember correctly.

 

[abnorm]

^That cheap punched zinc/steel will corrode when exposed to the weather....ALUMINUM is what you need.....Yes it costs more......

 

[Shyian]

If you do a video of your build can you show us what you do to remove or cover up the hooks that the seats attach to? I am looking at them with dismay. ???

If I remove my seats altogether I have no idea what to do with those floor hooks.

 

[XERTYX]

I have seen alot of people using ratchet straps to secure things to the hooks. Bed frame etc. I'm thinking of putting down a layer of composite from home depot but I'm not sure yet. It's like $8 for a 4ft x 8ft sheet.

 

[nature lover]

Watch that cheap composite board if you’re trying to secure anything down to it because that’s basically sawdust with some glue mixed in. Even OSB is better.

 

[XERTYX]

I'll try and post some pics soon.

So I thought the second row seating looked like a bench seat, but it does have the stow n go cubbies under the floor. After I picked up the vehicle the other day I noticed the second row seats ARE in fact bench seats. So 2 levers pushed down and the second row seats are now gone. Much easier than a 15mm deep well socket and an hour or so of labor removing the bolts and screws and plastic trim to remove the second row seats.

So it's now about 100+/- pounds lighter. A video came up the other day in my recommendations about a tour of retired lady traveling in her no-build build minivan. That led me to check out her videos. She had some interesting customizations. Some she said she saw on Bob's channel, others from the guy doing the tour video.

So I bought 1 $1 black foam board panel from dollar tree and spent a while trimming cardboard to make a template and it's now installed on the rear passenger window. From the outside it looks like limo tint. (The windows were already moderately tinted)

Now after fitting the board in place I think I could have opened the rear window and slid the board inside and then closed it and trimmed it out with a razor knife. Live and learn. But long story short I'm going to go to dollar tree possibly today and buy more boards to make a set for all the rear windows. (They're removable when driving)

Another thing this lady had were those LED string lights (fairy lights she called them) that got me to thinking. As right now the budget wont allow for the solar setup I want to build I went to a store called Five Below (all items are $5 or less) and bought an LED strip light with controller that has lots of color selections, a 3600mah USB bank, and a car charger (I have a rear power port).

In the mean time until I can start on the build I want I can have lighting in the rear. I have a butane stove already as well as a breakfast in bed tray that I have always used with the stove. The side caddies are where I store the butane as well as cooking spray, spices, spatula, etc.

As far as a bed. Eventually I'll want a bed frame with under bunk storage. Until then what can I do that isnt wasteful? Air bed? Yeah but it might get worn out, and if it doesnt then its junk when I get the bed built. HAMMOCK! The seat belt posts are held in with a BEASTLY bolt so I'm thinking of putting rock climbing carabiners (I have a dozen or so with my rappelling gear) on the front passenger and rear drivers side seat belt bolts. When the bed is built I have a spare hammock for lounging on outside when it's hot inside the van.

Well that's all for the time being, I'm hoping later to head to town to get some more foam boards and head to goodwill to look for blackout curtains I can hang behind the front seats.

 

[bullfrog]

You are having way too much fun! Lol!!!

 

[XERTYX]

You know it! I got the foam boards. And no, It will not fit in the window frame while open. So the template wasnt a waste of time as it turns out. I got some odds and ends at dollar tree while I was out. Including some alcohol prep pads to clean the plastic trim so I can mount the LEDs.

Tonight after dark I'm gonna test them and see just how bright they are. As I have the controller and remote I can later buy a roll of the LED lights and use a longer section. It only came with 1 meter of lights, but that's enough for now hopefully. If not another $5 will buy a second set.

 

[bullfrog]

I used Gorilla tape folded over the edges to form a thin tapered edge that slid into the area where the glass meets the rubber gasket to form sort of a light seal on reflex insulation which might work if you get too much light coming in around the edges of the foam.

 

[XERTYX]

Yeah that's what I think I'm gonna do. Each additional panel seems to get a little better but they all have a little light seeping in. So far I have spent $7 on panels and I have 3 left. I still have to do the back glass but I'm losing the light today so that will be for tomorrow. 

The panels arent quite long enough for the windows, but I may leave the gaps, not sure yet. But it might be handy to see out. If I can find some cheap fabric I may put up curtains as well.

Well crud. I tried to upload a pic but the app keeps crashing. I'll try later from my tablet.

 

[bagabum]

 I'm gonna build it out. I liked this one and found it pretty interesting. 

Wow, good ideas to start with  from Nick and Maela. My only advise is to sketch it on paper and  make everything work on paper before you cut or modify anything. I personally never do anything without a plan on 5x5 grid paper , an eraser is so easy to move things around, adjust things and correct oversites. With me, this is actually part of the fun. I even itemize my plywood, you would be surprised how changing the layout of your cuts can reduce waste.  Good luck....pictures!