Van pics

[DCosmc]

Hi everyone,
Some folks have been asking for pictures of our van. Here it is! She is a 2001 chevy express 1500 with 114k. We will begin building to meet our needs this weekend. I will keep you all posted and appreciate all the suggestions and advice (keep it coming)!

 

[WheelEstate USA]

Hey, looky there, they really do have a van and a nice looking one too

 

[caseyc]

Yeah, nice van! It appears to be a hightop, but I've noticed these types of hightops are not possible to fully stand upright. I'm about 5'10", and I don't think I can fully stand upright in your van, but I could be wrong. By the way, I don't have a hightop myself, so I'm always jealous of others with a hightop, haha!

 

[WheelEstate USA]

Hitops are kinda nice for a little headroom, but a van doesn't have enough space to walk around, so its a low priority in my book. In a van you just move from one position to another and I'm fine sitting to cook, etc.
We'll hold any dances outdoors

 

[accrete]

Hi DC. Best wishes on your build.
I thought i'd share a link to my van build since it is the same size rig as yours. My wife and i have a chevy 1500 rb van with a high top and have done lots to make it live-able. Ours is just an adventure rig, but we can go out on extended trips fully self contained.

Happy Trails.

_Link to our 2010 Chevy 1500 AWD van conversion build thread_

Thom

 

[DCosmc]

Thom,
Thanks for the link. I love the set up and it looks like a great rig! We will be heading out west for 6 weeks (and we will see where life takes us from there as we are just open to exploring possibilities), at any rate Oregon is a place we plan to land and explore a while. Private message me if you have tips and suggestions.

Take care!

 

[SoulRaven]

Hitops are kinda nice for a little headroom, but a van doesn't have enough space to walk around, so its a low priority in my book. In a van you just move from one position to another and I'm fine sitting to cook, etc.
We'll hold any dances outdoors

With low top vans you can still dance indoors, you just do it horizontally!

 

[WheelEstate USA]

With low top vans you can still dance indoors, you just do it horizontally!

Yup, we know that dance

 

[DCosmc]

Love the responses! We would have gone high or low top (with a slight preference for high)depending on what we came across. I'm over 6 feet so standing in either is out. I can however walk comfortably front to back with a slight hunch!

Others on the forum have said high tops give a comfortable feeling of being a little more roomy and that seems true for us. I'd say the best perk
Is the storage space overhead but that's about it from what I can tell so far.

 

[caseyc]

DCosmc, with your hightop van, are you able to park inside a typical indoor shopping mall garage? Many indoor garages have a clearance height around 7' feet high.

 

[wagoneer]

View attachment 973Most hightops are only standable about 40% some 100% I live in the standable area my bed intrudes into the non standable area the rest is storage.

 

[WheelEstate USA]

Casey...Our van stands at 7' 2", with a standard top. No way we're parking in a garage, in most cases.
OTOH, why would we wanna park in a garage anyway??

 

[Patrick46]

Hey DC

Where and what are you planning on checking out in Oregon??

I'm out here on the Southern Oregon Coastline, and could possibly stear you to whatever kinda things you wanna see. (it's always nice to have a tour guide)

Great rig and maybe we'll seeya soon! Safe travels!

 

[caseyc]

Hello Jay,

Why? Cuz of one 3 letter word: "Sun" When the sun is blazing hot outdoors, I want to be able to run for shelter inside an indoor garage, which helps noticeably. My van is like a greenhouse effect and traps heat for many hours, even though my windows are tinted and shaded.

When my van was stock, the entire height of my van was approx 6'8" high, including the stock luggage racks. When my van was stock, I was able to enter a number of indoor garages, including a garage that had free 90 minute parking for a gym I belong to. But as you know, with my cargo boxes on top of the roof, that increased the entire vehicle height which prevented entry to many places, including mechanic shops I normally used to go to.

That's why I will be taking off the cargo boxes from my rooftop next week. Once done, I should be able to enter indoor garages again, not all, but quite a few I think.

I typically park outdoors anyway, especially away from other cars. But I do miss the option to be able to park indoors if the need arises.

 

[DCosmc]

We have some outdoor double level garages around here we can get in and out of. A 7'er I don't think would work. Haven't done an exterior measurement myself but the company that did the conversion says (on website) it's about 7.8

 

[wagoneer]

Hey bindi I see you like the van .Know what you mean, the rack on top does touch the hanging poles going into parking areas, found out the hard way good thing I was going very slow. Driving to Silver Springs Nevada for some exploration 6/5/14. I miss you guys and wish you the best, Casey you too lets do the coffee thing soon.

 

[WheelEstate USA]

Cosmc....Measure for yourself. I would never take a chance on the mfgr specs.

Casey....Since you're an urban dweller, I suppose I get the garage thing.
Were it my rig, one of the first things I'd do is paint that roof white. Dark green makes a good solar oven.
We were set on white or tan in our search and this van is white
I'm still going to put a coat of elastomeric roof white (which I have) on top, which adds a slight amount of insulation, but mainly more reflective.

Also, most people use black tint on windows, but I'm considering using the gold (more reflective) since the large rear windows will be paneled/insulated from the inside.
Right now they are covered with Reflectix, per the YT vid...

 

[LeeRevell]

Casey, have you considered installing better/more insulation?
I really like Bob's system of a white plywood panel atop the roof with solar panels over it - uses the same idea of spaced reflector as the older Land Rovers. I'll be trying this when I get to it with my van build. My E150 is already white, but will need a total repaint after dealing with aged/peeling paint and rust issues anyway.

 

[caseyc]

Fortunately, where I hang out, it doesn't get hot too often. But there may be several days or so when it's literally 101F degrees inside the van on hot days! I'm not exaggerating, cuz I have a digital thermometer that measures to 1/10 of a degree. If I were staying in say Arizona most of the time, I would positively make some drastic changes.

 

[WheelEstate USA]

101 is nothing compared to the temps we can reach inside a vehicle out this way in summer. A white roof would drop that a 10-15 degrees for you easily. And, its cheap to DYI...or, you could cruise out this way and we'll do it together