ViaVacavi adventure vehicle build log

[ViaVacavi]

It's been quite a while since I've updated the thread!  It's been a very busy year between work, two van builds and various other projects going on.  I'll be putting a post together here in a few days to show recent additions to the van, including an amplified RV antenna, cell phone repeater, more cabinetry and some other goodies.

But for now, check this out!
[img=640x426]http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/...-4D53-87A2-DADD5D1B9231_zpsf9kpyzhr.jpg[/img]

Jed from IntoTheMystery13 stopped out to check out my van builds last month when he was passing through Ohio.  We shot a tour of both vans and also an instructional video covering a lot of the foam build concepts.

He released the first tour on Youtube yesterday.  This tour is not the van this post has been about (that one is coming soon though!), it's the 2nd van build I've referenced here a couple of times.  On sunday, he's releasing the instructional video where we show some of the techniques I used to do the foam cabinet builds.

Here's the first tour video:

 

[BobBski]

Very very nice, watched the Mystery 13 video too.

 

[Headache]

Electrical System (Finally)

This is the part I've been waiting for!  I'm a bit of a junkie when it comes to electronics, having worked in the renewable energy field, made and designed my own controllers, circuits and PCBs, and having been programming since I was in elementary school.  This is the one area I'm very particular about, so it's taken a bit more time to hash out than I wanted originally.

You're hired!  

That cabinetry is amazing!  I've watched the video about the new van as well as another on making the cabinets and you've just secured for me my new cabinetry.  I love it!

 

[user 12892]

ViaVacavi you and your wife did an amazing job.

I'm gonna download this thread as a html files and storing it for when I get ready to build many years from now. Been looking through the older threads and have seen many broken photos so feel saving the best of the best is important. Already saved Falcon's and BigT's builds. Wasn't easy to find the right app on an android phone

 

[Vanada]

I'm strongly considering using your polyiso cabinet method now! Such a neat build.

 

[ainley53]

TOTALLY ingenuos and awesome job. Just read the whole thread. Thanks for sharing. Going to steal some of your ideas. Hope to see y'all at RTR 2017.

David

 

[ViaVacavi]

Thanks guys. It's been a pretty long year taking on two van builds, but I've learned a ton along the way. I think Jed from IntoTheMystery13 will be releasing another video in a couple of days showing the brown paper bag technique, and then a tour of the van (the one this thread is about) probably a week later. We shot 5 videos when he came though, there was just so much to cover.

I'm also starting to experiment with advancing the technique some. I recently bought Monstaliner roll-on bed liner that I want to test directly on the foam with no screen and see how that holds up. It comes in tons of different colors and I think it could make the process even easier!

 

[AngryVanMan]

Looking forward the the additional videos, I just saw Jed's video about your van and I was like "I know where I've seen that construction before!" but then I was confused because I was sure it was a "he" that was posting on here about it, and a different van!

 

[hanesworthy]

Fantastic work, and love your creativity in materials and design! Mega-kudos!

 

[joeyib]

how sturdy is using that foam board for shelving that seems so easy to use!

 

[FinallyFree]

Simply amazing...all of it!

 

[VintageVan]

I love your whole journey. Very cool van. Impressed with what you went threw to make it work.

 

[Kozi_Kidy]

About the XPS foam cabinets, do you think we could use other kinds of foam? On my local Craigslist I found some polystyrene at a good price. Anybody play around with different foams?

 

[rvpopeye]

I would guess as long as the paint (or glue) would stick to it , why not?

It wouldn't cost much to experiment.................

 

[Dirk Mitchell]

I saw your foam cabinet build on YouTube! Thanks for sharing the knowledge with us I am planning on using it in my build, it will definitely save weight and it has a bit more flexibility than wood options. You were determined on this van I would not have stuck it out past the motor issues, way to stay positive and have a nice finished product.

 

[ianskelley]

Hello ViaVacavi,

Thank you so much for documenting your unique building ideas.
I originally saw you on Mystery13 talking about your foam cabinets and I found it intriguing.
I would like to do the cabinets and countertops in my van with your technique, but I have a few initial questions.

In doing contertops...
Did you use the Glidden gripper to attach the luan to the foam?
How resilient is luan as a countertop? Would it be better to use something like a laminate sheet on top of the foam?
Did you ever try using edge banding for the edges? 

Thank you so much for your time and input.
You can see the beginning stages of my van build here:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrte_QVdgKxdvTZjp5h32n6mNipIWuwTJ

Ian

 

[ianskelley]

ViaVacavi,

I am doing your curtain mod to my van.
I ordered the track and the hooks.
Where did you get the track end cap?
I cant seem to find it on amazon.

Thanks for your great design ideas.

Ian

 

[ViaVacavi]

ViaVacavi,

I am doing your curtain mod to my van.
I ordered the track and the hooks.
Where did you get the track end cap?
I cant seem to find it on amazon.

Thanks for your great design ideas.

Ian

I just PM's you the information, but for the sake of others - here is what I used at the ends of the iBeam track
https://www.amazon.com/RV-Designer-...&qid=1483003910&sr=8-10&keywords=i+beam+track
Though it's cheaper to just drill a hole and put a bolt or machine screw and nut at each end!

 

[ViaVacavi]

I have quite a few updates.  It's been a long time since I've had time to catch up the build log.  We use our van for travel and adventures quite often, so we are normally quite busy!

We gave the van a paint job in April this year.  After taking a trip through Kentucky back in February and noticing large sections of the original paint job feeling away in hand-size chunks, we knew something had to be done about the appearance.  We had a plan for quite some time to re-paint the van with Monstaliner bed liner.  We were going to go from a more fancy/RV look, to a more adventurous and off-road look.  This included removing the running boards along the sides.  Boy did that give a lot of extra clearance!  We can slide a standard size 5-gallon bucket under the van now!

After removing the running boards, we did some body work to fill in all of the holes left behind by the screws, scraped off any loose and flaking paint, and sanded the entire body to rough up the paint a little.  We also used painter's tape to mask off a 10" strip around the bottom and around the wheel wells, then wiped the entire van down with MEK to remove any wax or residues.  The pictures below can tell the rest, but in total it took 3 days all together, and about $700 in Monstaliner.

 

[ViaVacavi]

Another update:  (This is why we've been way too busy to be on this site much at all)

As winter was approaching last year (2016) we made a last minute decision to build a tinyhouse.  We came up with the idea and some details on how we wanted to build it late in October, and by the 2nd week of December had an empty shell standing.  We've been living in it since then, finishing the inside as we go.  This will be a perfect home base for us!  Now we have the best of both worlds - the freedom to travel in our van and the stability of having a home base. The idea of staying through the winter in the van in Ohio weather wasn't really a great option for us.

We had to go through some hurdles to pull it off, as we built it at the same campground we've had the van at (the county health department had to approve it since it's not on wheels, but they agreed that we could build it on skids so it could be winched onto a trailer if it were to need moved, making it portable).  We had to move to a more permanent area, but now we have a 400+ square foot tinyhouse (plus another 200 sqft of loft) and it only costs us about $87 a month in campground maintenance fees, plus our electric bill!  So we've been too busy working day and night to finish off the tinyhouse, and it's getting so close to completion!

Just a few quick details:  We had the cabin built at a local amish builder's place just a mile away from camp.  It was built on skids and delivered on a large flat bed.  Its 12'x40', including a 6' covered porch.  It's a bit over 400 sqft downstairs, and about 200 sqft of loft space.  It stands just over 12 feet tall.  We had this build brand new, all vinyl siding, nice windows and entry door, insulated floor, metal roof and all for $7400 delivered.  Since then we've been finishing the inside ourselves, as it was delivered as an empty shell

I'll post more about it when I have some time, but figured I'd throw a few pictures up for now

[img=640x1138]http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/...use/IMG_20161221_173654_zps0lpeb01r.jpg[/img]