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Silver Dragon Wagon

146K views 327 replies 71 participants last post by  Furload Pilot 
#1 · (Edited)
Hi folks,

A little over a week ago I ordered a Silver 2018 350 SRW Extended High Roof Cargo 3.5L EB with Dual Windowed Sliders from Matt Ford. Projected delivery around Labor Day. The plan is for a full camper conversion in my free time over the course of about a year. I've built out an overland camp trailer on a M416 frame and a boondocking solar pop-up in my day, so I have a bit of experience coming into the project. I'm in the process of selling my current rig, a 2011 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon and a built-out 2014 pop-up to help fund the project.

I hadn't planned on starting a build thread quite yet, but what the ****, I guess it will be a good place to contain my ramblings while I wait impatiently. (I need the posts to use the forum anyway)

Order Sheet:
W3U0 TRANSIT 350 HR VAN
148" WHEELBASE
INGOT SILVER METALLIC
CLOTH
CHARCOAL
PREFERRED EQUIPMENT PKG.101A
XL TRIM
MANUAL AIR CONDITIONER
3.5L GTDI V6 ENGINE
6-SPD AUTO SELECT SHIFT TR
235/65R16 BSW ALL-SEASON
3.31 LIMITED SLIP AXLE X3L
FRONT LICENSE PLATE BRACKET
FIXED PASS/DRV DOOR GLASS
AUTOLAMP W/RAIN SENSING WIPERS
9500# GVWR PACKAGE
CHARCOAL CLOTH 10WAY PWR HEAT
KEYLESS ENTRY PAD
TRAILER TOW PACKAGE
TRAILER WIRING PROVISIONS
MODIFIED VEHICLE WIRING PKG
REAR WINDOW DEFOGGER
CRUISE CONTROL
HEAVY DUTY ALTERNATOR
DUAL HEAVY DUTY BATTERIES
STYLED ALUMINUM WHEEL
HIGH CAPACITY UPFIT SWITCHES
TRAILER BRAKE CONTROLLER
REMOTE START
KEYS 2 ADDITIONAL
AUX FUSE PANEL
4X FRONT SPEAKERS FULL RANGE
PRIVACY GLASS
LOAD AREA PROTECTION PKG
FLOOR COVERING VINYL COMPLETE

MSRP - TOTAL BASE AND OPTIONS $49620
 

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#270 ·
I finally got a chance to work on some finishing touches before our 3 week trip into Eastern Canada. I waited to install shelves into the cabinetry until I got a feel for what would live where. I snuck in an old pistol safe to lock away the important stuff. The last pic is a little tease of another project I'm helping the family with before tailgating season starts ;)
 

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#272 ·
Hi Inkog, Spent a number of hours reviewing this thread last night and learned a lot of good stuff, thank you for posting so much info I know it can be a lot of extra work to document builds.

On the topic of east west bed can you shed some more light on your design specifically around the insulation pockets to fit the 75" short queen?

Per my measurements of my empty van in my driveway, the skin at its widest is just over 77in, the ribs cut that down some, between 0.5 and 1 in per side if we are measuring square. That starts to stress the 75" space for the mattress with insulation in place.

Do you only have thinsulate in that window pocket? Did you have to compress it to get enough space?

I'm torn between a tailored thickness XPS+thermax insulation specifically for that pocket and just throwing my thinsulate in there and calling it a day, or even a hybrid between both in the window pocket.
 
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#273 ·
Yes, I compressed it. I wasn't too concerned as I used ~1/8" birch + 1/4" neoprene on the panels. Its plenty of insulation, the panels never felt cold to the touch all winter. You could use something else, but that's what I had at the time. The final dimension for the bed was a little over 74". I've contemplated trimming an inch or so from the mattress for a toe slot (I'm a weird stomach sleeper), but its not bad if I sleep at a slight angle.
 
#274 ·
I'm exactly 72" tall, and with my head on a pillow, I just fit across my east-west twin bed. My plan is to cover the Thinsulate on the walls with some kind of fabric so that the wall is flexible at each end of the bed. If Thinsulate had a light colored scrim, I'd probably just leave it as it is.
 
#275 ·
Still nocking out little details before our big trip. I thought I'd share this since it solved several problems for me. I added some bungee cord for the over head shelves and brought it up along the headliner to hold our window covers. As a nice side effect it provides great support for the shelf keeping it from raddling.
 

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#283 ·
Hey Inkog - love your build. I'm starting on my own 148 HR and I am particularly interested in your bed design - seems super space/materials efficient and not too complicated. I'm wondering if you could send me any info on what kind of aluminum you used for the vertical and horizontal supports (what thickness, did you use a vertical support in the rear or just the angle aluminum vertical at the front of the bed?) . Also wondering about those little L-brackets you attached the ikea supports to on the ends - are those sturdy enough/ where did you get them and how did you attach them to the side support you had built? Any pics or info would be super appreciated... Really want to do my bed this way but I've never worked with plusnuts or metal of any kind so will be some firsts for me. Thanks so much!
 
#287 · (Edited)
Thanks! It looks like Ian covered most of your questions. I made the brackets out of the same 1/8" angle. They are plenty strong and attached through the same holes that hold on the bar across the top. Standard wood blades/saws will cut aluminum fine. Just be careful, wear eye and hand protection, and clamp your workpiece. My chop saw had a tendency to throw cutoffs around at a very high rate of speed!

No need for aluminum support on the rear, the panel can bolt up the wall at the D pillar. The front angle adds plenty of lateral strength on its own, but if you tie them into forward cabinetry they are rock solid.

The fist pic shows how a single bolt at the rear top corner is through the bracket, bar, and wood into a plusnut in the van wall. If I recall I had to make a hole at this location. I used existing holes wherever I could, but had to make a few in strategic locations throughout the build.
 

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#284 · (Edited)
I can help with some of this, since I recent copied inkog's design.

1/2in hardwood ply, attached to 9 or 10 of the possible t-nut points on the van wall (one side has less points)

1/8in thick 1.5in alu angle at the front bolted every 5 in

1/8in 2in alu strip at the top with bolts (too close) every 4 in. I had originally planned to screw to the ply and wooded out an bolted with 1/4-20 after drilling the hole pattern.

Important to get screws in the t-nut spots near the wheel well, along the horizontal lines, and up the back edge just in front of the d-pillar.

The Ikea rails practically lock onto the 1/8 in alu strip. I just cut some extra 1.5in alu strip into small sections to make my 4 L brackets. The bed is functionally completely secure without them, but you add them for extra crash safety.

I used 3 Ikea rails for my full size bed. I'm reinforcing the bed platform a bit with 2x2 select boards and decking screws. This is more for wear and tear durability than necessity.


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#285 ·
I used 3 Ikea rails for my full size bed. I'm reinforcing the bed platform a bit with 2x2 select boards and decking screws. This is more for wear and tear durability than necessity.
Sweet thanks so much. Looks good, I've got the regular length HR also so good to see it with the ply wrapping over the wheel wells. So no aluminum vertical support in the rear? Did you extend the platform all the way back between the rear side beams of the van?

As for the ikea beam attachment...you just bolt the horizontal aluminum strip to the plywood in a way that leaves it a bit higher than the top edge of the ply so that the beam can grab on? Thanks again...
 
#291 ·
Correct, plusnuts and crossnuts are generally synonymous, rivnuts are a little different and don't have as much pullout strength. Plusnuts are not a necessity by any means, you can use much cheaper and easier to install rivnuts. I used a modified rivnut tool for plusnuts, but you can use simple wrenches Check YouTube for a tutorial.
 
#297 ·
lots of conflicting info here, I'm really not sure which way to go. I've heard rivnuts are more likely to spin and that they won't fit in the existing transit holes, so I guess I'll cash out on the plusnuts and try to fabricate my own tools to install them...
 
#298 · (Edited)
The only spinning I had was from plusnuts, and why I quit using them. I never had a single rivnut spin on me. Get a good tool to set them correctly. The plusnuts have a smooth finish where the rivnuts I used have a knurl that helps them grip well. You're likely to find areas where their are clearance issues for the long plusnuts and you'll have to use the shorter rivnuts.

1/4' 20 rivnuts fit perfectly in most of the holes, although not all rivnuts are the same. Some of the smaller holes will need to be widened, but that's the case with using either fastener.

I had great success with these rivnuts. $0.10/each.

These are the plusnuts I used. Its about the cheapest I could find them ($0.70). They are usually well over $1 in smaller quantities.

I used close to 100 total plusnuts and rivnuts in my build, maybe 20 and 80 respectively.
 
#302 ·
I use a 50 cent grade 8 bolt, hardened washer, an oversize nut and serrated washer to install riv and plusnuts much like this pic I found on google. I drive them tight with my cordless 1/4 impact driver and an open end wrench to hold the oversize nut still. I have installed many hundreds of plusnuts this way.
 

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#303 ·
I also stopped using Plusnuts. Seems like they do not like thin sheet metal. I had 4 or 5 spin on me and had to grind them off to get remove them - it was super frustrating! Rivnuts crush all the way around and I've yet to have one spin.

I have a whole bag of plusnuts if anyone wants them =)
 
#315 ·
Sorry to hear about the spinning issue. I’ve installed about 150 slotted, pre-bulbed inserts with this set-up using a cordless impact driver and haven’t had a single spin. I used a regular drill once and it was evident an impact driver was necessary. Too much torque with a regular drill. When the outer piece of the installation tool finishes crushing the insert the impact drill just ratchets.

I bought 100 packs of Hanson inserts on Amazon for around $53 if I remember correctly. I think the tool with 2 each 1/4-20 and 1/4-28 drivebolts was around $28.
131269
 
#304 · (Edited)
I went with the rivnuts and a 50$ rexbeti tool (came with a bunch of rivnuts as well) and they take about 30 seconds to install, fit perfectly into the existing holes in the van, and are rock solid. I have no idea why people think plusnuts are necessary at nearly 1$/piece.

On a separate note - anyone (including Inkog) who has followed Inkog's bed design, I'm wondering if there are any tricks to finding the right locations on the 1/2in ply to drill holes for bolts that will go into the rivnuts. I have installed my rivnuts for the bed supports and cut my ply, but I don't trust my measuring skills to drill holes in perfect locations.
 
#305 ·
you get the hanger bolts from home depot - they are 1/4-20 on one side and wood screw on the other. Install the nuts, put in hanger bolts, bring the piece of wood into the van and knock it with a rubber mallet or covered hammer at each of the bolt positions. Drill the holes in the board with a 3/8" bit - everything fits perfect!
 
#308 ·
Hello, new to this forum but what a great build and great documentation! Thanks for that! I am still in research mode and am pretty well set on a Transit but the exact model and all that will likely be determined by whatever great deal I stumble across first. Here is hoping the new 2020's drop soon so maybe I can score a massive deal on a 2019 (seen some within a few hours of me with the Quigley already complete been sitting for a couple months).
I am sure I will be asking a lot of questions once I start (mainly electrical as I suck at that). Again, thanks for the work on documenting and congrats on a great build.
 
#310 · (Edited)
This photo is from yesterday when I hadn't yet gotten the little L-brackets installed on the ends of the skorva beams, but I finished that up today. It's looking great! One side seams to have enough play to hear the wood rub against the metal a bit while driving so I am hoping that just tightening some bolts will fix that.

I'm going to put the platform on tomorrow. I was hoping to be able to useslats or 1x2s but there will be too much space on the ends for the mattress to flop into. I'm not so keen on buying 2 more sheets of expensive 1/2 inch ply, and not having breathability underr the mattress. thoughts anyone?
 

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#311 ·
Last winter there was lots of hysteria on various RV forums about black mold on and under the bed. 100% had plywood under bed, most had garage or 5th wheel hitch under bed. Condensation!

Can be countered by insulation and ventilation. Good luck.


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#317 ·
Its been a while since I've posted so I thought I'd share the new solar install we completed today. (3) Renogy 175W flexible panels for a total of 525W and a Victron Smart Solar MPPT 100/50 controller. I have just enough room to add another panel down the road if needed. I've seen 450W peek out of them so far. Quite happy with the output.

Vehicle Automotive exterior Plant community Grass Walkway
 
#319 ·
Thanks! I used an obscene amount of 3M 4991 VHB, over 20 yards for the three panels. This VHB is several mm thick, and I used enough so the panels don't directly contact the van roof anywhere.

Which panels are you going with? I originally planed on the 160W but these new 175W panels were actually cheaper at the time.
 
#320 ·
I have had the 160W panels sitting in my house for like a year now - van build is slow going. I was planning the same mounting method and have a crap ton of VHB sitting in a box. I had also considered dual lock as a mounting method to get more space, but recent experiences with that are giving me pause.

VHB is a known good mounting method for many aftermarket items to car exteriors (cosmetic body work) so it's likely the best way.
 
#324 ·
Hi all, it's been a long while...

We are still loving the van and have travelled in her extensively over the past few years! She is still running and performing great, with no major issues. Just hit 50k mi and needed rear brakes and rotors.

I've decided to install Flarespace flares with slider windows. They should arrive early next week. Hopeing to get them done before our Canadian trip up and around Lake Superior in 3 weeks. I'll be sure to post up some pics of the install.

Cheers,
 
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