[Tcaschy021]

I like this. Very clean. can you expand on the melamine coating?

 

[gregoryx]

Upper-wall / ceiling post.
This is one of the more cool things - at least the way it ended up working.

Making the center of the ceiling install got pretty easy by leaving out any concerns of the side walls - how to meet the off-angle setup and variations as the wall meet differently where there are cross-members or not.

It's a little hard to describe... so here's a shot of the rear driver's side with cabinet frames in place but no wall or ceiling behind them. The lower long extrusion (nearly 12 feet long running from rear to near-front) happens to be /pretty close/ to perpendicular to the floor if you go straight up. Maybe it makes sense to look at the panel on the far right of this photo. It meets the extrusion at the front edge but meets a small spacer (like 3/16") at the top and thus becomes "straight" relative to the floor. That's what inspired the final method.

While trying to figure out how to best attach that side panel AND how to hold the ceiling in place, we noticed that the panel above IS holding the ceiling in place... meaning if we really do it right, this could be done with little to no visible hardware. New goal!

So... pull the cabinets down (started with the driver's side) and make a white ceiling panel that fits into the slot on the ceiling extrusion and fits perfectly up against the upper 1/2" ply on the wall. THEN the trick / cool part; make the wall-panel so that it is held into the wall-extrusion and magically STICKS to the wall at the top, thus holding the ceiling in place. All well and good... but rattling a bit, of course. Add Thinsulate to both top and side and the tension holds it all perfectly solid.

Here's the side panel. Duo lock on the top, these z-clips on the bottom. Initially, we were going to screw the z-clips on but they held great with just VHB. That much cleaner. They have thick UHMW tape on the bottom where they drop into the extrusion slots to assure they don't rattle. We went with making these side panels flush with the extrusion so they would be clean as the back of the cabinets as well as look clean where exposed.

Popped that thing up with both pieces and did the happy-dance. So cool how clean it came out!

There are two elements that aren't as /perfect/ as they could be: the 90-degree mounts that hold the extrusion on the wall had to be addressed - that's the little notches at the bottom. And there are similar notches on the ceiling extrusion as well - not at all visible here or even if you try, really. So... yay!

Here's a shot with the piece of Thinsulate on the back.

Added outlets to be accessible inside each cabinet.

Then re-installed the cabinets.

Funny part, of course, is that all of that is only visible if one opens the cabinets mostly. But now we need to replicate it three more times: the opposite side, then both sides in the front.

You can see at the back of the shower here (doesn't have the water-proof piece in place) that the original test-case is still in place and looking half-decent.

 

[gregoryx]

I like this. Very clean. can you expand on the melamine coating?

Added the link in the post. Let me know if there's any other references I can add.

FTR, it's probably not uncommon stuff. But the stuff at Home Depot wasn't even close in quality. Come to think of it... maybe the stuff I'm using is more "high-density fiberboard" than MDF. 🤔 I started using the 2-sided melamine after seeing how much more durable it seems. That's what's on the front ceiling panel and all the cabinet panels now.

 

[gregoryx]

Maxxfan install.
Plenty of these out there... but for reference, I guess?

We were working on separate things at the time, so almost no photos.

We sized it up using Hein's adapters, then taped inside and out with masking tape, then cut the hole with a jigsaw, dropping bits of metal all over a plastic sheet we put on the bed for this purpose. Glad we figured that out at least.

We used Hein's adapters top and bottom. We used stainless steel screws with stainless steel fender washers and stainless steel nylon lock nuts (and more fender washers) on the bottom - small-ish stuff that we had laying around. We used 3M window weld on every surface. Then sealed the whole thing with clear silicone - including sealing over the top of the screws and washers. It is water-proof.

Only gotcha: man, that window-weld black goop gets on your skin. But it washes off okay... unless... you then use silicone to effectively seal the window weld on your skin with a nice coat of silicone. It took a couple days to get it all off the hands. I'd recommend gloves.

For anyone who hasn't installed one of these, the top photo is what it looks like FINSHED. The fan screws onto that top flange and sits over it - so it's really just that mating to the roof that needs to be water tight.

After doing ours this way, we helped a friend do theirs much closer to the Maxxfan instructions: just using sheet-metal screws directly through the van sheet-metal. A year later, theirs is as water-tight as ours - with a lot less work and hassle. 🤷‍♀️

 

[Kevo]

Love following your Adventure van build - very impressive! The modular approach, continual improvement and excellent documentation are inspiring. Clean lines on your ceiling look great - like the subtle arch. How much higher is the center of your final ceiling than at the connection at the side rails? Are you happy with your choice to go 30mm 8020 and it’s trade offs? Pretty random questions but overall just a huge “Wow! On your awesome build”!

 

[wsly]

"...mountains are our Holy Land, and we ought to saunter through them reverently...”
View attachment 159423
View attachment 159452

1. Guiding Plan
2. Initial Order and Purchase
3. Overall build - floor, insulation, 8020, templates, etc.
4. Bed - electric raise / lower plus 'couch mode'
5. Galley - oven, hot and cold water, fresh and gray storage, shower, and ESPRESSO!
6. Electrical - 8kWh 24V Victron spend-fest
7. Garage slider - the WHOLE garage slides out
8. Removable recirculating shower
9. Propane locker- 3030 framed enclosure, vented, sealed with tape
10. Roadmaster Active Suspension - decided to try something different from sway bar
11. Air Lift Load Lifter 5000 - raise / lower rear end by remote
12. Espar B4L-M2 Space Heater install - drop the fuel tank.. yikes! locating heater in rear
12b. Enclosing heater output and routing it to van center
13. Electrical - relay control and new UI panel (10/20/2021)
14. Window covers (first batch - from Van Essentials) (11/11/2021)
15. Comments on keeping the missus happy (Happy Wife = Happy Life)
16a. Ceiling install - full-length extrusions, white melamine, and front panel
16b. Ceiling sides and upper-wall panels - hardware-less install and clean look

Others (TBD):

• Refrigerator cabinet / mount (over electrical cabinet)
• Propane locker
• 20-gallon under-chassis fresh-water tank (currently functional but still a lot to do)
• On-board-air system - Viair 400P Automatic with 2.5-gallon tank

• MaxxAir fan rear install - the overkill install
• Scopema swivels on 2020 power / heated seats - how we protected the wire and raised the seat mounts
• Upper cabinets - 3030 framed, hinged doors, latches, varied sizes - focus on things looking "spacious"
• 2-person seat - not comfortable for anyone other than children, runners and rock-climbers
• DIY roof rack - HPDE bases, angle aluminum uprights, 30mm aluminum structure (and why we're probably going to re-build it)
• Lagun table mount by slider - table for swivels AND extra counter-top

More:

• Wall panels - attaching with Duo Lock velcro connecting - panels pop off, invisible attaching
• Bug screens for slider and rear - I've bought four but none seem right
• Cellular amp - in use but not "installed"
• Exterior lights - flood lights for camping and driving - still in the boxes
• Sound-bar and sub for music in the rig - ultimately for movies as well

The intro post:

I'm gonna put up a thread since I keep thinking I should. I'm going to try to document (with photos and parts lists) the things we did that aren't the standard stuff. So not as much attention paid to insulation, floor, swivels or solar panels - plenty of that here and elsewhere. Maybe a little bit on the aluminum extrusion model, though that's got plenty of traction as well (aka 8020).

I'll link to each post for the key build topics. Nudge me if I screw up or miss or skip something.

I'll do the "reserved post" for the first few and then just do the others as I get around to it.

If anything looks interesting but I haven't done it yet, nudge me; that's more fun than working off of my own "to do" list.



Planned but not executed at all yet - help me figure these out!

• Stereo upgrade - speakers and whatever... amps? DSP? don't know yet
• Finish work to pretty up the walls and doors and window openings - really lost on this
• Window covers - might just buy them if I can get over the price
• Bedliner cover on exterior lower plastic panels and rockers
• Wheel well liners
• Roof rack fairing
• Monitor / screen for watching movies in bed
• Floor-based vent to pull more air - or keep using the windows cracked?
• Front skid / bash plate
• Add RPI for remote access / monitoring

 

[wsly]

"...mountains are our Holy Land, and we ought to saunter through them reverently...”
View attachment 159423
View attachment 159452

1. Guiding Plan
2. Initial Order and Purchase
3. Overall build - floor, insulation, 8020, templates, etc.
4. Bed - electric raise / lower plus 'couch mode'
5. Galley - oven, hot and cold water, fresh and gray storage, shower, and ESPRESSO!
6. Electrical - 8kWh 24V Victron spend-fest
7. Garage slider - the WHOLE garage slides out
8. Removable recirculating shower
9. Propane locker- 3030 framed enclosure, vented, sealed with tape
10. Roadmaster Active Suspension - decided to try something different from sway bar
11. Air Lift Load Lifter 5000 - raise / lower rear end by remote
12. Espar B4L-M2 Space Heater install - drop the fuel tank.. yikes! locating heater in rear
12b. Enclosing heater output and routing it to van center
13. Electrical - relay control and new UI panel (10/20/2021)
14. Window covers (first batch - from Van Essentials) (11/11/2021)
15. Comments on keeping the missus happy (Happy Wife = Happy Life)
16a. Ceiling install - full-length extrusions, white melamine, and front panel
16b. Ceiling sides and upper-wall panels - hardware-less install and clean look

Others (TBD):

• Refrigerator cabinet / mount (over electrical cabinet)
• Propane locker
• 20-gallon under-chassis fresh-water tank (currently functional but still a lot to do)
• On-board-air system - Viair 400P Automatic with 2.5-gallon tank

• MaxxAir fan rear install - the overkill install
• Scopema swivels on 2020 power / heated seats - how we protected the wire and raised the seat mounts
• Upper cabinets - 3030 framed, hinged doors, latches, varied sizes - focus on things looking "spacious"
• 2-person seat - not comfortable for anyone other than children, runners and rock-climbers
• DIY roof rack - HPDE bases, angle aluminum uprights, 30mm aluminum structure (and why we're probably going to re-build it)
• Lagun table mount by slider - table for swivels AND extra counter-top

More:

• Wall panels - attaching with Duo Lock velcro connecting - panels pop off, invisible attaching
• Bug screens for slider and rear - I've bought four but none seem right
• Cellular amp - in use but not "installed"
• Exterior lights - flood lights for camping and driving - still in the boxes
• Sound-bar and sub for music in the rig - ultimately for movies as well

The intro post:

I'm gonna put up a thread since I keep thinking I should. I'm going to try to document (with photos and parts lists) the things we did that aren't the standard stuff. So not as much attention paid to insulation, floor, swivels or solar panels - plenty of that here and elsewhere. Maybe a little bit on the aluminum extrusion model, though that's got plenty of traction as well (aka 8020).

I'll link to each post for the key build topics. Nudge me if I screw up or miss or skip something.

I'll do the "reserved post" for the first few and then just do the others as I get around to it.

If anything looks interesting but I haven't done it yet, nudge me; that's more fun than working off of my own "to do" list.



Planned but not executed at all yet - help me figure these out!

• Stereo upgrade - speakers and whatever... amps? DSP? don't know yet
• Finish work to pretty up the walls and doors and window openings - really lost on this
• Window covers - might just buy them if I can get over the price
• Bedliner cover on exterior lower plastic panels and rockers
• Wheel well liners
• Roof rack fairing
• Monitor / screen for watching movies in bed
• Floor-based vent to pull more air - or keep using the windows cracked?
• Front skid / bash plate
• Add RPI for remote access / monitoring

Hi, Just ordered EXT, Hi with heated seats. Can you expand on your plan post on protecting the wires while installing Swivel bases? Thanks.

 

[gregoryx]

Love following your Adventure van build - very impressive! The modular approach, continual improvement and excellent documentation are inspiring. Clean lines on your ceiling look great - like the subtle arch. How much higher is the center of your final ceiling than at the connection at the side rails? Are you happy with your choice to go 30mm 8020 and it’s trade offs? Pretty random questions but overall just a huge “Wow! On your awesome build”!

Thank you, @Kevo. Glad it's helpful.

Let's see on those questions... good questions that I haven't heard before!
1- 2" difference. 74" high at the very edge of the wall. 76" at the very center. Center section is pretty close to that 76" for about two feet wide.
2- Quite happy with the 30mm. Seems the perfect size - a bit stronger than 1-inch; a bit more delicate than the 1.5-inch stuff. Very convenient for getting connectors, since the metric Chinese stuff is all over Amazon. Only down-side is less profile options - less rounded, less options with no grooves, that sort of stuff. But since we did everything from just a big bulk of extrusion, I'm not sure how much we'd have used those anyway. And it turns out to look pretty good with the plastic inserts, so... good enough.

 

[gregoryx]

Hi, Just ordered EXT, Hi with heated seats. Can you expand on your plan post on protecting the wires while installing Swivel bases? Thanks.

You bet. Hadn't bothered since there's so many already here... we were one of the earlier ones with the 10-way power and the swivels and lots of them since. Can't hurt to post the photos, though!

 

[Michael Ophus]

Four Season? You do not appear to have any real insulation. But I guess if you buy a big enough heater it will not matter.

 

[gregoryx]

Scopema swivels with power seats
(Funny that this says, "with power seats," now... but there were questions of whether they'd work with power seats when they first came out.)

Not too many photos on this one. I figured lots of other people would cover this and there's nothing unique or interesting about the install. But just in case it's of interest to anyone.

Install method same as everyone else:
1- dismount the seat
2- install the swivel on the bottom of the seat base
3- cut or bend the child-seat-mount as desired (we cut ours off with an angle-grinder)
4- add a bit of spacers between swivel and seat (for power seats to have more room for the cable)
5- protect the cable for the inevitable contact /somewhere/
6- cut the bottom of the plastic off the seat (or it won't turn)

Finished setup allows the driver's and passenger's seat swiveled around to take advantage of the table - either mounted by the door in 4-person mode...

... or mounted off the shower in 2-person mode.

Here we've got the swivel mounted to the seat-base and we've double-wrapped the seat plug with two layers of split-loom. First layer of the smaller 3/8" stuff, second layer with 1/2" or 3/4" (can't remember which - you can see two sizes in the upper-right) then wrapped with gaffer's tape - which is tough stuff and stays sticky without doing that goopy mess that duck tape does. (Yes, it's "duck tape," not, "duct tape," originally and interestingly - though I thought it was surely duct-tape for years.)

We added a couple washers to raise the seat a bit - not much, really. We bought bolts that were same grade but a little longer and used a few washers we had laying around to end up with this setup. Very little additional lift. 3/16" maybe?

It's enough lift that this is the worst binding it does. It's enough room that there's no real pressure on the wrapped cable and not much pressure on the plastic motor mount setup. This photo is the worst-case position.

This is what it looks like when it's up at the highest position.

If you have the seat moved all the way forward, this is how close it comes to the "large" center console. The seats can be rotated with the doors closed, but it's a bit of a forward-and-back dance - or there is one magical point where it barely touches and rotates all the way... but that "barely" eventually wears the fabric off the arm-rest (going to have to tape that, I think).

Since you have to raise the seat to the highest position in order to rotate it, it's nice to know that the highest position is actually still a very good seat-height when rotated all the way around. Thanks to the angle of the seat-base, basically.

Didn't take many photos of the driver's side - basically the same - but this is how we brought the cable through the battery cover over the dual-batteries. Just cut the plastic away until the big plug fit through and the hole was close enough to where we needed it.

Sitting in the driver's seat, about to enjoy a grilled-cheese sandwich while looking out over Serene Lake (clever name, right?) after a good mountain-bike ride.

 

[dorkmatt]

@gregoryx Curious why ya went for a knock-off relay control panel (vs. say Redarc, Switch-Pros, sPod) - guessing purely cost and convenience?

The single gang box to control 12V devices are very slick, however I'd prefer to have additional switch control - say SwitchPro's "External trigger inputs" via a Raspberry Pi / Arduino, etc. Apparently some of the cheapie models don't have any backlight control, not sure a bright blue nightlight is ideal Have you had any issues with constant on devices powered from this? Guessing your model is MOSFET's or solid state relays?

Electrical: install relay control board
....
So... relays and a relay control panel seemed ideal. Turns out they start pretty cheap. Considered ones that cost up to $1000. Considered building my own with RPI / Arduino. Decided to try the $110 unit that looked like it might work. Here we go!

 

[gregoryx]

@gregoryx Curious why ya went for a knock-off relay control panel (vs. say Redarc, Switch-Pros, sPod) - guessing purely cost and convenience?

The single gang box to control 12V devices are very slick, however I'd prefer to have additional switch control - say SwitchPro's "External trigger inputs" via a Raspberry Pi / Arduino, etc. Apparently some of the cheapie models don't have any backlight control, not sure a bright blue nightlight is ideal Have you had any issues with constant on devices powered from this? Guessing your model is MOSFET's or solid state relays?

I looked at some of the more expensive setups and considered the DIY with Arduino... but settled for something that is disposable price-wise on the likely chance that they're not that different from all the stuff at premium prices sold for the off-road crowd.

I'd say this worked out exactly as hoped / expected: it's a simple premise and it works - just relays and a hard-wired panel. Very little effort on my part, relative to everything else. In spite of the unclear Chinese marketing and instructions, it turns out the backlight on this turns off automatically and the buttons look pretty good when I print on a large white-on-black sticker and X-acto it to fit the hole (though I've only done one of them to my satisfaction and now need to do the rest).

My preference for an alternative would be to have twice as many relays and it be remote-controllable by an attractive web interface. I'm still holding a possibility of using an HA solution for control since the remote and semi-attractive part would be solved. I had a Raspberry Pi set up with HomeSeer that I was going to do Z-Wave relays with... but it's just SO much hardware. I wish there was a nice setup that looked identical to this AND had some standard-based remote control capacity.

Functionally... no issues. Controls stuff as much as 30A or so and no problems thus far.

I think the one that appealed to me more was a wireless unit - looked the same, but RF from control panel. But it seemed a bit too "young" to try (and was ~$250 for the new-ish Chinese knock-off).

I would've paid $1000 for a unit that was remote-controllable. But I didn't find one. I figure, worst-case, I can get relay control into the Victron Cerbo setup - maybe they'll add support for more Arduino controls since they're Beagle- or RPI-based.

 

[Brandon]

I looked at some of the more expensive setups and considered the DIY with Arduino... but settled for something that is disposable price-wise on the likely chance that they're not that different from all the stuff at premium prices sold for the off-road crowd.

I'd say this worked out exactly as hoped / expected: it's a simple premise and it works - just relays and a hard-wired panel. Very little effort on my part, relative to everything else. In spite of the unclear Chinese marketing and instructions, it turns out the backlight on this turns off automatically and the buttons look pretty good when I print on a large white-on-black sticker and X-acto it to fit the hole (though I've only done one of them to my satisfaction and now need to do the rest).

My preference for an alternative would be to have twice as many relays and it be remote-controllable by an attractive web interface. I'm still holding a possibility of using an HA solution for control since the remote and semi-attractive part would be solved. I had a Raspberry Pi set up with HomeSeer that I was going to do Z-Wave relays with... but it's just SO much hardware. I wish there was a nice setup that looked identical to this AND had some standard-based remote control capacity.

Functionally... no issues. Controls stuff as much as 30A or so and no problems thus far.

I think the one that appealed to me more was a wireless unit - looked the same, but RF from control panel. But it seemed a bit too "young" to try (and was ~$250 for the new-ish Chinese knock-off).

I would've paid $1000 for a unit that was remote-controllable. But I didn't find one. I figure, worst-case, I can get relay control into the Victron Cerbo setup - maybe they'll add support for more Arduino controls since they're Beagle- or RPI-based.

Do you have a link for the one you used and maybe a link for the wireless one you passed on?

 

[gregoryx]

Do you have a link for the one you used and maybe a link for the wireless one you passed on?

This is the one I bought. This is the wireless one - which I might consider for additional stuff. Not many reviews... and the box side looks... questionable.

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

Wondering how the ducting has worked out that you bought for your espar? I found your older post (Espar B4L 90mm duct ideas?) and it looks like something I could use. I tried using a dryer vent hose for a 'quick detach' idea and it got very very hot to the touch so I'm looking for other options. I know Espar Parts sells the hose, but it's $25 per meter and then another $16 in shipping.

 

[gregoryx]

Wondering how the ducting has worked out that you bought for your espar? I found your older post (Espar B4L 90mm duct ideas?) and it looks like something I could use. I tried using a dryer vent hose for a 'quick detach' idea and it got very very hot to the touch so I'm looking for other options. I know Espar Parts sells the hose, but it's $25 per meter and then another $16 in shipping.

I figured I'd give it a try since the price was right. It has worked well. I went back and cut it as short as possible and put clamps on it recently because it was bunching up - I left too much of it. Airflow is great, temp is great. If I touch the duct itself, it's pretty hot; but it's working fine.

 

[Ranger Robin]

@gregoryx loving your build thread, so much is helpful!!

I'm wondering if you can elaborate more on your "couch mode" bed components.....
Did you buy the linear activators from the place you bought the bed lift legs or somewhere else?
Wondering if you went high end $$ or cheaper....there seem to be a wide range of prices and claimed quality...
Do you add Hall Effect sensors to the linear activators or do they work together ok w/o that step? Again back to quality. control and thinking spending a little more might end up with two activators better aligned in their lifting speed.

I know there are many variables but what lift capacity rating actuators did you get? Do you feel they are enough? THX!!

 

[gregoryx]

Great questions, @Ranger Robin. I can tell you've already started your homework on this. You nailed the key questions.

Realized I didn't post the purchase-list for that part of the project. I'll fix that up. Thanks for the nudge.

I went with expensive stuff for the couch-mode because I figured I'd be figuring things out and didn't want the components to be the bigger problem. Now that it's all done and working well, there's some things I learned. I wouldn't go expensive / heavy-duty again. I would go with the inexpensive ones on Amazon. I found 6" actuators (same as what I used) and a controller for $80 or something like that total. I don't know if they'd stay in sync as well as the Hall-effect ones I used; but for the price... worth a try.

We have the 200 pound version of these and this controller.

Biggest change I would make would be planning the angle for the lift better. It's a really acute angle the way I installed them. I think it would've been better if I'd gone 8" or even 10" and got more range out of the actuators. It works the way I did them, but they really strain as they push up. Problem is that to get a really good angle on them would mean bringing the base anchor inside the legs... wasting space. 🤔

The biggest challenge with the linear actuators is how long the body of them is... just to get 6" of lift. So there's a lot of jockeying to get the perfect mount-point top and bottom to allow full travel of the couch-back. There's also a bit of a challenge with making sure that the mechanism doesn't hit things when the bed is going up/down since it looks like you've got a bunch of space to store stuff when the bed is up; then put it down and it hits and screws up the 4-way controller for the bed legs. It's now framed in so one can't do that... but it wasn't an obvious problem until it actually became one.

 

[Ranger Robin]

Thanks Gregory. I keep referring back to your build thread, its been super helpful for me. (Hypnotized there watching the bed go up then down, up then down😉....) But seriously thanks for the multiple pictures and time you put into commenting on lessons learned or what you would do differently, very valuable!! 👍🏾

I love those lift legs and being able to get the bed higher & out of the way when hauling things may make it worthwhile to me. Interesting you like to lower it when possible I think I'd go for upper clearance and if I do that I may mount it on the power box and the water tank along each side. I think I saw Titan Vans with that style of raised installation. I'm used to climbing out of a four wheel camper bed up in the ceiling over the dogs, the stove with coffee on and people so a 36-38" height doesn't worry me but great info/point of views to ponder...

I have been getting into the Humble Road videos and he used a pre-made adjustable bed frame. He doesn't list many of his sources but it appears to be close to a Glideaway Freestyle frame but the queen version is 180 pounds! Ouch but I'll have to figure out the weight of all the 80/20 framing, that stuff gets heavy fast. A Glideaway queen is $1000 but ready to install and it has the leg/knee raising portion which I think I'd would like to also incorporate.

Balancing those trade offs of time vs. money with all of these questions!! Anyhow, THX