tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79063072024-03-15T18:10:02.405-07:00Herbie's WorldHappenings and Musings from the life of Herbie.Choose_Adventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06787718238629824589noreply@blogger.comBlogger88125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7906307.post-29947468762806854032017-10-17T10:30:00.001-07:002020-09-15T11:43:25.470-07:00Retro Post: Solar System Installation<br />
Some questions on solar systems have been coming up on the GTRV owner's forum lately, and while I've been popping in with options and opinions, I haven't had a firm write-up I could point people to. Time to remedy that by detailing some of the important bits of the Astrolander's solar installation.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmHe3O_JtoPbcaUxKhXj6zXMt8Y3ATOUlyVJgnXOJ_-AnxORU3j4X2tN2ki_F_2bjjR6ATCNDorJDMakMQ338O6gPNS_MvKY8qOsLHjuh0ndNoUu0_eGxjKPsx7n5QTc0E8KQQ/s1600/IMG_20161124_110102.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1185" data-original-width="1600" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmHe3O_JtoPbcaUxKhXj6zXMt8Y3ATOUlyVJgnXOJ_-AnxORU3j4X2tN2ki_F_2bjjR6ATCNDorJDMakMQ338O6gPNS_MvKY8qOsLHjuh0ndNoUu0_eGxjKPsx7n5QTc0E8KQQ/s320/IMG_20161124_110102.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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First, the specs, since I know some people are all about the parts and numbers:</div>
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<li>Panel: <a href="https://www.solarblvd.com/products/solar-cynergy-60-watt-12-volt-solar-panel-2/">Solar Cy<span style="font-family: inherit;">nergy 60w (PV-SC060J12) </span></a> </li>
<li>Charge Controller: <a href="https://smile.amazon.com/Morning-Star-SS-6-12V-Morningstar-Sunsaver-6/dp/B00P9JAYUI/">Morningstar SunSaver 6</a> (SS-6-12V, Gen1) (PWM)</li>
<li>Battery: Diehard Marine Platinum Group 31M (Odyssey PC-2150) - 100 AH AGM</li>
<li>Shore Power Charger: <a href="https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0030G7YXC/">IOTA DLS-55</a> with <a href="https://smile.amazon.com/IOTA-Engineering-IQ4-Smart-Charger/dp/B0030G7ZHM">IQ4 Smart Charger</a> </li>
<li>Distribution: <a href="https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B000THQ0CQ">BlueSea Systems 5025 Fuse Block</a></li>
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This system has been through a couple of iterations, but I'll try to describe it in its current form.</div>
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The portion of this installation that seems to be of interest to most folks is the locking "rack" that houses the solar panel on the roof.</div>
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This rack is made from four lengths of 1.5" x 1" x 1/8" C-channel aluminum, cut with mitered corners to fit the dimensions of my solar panel. The SolarCynergy panel is advertised as 1.38" thick, but that's the "maximum" dimension where the electrical connection box on the back is proud of the rest of the panel. The actual aluminum frame is just under 1.25" and slides very nicely inside of the "C" of this channel material.</div>
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I cut the miters on my normal wood miter saw because my metal-cutting bandsaw was down at the time (proof you don't need fancy woodworking tools), but it's so soft even a hacksaw and a miter-box would have done the job. The rack is made with three sides fixed (two long, one short). I can't weld aluminum at home, so I attached the corners with "straps" made from 1" x 1/8" aluminum stock (top of image, above). </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNovjTjh3vbNiMxUv6FjT2pMIVkhum53bI-AZpKEhzFzRs48gzw_8XWnOuwPo-xEMM6RcikUbCIb42GDWIiwRBOzOoCx8R6FZVCgdcCNaXf8dXzfMZFSKEUKsDcEhllYMA_oei/s1600/IMG_20140314_200406.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1184" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNovjTjh3vbNiMxUv6FjT2pMIVkhum53bI-AZpKEhzFzRs48gzw_8XWnOuwPo-xEMM6RcikUbCIb42GDWIiwRBOzOoCx8R6FZVCgdcCNaXf8dXzfMZFSKEUKsDcEhllYMA_oei/s320/IMG_20140314_200406.jpg" width="236" /></a></div>
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At the open end, the last "short" edge is attached with a single hinge and locked with a standard padlock hasp. All of these connections were made by drilling and tapping the C-channel for 10-32 screws. I didn't want to interfere with the panel sliding in/out of the "C", so you can see that I had to add a single thin washer with my stainless button-head cap screws to make sure the threads didn't protrude through to the inside. (Hint: Always use anti-seize paste with stainless fasteners)</div>
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I also drilled and tapped the frame for a piano hinge so I could add an ABS plastic fairing. With the panel mounted this far forward on the roof, a lot of wind was getting under the panel and making some noise. This solved the problem easily.</div>
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The cross bars that I use here have "T-slots", so it was also easy to reposition the panel off to one side to make room for my TRED traction mats, seen hastily mounted here before a quick trip to the San Bernardino National Forest.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCGPOoVZS4WkjSn8lMA-TnhedzhX5rmc6uOeNTgIcqilTcH98YnOimc7gfkTQLjHZ4mE4iXc8RRMpDayHz2j7Ux7OeAW1_9S64SY_Pmoy2yiyqvl1i0T8VLMVuqInTVTjHOZ1O/s1600/IMG_20160813_124735.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1185" data-original-width="1600" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCGPOoVZS4WkjSn8lMA-TnhedzhX5rmc6uOeNTgIcqilTcH98YnOimc7gfkTQLjHZ4mE4iXc8RRMpDayHz2j7Ux7OeAW1_9S64SY_Pmoy2yiyqvl1i0T8VLMVuqInTVTjHOZ1O/s320/IMG_20160813_124735.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I use jacketed 12AWG Outdoor-rated speaker cable for the power leads. One cable runs from the solar controller up through a <a href="https://smile.amazon.com/Yongcun-Black-Glands-Waterproof-Joints/dp/B01KU2U6V0/">cable gland</a> in the pop-top and up to the rack. The real advantage, though, is that when I want to park in a shaded area, I can unlock the rack and slide out the panel to place it someplace with better sun. A second 20' cable (that I currently just feed in through the mid-window) lets me move the panel around to wherever works best. The panel is easily removed while standing in the driver's side "foot well" and the 60w panel is light enough to be easily lifted and maneuvered. Shorter owners, or those without as much upper-body strength, might need a ladder for a larger 80w or 100w panel, though.</div>
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The rest of the system is fairly conventional for the RV/overlanding crowd: I have a 1st generation Morningstar SunSaver 6 PWM solar charge controller that takes the input from the solar panel and feeds out to one of the fused lines of my BlueSea fuse block. This connects to my deep-cycle AGM marine battery. That battery, made by Odyssey, works best with really high bulk-charging current, so I've added an Iota DLS-55/IQ4 to hit it with up to 55 amps when I'm connected to shore-power. Since the 1st generation SS-6 doesn't have much in the way of monitoring or indicators, I've added an <a href="https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CVMYLF0/">inexpensive panel voltmeter</a> to the interior so I can monitor the state of charge, etc. </div>
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The battery is also still charged by the alternator when underway, courtesy of the T-Max charging relay system I <a href="http://herbiesworld.blogspot.com/2011/05/battery-box-and-bed-platform.html">installed way back in 2011</a>. As an update to that post, the original solenoid failed after about 2 years and was replaced with a Cole Hersee 200A continuous duty model (<a href="http://www.partdeal.com/cole-hersee-12v-200a-continuous-duty-solenoid-24213.html">p/n 24213</a>). The nice thing about this system is that the T-Max works in both directions - if it senses that the house battery is getting charging voltage, it closes the solenoid - which means that the solar system and the shore-power charger also maintain the starting battery. This latter benefit is actually the real reason I keep this system in-place, as it turns out with our typical usage (driving no more than ~2-3hrs/day, often much less), the alternator just doesn't put out enough current to adequately charge our house battery, especially when it's well-discharged. </div>
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On the subject of "How much solar do I need?", I'll offer this: You need "enough", but really don't want "too much". Sufficiently vague? To put it less tritely, you need enough wattage to cover your normal use, under normal conditions, but there's little benefit to over-building your system since it just costs you money, size, weight, and probably fuel-efficiency if you're talking about roof-mounted. </div>
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Our little 60w system is enough to keep our fridge running, our LED interior and exterior lights lit, and our phones and tablets charged. Our fridge averages ~36AH/day, which would be enough to drain the 100AH battery to the nominal 50% cut-off point in less than two days, but with good sun we can put back 30-40AH per day (60w/12v = 5A nominal output, multiplied by 8-ish hours of good sun/day). As you see, that puts us just about "even". There are a million little factors that affect this number - cloud cover, battery and panel efficiency as a function of temperature, charge controller efficiency as a function of design (PWM vs. MPPT), etc., but our empirical experience bears out that the 60w panel is just about enough for us to maintain indefinitely. Obviously, adding a bigger fridge, a furnace, fan, or other major power consumer is going to tip that balance over. You'll need to figure out your own load requirements when trying to size your own system. Using the published specs of all the power consumers is a good first-order approximation, but after that you may need to start taking measurements.</div>
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Regarding cost, this system is about as cheap as you can get. As of the time of this writing, prices are such that a rigid monocrystalline panel such as ours is less than $50 (or $0.80-$0.90 per watt). A <a href="https://smile.amazon.com/Morning-Star-SS-6-12V-Morningstar-Sunsaver-6/dp/B00P9JAYUI/">really good, but basic charge controller</a> for a small panel will also be around $50. Some wiring and fuses will also be needed. The biggest single cost would be your actual house battery, but that's a topic for another day and unless you're building your rig from scratch, you probably already have something setup.</div>
<br />Choose_Adventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06787718238629824589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7906307.post-34412447710615382132017-09-05T10:02:00.000-07:002018-03-19T09:32:17.392-07:00A little more Rock-n-Roll<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Well, just in time for the <a href="http://www.americanadventurist.com/">American Adventurist</a> <a href="https://americanadventurist.com/forum/threads/2017-socal-mountain-rendezvous-official-thread.4884/">SoCal Mountain Rendezvous</a>, the Rock-N-Roll bed is "done". Or at least, "done enough to sleep on".</div>
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It took a bit of a push, especially given the near record-setting heat and humidity we suffered through for the Labor Day weekend, but we're at a point where we can sleep on the new bed system. Between that and a few other odd jobs, we're good to go for camping next weekend!</div>
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More after <a href="https://herbiesworld.blogspot.com/2017/09/a-little-more-rock-n-roll.html">the jump...</a></div>
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<a name='more'></a> The main work was sorting out a new rear extension platform which takes the place of the rear engine deck-lid in the VW vans. I used a similar platform with our original "conversion van" bed, but the dimensions changed just enough that a new unit was needed. As I mentioned in the <a href="https://herbiesworld.blogspot.com/2017/08/rock-n-roll-baby.html">last post</a>, the platform rests on the same adjustable crossbar that the seat-back folds onto, this ensures that the two platforms mesh evenly, with no transition "hump". You can also see a couple of metal plates in the picture below - these limit the platform from moving forward. Since the platform is "floating" (so as to be easily removable), it could technically be pushed forward where it would interfere with the seat reclining - these straps keep it perfectly positioned so that the seat drops down flush.<br />
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You can also see that the seatbelts have been re-installed, the water tank has been re-plumbed, and I finally undertook the simple task of marking the sight-gauge for 3/4 and 1/2 full. More about that long aluminum tube at the bottom...<br />
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The other necessary change to finish the bed project was to get an even mattress. As I've mentioned previously, the old conversion-van seat had two different foam densities, plus the seat-bottom section was sprung, while the back was rigid, this meant that each of the three parts of the bed had a different "sink". Now that the bed platform is perfectly flat, I've also topped it off with a single foam mattress, cut into three sections. This is another budget solution, an Ikea <a href="http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20102074/">Lycksele Lövås</a> futon mattress. This was pretty close to the right size, so there wasn't too much waste. One surprise, not advertised on the site, is that the mattress is "divided" into a long and a short section (presumably to fit their futon frame). Fortunately, the split was in a convenient spot. At the moment, the cushions are just (somewhat loosely) wearing the recycled covers from the conversion-van seat, but new zippered covers are next on the list.</div>
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Reason #426 why I love my van (and why I built the bed base to be open back-to-front):<br />
I can easily transport 8-foot plus long stuff <i>inside</i> the van. In this case, I've got the old awning from our <a href="https://herbiesworld.blogspot.com/2010/07/gtrv-organ-donor-teardown-day-1.html">donor van</a>. We used this happily for about six years before swapping out for an ARB unit that included a mosquito room.<br />
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I had time to complete a couple of other minor projects that don't merit their own post, but are worth preserving. First was to whip up a couple of adjustable straps and to drill the bed platform so that I can safely sit the chuckbox on the rear bumper. The slim and slightly angled nature of the bumper means just resting the box here can be a little precarious. I bent up a couple of hooks so that the box is held back and won't tip off the end of the bumper. I won't typically use it this way, but occasionally I just need quick access and don't want to setup a stand or move the box to a table. At least now I have the possibility of prepping a quick meal off the "tailgate" of the van.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaf0p5UCtnuV_TA8SCqL4OKGgd_k_ugL7zh96e7Gd_D1zLGlJYIuEdJAiyhhjmFaeQtm7hTDGw48hzfKwU237_lpWFouIVuKp3TlsQp6BY4XcpPgMy-mZeImOXxrW88VivZ7Xk/s1600/IMG_20170904_154927.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1185" data-original-width="1600" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaf0p5UCtnuV_TA8SCqL4OKGgd_k_ugL7zh96e7Gd_D1zLGlJYIuEdJAiyhhjmFaeQtm7hTDGw48hzfKwU237_lpWFouIVuKp3TlsQp6BY4XcpPgMy-mZeImOXxrW88VivZ7Xk/s320/IMG_20170904_154927.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Just a quick detail from a project that will be covered in more detail in an upcoming post:</div>
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What do you do if your "precision" stainless steel fender washer fits the threaded portion of a bolt, but not the un-threaded shank portion? Enlarging holes in thin material is always tricky, and damn near impossible on something round that you can't easily clamp. Even on the slowest setting of my drill press, I could never drill this somewhat hard stainless without the bit catching and whipping the washer out of whatever clamping system I could devise. This is the right way to do it, especially if you only need to enlarge the hole a <i>smidge:</i> Using a table clamp and a long-jaw C-clamp, the washer is pinned at the corner of a slot in my welding table. Then, I use a <a href="https://smile.amazon.com/Grizzly-H5890-Repairmans-Taper-Reamer/dp/B0002U8BZO/">tapered hand reamer</a> to slowly remove material until the washer fits the shank of my bolt. Zero-percent chance of snagged washers and a perfectly round hole*.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheUz7s3hA7zz0V4UBedJxbc-A-iWhG-_WLI4zZ6ggSuVG9_H_GX-4Z1du62yxUCGes0POxAh8ad7s5-rm4aNLduFoc-nY-eviqk5MSB7Ss96_RGF9kUutpdZB2EnZa4ZcwmxsV/s1600/IMG_20170904_123612.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1185" data-original-width="1600" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheUz7s3hA7zz0V4UBedJxbc-A-iWhG-_WLI4zZ6ggSuVG9_H_GX-4Z1du62yxUCGes0POxAh8ad7s5-rm4aNLduFoc-nY-eviqk5MSB7Ss96_RGF9kUutpdZB2EnZa4ZcwmxsV/s320/IMG_20170904_123612.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">* Machinist-geeks know that a "regular" 2-flute twist drill bit actually makes a triangular hole in thin material.</span></div>
<br />Choose_Adventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06787718238629824589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7906307.post-58303129663726827192017-08-30T10:28:00.000-07:002018-03-19T09:24:13.128-07:00Rock-N-Roll, Baby!Who's ready to Rock-n-Roll?<br />
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I'm nearing completion on my project to replace my $100 Craigslist conversion van bench/bed with a Westfalia-style Rock-n-Roll bed.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghThtwevxVejdlyEBdV3qTgMdFkRBz_V3HmcOqpQnBQAh2FMip5dHMaK5hMu9CUmcGETPaCMhc518MJczNYUbvrW33V9yFL6puhyP46JUSUqcjNJRVZ7v-etmaaNTW9JIdTOqB/s1600/IMG_20170827_143025.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1185" data-original-width="1600" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghThtwevxVejdlyEBdV3qTgMdFkRBz_V3HmcOqpQnBQAh2FMip5dHMaK5hMu9CUmcGETPaCMhc518MJczNYUbvrW33V9yFL6puhyP46JUSUqcjNJRVZ7v-etmaaNTW9JIdTOqB/s320/IMG_20170827_143025.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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More after <a href="https://herbiesworld.blogspot.com/2017/08/rock-n-roll-baby.html">the jump</a>...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixWtnKsMOLu4zSepheZgKp1P3mynsGYkSIF-o_oLzH99aLszzUP87rGbFP_TUBAd4a1Jd-rSo6fwN8SsyoyMSyWZ68PLqemun_dEklcGSFTJDDQT5Ki8jrMvXy_ldJ4JnYLkrZ/s1600/IMG_20151010_143216.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1184" data-original-width="1600" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixWtnKsMOLu4zSepheZgKp1P3mynsGYkSIF-o_oLzH99aLszzUP87rGbFP_TUBAd4a1Jd-rSo6fwN8SsyoyMSyWZ68PLqemun_dEklcGSFTJDDQT5Ki8jrMvXy_ldJ4JnYLkrZ/s320/IMG_20151010_143216.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Looking back, this was our original bed system, based on a MarkIII conversion van bench from a Dodge. The bench seat folded back conveniently, but because of how the mechanism worked, it would never lie perfectly flat. The seat back and bottom were also curved, and apparently made of two different densities of foam. Add in the transition to the extra rear platform extension (with yet another different density of foam mattress), and you had a 3-section bed that was guaranteed to make your hips and back ache by morning. Definitely worse than sleeping on "that bar" on a pull-out couch!<br />
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I'd purchased the reproduction "Rock-n-Roll" hinges from <a href="http://www.busdepot.com/">BusDepot</a> several years ago, and I'd even made an initial attempt at characterizing the movements of the pieces as the mechanism went from "seat" to "bed", using <a href="http://herbiesworld.blogspot.com/2011/05/battery-box-and-bed-platform.html">my old battery box</a> as a base:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglD6zudpzLJKqTLoMFanD6Xw7h9qQz8WyG_nkLdxob7WqWPbakPHt7axIj2LaPRsjCwwWZoesVbZ2YykB620LLd3gvyuBtkcr3xsI2B8oIqT1XnuorxtclGTlX8z_0aknTxWt7/s1600/IMG_20150606_110326.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1184" data-original-width="1600" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglD6zudpzLJKqTLoMFanD6Xw7h9qQz8WyG_nkLdxob7WqWPbakPHt7axIj2LaPRsjCwwWZoesVbZ2YykB620LLd3gvyuBtkcr3xsI2B8oIqT1XnuorxtclGTlX8z_0aknTxWt7/s320/IMG_20150606_110326.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I couldn't get all the critical dimensions I needed on the first pass though, so when I re-started this project in earnest, I used more scraps to build something approximating the correct dimensions for everything except width. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKuaU3NfRs1ipngEpiF9gfMTXPHPxBODqIY1RdEj9M7tYRLExiUlwa0QgmxxBw_7vhzXkM0apnX8ztVNavywK4Vl4lFc-mXHLMN_OqoKgWR7mJHvByJo35OJiSwXelCfMyQTyn/s1600/IMG_20170701_161901.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1185" data-original-width="1600" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKuaU3NfRs1ipngEpiF9gfMTXPHPxBODqIY1RdEj9M7tYRLExiUlwa0QgmxxBw_7vhzXkM0apnX8ztVNavywK4Vl4lFc-mXHLMN_OqoKgWR7mJHvByJo35OJiSwXelCfMyQTyn/s320/IMG_20170701_161901.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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It took a lot of fiddling with the box dimensions to get things tall enough to fit my water tank underneath, but to sit low enough for the Astro's relatively low overhead clearance. We still want to be able to sit up in bed, which has always been a tough constraint in this van!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIF5M48lA48FQMhnvS5p987Nx4iJbG-yT94sKD0azt2C0zpuqzBAZm9HdIPI3WRkWs0ot_sWWwbvvd_lPY1bI4YlALD0lIJ1fUdywpLgkJuohnBSNc1bgM9t0vW_aFT2Gde4wv/s1600/IMG_20170723_111716.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1185" data-original-width="1600" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIF5M48lA48FQMhnvS5p987Nx4iJbG-yT94sKD0azt2C0zpuqzBAZm9HdIPI3WRkWs0ot_sWWwbvvd_lPY1bI4YlALD0lIJ1fUdywpLgkJuohnBSNc1bgM9t0vW_aFT2Gde4wv/s320/IMG_20170723_111716.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I liked the reproduction Westy bed hinges, but since my little girl rides strapped into the back seat, I didn't feel comfortable building the box/bed system out of plywood. (Especially since Astro vans don't have a rear firewall to tie into like the VW vans.) Instead, I fabricated (mostly from scratch) a frame from steel tubing. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz0P1LgFEZQ36AZ-GxiSnMgR3vfbNjpCrfinTX0vwHxIqDBlTW8kKV4OFk8i2mWwe2qgBuh742zyI93gWUUuZR7e0SrsYVNO1TuKljrWW9lEibv5x12bGrAd3jy9w3r5oz5-om/s1600/IMG_20170723_132855.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1185" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz0P1LgFEZQ36AZ-GxiSnMgR3vfbNjpCrfinTX0vwHxIqDBlTW8kKV4OFk8i2mWwe2qgBuh742zyI93gWUUuZR7e0SrsYVNO1TuKljrWW9lEibv5x12bGrAd3jy9w3r5oz5-om/s320/IMG_20170723_132855.jpg" width="236" /></a></div>
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Seating surfaces are 1/2 birch ply (same as my cabinet), but the frame provides all the strength. The "corner blocks" are 1" x 3" rectangular tubing with captured nuts to mate with the hinge plates that normally fasten directly to the plywood surfaces.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOODs1fKOTHtHhBcOfM0a25XIUnnBHBk2TbhQJdgwNBb5LMPByhOORr5KUQDE1pPvX-eAeeP4Nc2awT9htAEm_4es15TidWI7VXi1uKT4J0xuMmg4UGahXzCjPbKnCQKERbGg0/s1600/IMG_20170827_141937.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1185" data-original-width="1600" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOODs1fKOTHtHhBcOfM0a25XIUnnBHBk2TbhQJdgwNBb5LMPByhOORr5KUQDE1pPvX-eAeeP4Nc2awT9htAEm_4es15TidWI7VXi1uKT4J0xuMmg4UGahXzCjPbKnCQKERbGg0/s320/IMG_20170827_141937.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Since safety was a concern, I harvested the top of the seat-back from my conversion van seat, since it had all the punched holes and hardware necessary for a full (removable) headrest system. The headrest posts slot down into the guides, right between the seating surface and the back trim (see below.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNRxc6fTIP57lpglI026hyphenhyphenhv0yi8MS4yGM-CbVITqzVdru_T4tTnnqyszDMgIwwNL5yWk_yclxZlt37cCVY2kYkALdUxvh7XbZ7tN9o3baGmRlrVo9Sb7gKohGFgNZdVWWulhyphenhyphen/s1600/IMG_20170827_160016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1185" data-original-width="1600" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNRxc6fTIP57lpglI026hyphenhyphenhv0yi8MS4yGM-CbVITqzVdru_T4tTnnqyszDMgIwwNL5yWk_yclxZlt37cCVY2kYkALdUxvh7XbZ7tN9o3baGmRlrVo9Sb7gKohGFgNZdVWWulhyphenhyphen/s320/IMG_20170827_160016.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAGF_XlwGQR-_MhiEcADEPNJbFDifP6BuvCGVJ1jMEOP6HYwhnc19HU8mQcls6246BjZSnAkNZhVfQJKkl_ppmM2JqALhX1hyxLMOl_8lIOnb9GTAnI9NSYEFcOZBsxZ792eZ1/s1600/IMG_20170827_160027.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1185" data-original-width="1600" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAGF_XlwGQR-_MhiEcADEPNJbFDifP6BuvCGVJ1jMEOP6HYwhnc19HU8mQcls6246BjZSnAkNZhVfQJKkl_ppmM2JqALhX1hyxLMOl_8lIOnb9GTAnI9NSYEFcOZBsxZ792eZ1/s320/IMG_20170827_160027.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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This made the seat back a bit more complicated than the bottom (since it includes a couple of vertical steel supports for the stamped headrest section), but otherwise the construction is the same. You can see that the Valterra 12 gallon tank still fits under the seat, although it's been reoriented 90° to allow maximum storage space next to it. I could have make a solid "box" and accessed this storage by lifting the seat bottom (as in Westy VWs), but by pushing the legs out and leaving it open I have a space ~24" x 28" that is accessible from above, the front, or the rear. More on how I'll use this space in a future installment...</div>
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I trimmed the back of the seat (covering the headrest system/innards) with this nice 5mm "<a href="https://www.lowes.com/pd/RevolutionPly-5mm-Poplar-Plywood-Application-as-4-x-8/50121135">RevolutionPly</a>" stuff I had leftover from another project. Continuing with the motif Kimberley established with the <a href="http://herbiesworld.blogspot.com/2017/07/retro-post-interior-build-v30.html">fridge cabinet build</a>, all the wood just got sanded and two coats of wipe-on polyurethane, no stain.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeYvQE005oSSNZSW2JtiG31MVrjO71zOio-ZNkLiWx65cDzzpZBjuvNkE8CDzdUqfOqkP8_x9tgpOAnASSPSjr8IGhcOD380PjQ6m4ubVztUkgkaxiklZjzNYOJgfcUNlYk328/s1600/IMG_20170827_161212.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1185" data-original-width="1600" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeYvQE005oSSNZSW2JtiG31MVrjO71zOio-ZNkLiWx65cDzzpZBjuvNkE8CDzdUqfOqkP8_x9tgpOAnASSPSjr8IGhcOD380PjQ6m4ubVztUkgkaxiklZjzNYOJgfcUNlYk328/s320/IMG_20170827_161212.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Since we don't have a rear firewall/bulkhead for the bed fold back onto, and since having a <i>perfectly</i> flat sleeping surface is one of the driving forces of this build, I designed adjustable supports into the frame. The black cross-piece with the two bolts catches the seat back as it folds down. This is slotted so it can be raised/lowered to make sure the back portion of the bed levels out perfectly. The rear extension platform (which will take the place of the VW engine decklid) rests on the same black bracket at the forward edge, and on adjustable legs at the rear. The angle of the seat "bottom" (forward portion of the bed) can be adjusted by shimming the support brackets. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEbtO24rye1y72V-NQbTChVN87ws3bMWedH6W35O1ogbkwuri3QejQNFEUxFPxwUeyL6T32aXP-jWvgEUvqmlo2MkOGkNaFJmduNCh_-P8kvitoOQAOK2cjiaJTgmWgU0E2bdH/s1600/IMG_20170827_115845.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="820" data-original-width="1600" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEbtO24rye1y72V-NQbTChVN87ws3bMWedH6W35O1ogbkwuri3QejQNFEUxFPxwUeyL6T32aXP-jWvgEUvqmlo2MkOGkNaFJmduNCh_-P8kvitoOQAOK2cjiaJTgmWgU0E2bdH/s320/IMG_20170827_115845.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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With a Rock-n-Roll type bed, it's necessary to keep the frame "locked" into seat mode so that things don't fold back in an accident. I used a hotrod "bear claw" trunk latch that works perfectly. The bolt (pictured above) attaches to a tab on the seat bottom and holds the mechanism tightly closed until the knob is pulled.<br />
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Still left to do:<br />
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<li>I've rebuilt my "<a href="http://herbiesworld.blogspot.com/2017/07/retro-post-fresh-water-system.html">water pump box</a>" to fit against the new seat, but I need to finish re-plumbing to the (reoriented) water tank.</li>
<li>I've got an Ikea foam mattress I'll be cutting for the seat/bed cushions.</li>
<li>I'm still deciding how I want to upholster the cushions, but I may stray from the "All DIY" approach and just order zippered slip covers from one of the many inexpensive internet retailers that will make them to order. (I don't mind sewing, but that's a lot of work that needs to be done accurately and I'm running out of time/energy for this particular project.) For the rapidly approaching <a href="http://americanadventurist.com/">American Adventurist</a> Rendezvous, I'll most likely just throw a blanket or sheet over the foam pieces... </li>
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A few more details can be seen in <a href="http://herbiesworld.blogspot.com/2017/09/a-little-more-rock-n-roll.html">Part 2</a>...<br />
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Choose_Adventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06787718238629824589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7906307.post-63855447085156200172017-07-28T19:50:00.000-07:002017-08-30T09:32:26.309-07:00Retro Post: Astrolander Rear Door Rack - Version 2Another Retro Post. This time, we're catching up on some (not-so) recent changes to the rack system mounted to the rear doors of the Astrolander.<br />
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After using <a href="http://herbiesworld.blogspot.com/2014/10/astrolander-update-rear-door-mounted.html">Version 1</a> of my our rear-door fuel storage rack for a while, I learned a few things. Namely, I learned that I needed more outdoor storage for dirty stuff and things that need to be accessed or put-away while the van is more or less "loaded".<br />
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<a href="http://herbiesworld.blogspot.com/2017/07/retro-post-astrolander-rear-door-rack.html">More after the jump</a>...<br />
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So, in Spring of 2016, looking forw<span style="font-family: inherit;">ard to the then-upcoming (and very successful) <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dn_WDg6GMbE">Summer 2016 Roadtrip</a>, I made a bunch of changes to solve some of those issues. This was going to be our first long trip - 10 days of mixed road travel. Some was camping, some not, but unlike most of our previous trips, we'd be moving almost every day, so the making and breaking of camp and reloading the vehicle needed to be efficient and less of the pain in the ass than it had been lately.</span><br />
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To that end, I started on a number of small improvements. The first is to mount a rear cargo box on the door. I've been jealous of the full-size vans with their Aluminess bumpers with swing-away cargo boxes. Hell, even the Vanagon guys have a relatively inexpensive solution for this now (and I have looked at using the <a href="http://www.gowesty.com/">GoWesty </a>swing away add-on kit on a custom bumper). However, since I've already got this whole "door mounted rack" thing sort of figured out, and it fits with my "simpler and lighter is better" ethos for the van, I decided to stick with this method.<br />
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So, I decided to relocate the fuel cans from the driver's side rack (more on that later), and mount a Pelican Storm iM2720 to the rack.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguBMAH0bgbgI_tgcezql7tKoFAMORN7vOw5TAHIHEN8gYuJl6IA6hGlQ40KqGPo5K6G9A3s0JLgbfYXONiGcDl8HNjc9Z0Xi2pj9yeUs6dyqiIhLOsr6wSaj_9ae6SPh_5hUUh/s1600/IMG_20160430_140606.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguBMAH0bgbgI_tgcezql7tKoFAMORN7vOw5TAHIHEN8gYuJl6IA6hGlQ40KqGPo5K6G9A3s0JLgbfYXONiGcDl8HNjc9Z0Xi2pj9yeUs6dyqiIhLOsr6wSaj_9ae6SPh_5hUUh/s320/IMG_20160430_140606.jpg" width="240" /></a>First, I removed the rack and added a couple of extra mounting tabs. While I was modifying the rack, I also added a step to give myself a bit more sure footing. One of my favorite parts of the 1st draft of the rack was that I could use it to climb up to access my roof. The bad news was that the 1" square tube and uneven top surface of the fuel can made this a little precarious. This is MUCH safer and more comfortable.<br />
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This also gave me a chance to clean up some of the dodgy welds from my first attempt at this project. Apparently I'd left a pinhole somewhere on one of the top surfaces (probably where I capped the tube), and rain had gotten inside. Lots of gunky water came out when I flipped the rack over, and even with a lot of draining, I got a little steam when I re-welded all those seams. I'm getting much better with my new welder, though, so things are much cleaner now.<br />
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One of the big changes wasn't just to add new mounting tabs, though. I learned from the first iteration that fastening my Trasharoo over the rack was a little difficult because I had trouble feeding the clips over the top to snap them. (The rack sits very tight to the door skin.) As such, I modified the rack so that the part that fastens to the door edge and the main rack are joined by a removable pin. The plates are cut from a stainless steel hinge. Now I can pull the pin and pivot the rack away from the door by about 30 degrees. This is enough to monkey with Trasharoo straps and makes accessing the fasteners, etc. much more simple.<br />
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This started as a simple idea, but quickly got complicated in the little details. Since the passenger side opens first, I had to make sure that the pin, handle, etc. were all to the left of the "centerline", otherwise they wouldn't clear the passenger side door opening. Hence, it's sort of tucked back behind the rack. To make sure I could get my fat fingers in there on the handle, also had to space it out a bit farther from the door. No major issues, though.<br />
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Speaking of fasteners, here's how I mounted the case to the rack. Stainless cap screws and fender washers mate to nylock nuts. Originally, I had specifically purchased a Pelican case that included a "rolling suitcase" type arrangement, thinking that I would just re-use the mounting points for the roller frame (so that I could mount the case without making any penetrations.) However, it turns out that those mounting points are basically very small coarse thread screws (like wood screws) into a set of plastic bungs. They get their strength from the fact that it's distributed over 15 or so mounting points, and using just a few of them would likely not have been secure enough. Rather than try to align more than a dozen mounting tabs on the metal rack, I went this way and just used 1/4-20 bolts and fender washers. The other advantage of doing though-mounting like this is that the case sits flush to the rack, rather than spaced out by the bungs. Seems solid enough, but time will tell.<br />
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Here's the box snugged up to my new step, complete with some grippy-strips. Overall, this makes accessing the roof rack WAY easier.<br />
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I'll load this based on the trip, but usually it's been carrying my leveling blocks, air compressor, and the other things that I want to access quickly on the trail and not have to go digging into the main load area to get to. The leveling blocks in particular have been troublesome because they're always the LAST thing I want to put away after the rig is packed and I'm ready to drive off.<br />
You can also see the lightweight "shelf" I added to be able to access the lower stuff without "stacking" everything.<br />
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All told, the Pelican doesn't stick out too much past the bumper, and it rides high. We'll have to see if this becomes a target for rear-ending, in the long run!<br />
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Having removed the fuel cans from the driver's side door, the next imperative was to build a second rack for the passenger door. This one was scratch-built, using more or less the same techniques. I've intentionally left a good chunk of the left side of the rack empty because I need some room at the middle of the bumper to stand when I'm climbing up to reach the roof rack.</div>
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A minor change from the previous draft is to mount the propane holder to the rack, instead of hanging it on the back of the jerry-can holder. I have no qualms about the strength of the can holder, it's just that mounting the old way meant that there was a bolt-head in a bad spot inside the can holder that was wearing on the fuel can.<br />
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A passenger-side rack means removing the factory passenger-side door pins. After bending a pair of 6" C-clamps trying to push them out, I decided it was time to make a tool. The bolt in the bottom of this tool is center-drilled and a series of hardened-steel pins can be inserted to press up on the hinge-pin. The top of the tool rests on the hinge, but has a through-hole for the pin to come through. Easy work, now, and much less "dramatic".<br />
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One more minor tweak - when there's a jerry-can in the holder, it blocks a chunk of the license plate. I tapped into the existing license-plate light circuit and brought out this trailer-wire connector via a grommet.<br />
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I attached this to an off-the-shelf license-plate-frame mounted LED light, and I'm good to go.<br />
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All told, I'm very pleased with yet another utility-expanding mod!Choose_Adventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06787718238629824589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7906307.post-47147478042737413062017-07-28T15:24:00.000-07:002017-10-17T09:58:47.967-07:00Retro Post: Interior build v3.0In my quest to get the blog caught up with my various forum Build Threads, it's time for another Retro Post. This time, making a big leap forward with a new approach to the interior systems.<br />
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So I'd been talking about doing this for quite a while: Fixing the interior layout to better fit my needs. We love the van, but there's a bit of a "10lbs of crap in a 5lb bag" problem, and some of the decisions I made early on have caused problems down the line.<br />
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Most specifically, I really hated that I was never able to find a perfect arrangement for the fridge. I knew I wanted it somewhere behind the driver's seat or under the bed, but lack of overhead height meant the latter was a no-go, and getting any chest fridge to fit behind the seat either wasted a lot of space or forced me to relocate a BUNCH of stuff every time we stopped to camp. Not good. The whole point of this is for things to be easy.<br />
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I spent a lot of time (like literally 2 years) moving things around, building different fridge mounting boxes, and trying to make things 5% more efficient. During this time I was also hanging out at the Samba and daydreaming about how much interior space the Westy VW guys have. There, I got exposed to "the new hot thing" for their kitchens - a Danfoss swing-compressor replacement for the finicky old Dometic Absorption fridges that Westfalia originally installed. Mechanically, they're the same hardware as all the good "chest" fridges the Overland folks are using, but in upright "front loader" footprints. The VW guys are loving them because they can slot right into place in the original westy cabinets, but actually hold more food, since the swing compressor takes up less space than the old heat-engine system. Better yet, they run efficiently on 12v batteries and don't carry all the problems of a propane-driven 3-way.<br />
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<b>Lightbulb.</b><br />
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As with all things, design starts with some cardboard templates. Sorry for the blurry photo, but you can probably see my sketch marks to figure out how high I can mount the fridge to ensure clearance, since the van wall curves inwards towards the top.<br />
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Templates were transferred to 1/2" baltic birch ply. I cut these with my ancient Black and Decker skill saw (still refuses to die!), and then machined with the Kreg pocket-screw system.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtTumLp2SFJDB2bxkmxlpO7X95HwfbOpArkhJnSJzypXavpOMLCS3VUkohyphenhyphensdg1KdAqqtkBKzZMs5mrKIVJKhk8w9EjjH6VA0IqQQekLtU-t-AHq82Jqmy4ppkkoV18pvYelME/s1600/IMG_20150913_092746.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1184" data-original-width="1600" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtTumLp2SFJDB2bxkmxlpO7X95HwfbOpArkhJnSJzypXavpOMLCS3VUkohyphenhyphensdg1KdAqqtkBKzZMs5mrKIVJKhk8w9EjjH6VA0IqQQekLtU-t-AHq82Jqmy4ppkkoV18pvYelME/s320/IMG_20150913_092746.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
After that, assembly was quick and easy. Tightbond II and the pocket screws make this thing ring like a wooden bell when you thump it. Very tight. At this point I'm ready to begin the first of many coats of poly. Per my wife's request, no other finish applied, she liked the clean look. (I'd originally planned a light grey paint to match the interior plastics/fabrics.)<br />
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The cabinet is as narrow as I could get away with, in order to fit into the space between the bed and driver's seat. This means no face frame and thinnest possible carcass material. Since I would be mounting the fridge directly into the end-grain of the birch ply, I added insert nuts for 10-32 mounting screws. This way I know I can remove/install the fridge as often as needed without worrying about tearing up the end grain or getting a good bite into the material with a wood screw.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidJQFXlmoSMu0kBmaziZWIvU3Qf3D_fLlmeJs8VyjH73H89dfHPkhLEoLXf0kFp8UAkFJz8auln2SkG7ZYVUYUs-1O8qov5or76Xu4rVJGWLrXL1dNrqGFs2LeyhOXtwHfKxwE/s1600/IMG_20150909_144529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1184" data-original-width="1600" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidJQFXlmoSMu0kBmaziZWIvU3Qf3D_fLlmeJs8VyjH73H89dfHPkhLEoLXf0kFp8UAkFJz8auln2SkG7ZYVUYUs-1O8qov5or76Xu4rVJGWLrXL1dNrqGFs2LeyhOXtwHfKxwE/s320/IMG_20150909_144529.jpg" width="320" /></a>I'm continuing with my practice of using the open seat-mounting cleats for the (missing) middle bench as mounting points. In this case, a U-bolt fastens into this base plate. Tightening the nuts pulls the plate down and presses the cabinet to the floor. This holds the cabinet very well, but I've also fastened to the van wall above.<br />
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Like everything else in this van, the drawer is an exercise in maximizing use of space and not wasting anything. I hate the idea of making drawer boxes out of 1/2" material, and I don't have the tools to make strong joints on thinner wood.<br />
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Instead, I went to what I know, and built the drawer the way I used to build my fighting robots. I started by mitering 4 lengths of aluminum 1" x 3" angle stock on my chop-saw.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5iDhWcyCa2LLn9aWt7ABFTKuVni2StV8jga5W597jrBV7luNInpOZIbwQx1C-CUcwM6-VgvsRb2dLNUFF1GTgTOHfZLb-QHFh-0RLUoI6WObBx3RroWjytgFLf6IASww5UIoF/s1600/IMG_20150910_153318.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1184" data-original-width="1600" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5iDhWcyCa2LLn9aWt7ABFTKuVni2StV8jga5W597jrBV7luNInpOZIbwQx1C-CUcwM6-VgvsRb2dLNUFF1GTgTOHfZLb-QHFh-0RLUoI6WObBx3RroWjytgFLf6IASww5UIoF/s320/IMG_20150910_153318.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Then I cut a matching rectangle from some leftover 1/8" cross-weave carbon fiber plate and started drilling and tapping holes. (What, you don't have surplus carbon fiber plate lying around?)<br />
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The only thing holding the drawer sides together is the tight joining to the baseplate, but this works really well if the tolerances are good. The result is a drawer box strong enough to stand on, but weighs less than half a pound. Over-engineered, probably, but the recovered drawer volume will be important later.<br />
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Another advantage of drawers that assemble with machine screws is that you can take them apart for easy installation of drawer slides. Note the guide sticks that make it easy to make sure the drawer is installed level.<br />
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And voila'. All finished, assembled and installed. Yes, this was quite a big jump, but I didn't take any pictures of the process of sanding and wiping-on multiple coats of polyurethane. <br />
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The fridge is a <a href="http://www.truckfridge.com/truckfridge-models/tf49/">Truckfridge TF-49</a>, sourced from Karl at <a href="http://www.westyventures.com/parts.html">Westy Ventures</a>. Karl was great to deal with and has good prices with free delivery.<br />
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I have a plan for treating the fridge door to make it more aesthetically pleasing. The "Truck Fridge" line seems to be marketed originally towards people installing them in the sleeper-cabs of 18-wheelers.<br />
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The TF-49 fits perfectly in the space I had available and serves our small family fine for our usual short trips. I would have preferred the larger TF-63, but that would have required making a very funky cabinet that overhung the foot of the bed.<br />
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This has proven to be "big enough", and come cocktail hour, the Mrs. is always happy that we have a freezer box, now.<br />
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I added a large vent at the rear of the cabinet near where the compressor and electronics sit at the back of the fridge. No extra fan, yet, unless I find things running hot. This is an inexpensive 120mm computer case grill - an easy way to add a clean vent without significant cabinet work.<br />
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I also have a short upper tray on top of the cabinet, lined with matching carpet. While driving, we've been using it to store the plates and flatware, but with the top popped and the upper bunk lifted up, this is a really useful flat surface that seems to hold toys, books, cameras or whatever. Next project should be to finish re-covering the exposed edges of the headliner foam where I've cut it to match the bunk hole.<br />
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Another nice improvement for indoor life - a table hangs from the aluminum track under the fridge. The adjustable leg has enough range that I'll use some of the leftover track so I can also use the table as an add-on surface, hanging off my chuck box and/or the dining table.<br />
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It will be nice to have an indoor surface for playing cards, etc. if we ever find any weather, but I suspect mostly my kiddo will use this for coloring. I may eventually build a slightly larger table surface and do something special, but for $14 at Ikea, this jumbo size cutting board was a good first pass.<br />
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The lower portion of the cabinet will now house my portable toilet. The door opens down and the bottoms are covered with a low-friction plastic so it's easy to slide the toilet in and out.<br />
I've yet to remove the auxiliary heater core (never used), but the shelf over the top of it now holds a basket with extra TP, tank deodorizer, and hand-sanitizer. <br />
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Having the toilet stored here is a HUGE improvement for us, for a couple of reasons:<br />
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First, up until now we've been limited to the smaller Thetford 135 with a two-gallon waste tank, because that's all that would fit between the front seats. Usually it was full up by the end of even a short weekend trip. I built this cabinet big enough that we can fit either a Thetford 550 or a Dometic 976 series - either of which will hold FIVE gallons+, which should give us enough overhead to get through a weekend without fear of filling it.<br />
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Secondly, not storing the toilet between the front seats now means I can swivel the passenger seat around even for short stops, instead of having to unstrap it, and move it out of the way before swiveling the seat. Yet another multi-step dance that I don't have to go through when setting up and tearing down camp!<br />
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And now the reason I wanted to save space in that drawer. I'm just able to fit my butane catering burner in there. If the drawer had been any shallower (or used 1/2" plywood construction), this never would have worked.<br />
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Mostly I suspect the burner will be just stored here, but I'm glad to know that in a pinch, I can boil water, make coffee, or heat small meals inside the van.<br />
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And here's the best part, from my perspective: I can deploy the bed without having to move anything!<br />
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While I'm sure this seems obvious to anyone with a Westy or Sportsmobile, it's a revelation for me. After spending nearly five years unstrapping and moving the fridge every time I wanted to deploy the bed, (and then reversing the process to break camp), I'm absolutely thrilled with this project.<br />
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As usual, more detailed photos are <a href="https://photos.app.goo.gl/8tsuvR0vui1wD1dD2">available in the album</a><span id="goog_835296320"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_835296321"></span>.Choose_Adventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06787718238629824589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7906307.post-71003984358024267622017-07-28T14:08:00.000-07:002017-10-17T09:55:05.439-07:00Retro Post: Fresh Water SystemAs I'm in the midst of rebuilding a few parts of the Astrolander interior, including the fresh-water system, I realized I never properly documented "Version 1". Time for a Retro Post.<br />
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Fresh water is always needed in a camper. With as much time as we spend in the desert, having a big supply of water isn't really optional. Technically speaking, a 12-gallon tank is barely adequate for 2 days, if we stick to the 2-gallon per person per day rule. (Don't worry, we supplement with bottled water and a 5L "Jerry Can" for longer trips.)<br />
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Given the construction of our Craigslist-sourced conversion-van bench/bed, we had just over 8" of clearance underneath for a tank. Fortunately, <a href="http://www.valterra.com/">Valterra</a> makes this line of excellent ABS tanks. Each tank is 8" by 16" by "X", where X is some incremental length from 9" to 72". It happens that 8 x 16 x 24" fits very nicely in the available space, and nets out 12 gallons.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgVaTgDxGLRB62cvuwcZpfN3udnvaRVSI5MJABniooVt5NeatlveeNvkJB4IQol1CsYgEapF8S2aOQAgVuAQqpNyNYElsiEJbWdUaNAXpp_mj8o8CiHZ5PaNc0lL7aPUWZjpgY/s1600/IMG_20140317_193216.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgVaTgDxGLRB62cvuwcZpfN3udnvaRVSI5MJABniooVt5NeatlveeNvkJB4IQol1CsYgEapF8S2aOQAgVuAQqpNyNYElsiEJbWdUaNAXpp_mj8o8CiHZ5PaNc0lL7aPUWZjpgY/s320/IMG_20140317_193216.jpg" width="320" /></a> The real advantage of the Valterra tanks, from the DIY perspective, is that they're ABS - meaning it's very simple to put fittings, fill-spouts, etc. anywhere you like. Compared to Polyethylene tanks that require specialized equipment to make fittings, this is a cheap and easy way to build a "custom" tank to fit your needs.<br />
Here, I'm marking out for a fill port.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY12iBu0sn_Ou2wZc8LRKnU-KUn_XO7s6bjj4an7PQ0k7J7U7DLrb-F7IzC6-PwCV_pSUTKz8BRenIf3O__UxaZEa20UJSI7veC6Uc7ttWgMD5Q3-ODznU2xcafdOWgMGR-59O/s1600/IMG_20140317_193348.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1184" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY12iBu0sn_Ou2wZc8LRKnU-KUn_XO7s6bjj4an7PQ0k7J7U7DLrb-F7IzC6-PwCV_pSUTKz8BRenIf3O__UxaZEa20UJSI7veC6Uc7ttWgMD5Q3-ODznU2xcafdOWgMGR-59O/s320/IMG_20140317_193348.jpg" width="236" /></a></div>
Once I've located it, a simple hole saw is all I need. Drill and clean up the hole (getting as much of the swarf out of the tank as possible), then simply attach the fitting with ABS "glue". (Which is technically a solvent that "melts" the ABS, so you're chemically welding the two pieces together.)<br />
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Other parts of the tanks come with pre-molded bungs, but they're sealed from the factory. Temporarily adding a short nipple into the bung lets you drill out the plug without risking buggering up the threads.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijIo730kMi96yz81D-i1oiw10ewnhZ_I0j9FKWOl8ybaWO7TrfYV5I86UEfUeF6u6JC7ZjL4XkiAPyXJnxLafiYQdF4ttbPDq_rQIaC60i0SenA7aF9zIUWanVueBcFHNyGwkY/s1600/IMG_20140319_172214.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1184" data-original-width="1600" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijIo730kMi96yz81D-i1oiw10ewnhZ_I0j9FKWOl8ybaWO7TrfYV5I86UEfUeF6u6JC7ZjL4XkiAPyXJnxLafiYQdF4ttbPDq_rQIaC60i0SenA7aF9zIUWanVueBcFHNyGwkY/s320/IMG_20140319_172214.jpg" width="320" /></a>Once all the bungs are in place, push-lock fittings and clear tubing are easy to plumb up.<br />
Here you can see the vent-line (center), along with a "sight-gauge" on one end that lets me visualize the water level, even though the tank is opaque. The fill-port and gauge are oriented so that they're easily accessible from behind the seat. I'll be able to fill by running a hose in through the rear doors.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZmRxWiIk0wo7WKkoUOW57_EkVUcB0nSoba0DkbQRuukQq36MFtyrwMW_-ls95ax7zAbgRCRUXZ5y4L0Otz0FEsf8NCNZx8El39a6CoknWNTB9GIo0CqDoJwTDTsBfyjnyQJd-/s1600/IMG_20140319_172539.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1184" data-original-width="1600" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZmRxWiIk0wo7WKkoUOW57_EkVUcB0nSoba0DkbQRuukQq36MFtyrwMW_-ls95ax7zAbgRCRUXZ5y4L0Otz0FEsf8NCNZx8El39a6CoknWNTB9GIo0CqDoJwTDTsBfyjnyQJd-/s320/IMG_20140319_172539.jpg" width="320" /></a>Here's a quick little test. I was really hoping to keep things super simple. This was to check the performance of just having a valve, no pump. The results were, predictably, underwhelming. There's just not a lot of head pressure here.</div>
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I chose this valve because it's a flange-mount, figuring that would make it easy to join to whatever cabinet/housing I came up with.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu38oYKQiiL1Q1VbfdSsFEQ24fqQGL64uLCZOIzrZzf9qCjlbgkwIimcHFE3VfY1qPDqHJGZemRRxqlAjMkOB8nXdLa4Kj5IR0378mFdnM2djV49HZeG7D7mEJbuGiag0pOTNN/s1600/IMG_20140316_130127.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu38oYKQiiL1Q1VbfdSsFEQ24fqQGL64uLCZOIzrZzf9qCjlbgkwIimcHFE3VfY1qPDqHJGZemRRxqlAjMkOB8nXdLa4Kj5IR0378mFdnM2djV49HZeG7D7mEJbuGiag0pOTNN/s320/IMG_20140316_130127.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
Also needed was a way to keep the tank from shifting. Here I'm bending up a steel retaining bracket that will constrain the tank underneath the seat.<br />
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I knew I'd be keeping the faucet as a drain anyhow, so I pressed forward with a design for how to mount things at the slider-door. Mocking up in cardboard is my default design process. I stopped here, while waiting for the hand-pump to arrive from Amazon.<br />
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Once the pump arrived, I moved quickly to plywood. The hand pump is plumbed into a "tee" from the same line that feeds the faucet. This way, I can (slowly) drain the tank on gravity-only, or pump out water as needed. No electric pump again keeps things simple, though I'll admit filling the wash basin for dishes or refilling large drinks bottles gets tiresome!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4TVhVQz-md_Dc6bYPdhFi8eQ_A4qUM9qwik1BQkvRxESAU5Atzgg4knHw-lKPbxG5vwidmwU91qDOZRWp8961_-uz7qKGDD7NKrJMqjcOhs8Xe_E_rj6sZYXg1uKOOCl2_QgQ/s1600/IMG_20140419_175949.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1184" data-original-width="1600" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4TVhVQz-md_Dc6bYPdhFi8eQ_A4qUM9qwik1BQkvRxESAU5Atzgg4knHw-lKPbxG5vwidmwU91qDOZRWp8961_-uz7qKGDD7NKrJMqjcOhs8Xe_E_rj6sZYXg1uKOOCl2_QgQ/s320/IMG_20140419_175949.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
And here's how we usually end up when we're camping. The pump at the slider ends up as our "Water Bar", complete with flavor mixers, so as to encourage everyone to stay hydrated. The plastic step area is sufficiently waterproof that the occasional dribble from the faucet isn't an issue, though I do run a short length of hose from the nipple if I'm draining the tank.<br />
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The fire extinguisher was eventually relocated to the driver's seat area, but you can see the butterfly latch that holds down the "hatch". I made the rear portion of the mini-cabinet removable. It allows me to easily access the plumbing bits for service, but there's also enough space behind that area between the seat and the wheel well for me to store the coiled fresh-water fill hose and water-treatment supplies. Pop the hatch, pull out the hose, and I'm ready to fill the tank. The yellow cap is just to keep the valve clean and spider-free!Choose_Adventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06787718238629824589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7906307.post-74216884654867732512017-07-28T12:22:00.002-07:002020-10-25T13:07:38.970-07:00Retro Post: AWD to 4WD Conversion with NP233 Transfer Case<div>
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Another Retro Post. This time I'm documenting converting the Astro from All Wheel Drive (AWD) to proper Four Wheel Drive (4WD) with a 2-speed NP233 Transfer Case from a 2000 S-10 Blazer LS 2-door. (Thanks again, General, for making parts-interchange work so well!)</div>
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This was almost installed as a "kit", as I purchased 95% of the bits from another Astro/Safari owner. His <a href="http://astrosafarivans.org/bb2/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=8913">original thread is here</a>, and includes a lot of other good detail. Check it out, if you're headed down this path. The completeness of the work Dean did means there's very little new "art" here (which is why I initially didn't do much write-up), but once again, this could be useful for someone outside the Astro/Safari community.</div>
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First, a few words on "What" and "Why":</div>
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<li>What is AWD? All Wheel Drive connotes a system where all the wheels are driven, full time, and power is (typically) distributed automatically between the front and rear axles. In the case of the 2003 Astro, this is done via a transfer case with a clutch mechanism driven by an electric motor, controlled by its own computer. This system works very well.</li>
<li>What is 4WD? Four Wheel Drive connotes a system whereby all the wheels are driven, potentially part-time, and sometimes implies that a "Low Range" is available. In the case of the NP233 (in this case harvested from a 2000 Chevy Blazer LS 2-Door), the system is electronically controlled and includes 2WD (default), 4WD, an additional 2.72:1 "4WD Low" ratio. This is great for when you want to drive slowly, with more torque, over rough terrain.</li>
<li>Why? A valid question, especially when the normal AWD system works so well. In our case, I really wanted that Low range. The Astro isn't a rock crawler, but there are plenty of times when the best course is just to go carefully and slowly. Having the low-range option lets me run the motor higher in the rev range with a lower ground speed, and without having to ride the brakes.</li>
<li>What's with the shift lever? Another good question. The Blazer's NP233 is intended to be electronically shifted via a shift-motor, controlled by a TCU. Given how critical this component is, I really didn't want to risk an issue with a failure here, especially when converting it to cable-shifted operation is so easy. This eliminates two complex electrical devices from the system and replaces it with something bone-simple. Wiring in the shift-selection switches would have also required potentially cutting up part of the dashboard and making a few other non-reversible changes.</li>
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First things first. The transfer case and eBay replacement front driveshaft (to cure my clunk/knock/click issue) bolt in without modification. This is down to careful parts sourcing. Some NP233 and NP231 transfer cases from other GM products have a different "clocking" and are rotated slightly when bolted to the back of the transmission. In those cases, it is necessary to cut a notch in the transmission cross-member and weld in reinforcement. In this case, everything just bolts-up. Nice.<br />
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The guy who helped me install the case was pretty nervous about not reconnecting all these sensors. Told him to "trust me". Only the main VSS sensor gets reconnected, the other looms just get zip-tied out of the way. Note that the "kit" I received from Dean had this pigtail all fabbed to be plug-n-play. If your sourcing your own bits, I think you'll need to adapt or source the correct VSS plug.<br />
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Should I be concerned about the "clean spot" on the rear driveshaft? This is with the van on its wheels. Is it too short or is it just clean from compression under load? (Verdict: It seems to be fine, that spot just gets cleaned as the driveshaft moves inwards when the rear suspension compresses.)<br />
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Here's my one "new" contribution. This bracket will mount a microswitch to tell the ECU when I'm in 4Low. </div>
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Normally, the Astro's main ECU get's freaked-out when you switch into 4Low and it sees that the VSS signal doesn't match the Engine RPMs, etc. When this happens, the ECU will prevent the transmission from upshifting beyond 2nd gear. It's a sort of "limp home" mode.</div>
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In another shining tribute to the General's parts-interoperability, we've found that the Astro/Safari ECU contains the same functionality as that of the 4WD Blazers - if you ground a particular pin on the connector, the ECU realizes it's in 4Low and adjusts the expected VSS signals, and everything works correctly!</div>
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And after adjustment and painting.<br />
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It'll mount here under the shift-cable bracket and close when the selector lever is pulled 100%.<br />
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Like so.<br />
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I fretted this whole shift linkage for WAAAY too long. Dean had it all figured out.<br />
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A single hole in the floor takes the cable up to the cabin. </div>
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Oddly enough, it turns out the best tool for tightening this end of the linkage ended up being my small sink-basin wrench. A crow's foot wrench would have worked too...<br />
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In the cabin, just a single, tidy hole. Still looking for a nice plate to top this off. The rubber bush at floor level should be just right to trap something decorative there.</div>
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Connect to the shift lever, and I'm mechanically done.<br />
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Next comes the electrical. I haven't seen much of this, so I'll try to describe: Disconnect the battery. Unlock the ECU. Remove the appropriate connector. In my case, C2 is the "Green" block (versus the Blue block). This varies by year, so check your Astro/Safari wiring diagrams carefully before proceeding.<br />
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Carefully remove the plastic cover on the back of the plug to expose the insertion end.<br />
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Here I use a <a href="http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2102600">pin insertion tool</a> to add the missing wire for the "4Low Signal". (Connector 2, Terminal 16, for '01-'05 vans). There's an orange rubber "gasket" that fills the hole for the pin. You can use the insertion tool to just push the new terminal right past this.</div>
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You can just make out the tip of the insertion tool in the block. Remove the tool and tug on the wire to make sure the terminal is seated and locked.<br />
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I didn't have any un-crimped connectors of the right size, so I just harvested a short lead from this DB25 cable adapter. (The white block on the right was originally the inside portion of a CAT5 connector)<br />
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Then I soldered this little lead to the end of the hookup wire I ran from the switch end of things. I ran the wire along the same run I used for the #2 jumper cables that connect the house battery, since they followed a convenient path. Right about now is when my wife came home. Always makes her nervous to see my soldering iron sitting in an engine bay... After testing that the switch correctly grounded the pin at the terminal block, I re-inserted the connector to the ECU (observing the warnings about not over-torquing that bolt!). </div>
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Last step was to apply the Z71/4x4 stickers on the rear quarters of the van. The nice thing is that this all works so well and looks so good that people keep telling me that they "Didn't know Chevy sold 'em that way"!</div>
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I wish they would have! (GM: Take a hint.)</div>
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The whole project was really worth it. There have been any number of situations where being able to pull that shifter up into 4-Low has been really helpful. Kimberley really isn't into hard-core off-roading, so being able to just slow down and pick my line without bouncing over bumps and riding the brakes works out really well. Best of all, this is 100% reversible, since I've kept the original transfer case.</div><div><br /></div><div>UPDATE:</div><div>We've had a couple questions on the 4-LOW signal into the factory PCM. Here's the factory schematic for a 2003 <i>Blazer</i> that shows the signal input. The same pin input on our 2003 Astro PCM also works, which suggests that GM used common parts. (This is great for us!). Research your model year and compare to same model-year Blazer, etc. before acting on this information, but hopefully this helps.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie1w0iVH6qz7J1ZDLwBSGvfsi4MI9tABIGWYUgcAgZaMVd150Rov1NuMk_rIabklZle2k4nWeYIP_Vza7eZNecLzi_fpNeSN-5txOU5loWfgSLtfFLZQgk44SKjbCdtm3icVeZ/s1390/WiringHighlighted.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1035" data-original-width="1390" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie1w0iVH6qz7J1ZDLwBSGvfsi4MI9tABIGWYUgcAgZaMVd150Rov1NuMk_rIabklZle2k4nWeYIP_Vza7eZNecLzi_fpNeSN-5txOU5loWfgSLtfFLZQgk44SKjbCdtm3icVeZ/w400-h297/WiringHighlighted.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Factory Wiring Schematic, 2003 Chevrolet Blazer<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div><br /></div>
Choose_Adventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06787718238629824589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7906307.post-41266182239255017792017-07-28T11:15:00.001-07:002021-06-15T09:21:43.042-07:00Retro Post: Astro Van Lift-Kit InstallationI've been guilty, multiple times during the life of the Astrolander project, of letting my detailed blog posts get out of sync with the current state of affairs. My build threads on <a href="http://forum.expeditionportal.com/threads/42263-Herbie-s-Chevy-Astrolander-ZMB-Build-Thread">ExpeditionPortal</a> and the <a href="http://astrosafarivans.org/bb2/viewtopic.php?t=6068">AstroSafariVans.org</a> forums have been maintained somewhat more diligently, but I realize not everyone follows there. To help remedy that, I'm undertaking some "Retro" posts to re-document some of the work that I've done but not covered here. <br />
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Here's the first installment: Installing the <a href="http://www.overlandvans.com/">Overland Vans</a> 4" Lift Kit.<br />
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Part of the reason that I didn't document this initially is that this is well-trod ground for Astro/Safari owners. I didn't add anything new versus the dozens (maybe hundreds) of other owners who have installed this or similar lifts onto the van. For those coming from outside that community, though, there are some basics worth reviewing:<br />
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<li>The Astro/Safari platform is a "semi-unibody" design. The front includes a roughly half-body subframe that mounts the engine/transmission, front suspension, and in the case of the AWD models, the transfer-case and front differential.</li>
<li>You can get ~2" of "body lift" by installing pucks between this subframe and the unibody.</li>
<li>Additional front lift can be had by increasing the preload on the torsion-bar springs. This is accomplished via the pre-load adjuster on the torsion-spring "key", or (if more lift is needed), via re-indexed torsion bar keys that increase the preload beyond the range of the adjustment screw. </li>
<li>Rear Lift is accomplished by fitting re-arched leaf-springs. As it happens, GM's S-10 Light Truck uses a spring pack that is the same eye-to-eye length and load rating, but with ~3" more arch. (Thanks, General!)</li>
<li>The remaining lift can be had via "lift" spring hangers.</li>
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With all of that, let's begin:</div>
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This is essentially two separate jobs. The front lift begins by removing the front facia/grill and bumper pieces.<br />
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Here we can see one of the rubber "donuts" that sandwiches between the subframe and body. We remove the six long bolts that goes through each of these. Just below (and in front) of the donut is the OEM bumper mount. (Soon to be replaced).<br />
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The rod hanging down is a support for the bumper cover/fascia. More on this at the end.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKwO-NtmrHCTn-FppNaXFkY8HmQccRtYkAHI0VmiuihuV9GyO6HkrfRX3rxCUOK5xh2YlGlY54W24zd_eTC1pQbAaI31MxfXdqernPWrpizqucVR48sDfI9Apvn8AzYBn7Jl_v/s1600/IMAG0559.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKwO-NtmrHCTn-FppNaXFkY8HmQccRtYkAHI0VmiuihuV9GyO6HkrfRX3rxCUOK5xh2YlGlY54W24zd_eTC1pQbAaI31MxfXdqernPWrpizqucVR48sDfI9Apvn8AzYBn7Jl_v/w266-h400/IMAG0559.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
Now that the body is just resting on the subframe, we can very slowly and carefully raise one corner of the body at a time. The aim here is to create enough space to insert the 2" lift pucks, but not to damage any of the many connections between the body and subframe. There are numerous hoses and wiring looms that must be carefully re-positioned. In some cases, some of the hard-lines like heater and brake lines might need to be gently (and carefully) bent downwards slightly.<br />
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Lots of cribbing and good jacks and stands are useful here. Once the pucks are inserted, replace the long bolts with even longer ones supplied in the kit, and torque in a cross-pattern to the specified values.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1LfZc1CjkXHjiTmE2N7nYlIz_31ww1zIY05ZdjIOINekWr3do3GxbUx_2RUJnngUK6jLZHGNk5S_jxR1ScNpx-Um6Fk5z3hi4W3V4TWp2nNSoP0WlZi5Enf5hFVDTi21-5uS5/s1600/IMAG0566.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1LfZc1CjkXHjiTmE2N7nYlIz_31ww1zIY05ZdjIOINekWr3do3GxbUx_2RUJnngUK6jLZHGNk5S_jxR1ScNpx-Um6Fk5z3hi4W3V4TWp2nNSoP0WlZi5Enf5hFVDTi21-5uS5/w400-h266/IMAG0566.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Here you can see the puck above the rubber donut as well as the new bumper mount. Note that it's the length of the bolts through these pucks that's one of the limits to how much "body lift" you can safely achieve. Beyond 2-3", the bolts are subject to a lot of side-force, so you're better off welding steel perches to the subframe. The other limit is hose lengths and the steering shaft, and that happens just after 2". As I replace hoses due to aging, I'll try to ensure I use longer kit for everything and I may someday swap to 3" pucks.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7izEwdFV95MKfTD_xmQnESAvqFft6d_nRwaUPZmv-yEaMcX8Ht2Hx6z0fRfrdyWCiFPus-SxKASTOn6_IQJ82AttILMBX41viMy6EmRexFHf65GFM336jgQPGcSsEcO2kdSWM/s1600/IMAG0569.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7izEwdFV95MKfTD_xmQnESAvqFft6d_nRwaUPZmv-yEaMcX8Ht2Hx6z0fRfrdyWCiFPus-SxKASTOn6_IQJ82AttILMBX41viMy6EmRexFHf65GFM336jgQPGcSsEcO2kdSWM/w266-h400/IMAG0569.jpg" width="266" /></a>Because the bumper mounts via the subframe, after you lift the body with the pucks, there would normally be a significant gap between it and the front grill/body work. These new hangers have a range of re-indexed holes allowing you to position the bumper higher on the subframe so that it meshes with the grill.<br />
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Since I was working alone and it was hard to hold the bumper in position and fit bolts and backing nuts with only two hands, I tack-welded the nuts onto the back of the hangers (in the same way the OEM hangers are built), making it much easier to hang the bumper later.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMVwWZuk7uegkEu8B2TZD8r8sZobK6xnmGR_5bbTSNbpbXxoUSwujZ3WkHcDHchYhue4qKgwuPBtJnwb7eJGzYC_n5-mV-5yrVq-eFRp2qU4PzPZrC57UstqLdjwDAbDdyVlDY/s1600/IMAG0565.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW5z0oVenfyEn1fOeVoCLYFoyjQCuJCnb5QbxBeJjP0cQirb_8kbHg_cxLnju-4_ZqzXLPwbtZhO0AA83u-px9ifYQXQjcCZutmpkplBE0rB3xdMp9_JXqqZU8JsbRkxqR1NQC/s1600/IMAG0564.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW5z0oVenfyEn1fOeVoCLYFoyjQCuJCnb5QbxBeJjP0cQirb_8kbHg_cxLnju-4_ZqzXLPwbtZhO0AA83u-px9ifYQXQjcCZutmpkplBE0rB3xdMp9_JXqqZU8JsbRkxqR1NQC/w400-h266/IMAG0564.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The Overland Vans kit includes a replacement parking brake cable bracket with a new hole drilled higher up. Thifty DIY-lifters can also just re-drill the stock bracket. I wasn't sure why exactly I needed this until I saw how the path of the cable would interfere on the triangular "ear" on the subframe.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMVwWZuk7uegkEu8B2TZD8r8sZobK6xnmGR_5bbTSNbpbXxoUSwujZ3WkHcDHchYhue4qKgwuPBtJnwb7eJGzYC_n5-mV-5yrVq-eFRp2qU4PzPZrC57UstqLdjwDAbDdyVlDY/s1600/IMAG0565.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMVwWZuk7uegkEu8B2TZD8r8sZobK6xnmGR_5bbTSNbpbXxoUSwujZ3WkHcDHchYhue4qKgwuPBtJnwb7eJGzYC_n5-mV-5yrVq-eFRp2qU4PzPZrC57UstqLdjwDAbDdyVlDY/w266-h400/IMAG0565.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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Another piece that requires adjustment is the radiator fan shroud. The radiator fan is mechanical-clutch type, so it's mounted on the engine/subframe. The shroud attaches to the body, which has just gone up 2", so you need to trim the bottom portion of the shroud where the fan will interfere. You can see where I've cleaned and marked a line on the shroud. This HarborFreight air body saw really sucks, though. I switched to my 60+ year old Craftsman electric jigsaw and zipped right through this plastic.</div>
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<br /></div><div> Double check all your bolt-torques, re-attach the bumper, cover, grill, and front fascia, and you're done with the front body lift.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-iuivNulvtFQ_Z5tmYWRd-tg3u2w8AhBPkUEdKBaSZR6ddE3IcpFUDhbp1e46D1VoagUHNYOpEuwEFazQj49OR4aAAXioIwbV5I6utJ6H2sTcKTUygA0es-P_n_9ZjDyqxcn_/s1600/IMAG0579.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-iuivNulvtFQ_Z5tmYWRd-tg3u2w8AhBPkUEdKBaSZR6ddE3IcpFUDhbp1e46D1VoagUHNYOpEuwEFazQj49OR4aAAXioIwbV5I6utJ6H2sTcKTUygA0es-P_n_9ZjDyqxcn_/w400-h266/IMAG0579.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> You can drive around like this for a while, if you don't mind the "pre-runner" look and have short working-windows on the Weekends, like me.<div>
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Note: As of this moment, I waited to do the torsion-spring pre-load adjustments until I had the rear lift complete, so I could "level" to that.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAvoTW4r7T3SRIOsiHPZ4arOy9lwNUm_cJxA3O7jy6NNJQ9wxztXFFpvtLTxgEqyNwv6fWwXH147TtQvrfoUdhFpyWNYaK2awSggQ6ua2u8EUXI12Ws25vJnszVW4M4P74YWR4/s1600/IMAG0582.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAvoTW4r7T3SRIOsiHPZ4arOy9lwNUm_cJxA3O7jy6NNJQ9wxztXFFpvtLTxgEqyNwv6fWwXH147TtQvrfoUdhFpyWNYaK2awSggQ6ua2u8EUXI12Ws25vJnszVW4M4P74YWR4/w400-h266/IMAG0582.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
On to the rear lift. Here I'm comparing the original leaf springs (bottom), to the S-10 leaf-springs (top). You can see there's significantly more arch, despite the overall spring-rate being the same. The part# for these springs is 22-687-ME (medium duty), 1,450lb rating. You sometimes see them listed only as 22-687. It's important to know what you're looking at because there's also a part# 22-687-HD which fits the same application but is rated to 1,750lbs. Good if you're hauling a lot of extra weight, but would ride like crap on a lightly-loaded passenger van.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMJpzHCH5k7VZbIb0yFKvqreEjqiokYczBERX7leZO9lsLN20LOdS2G2wY-paw9ilJgkiV_qCx45qBvYlWWZmJq1WFOY0_ORunPqRjlVcudinKL3p1iz5wPvxrqh19_-6uqpVn/s1600/IMAG0590.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMJpzHCH5k7VZbIb0yFKvqreEjqiokYczBERX7leZO9lsLN20LOdS2G2wY-paw9ilJgkiV_qCx45qBvYlWWZmJq1WFOY0_ORunPqRjlVcudinKL3p1iz5wPvxrqh19_-6uqpVn/w400-h266/IMAG0590.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
This job has a lot going on. Lift the rear of the van. In this case, though it looks like the weight is on the bumper, it's actually on my Class III hitch, which is tied heavily into the unibody but out of the way of the rear-spring hangers, which I'll be working on. After the van is raised, remove the wheels and support the rear axle so you can unload the springs and start un-bolting things. </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji2RBwSB28EZr-cvf5IesVaDngwV1NIndHd3MRjWnGxg2zNr3r1A6kJL-WjyyYwsf2cr6nfhLlEckvHZx1MAl91b-UKGkiA2FmxokyyNjDS13zoVky6DCW95J_XRBtm4mfBCBQ/s1600/IMAG0586.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji2RBwSB28EZr-cvf5IesVaDngwV1NIndHd3MRjWnGxg2zNr3r1A6kJL-WjyyYwsf2cr6nfhLlEckvHZx1MAl91b-UKGkiA2FmxokyyNjDS13zoVky6DCW95J_XRBtm4mfBCBQ/w400-h266/IMAG0586.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Be VERY careful here about the brake lines, emergency-brake line, and differential-vent line. Everything needs to be disconnected so that you don't stretch anything when you drop the axle.<br />
The new spring pack came with this massive locating pin. On mine, it was a bit too tall and interfered with the clamshell that sandwiches the spring back to the perch on the axle. I had to knock it down with a cut-off wheel.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTuWRDSbgCIa9AsNl7Dmjx2Df4Y42V3GSmainHV7aA_v4Zattq-3yZhSncf84ZkUwogS6-iPeZ82FwuaTzxfL0fygct4GvuSpdp99qpqsW2eJirisRABa-FxS77iFk7lSutmq9/s1600/IMAG0589.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTuWRDSbgCIa9AsNl7Dmjx2Df4Y42V3GSmainHV7aA_v4Zattq-3yZhSncf84ZkUwogS6-iPeZ82FwuaTzxfL0fygct4GvuSpdp99qpqsW2eJirisRABa-FxS77iFk7lSutmq9/w400-h266/IMAG0589.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Once that adjustment was made, you can attach the spring to the perch via the clamshell. Yes, this photo is upside down, but it's easier to read part#s this way!<br />
For some reason I don't have pictures of the replacement spring hangers. They attach at the rear and include a set of indexed holes allowing you to add a little extra lift in 1" increments. When my replacement leaf springs were new, I actually kept using the OEM hangers for a while. After the springs settled, I swapped back to the replacement hangers at the 1" additional-lift setting.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmbKFHc3dbj_mPsTdqWPorgPosYKXYP1-AepzpbT1EjRmneOwOoh0bZCB66MbAd7lEmzlV-ZajW-Y0JnWg6TzkltJCW15gfVC8iq6imnoaXswqZaDtYjr5WbEsLG3b55Io1RMb/s1600/IMAG0598.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmbKFHc3dbj_mPsTdqWPorgPosYKXYP1-AepzpbT1EjRmneOwOoh0bZCB66MbAd7lEmzlV-ZajW-Y0JnWg6TzkltJCW15gfVC8iq6imnoaXswqZaDtYjr5WbEsLG3b55Io1RMb/w266-h400/IMAG0598.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
The Overland Vans kit also includes a bracket to drop the hanger for the Parking Brake cable. The angles looked wrong on mine and I ended up not using it. I think this is partly due to the fact that I have a snapped mount at the axle, allowing things to move a bit more. If/when I get that repaired, I might need to revisit that as I suspect the cable would be stretched more.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>EDIT</b>: It turns out, this bracket is not for the parking brake cable, but rather for the rear brake line just behind the fuel tank! The idea is to gently bend the hard line and move the hard/soft junction a couple of inches lower so as to provide more slack for the line, now that the axle is farther away from the body. The OLV instructions weren't crystal clear here, I'm sorry to say. You can see the bracket properly installed on <a href="https://youtu.be/YEPJa_BRy5Q?t=310" target="_blank">this video</a> for the very similar Journeys Offroad kit.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJVuKK21VDXxp1-1OeLvYZ_HAWbpBhP5MgS6TOfAVnUkYWX3f0sRw7G2-gecxq5zHV6fH12Brx4KmPPE9mfbe3eexliwCsx2vRmi8DnL-Ghxjo3YDEHRtme6M6stq7y-kdrSfj/s1600/IMAG0593.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJVuKK21VDXxp1-1OeLvYZ_HAWbpBhP5MgS6TOfAVnUkYWX3f0sRw7G2-gecxq5zHV6fH12Brx4KmPPE9mfbe3eexliwCsx2vRmi8DnL-Ghxjo3YDEHRtme6M6stq7y-kdrSfj/w400-h266/IMAG0593.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The last optional bit of the Overland Vans kit is a set of tabs to relocate the shock mounts up higher on the axle. In my case we fabbed up a spacer the same width as the lower shock-eye and used it to help hold the tabs in place for welding to the axle. </div>
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The idea is that these let you continue using stock-length shocks and to remove the mounts that hang below the axle (and I suppose could be prone to snagging while off-roading). The problem with this design is that there's no provision for changing the bump-stop geometry. So you're using stock (short) shocks on a raised suspension, with theoretically more up-travel, but without offering any mechanical limit on that up-travel beyond the original stop. I'm still working on solving this issue, but I finally have something in mind. I also have to say that the tabs looked like something off-the-shelf, as the curve on the "axle side" didn't match the diameter of the axle-tube very well. Overall, I'm not sure this was a worthwhile add-on. Instead, I'd skip this bit and find a replacement shock with a 4" longer stroke and just use the OEM mounts...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYlmnzkkK2VnaKo4uD6fkY4HAZfdv5dUIibolOSnL1qep8OlGHnRVP8UPzrSsY2PB2VPmjzrmouznJdL9duefvbtOOX5U-4HhH4LWL7QsvK0h9Qko7hrKFHUkdIKHmzfONtER9/s1600/IMAG0600.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYlmnzkkK2VnaKo4uD6fkY4HAZfdv5dUIibolOSnL1qep8OlGHnRVP8UPzrSsY2PB2VPmjzrmouznJdL9duefvbtOOX5U-4HhH4LWL7QsvK0h9Qko7hrKFHUkdIKHmzfONtER9/w400-h266/IMAG0600.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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This was never going to be a good look with the stock-sized tires, but this shows how much the rear was lifted with the new leaf-springs <i>and</i> the 1" lift via the spring hanger. </div>
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In this photo, the front torsion-spring preload has been adjusted to "max". I have re-indexed keys from the kit, but didn't want to raise the front any more than necessary (since more extreme angles cause issues with wear on the CVs and idler-arms.)</div>
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This was why I swapped back to the OEM spring hangers until the springs settled. New 245/70-16" (30") tires went on right away, too.</div>
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Additional items:</div>
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<li>After fitting the larger tires, some trimming of body work is still needed at the front. Moving the steering through its sweep shows the interference spots, most of the areas are trim plastic, though most owners also end up needing to cut and/or hammer back one portion of a pinch-weld seam right at the bottom/rear of the wheel arch near the doors.</li>
<li>The bumper fascia will also need to be trimmed at the bottom/front, and the support rod mentioned above will need to be bent slightly to facilitate a new mounting hole in the fascia. (You trim the old hole away, as its right at the bottom/rear where it interferes with the tire.)</li>
<li>Obviously the vehicle should receive a full alignment check after any suspension adjustments/modifications.</li>
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Choose_Adventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06787718238629824589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7906307.post-52382998350506684442015-08-30T16:42:00.001-07:002017-07-28T13:16:54.329-07:00Refurbishing a Wooden Box for a Shoe Shine Kit<br />
It's time for another project. Back in June, we celebrated our Anniversary, and Kimberley gifted me with a wonderful subscription to <a href="http://bespokepost.com/">Bespoke Post</a>. My first "box" was a seriously complete shoe shine kit.<br />
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I already had a few bits and pieces for caring for my few items of quality leather footwear, but like many guys, I was storing it all in an old shoebox. As I've invested recently in some better shoes, this was a fitting gift, but it was so upscale that it felt awkward just to chuck it all into the same ratty old box.<br />
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I remembered that I had an old wooden box that had belonged to my Grandfather. It had been among his vast trove of random objects in his garage after he'd passed away. When my mother conveyed to me a small collection of hand-tools from his bench, she used the wooden box to carry them. Honestly, I have little idea what the box would have originally been used for, but I understand why it was there - like my Grandfather I'm always loathe to discard any object that can be made useful again.<br />
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A simple box, devoid of markings or hardware</div>
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Appears to have been previously lined on top, and may have had an "insert" in the bottom.</div>
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Based on its construction details like the way the lining had been glued and the fact that it looked originally to have had fabric hinges stapled in, and no other hardware, I suspect it had been rather inexpensively made some time ago. Inexpensively, but not badly. There were some pretty box joints at the corners, and it was all solid wood. From the size, and these details, I'm guessing it was originally a gift box that housed a pair of nice bottles of wine or the like.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2XdyskEinaA/VeOFR0SMMQI/AAAAAAAAYkU/RB5tDEXESGA/s1600/IMG_20150607_110051.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2XdyskEinaA/VeOFR0SMMQI/AAAAAAAAYkU/RB5tDEXESGA/s320/IMG_20150607_110051.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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To begin, I have everything a decent sanding. The top and sides were still in fairly good shape, so I didn't do much here. The bottom was fairly badly worn, but I didn't want to go crazy with removing every mark - I wanted this box to have some character, so I just took out some of the marks but left the deeper gouges more or less intact.</div>
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Next I performed all the woodworking operations. I pre-drilled to fit some brass hinges where the fabric had originally passed through. Since the lifting handle on the front precluded the easy installation of a latch, I also drilled recesses in the forward corners to receive magnets that will hold the box closed. One more sanding to clean up from these steps.</div>
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Finally, I was ready to start the finishing process. I applied two coats of wipe-on Minwax gel stain. I let Annika pick the color, I think it was "Honey Maple". And a light sanding between each coat, of course.</div>
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After staining, more light sanding, interspersed with three coats of wipe-on polyurethane. I tried to use only burlap to take off the tackiness from the poly, but didn't meet with success. In the end, I had to use some 0000 Steel Wool, against manufacturer recommendations.</div>
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After the poly cured, it was time for the lining. Kimberley was climbing the walls for weeks trying to recycle the cereal boxes I'd been collecting for this stage. I needed some thin, non-corrugated cardboard to wrap the felting around, and these were the only source on hand.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Z0lpu2FHvrc/VeOE7QkF39I/AAAAAAAAYjo/wBHpkH3aV6o/s1600/IMG_20150830_120718.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Z0lpu2FHvrc/VeOE7QkF39I/AAAAAAAAYjo/wBHpkH3aV6o/s320/IMG_20150830_120718.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I cut the cardboard for one main top/bottom panel and four side strips for each half of the box. These were cut with a framing square and a utility knife with a hardboard backer.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZcyQ5UdQxSI/VeOE7ae3qoI/AAAAAAAAYjo/iZNnyo5Qsd8/s1600/IMG_20150830_122442.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZcyQ5UdQxSI/VeOE7ae3qoI/AAAAAAAAYjo/iZNnyo5Qsd8/s320/IMG_20150830_122442.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Pardon the lighting, I was trying to work in the shade.</div>
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I pre-cut the felt oversized for each piece. Then I sprayed the felt with 3M Super-77 adhesive and lay the cardboard down, then I wrapped the edges over.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tmKXL9AqVRI/VeOE7S9698I/AAAAAAAAYko/g5ayOCW418s/s1600/IMG_20150830_131922.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tmKXL9AqVRI/VeOE7S9698I/AAAAAAAAYko/g5ayOCW418s/s320/IMG_20150830_131922.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Corners were mitered by folding in both edges in at 45° then trimming while pulling on the fold. I have a grubby pair of scissors just for things that have been sprayed with Super-77. I use it that often.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Tr_QWHa_4H4/VeOE7WCMApI/AAAAAAAAYjo/c8LnHXS-tBQ/s1600/IMG_20150830_121926.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Tr_QWHa_4H4/VeOE7WCMApI/AAAAAAAAYjo/c8LnHXS-tBQ/s320/IMG_20150830_121926.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The top and bottom panels were fitted first. Another shot with Super-77 made sure the panel would stay fixed to the wood, but isn't 100% permanent, should I ever need to re-do this process.</div>
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The side panels were fitted in the same way, but it starts to get hard to calculate the tolerance stack-up of the thickness of the layers of bard and felt. First, I needed to re-trim the height of each side piece to account for the thickness of the main top/bottom panels. Next, came the lengths. The best approach was to fit the two long edges of a box first, then put the felt and cardboard for a short edge in for a test-fit and trim as needed. I found that I needed to remove 1/8" to 3/16" from each edge.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rPSWiub0mCM/VeOE7XGkeoI/AAAAAAAAYjo/3pFt6f1sfEA/s1600/IMG_20150830_144752.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rPSWiub0mCM/VeOE7XGkeoI/AAAAAAAAYjo/3pFt6f1sfEA/s320/IMG_20150830_144752.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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With all the felt panels installed, it was time for hardware.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NpAZhiZKo_8/VeOE7SVHmeI/AAAAAAAAYjo/aSoxZP8t4DU/s1600/IMG_20150830_144723.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NpAZhiZKo_8/VeOE7SVHmeI/AAAAAAAAYjo/aSoxZP8t4DU/s320/IMG_20150830_144723.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I installed the brass hinges, but first needed to nip the end of each screw to avoid punching into the inside of the thin wooden walls.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-O9-A2dlNV2I/VeOE7WPIGFI/AAAAAAAAYjo/I8_eVtXATiE/s1600/IMG_20150830_145447.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-O9-A2dlNV2I/VeOE7WPIGFI/AAAAAAAAYjo/I8_eVtXATiE/s320/IMG_20150830_145447.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The corner magnets were checked for polarity, marked on the "back" side, and then super-glued into the pre-drilled recesses.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-c7nMepb7X98/VeOE7ZktIoI/AAAAAAAAYjo/XY7OvuWHIJc/s1600/IMG_20150830_150307.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-c7nMepb7X98/VeOE7ZktIoI/AAAAAAAAYjo/XY7OvuWHIJc/s320/IMG_20150830_150307.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Finally, someplace to put my lovely Bespoke Post gift box.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LRLUN-0Nd5E/VeOE7VBwTrI/AAAAAAAAYjo/FZM14x7DjlA/s1600/IMG_20150830_151251.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LRLUN-0Nd5E/VeOE7VBwTrI/AAAAAAAAYjo/FZM14x7DjlA/s320/IMG_20150830_151251.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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And room to add the few extra pieces I was already using.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KH0VThz--kY/VeOE7XSj2CI/AAAAAAAAYjo/axUAYVGOsPs/s1600/IMG_20150830_151519.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KH0VThz--kY/VeOE7XSj2CI/AAAAAAAAYjo/axUAYVGOsPs/s320/IMG_20150830_151519.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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My Grandfather would have been proud. A handsome box, preserved from the garbage, and turned into something that will serve me for many years going forward.</div>
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<br />Choose_Adventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06787718238629824589noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7906307.post-17690093391600528142015-03-30T11:53:00.000-07:002017-07-28T13:17:18.654-07:00Hot Action Under the California Sun<span style="font-family: inherit;">Our weekend at <a href="http://goracecvr.com/">Chuckwalla Valley Raceway</a> starts as a story about being stuck smack in the middle. While probably not the middle of <i>nowhere</i>, CVR is, in fact, in a pretty desolate area almost precisely equidistant from the <a href="http://www.eformulaford.com/">EFF Home Base</a> in the greater Phoenix area, and our home in San Diego. Unfortunately for everyone without a sleeper RV, it is also almost precisely equidistant from neighboring towns Blythe and Indio, which made for some early mornings and late evenings as we all carpooled some 45 minutes to and from the nearest hotel in Blythe.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">For all of that, though, our trek to Chuckwalla Valley was rewarded by another fine weekend amongst good people, spent gleefully converting hydrocarbons into forward (and sometimes backwards) motion. The Chuckwalla track is a wonderful collection of 17 corners snaking amongst the undulating dry lake basin. Long, fast corners, linked to very technical sections of elevation change, made for a very different environment than most of the tracks we've become used to. This was the first visit for most of us, so various portions of Saturday's sessions were spent simply finding our way around. While the off-camber blind hill-crest of turns 8-9-10 challenged many of us for most of the weekend, the "corkscrew" and NASCAR banking that followed became much beloved. Personally, I loved the fast, sweeping sections where you really had to <i>drive</i> through those corners, rather than just pirouetting around a collection of apexes at speed. And speaking of, <i>late apex</i> were the words of the weekend. Several reducing radius turns, and other places with pinched exits, definitely rewarded those who could patiently wait for those pesky cones to (finally) come into view before finishing a corner.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Most of whatever time on Saturday wasn't spent trying to learn the new circuit was spent trying to stay hydrated. As it turns out, the hot action on the track could barely compete with off-track temperatures nearly 20° above monthly averages. Chef Lauren, Lisa, and the rest of the crew did their best to keep us fed and watered, but I think at one point or another, each of us got behind and felt the effects. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The open wheel contingent drew the lucky straw for Sunday, and our early start was matched by a planned early finish, giving everyone plenty of time to pack for their drives home. Earlier sessions and a smattering of cloud cover made for more tolerable temperatures, although overheating of drivers, and cars, was still an issue. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">During lunch, someone had suggested that the days would later be referred to as <i>The Black Flag Sessions</i>, and while it sounds more like a really edgy Jazz-Fusion project with Henry Rollins, it does aptly describe our time with Speed Ventures, our hosts for the weekend. They were gracious and worked very hard, but a variety of on-track incidents, some trivial, some non-trivial, showed differences in experience (or temperament) in flagging and clearing the track. Their policy of (sometimes) black-flagging any car that put four wheels off the track had us scratching our heads, and using the whole-course black flags to pit-lane all cars prior to re-starts was confusing. The biggest disappointment was when an unfortunate shunt on the out-lap of Sunday's second session led to delays in clearing the cars, and we lost the entire 20 minutes. While there were two cars were damaged, and even a minor injury, watching the session tick away, and overhearing the confused radio chatter while sitting at the head of the black-flag queue, made it clear how spoiled we've been by Hurley and the team from Pro Auto Sports. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">At the end of the weekend, though, the true metric of the experience is measured on the size of the smiles on all our faces. Everybody made huge improvements, and by Sunday's final race there were several tightly-packed groups of cars contesting nearly every position, as has become the norm for this group. It was universally agreed that we should return to the Chuckwalla Valley, though I think most hoped that next year it might be in February, instead of March!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">For myself, it was great to be back on-track with my brother Alex, back in the States for only a handful of times in so many years. We haven't raced together since we were both in rented Spec-7's several years ago, and he's made the transition to open-wheel without trouble. More importantly, he is already helping to keep the rest of the pack confused as to exactly <i>which</i> Herbst in <i>TriCalm</i> colors they're battling with. Spending so much quality time with Brother/Father/Uncle is how I justify weekends away from the rest of my life, but it really is an unmatched experience to share.</span></div>
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Choose_Adventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06787718238629824589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7906307.post-15112557287552474852014-10-06T08:56:00.000-07:002017-07-28T15:45:28.643-07:00Astrolander Update: Rear-Door Mounted Fuel Carrier<div style="text-align: left;">
When I first started building this van for overland travel, I figured I'd eventually end up with one of the ubiquitous massive steel bumpers with swing-away mounts for a spare tire and a collection of Jerry cans and other accessories. After a while, it became clear that any such device would have to be custom-made and exceedingly heavy and/or exceedingly expensive. There are a lot of reasons to relocate the tire out from undernearth the van in the stock location, but it is a difficult thing to manage on a van with the 3-part "Dutch" door system with the upper hatch and short lower doors - unless you can swing the tire away, you simply can't put a spare tire back there if you want to be able to open the rear doors. After spending a TON of time scheming and taking measurements, as well as gauging how I actually USE my van and what I really need to carry, I've come to the following conclusions:</div>
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<li>A custom swing-out bumper just isn't in the budget this year or next. Eventually maybe I'll be able to afford to have <a href="http://www.aluminess.com/">Aluminess</a> build me a custom aluminum dual-swing-away bumper that won't overload the rear suspension, but no time soon. </li>
<li>For now, I'm actually fine keeping the spare in the stock location. The larger tires I'm running still fit underneath, and the chances I'll need the spare tire while simultaneously getting severely stuck in a deep obstacle that blocks access to the underbody are slim enough that I'll risk it. I have also found a way to mount a water tank inside the van, so I no longer need to repurpose that area for mounting a tank. </li>
<li>I really need to be able to carry at least 5 gallons of extra fuel, preferably NOT on the roof rack. (Van is top-heavy enough with the lift, pop top, solar panels on the roof, etc.) </li>
<li>I also really want to get the propane tank off the roof. I won't carry it inside the van, for safety reasons, and I can't find a reasonably priced RV tank that will fit under the body (unless I remove the spare tire!), so I'm sticking with a portable 5lb tank, but need someplace better to put it. </li>
<li>As much as I want to keep the ability to swing the dutch doors through the full 180° arc, the solution I've devised for mounting stuff to the door hinges just won't let that happen, therefore I'm resigned to only hanging stuff on ONE side. That way I can keep the other door swinging all the way out. </li>
<li>10 gallons of fuel would be great, but starts to get impractical if I add up the weight of the fuel (31lbs), the can (~7lbs), and my extra-heavy-duty 10g steel jerry can holders. </li>
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So given all that, I decided to just get off the fence and build a simple rack to hold one jerry can, my propane tank, and (as a bonus), probably a Trasharoo.So, the beginning of the build:I started with a $5 junkyard tire rack that looked a lot like this, only more rusty, and the tire holder was bent out of shape.<br />
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To my horror, I realized I don't have a full picture of the rack before I started modifying it, but here's the manufacturer's label.</div>
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<img height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEiL3wc7Xbi2mTF_EbTj4z_xqfdbwkUpkzErfiJ1Xqq_wPc7ePFpKtAVZtpEZ5JBeN5gPoZAQW-P20jNZyZedSzjCe61QdfpAg2U07Lc2h3T1V5u8OGMeOpydeE=" width="400" /></div>
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Step one was to tack in a reinforcing strip close to the vertical pieces so that I could keep the spacing rigid when I did the bigger cuts.</div>
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<img height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEjs2thDhjySWAtHmcA2oIFewkrbY6QBPtg72K5-1M3nX2BOUX00mRolD4X_iPhfc9BhpmsOOFXbnbZifhjJ68-AnVYt1xxYLWbC8WAarjXSLpkWVpjOTTM3te4=" width="400" /></div>
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Next comes the hinge hangers. Top of the image is one of the original hangers, post-removal. These fit over the big external hinges on older vans - Ford or Dodge, I think, and the long bolt passed behind the hinge and sort of held the carrier to the hinges. My system would be similar but much more compact. New hangers started with layout fluid on a couple of clean bars of 1" x 1/4" cold-rolled 1018 steel. Hot-roll would have worked, but the nice square edges and clean surface made doing the layout and holding some tight tolerances on assembly much easier.<img height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEg4wM7Yf-3G7hHaTgx5oAneZkpu-AyKDLUP8gFm-9daP07hiUAu34GJg0vbMsOSEMmxsFBoNfqQQVMMoPdTWKAff_kASy5ncU7UwkUF8zm1Zrqq0FEyLTfbBgM=" width="400" /></div>
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The hardest part of this whole project was removing the door pins. The most common method I see mentioned is to put a thin hacksaw blade between the hinges and cut the pins, then drive them out later. I really didn't want to do this, especially since I was keeping the doors and body-side of the hinges. I just wanted the pins out. From my perspective, this is the best way to remove the rear door hinge pins. Minimal hammering (and none hard) is required, so there's minimal risk of body damage. No bumper removal is required, though that's only a few extra bolts. The only change I might make next time would be to put some cardboard between the door and the tool...</div>
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<img height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEg3s2XMvACu0kUa_XNFMXtwxeRJC9uFB0OHWYvcF3SJaygXl1MMLxW03SJ3Q2tg2AS216BVXB_-YbwfzwUTWThY8IZ-bdhcFCR1pVwDVCqfzMG0R1t1sAi0ovY=" width="400" /></div>
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Here's the magic: 1 6" C-clamp, my smallest 1/4" socket (to push up on the tapered end of the pin), a 5/8" socket (goes over the head of the pin), and the extension tube from my bottle jack to provide additional leverage for the c-clamp. Note that I did BEND an identical c-clamp out of parallel early in this process while I experimented with different things to push up on the pin. Not sure if it was a bum unit, or if some of my attempted setups allowed too much flex and caused things to get out of square. In either case, the key to making this work seems to be to keep everything as short/rigid as possible, and lined up vertically. Use your smallest socket, and the most rigid C-clamp you can get in there. A small ball-joint press frame might also work, if you can rig it to work with the sockets.</div>
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<img height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEhWB9QX-tPT5ChTF4v1WTvJk73hb8TgjmVbC43YTfZKtp1FQAljA25VtJmajgvKdxPjMOHcxpoJtHTKRePQGqVRMyVqRWd0ejXae9FI3qyRSXqWLm5augpMZZs=" width="400" /></div>
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Voila'! You can see the problem - the pins are splined, so once seated in the hinge they are really "in there". When these finally come loose, they "POP" with a pretty loud bang. After this point, some light tapping with a pin punch and a small hammer was all that was needed to get the top pin out. I've had the pins in and out a number of times now doing test fittings (partially seated, not to the splines), and I've used two different methods to get the bottom pin out without removing the bumper. </div>
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<img height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEjpECeaKSvgGO2h-_mcFzUgP5i7ffnfx2sA3229LQF0tZCTbJ-85N-SeNflr2qLBgncovQTdFhUfPfUakGNj60dOv4yMIVsk3ZImZ4BP9Qm9J5IDVGtOdBU05E=" width="400" /></div>
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First, I used a slightly undersized pin and a c-clamp to press the pin out (deep socket needed at the end of this. Second, and easier, was to use the flat bar part of this pin-removal tool set to drive the pin up from the head. Note that this "tool" is basically some bar stock with a notch in it. Once the pin is pushed up past the splines, this is enough to tap it the rest of the way upwards, and you can keep the hammer head well away from the body.<img height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEi_Zt6CusUSsfOXhaL_vBIfwfe_1ebtAzkJOZP0iD5Kd4AIxi_FtH2ZiHY4fHbrA3P59ccsOZwSzrMGJ2Ff8xI9OQDKJYalUlgHhCkRispF0piu4ieR3TgToPKpG3qGGysUv9IwQTRD-EKQYWTlrB_x0v7nkFtLebqrRXWIaLCnIAk981WY=" width="400" /></div>
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Here's my new over-hinge tacked up and trial-fit. Using slightly undersized 21/64ths punch from my transfer punch set as a temporary pin since the lack of splines and a head made it very easy to just drive through for repeated fittings. The nominal OD of the hinge pins is .342", or close to 11/32".<img height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEgsLTU51JVYNx431gL1FY6CUDFjznZsEVOGufMRtW0o40rvlqgHR4Y_tu2nfufI2NJEZo4D-vN8CjqmRtNHc25Nexx2cHpPTobxzYy4gsNjCNuvDGMyCY7yvF0=" width="400" /></div>
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I got busy and didn't take many photos, so here we are several changes later. I removed the bent and rusty mounting plate that served to hold a tire, then cut the "U" bend and added 7" of extra 1" tubing in the middle to stretch it to the width of the Astro door. The bottom over-hinge has been tacked in place to the rack, and I've got the upper hinge held with a clamp while I align pins in everything. I was able to remove the pins and tack the hinges on the workbench, which was a relief, as I didn't fancy doing even tack welding near the van. I tried to shroud everything in my single welding blanket and realized the chances of showering the van in slag was too high...<img height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEiughwBzbPqiC23NtVOeCPMoI2CwavN9wZZ6Bk9LSb5EYAxJyru8ZM6ltNi8Ihyphenhyphenh4mozjKlW5N5HMsplQ6ELRIfj4yXdoU43uAxobmWRDvsoEy4kdVprVLrB0E=" width="400" /></div>
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After the main hoop was tacked and re-fitted, I cut up and re-purposed the original mounting plate as well. This was originally "Z" shaped and attached to the outside of the van door with two big bolts right through the door skin. Ugly, and a bit too permanent for my tastes (says the guy who cut the roof off a perfectly good van). Eventually, I may be able to afford a full swing-away bumper so I don't want to put any big holes in things if I can avoid it. This simple angle piece will let me keep the holes on the side of the door instead. These really just keep the hanger moving with the door - the hinges should take all the weight.</div>
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<img height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEhXLEy7tWHNhmL__bGpUAfDNOnmYtOc1p4XDXsKzsjsBgdFFklPgOh2WsOK9iNO1OvcFeEYJWqCPGE2WFN39ld3K9DUF019cl8beod255DIk6BnZeDVerMsB2Q=" width="400" /></div>
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A little parts-bin engineering solves the hinge pin problem. These pins have the same OD as the original hinge pins, but are 4.2" long to allow for the extra 1/2"+ that I've added with my over-hinge brackets. Dorman Part#38400:This pin has the correct length and includes matched bushings. I wanted to include the bushings since my training tells me hard-on-soft is better than hard-on-hard, but in this instance, it may not matter.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEizvIb988ySeYj36SKBO0xaMVSIVJEy6YGXx7LHLp4WLcHM5fTcRvs3gg43dRLgWq6Yn_rV2zIMmrkk3fUH4wFmba1vYVZmRkLCYjx6ZzwdOfv3dOuuwto4tQ0=" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEizvIb988ySeYj36SKBO0xaMVSIVJEy6YGXx7LHLp4WLcHM5fTcRvs3gg43dRLgWq6Yn_rV2zIMmrkk3fUH4wFmba1vYVZmRkLCYjx6ZzwdOfv3dOuuwto4tQ0=" width="400" /></a></div>
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The rack getting a final coat in my high-tech "spray booth"</div>
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<img height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEj4Q73LtCJmatVaIHzz8FUo0Da-y6t0hBBZzzSUmrygAPNxUWWGZ7ZTeDA57jmC_tvVA1yPE8JJ_gA0RxKg1SjOtDjGkbaYzcUPbYUbkwOeLvX0yBgTexAj4Jk=" width="400" /></div>
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Starting the final alignment of the over-hinges and pins.<img height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEhaO5zesmDWYfgrVqWa8zxMMft2VWUZUzS2jTKErNfcqjwVi5CnJOQ9LIbGnme3efpAYyU2CXfk2JY0EhfL2plNc9NAwbr_TspC1tL0mBNwVHte32g3kUYWfyg=" width="400" /></div>
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Checking things with pins 90% inserted before driving them home.</div>
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<img height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEhmsxtm-kxhB3ohyjKggPNr8L7u_V-gLL-WuWpu8XruTR1O3GV5qS-Ye3r3mOInzgYQdukeUFTt0vJBFGY1Eii3tfrsc-FmGK_q-gIcorlzrN1JEVulV6cc_B4=" width="400" /></div>
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And we're locked in, now. I had to take a big swallow of my pride before posting these, as it reveals some of my worst welds. Still getting the new welder figured out at this point. Most subsequent welds didn't look this bad, but they should hold, so what the hell.</div>
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<img height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEh7FzlpDyZKTBkZzlXMV-GXCQAkAW-nYdsfY7pCm5TTomU7iaBA__AHLhCn8Te8xU4eMPeEnyOOdUF4hCv3t_dLRaD3CSEFsKkU0flsl4pYYclX_spHQ_wfVTk=" width="400" /></div>
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And driving in the bottom pin. Needed to use a pin punch to get to this one, not much clearance in there for a hammer.</div>
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<img height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEjkxQDNbT8fst5GXpL1S1xUuwrY0YLAQvKRoGP2Xn4teQoHZsU9ugl8k7G0WQiUvPQ9K3zYx8d3Dasipwv8wH8K-h0jXMbc63qzorDHQVeY_W3ROE3zG69Gi68=" width="400" /></div>
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My <a href="http://adventuretrailers.com/">Adventure Trailers</a> Jerry Can holder bolts to the rack w/ stainless hardware. AT propane bracket bolts to the can holder.</div>
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<img height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEiXmhTs1lLPJV-kfTm24IOzgmoR3T3BTyWrrrMPpLWg_mM27ARDXXwdCE0uYrNNFeBNcfWcUqjxZ99IIbMn8m5hVdC_EVG5HeKqufEZITcS0tQm87hkz1uJk0M=" width="400" /></div>
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And there we are.</div>
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<img height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEjoKZOxl0eafoguN_DfQfDv7oqB-B7QlQC46AK8YD-_-HtBQT2aj4dQLgF-ylHYG2qrEoKq-lDEVli7AaR5fShwDig-koNySG3POLhQxj5kMvwZEbwo4hx_d0U=" width="400" /></div>
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<img height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEhcJX7O1rFSUjFEz6tzbE727lGUzy_NvV5LOzKLsvprX8WGt3MH_FZIV9v2zKhyUymYALOwMyYEe9xjwi_Fk-Z4-8M6H5csRqvqj-m_epTz8aaqt8bk4m7mGQI=" width="400" /></div>
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Fully loaded, the door-check will just hold the door open, even on my VERY slanted driveway, but it's close. Any more weight, and I'll need either a door-stop, or to park somewhere more level!<img height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEhfPq-d__mpESOEsTnQb4Ht2PdeOxGPXMqXjy7fySkCzBf4JUoOad2EF4IHUpYOsdjhHvybZsxYOFodYGJgqFbhkWuglBjZYFIqwQYkR-2RZGPiNmRde0_1W-M=" width="400" /></div>
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I feel pretty confident about how this locates the weight on the hinges, especially when the door is closed - it feels very solid. I even experimented with standing on the rack to be able to reach the roof rack. So far, it looks like I may not need a rear ladder now!<img height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEiXid5tX2YmDNhI7mjrfnQ1MwZ4wGA7hqs7yFj70gBMWwyZyXCml1acXEvTzlq9cX0gyRHU-ZLEC0GIxmtIErQCZ8Rap78ahczhJfnGMGjmyYuQVCD3KVfzLXY=" width="400" /></div>
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Had a small miscalculation on the clearance for attaching at the side of the door - the shape of the right hand door makes it easy to clear the lower screws, but it's tight on the upper hole. Probably don't need three fasteners since the weight is on the hinges, but I wanted to seal the hole I drilled so I put a pop-rivet in there. Nice and low profile.<img height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEhZV5A2smkelFrSNwgdnn04jJDsrpPMZrKJN0cj_rzb8w9D17Q6ZcgPaCdo4DrczQU6O2sVFqhlwxaHOY9KnaWZXk6yyE8KkQcBvZNfjdyblveB7aLzdbgvmcg=" width="400" /></div>
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Part of this design was to also have a place to mount my Trasharoo trash carrier. This is why the rack sits relatively "high" on the door and the fuel cans "hang" down below the rack.<img height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEioDhP1-FRS9juHc1b3K0u9z9YqUlDf9EJNVNP8NdJV2pVuG7JPWu-wu8cjpLb4rK1HftyqM37oG_kLNH6HqXTIY6Pcp1Rj0QEfGyo19UgStELxaXECgbPSLm4=" width="400" /></div>
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The upper bar of the rack also takes the straps of the Trasharoo. If I mounted everything low on the door, the Trasharoo would sag down below the bumper.<img height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEidEZL1TsyJ0dTFSRava4SdtTMO6rf4CXDUXe0BiZzSF2POSjHFipIeFpQmSMoveTBRh1NV90FHcOh-DOKZAPnnY9-isloYR_RfTs1Gb199D2yB09SKNXBKp-Y=" width="296" /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaNq7CBN_gOZ3IsgKpEyubEK8a0tO4-8ag9I2caLjoDCQlCPlCDE00sQ6oHOJ1reE3JJGS9OChsM7dQvywxBWWlTUcNr54uwYJhR70iaz7hZU0ZnCO_I8JOlDeMKfCaOGR4IBQ/s1600/IMG_20140809_144605.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1184" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaNq7CBN_gOZ3IsgKpEyubEK8a0tO4-8ag9I2caLjoDCQlCPlCDE00sQ6oHOJ1reE3JJGS9OChsM7dQvywxBWWlTUcNr54uwYJhR70iaz7hZU0ZnCO_I8JOlDeMKfCaOGR4IBQ/s320/IMG_20140809_144605.jpg" width="236" /></a>And finally, after some creative swapping of surplus gear and a timely discovery of a ForSale post on ExpeditionPortal, I was able to exchange the heavy steel carrier for an aluminum version that shaves 12+ pounds off the design.<br />
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noticed that one of the pop-top hinges was slightly bent and thus was binding. I've lived with this for 3+ (holy crap, just checked dates: actually FIVE) years, but the net effect was that the top never quite seated correctly on the van roof. I had trouble getting enough tension on one of the forward latches and sometimes after dropping the top I'd have to climb onto the back bumper and manually pull down on the top to get it fully closed.</span>
<span id="fullpost">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Early calls to GTRV for replacement hinges went unanswered. I eventually figured out (through a lot of catalog searching) that the hinges were Reimo-made, duplicates of early VW Westfalia hinges. Sourcing these directly from Germany was going to be VERY expensive, so I kept looking for alternatives. Eventually I found another hinges with a similar (but not exactly matching) geometry for another product. After some wheedling the manufacturer of those bartered with me for a set:</span><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><img alt="Image" src="http://i.imgur.com/94qnVBhl.jpg" style="border: none; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">As you can see, the gold Reimo hinges are longer, so I had to make some modifications to get things to bolt up. I don't have pictures of the process because it was a bit sketchy with the top raised and supported by 2x4s, etc.</span><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">As a bonus, the replacements are vastly superior construction. The Reimo design is thin material and single-shear, whereas the new ones are thicker material AND double-shear:</span><img alt="Image" src="http://i.imgur.com/A6u6ifrl.jpg" style="border: none; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><img alt="Image" src="http://i.imgur.com/h41w1mOl.jpg" style="border: none; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">For some reason, I never took a photo of the top raised with the new hinges. It looks basically the same. </span><img alt=":)" src="http://astrosafarivans.org/bb2/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif" style="border: none; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" title="smile" /><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Knowing that the hinge-replacement was always on the horizon, and fearing I'd need access to the roof to change the hinges, I never got around to putting the headliner back in the van. I'm sometimes amazed that my wife didn't complain more about riding around in a van with the metal roof and all the ribbing exposed. With the hinges finally changed, I was able to start that job only five years later.</span><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Step one was to put the headliner "mostly" up, and make a small access hole:</span><img alt="Image" src="http://i.imgur.com/2TtNeJ8l.jpg" style="border: none; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Reminds me of the early stages of this project, 5 years and 50+ lbs ago:</span><img alt="Image" src="http://i.imgur.com/uevtkd2l.jpg" style="border: none; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Anyhow, using the access hole, I marked the perimeter of the headliner against the hole in the roof:</span><img alt="Image" src="http://i.imgur.com/PHbxIHFl.jpg" style="border: none; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br /><img alt="Image" src="http://i.imgur.com/Q3pfuIhl.jpg" style="border: none; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Then started in on it with a razor knife:</span><img alt="Image" src="http://i.imgur.com/CUSU4EVl.jpg" style="border: none; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">And finally ended up with a big hole:</span><img alt="Image" src="http://i.imgur.com/0d2zHyXl.jpg" style="border: none; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br /><span style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">(Note, this is actually about 2/3 of the headliner - the Astro design has it in two pieces, the rearmost 1/3 is a separate piece and re-installed mostly without modification)</span><br style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Given how thin the "side strips" are, and due to issues with needing to fit around the reinforcing ring at the forward edge, I decided to divide the headliner into two pieces. I'll need to make a new forward section from scratch. The "middle" and rear headliners are now currently installed, but the cut edges still show. I've already sourced new headliner fabric, and will need to strip the OEM fabric and re-cover at some point in the future to really finish it off. I didn't like how the old GTRV headliner was installed as one giant piece with the fabric from the headliner wrapped directly onto the upper roof and was glued down. This made it so you couldn't drop the headliner without peeling the glue, so I'm making sure I "fix" that method before I recover everything here.</span></span></span>Choose_Adventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06787718238629824589noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7906307.post-17897016727957323422012-07-13T10:03:00.000-07:002012-07-13T10:04:24.544-07:00W00tstock 4.0 Has Come and GoneThe now-annual San Diego ComiCon variety-show companion, <a href="http://w00tstock.net/">W00tstock</a>, has come and gone. As with years past, I went from excited anticipation, to reveling in the warmth of being surrounded by "people like me", to a sudden post-holiday like depression.
<br />
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I remember some of my friends trying to explain to me what their youthful Church-going experience was like, and I find myself now using the same phrases and adjectives when I try to explain W00tstock to others. It is very difficult to describe to someone who doesn't <i>get it</i>, except you can say it's a place where you feel safe, everyone laughs at the same jokes you do, and you relish the chance to be surprised and amused in a world where that happens all too infrequently.<br />
<br />
Thanks much to the key players who've make this great experience happen for multiple years now:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://w00tstock.net/">http://w00tstock.net/</a>
</li>
<li><a href="http://www.paulandstorm.com/">http://www.paulandstorm.com/</a>
</li>
<li><a href="http://wilwheaton.typepad.com/">http://wilwheaton.typepad.com/</a>
</li>
<li><a href="http://www.adamsavage.com/">http://www.adamsavage.com/</a>
</li>
</ul>
<div>
I can't even begin to list all the Luminaries of Geekdom who made appearances last night, but I will say that the surprise appearance of <a href="http://sweetafton23.com/">Molly Lewis</a> during <a href="http://mariancall.com/">Marian Call</a>'s last song made my night. I'd have sorely missed her if she'd not made an appearance!</div>
<div>
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<div>
Planning for next year's show must begin: NOW!</div>Choose_Adventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06787718238629824589noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7906307.post-2994184988156989342012-04-20T16:19:00.000-07:002012-07-13T10:04:50.594-07:00New Foodie BlogI've been spending an inordinate amount of time thinking and talking about food lately. Mostly amongst foodie friends and family, but also with non-foodie friends as I try to once-again emphasize <i>Moderation </i>in my eating habits. More importantly, I'm hoping to strike a balance between eating-what-I-want and not-eating-too-much. Since the majority of my readers are friends, family, or people who care about the latest camper project or robot hack, and the minority are foodies, I'll be taking the food stuff over to a different blog: <a href="http://herbie-eats.blogspot.com/">Herbie Eats...</a><br />
<br />
It'll be strictly food-centric, a mix of my fun eating experiences, amateur reviews, recipes, and any thoughts I have as I try to reduce the quantity of what I eat while maintaining (and improving) the quality. Hope you'll follow me there!Choose_Adventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06787718238629824589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7906307.post-61643742286093264062012-03-27T10:47:00.003-07:002012-03-28T15:34:27.679-07:00SoCal Desert Rendezvous 2012After a long gap in posts, it's time to catch up on the Astrolander camper project. After the winter Science Olympiad season (whereupon the author loses all momentum on this and all other projects while he coaches high-school kids through some overly-complicated machine or robot construction), I finally got back in the saddle and started prepping the van for the next adventure.<br />
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A random visit to the Reserve America site had revealed an open three day slot at the San Elijo State Beach campground for the 4th weekend in March, so I grabbed it on instinct. Of course, just a few days later the planned date for the Expedition Portal forum SoCal Desert Rendevous was announced and guess what? Same weekend. After some discussion and in deference to familial harmony, we decided to aim for the beach camp. However as the date neared and the weather fouled, we finally decided that cold weather + impending rain + beach didn't mix and made a last-minute switch to attend the Rendezvous after all. It all worked out and we had a great adventure!<br />
<br />
<table style="width: auto;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ufUuqUJxi1ZETFClt7uH7tMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpqvgS02skmq-s3WvcP7ODbQM6ii9S2Goo9g83xQWyS8xL2yx7jDpNERBPwom7rUWgFAxdDtg1rUP7ZgjCdAP_9wnP6TCeioRCtw_GWLlJPA-41Pvk1SF8aHeDNFDourY2EsH7/s400/IMG_5251-001.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/mherbst/ExPoDesertRendezvous2012?authuser=0&feat=embedwebsite">ExPo Desert Rendezvous 2012</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span id="fullpost"><br />
The setup for the Rendezvous was that just prior to the weekend, participants would be given only the GPS coordinates to a starting Checkpoint - further instructions would then follow. We arrived late enough on Friday afternoon that the Checkpoint was no longer manned, but fortunately I'd been able to score the final coordinates a bit earlier and knew where to go. It worked out for everyone because upon arrival at checkpoint we made some new friends who followed us in after everyone aired-down their tires.<br />
<br />
<table style="width: auto;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/abc7S7HtvvkbeIaYKBFN8dMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4v4QCLBJ4CSJWrhNviv-x-6ctbXbMOVE9HyuU-6jS2A08s6IoWlcfUblwzRqlBm7nI-xaEO6PRhRMX8-T1xlautKRMFP8G9DAJptiOy4-DkdFtHxKvx-byh85XdnSJATGRbDt/s400/IMG_5255.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/mherbst/ExPoDesertRendezvous2012?authuser=0&feat=embedwebsite">ExPo Desert Rendezvous 2012</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Annika was glad to have a few minutes out of her carseat and took the time to explore the desert, the tracks for the railroad that serves the nearby Gypsum mine, and to make a new friend. More on that later.<br />
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The dirt track into the main camp area was eight or ten miles of mixed surface. Some dirt road, some washboard road, and some very deep silt beds. Probably not much of an adventure for most of the attendees, but this was some of the first real off-roading in our van, and Kimberley was not digging the journey, especially the parts where I had to get somewhat off-camber to stay out of the deepest silt ruts or change to another track. I was glad I'd read-up and watched some videos on driving in these conditions so I'd known what to expect, but more importantly I was glad to have finally fitted good front and rear recovery points and that I'd brought along some Maxtrax traction mats. Ended up not needing either, but "Be Prepared" is stamped on my bones decades after the scouts. After all the silt, the van ended up looking like a powdered doughnut:<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/YdYEnGQspga-9Mihg5yE3NMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIedO-A9SB8vz697LQ8h7zQp3sB02wJgRMyaHnDHibB2mcTc9AaLVF-FN70uemuPHexX5pt8OkaanQTCJmzaHoy3Mlo27pTuI60BM5kBdCvgkXl6iMX9y5H41JVbH5LFEuyDDN/s400/IMG_5257.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/mherbst/ExPoDesertRendezvous2012?authuser=0&feat=embedwebsite">ExPo Desert Rendezvous 2012</a></td></tr>
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After the adventure of getting to the Rendezvous camp, the rest of the weekend was relaxed and fun. There were somewhere around 60-70 rigs throughout the weekend, representing everything from Jeeps with trailers, Sportsmobiles, 4x4 trucks and Subarus. There was even a 2wd Sprinter and someone managed to drag a pop-up tent trailer that didn't look like it had much ground clearance, so clearly the off-roading part wasn't THAT hard. The guys from Overland Gourmet make their usual huge impression with a catered meal on Saturday, and the Desert Challenge and trash-cleanup events went pretty well (although our area was unexpectedly clean). I was able to get my kite photography rig up for a little while, although the wind was very inconsistent.<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/MRcdYDAYigBBY7mA1qGOz9MTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfdiAg1ZppFWtvtx3MA47_hDk_wOvDKxL5Li5Bdv88qn5zPpkXbv2yOYRxAqoFoR5QmkLKJVCAx5j-3EFAxQVu-0LOV4pm5o_zCyAzZl5URDNgU2n3HWE3zp2aEXvWvuCVV_fG/s400/IMG_6894.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/mherbst/ExPoDesertRendezvous2012?authuser=0&feat=embedwebsite">ExPo Desert Rendezvous 2012</a></td></tr>
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This one ended up being one of my favorites:<br />
<table style="width: auto;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/MyQjG_e_V_Br5WGh414wv9MTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhten5bzZbGiHmOIcWxP3X0g-xOou2aMA13F8Ed3VVMWhnxEIbAsQwFbM8zSDlP4OMwrTpB_2lFioZEehcjuBkRzgOk8GCMV6noNjLAg0DqIsOldZjJiH_5ejxmXjYtUowsKLy_/s400/IMG_6891.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/mherbst/ExPoDesertRendezvous2012?authuser=0&feat=embedwebsite">ExPo Desert Rendezvous 2012</a></td></tr>
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But if you ask Annika what her favorite part of the trip was, it was making a new friend:<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/EWaTo153Zfhf1DUfEhx_l9MTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVYSF_JPlLOZrguRRVdC1jBD-ouXSi8h8SC-uuV8tyLqU5_V1Rj4s5JVb0dVWk752kRW3MAQ3k3f9sNHlWiSWrEWIRe4Wl3YBRBMdl-g7fiXsqLfBU5eE6HH4DDgAEwYPCqjPu/s400/IMG_20120324_085033.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/mherbst/ExPoDesertRendezvous2012?authuser=0&feat=embedwebsite">ExPo Desert Rendezvous 2012</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>We met Joe and his Dad at Checkpoint 1. I was a bit more confident in my GPS and where I was going (since I'd been able to scout the route somewhat via Google Earth), so I lead them into camp. They were only around for Friday evening and Saturday morning, but long enough to make a huge impression on Annika - she's been talking about Joe non-stop since then!<br />
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Please click on any of the album-links in the above photos to see full-size images and a few more pictures from the week-end.<br />
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UPDATE: Two more can't-miss images from other forum members Tim and Bryon:<br />
<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/WymsHfFxY0W36_7bz0s2edMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEZSxO1F6n3DRd3yIsh4ia4IyB2h7hlUoPizO16-iTChPkbpsJbhyphenhyphenjgABr0qK4_8bvzFwInu75l_25IxxnjxTcUCmX6rmNCUg7nUjkVJPy-Sn9CpTieZIFH56RbSNQHX7ZqvPn/s400/SoCalDesertRendevousLead.jpg" height="169" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/mherbst/ExPoDesertRendezvous2012?authuser=0&feat=embedwebsite">ExPo Desert Rendezvous 2012</a></td></tr>
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<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ZMy8tC2tO1JGaZZOUTOArNMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4u4xG60pItY7yeagua1sVcwvxGpocGsTtxzGei8106mxwkF7RfwyITlyn5p98cypb9Z_vd3w3HdJnPm64HwVD9Rmdn5zW5EjrH2hLr3JBSF_MLL-5dRB4-x8z0Gx1mTpyyHEB/s400/558482_264199863666296_224594374293512_545275_735213153_n.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/mherbst/ExPoDesertRendezvous2012?authuser=0&feat=embedwebsite">ExPo Desert Rendezvous 2012</a></td></tr>
</table></span>Choose_Adventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06787718238629824589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7906307.post-30701578810553010722011-05-10T15:26:00.000-07:002011-05-10T16:01:43.829-07:00Battery Box and Bed PlatformOnce again I'm having to play catch-up to get the blog updated with the state of construction on the Astrolander project. These projects still span multiple days/evenings, so updates are mostly "project" based. Here then, is the coverage for the project to build a platform to extend the fold-back bench/bed to a full 72" and also a box to hold the house battery. As always, more images with annotation available <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/mherbst/Battery_BoxBed?feat=directlink">on the web album</a>.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ub9hkQqQNCQ/TcmtolZkX-I/AAAAAAAAEQM/RTH1aqcCZEQ/s1600/IMAG0332.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ub9hkQqQNCQ/TcmtolZkX-I/AAAAAAAAEQM/RTH1aqcCZEQ/s320/IMAG0332.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> The project starts with the battery box. Pretty basic stuff, 3/4" CDX plywood screwed and glued. I chose CDX for the outdoor-rated glue since I knew the box would be carpeted anyway, plus it was $18/sheet instead of $45/sheet for the nice birch stuff!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span id="fullpost"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PSIypAdcGLg/TcmtrVZyesI/AAAAAAAAEQg/-_naxuEo6jE/s1600/IMAG0357.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PSIypAdcGLg/TcmtrVZyesI/AAAAAAAAEQg/-_naxuEo6jE/s320/IMAG0357.jpg" width="213" /></a></span></div><span id="fullpost">The design of the box looks a little odd at first, but the rear edge of the box actually supports the forward edge of the bed platform, hence the extra height. Everything is designed to maximize space, so the forward part of the box nestles right up to the back of the bench/bed and part of it will be UNDER the seat-back as it folds back. The cutouts on the front (left) side of the box are to clear the movement of part of the bed mechanism. The upper notches are to clear the "arms" of the bed as it folds down. The inner "walls" of the box provide strength for the tie-down system (more on this below) and form the inner battery tray that helps keep things from moving around. In this photo I'm trial-fitting the Group 31 AGM battery, only to find that it's just a hair tall with the top posts, so I ended up switching to a Group 34 battery.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NZfdkNM7B0Q/Tcmtsbmd6hI/AAAAAAAAEQo/rBjmm8ugfxQ/s1600/IMAG0362.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NZfdkNM7B0Q/Tcmtsbmd6hI/AAAAAAAAEQo/rBjmm8ugfxQ/s320/IMAG0362.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> As I said, the inner walls of the box actually provide the strength for the tie-down system. In this shot the box is on its back. The fasteners for the hooks and eyes go all they way into the vertical dividers, making everything plenty strong.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y-fla04BGNo/Tcmt0OPD4fI/AAAAAAAAERk/uOPepXIBA8M/s1600/IMAG0402.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y-fla04BGNo/Tcmt0OPD4fI/AAAAAAAAERk/uOPepXIBA8M/s320/IMAG0402.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Here's the back of the van where the box snugs up against the bench seat. My conversion van bench/bed is mounted to the floor in between where the 2nd and 3rd rows would have been. I utilized the existing attachment pins in the floor for the original 3rd row bench to mount the box. The hooks you can see in the above photo grab onto the aft pins in the floor, and then shackles and turn buckles tie into the forward pins to pull the box forward and down, making everything rock solid.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-boXuUVhhjwc/Tcmtz7xZzzI/AAAAAAAAERg/Ar46zClhAmo/s1600/IMAG0399.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-boXuUVhhjwc/Tcmtz7xZzzI/AAAAAAAAERg/Ar46zClhAmo/s320/IMAG0399.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oRxPsxDL6FE/Tcmt1M63rsI/AAAAAAAAERs/xDOOfFf_lyo/s1600/IMAG0423.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oRxPsxDL6FE/Tcmt1M63rsI/AAAAAAAAERs/xDOOfFf_lyo/s320/IMAG0423.jpg" width="213" /></a>The inside of the box was then coated in brush-on bedliner, then everything was carpeted with a pretty decent match for the OEM floor/lower trim carpeting.<br />
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Next was to weld up the support legs for the back portion of the bed platform. These legs ended up spaced about 16-1/2" on center, but the platform is 29" or so deep, so I made the tops of the legs into "Tees" so that there wouldn't be a long unsupported span in the fore/aft direction.<br />
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The bottom of the legs were tapped for threaded riser bolts so I could adjust the final height to level everything out. The legs attach to the platform with knob-headed screws into teenuts in the platform. I wanted a completely tool-less way to remove the platform and break it down completely flat for easy storage in my garage when not in use.<br />
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The platform attaches to the battery box with a couple of removable-pin hinges. Again, a tool-less way to attach the platform to the box, but it serves a more important purpose also:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fFArbouvM1U/Tcmt5uyAy6I/AAAAAAAAESU/anWAmnJ-CL0/s1600/IMAG0446.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fFArbouvM1U/Tcmt5uyAy6I/AAAAAAAAESU/anWAmnJ-CL0/s320/IMAG0446.jpg" width="320" /></a>The whole platform hinges up to allow easy access to the stuff underneath. In particular, I wanted to make sure I didn't block access to the jack compartment on the passenger side (right corner of photo). As it stands, the rightmost leg sits directly in front of that access panel. Eventually, I'll probably add a cam-lock strap or chain at the rear edge of the platform to engage with the stock D-rings at the rear of the cargo area, which will hold the platform down and keep the cargo underneath from moving in case of accident.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HPAVc49TuDY/TZ0Aet6nysI/AAAAAAAAEB8/amvQ2OIX_mo/s1600/IMG_5154.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HPAVc49TuDY/TZ0Aet6nysI/AAAAAAAAEB8/amvQ2OIX_mo/s320/IMG_5154.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>When the platform is down, there's just enough space between the legs for three tall Rubbermaid containers, or two tall containers and one short one with my Coleman stove on top, or two containers and a 7-gallon water jug. Not as fancy as some of the great drawer systems I've seen on the <a href="http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9034">epic storage system thread</a> on <a href="http://www.expeditionportal.com/">Expedition Portal.com</a>, but this system is flexible, and more importantly, it lets me easily move the packed bins back and forth from the garage, which makes packing for trips and unpacking afterwards super easy.<br />
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With the addition of some firm 2" foam, the bed platform mates up perfectly with the bench seat as it lowers into a bed, making the sleeping area roughly 56" by 72". I bought the slip cover material at Ikea, and it was sewn by my Mother. I would have done it myself (hey, a sewing machine is a power tool too!), but I was running out of time prior to <a href="http://herbiesworld.blogspot.com/2011/03/overland-expo-or-bust.html">Overland Expo 2011</a>, and Mom was eager to help. Admittedly, she did a much better job than I would have. Thanks Mom!<br />
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The only bad news here is how snug the platform is to the rear doors. I plan to build some drop tables onto these, so I'll have to modify the platform at a later date to provide a little clearance. Oops!<br />
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Getting the battery box built meant I could also install the house battery and split-charging system. For the split-charge controller, I gambled on the T-Max system from Summit Racing. Definitely not as full-featured as the offerings from IBS or National Luna, but way way cheaper, and budget was a consideration here. If or when it fails, I'll consider upgrading, but for now it's working great. I mounted the display/control interface on the lower dash next to the doghouse on a custom bracket. I do actually like the display - during normal running it only lights the charging LEDs at the top left, you can hit "display" to see the state-of-charge on the main (starting) and aux batteries at any time. I like that it's completely dark when the engine is off, since the LEDs could be annoying at night.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y51rX6Rl1Ak/Tcmtu-ZXWXI/AAAAAAAAEQ4/O7uvPxPnOug/s1600/IMAG0374.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y51rX6Rl1Ak/Tcmtu-ZXWXI/AAAAAAAAEQ4/O7uvPxPnOug/s320/IMAG0374.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The other half of the T-Max system is the massive solenoid. I used some scrap aluminum to make a mounting plate that I riveted to the bottom of the mounting bracket that holds the starting battery and ECU mounting frame in the engine bay. The block on the left is one of two 150A breakers (one at each end of the run of cable back to the box in the rear). I used extended side posts to tie the extra power and ground cables onto the main battery.<br />
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The main run of cables from the engine bay to the battery box was made by cutting up a new set of 2-gauge jumper cables. I like using jumper cables because they're fairly flexible and inexpensive compared to buying other big cables by the foot. In this case I opted to separate the positive and negative and cover each with a tough outer braid. For the entire run these are fixed to the van BODY, and always above the sub-frame because I know the body-to-subframe distances will be changing soon when I install the lift kit (which includes body-lift pucks.)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0OO9CcbiLZc/Tcmtyirhw7I/AAAAAAAAERU/cWkp72-bnaE/s1600/IMAG0386.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0OO9CcbiLZc/Tcmtyirhw7I/AAAAAAAAERU/cWkp72-bnaE/s320/IMAG0386.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The cables enter the interior just aft of the fuel filler and stay behind the plastic interior trim (removed in this photo) until they enter the battery box where they connect to the second breaker, fuse panel, and house battery.<br />
For now I'm just running my Edgestar fridge and house lights (rewired the vans dome and map lights to take power from the house battery), but eventually the HAM radio and a few other goodies will also take power here.<br />
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</span>Choose_Adventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06787718238629824589noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7906307.post-7518851544503836922011-03-23T10:56:00.000-07:002011-03-23T10:58:36.955-07:00Overland Expo or Bust!OK, it's March and I haven't posted since November 2010, so it must look like I'm making no progress on the Astrolander, right? Couldn't be more wrong. In just over seven days, I'll be departing for <a href="http://www.overlandexpo.com/">Overland Expo 2011</a>. To paraphrase their slogan, I'll be spending three days getting trained and getting inspired, hopefully I will be more or less outfitted by then. ;-)<br />
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The trick is that in addition to all the training and experiences I'll be having AT the Expo, this also represents the first dry run for the Astrolander with a full 3+ days of boondock camping, whether I'm ready, or not. I've had this on the calendar since last year, but the pressure to get things ready really kicked in around November/December. Unfortunately, that's also Science Olympiad "season" around these parts, and I got talked into coaching an event again this year, so there went a good chunk of December, January, and early February. I've been making up for the lost time with some late nights and full weekends, but the crazy build schedule hasn't left much time for blogging the progress. Look forward to more of my "retroactive" build entries with more detail, but for now, here's a short list of the things I've been working on:<br />
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<ul><li>Designing, building and installing the whole rear storage/bed-platform cabinetry system</li>
<li>Installing the cabling, charge controller, and AGM for the House battery system</li>
<li>Running long-scale power consumption tests on the DC fridge in order to spec the above system</li>
<li>Machining and installing curtain tracks, curtains</li>
<li>Laminating additional supports to the roof for the rear of the upper bunk</li>
<li>Re-gluing the bulb seals around the pop-top</li>
</ul><div>More importantly, here are a few of the things I still hope to get done before I leave for OvEx:</div><div><ul><li>Finish carpeting bed platform and battery box</li>
<li>Cutting Reflectix insulating panels for the windows</li>
<li>Sewing slip cover for the rear mattress (Handed off to Mom!)</li>
<li>Installing new CB antenna mount, CB</li>
<li>Welding drop-tables for the dutch-door kitchen</li>
</ul><div>One or more of those tasks may not "make it", but I'll do my best! Pictures to come as soon as I have some time to breathe.</div></div><div></div></span>Choose_Adventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06787718238629824589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7906307.post-36039371689467871872010-11-19T10:42:00.000-08:002017-07-28T20:06:54.584-07:00Mini-Update: LED Dome LampsJust another little Mini-Update:<br />
<br />
When I was ordering some other parts from JC Whitney, I needed a few more items to get to the free shipping threshold, so I went ahead and ordered a pair of these <a href="http://www.jcwhitney.com/ultraflex-led-dome-light/p2022024.jcwx?filterid=j1">Ultraflex LED Dome Lamps</a>, in the 2.5"x1.5" size, in order to retrofit them into the dome lamps on the Astrolander conversion.<br />
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<span id="fullpost"><br />
These are a 24-LED array, but they needed a flat place to mount, so I had to do a little work.<br />
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<img src="https://lh6.ggpht.com/_SUEvWXDjWPc/TOa6zJUvItI/AAAAAAAAD1k/9FaU6_VSbXM/s400/IMAG0152.jpg" /><br />
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The kit includes a variable-size shunt that fits in place of the original incandescent bulb and provides a 12v/gnd connection. Then I notched the enclosure with a couple of slots.<br />
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<img src="https://lh5.ggpht.com/_SUEvWXDjWPc/TOa6wC9qttI/AAAAAAAAD1g/lEfJVvaeWus/s400/IMAG0151.jpg" /><br />
Then I cut this shelf from a piece of scrap ABS plastic. Excuse the crude work, I was going fast trying to finish before returning to my Daddy duties on a Saturday. The ABS was from an unused portion of a drawer organizer in the recycling bin.<br />
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<img src="https://lh6.ggpht.com/_SUEvWXDjWPc/TOa60K8jDfI/AAAAAAAAD1o/-HDvdD9mPKE/s400/IMAG0154.jpg" /><br />
The tabs on the ABS mate to the slots in the housing. Two on one side, one on the other. The ABS is about an 1/8" thick, but is fairly flexible, so easy enough to bend to insert and remove from the slots, which is important since the mounting holes for the dome lamp assembly are behind it, on either side of the original bulb.<br />
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<img src="https://lh6.ggpht.com/_SUEvWXDjWPc/TOa60zJ0BaI/AAAAAAAAD1s/-klqMOt_Qps/s400/IMAG0155.jpg" /><br />
The LED matrix then is affixed to the ABS with the supplied double-stick tape (already applied to the back of the PCB). The mating connection is plugged in to the shunt adapter.<br />
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<img src="https://lh3.ggpht.com/_SUEvWXDjWPc/TOa612-tfLI/AAAAAAAAD1w/vl0K92HnC60/s400/IMAG0156.jpg" /><br />
In this location it has 1/4" or so of relief from the diffuser lens. Unless you're really looking, you can't tell there's anything different under there.<br />
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<img src="https://lh6.ggpht.com/_SUEvWXDjWPc/TOa63j-xdqI/AAAAAAAAD14/pbfNOmz3sgU/s400/IMAG0160.jpg" /><br />
Until you turn it on. Compare the brightness against the incandescent map lights. These will get converted to LEDs too, as soon as I find an LED kit with an appropriate bulb adapter or have time to make a few from hacked bulbs.<br />
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<img src="https://lh4.ggpht.com/_SUEvWXDjWPc/TOa62vQnFtI/AAAAAAAAD10/-lEo_MSSNC8/s400/IMAG0158.jpg" /><br />
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This is a daylight shot, and you can already see the brightness of the LEDs (foreground) versus the incandescent bulb (background). These have made a huge difference in the ease of buckling baby into the car seat after dark. They are NOT a perfect white, they do cast a bit of a blue hue, but for this purpose and the price, I am quite happy. When I do the map lights, I may be a bit more careful about the color temperature as map reading, etc. is hard under bad lighting. I'm also considering red LEDs for the front map lights at least, as an option to help preserve night vision.<br />
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(Large pics as always on <a href="https://photos.app.goo.gl/g6Hh3RCS0sUcPc2A2">my web album</a>). </span>Choose_Adventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06787718238629824589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7906307.post-57726936428887843002010-10-11T14:39:00.000-07:002017-07-28T20:09:45.592-07:00Side Project: Swivel Passenger SeatOK, with this update, I should be more or less "caught up" with documentation vs. the state of reality on the project, at least with respect to things with a significant time investment.<br />
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I finally got around to finalizing a GOOD fix for my issues with the swiveling seat. A rearward-facing seat (at least in the front passenger position) has been a core part of my interior design from almost the beginning. As soon as basic measurements and layout attempts proved to me that I would need to use some variant on a VW Weekender/Westy layout, I wanted to have the expanded living space of the front row facing aft.<br />
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As usual, more complete and larger images available on my <a href="https://photos.app.goo.gl/TDY5pN3K3TwY06jg2">web album</a>. I will also make reference to some <a href="https://photos.app.goo.gl/6809c3oCnyKsBUdA3">other photos</a> from the first draft installation.<br />
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My first attempt at this was to buy an off-the-shelf "bolt-in" swivel mechanism from <a href="http://discountvantruck.com/">Discount Van-Truck</a> (hereafter "DVT"). The idea is that this swivel plate bolts in between the stock seat and slider rails. Unfortunately for the Astro/Safari version, although the bolt-spacing is correct, it doesn't really take into account that the seat rails and seat bottom are curved. In order to accommodate this arch, I had to add some spacers to the bolts:<br />
<img src="https://lh4.ggpht.com/_SUEvWXDjWPc/TDstoFIMRrI/AAAAAAAADbs/xSytypJBKCQ/s400/IMG_4876.JPG" /><br />
Combined with the swivel plate itself, this adds up to over three extra inches of seating height. This made it tight, even for shorter passengers. With the headliner removed to do all of my other work, I was pretty uncomfortable letting anyone too tall ride in that seat, lest they risk a head injury on exposed metal.<br />
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<img src="https://lh3.ggpht.com/_SUEvWXDjWPc/TDstii0FgOI/AAAAAAAADbU/hT7kVYMuUaA/s400/IMG_4870.JPG" /><br />
The other problem with this design is that the stock seat has some rearward rake built into the rails. This lifts the front of the seat and makes seating more comfortable, especially with the limited legroom. As you can see in the above picture, though, this incline is static and below the plane of rotation of the seat, so as you swivel the seat you go from a sideways slant to the front edge of the seat being much LOWER than the rear when fully swiveled. This was VERY uncomfortable.<br />
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Both of these "features" alone warranted a new plan of attack.<br />
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<img src="https://lh6.ggpht.com/_SUEvWXDjWPc/TLNDAyYP6NI/AAAAAAAADxs/-QFZQXRMupU/s400/IMAG0090.jpg" /><br />
When I scored my donor van, I was pretty excited because it included TWO swivel seat bases. I also liked that these had a very beefy locking prawl so they felt securely locked when facing forward. Unfortunately they shared the same design flaw with the rear-rake built-in below the plane of rotation. <br />
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<img src="https://lh6.ggpht.com/_SUEvWXDjWPc/TLNDBEOOfAI/AAAAAAAADxw/rWnNJfP5Nmg/s400/IMAG0089.jpg" /><br />
That wasn't the worst of it, though. It seems that GM had made some small but significant changes in the interior portions of the Astro/Safari van somewhere along the way. Despite having an identical outer unibody, the 1995 donor van had a few key differences to my 2003 van. Under the rear of my front seats there's a small duct outlet that blows HVAC air onto the feet of the passengers in the middle row. At first I thought I could utilize the GTRV donor swivel base by just notching the back of the plate to clear this outlet. I quickly went after it with a plasma cutter before I really understood what was going on. It turns out, that the vent outlet has ducting behind it (duh!), in the form of a very wide and flat plenum that sits under a good portion of the seat. This is why the passenger seat is up on those riser rails you can see in the first picture. Where the feet touch it is flat, but most everywhere else sits 1-2" higher with ducting, carpet, underlayment, etc. These flat-bottom seat bases just weren't going to work.<br />
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I looked at a variety of ways of just trying to put little "feet" on these bases to use them, but it always stacked up to making the passenger seat too high again. With all of the clearance needed for the various levers, there just wasn't an easy way to chop two or three inches out of the design without basically rebuilding it from scratch. Rather than head off down that road, I decided to leave the swivels intact for resale, and went after making the original DVT swivel base work "right".<br />
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<img src="https://lh5.ggpht.com/_SUEvWXDjWPc/TLNDB2aGMoI/AAAAAAAADx0/gFgcSAwjwIQ/s400/IMAG0100.jpg" /><br />
After a lot of back and forth, I built these. They're pretty simple, just a couple of short sections of 1.5" x 2.5" tubing, with some angle stock welded on. The second project from my new-old welder. The more I work with it, the more I realize it will need a minor overhaul to fix the design issues with it. Fortunately others have gone ahead and documented how to do that.<br />
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<img src="https://lh4.ggpht.com/_SUEvWXDjWPc/TLNDCO0kSfI/AAAAAAAADx4/CVmv4TV5e7M/s400/IMAG0107.jpg" /><br />
Here you can see everything stacked up. Unfortunately I still have the "curved" slider track under the swivel plate, but this was sort of necessary because if the slider was on top of the swivel, you'd have too much of the locking lever sticking out between your legs when the seat was fully rearward. This keeps the lever handles in a better position. More importantly, you can see that the plane of rotation is now mostly flat (depending a little on the slider position), and that the rake is built-in above the swivel plate. In this photo the swivel is "facing" rearward, and the 1" tubing spacers on the left raise up the front of the seat in all positions.<br />
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<img src="https://lh6.ggpht.com/_SUEvWXDjWPc/TLNDDEpCGCI/AAAAAAAADyE/fsEFsyf4F3c/s400/IMAG0111.jpg" /><br />
Here's the swivel plate "mid swivel", and the detail of the locking lever. One problem with both original swivel designs is that they only locked in the forward position. When facing rearward, reaching to grab something off the dash or trying to adjust your position with your legs would make the seat turn instead of moving your body, like pushing one of those shopping carts where all four wheels swivel, or a boat with no keel. Sort of annoying.<br />
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<img src="https://lh6.ggpht.com/_SUEvWXDjWPc/TLNDDnrw0mI/AAAAAAAADyI/mislFyMoJSg/s400/IMAG0104.jpg" /><br />
Fixing this was the easiest part of the whole project, I just nibbled out another notch with a cutting wheel on my grinder, so now the seat locks in the rearward position as well.<br />
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<img src="https://lh4.ggpht.com/_SUEvWXDjWPc/TLNDGPkw4eI/AAAAAAAADyc/5wfOAgEAbtk/s400/IMAG0117.jpg" /><br />
It is hard to see here unless you know what you're looking at, but the other minor improvement was to heat and bend the locking lever slightly, so that the handle comes "up" a bit and fits the contour of the lower seat a bit better. It gets it out of the way so you're not banging your heel on it if you cross your legs under while seated.<br />
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<img src="https://lh6.ggpht.com/_SUEvWXDjWPc/TLNDElF0WDI/AAAAAAAADyQ/mKJymsBUOmc/s400/IMAG0113.jpg" /><br />
All told, the passenger seat now sits almost 3/4" lower than stock, instead of the 3+ inches higher than stock. The extra headroom just makes me feel that much safer for passengers since the GTRV reinforcing ring does seem to sit a tad lower than the original roofline, but I didn't want to drop things too much lest the armrest in the door be wildly out of whack against the arm rest on the seat. Building my brackets this way also moved the seat rearward about and 1.5 inches. This makes up for the awful passenger foot room more than you'd think, since the foot well is tapered. Any further and I was worried the upper seatbelt pickup would be too far forward.<br />
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<img src="https://lh5.ggpht.com/_SUEvWXDjWPc/TLNDEydqXYI/AAAAAAAADyU/uze0cogROHA/s400/IMAG0114.jpg" /><br />
As currently mounted, the edge of the seat just clears the B-pillar if I swivel the seat clockwise. If I want to go counter-clockwise, I have to move the seat back to the fully upright position first. I still could move the seat inboard another inch-and-a-bit if I use the other mounting holes, but so far this seems fine.<br />
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<img src="https://lh3.ggpht.com/_SUEvWXDjWPc/TLNDFv7diBI/AAAAAAAADyY/T3nfDySbyzY/s400/IMAG0115.jpg" /><br />
And now I can finally enjoy a proper "living area" facing the bench seat opposite with enough space for a table for eating or cards. <br />
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Two answer two popular questions:<br />
1) No, I wouldn't use the seat in this position while traveling. The seatbelt anchors aren't really in the right place, and it would make my wife carsick faster than an alpine road anyway.<br />
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2) Not sure if I plan to do the same to the driver's seat or not. Because of my planned layout, my Edgestar fridge will most likely be behind the driver's seat when camping, so I wouldn't be able to swivel without a lot of shuffling around. I could test to be sure, but I also think the driver's seat would have to be inclined to an uncomfortable angle to clear the steering wheel anyhow. That said, having "facing" seating for four adults would be cool if we got stuck in a rain or something...</span>Choose_Adventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06787718238629824589noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7906307.post-66214499511308446132010-10-11T12:25:00.000-07:002017-07-28T20:04:28.129-07:00Top Transplant - Relocate Wiring and Overhead Console ProjectHere is more of my retroactive documentation. In this installment, I tackled the relocation of the overhead dome/map lamp and add an overhead switch panel.<br />
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As always, more/bigger pictures on my <a href="https://photos.app.goo.gl/6fqfb6ySWit5h5Ks2">web album</a>.<br />
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The main push for this part of the project was to deal with the aftermath of having removed the forwardmost structural rib from the Astro van roof. The GTRV steel reinforcing ring took care of the structural element, but there was also a couple of wiring harnesses that passed over this rib, one of them to feed the forward dome lamp and map lights that also hung here. The GTRV donor van had an aftermarket RV dome/map light in the overhead space between the reinforcing ring and the windshield/rearview mirror area. I liked this placement, but I was pretty sure I could make mine look more factory by reusing the original GM light assembly.<br />
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<img src="https://lh5.ggpht.com/_SUEvWXDjWPc/TLM9CAlxVpI/AAAAAAAADwQ/gvF-Ief5dTQ/s400/IMAG0063.jpg" /><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
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Like the GTRV solution, my implementation began with a piece of aluminum sheet. I didn't like the way theirs was sort of bodged on, though, so I started by bending a mild angle to fit the top of the windshield header. This gave me a better flat-to-flat surface to drive a couple of sheet metal screws though. The bend was mild, so I wasn't worried about cracking, but if there had been much more to it, I would have felt compelled to anneal the sheet before bending. Behold my super-quick-and-dirty metal brake, basically a few pieces of angle stock in a vice. The top pieces clamped on with c-clamps keep the bend straight and prevent me from over-bending and risking cracking.<br />
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<img src="https://lh6.ggpht.com/_SUEvWXDjWPc/TLM9EJk2HkI/AAAAAAAADwY/XhHQNcoMjTI/s400/IMAG0066.jpg" /><br />
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Next I started laying out placement of the dome lamp housing, as well as a plate to mount some switches. Is that carbon fiber? Yes, it is. Why carbon fiber? Because when you're an ex-Battlebot builder you've got big sheets and even bigger piles of scrap CF plate lying around in your shed, looking to get used. Plus, its nice for mounting switches because its a bit thicker (and more rigid) than a thin metal sheet but is still easy to machine with a dremel and a file. The extra material thickness seems to hold the switches more tightly.<br />
<img src="https://lh6.ggpht.com/_SUEvWXDjWPc/TLM9FDH2JvI/AAAAAAAADwc/t4bIvlhUVyE/s400/IMAG0068.jpg" /><br />
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Zardoz is displeased. Actually, these are clearance holes for the wiring coming off the backs of the switches. The carbon plate is spaced off of the aluminum mounting bracket to allow for the thickness of the headliner (once reinstalled), but the wiring needs to go back up under the headliner to the rest of the chassis loom.<br />
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<img src="https://lh5.ggpht.com/_SUEvWXDjWPc/TLM9GPKB78I/AAAAAAAADwg/vKuuBnLchIc/s400/IMAG0070.jpg" /><br />
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Here you can see the how the bracket fits onto the reinforcing ring and windshield header. I'm extending the wiring harness that used to follow the roof rib. I pulled matching-color wiring from the donor van to extend all the wiring, so there would be no troubleshooting hassles down the line. All the new harnesses were sealed with weather-tight heat-shrink crimps and then wrapped in that sticky cloth wiring loom tape. I even wrapped-in the factory clips so the wiring loom is secured to various bits of the roof structure as it routes along the van. All of this will tuck up under the headliner when reinstalled.<br />
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<img src="https://lh4.ggpht.com/_SUEvWXDjWPc/TLM9Hz4lYiI/AAAAAAAADwo/tVYRz4C36gs/s400/IMAG0075.jpg" /><br />
Here is the switch plate, ready to install. At this point in the process, I was still planning to use the electric actuators to lift the top (see previous post), so there are two momentary rocker switches for the actuators, plus a DPDT switch to lock the armatures, plus one spare. The divorced actuator switches were so that I could fine-tune the tent tension in case the motors didn't lift at the same speed. I ended up chucking this design, though, so I now have a really cool carbon fiber switch mount with four unused switches.<br />
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<img src="https://lh6.ggpht.com/_SUEvWXDjWPc/TLM9I35TafI/AAAAAAAADws/DLAGGhaJ1X8/s400/IMAG0079.jpg" /><br />
And the dome lamp and switch plate installed to the mounting bracket. The dangling blue connectors were the leads to the actuator motors so that I could use the switches to move the actuators prior to final installation. I do wish I had just mocked-up the (complicated) switch wiring onto a temporary board before I found that the actuators would have to be scrapped. It might have saved me some effort here...<br />
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<img src="https://lh5.ggpht.com/_SUEvWXDjWPc/TLM9J0Bm5oI/AAAAAAAADww/Ns_PLN7PIEA/s400/IMAG0081.jpg" /><br />
And one final little project. I made a bend-template to make a bracket to hang my ScanGauge from the windshield header above the rear-view mirror. I ran the cable up the A-pillar and now the gauge hangs in a comfortable field of view above and to the left of the mirror. The bracket is from a chunk of scrap titanium, bent on the same bending rig shown above. Yes, I have scrap titanium too. This chunk was originally salvaged from a British Heavyweight that fought (and lost) in Las Vegas (Battlebots Season 2), and had since been used in a variety of my beetleweights and flyweights in bouts all over the Southwest.Choose_Adventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06787718238629824589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7906307.post-1349189654660111292010-10-11T11:36:00.000-07:002017-07-28T20:03:20.525-07:00Top Transplant - Lifting the TopAt this point in my documentation, I need to deviate from counting the "days" I've been working. Due to changes in work demands, a sick infant, and my wife's waning patience at being left for whole days or weekends at a time while I toil away at my buddy's shop, I'm just not getting whole days to work on the project. The upside is that since things have reached a certain level of completeness (see the last update), I was able to bring the van home again, and work on things for an hour or two here and there in the driveway. Progress comes in bursts, on afternoons when I can get away from work a little early and weekends when the baby naps or I can leave her with Mommy for (shorter) periods of time.<br />
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Instead, I'll try to capture "projects" as they are completed. Please remember that some of these projects span many days of short bursts and are often interposed with other projects, so things may appear out of order slightly.<br />
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Here then, I will cover the saga of "Lifting the Top". <span id="fullpost">My goal, at the outset, was to be able to raise and lower the top on electric power, since I wanted my wife to be able to operate the top as easily as opening a sunroof. With the GTRV design, after releasing the latches, you must lift the top for 8-10 inches before the gas springs kick in and raise the top the rest of the way. When lowering the top, you have to hold it a bit above "fully closed" while you tuck the corners of the tent fabric away from the latches. For me this means putting my shoulder up against the top and standing up a bit. My wife is obviously smaller, and not quite as strong, so I was hoping to avoid this for her.<br />
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As always, more/bigger pictures on the <a href="https://photos.app.goo.gl/FcgYVv6GjlQZl5ht1">web album</a>.<br />
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The problem with electric lifting actuators in this situation is packaging. The GTRV top is very low profile (lending the "Garagable" part to "Garagable Top RVs"), which doesn't leave much room for a bulky actuator. I was excited, then, to find these "tubular" actuators from <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7906307" http:="" www.firgelliauto.com="">Firgelli Automations</a>. <br />
<img src="https://lh3.ggpht.com/_SUEvWXDjWPc/TLNKlUsWVQI/AAAAAAAADy8/Pymnjpvh8j8/s800/Tube%20actuator1.JPG" /><br />
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The trick to this design is that the drive motor is contained within the actuator tube. This makes for a compact design, one that doesn't take up much more room than the gas spring that was included in the original design.<br />
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<img src="https://lh4.ggpht.com/_SUEvWXDjWPc/TLM_O07p1II/AAAAAAAADw8/-7FOinIjUgM/s400/IMAG0069.jpg" /><br />
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First I tackled the upper brackets, where the actuator hits the pop-top. These brackets came from Firgelli, and I thought they were nice and compact until I started messing with them and found some oddness. First, the drilled holes weren't exactly square to the material, which made tapping them less than fun. Why tap? Well, I was concerned that if the mechanism ever failed while in the "down" position, it would be difficult (or impossible) to service the actuators since they'd be trapped under the cap, and a burned actuator would prevent me from raising the top manually. So instead, I tapped the brackets themselves then used button-head cap screws from the outside to bolt everything up. This way, if there was a problem I could simply unbolt the bracket from outside and raise the top manually. Its a good thing I did it this way.... read on.<br />
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<img src="https://lh3.ggpht.com/_SUEvWXDjWPc/TLM_QEXzNEI/AAAAAAAADxE/Y02eDgUdttw/s400/IMAG0053.jpg" /><br />
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The Firgelli brackets weren't going to work on the van-side of things. They advertise "almost 180 degrees of rotation" from the bracket. I only needed about 40 degrees, but in an arc that wasn't compatible with the pinch-points on the brackets, so I had to make my own. I started by clipping a couple of corners from some 2" x 3/16" bar stock, then transferred over the critical measurements. The red is layout fluid, which when brushed on, makes it easy to transfer marks and measurements over to the steel. This is one of those things that (as an Electrical Engineer, not an ME or pro-machinist) I was glad to learn about when I was building Battlebots back in the last decade.<br />
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<img src="https://lh5.ggpht.com/_SUEvWXDjWPc/TLM_RJ8p3UI/AAAAAAAADxM/iE0uNZw51oo/s400/IMAG0059.jpg" /><br />
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After a bit more cutting, a little drilling and grinding, and some less-than-ideal welds, I have a couple of these brackets. These are the first project done by my "new" old welder. I've had this welder since the aforementioned Battlebot-days, got from another Bot-builder friend, but I'd never gotten off my butt and set it up until now. It's an old SIP design from Italy, with a few quirks which I will get around to fixing later, but for a hobbyist like myself, it should do ok.<br />
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<img src="https://lh4.ggpht.com/_SUEvWXDjWPc/TLM_RymdDuI/AAAAAAAADxQ/hq2rjvkmMHw/s400/IMAG0082.jpg" /><br />
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After paint, I made a couple of pads from cork/rubber gasket material. These should help seal against leaks and keep the roof damage to a minimum.<br />
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<img src="https://lh4.ggpht.com/_SUEvWXDjWPc/TLM_SFN0X-I/AAAAAAAADxU/3P_Y4B8mkYE/s400/IMAG0084.jpg" /><br />
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The lower bracket and actuator in place, complete with stainless sheet metal screws.<br />
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<img src="https://lh3.ggpht.com/_SUEvWXDjWPc/TLM_TDCzDtI/AAAAAAAADxY/C_2PJ4vqGeE/s400/IMAG0085.jpg" /><br />
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In the up position, everything was looking good. The actuators, even "unlocked" had enough holding power to keep the roof up without any struggle. "Locking" the actuators by shorting the motor terminals was built-in to my design and proved more than adequate to keeping things from moving. I started "small" by just moving the actuators a few inches, and everything was fine.<br />
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<img src="https://lh3.ggpht.com/_SUEvWXDjWPc/TLM_T3GIMCI/AAAAAAAADxc/ffs_xMwP-TA/s400/IMAG0086.jpg" /><br />
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After I tried to run the actuators all the way down, though, I found a significant problem. After a bunch of blown fuses and swear words, much probing, and disconnecting and reconnecting of wiring and bracketry, I was able to find the problem: The actuators aren't really built to take the load I was putting them under, despite the 150lb rating. The motor assembly is held in the actuator tube by a pair of plastic (!!!) standoffs that fit the extruded profile of the tube. Under heavy compression load, these standoffs were compressing and sliding, and the motor was hitting the cap on the actuator tube, pinching wires and shorting things as it happened. There may still be hope for this design, if I can get some metal motor mounts machined up, but for now the electric lift design was DOA.<br />
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<img src="https://lh4.ggpht.com/_SUEvWXDjWPc/TLM_UhDq65I/AAAAAAAADxg/NceGE9JSyyY/s400/IMAG0087.jpg" /><br />
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With a heavy heart, and 8 extra holes in the van roof :(, I gave up and fitted the original GTRV gas springs to the top. This isn't a "bad" design, it just wasn't what I was hoping for. Once again I have the problems of manually lifting/holding the top while raising/lowering, but so does every other GTRV owner...<br />
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On the upside, I was able to get to this point prior to the San Diego ExPo Meet-n-greet, so I was able to show off a mostly-functional pop top! :)<br />
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More to come...</span>Choose_Adventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06787718238629824589noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7906307.post-59122669299438500732010-10-11T11:32:00.001-07:002020-11-02T08:11:48.487-08:00Top Transplant, Days 4-6OK, I have been seriously slacking on the documentation end of things, but I HAVE been working. Here is an attempt to get caught up.<br />
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As always, there are more/bigger pics here: <a href="https://goo.gl/photos/83SEqoEpZtcy9njV9" target="_blank">Day 4</a>, <a href="https://goo.gl/photos/jX2peCYehe1hTfPk9" target="_blank">Day 5</a>, <a href="https://goo.gl/photos/jjA2PaFpGdxYsWEB6" target="_blank">Day 6</a>. <br />
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<span id="fullpost"><br />
At this point in the build, it was time to attach the tent canvas to the van roof. The GTRV design basically sandwiches the canvas against the roof with this vinyl trim. When tight, this creates a (theoretically) waterproof(ish) seal against the van, sort of like a set of shingles.<br />
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<img src="https://lh5.ggpht.com/_SUEvWXDjWPc/TLM5cwzSeGI/AAAAAAAADvo/b2kfSYekY98/s400/IMAG0032.jpg" /><br />
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I used the salvaged vinyl strips to lay out the tent spacing and get everything lined up.<br />
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<img src="https://lh6.ggpht.com/_SUEvWXDjWPc/TLM5e0KzR_I/AAAAAAAADvw/VBPUk2jsfA8/s400/IMAG0033.jpg" /><br />
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In order to avoid more holes in the vinyl and canvas, I went ahead and used the strips as drill templates too - predrilled a dozen or so holes in a time.<br />
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<img src="https://lh6.ggpht.com/_SUEvWXDjWPc/TLM5k2irghI/AAAAAAAADv8/YegeMimKHs4/s400/IMAG0036.jpg" /><br />
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It was easiest to fill the strip with a line of screws, then stretch the canvas onto the screws using the existing holes, and finally drive everything tight against the van roof. This was especially important in the back corners because the tent is under extra tension from sewn-in elastic to keep things taught. I imagine when GTRV originally build these, they had a method for doing things without tension, and could just drill through the vinyl, canvas, and steel all in one go.<br />
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<img src="https://lh3.ggpht.com/_SUEvWXDjWPc/TLM5mAV7r5I/AAAAAAAADwA/yimqkQUxluc/s400/IMAG0037.jpg" /><br />
<br />
And voila', several hundred holes and screws later, the tent is now attached to the roof of the van, making it theoretically weather-tight. At this point, the lifting struts are not installed, the pop-top was supported by a 2x4 from inside the van while I worked.</span>Choose_Adventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06787718238629824589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7906307.post-28726689284780535312010-07-26T11:11:00.000-07:002010-07-26T11:11:49.590-07:00Zombie Walk 2010My week of Nerd-related activities got extended slightly when a friend let me know that there was a Zombie Walk going on with ComicCon this Saturday. <br />
<table style="width: auto;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/6WkIUOmkB-SQCDysWoPHRA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_SUEvWXDjWPc/TE2drAdhj5I/AAAAAAAADoo/A79TzDg-Vm4/s288/IMG_4979-1.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/mherbst/ZombieWalk_20100724?feat=embedwebsite">ZombieWalk_2010-07-24</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Needless to say, I had to drag the family along. My costume was pretty rudimentary, but there were some really talented and dedicated folks there, including my favorite, the "50's Comic Book Zombie", who was kind enough to pose with me for the picture above.<br />
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The walk was organized by <a href="http://www.sdzombiewalk.com/">Zombie Walk San Diego</a>, as a fundraiser and organ-donor signup event for <a href="http://www.donatelifecalifornia.org/">Donate Life California</a>. By my estimate, there were somewhere between 500 and a 1000 Zombies who showed up. Awesome! <br />
<span id="fullpost"><br />
More impressive than the sheer number of Zombies was that I was able to get Kimberley and Annika to come along. Annika was a bit young for makeup, so she wore her "<a href="http://www.thinkgeek.com/tshirts-apparel/kids/bbae/">Zombie Snack</a>" bib, while Kimberley was sporting possibly the most subtle costume in the walk, (but she was definitely in-costume):<br />
<table style="width: auto;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/n_h-8ZJVXNUAxJ6IbQNdew?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_SUEvWXDjWPc/TE2ds992I_I/AAAAAAAADos/3VA71kEo-LQ/s288/IMG_4984.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/mherbst/ZombieWalk_20100724?feat=embedwebsite">ZombieWalk_2010-07-24</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Bonus Zombie points to anyone who "gets it".<br />
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I was honored to be asked to pose for many photos. Lots of people thought the sign was great, but I can't take credit for the joke -<a href="http://www.thinkgeek.com/tshirts-apparel/unisex/generic/ae5e/">Think Geek sells the shirt</a>. My really "big moment", though, was spotting the illustrious <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0848191/">Patricia Tallman</a> standing off the curb taking pictures of the shamble as it went by. I only gave a subtle wave and mouthed "<i>I love your work</i>" as we went by, because the last thing the star of Tom Savini's remake of <i>Night of the Living Dead</i> needed was to be recognized on the street and surrounded by five hundred Zombie fans. This would be equivalent to someone spotting Mark Hamil watching a parade of the <a href="http://www.501st.com/">501st Legion</a> going by.<br />
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We were too busy wrangling the stroller amid the shamble of Zombies to take many photos, but I managed a few good ones <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/mherbst/ZombieWalk_20100724?feat=directlink">here</a>, and a quick <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4MicKEDHiY">video snap</a> of the <i>Thriller</i> breakout.<br />
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I have found quite a few other good collections of photos, though, so here are the best:<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikerollerson/sets/72157623878776400/">Flickr Set from Mike Rollerson</a><br />
and another from <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/sjespersen/sets/72157623879624558/">Sebastian Jesperson</a><br />
and one from <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/sandiegophotos/sets/72157624575768644/">SanDiego.com </a><br />
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Searching "Zombie Walk San Diego 2010" or "Zombie Walk ComicCom 2010" should net many more videos and pictures...<br />
</span>Choose_Adventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06787718238629824589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7906307.post-49161857260383495622010-07-23T10:32:00.000-07:002010-07-23T10:47:16.272-07:00W00tstock 2.4 has ended. It was awesome.Well, I'm still reeling from my experience at <a href="http://w00tstock.net/">W00tstock </a>2.4 last night. I'll let the rest of the digirati cover all the juicy details, since I'm sure it was live-blogged, tweeted, and streamed to no end. I love events like these, where I come away reminded that I am part of a greater, and growing, community of like-minded devotees of all things geek. <br />
<br />
<span id="fullpost">My favorite specific bit from last night's show, though, was the sequence of events surrounding Wil Wheaton's retelling of his first experience with the <i>Rocky Horror Picture Show</i>. There was a cascade of funny that began with a heartfelt reminiscence of life as a teenager in 1980's LA. Then while recounting the gathering of some slightly burned white toast, onto the stage wanders <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0234928/">Aaron Douglas</a>, complete with BSG "Chief Tyrol" flight-suit costume, setting up Wheaton for the gag: "No, we asked for <i>toast</i>, not a <i>toaster</i>!", which of course slayed the audience as intended.<br />
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Funnier yet is what came next. After Douglas stomps of stage yelling "Frak you, Wil Wheaton", our storyteller turns to the audience and says (in seemingly one breath): "So its pretty cool when you're friends with Aaron Douglas and you hear he's going to be at ComiCon so you call him up and ask him if he'll come to your show 'cause you have this idea for a bit that you think would be really funny! Then he calls you back and asks 'Hey, what if I wore my flight suit? Would that be OK?', and you say 'That.... would... be... AWESOME!', then I went into my backyard and screamed to the heavens 'What did I do to deserve this bitchin' life?'".<br />
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It came across as completely genuine and reinforces everything else I've heard about Wil Wheaton and his view of this place in the world. In any case, I laughed until my sides hurt.<br />
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There was much more awesome, including a brief Astronomy lecture and sneak-peak at a new upcoming Discovery Channel show from "Bad Astronomer" <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/">Phil Plait</a>, surprise cameos from a variety of other geek celebs, and I even got to spend a couple of minutes chatting with Mythbuster Grant Imahara whom I haven't spoken with since we were competitors at a Battlebots event a million years ago. All in all, a great night, and I can't wait for W00tstock 3.x!<br />
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EDIT: <br />
Addendum: I can't believe I forgot to mention this. So security was stupid. Like really stupid. The show started like an hour late because they were doing thorough pat-downs and bag-checks which doesn't sound bad until you remember that 1/2 the crowd came straight from ComiCon and had those massive Swag-bags. It took FOREVER to process the line. Worst still, they confiscated my <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Leatherman-81080003K-Squirt-Multitool-Scissors/dp/B0007UQ1E2">Leatherman Squirt S4</a>, because it was a "weapon". OK, they didn't confiscate it so much as take it and put it into a plastic bin without any sort of claim ticket whereupon it was gone after the show, even though we had to leave a few minutes before the end. Oh well, I think the a-hole guard now has a beatup, dull Leatherman on his keychain. Maybe letting people know before you tear their tickets that there's a "no re-entry" policy, eh? My car was just around the block. Moreover, if you're looking for "weapons", maybe you should pat me down a little better, 'cause the farkup rent-a-cops missed my 3.5" <a href="http://www.aeromedix.com/product-exec/parent_id/14/category_id/151/product_id/1083/nm/Doug_Ritter_MINI_RSK_Mk1_Knife">Ritter RSK Mini-mk1</a>, which is razor sharp and probably better at the "murdering other nerds" they seemed to be so concerned about. Obviously I didn't volunteer that one, since I wasn't about to hand over $100+ cutlery. OK, rant-over, W00tstock was still awesome! Besides, now I have an excuse to purchase the new <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Leatherman-831195-Squirt-Black-Keychain/dp/B0032Y2OT6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1279907144&sr=1-1">Leatherman Squirt PS4</a> instead!!</span>Choose_Adventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06787718238629824589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7906307.post-58563206771852078712010-07-22T18:27:00.000-07:002010-07-22T18:29:05.018-07:00W00tstock!<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCVKYqKbx4ojEcmO0L4urMu01zROHB2m0Jyfnfunu8t0hyphenhyphenclQ20QdP6IQyqNx1fACwJ3wWORQBOUMzsy6xc-FvarjHoOOO74OaqanozQ8CWOgTzhlx7alt1tnt9HCuYGs29FrC/s1600/=%3Futf-8%3FB%3FSU1HMDA0MDAuanBn%3F=-745019"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCVKYqKbx4ojEcmO0L4urMu01zROHB2m0Jyfnfunu8t0hyphenhyphenclQ20QdP6IQyqNx1fACwJ3wWORQBOUMzsy6xc-FvarjHoOOO74OaqanozQ8CWOgTzhlx7alt1tnt9HCuYGs29FrC/s320/=%3Futf-8%3FB%3FSU1HMDA0MDAuanBn%3F=-745019" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496907645565212978" /></a></p>Heck of a line (around the block) for the W00tstock show. <p>Can't wait!<p><br>-Sent via BlackberryChoose_Adventurehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06787718238629824589noreply@blogger.com1