This channel is an eclectic collection of people and things. Some of my interests include, invention, re-purposing, van dwelling lifestyle, alternative energy and vehicles, electric and gas powered bicycles.
I hope you find something that interests you and just maybe you'll find something here that sparks an interest in something you didn't expect to find.
I try to stay open to expanding my learning and hope you will subscribe and visit often to see where this channel moves and evolves.
This is brilliant! Thank you! Thank you! I only bought my road track less than two weeks ago and I’ve been racking my brains on how to make compartmentalize boxes and I’ve been up in arms, not being able to find large sheets of hard compressed cardboard, or whatever they call it. The non-corrugated, extremely hard card stock but can’t find it anywhere. But the material you are using is light and strong and perfect. I probably won’t glue mine. I’ll probably just use gaff tape however, I’m absolutely thrilled to have found this video this morning!
@ifyougiveagirlahamer3370 👍There you go ! You're off to the races now. Have fun organizing your stuff. Check out some of the other videos. You might find other things things to help you personalize your Roadtrek.
I’m looking at getting this, but would one be able to cut 3/4” plywood that is 2’ long every so often? Most of my projects would use wood that’s 1/2” or less (think drawer dividers, cutlery trays and the like). I live in a small apartment, so not much space. This would be for hobby use only, but I can get ambitious with items at times :-)
I'm originally from Santa Cruz and all though I can respect the need for peace and quiet this looks sad I thought they went over bord with the COVID restrictions.
I just found your channel - looking for a "preowned" Roadtrek - look at a much older class B - anything insight you can give me would be great - next step is to view your "Why I bought a Roadtrek" thank you sir! Gary
I have a 1999 Roadtrek. No shower. So I joined a gym. A thief stole all my paperwork so I have no idea how to operate the heater or stove, etc. I don’t know anybody who can explain this stuff to me. 😂 I’d be better off with a blank cargo van.
@LilyGazou Here is a link to where you can download an owner's manual for your Roadtrek roadtrek.com/owners-2/. Just scroll down to "owner's manuals" and select the year, then Dodge or Chevrolet and click "download". I have found this a very useful website for all things Roadtrek. A blank cargo van might suit your use case better. Outfit it with the functions you want using 'easier to figure out' equipment.
Pretty old video here and I don't even know if you own the RT anymore. So you're blowing air into the shower stall instead of exhausting, and blowing or pushing out the shower curtain. In the process, you're also spreading all that warm moist air all over the van. There's a reason Roadtrek puts the fan directly over the shower, and that is to exhaust all that hot warm moist air. Seems like you're solving one problem but creating a second one. Excess moisture in an enclosed area is creating a breeding ground for mold and other issues. From my perspective, this is really not a good idea. The solution here is really just a heavier gauge material for the shower curtain. A nice heavy fabric is not going to move around, but It could end up costing you a few hundred dollars to get a good one. That's the approach I would take. You may even have to get an upholstery shop to source out the correct material, but I've done a fair amount of sewing with heavy duty marine fabrics and I can tell you that if you get a good quality fabric it's not going to be blowing around and sticking to you. No way no how.
This video is now about seven years old but I think still very relevant. I decided on a road trek as well but went for the larger 210 model. It essentially allows you to sleep width wise or lengthwise. You can have a wet shower or shower in the aisle, (2006 and beyond) and something not mentioned here is if you have two people in the van and you're going to be living together for months at a time, it's nice to have a van that you're able to divide up into separate areas. Road trek has done a superb job of this. One person can be upfront and another person could be in the back watching television, etc. without disturbing one another. And the larger 210 varieties the versatile model gives you just that, a lot of versatility. Remove one of the chairs and put extra cabinets in, a longer counter, etc. And the Chevy Express 6 liter V8 is a great engine. Although I would certainly consider a sprinter T1N, but much harder to find parts for and mechanics to work on them. Better gas mileage though. Chevy's you can have fixed anywhere, and every auto parts store in America has Chevy parts. There's also ample room in the roadtreks to add a lithium iron phosphate battery set up and enough space on the roof for solar. One downfall is the low ground clearance. That part I don't like. Combine this with a long wheelbase and you can high center easily. Not very good all off road vehicles. Roadtrek wanted to make tons of space available but you do sacrifice some ground clearance.
Hi Gwen, thank you for the question. The Roadtrek is a Canadian product. As such, I don't think the fabrics will be something you would find in the United States. My first inquiry would be to the Roadtrek manufacturing facilities in Ontario Canada. They may provide you with the mill that produced the fabric for them and you could contact that company to determine if any still exists. If by 'upholstery fabric' you are referring to the seats in the vehicle, I would do the same research project with the seats as focus. The interiors of these Roadtreks were hand built by crafts people in limited numbers so things like fabric would have been outsourced, from manufacturers of those materials, for use in their construction by the Roadtrek artisans.
@@RoadtrekRich Yes, I thought of that as well. I as married in Perth, Ontario canada. I thought Road trek in Canada was out of business, which i why I didn't look there first! Thank you !
The AV glass broke on the AV door. I want a solid door. What type of wood would be best? I am also considering a cork board or a chalk board. (I did not have the "bread box look, it was a smoky glass- which interestingly, did not shatter.)
Hi. I don't know what AV stands for. I assuming a door, comprised of a wood frame surrounding a panel. I don't know the condition of the "broken" glass. If it is just cracked but still in place, the "cover up method" would apply a sheet of vinyl over it, front and back to keep it from getting worse. Then cover the area with a "trimmed to fit the area" panel and fasten it with extra strong velcro. If you want to remove the glass, and install a different panel, that will require breaking out the glass. Once the glass is out you'll be able to measure the "slot" it sat in and size a new wood panel accordingly. Now you will need to to gain access from one end or side to install the new panel. The construction of the door frame determines how to "deconstruct" it if that is how you want to proceed. But there is a short cut. That is to cut a slot the same dimension as the "slot" on the inconspicuous "top" or "side" of the door, the hinge side, down to a depth where the new panel can be slid into the frame. This new panel can be cut to a dimension that "fills" the area that was cut away to give access to install the panel. The "cover up" method doesn't require any tools. The "cutting a slot method" requires a table saw and fence to cut the slot. What would I choose? The "cutting a slot method". I have the tools to do that. The results would be more satisfying to me and invisible to anyone looking at it.
@@RoadtrekRich AV = audio- visual. The glass is not broken. The frame around the glass is splintered. So, Im looking to replace the glass with a wood which blends with the rest of the van. Thank you for your reply.
@@GwenRN Got it. My Van didn't have that feature. I've had to re-glue the frames on a couple of doors. I think the frames are oak. So an oak veneer plywood the right thickness would probably get you close to a match.
3 месяца назад
Thanks for sharing! You just saved me about $300 or $400 on a new microwave! Such a simple fix for $30!!
Thanks for the review. I’m wondering if I could transfer the MiK adapter plate from my Basil trunk bag. The plate screws through the base of the bag to some hardware inside the bag. The zips on my very similar Basil bag have given up. Really like the MiK adapter as the bag attaches and detaches with a simple and reliable click…
Omg... why does everyone making an instructional video feel the need to babble nonstop all through the video... just get to the point... ill find another video... damn
@RoadtrekRich actually no i really didnt... i was just aggravated with a bafang bbshd install... thought i was going to need to change my bike chain length... which i didnt... but i did have to change over to a 19mm offset front sprocket... which should be here at the end of the week... i usually have everything done in a shop... but ofcourse because of all of the little issues with compatibility you run into on an ebike kit installation... no shop will do it... so im learning a whole of things about working on bikes that i didnt know... and every video i warch... it usually takes 15 minutes of listening to mindless babble... half the time that has nothing to do with the subject matter of the video... to get to an answer and its really annoying
Why can’t you roll it out like you’re making cookies and so it’s just stays at a certain height that you want. And then find a container about the size of the burger you want like a small cottage cheese container and keep rolling it I think that would do great.
Hi Rich ! Hadn't viewed your posts since a few years.. Glad to see you are still producing great content 👍 I need to catch up and see what I missed.. Take care Ron in France
Just last week I was looking through my old ('95) cooktop manual and saw that they sold a stainless steel cover for it. I knew it was futile, that they'd no longer be available &/or cost some fortune I'd never spend instead of making my own but I looked into it just for kicks. Dometic now owns Atwood and of course, no covers for these older models. I've measured mine several times to make a cover but haven't done it yet! It's high on the list now. Nice job on your's! The 170's have false drawer front under the cooktop. I can't imagine why they didn't make it a real drawer or a pull-out extension like we have under the Tv cabinet.
Hi Sandy, It very simple. You can even have a place like Home Depot cut a hobby panel of material to size. Then just glue it together ! Thanks for the comment !
@@RoadtrekRich Thanks! I have so many materials laying around here, I'll slap something together. Home repairs have had me a bit enslaved lately. It'll be my next 'fun' project. I deserve it!
Did you try going or calling (or web search) hardware stores for the Briggs tank to bowl gasket / seal? Looks like Lowe's didn't have it! 😡 I got the Fluid Master Universal tank kit, but the gasket similar to the Briggs won't line up to the two holes. I am not sure if the red universal gasket will work that well as the tank to bowl gasket is meant to provide a seal where the two bolts pass through the space between the tank and bowl. Thank you for the great how - to!
I have a ten year old travel trailer (yes, I know it's not a Roadtrek) but many of the parts are the same. An older vehicle WILL have mechanical issues. I know, I just bought a 2003 4Runner. Secondly, RV parts are pretty much poor quality stuff. Stuff in my travel trailer started failing right after I bought it brand new.
Hi. All the parts I updated in the "house portion" of the Roadtrek worked just as they had throughout its life. I replaced them with the updates because those performed more efficiently than the originals. Unfortunate that your experience has been what it has been.
Great vid Rich, In my humble opinion on lead acid vs lithium, the weight difference of the batteries is huge and if you are wanting to increase the battery bank well more batteries means more weight…. Food for thought :)
I have a 2007 RT 190 Popular 4x4. It is the Quigley conversion offered as an option by RT, all Chevrolet parts. If you ever run across 4x4s please publicize them as people are always asking about mine and where to get one.
I don't know where you are but here in California, the 4X4's are everywhere. Even in such a small town, we have at least two conversion companies building them. I don't know if they start with a 4X4 chassis...I haven't done research on that. I have a different use case so... But I can post a list of them for sale here in the area next time I'm looking around on the classifieds.
I have reservations re: buying a RV (ANY RV, regardless of class) as old as these. PARTS would be my main concern, aside from the condition of the body/frame (rust/corrosion and such). For example, I DO like the even older RVs such as the Class A motor-homes like Argosy, Airstream, FMC, Revcon, Travco, Vogue (not TOO big but quality-built in their day, NOT seen much nowadays in new RVs) -- yes, they go WAY back (1960s/70s) so anything 1990s is definitely newer -- but how would I keep even a 1990s RV running with OEM parts? Like the STILL very popular GMC motor-homes: How much longer can you get a Toronado front-end /chassis parts? Or how many times can you rebuild a Oldsmobile 454 engine -- IF you can find a decent engine block? Who makes all the rebuild parts for those old RVs. Or even those (once ubiquitous) 1960s split-window VW vans? Are there NEW parts to rebuild the old 1200cc or 1600cc VW air-cooled engines of that era? Not to mention rubber parts that even if they're NOS (NewOldStock) are probably dry/brittle by now -- useless -- even if still sealed in their original OEM/factory packaging. Are "newer" 1990s RVs that much better off re: parts and such? Where do you get yours? So if I wanted a Roadtrek Class B, I'd likely look at the new (current production) ones -- "Roadtrek Rebooted," if you will -- but would hope THIS time Roadtrek stays in business (and feel the same way about Indian motorcycles). ;-) -- BR
Hi Bill. I've refurbished, rebuilt, restored, maintained, repaired and operated vehicles since I was 14. For me, the "how would I" or "where would I" was answered a long time ago...I just do it. That's not the average person. The admission price is a factor. A much newer unit is going to have an admission price near or in most cases over 100K dollars. With interest rates the way they are, I'm not sure, but I can check, the down payment, taxes and fees would pretty much cover the price of one of these older ones. Ongoing, a person would have a monthly payment. Between 8 and 10 years, with interest, they would have purchased the vehicle twice, have one, and it would have gone through it's depreciation cycle during their ownership. Vehicles do have parts. Hard parts and soft parts. What do I mean? Soft parts are things that are designed to be replaced. It's rare to encounter a soft part that isn't available or can't be fabricated. Hard parts have long life spans. On these vehicles, 100-200K or more. They are commercial chassis...beefy. As far as a class B "house portion", the "rv" part, in the one I drive, I've updated every component that existed in the original to modern, contemporary features. Solar, compressor fridge, webasto style furnace, batteries, lighting, low start up air conditioner, generator, "composting" toilet, etc. It is possible to have the same style of comfort without the cost. But I understand when a person has the perception that buying something "newer" is going to somehow "buy" them security and peace of mind. If a person is relying on others to provide them with the needs their vehicle has, then their costs are going to be monumentally higher. Are there costs to owning an older vehicle? Of course. My experience is that they are for different things and lower. For me, with my life experience, the reward versus the risk is greater than the differential in price between the current average asking prices of 24K for an older one versus 100K for a newer one. Time is my friend. The average asking price for the vehicles I listed is more than I paid for my Roadtrek. Will they sell? In the car biz, there's an old saying, "there's a (you know what) for every seat...just wait". Like I say in some of my videos, I don't give advice, I just tell people what has worked for me. We all have different ideas and thoughts about things and I appreciate you discussing the concerns you have. Thanks Bill.
What about Barth's, Bill? Homes and dressing rooms of movie stars out on those "on location", "cowboy movie" movie sets? They even made small diesel pushers and pullers...I came very close to buying one, once upon a time.
@@RoadtrekRich Well, you got me there: I've only worked on cars since I was 16 (1966). But they're more complicated nowadays (PC chips). However, the mechanics are pretty much the same -- chassis, brakes, etc. And the electrical/plumbing an RV has -- have done that in homes during my life as well. I'm a "Renaissance Man" of the Handyman world (if you will) so I'm not concerned about that. Nor the tools (I still have for various trades as I used to build houses for Habitat for Humanity). I'm just saying I had personal experience with an older vehicle I had to give up on (after keeping it 32 years) because I couldn't get parts for it. Even tune-up parts. So it was over (my BEST car ever, too). As for the high prices of RVs -- what vehicles are NOT high-priced nowadays (as the pickup truck makers)? Even the Crap-Makers (Coachmen, Forest River to name 2) overprice their crap RVs. But that's just how it is, ESPECIALLY for Class Bs that have ALWAYS been overpriced -- even the old Roadtreks were outrsageous cost-wise. But any RV I get NOW would have to be my Daily Driver to make sense paying big $$ on it each month -- so it'd have to have an engine! Better yet, I LIVE in it. But as an expensive "option" when I already have a Daily Driver? Something to be used only occasionally and stored MOST of the time -- like most people do with their RVs? Don't think so, it has to be my one-and-only vehicle and/or I need to live in it. I could even afford a pretty serious $400-500K Class A in that case (but they're too big, and have other issues I don't want). No, right now I have a Jeep (Gladiator) and it can tow a small TT easily and still have carrying-capacity left over (I insist on that). But were I to sell the Jeep, I'd likely buy a "non-full-amenity" Canadian Class B such as the well-made (and pretty decent warranty) -- two things American RV makers fail to accomplish -- and that'd be a Pleasure-Way Tofino. Again, it'd be my Daily Driver (and do some other things for me) and wouldn't cost much more than my Jeep did. Wouldn't need to LIVE in it though as I'd have an apt or house to live in. But to LIVE in, I'd need a "full-amenity" Class B at the very least. Not likely though as I'm not a "nomad" type, so wouldn't like living on the road. But something like a Tofino (reminiscent of the old VW camper-vans, which weren't "full-amenity" either) is a reasonable possibility. UNLESS I Move to The Villages (Florida) and can get by with just a golf-car, for ALL my needs there. Not possible anywhere else in America but done there in The Villages by thousands of residents daily. But then there's moving back to CO as an option, too -- so I'll need my Jeep. Decisions, decisions... -- BR
@@RoadtrekRich Yes, Barth for sure...didn't name them ALL Rich. How about Beaver motor-homes? Yes, "those were the days." -- Mary Hopkins TODAY though you have to get a Prevost Marthon to be in the same quality ballpark those old ones were. Sorry, but I haven't been able to find $1M+ change in my couch cushions thus far. Don't think I ever will. -- BR
