We are here to share insights from our van build to help you in yours, which we plan to live in full-time to connect my two passions➡️ HIKING and VANLIFE!
I managed to rope my husband into helping me pursue one of my crazy ideas, and so in 2021, we bought a new Ford Transit van and are in the process of converting the van ourselves into an amazing adventure van that we can travel and explore in full-time.
As we get closer to achieving our retirement goals, we founded Blazing Wanderers to share our progress and tips from our van build, and when we aren't working on the van, bring you along on our backpacking adventures!
We installed a Webasto Heater under the seat for added heat when parked for cold conditions. It heats the van similar to a furnace heating your home, and that one vent puts out a ton of heat! It is a gasoline heater that has a line tapped into the sender unit of our van gasoline tank to draw fuel from. We also have a level sensor in the gas tank which will shut off the webasto in our gas tank drops below 1/4 tank--so we don't get stranded somewhere if we are out boondocking away from civilization! We have a video of that install if you are interested ---- studio.ru-vid.comj4P8hM8s3ls/edit
Hey is there any chance you could link the parts you used from the propane bottle fitting to the regulator? I'm having trouble piecing it together. Great video!
Thanks for watching! Here is a list of the parts we used from propane bottle to exiting the box--hope this helps! We ordered some parts from Amazon and the rest from RV Panther products. They don't see to carry the brass adapters we ordered through them, but you could easily go to Lowes or Home Depot and pick them up there. Marshall MER Type 1 36-48 in pigtail propane hose pantherrvproducts.com/type-1-pigtail-propane-hoses/ Solenoid Lock Off Valve LPG Propane 12V FUELOCK LOCKOFF Liquid Vapor Gas Volt LPG 151 www.amazon.com/dp/B077XQX9YJ?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share Marshall excelsior Megr-298P 2 stage regulator www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01CZ2YU56/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Marshall excesior mounting bracket www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00K24B742/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Marshall MER613-12 LP Supply Hose 3/8" Female x3/8" Female 12" pantherrvproducts.com/mer613-12/ AMC 704018-06 Brass Flare Forged Nut Fittings - 3/8" 9 (ordered 6) pantherrvproducts.com/----not currently available AMC 704044-06 Brass Propane Tee Fitting 3/8" Flare pantherrvproducts.com/----not currently available Marshall ME488 Propane Disposable Cylinder Brass Adapter pantherrvproducts.com/----not currently available MB Sturgis 204163 Propane Elbow Adapter - 3/8" F. Flare Swivel x 3/8" M. Flare pantherrvproducts.com/----not currently available Good luck on your build!
I don’t disagree with you that using 80/20 aluminum is expensive compared to just wood, but we did budget for this in our build. Our major concern with all wood framing and cabinetry was the structural integrity. We read several posts online through various forums of van cabinets splintering and detaching from the van wall due to collisions. The last thing we wanted was to have a cabinet or wood spear slamming into is in the front seats. I hope that never happens, but we wanted to be sure we would be safe. Another reason was the weight. All wood framing is heaving, and using aluminum helped reduce some weight as well.
Question! I’m about to do the same thing and wondering when you ran the solar cables through the old antenna hole was there a lot of room around? How did you fill in the gap since it’s a weird shaped hole I can’t imagine a rubber gasket fitting. Thanks!!!
The choice of the cable pass through depends on gauge of solar wire. We used either DS-HD6-BLK or DS-HD10-BLK. I wrapped the wires with wire harness tape. I then positioned the wires so they were not touching the metal and used the sealant to fill in the gap between the wires and the roof so that the solar wire would not abrade over time. I also used sealant around the cable through for a bit of extra protection. This pass through was more expensive than some of the cheaper options on Amazon but had better reviews regarding leaks.
Thank you for the video I am doing the same to my 2024 Transit 350. However you cheated by not drilling through the B pillar, C pilar and the rear D pillars which I need to do. The B pillar has Boron Steel you can not get past in the wall without drilling through it. Carbide here is a must. Takes about 4 hours per hole and lots pf Prep and lots of snack breaks. The C Pillar has boron Steel you may be able to get a hole above the Boron Steel and bypass the Boron steel. It depends on your model. But plan ahead to go through the Boron Steel. The rear D Pillar has no Boron Steel. At the D pillar two 1.5" adjacent holes ( 1.5" x 2.5") will do fine. The D pillar needs 6-8" long bits and extensions. Drill up at a 30° angle. I need to enter before the B pillar. Drilling the D pillar in wall with a 1-7/8" Carbide Milwaukee Dozer Hole saw ( not Dozer bi-metal) was not fun. You must have Cobalt drill bits and Cobalt step drills and Carbide hole saws and at least two people to do this job. Cutting boron steel is slow and requires cutting fluid, high pressure and low rpm. So one person steer's the drill and one person leans on and pushes the drill. Use Cobalt hex shank step drills with locking extensions of several various lengths. to start all holes. www.amazon.com/AugTouf-TOOLANT-Step-Drill-BIT/dp/B09SPZQ6LV?th=1. You will need two step bits of each and every size Listed. What you do not use you can return. www.homedepot.com/p/Milwaukee-Hole-Dozer-Carbide-Hole-Saw-Set-12-Piece-49-22-3090/310213292 PLUS a 1.0, 1.125" , &1..25" Carbide hole saw. Hole saw MUST have a 1/4 x 6" Cobalt bit. and you will need 1/4" x 12" Cobalt bits. www.amazon.com/dp/B0CW241Q9D?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1 You will need a Dremel and several large 2" Gyro ST Cutoff wheels and grinding bits to smooth out sharp edges. If you need a large hole larger than the step bits. Use the step bit to pre-drill the 1/4" Pilot hole first. Then the carbide hole saw. Drill oval holes, two adjacent overlapping holes Cutting out the wall with a cutoff wheel is not a good method. Drilling holes is always better. To enter the B pillar you need to remove the overhead shelf and disconnect the battery. You drill a 2.0" hole near but before the B Pillar.Then drill using a 1/4" x 6" Cobalt bit as a Pilot hole You will need to lengthen the Harness by 36". Easiest way to do this is to get a harness from a Junked Transit or a new Harness. Make an extension for the front end the harness. But you will need a female connector to put on the donor harness to make a 36" (approx) extension cable" You want the extension to go from the fuse box, up the A Pillar and end at the top of the A pillar. You want your mid junction between the A pillar and the entry into the B pillar. Solder all the pins in the correct order. Add Silicone lots of Di-electic grease to the mid Junction to make it water tight. Join Male and Female connectors. Then wrap in three layers of rated #33 Electrical tape 6" to either side. Hope this helps.
Yes we did consider trying to drill through the pillars, but the time/cost investment wasnt worth it to us. We were able to run in down through the back pillar which was very helpful in giving us a clean look in the back against our wall panels, and our wall panel kit had enough space allowance behind the panel to fit the bundle without having to do all the work as you detailed here. I would have loved to run it through all the pillars, believe me! It was something we were willing to do without though. Good luck!
Sorry, you installed the hinge plates wrong. The plate doesn't go between the door and hinge. It goes between the bolt heads and the hinge and, therefore, does not move the door at all. Would have saved you a lot of hassle.
@@blazingwanderers But if the video isn’t corrected, maybe it should be taken down. People watch RU-vid to learn how to do it, and this one teaches them to install the ladder incorrectly. So it is worse than the manufacturer’s directions. Right?
Our van is a Ford transit cargo high roof extended wheel base--the longest they offer. If you have similar van, the 10 ft would work. Fiamma also makes awnings that are longer and shorter than this one, so you can choose whatever length will work for your van. Our awning is manual, but is very easy to set up--takes about 2 min! I think they may offer an automated version as well.
$2500 for something that didn't just work.... Seems expensive. That stuff is about $80 a sheet. Pretty sure 3 sheets will do it. I suppose the powder coated step well and the trim are a nice to have.
Yes, it is something that might be cheaper to do yourself, although having the CNC cut on the bottom insulation to fit perfectly vs cutting and placing by hand is a real time saver, and since we could afford it, we wanted to save some time so we could use it in other parts of the van build. And, as you may well know, everything in a van build never fits right the first time and usually takes about 4X longer than you originally estimate. Thanks for watching though! 😁
So I went through a few of the videos of yours prior to this, and I didn't see anything on the plus-nut installations that you're using for mounting those upper cabinets. In one earlier video, putting the wall panels up, it looks like you have some bolts/washers in the walls where those plus-nuts are? Or are those for attaching the panels? One assumes you plotted out your cabinet dimensions well in advance and installed the plus-nuts where you would need them for the cabinets, rather than "this looks good" and then later on, built the cabinet frames to fit? I get the use of the wedges you cut out of the aluminium bar stock to straighten out the 8020 pieces on the ceiling to be level; I'm curious how the bolt going through the 8020 into the plus-nut is set, though. It would have to be going through at a slight angle, with relation to the aluminium extrusion, yes? The head of the bolt can't be nice and flush with the surface inside that bottom-facing slot of the extrusion?
You’re correct we used plus-nuts in the roof cross rib supports. The plus-nuts we used were 5/16-18 X .020-.280 steel pre-bulbed purchased from Amazon (S31MG280). I talk through this briefly on our ceiling and lighting video. You can see a plus-nut location through the furring strip at ~3:04 in that video. This did require some planning for both the cabinets above the sink as well as our cabinets above the bed. There are only so many places to mount the plus-nuts in the Transit roof support ribs. This combined with the limited number of roof support ribs and the hole locations for lighting are important considerations to consider when planning for the cabinetry. You are correct that the bolt going through the 80/20 aluminum extrusion will have a slight angle relative to the extrusion for the roof connection supports. Thank you for watching!!
@@blazingwanderers Thanks for the reply! So the bolt head isn't going to seat flat on the inside of the slot - that's not an issue? That trick using two corner brackets - that's sneaky. I like it. I'm tucking that one in the back of my brain for when I get to this point myself.
The 40 amp connector for an auxiliary heater is also under the passenger seat in our 350HD. Thanks for that tip. I never would have found it on my own. I wired both power and ground from our Scheel Mann driver seat to it and terminated with 1/4" spades. I took a piece of ice maker supply line tubing, slit it and wrapped it around the wires before routing between the two seats. This made it easier to fish the wire through and should protect them from damage. If anyone ever finds the male 6-pin spade connector that matches the female under the passenger seat, please post a link here. I'd like to have a more reliable connection than just loose spades.
It's absolutely pathetic that Ford would even run that harness outside the wall to begin with it just goes to show you how little they care about their consumers!!
I couldn’t agree more! They have those inner cavities which are perfect to run through- just not a priority for them I guess but it does make it a pain for van builders like us!
I wonder if you put the spacer bars between the swivel and base, instead of spacers between tracks and swivel, if this would have avoided the interference that you had between the swivel and the battery cover.
I just turn off when anyone starts using any kind of level on a van build... You need to go back to school. If your van is not PERFECTLY level, you are wasting your time. And even if it were, as soon as you step in to do anything it will move because of your weight and stuff called suspension 🙄🙄 please stop making videos using a level...
Well, it worked for us, and all of our cabinets are perfectly straight and level. We made adjustments for when we stepped inside and on our gently sloping driveway. Lucky for us, our build turned out great and we would do this again in our next build. You don’t have to use our tips(although several folks have with lots of success) but thank you for your constructive criticism.
Thank you for watching! I’m not sure how the blum hinges will fit with the 10 series. We followed recommendations from FarOut rides so you might check out his page to see if he has any info on using 10 series aluminum. And we bolted the 8020 aluminum directly to the van for our cabinets. Our bed frame supports are attached to a structural steel plate behind the wall because we felt we needed that extra reinforcement to support the bed. But other than that, the rest of our 8020 is bolted directly to the van!
It looks awesome! I’m also gonna do the same on my van, but I am planning to use 10 series 8020 to save some spaces. Do you think the hinges fits well with 10 series? Also, I was curious about securing the 8020 cabinets. Do you bolt them down to the sheet metals underneath or just bolt them to the factory mounting hole on the side?
Yes! Just the addition of the KilMat made a huge difference when we were driving the van around. After the Thinsulate and the wall panels were installed (which also are covered in Landau foam and fabric) the sound just got better. We went from hearing every little rock hitting inside the wheel well (which was very loud!) to not even being able to notice it at all.
Hi. Thank you for this great video. I'm so embarrassed to ask this question, but here it goes: Are the passes or any other part of the trail comprised of narrow shale paths next to shear drops/cliffs? I have a fear of heights and had a panic attack on such a narrow shale trail, next to a shear drop...in Banff National Park last year.
That is a great question and I totally get it!! There are two places that come to mind that are a bit scary- the first is Hailey Pass. Going up was not an issue but coming down the back side was steep, and we had to come down very slowly because it was all loose pebble and gravel. A little nervrwracking, but manageable if you take your time. The second place is coming down from the Bears Ears towards Bear Lakes. This was just after the hailstorm for us. It is a good path, but narrow in some places and it is a very steep drop off the side in a few areas. I think I was so focused on getting down together lakes during the storm that I didn’t notice it so much. Other than those two places, the rest of the trail up and over passes is fairly easy!
STOP!!! Everyone who hasn't installed their standpipe yet, please read this!! I just installed my stanpipe and had lots of trouble making it fit. It was looking good until I tried to install one of the fuel lines. I just managed to squeeze it on by turning a qurarter turn. All of these problems could be avoided by buying the Espar/Webasto straight fuel pipe. Do not buy the one with the U shaped curve because the fitting that screws into the top of the sender is way too big!!! You can avoid the problems shown in this video and the ones I made by gettong the right standpipe. I almost destroyed my sender by using the wrong standpipe. A new one costs almost $500.00
Thanks for the update to the installation. We have had ours installed for almost 2 years, and have had zero issues with our system, but if I had to do it again we would definitely use your recommendation. Thanks for the info!
Love this video, im about to install a similiar ceiling on.my transit. Did you use anything in the front of the ceiling in between the blobs to help hold the ceiling panels? It looks like you have a good tight fit there.
Thank you! So, the first panel nearest the front is held in place by 6 fasteners-a row of 3 near the edge and then another row of 3 in line with the lights. They are screwed into furring strips attached to ceiling. There are no attachments near the front of the panel. We are just relying on the curvature of the van ceiling to ever so slightly bend the front part to hold the panel in place. So, essentially the front edge is just floating. We have had no issues- the panel doesn’t move or squeak, and it fits up nicely against the headliner.
Since installing this Aluminess tire rack and having it on for a year, has there been any issues as far as water leaking in or sand or cold thru that cut rubber gasket? Has the door cracked or any issues opening or closing? Would u buy this again if y needed to or go with Owl or Rover vans tire mount?
So, we have now had our rack on for 2 years (we installed it spring 2022), and so far no real issues. We haven’t had any leaks or dirt coming through. The inside frame of the door is relatively clean overall. We have also slept in cold weather and I didn’t notice any cold drafting in. Our van is also very well insulated, including the back doors, and so it is very comfortable to sleep in the back. The only issue we have experienced was just in the past few months when we had the tires rotated, which included taking off the back spare and rotating it with the other tires. We found that doing this caused the left door to shift ever so slightly making the right door hit the plate when closing. It’s very subtle but we will have to adjust the left door hinge a bit- on the to-do list! We are not as familiar with the Owl or Rover models, but in general we have been very happy with this tire rack/ladder mount and would be likely to order again if we had too. Hope this helps-thanks for watching!
Thanks for watching! The campsite coordinates for night two are 37° 40’ 30.972” N, 107° 31’ 32.418” W. It’s a nice little meadow off to the right of the trail, about 50 yards off trail. There will be a faint trail through some grass to get to it. I started in Durango mainly because I have a friend who lives there and she let me stay at her house before/after my hike. Another reason was the time tables to get dropped off -coming from Silverton, the train stops at Elk Park around 11:30am, so you have most of the afternoon to hike. I believe coming from Silverton it comes south later in the afternoon. On the return, I had to be at Needleton by 1 pm for the train back to Durango. Not sure what time you need to be there to catch it in the north direction. I called the train company to purchase my tickets to be sure I had the correct tickets for these stops and they were very helpful!! Have fun! I will be in Maroon Bells and RMNP this summer backpacking!!
Thanks for sharing. Some buddies and I are planning this hike for late July. Would you share the coordinates of your 2nd night campsite? Also was there a reason you started from Durango rather than Silverton?
I don’t know how this compares to a foam mattress sitting on slats, but what I can say is that we briefly tried the foam mattress on the plywood platform directly and it was really hard on my hips and shoulders. The Froli system made a huge difference in comfort level when we added it. And despite being plastic it is surprising sturdy-nothing has broken and it is much more comfortable on my hips (I’m a side sleeper!)
We just went through the van to check valves and tighten fittings recently. Evening has been working well and we have not had any issues yet with the water system!
Yes- we ordered two colors of Fenix laminate (Bianco Male and Piombo Doha), both available in 4x8 sheets at 0.8 mm thickness. It took me a while to find a distributor to order the colors we wanted, and we were able to order through Dakota Hardwoods out of Houston. We them laminated baltic birch plywood to make our cabinets and drawers. Its really beautiful laminate, and we are so happy with the look, but it sure was a lot of work!
We just ordered the AVC RIG wall / ceiling kit for our HR EXT Transit- your videos will be very helpful! We have talked about using white vinyl for the ceiling also... Do you recall how many yards of fabric you ordered for the walls and other upholstery? Also how many yards for the ceiling? How well is the adhesive holding up? We are planning to use 3M 74 and 3M 90 (since that is what we already have). THANKS!
Good for you! Using the precut kit was a great option for us. We still spent a month dry-fitting panels, covering the panels, and then installing panels. I can't imagine how long it would this part of the process would have taken if we had to cut the panels as well! I ordered Duramax tweed fabric and the landau foam from Perfect Fit. I ordered 35 yds of the fabric and 45 yds of the foam (because it was used for both walls and ceilings). We also ordered 10 yds of Sunbrella Vinyl from Sailrite for the ceiling. The vinyl was just about the right amount. However, I do have plenty of foam and fabric left over, so I could have ordered maybe 5-10 yards less, but we wanted to make sure we had extra material for any do-overs! The Sunbrella vinyl was definitely the more expensive (about $40/yd), but it was a much nicer, high quality vinyl, and was easy to work with, doesn't discolor and still looking great! As far as the adhesive--that stuff really sticks! We haven't had any issues. We did used the 74 when gluing to foam (i.e., blobs, window frames) and then the 90 everywhere else. Just be careful when using the 74 because it is orange in color and if you go to heavy it will show through the lighter fabric color. Just be judicious with your use and you will be fine. Good luck!
What brand instant hot water heater did you use here in your build? I want to use a propane on demand and undecided where to mount this. I am concerned about the exhaust and the heat. I'm wondering if a heat shield will be adequate. I would like to mount this under the bed, inside the back door, and the back end of the over the wheel well water tank. Im not sure if this is feasible. I don't want to mount this on the back door and have it hanging over the bed.
So, we installed the Eccotemp L5 Portable Outdoor Tankless Water Heater. We have the propane tank in a sealed cabinet inside the water cabinet on the rear passenger side of van under the bed, right next to the water heater. You raise a good point about the exhaust and heat. We do have venting cut into the bottom of the garage cabinet door and a vent right over the water heater to provide air turnover. We are not as concerned about exhaust and heat based on the two scenarios for which we would use hot water: 1) for the sink to wash dishes, and we use our water frugally so the hot water tank is only kicking on briefly each time I use hot water, and 2) the outdoor shower, which has to happen with the back door open, and so then we don't really have to worry about exhaust issues since both doors will be wide open! We modeled our build for propane tank and the water heater off of @FarOutRide and @SevenOSavage builds, so I would also encourage you to take a look at their builds which are excellent. Finally, we do have a CO detector mounted in our bed area and we also cook with our slider ajar/open and with the MaxxAir Fan on to vent when using our propane stovetop. So far, we have not run into any issues, so it is working well for us. Hope this helps, and good luck!
Really nice work. Looks great. Can you tell me what fasteners you used to attach the panels. They look like they match the colour of your fabric. Did you paint them? Thanks
Thank you! We used Phillips oval head, stainless steel sheet metal screws (#10) to put up our panels with a stainless steel finishing washer. We picked these up at Lowe’s or Home Depot - and they are not painted! I personally think the addition of the finishing washer gives it a great finished look overall with the fabric.
Our van is fully built out now, and we haven’t seen any issues with the flooring and the adhesive. If we had to do it again, we would still go with the 3M90! We are also very happy with the Lonseal flooring and would install this again if we do another build someday.
