Ultimate 4x4 Ford Transit Camper Van Upgrades 

My favorite straps for securing just about anything. amzn.to/2xCn678

I've been trying to figure out what it is I like this channel, and I think know now: this guy admits his mistakes, which is a huge sign of humility. It's rare on YT, and it makes the host human.

On AC plugs and receptacles, always put the ground on top. Simply, besides other safety benefits, gravity will force the connection to "lock in" and be more of a "stronger" or "positive" connection decreasing the heat build up. Also using marine products on these builds is always better for longevity. Great build! Love it!

You should put that plug right in the middle of that bottom plate on your ladder it would give protection from any big bumps or anything you drive over

That's the PERFECT van!!! For solar use some marine grade Blue Sea products👍👍

For my white water rafting water jugs we use Scepter cans from Lexington Container. 2 1/2 gallon. Same foot print as a 5 gallon Jerry can, just half height. They also sell a spout system for them.

The Van is looking good. I would reach out to Engineer 775 about the solar panels. Also make sure your shore power plug is of proper amperage rating for the load the van is pulling. When we set up all of the gensets for the Rv's at places like the indy 500 we generally end up several burnt cords. We are contracted to put in 30 amp drops but some people end up pulling 50 amps and over time it burns the cords. Have a good one and keep up with good videos.

Prayers for healing! Love your videos as I learn from them.

Loving the van amazing work wrangle star ! Nothing better than binge watching ur vids on this rainy day in pa

I LOVE the Van series. There’s nothing like working towards a goal of trying to figure something out and accomplishing it. The van is looking awesome by the way and is something that I would love to tackle myself. I’ll just watch you first and learn from your mistakes ;) Thanks for the video!

That hitch is a fine looking addition. He does fantastic work and that price isn't bad at all.

That's a perfect setup for a winch in a carrier. Pull from the front and back. Nice!

The van is coming along nicely! Good to hear you changed your mind on the solar. I have two 200 watt panels on my Sprinter and I never have had to run a generator or plug in in the summer.

Glad you changed your mind on the solar. Will be interesting to see your progress with them and adapting them to the van.

Now we need an inside tour. Those are some awesome upgrades you made. God bless you and yours and stay safe!!

OMGosh!!! I love any video that includes the adventure van...

Love the 4x4 conversion and the front hitch. Great work. I've emailed quadvan already

That van is turning into quite the package! Really cool!

Hey Cody, I make the metal piece for the rotopax. And I 100% agree with the do it right the first time. I had an experience at work today where I used that method of thinking that made me more successful.

Very important to consider GVW along with the strength of the part you are installing on a vehicle like this. Very smart to have a stop at the end of the receiver. :)

Yes that van gets looks I was on a job last week in Chugwater, Wy and I saw you. You passed me north bound I 25. My KW with the belly dump can't really do 80 (geared too low) your van shere can and it looks good. Keep up the good work.

Only Wranglerstar could make a transit van look good!

Van is looking sharp!

VERY TIDY FRONT HITCH AND HOOKS . WE WISH YOUR FAMILY VERY SPEEDY RECOVERY GOD BLESS

Dude love your hat I was raised in the bugeater state. Your videos and you yourself remind me of the hard working people.

I am impressed with the research, thanks.

That has to be one of the tidiest a/m front bars I have seen in a long time. The company deserves to be promoted with build quality like that.

Cody great upload, god bless you and the family are on the mend. Tony from England.

I'd do a vacuum hub delete or a cable actuated system. Stronger, simpler, easier to fix on the side of the road. Looks great! You've done a fabulous job on the project. Now you need a Wrangler to pull behind it.

Cody there is a lot of information about solar on You Tube. And good suggestions on what is best to install for vans. Nice work with the license plate for re-routing the light! 👍

Great video love that van

Funny you mention Ford and vacuum brake boosters. I had a 1974 station wagon. The power steering was leaking. Well imagine my surprise when the power steering went out the power brakes went out as well. I made it home. Raise the hood. Lo and behold! The power steering pump also powered the power brakes. Well! I spent the next day making sure the power steering was airtight. That wasn't enough for Dad. He told me to take that Beast to the wrecking yard. So I gave up a perfectly good station wagon. For 500 miserable bucks. Dad had a few dozen other complaints with that Beast. On the passenger side the bolts were reverse threaded. It probably would have taken $100 or so, in a couple of days of my time to fix all the little problems. But the engine was a gas-guzzling monster. And the gas prices were going up again.

Thanks Cody

Barn Cat Bomb 15:24 :) That van is really becoming a full on home away from home. Nice work Cody! The Shore Power Plug, are you not a little worried about it hanging down there in the breeze? Maybe you can find a spot to French the receptacle into the body somewhere? The Rug is looking good today buddy! Cheers from Tokyo!

Nice to see the evolution on this. Totally agree on bike rack/front hitch. Part of me wants a truck but part of me wants a van like this. Though after the 4x4 conversion....I'd be broker than broke....:P

Hey Cody, cut a hole in the van and surface mount the shore power plug in the side of the body. That is how we do it on the big trucks for the block heaters. I can see you shaving that plug off the bottom of the truck someday on the trail.

Great video wranglerstar

its really cool to get to see the build!!! keeep it up!

Great video!

RotopaX comes in a variety of colours, personally I'd get a different colour to store your water in, it would be pretty dire to put water in a container that previously contained fuel.

Good vid! Van is looking great.

Also liking the van mods/upgrades. I'm working on a van build myself in the not to distant future and cherish all the different "quality" recommendations & insights. And defiantly the "well dam - that didn't work..." trial & errors too. May I recommend 'Greg Virgoe's' channel (a British chap, van conversion build stuff).

Was hear And inspired By the way, thank you for addressing the license plate. Was wondering how you got around that

Great vid Sir very informative 👍

Love the Nebraska hat

For the heat build up on the plug... Are you using the correct gauge wire? If the wire is too thin, it will not be able to handle the amperage produced by the generator.

1st, awesome work,, I really hope you are enjoying your rig. One thing to mention about your GVW comment, keep in mind some vehicle upgrades can actually increase your GVW suspension and brakes for starters. That doesn't mean that your concern is not valid, only that the entire package must be considered.

Really awesome

For solar, Will Prowse has a good channel. Don't bother with the flexible panels,.. they seem to only last a couple of years.

Just emailed John for a quote! Seems like solid craftsmanship

This was a good video

That's actually an incredible deal at only $500

That thing is going to be ready for anything. :)

Cody, your plug is getting hot because you're running a 30 amp RV circuit from a 20 amp generator through a 15 amp plug! Change that out to a 30 amp plug and cord, OR, reduce your internal draw to no more than 15 amps, and I expect you'll see better results, no more melting or burning, and your plug won't be so hot. :)

Hope you guys get better soon

My family has been in the RV biz for 3 generations. Furrion is a company which makes RV components. They make a really nice chrome weather proof cover for power connections. I’ve seen some vintage trailer restorers use them. I’d recommend a wall mount behind your galley. Are you running 30A service?

I like these videos

We also have a front hitch on our Chevy Express. We use it to haul our Kuat bike rack. Also ours is tied into our frame and we can use it for our winch mount. We had to custom build ours as there was no one offering it for the Chevy express

Please say you're going to move the shore power plug up above the rocker protection. Do you have room somewhere on the front ot rear bumper? If you use a block/battery heater, you could run them both of the same connection, switched inside the vehicle.

Nice

“the whole deal”-best of wranglerstar 2019

That looks like a nice front receiver hitch by QuadVan. But, to be fair, the Van Compass front receiver hitch is larger in part because it is ALSO features a mount for a winch.

I can relate to doing things subpar when I was younger because I was curious about building things but I Didn’t have the materials to make them

My 4 door '57 Chevy had the vacuum windshield wipers........The faster you went the slower my wipers worked.

I'm from Nebraska. Cool hat.

I agree with doing a few projects with someone to learn something new.

Hey man. Found you from your first van videos years ago. I'm a van guy myself. I really enjoyed watching your new van videos. The bed and heater set-up is killer. I'm not trying to be critical why don't you move the shore power plug closer to the ladder so its just not hanging out there by itself.

Question about the license plate light. I also have the Aluminess bumper. You just connected to the existing license plate light wires in the back panel? Using a different bulb didn't create any issues? Thanks

Wait! You didn't cover the clothes line! Next time okay? :) Great update vid. You clearly have a lot of irons in the fire!

Boy Im a yuge fan of these. But I think Cody has gone overboard a bit on this. still, Ive learned so much from this guy

The shore power outlet looks vulnerable hanging under the van like that. What if you mounted it into the rear bumper?

I would be interested in a scaled weight of the van after the mods.

Those nice mounting cans make a blue (water) can

That twist-lock plug should help reduce the "contact resistance" for that plug. High resistance generates heat. Poor contact = high resistance.

That other front receiver also has a full blown winch plate with fairlead on it and what looks like maybe a skid plate? Of course it's heavier lol.. But watching the weight is definitely a good thing

Little extra wired today Cody. I almost couldn’t keep up lol must be new coffee

Have you considered a Kussmaul shore auto-eject plug for the van? We use them on fire trucks all the time. They also have charge management systems.

Damn Good Ford

Loving the adventure van Cody. Also this video, the audio is very heavy on the left side of my headphones

Learning experience

What about a 120v shoreline plug style like on the side of an ambulance or firetruck? Super durable and very utility looking which would totally go with the look of your van.

Van is so sick!

JEALOUSSSS. SO JEALOUS!

Very cool! What is your rationale for leaving out insulation in the van?

You're going to have the Swiss Army knife of trucks, when you get finished. On solar, Scott @ Engineer 775 is as knowledgeable as they come.

$500.00 is a steal. Great price

Had to go back and listen again, $500 for that cusom hitch? That's marginaly more than an inferior off the shelf-may work-or be adapted to your vehicle hitch. VERY nice product!

You should paint the water tanks blue so you don’t think they are gas cans

Hey wranglestar can you do like a whole walk through of the van for people who are new to your channel or the adventure van

Do you have a link to those new water cans (red ones) please??

Like the hat!!

Nice hat

That's a nice hat

Wonder if he will ship all the way to New England...

To reduce heat from electrical. Reduce cord length and increase the wires gauge.

Hi Cody, I was just watching your van upgrade and in the backgroung, a cat calmly walked by. I know you have dogs and even their names but it is the first time I have seen a cat, does he/she have a name and is the cat part of your family

My ARB airlockers have their own separate compressor and are not dependent on engine vacum.

You should consider moving the shore power plug to the bottom of the ladder that way the plug is protected. I see a flat plate at the bottom of the latter and I'm sure you can work something out over there. I'd hate to see it get ripped off on a rock.

After you’ve been to VIdcon come down to Vidsummit - It’s much calmer and targeted at Industry folks - very little screaming teenagers going on - Great place to connect with peers and learn.

Check out some of the sailing channels.....lot of cool stuff about solar systems and charging....and like u said, the marine stuff is very high quality....SV Delos, Sailing UMA are a couple off the top of my head