Van Builder's PRO TIPS: 8020 extrusions, electrical compartment design & fresh water tank fittings 

EDITOR'S NOTE: GOOGLE SEARCH FRESH WATER HOLDING TANKS. BE AWARE OF THE WALL THICKNESS.

Sir, the RV industry must hate you. You give the DIYer a fighting chance of really doing a beautiful job with some pre planning and common sense. Can’t forget, there is an incredible amount of research. Thank You.

Where is a good place to get this level of quality of tanks?

You’re the Bob Ross of Vans - can listen to you all day!

Genius George, in every way: Van design, video production, down to humor and wit ! 🙏

Today I learned something new about water tanks by watching this video.

Truly custom, as advertised = Intentional listening, genuinely caring about what your client wants. Nice.

George, whose fresh water tanks do you like to use?

If other van builders put as much effort into their builds as you do in your video production, you'd be ankle deep in competition George.

Love the modifications you’ve made to the mini me with the slide out baskets. Very space efficient design. If I had a van I would use the sink often for crockpot cooking while driving. Instead of having to cook after a long drive day you’d be all set and free to just set up camp or bed down for the night. The end of the video with all your editing trips was fun. Thanks again for another informative video. 🚐👨🏻‍🔧♥️

I’m one of the minority ‘mini-me’ owners who sleeps with my head right behind the driver seat. Good idea about the baskets for the mini-me, that’s exactly what I use.

And Pistol makes an appearance. What a van family you have started.

We put the head of the bed on the driver's side because (generally) if you were to park overnight along side a road, it's more likely to slant downward towards the passenger side. Plus not sleeping with your head next to "central park", shields you from the light caused by your night-owl partner. Also .... because of your videos, we used 80/20, which previously we were unaware of. It's stronger than wood, lightweight, and most important -- bolted to the van frame. Thinking of safety in case of an accident. You don't want your cabinets launched into the cab. Thanks for that.

Love the video, -"crockpot in sink while driving" brilliant thank you. I haven't heard that before.

Hey George! I simply LOVE how you do your video magic!…(well, I love your videos, too! 😂) that is, having interviews with yourself and jumping into different compartments of the van you’re building and more for example! I only wished I was as educated as you in that department! Great video as always, and, I wish continued success with your company…however, [and YOU know this] take time off from work occasionally and enjoy life with your wife! Thanks for sharing and have a blessed Sunday! ~Jim~

It's so beautiful when people share it's knowledge! Thanks!

Hi George Always Enjoy Humble Road Videos Love Your Van Build Process !! Thanks

Humble Road productions, thank you for all the the valuable info

Always great information and inspiration. Your humor and editing is second to none and much appreciated. Always a thumbs up 👍

Thanks George - great to watch a genius and Master Craftsman at work.

Thanks again George for these videos. It's also nice too hear about failures or reasons for shifting to a different approach. rock on

Quality control in the details!

I don’t use baskets but I use plastic restaurant food containers with lids. They come in lots of sizes, are light weight ,and they really hold up well. They stack and clean easily and are excellent quality. You can get clear ones but eventually they will scratch. I use a restaurant supply company called KaTom and a plastic product called Cambro.

You have the best van build series on RU-vid. Thanks for all the help

A thing of beauty 👍😃👍 Quality craftsmanship & experience 😃

George, you have an amazing, creative mind. It is a mental pleasure to watch your process. Thanks for another interesting video.

Your video quality is superior. George, humor takes your content to another level. Quality van builds and quality content.

Great tips on water tanks too. I’m about to install mine, perfect!

Love the mods in the Transit.

after 1 1/2 yrs of planning learning and getting all the needed items i’m about to begin my first build 3500 xd dually 170 2020 4x4 sprinter thank you for all of the knowledge i would of never of attempted this if it wasn’t for all your help i would love to do something for u if u ever need any type of healing we help people even the doctors can’t help i would love to help u as i feel like i owe u may god watch over u and bless you 🙏🏻

Welcome back from”hiatus”. Thank you for all you do.

George, you are a gift to van and video production enthusiasts, thanks for your generosity.

“Options”. You’re speaking my language. God Bless You.

Great video as always! So informative! Adding some timestamps. 0:00 8020 skeleton 6:30 Mini-Me physical plant (electrical) 12:23 water tank tutorial

The driver-side slider access for the electrical makes me ponder my no-slider-on-driver-side sitch on my PM. You literally have me pondering if an access hatch could be cut into that side. I probably would never do such, but damned if you don’t have me pondering again. Thank you,

Hi George. Every video is a great learning experience. Thank you. What brand/brands of water tanks do you use? Same tanks for gray water too?

Love the drawer less design. So good to take basket into the house and airbnb

TY George. I am so looking forward to a mini finish. Will be interesting. Stock up as I'm sure you have thought, trucking situation may change very soon!

George, you seriously made my day!🤣🥰 “toilet options” 🤣🤓 it’s so you!🤘🏻

Dude... Tony from the UK...loving your work, and also your total approach to all of it. your out of the box thinking and logical approach is a thing of wonder .... I have sent links to my children for them to watch you and learn, because I know you can apply your magic to all sorts of challenges. God bless... stay safe and keep building and teaching.

Another great break down.

Love, love, love all the videos. Thanks for inspiring us to work on our own rv. We also wondered about the water tank company you use. We need a larger tank with baffles. Thanks for all you do!

George, I like the options you've provided with the "Head" board.

Excellent info and well done👍. O’, love your mannerisms and style of communication. You “The Man”….

Thanks from Portugal.

My favorite van builder by far! Everything makes so much sense. Once the E-Transit gets enough range to be practical (or the E-Sprinter becomes available), this is how I will convert it, ideally after an apprenticeship at Humble Road;)...

Pull-out pantries are ideal for spices, canned goods, and cereals that have been transferred into square or rectangular containers. Thought engenders evolution in all aspects of design. User feedback is priceless. Sometimes you'll wake up in the middle of the night with a Eureka solution. Or think of something while you are going to sleep. It is all so enjoyable to witness all along the way. Thanks for sharing all of your innovations and discoveries.

yay loving the end shots :)

Options!! And efficiency with baskets!! That's using the Ole noggin!! I like it.👍

Thank you for the edutainment!

🍲🍲🍲Going on 5 years now - our Instant Pot has made many meals while traveling down the highway. (Very good battery management method) IP is gold for cooking the odd meal on the road. Gold I say❗❗❗ I think leaving options open to change your configuration is so important. Because you "will" want to change things & if it costs too much to do so or if it is to much of a hassle - you won't & you will put up and shut up - & for the love of god - that's no way to live life-:) Lets put the custom back into custom...

Awesome. The all-encompassing level of attention to detail appeals to me very much. I don't have any sort of car (nor am I ever allowed to drive one), but you got yourself a new subscriber.

I agree 100% with your comment about baskets and cubby holes. Most People complicate their DIY builds with custom cabinets and drawers when really a cubby basket design is the the most efficient design. I also think people buy way too much van and that limits where they can go and park.. I have a friend with a big van and 95% of the time he's by himself in the van and he has to have another car because he can't even park the van in most spaces and garages. I have a tiny van and I manage to fit a big e-bike inside - I can park and go anywhere I want, and if I need to it sleeps two comfortably with the bike chained to my bumper outside. I'm also partial to switch blade designs where the van has a day and night configuration. I think it's also important to draw a distinction between sleeping in a van and living in a van. In Florida (IMO) one does not live in a van, one lives outside and sleeps in a van - so any van I build will require cooking, eating and showering outside of the van so this changes the biggest perameter and cost in most vans.. height of the van you need. I've never had an issue finding a private spot to back my van into to do these activities - and it's 1000 times more comfortable no matter how big your van is. Design a van to cover the critical 80% and when nature changes your plans work around the other 20%. This means some days you might need to spounge bathe, eat cold canned beans or sit in a coffee shop for 4 hours watching cat videos. Use all this new found down time to learn new skills or run an online business instead.

George! A few years ago I once commented that I did not think that you had created enough support for your roof fans. Unfortnately I was not able to adequately describe with words alone what I meant by distributing load to structural members, and the convo faded away. I want to say now that I love the support system you created with the angle aluminum! That is a real support structure and its tied in to the support beams of the van! Nicely done! Very impressed sir, very impressed.

Thank you very much for that free school

Yes, on the small vans having baskets are much more space saving than building in drawers!

Nice layout in light foot

Love it!

10:40 - Head position in MIni Me van. There are two reasons I would agree with the majority view of head position inside not near seats and open doors: 1. Feng Shui dictates you face positions of vulnerability which are doors or entrances. You do not place your head at the door so you cannot see who is coming in. This is a primal security need. In all Feng Shui layouts, the sleeping head is positioned such that they can see who is entering the inner sanctum. This also applies to office chair positioning. You cannot work with the door to your back. Anyone entering will make you jump, and you feel very exposed and vulnerable. You need to face the door /entrance to your office. This is why, it is so hard to concentrate in open office designs - they don't work. You don't feel safe on a primal level. 2. Electrical components need to be at least 3 feet away from your head. Your brain works at 60 Hz, and so does the 110V AC electrical sockets. Not sure how this works with DC power, but positioning a head over the electrical components for 8 hrs every night is a huge no-no. It will buzz the brain. Proof of that are studies done with autistic children who fare better if their heads are 3 ft away from any wall sockets.

Hi George, Who's the manufacturer of your water tanks? Thanks!

Another great video from the Master of ProMaster builds! Just another option for installing the check valve on your water pump: you can also install it just before the pump inlet vs installing it in the tank. It will still hold prime. The principle is similar to immersing a straw into glass of water, placing your thumb over the top hole of the straw and then removing the straw from the glass of water. The straw will remain full, until you break the vacuum by taking your thumb off the straw. This is a pretty common practice for electric pumps on hand dug and driven point wells.

Re: Bowed water tanks If you are having trouble mating your flange to a water tank that is deformed, or flexing you could consider using some spreader clamps inside the tank to get the tank back to square. You should be able to get the flange glued and set that way. Although some extra screws might be in order to prevent the seal from coming unglued.

Like your approach to designing.......well thought out. Really like the aluminum framing specially for weight savings. That would come in handy for keeping things light enough for towing a trailer as well. The one thing that cannot be changed is the GVWR of the van that's a given. New Sub here.....nice video.

Basket storage for the mini-me is a great idea, but I would suggest putting some kind of lip on the floor so that you have to pull up about an inch before you can pull out. Makes left turns at full speed a lot less interesting.

Hi George, I try to watch each of your videos Sunday morning as part of my Sunday ritual. I must have missed the one where you explained how partitions and such are attached to the 8020. Can you point me to that video or show us how you do that. Mike

I love George acting as his own hype-man.

Thanks for the top on the crockpot. I’m totally getting one now. Btw, I want to join your caravan later too.

Take in & out of home base I can see the advantage now I never liked baskets vs drawers before Baskets require the extra step of setting down somewhere & putting back in its space I always considered baskets were for folks who couldn’t build drawers I’m still not 100% on the baskets team But this took a chunk out of my judgemental demon I was shocked that this video just now, 5 days late, popped up in my feed

As always some great tips, hopefully Ford will build my Transit before I forget it all.

Hello George, Great job as usual. What is the width and length of the mini me sleeping area? Thank you

So helpful! Do you put in an method to drain the tanks, like for winter storage? Not sure how if all the fittings on the top?

Do you need to think about a break in the long 8020 runs? I’m thinking about a rear shunt and skewering the front seats? Maybe have a break or 2 so the 8020 does not get pushed forward like a spear? Love the videos, so many van builders could learn from you. Please keep up the great content.

I like the idea of the access hatch. What size access hatch do you normally use and where do you buy them? I’m about to install my water tank and would like to add the access hatch before I mount the tank.

Where can we get those water tanks? George, you’re doing great work.

George, who makes the thick wall water tanks. Thanks

George, can you tell us where you sourced the water tanks?

George, are you familiar with a gadget called a “freeze miser?” They fit on the end of a faucet and when the temperature reaches the freezing point, they automatically start dripping water. No electricity needed. I wonder if there might be an application for them on a van. We have used them for two winters at our house and they do what they are supposed to do.

Hi George! Love all your videos. I noticed you cut the holes in the tank on the side with the baffles. The question I have Should the baffles be on the bottom or top of the tank? My thinking is the baffle should be on the bottom to reduce slashing.

I would make a way to level the bed frame. I would think a couple of inches of adjustment for N-S and E-W could handle that majority of parking lots, streets and camp grounds. This should be easier than blocking the wheels.

Awesome videos and builds. I do have one question: I haven’t seen a gray water tank in any of your videos. What do you do for gray water storage?

MiniMe - Zero Breeze Mk 11 - small enough to stash. In an insulated minivan size platform it would probably work well enough to take the edge off humidity and heat overnight. Power consumption, maybe pack an extra dedicated (Zero Breeze) battery pack??

I love your builds and and I know they are very very expensive but I love what you do you I wish I had the kind of money to get you you know to help me build one or or you know buy one from you I wish I had that kind of income but you you doing a great thing God bless you

Hi George. Excellent video. Question, where do you position the drain on the clean water tank? You said that you make all of the holes on the top of the tank - including the drain?

Thanks for this video, George. Can you tell me the brand of the rubber grommets and where you get them? I've searched Google and can't find anything smaller than 1-1/2". I'm looking for a 1/2" or 3/4" for my supply line to the water pump. Thanks!

I like the idea of top side connections. Can you show the pick-up tube fittings setup? A nipple on the inside of the tank (pick-up) and another on the topside to pump.

Hi George, Thanks for the additional access hatch ideas. What sealant do you use for these? Cheers, Tom

george what company do u get the thick water tanks from

production value in build and video top notch as usual. Question about the insulation. Some White facing out some black. Is there a reason for this?

Hi! Top production! Again!! One doubt on insulation: having the upper cabinets' 8020 attached directly to the van's ribs, won't that bring the outside cold to the inside? Thanks in advance!

Any thoughts on large tank water sloshing fore-aft or side-to-side when half empty? It seems built-in tank baffles are not easily manufactured and would complicate manual cleaning. I might consider splitting the capacity into two or three nearly square tanks. Tanks could be nested tight together (bonded?) and interconnected with threaded pipe connectors internally fastened with compression gasketing. Alternatively a separate fill/vent/pump plumbing to each tank.

Shame there's isn't a grommet system for the service port.

where do you find the inspection hatches -- I have been looking all over -TY

Hello. I am so impressed with your attention to detail. Could you please provide the manufacturer of the tanks you use? Where you get them. I've been looking for a thick walled tank and can't seem to find one thru Google search. Much appreciated dear sir!

Hey George, how do you attach the 8020 to the floor after you’ve already installed the flooring? I doubt the structures are only attached at the sidewalls. Thanks for the videos, your channel is very informative and entertaining!

Hi, George. Great video as always. Love hanging out with you. Quick question: For the water tanks, what minimum wall thickness do you recommend?

Unless my price point is drastically reduced, I’m going with 8020. I think the term you were looking for is, ‘built like a brick schnitzel house’. LOL What thickness should I be looking for in the fresh water tank George? cheers from Canader eh!

I like this method when you can reconfigure layout a lot easier. That's why I think using aluminium section is better than wood. Having said that can you explain how you deal with cold bridge where you fix aluminium section to your van? Wouldn't that transfer outside temperature inside your van?

Why not use 1" 80/20 for the interior cabinet dividers? Do they work together? Also: you're kind of an obsession. You make it make sense. Bless.

I’m not sure why you would need a check valve. I build various mobile units and have found that, depending on the pump you use (in our case we use Shurflo 4048 pumps) they have a built in check valve, thus not needing an extra check valve that may restrict your water pressure even more… Just an observation. Great video once again!

Do you know how to pre hole screens to install a pump in a polyethylene tank