nomad762
Ireland
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Joined: 07/17/2005
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Hi everyone,
I was wondering if there are any van owners here that made the conversion themselves?
It is a relatively easy to insulate any of the vans on the road today, and some of the full size commercial vans even have enough room to walk upright.
Furniture is again a pretty straight solution, just use s/h that you can pick up at a clearance sale on the weekend.
Would be great to hear from you if you've done this sort of work, and perhaps get a pic or two up for us to see.
Thanks meantime...
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My Roadtrek
Tucson, AZ.
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Joined: 03/20/2002
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Lots of information in the Archives. This should get you started.
http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseac........B21%7D%7Cpd%7B366%7D%7Cma%7B%7D/sr/1.cfm
http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseac........B21%7D%7Cpd%7B366%7D%7Cma%7B%7D/sr/1.cfm
http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseac........%7D%7Cpd%7B365%7D%7Cma%7BRIA%7D/sr/1.cfm
Visit My Roadtrek
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RIA
NEW YORK
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Joined: 09/28/2003
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Done it. Still adding to it. I have everything I want where I want it. This summer will be finishing off the storage system under kitchen cabinet. It is possible & can be fun.
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hwright
Austin, Texas
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Joined: 10/03/2001
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Have planned on DIY and this week actually went to the Chevrolet dealer and got what I thought was a super deal on a '07 Express Extended 3500 Cargo van. I had told the salesman I was going to put on a fiberglass roof.and he said they had a program where they would discount the van $900 and after I selected the top they would get the roof replaced....when checked on the roof...never thought about this but they remove all the welded steel roof supports and replace them with the fiberglass roof with no supports..After thinking about this for awhile started checking the internet on van conversion safety and started seeing these accidents where the roofs had popped off throwing passengers out. Then got into looking at 15 passenger vans..lot of safety problems there and thinking my DIY would be worse than those....got scared enought that I backed out on the Chevy. Believe that I would not do one now unless in was a sprinter van where the roof stays intact.
Hamid & Janet
2004 Itasca Suncruiser 38G
2000 Malibu toad with US Gear Unified tow brake.
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CaptGEB
florida
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Joined: 07/08/2006
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I purchased a 2002 Ford E-350 VIN(ed) as a "bus" by ford. It had been used to transport med patients. It is a 15 passenger-I stripped all the rear (4) bench seats. Above the driver and passenger seats the original roof remains (storage above). The full fiberglass topper affords full stand up for a 5'11" person front to rear (aft of front seats). There are structural metal saftey bars/bands between the outer and inner liner of the fiberglass top. I believe the danger associated to 15 passenger vans exists when they are used to carry the [top heavy] load of 15 people. As a single handed camper, this is not an issue for me. I preferred to make my own camper because I felt cramped in most of the typical conversion packages. And I feel I dont need every amenity usually offered. By keeping it simple I am able to get more use of the van interior for things like moving furniture, lumber etc....a kind of covered pickup truck. All of my camping items are quickly disconnected and removed. Still a work in progress:
[url=http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l54/CaptGEB/captainschoice2.jpg]http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l54/CaptGEB/captainschoice2.jpg[/url]
Note: Due to invalid formatting, all formatting has been ignored.
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akphotobob
Eagle River, Alaska
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Joined: 07/04/2005
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I lived in a converted box van for 6 years and was very happy doing it. I have a website dedicated to this topic with many, many articles of how-to's. cheaprvliving.com Check out the page on "How To Convert a Van." I also highly recommend a Yahoo group called Vandwellers. Many people there living in their vans and very willing to answer any questions you may have on how to do it.
Bob W.
1993 Ford F150, Homebuilt camper (Honda genny, 8D battery, Coleman 2000/4000 inverter)
http://cheaprvliving.com/
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ARcruiser
Benton, AR USA
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Joined: 12/19/2001
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Here's a thread on my conversion project - lots of pictures. I haven't really gotten very far along yet.
My second post in the thread has links to 6 or 7 other DIY projects...
2 Big Cruisers, The Little Man, and Bailey / ARcruiser's Class B's (the first 8)
Rig #8 Under Construction! / Here's the Project Thread - I'm actually working on it again!
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nomad762
Ireland
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Joined: 07/17/2005
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Very inspirational posts, love the pics, and the links will be most useful. Keep this going, and I might even buy a van this summer.
Best Regards,
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bananadanna
Cambridge, MA
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Joined: 11/30/2005
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Here's my photo gallery.
I've made a few more mods that aren't on the site yet and I have some suggestions for how I'd do it next time!
Dan
02 Freightliner Sprinter 2500 long tall home brew conversion
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RIA
NEW YORK
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Dodge moves the supports to accommodate standing area. On most after factory installed tops, they are sealed & bolted to the van. IMHO, if the top came away perhaps it wasn't done right.
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