Fred the Van. The More We Explore's Adventure Van Build Thread
- Thread starter sixstringsteve
- Start date
jjohnny350
Adventurer
Mine are 18x10
IdaSHO
IDACAMPER
Toyota axles have adjustable steering stops from the factory
(at least the good old stuff does, not sure about the soccer mom mobiles)
The front D-60 hes already got should have them too.
ujoint
Supporting Sponsor
Toyota axles have adjustable steering stops from the factory
(at least the good old stuff does, not sure about the soccer mom mobiles)
Thats awesome. A good idea that made it to production!
sixstringsteve
Explorer
Episode 3: Pre-op
Last edited:
Steve,
Kudos on the latest video. I presume with you guys living on the road, you may be a writer, designer or something that translates into working and traveling. I like the no nonsense approach, you know your strengths and weaknesses and the videos are well executed. It helps that you speak and write well, especially in a day and age, where most Americans cannot or don't desire to speak proper English.
Since we are a bit ahead of you on our NPR build, I can share some tips on the audio and wiring. Chris seems like a very detail oriented guy and since I am not sure what he is doing and what you are doing, I am just going to toss out a few ideas.
For Matt's NPR, we went with Polk Audio DB691 speakers (6x9) in the rear and the matching 6.5" in the doors (I don't have the model number with me on that one) I believe Matt got them from Amazon and they sound great. I know you are a musician and can appreciate quality sound. An upgrage from that would be something from Focal or Audison Hertz (http://www.elettromedia-usa.com/).
Spend some time figuring out what you need for connectors, heat shrink, snake skin, heat gun, crimpers, etc., and get all of the right stuff ahead of time. We ran into a few issues not having enough of the correct items and had to install some things temporarily to make the show. Now, they will need to be re-done. We used fine strand 10, 12 and 14 gauge wire for LED lights and audio. The coarse strand wire is awful and solid core is even worse. Spring for the good stuff. Use a heat gun with a reflector for heat shrink, not a cigarette lighter or a torch. It will burn or melt the heat shrink. Use snake skin instead of split loom or loom wrap. It is much easier to work with and looks very professional when completed.
Get a good marine grade silicon to seal up any exterior penetrations and we also used marine grade connectors that have a heat shrinkable wrap on the terminal with some kind of glue inside them to keep out water and debris.
Matt is a dealer for Baja Designs, if you want any LED lights, let me know and we will get them to you.
Cheers
Kudos on the latest video. I presume with you guys living on the road, you may be a writer, designer or something that translates into working and traveling. I like the no nonsense approach, you know your strengths and weaknesses and the videos are well executed. It helps that you speak and write well, especially in a day and age, where most Americans cannot or don't desire to speak proper English.
Since we are a bit ahead of you on our NPR build, I can share some tips on the audio and wiring. Chris seems like a very detail oriented guy and since I am not sure what he is doing and what you are doing, I am just going to toss out a few ideas.
For Matt's NPR, we went with Polk Audio DB691 speakers (6x9) in the rear and the matching 6.5" in the doors (I don't have the model number with me on that one) I believe Matt got them from Amazon and they sound great. I know you are a musician and can appreciate quality sound. An upgrage from that would be something from Focal or Audison Hertz (http://www.elettromedia-usa.com/).
Spend some time figuring out what you need for connectors, heat shrink, snake skin, heat gun, crimpers, etc., and get all of the right stuff ahead of time. We ran into a few issues not having enough of the correct items and had to install some things temporarily to make the show. Now, they will need to be re-done. We used fine strand 10, 12 and 14 gauge wire for LED lights and audio. The coarse strand wire is awful and solid core is even worse. Spring for the good stuff. Use a heat gun with a reflector for heat shrink, not a cigarette lighter or a torch. It will burn or melt the heat shrink. Use snake skin instead of split loom or loom wrap. It is much easier to work with and looks very professional when completed.
Get a good marine grade silicon to seal up any exterior penetrations and we also used marine grade connectors that have a heat shrinkable wrap on the terminal with some kind of glue inside them to keep out water and debris.
Matt is a dealer for Baja Designs, if you want any LED lights, let me know and we will get them to you.
Cheers
sixstringsteve
Explorer
Awesome, thank you for those tips. The stereo is already installed (I'm about a month ahead of the video series), but I need to get some good marine grade silicon.
What do you recommend for a fuse block for all the accessories I'll be running off the battery? Currently I have my amps going to my main battery with a big car stereo fuse right next to the battery, but if I add something like a ham radio, or a back-up camera, or a fridge, I'm going to need a good solution for a fuse block.
What do you recommend for a fuse block for all the accessories I'll be running off the battery? Currently I have my amps going to my main battery with a big car stereo fuse right next to the battery, but if I add something like a ham radio, or a back-up camera, or a fridge, I'm going to need a good solution for a fuse block.
sixstringsteve
Explorer
I mounted the hula girl just for this episode, so we could see just how violent it got inside the van.
I am researching a bus bar or fuse block now for the NPR. A friend of mine manages a car audio store, so I will see what they have. Matt is using an sPod for light control and the winch is not wired yet, so we will need to find one soon to finish all the connections.
I can assure you that you are wasting your money buying anything that says Monster or the like. It is usually WAY over-priced. Find a local stereo shop that knows their stuff or ring Crutchfield. I have always found their tech support to be quite helpful. Don't be afraid to call in several times and get different opions from different people there either.
I can assure you that you are wasting your money buying anything that says Monster or the like. It is usually WAY over-priced. Find a local stereo shop that knows their stuff or ring Crutchfield. I have always found their tech support to be quite helpful. Don't be afraid to call in several times and get different opions from different people there either.
sixstringsteve
Explorer
Crutchfield has always been helpful for me, along with the car audio forums. Here's the car audio stuff I went with. I'm no guru, and there's probably better stuff out there, but I'm very happy with how my system sounds.
I don't want to give too much away too early, but here's what I ended up going with for the stereo.
Head unit: Alpine CDE-HD148BT - I wanted something with 3 sets of RCAs, 4v pre outs, excellent sound, bluetooth, and excellent control to tweak crossovers, sub levels, time delays, etc.). This ticks all those boxes. There are way cheaper head units out there, but I'm very happy with this one. I'm more interested in how it sounds and how I can tweak the sound than the color it displays, or how it looks. I like being able to control pandora on my phone through the head unit. I can thumbs stuff up and down, skip, switch to another channel, etc. I also wanted one with HD radio, since we'll be traveling a lot and I like to listen to different radio stations across the country. I researched hundreds of head units before coming up with this one.
http://amzn.to/1FPVg88
Speakers: JBL GTO 8628 - My 4runner had a factory JBL system in it, and it sounded incredible. So I took a leap and went for JBL again on my speakers. For the price, I'm very happy with these. I wish I had purchased something with a little more power rating though, since the little Clarion amp can overpower them (since the Clarion has 75RMS @ 2 ohm). But I don't turn it up that loud anyway, so maybe it won't be an issue. They haven't broken in yet, but I'm pretty happy with them. The price is definitely right. Without a sub I'd be disappointed since they don't have a ton of bass, even with an amp. With a flat EQ I don't love them, but when I EQ them right and blend them with the sub, they sound fantastic.
http://amzn.to/1OQLUMi
Speaker Connectors/Adapters: Metra for Ford. Very convenient.
http://amzn.to/1FPWnov
4 channel speaker amp: Clarion XC1410 - I'm VERY happy with this. If fit behind my dash. It doesn't have many controls though, which is why I wanted a head unit that could handle all the crossovers and levels out.
http://amzn.to/1OQLKoc
Sub: Alpine S10 - (I like punchy bass more than boomy bass). Paired with the m-500 amp, this thing is amazing. I'm still fine tuning the EQ, but I'm very happy with it. Insane power handling.
http://amzn.to/1hj92EG
Sub Box: Scosche Se10 - Pretty well made. I wish it were one inch shorter so it would fit under my middle bench seat, but I haven't found any 10" sub boxes small enough to fit underneath the seats anyway. I'll end up building a spot for this in my interior eventually
http://amzn.to/1FPVCeZ
Sub Amp: Alpine M-500 - I think it's better to have too much power than not enough. This thing is nice and small. With some trimming of the interior panels, I was able to get it to fit behind the side trim panel on the driver's side, halfway back. This thing really is a small amp for 500 watts. I'm super happy I went with this amp.
http://amzn.to/1KZrQl0
I don't want to give too much away too early, but here's what I ended up going with for the stereo.
Head unit: Alpine CDE-HD148BT - I wanted something with 3 sets of RCAs, 4v pre outs, excellent sound, bluetooth, and excellent control to tweak crossovers, sub levels, time delays, etc.). This ticks all those boxes. There are way cheaper head units out there, but I'm very happy with this one. I'm more interested in how it sounds and how I can tweak the sound than the color it displays, or how it looks. I like being able to control pandora on my phone through the head unit. I can thumbs stuff up and down, skip, switch to another channel, etc. I also wanted one with HD radio, since we'll be traveling a lot and I like to listen to different radio stations across the country. I researched hundreds of head units before coming up with this one.
http://amzn.to/1FPVg88
Speakers: JBL GTO 8628 - My 4runner had a factory JBL system in it, and it sounded incredible. So I took a leap and went for JBL again on my speakers. For the price, I'm very happy with these. I wish I had purchased something with a little more power rating though, since the little Clarion amp can overpower them (since the Clarion has 75RMS @ 2 ohm). But I don't turn it up that loud anyway, so maybe it won't be an issue. They haven't broken in yet, but I'm pretty happy with them. The price is definitely right. Without a sub I'd be disappointed since they don't have a ton of bass, even with an amp. With a flat EQ I don't love them, but when I EQ them right and blend them with the sub, they sound fantastic.
http://amzn.to/1OQLUMi
Speaker Connectors/Adapters: Metra for Ford. Very convenient.
http://amzn.to/1FPWnov
4 channel speaker amp: Clarion XC1410 - I'm VERY happy with this. If fit behind my dash. It doesn't have many controls though, which is why I wanted a head unit that could handle all the crossovers and levels out.
http://amzn.to/1OQLKoc
Sub: Alpine S10 - (I like punchy bass more than boomy bass). Paired with the m-500 amp, this thing is amazing. I'm still fine tuning the EQ, but I'm very happy with it. Insane power handling.
http://amzn.to/1hj92EG
Sub Box: Scosche Se10 - Pretty well made. I wish it were one inch shorter so it would fit under my middle bench seat, but I haven't found any 10" sub boxes small enough to fit underneath the seats anyway. I'll end up building a spot for this in my interior eventually
http://amzn.to/1FPVCeZ
Sub Amp: Alpine M-500 - I think it's better to have too much power than not enough. This thing is nice and small. With some trimming of the interior panels, I was able to get it to fit behind the side trim panel on the driver's side, halfway back. This thing really is a small amp for 500 watts. I'm super happy I went with this amp.
http://amzn.to/1KZrQl0
bknudtsen
Expedition Leader
Nice work on the new video! Great to see the suspension cycling. You may have already done this since your ahead a bit, but if not spend some time on sound deadening. It will greatly enhance the new stereo you just installed. In my opinion, the best way to make a stereo sound better, is to make the vehicle quieter inside. I recommend Raamaudio for 100% butyl backed dampening sheets and Ensolite foam. Here's what I did in my old Tacoma.
I'll stop here in case you are already at this point, but if not, I would be happy to offer some other suggestions to quiet that big rig down inside. Can't wait to see you video on the UJOR installation.
Brad
I'll stop here in case you are already at this point, but if not, I would be happy to offer some other suggestions to quiet that big rig down inside. Can't wait to see you video on the UJOR installation.
Brad
Steve, you are way ahead of the game if you have all of that done already. You don't need any tips from me, lol.
Ditto on the sound dampening. Just make sure it is installed correctly. You are trying to change the resonant frequency of the various panels. I have seen installers cover an entire truck cab with an MLV product and while it certainly helps, all of the panels are now equal again. You want differentiation as I understand it, especially in a cavernous space such as a van or RV.
This is an excellent resource for sound dampening tech IMO:
http://www.sounddeadenershowdown.com/
but you probably already knew that and had it bookmarked
Ditto on the sound dampening. Just make sure it is installed correctly. You are trying to change the resonant frequency of the various panels. I have seen installers cover an entire truck cab with an MLV product and while it certainly helps, all of the panels are now equal again. You want differentiation as I understand it, especially in a cavernous space such as a van or RV.
This is an excellent resource for sound dampening tech IMO:
http://www.sounddeadenershowdown.com/
but you probably already knew that and had it bookmarked
sixstringsteve
Explorer
I appreciate all the input guys. I know that dynamat and similar sound deadening treatnments help quiet the cabin, but that's the extent of my knowledge. I know a lot of guys use peel n seal on their 4x4 rigs to block heat, but that seems like a ghetto way to acoustically treat your rig, and I don't want my van smelling like asphalt for months on end.
I'll definitely have to read those links you guys posted. Fortunately, the passenger vans have more sound deadening materials than the cargo vans, but there's still a lot to be desired for good sounding acoustics in there.
I'll have to do a cost/benefit analysis to see if sound deadening is going to make the cut. I still have a lot of stuff to buy, including a travel trailer, so I need to start prioritizing. Tonight I'll tune the speakers and amp crossovers and levels. I'll be filming it, which means you should see it sometime around thanksgiving. If only I could find a location-independent job shooting and editing video all day. That'd be the dream.
Thanks for all the suggestions guys, I have a lot to learn on so many fronts, so if you see me skipping over something important, feel free to call me out; I want to do it right.
I'll definitely have to read those links you guys posted. Fortunately, the passenger vans have more sound deadening materials than the cargo vans, but there's still a lot to be desired for good sounding acoustics in there.
I'll have to do a cost/benefit analysis to see if sound deadening is going to make the cut. I still have a lot of stuff to buy, including a travel trailer, so I need to start prioritizing. Tonight I'll tune the speakers and amp crossovers and levels. I'll be filming it, which means you should see it sometime around thanksgiving.
If only I could find a location-independent job shooting and editing video all day. That'd be the dream.Thanks for all the suggestions guys, I have a lot to learn on so many fronts, so if you see me skipping over something important, feel free to call me out; I want to do it right.