Adventures of Tumbleweed.

[bdog1]

After looking under the van this week I decided to replace my sway bar bushings. Got these.

After turning down the outside diameter and boring out the inside they fit perfect! %#*¥#. But, I needed them bad!
Tried for the frame to bar bushings.

No go there. Since someone used the sway bar as a pull point had to do some bracket straightening.

Yea. It's a working kinda bumper! From the looks of the angle I could drop the frame mounts 2" to make everything happier.

But for now this has to be some improvement.


Sent by wing, prayer & ATT

 

[bdog1]

Tumbleweeds last project was a tire carrier. Since her new shoes I found a matching spare for a little bling!

Nothing fancy. No bearing in the pivot. Here's the mock up. Stole the bar stool gimmick from someone here.

2x4 for the base. 1 1/2. 1 1/4 pipe for the swing.

Made a cradle for the tire and mounted the hi-lift.

Even painted up the old bumper a little. Long day for me and my helper, here he is all tuckered out.

Sent by wing, prayer & ATT

 

[bdog1]

Next issue: We've been sleeping sideways across the van for the last year. Initially even though I'm 6'2" it didn't seem to bother me. (Longest time out in the van is 13 days last summer.) Now on the last 5 day run I decided it was too cramped, so a change is in order, orienting the bed front to back. I'm also considering raising the platform 2" for better storage. This makes headroom a little tight if your sitting on the side of the bed. I'm going to worry less about folding into a couch since we really never use this feature. (perhaps only to pick-up 4x8 material at homeless depot) I'm shooting for 14" height under the platform because it suits our current storage containers. Still stewing on the rest of the details....


Sent by wing, prayer & ATT

 

[bdog1]

Here it is in bed mode.

It's 60x80, queen I think? Flipping it will pretty much fill from back doors to the shelf.
I read somewhere here that moisture can build up under the mattress if it's on solid surface, so it's on slats now, but I'm considering 1/2" ply next time through. Any issues? Is 1/2" enough? I'm super happy with the weight room mat on the floor after a year. Thinking about adding that to the platform also.

Sent by wing, prayer & ATT

 

[bdog1]

Maintenance is getting in the way of progress.... Belt tens. and water pump is now moved to the top of the list. Better here at home than traveling. Last trip I melted the "plastic" idler pulley and had to swap it out on the road, NAPA to the rescue, nice to have common stuff when traveling!


Sent by wing, prayer & ATT

 

[Dawgboy]

So what's the dryer vent tubing do? I know the ac is back there, does this cool the cab?

 

[bdog1]

Dryer vent is an attempt to distribute the cool air more evenly. Runs to a passage at the roof where a 110v 4" computer fan is hidden to push air along. Not really that effective and up for improvements. The 5000btu unit struggles to cool the van on the hottest days camping, despite a good amount of insulation. Van has front and rear AC for cooling while driving, it works extremely well.


Sent by wing, prayer & ATT

 

[bdog1]

Water pump. Tens. Belt. Cleaned up ( removed) rear heater hoses. Hello. Florida! Rear AC of course remains untouched.

Not in much of a rush, cleaning up a few odds and ends.


Sent by wing, prayer & ATT

 

[bdog1]

Ending another big day!


Sent by wing, prayer & ATT

 

[cowboy4x4]

where did you pick up that sway bar bushing?

 

[bdog1]

Rockauto.com Something like $3. Pretty darn cheap! I got on some deal where they email me close out stuff that "fits" my vehicle. Kinda hit and miss!


Sent by wing, prayer & ATT

 

[FAW3]

When I had a similar set up my small 110vt. AC was mounted into the rear window frame...giving the AC air flow a straight unobstructed path to the interior of the van. With good insulation AND reflective bubble covers for the glass areas (velcro strip around windows provided for either placing bubble wrap or window screens for camping), I was cool even in Houston in August. You may wish to experiment with allowing better air flow exchange with the AC unit - air flow is the key. Also ensure power cord is of proper gauge so your getting full voltage to the AC.

Dryer vent is an attempt to distribute the cool air more evenly. Runs to a passage at the roof where a 110v 4" computer fan is hidden to push air along. Not really that effective and up for improvements. The 5000btu unit struggles to cool the van on the hottest days camping, despite a good amount of insulation. Van has front and rear AC for cooling while driving, it works extremely well.


Sent by wing, prayer & ATT

 

[bdog1]

Thx. I'll try that approach. It did seem to get worse with the ducted AC gimmick. Last August, on the beach in Daytona, it was marginal for a couple of hours in the afternoons. I kept the unit small because of concerns of running on a generator. I have a 3000W now but really want to go with the Honda 2000 (1600W) in the future.

Sent by wing, prayer & ATT

 

[JCTex]

bdog,

Would you pls open your door and post some pix of how you mounted the window unit and what you use to keep it from bouncing around on rough roads?

JC

 

[bdog1]

I'll have to work on the inside pic's. Here's the best if outside.

During the tire rack build. Metal was cut and shaped to form a shelf at the bottom of AC unit. Tabs were used to trap AC in place. I really didn't want to mount it up in the window area. Inside is a factory passenger van for panel cut to fit. I'll get a picture tomorrow, pretty low tech though. It's now in camp mode behind the spare.

Sent by wing, prayer & ATT