Search results

Sounds like you need more time with a multimeter. Check the line where you tapped the high-beam relay and see what voltages it registers under each condition: (Daytime, Lowbeams on; Daytime Highbeams on; Nighttime, Lowbeams on; Nighttime, Highbeams on). Maybe figure out where the daylight...

Also, when you say "compressor runs until safety valve goes off", are you saying the compressor stops at that point? Or it keeps running beyond that point? In either case, as others have said, you want the shut-off switch to be somewhat lower than the tank pressure and safety valve. The...

Yep, conversion-van sofa beds suck as beds. I chalk it up to the complications of movable geometry while trying to have a really comfortable seat. The curves needed for a seat bottom and lumbar support make for a very wavy shape when laid flat. I had a craigslist sofa bench in our Astro van...

Do you never plan to park on the street? Make a sandwich? Retrieve an item from inside, etc.? If your answer is legitimately that you will never need to enter the camper module while the vehicle is parked on a normal street, then you are in a very slim minority. That is why they're usually...

The obvious drawback to a street-side entry door being that it would be hard to verify the lane was clear before opening it into traffic. With a car door, you can generally check the mirror and/or look over your shoulder, but with a typical RV door, you wouldn't have a lot of visibility...

As we approach our Thanksgiving trip for this year, I'm reminded of the short video we made a few years ago: We'll have to see if we can do better this year!

Sometimes I'm clever. Other times, I'm as thick as a brick. I seriously don't know why, given that I am using a re-purposed trailer-hitch cargo tray as a roof basket, it took me so long to figure out an obvious answer to keeping my roof gear secured and dry, at least: Cargo-tray bags. The...

If OP is really in the market for 4x4 or AWD vans, I think the Promaster would be a very disappointing choice. They're super convenient to build out due to the square sides, but that FWD drivetrain is a killer if you want to tackle anything short of smooth roads. I spent 20 minutes drinking...

+1 for rapid prototyping. I just did a test assembly of the luggage I was planning to make using Coroplast and tape - No, it can't be inverted once all the sides are attached, even with a fully open 6th face (no lid). That experiment, however, did lead me to the solution - I'm just going to...

There are several folks who've built a chuckbox kitchen into one of the steel storage boxes that can be mounted on a variety of bumpe-swing-aways. If the door on the box folds down, so much the better as you gain a floating work surface.

Holy thread-necromancy, Batman! 5+ years later this thread gets revived.

Very true. Moreover, even if you were spending 100% of your time off-road, there are places, even in North America, where a fullsize truck with a shell simply can't go. I have a friend who went hard into six-figures on a 1-ton truck with a flatbed FWC Hawk. Beautiful rig. Then his job took...

Oh, I know. That's great for them, but I'm tryna put 10lbs of crap in a 5lb bag over here!

Yeah, my initial thought was to make all the panels by sewing the outer/stiffener/liner sandwiches first, then build the cube. But where my brain starts to hurt is trying to visualize if I'll be able to sew it inside-out and invert it after sewing, as I would with a normal fabric cube. I think...

Yeah, I do like the Really Useful stuff. I printed out their whole "line catalog" chart and I keep a copy in my design notebook. Whenever I'm trying to figure out how to utilize a space, that's one of the things I reference to see if I can just put one of their boxes in there. That said, they...

I'm a fan of the plastic totes too. I've got both Rubbermaid (Roughneck) and Sterilite Snap-lid totes and I abuse them pretty hard. My primary criterion when picking which box to buy is almost always "which one is perfectly sized to fit the space I have". The Sterilites, for example, are the...

OK, here's a topic I'd like to hear from the experts on: Sewing folding or semi-rigid containers. I'm talking stuff like the Front Runner Flat-Pack Storage cubes, or the various organizer/storage cubes from Ikea or any of a million Chinese firms - the kind of thing with panel inserts to help...

Agreed. I'm running 16s on my 4x4 Astro, and I'd run 15s if I could (but my 2003 has the rear discs, so 16 is just about the minimum,)

This is the first FWC I've seen with that Dinette configuration. I've seen newer "Front Dinettes" but they include a bump-out on the forward wall that limits the leg room such that in a Hawk you cannot seat 3 people at the dinette. Coupled with the different kitchen which extends the passenger...

But again... cabinet.