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Prototype lift hinge made. Works pretty well, given the limitations of things. I'm very happy with it. Folds down to 1 1/8" on the final design. The video shows a lift hinge that has very long arms. I was just too lazy to cut them. The final hinge will raise 30" vertical, will feature different...

Forgot these photos. And some sample seals arrived. Heading back in Monday to finish up the plug and get the vehicle side frame started.

A hinged pop top with a fixed end, or even a Westfalia style angles pop up would have been much easier to construct. They do have some additional benefits as well, namely they are more rigid when upright and when faced into the weather, wind is less of a concern. The one major downfall that...

Got the roof profiled and was able to get a little of the top profile mocked up.

Starting work on the mold master for the fiberglass top today. I have tackled some pretty interesting engineering problems this week and am hopeful. I knew undertaking a project like this would be a large amount of work but every single little detail requires several hours of "figuring out"...

I don't know what happened, but this ended up in my yard last week. It is what I wanted. Panel sides, swing out side door, and the right wheelbase. I know Ford is the common choice around here for a van conversion, but I think the AWD Express van platform might be enough. In the end, the...

Thanks for the response. I know there is a reason for everything and I'm glad the build worked out to suit your needs. It is such a limited market for excursions that it doesn't make sense for anyone to mass produce something. Vans, transits, and even Honda elements have a much bigger market...

I would like a set of these lift arms. Does anyone know what they are called besides "articulating gas rams"?

Pretty much my same plans. I wanted a sealed box on the outside to keep dirty stuff like a wet tow strap. Often times after a recovery I end up with a dirty and wet strap on my rear floor. It would be nice to have it go in a box that could get dirty and not affect my living area. I've seen...

What hinges are those on the bed? Are they a common camper setup? Edit: Rock and Roll hinges. Appears to be used in VW campers.

I've been trying hard to figure out a best use of space for the mattress, gear, and a usable, quick deploying kitchen. It seems that no matter what I do, I end up with some dead storage space that can't be accessed without pulling up the mattress. I am thinking of using this space for a water...

Pulled the rest of it today. Blank canvas. I REALLY wanted to get the mattress sideways in the back but I don't think I can do it without losing more headroom, one of my biggest complaints with the current setup. I have 67" between the tops of the wheelwells. Unless I start cutting things, it...

I have an Excursion and with the current mods, it lacks nothing off-road. It can go anywhere you point it. It has space for everything I need, including a full size foam mattress. I am considering a van because of the ability to have standing height with a pop-top roof. I have considered a...

1: The trip budget. A distant 2: Tires.

Different tires in the same size would have ended the same way.

I've run several different Chinese bars, one from each major manufacturer. I've also run rigid and Baja designs. There is no doubt that rigid is significantly better than the Chinese bars, both in light output, build quality, and most noticeably in optic quality. Whether it is worth the extra...

Figured I would toss a photo in this thread of the new Rigid 10" SR in the grille. Just the Rigid 10":

Today I decided to make use of a Rigid 10" SR LED bar that I've had lying around. I'm pretty much just puttering around in some free time. No real direction in mind. The big project is building out the back but I don't really want to start on that yet. In the meantime, I'll fix a few of the...

If you think it is bad just looking at photos, try being behind him for a few days! I was pretty much on Craigslist as we drove, trying to find one for sale. It is an awesome rig.

Did some demo work today. It's going to be a slow project over winter to rebuild the interior but I wanted to see what exactly was behind the paneling. There is some good usable space back there.