2005 Express Camper Build

[tmurph3000]

I did not have that issue, but I also don't think my van has the sensor that is creating interference in your case. My van has a switch on the dashboard (that requires the key to turn) in order to activate or deactivate the passenger side airbag. I don't know if that's a difference in the 1500 and 2500 series, or if it's based on other distinctions. My seats are completely manual, so maybe that might be it?

My passenger seat is completely manual as well. My van was a conversion done by American Luxury Coach so it doesn't have the stock Express seats. My guess is that it was added by the conversion company.

 

[Roaddude]

Latest project was to install new seats, seat heaters, and swivel bases for the driver and passenger seats. Initial motivation was to replace the vinyl seats without arm rests with cloth seats and inboard arm rests, and things snowballed from there. These swivel bases are fairly new to the market in comparison to some of the other designs that have been out there for a while.
View attachment 641144
I liked the fact that unlike some other designs I'd seen, these had a hole at the pivot that was large enough to run the wires for the seat heaters without having to remove the connectors and insert them through the center of a bearing. This design uses a lubricated teflon plate on the base and pivoting plate to act as bearing surfaces. These bases also don't offset the seats toward the center when facing forward, but do so when facing backward. It is possible to rotate the seats without opening the doors, but it's a tight fit and takes some adjusting of the seat sliders when rotating.
View attachment 641149
The seat heaters were a fairly straightforward install. I did cut some length of the base pad, even though the instructions said not to cut them. After researching these kits, it appears that it's OK to trim the length, but not the width. The heaters work on both high and low settings after cutting the base, so my research was correct.
View attachment 641150
The only issue with the heater install was that I tied them into the fuse box under the driver's seat. I didn't realize that all of the fuses in that box are always powered (instead of only powered when the key is in the ignition position). I didn't want to risk running the battery down if a heater got left on when exiting the vehicle, so I added these delay timers and adjusted them to cut off power to the heaters after 30 minutes. If you want the heaters on longer than 30 minutes, you can reset the timer by pressing the contact switch, which I installed in a panel in the seat base next to the heater control switch (which has off, low and high positions).
View attachment 641154
Haven't taken a trip in it yet, but I think the swivels will be nice when camping. I probably wouldn't have bothered with the seat heaters if it was just me, but the wife really likes them in our other vehicles. Since the Ebay seats are shipped with the back separated from the base, I figured most of the hard work was already done (versus adding heaters to seats that are already installed).

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Great score on a well kept Express.

SEAT SWIVELS: Those are seat swivels I'd not seen yet, though have been poking around for some for years for my Savana and for an Express I had before that. It's terrific that they don't offset when facing forward, AND that they seem to allow full swivel alright for seats with arm rests, and without opening doors.

How much do they raise the seat? Some swivels, like these older ones from Sprinter, raise the seat 1.5" or more. Has it been noticeable or awkward at all when driving?

The seat swivel link isn't working, at least today, but looks like it led to "Swivel for Mercedes-Benz Sprinter | Dodge ProMaster | Ford Transit | Mercedes-Benz Metris/heavy-duty-97-18-chevy-express-seat-swivel" so I'll keep poking and searching for the same thing.

SPARE TIRE CARRIER: Man, I wish my Class 5 rear hitch had open ends, so I could play with your tire carrier idea, but they're covered with the plate; I'm skeptical of cutting a hole through the plate for the angle receiver, though may consult a welder with greater wisdom and experience to see what he thinks.


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HEATED SEATS: And...I never thought I'd get heated seats, though that sure looks like an inexpensive and very viable solution. I may just do that, especially to be more comfortable when camped and working on my laptop on chilly days.

You figure how much power it draws? I may run them from the solar powered house battery I'm getting ready to put in. I'm duplicating the system I have in my camp trailer, so I have redundant, independent systems that can still generate power when I'm away from the trailer. Been very successful so far in powering everything I need when off-grid.

As for getting to remote places, I'm no mudder or rock crawler, but have had my 2wd long wheelbase 2500, towing my trailer, into some pretty tight and remote places. I've been out in the combo over 600 nights in two years pre-pandemic, and am gearing up to do more, hopefully later this year, even if shorter adventures.

I'm hoping to fab up and install my own 12" raised roof and poptop sleeper, so though not as tall as yours, will increase the driving height. So far, in the places I like to go, an increase in height will not be a problem other than downtown parking garages, only some of which I could fit anyway with a standard roof.



Cool to run across your thread this evening and see so much so similar.

Looking forward to seeing what else you do.

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[Texas Aggie]

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SEAT SWIVELS: Those are seat swivels I'd not seen yet, though have been poking around for some for years for my Savana and for an Express I had before that. It's terrific that they don't offset when facing forward, AND that they seem to allow full swivel alright for seats with arm rests, and without opening doors.

How much do they raise the seat? Some swivels, like these older ones from Sprinter, raise the seat 1.5" or more. Has it been noticeable or awkward at all when driving?

The seat swivel link isn't working, at least today, but looks like it led to "Swivel for Mercedes-Benz Sprinter | Dodge ProMaster | Ford Transit | Mercedes-Benz Metris/heavy-duty-97-18-chevy-express-seat-swivel" so I'll keep poking and searching for the same thing.
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Thanks for the feedback, and looks like you've made great use of your van. I've updated the link to the bases in the original post (also here: swivel bases). Per the drawings on the seller website, the swivels raise the seat 1.75 inches. Just took an 8 hour trip each way to Palo Duro Canyon (campsite photo below) and I wouldn't say it's awkward at all, but it is noticeable. I'm 5'-10" and it didn't bother me, but I could tell the seat was higher. My wife is 5'-2" and had already asked for a footrest before the swivel install, so I made one for her. The swivels were nice when camping and when eating, particularly when it was too windy to eat outside.

I did measure the amp draw on the heaters, but I can't remember the exact number. Most heaters appear to draw about 5 amps on high and about half that on low (per manufacturer specs). I know mine were in that ballpark when I measured, so I didn't document it. I've only used them once, and I turned them off after probably 10 minutes on high because it was plenty warm. My wife does like them though.

Recent project was minor, but I cleaned out the leaves and gunk from my cowl area and blower inlet, and added some screen material to the outside of the cowl vent area to try to keep leaves from entering. Pretty crude install using zip ties and Gorilla tape, but if it keeps leaves out effectively I may try a better version. A live oak leaf had gotten stuck in the blower and it sounded like a baseball card in bicycle spokes. You'd think the damn thing would break off eventually, but I listened to it for hours before removing the blower and cleaning it out. The only other improvement wasn't a project that I completed, but I paid a pro to tint the windows. Splurged and got the high end ceramic stuff with good heat rejection. I also chose to have a (virtually) clear film put on the windshield that rejects quite a bit of heat. The tint and windshield film made a big difference in keeping the van cool on our trip this weekend.

Good luck on your high top and spare tire projects, and thanks again for the feedback.

 

[Roaddude]

Thanks for the feedback, and looks like you've made great use of your van. I've updated the link to the bases in the original post (also here: swivel bases). Per the drawings on the seller website, the swivels raise the seat 1.75 inches. Just took an 8 hour trip each way to Palo Duro Canyon (campsite photo below) and I wouldn't say it's awkward at all, but it is noticeable. I'm 5'-10" and it didn't bother me, but I could tell the seat was higher. My wife is 5'-2" and had already asked for a footrest before the swivel install, so I made one for her. The swivels were nice when camping and when eating, particularly when it was too windy to eat outside.

I did measure the amp draw on the heaters, but I can't remember the exact number. Most heaters appear to draw about 5 amps on high and about half that on low (per manufacturer specs). I know mine were in that ballpark when I measured, so I didn't document it. I've only used them once, and I turned them off after probably 10 minutes on high because it was plenty warm. My wife does like them though.

Recent project was minor, but I cleaned out the leaves and gunk from my cowl area and blower inlet, and added some screen material to the outside of the cowl vent area to try to keep leaves from entering. Pretty crude install using zip ties and Gorilla tape, but if it keeps leaves out effectively I may try a better version. A live oak leaf had gotten stuck in the blower and it sounded like a baseball card in bicycle spokes. You'd think the damn thing would break off eventually, but I listed to it for hours before removing the blower and cleaning it out. The only other improvement wasn't a project that I completed, but I paid a pro to tint the windows. Splurged and got the high end ceramic stuff with good heat rejection. I also chose to have a (virtually) clear film put on the windshield that rejects quite a bit of heat. The tint and windshield film made a big difference in keeping the van cool on our trip this weekend.

Good luck on your high top and spare tire projects, and thanks again for the feedback.

View attachment 655197

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Terrific info, @Texas Aggie; very much appreciated.

I'll have to add height to my driver's seat to see how it will feel before getting one, though will probably get one for the passenger seat regardless, as little as it is used by passengers. That'll be my lounging seat when parked.

Good info on the draw from the heated seats, too. With those being so easy, and inexpensive, I may get a set and experiment with sandwiching it in fabric for pre-heating my movable bed setup, as I hope to do more winter camping across Maine and Canada again for photography and writing. Pre-heat for a bit, not on all night, though switchable during the night, could be just the ticket between a comfortable night or not.

The cowl and blower area; always collects debris, doesn't it, along with that whole front gutter. I'm about to dive deeper into the AC on my '08 van, to see what's going on. I've sweltered my butt off on some long drives in the high heat of summer, and though I'm not a fan of running it constantly, some cool air can save the day at times.

I had professionally tinted windows on my driver and passenger windows years ago in my Express. They were terrific at reducing heat. Then I drove through PA and got chased through one of the mountain tunnels by a trooper who then pulled me over and said it didn't matter what state I was from, my windows were too dark for PA. Had to get it removed, then verified by my home State Police, and send the info back to PA to avoid a big fine.

I'd like to add it back on my Savana, though did not know about the clear front tint to reduce heat. I'll be interested to see how it holds up over time or affects visibility in bad weather, if at all.

Thanks again, man, much appreciated.

 

[Texas Aggie]

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The cowl and blower area; always collects debris, doesn't it, along with that whole front gutter. I'm about to dive deeper into the AC on my '08 van, to see what's going on. I've sweltered my butt off on some long drives in the high heat of summer, and though I'm not a fan of running it constantly, some cool air can save the day at times.

I had professionally tinted windows on my driver and passenger windows years ago in my Express. They were terrific at reducing heat. Then I drove through PA and got chased through one of the mountain tunnels by a trooper who then pulled me over and said it didn't matter what state I was from, my windows were too dark for PA. Had to get it removed, then verified by my home State Police, and send the info back to PA to avoid a big fine.

I knew that some states had draconian laws on window tint, and it seems like most are in the northeast where they're not subjected to blazing sun as much as we are in the south. I'll be sure to avoid any such states - but for what I paid to have all the windows tinted in my van, it would have to be a pretty hefty fine to make me remove it.

As for the A/C, I first cleaned mine out after sweating on a February trip to Big Bend and got enough leaves to cover the bottom of a small cooler.

If you haven't done it before, it's a pretty easy job. Remove two 10 mm bolts that hold coolant overflow tank and set the tank to the side. The blower comes out with three small hex cap screws (forget the size, but pretty sure they're SAE and not metric). Disconnect an electric connection and a drain on the bottom and the blower comes right out. The majority of my leaves were to the left of the blower in front of the A/C condenser. A/C worked much better after cleaning out all the crap.

 

[Roaddude]

Mine is only slightly different; just one 10mm holding the front of the coolant reservoir and two wide tabs at the back. I did it this afternoon and got a fair bit of debris out; a lot of long pine needles and leaf bits. Spent a good bit of time cleaning the squirrel cage of ages-old caked on dust, and vacuumed out the blower casing. Spiffed everything up nice.

Like an idiot, though, I'd put the blower motor and squirrel cage over on the air filter housing, where it eventually slid off and hit the driveway. Broke a two and half inch piece of the cage's rim and cracked it slightly at the bottom. So I fit it all back together with Krazy Glue and re-installed everything. Went for a drive to see if it helped the AC and as soon as I turned on the blower all kinds of racket commenced. It just blew the squirrel cage apart, super glue or not.

Now I'm proud owner of a new blower motor and cage. Cheap, though, really, at 72 bucks. I could have gone through junkyards looking for just the cage, but think it was worth it to just have new at that price. I think I'll repurpose the old motor and make a giant 12v ceiling fan for my RTT ?.

I appreciate the tips! I probably would not have got around to it for months.

 

[Texas Aggie]

Mine is only slightly different; just one 10mm holding the front of the coolant reservoir and two wide tabs at the back.

Like an idiot, though, I'd put the blower motor and squirrel cage over on the air filter housing, where it eventually slid off and hit the driveway. Broke a two and half inch piece of the cage's rim and cracked it slightly at the bottom.

I was going off of memory and couldn't remember if it was one bolt and two tabs, or vice versa. Mine is just like yours (and probably all Express/Savana vans).

I won't mention how I cracked the base of my (newly tinted) windshield trying to get the wiper arm off to remove the cowling and install the mesh screen. We'll see if my repair holds - if not, my mistake will be a lot more than $72 to fix. But oh well, stuff happens - the only way to avoid making any mistakes is to do nothing, and that's no fun.

 

[Roaddude]

I was going off of memory and couldn't remember if it was one bolt and two tabs, or vice versa. Mine is just like yours (and probably all Express/Savana vans).

I won't mention how I cracked the base of my (newly tinted) windshield trying to get the wiper arm off to remove the cowling and install the mesh screen. We'll see if my repair holds - if not, my mistake will be a lot more than $72 to fix. But oh well, stuff happens - the only way to avoid making any mistakes is to do nothing, and that's no fun.

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Aww, man. I'm about to replace my windshield again after several years. It's got a couple chip spots and a wear pattern from the driver's side wiper scratching. Got it replaced free last time with insurance coverage and will see if that can happen again. Wouldn't cover your ceramic tinting, though, I bet.

I think I can still do more to make my AC colder, so am looking at what else I can repair/replace like the dryer, or recharging, etc.

I'm toying with the idea of getting another cage for the old one and creating an enclosure and air mover for the back of the van when camped that will run of the house battery when installed.
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[Jstafford0502]

Latest project was to install new seats, seat heaters, and swivel bases for the driver and passenger seats. Initial motivation was to replace the vinyl seats without arm rests with cloth seats and inboard arm rests, and things snowballed from there. These swivel bases are fairly new to the market in comparison to some of the other designs that have been out there for a while.
View attachment 641144
I liked the fact that unlike some other designs I'd seen, these had a hole at the pivot that was large enough to run the wires for the seat heaters without having to remove the connectors and insert them through the center of a bearing. This design uses a lubricated teflon plate on the base and pivoting plate to act as bearing surfaces. These bases also don't offset the seats toward the center when facing forward, but do so when facing backward. It is possible to rotate the seats without opening the doors, but it's a tight fit and takes some adjusting of the seat sliders when rotating.
View attachment 641149
The seat heaters were a fairly straightforward install. I did cut some length of the base pad, even though the instructions said not to cut them. After researching these kits, it appears that it's OK to trim the length, but not the width. The heaters work on both high and low settings after cutting the base, so my research was correct.
View attachment 641150
The only issue with the heater install was that I tied them into the fuse box under the driver's seat. I didn't realize that all of the fuses in that box are always powered (instead of only powered when the key is in the ignition position). I didn't want to risk running the battery down if a heater got left on when exiting the vehicle, so I added these delay timers and adjusted them to cut off power to the heaters after 30 minutes. If you want the heaters on longer than 30 minutes, you can reset the timer by pressing the contact switch, which I installed in a panel in the seat base next to the heater control switch (which has off, low and high positions).
View attachment 641154
Haven't taken a trip in it yet, but I think the swivels will be nice when camping. I probably wouldn't have bothered with the seat heaters if it was just me, but the wife really likes them in our other vehicles. Since the Ebay seats are shipped with the back separated from the base, I figured most of the hard work was already done (versus adding heaters to seats that are already installed).

Question, and sorry to reopen the thread. Did you mount the swivel with the lever to the front or rear of the seat? The install video for econoline/express on their website shows it to the rear but they appeared symmetrical to me. However, I am having issues getting the driver side seat to clear the steering wheel with the lever to the front.

 

[Texas Aggie]

Question, and sorry to reopen the thread. Did you mount the swivel with the lever to the front or rear of the seat? The install video for econoline/express on their website shows it to the rear but they appeared symmetrical to me. However, I am having issues getting the driver side seat to clear the steering wheel with the lever to the front.

I have the lever in the front. There is some rubbing between the seat back and wheel when I rotate the seat, but not what I would consider too severe. I adjust both the vertical angle of the seat back and the seat base slider when I rotate the seat. If memory serves, the seat back is fully vertical and the seat base is adjusted as needed so the back can clear the steering wheel when rotating. I don't have tilt steering, but not sure if that matters. Hope this helps (and no need to apologize for reopening the thread - I'm just glad someone else is reading it and hopefully getting something out of it).

 

[Jstafford0502]

I have the lever in the front. There is some rubbing between the seat back and wheel when I rotate the seat, but not what I would consider too severe. I adjust both the vertical angle of the seat back and the seat base slider when I rotate the seat. If memory serves, the seat back is fully vertical and the seat base is adjusted as needed so the back can clear the steering wheel when rotating. I don't have tilt steering, but not sure if that matters. Hope this helps (and no need to apologize for reopening the thread - I'm just glad someone else is reading it and hopefully getting something out of it).

Thanks! i was actually just having a stupid moment when first installed it. I didn't get the seat in the full forward position. Now it goes but it takes a little more work than the passenger side for sure. Thanks for the thread on these BTW. They were super easy to work with.

 

[cobb ridge]

Texas Aggie I bought the same swivels as you. I’m going to cut my seat bases down 1 3/4” to get it back down to the stock height. The problem is that I won’t be able to check my fuses easily because the swivel will be too close to the lid. I thought I read somewhere that someone moved their fuse box. Did you move yours? Did you cut your seat bases down?

 

[Texas Aggie]

Texas Aggie I bought the same swivels as you. I’m going to cut my seat bases down 1 3/4” to get it back down to the stock height. The problem is that I won’t be able to check my fuses easily because the swivel will be too close to the lid. I thought I read somewhere that someone moved their fuse box. Did you move yours? Did you cut your seat bases down?

I didn't cut my seat bases down, and so I haven't moved my fuse box. I took a quick look at mine and it would be difficult to check fuses with the swivel an 1 3/4" lower.

 

[cobb ridge]

Thank you. Maybe someone will chime in about the fuse box relocation.

 

[Roaddude]

Thank you. Maybe someone will chime in about the fuse box relocation.

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That would be a good thing to know, actually, from someone who has done it. Not very necessary in general, though for the seat swivels, IF cutting them down in height, would be good to know. I'd relocate it to right behind the driver's seat on a half-bulkhead I put in, along with other 12v stuff.

I know I'm not fond of the engine compartment fuse panel on my Savana, though don't think I'd ever attempt relocating that one.
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