2017 Chevrolet Express Camper Van

[temporarydweller]

I'd look at a receiver/swing out mounting system for your bikes; the combination of risk of injury/damage carrying them up there, the crazy amount of height when they are up there, and the PITA pulling them down just for a short ride would be (for me) too many cons..

Completely agree. I do have a 3 bike hitch mount as well. I was more thinking the occasions when I want to carry a few buddies with me and their bikes and gear, I can have more options and mounting points since now I can safely carry 5 people. I can also see taking a vacation with the girlfriend and wanting to haul the dual sport on the back and a couple bikes for cruising the towns up top. So I went ahead and welded tabs for 2 Yakima Blockheads. I'm thinking once I get my lift done it will put my overall height with the fork mounted bikes up top around 11 feet. So yes I'll mostly have to be concerned about low branches pulling into mountain bike parks and avoid the fast food drive throughs.

 

[Len.Barron]

I carry our scooter with us and that sets behind the spare and tool box swing outs, that's the max I would want out back; look at maybe a front receiver hitch and carry your bicycles up front and your motorcycle out back, my rig is 10'2" tall I wouldn't want anything up higher than that.

 

[temporarydweller]

I carry our scooter with us and that sets behind the spare and tool box swing outs, that's the max I would want out back; look at maybe a front receiver hitch and carry your bicycles up front and your motorcycle out back, my rig is 10'2" tall I wouldn't want anything up higher than that.

Very cool rig!! And thanks for the ideas. I hadn't thought about a front mount.

 

[temporarydweller]

Great November weather here over the weekend. I got the cedar slats done on my rack Saturday. I had to try out the new bike mounts so I got up early on Sunday and met with a group of friends for some road biking. Then drove straight from there to the local mountain bike park for some off road fun. The overall height was 10'-8". I could shave 5" off that by simply dropping my dropper seat post down. That means after the Weldtec lift I'll still be able to keep my overall height to under 11 foot.

 

[Weldtec Designs]

Love the build and the use of the wood on the roof rack! keep it up...

 

[temporarydweller]

Love the build and the use of the wood on the roof rack! keep it up...

Thanks. And I will be in contact with you after the holiday season for your lift spindles.

 

[temporarydweller]

Great weekend in the Ozarks. 10 miles of mountain biking and 85 miles of dual sport riding on Saturday. Followed by a great bunch of guys sharing stories around a campfire Saturday night. Then 50 miles of bicycle gravel riding on Sunday. The one ton van did so much better than my old 1/2 ton all loaded down.

 

[temporarydweller]

No real updates yet. Just out using the van for it's intended purpose. I went to a big three day mountain and gravel bike festival this past weekend in Arkansas. Probably had more sprinter vans per capita as anywhere in the state. I did manage to get stuck pulling in trying to get a cool spot away from the crowds in the parking lot. Luckily I had some recovery gear with me. I'm really ready for a lift, meatier tires and eventually at least a locker in the rear.

 

[temporarydweller]

I decided to use this social distancing time to redo the galley area and sink box to match the interior of the new van. I will no longer be using the weed sprayer as the freshwater side. 2 gallon rotopax slim water tank on order. Will still use the same 5 gallon gray water tank. The faucet will be fed by a small 12v pump. I recently redid the kitchen flooring in my house and had some left over vinyl sheet so that became the counter top. The faucet folds flat and out of the way of the counter top area.

 

[temporarydweller]

I took advantage of one of Weldtec Designs stimulus savings deals. I ordered and installed their 3" lift spindles. Thanks Jeremy!! I also put 2" blocks and new shocks in the rear. Wheels and tires will be next on my list.

 

[temporarydweller]

Got a great deal from a friend on a set of 17 inch OE GM wheels from a 09 2500 Suburban. They came with 265/70r17 Toyo Open Country load range E with about 3/4 life left in them. I will break them down soon and have the wheels painted either pewter or dark bronze. Still undecided on the color.

 

[deangrell]

I've only seen maybe one other person do a driver seat swivel, with most saying it cannot be done on the drivers side. Did you do the discountvantruck swivel on both sides?

 

[temporarydweller]

I've only seen maybe one other person do a driver seat swivel, with most saying it cannot be done on the drivers side. Did you do the discountvantruck swivel on both sides?

Sorry I missed this question last year. But yes I did do the discountvantruck on the drivers side as well. It does offset the drivers seat inboard a couple inches which took a little to get used to but I don't even think about it now. I've read that some people can't stand the different driving position in relation to the steering wheel and it becomes a deal breaker for them.

 

[temporarydweller]

I've wanted a backup camera for a while now, my wife asked what I wanted for Christmas and you know the rest. This camera is wireless from the back to the front. It's suppose to tap into the backup lights but I wanted to be able to turn it on to check my motorcycle on the hitch hauler or trailer load as needed. So I tapped it into the parking lights rather than run a new circuit. Then I can just turn on my lights to power up the camera if wanting to check during the day. The screen up front has it's own power switch.

 

[temporarydweller]

After several nights in the van I decided that the bed was too high. The lack of headroom made it feel rather cramped. So a full gutting of the van was in order. I still occasionally put in the second row bench which is why I didn't take the seat rails out to begin with. I figured I could take the three shorter back rails out and cut down the two rails that run from the front to the back. This would allow me to lower the bed down a couple inches and still have the second row option.

Those rails are no joke. Super beefy and installed very well. I fought finding and taking out all the needed nuts underneath for 3 evenings. The shorter rails also have tapers on the ends to allow the carpet to transition easier and not rip through over time. I cut off the tapers on a couple rails I took out and welded them on to the cut off ends for the same purpose. I filled all the holes in the floor with 3m strip caulk and used some of the existing thick insulation so the transition would be less noticeable.

I saved the removed carpet to use as a template for the new insulation and floor covering. The insulation is the best carpet pad Menards had in stock and the covering is a 7'6"x17' mat that is meant for a garage or trailer floor I cut down to size.

In addition to the gained room by removing the rails, I also cut out 4 inches from the bed frame itself. So overall I gained 6 inches above the bed and still have 14 inches of under bed storage height.