steelheadbum
Adventurer
Looks great bud congrats.
Buck
The Redneck Mexican
2002 E350 7.3 PSD 4x4 8inch lift pop top conversion....
Buck
The Redneck Mexican
2002 E350 7.3 PSD 4x4 8inch lift pop top conversion....
AmboVan Restarted
- Thread starter hobietony
- Start date
hobietony
Explorer
Continuing to close...
-
Bench seating - For now, reinstalling the original ambo bench and back cushion, installed on a new 1/2" Baltic birch platform. I will need to get some cushions that fit the space a bit better, but it help me feel more complete to have the original ones installed.
Storage and heater access - still need to get the propane and the vents run on this.
-
Additional lighting installed -
Courtesy lights at the doors
Strip light under the bed, lights the rear cargo space - Looks like a driving light in this picture, not really that bright
-
Outlets made up - 120v and 12v
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Flooring started, Versatrack and weight room rubber tiles
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Finish the flooring tomorrow, and get the fridge slide and fridge installed, see what other loose ends I can tie up. I have a bit of work to do in the cab, have a stereo to install, got new seats, while the seats are out, I should pull the carpet and deal with any rust in the floorboards, trying to decide if I have time to deal with all that before I need to travel in mid-October, sure want the stereo and good seats in, and probably will never pull them back out if I don't deal with the floorboard issue now, but it is a lot of work with a pretty firm deadline - We'll see
-
Bench seating - For now, reinstalling the original ambo bench and back cushion, installed on a new 1/2" Baltic birch platform. I will need to get some cushions that fit the space a bit better, but it help me feel more complete to have the original ones installed.
Storage and heater access - still need to get the propane and the vents run on this.
-
Additional lighting installed -
Courtesy lights at the doors
Strip light under the bed, lights the rear cargo space - Looks like a driving light in this picture, not really that bright
-
Outlets made up - 120v and 12v
-
Flooring started, Versatrack and weight room rubber tiles
-
Finish the flooring tomorrow, and get the fridge slide and fridge installed, see what other loose ends I can tie up. I have a bit of work to do in the cab, have a stereo to install, got new seats, while the seats are out, I should pull the carpet and deal with any rust in the floorboards, trying to decide if I have time to deal with all that before I need to travel in mid-October, sure want the stereo and good seats in, and probably will never pull them back out if I don't deal with the floorboard issue now, but it is a lot of work with a pretty firm deadline - We'll see
girlndpendant
girlndpendant
I can't se any pics?
ben2go
Adventurer
You have to open your eyes and lay of the drink. :sombrero:
AverageJoe
New member
Amazing build - Subscribed !
Thx
Thx
hobietony
Explorer
Details continue
Where was I?
-
Fridge installed
-
Flooring finished, most of the stainless nosing installed
-
Lagun table support, bit of a hack job on the bench cushion, but that cushion is a temp solution anyway...
-
Gas support to hold up the bench, salvaged from the doner RV
-
Finally broke down and bought some seats out of a 2012 XLT van, off of ebay, couldn't take those POS seats from the RV anymore, and no time to work with the sienna seats - These are really firm and comfortable, I think I will be happy for a while with these. Stock seat height is still too low (IMO), so added a 1-1/2" steel spacer between the base and the seats. Turns out that sometime in the last 15 years Ford changed the seat belt style, and I had to swap out the exploding-buckle assembly as well.
-
Rigged up a bike rack, using the load track in the back for the purposes it was designed for
-
And finally, bit of a **** with the water tank, I got some rubber plugs for the fill and vent hose so I don't lose water when driving (fill is basically at the same height as the top of the tank, pretty easy to slosh when driving). treated the tank with chlorine, tried to drain it without pulling the plugs, and collapsed the tank on itself. Seems to be recovering with no permanent damage, but I will need to keep an eye on the creased area for future leaks
.
-
Got the rig appraised a week ago, trying to finalize the coverage today - What a PITA! Very hard to find an insurance company that will say 'yes' to something like this, much easier to just say they cant help me. Taking it to Mexico for a sailing regatta this weekend, and one week later, a week-long regatta in Galveston where we will be living out of this for 9-10 days, including a couple days travel time on each end of the event. Some stuff just wont be done before I go, biggest bummer will be continued absence of a stereo. At least we will have comfy seats.
Where was I?
-
Fridge installed
-
Flooring finished, most of the stainless nosing installed
-
Lagun table support, bit of a hack job on the bench cushion, but that cushion is a temp solution anyway...
-
Gas support to hold up the bench, salvaged from the doner RV
-
Finally broke down and bought some seats out of a 2012 XLT van, off of ebay, couldn't take those POS seats from the RV anymore, and no time to work with the sienna seats - These are really firm and comfortable, I think I will be happy for a while with these. Stock seat height is still too low (IMO), so added a 1-1/2" steel spacer between the base and the seats. Turns out that sometime in the last 15 years Ford changed the seat belt style, and I had to swap out the exploding-buckle assembly as well.
-
Rigged up a bike rack, using the load track in the back for the purposes it was designed for
-
And finally, bit of a **** with the water tank, I got some rubber plugs for the fill and vent hose so I don't lose water when driving (fill is basically at the same height as the top of the tank, pretty easy to slosh when driving). treated the tank with chlorine, tried to drain it without pulling the plugs, and collapsed the tank on itself. Seems to be recovering with no permanent damage, but I will need to keep an eye on the creased area for future leaks
-
Got the rig appraised a week ago, trying to finalize the coverage today - What a PITA! Very hard to find an insurance company that will say 'yes' to something like this, much easier to just say they cant help me. Taking it to Mexico for a sailing regatta this weekend, and one week later, a week-long regatta in Galveston where we will be living out of this for 9-10 days, including a couple days travel time on each end of the event. Some stuff just wont be done before I go, biggest bummer will be continued absence of a stereo. At least we will have comfy seats.
hobietony
Explorer
A little bedding makes it feel like home -
-
And throw rugs say "welcome!"
-
Got the fridge buckled down, 120 and 12v hooked up
-
Felt pretty clever here, made a home for the tabletop assembly, j-track on the bottom, and a single stud through the tabletop with a big plastic nut, out of the way and secure
-
Finally got the rig insured, both in the states, and in MX, for something close to what I have in it, BIG relief there.
Moving in the rest of the way tomorrow, and on the road to Rocky Point tomorrow eve/Fri AM.
-
And throw rugs say "welcome!"
-
Got the fridge buckled down, 120 and 12v hooked up
-
Felt pretty clever here, made a home for the tabletop assembly, j-track on the bottom, and a single stud through the tabletop with a big plastic nut, out of the way and secure
-
Finally got the rig insured, both in the states, and in MX, for something close to what I have in it, BIG relief there.
Moving in the rest of the way tomorrow, and on the road to Rocky Point tomorrow eve/Fri AM.
hobietony
Explorer
Using it...
Bed stowed during the day
Set up at the RV park
Beach
Dogs
Boats
Good nights sleep in a comfortable bed makes one happy
Packed up and ready to roll back north
Pretty happy with how it all works, bit mushy now in the back end with the inside all build out, but Chris got the rear airbags to me today, and I should have them installed in the next day or two. Back on the road this weekend for a week-long regatta in Galveston, we will be spending something like 9 nights in the van - Should have a pretty good idea how it all works by then, but it is all pretty much refinement at this point.
Bed stowed during the day
Set up at the RV park
Beach
Dogs
Boats
Good nights sleep in a comfortable bed makes one happy
Packed up and ready to roll back north
Pretty happy with how it all works, bit mushy now in the back end with the inside all build out, but Chris got the rear airbags to me today, and I should have them installed in the next day or two. Back on the road this weekend for a week-long regatta in Galveston, we will be spending something like 9 nights in the van - Should have a pretty good idea how it all works by then, but it is all pretty much refinement at this point.
Abitibi
Explorer
Looks pretty good with those boats hooked at the rear.
Have you weight it, I'd be curious to see how much you gained by camperizing it... That's the main reason I haven't ordered Chris kit yet, waiting to have a better idea of the final weight to dial in the springs.
Anyway, she's a beauty, enjoy it!
Cheers
Mr. D
Have you weight it, I'd be curious to see how much you gained by camperizing it... That's the main reason I haven't ordered Chris kit yet, waiting to have a better idea of the final weight to dial in the springs.
Anyway, she's a beauty, enjoy it!
Cheers
Mr. D
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