Cummins Canoe (A Stepvan Story)

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Today its trim work with a purpose!


So for the upper cabinet top supports, we need 1.75" tall. They don't make that size, so we need to make our own. We took a 1"x6" piece of pine with messed up splinters parts and ripped to length we needed.


Then took some corner trim and cut one side down to make a low profile lip thing to hide some led strip lights.


Screwed the upper cabinet supports to the ceiling and glued the trim up.


Some spots we couldn't use clamps so we had to get creative.


Trim all coming together.


We ran out of clamps. Need many more clamps!


The led strips came in 16' lengths, and we needed 32' to go around the whole interior. So we soldered two sections together.


All soldered and insulated.


Borrowing little fingers to secure led strips. The channel we left was very small, just the width of the led strips.


Flip the switch and whoa, trippy! They do all kinds of colors and stuff. Can be controlled by remote or by using the wall switch. The wall switch turns it on to the last setting the remote was set to.

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Winter is finally here. Time to insulate these back doors. Been pushing it off for way too long!


We needed to make a wooden frame inside the door in order for the panelling to have something to screw to. So we had this old board laying around that we could use.


Started ripping the board to the widths we needed.


Ripped and ready to go. Many parts are unusable, but we'll cut those ends off as needed.


Cut the wood to length and ran them down the router table to add this groove.


So the wood frame can recess into the door with no wasted space.


The edges of the door where the latching mechanisms are turned out to be quite time consuming.


Doors all framed and ready for insulation.


It got dark, so we decided to take some poplar wood and make some cross supports for the futon bed.


Some glue and screws and the bed is much more rigid. The support pieces were cut in a way that when the futon is in couch mode, the bed board sits against the wall with the brackets laying flush against the wall.


And by the request of others, more seat belts. Seem like everyone wants to ride in the van! Made the holes where the belts come through the seat just big enough for the buckles and stuff to come through. That way, when your sleeping, or don't need the seat belts for many months, they can be stored underneath.

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

More work on the rear doors. Insulating them today.


Did a layer of 1" foam and then 0.5" foam on top of that.


We glued the foam to the inside of the door. Found ways to hold the foam against the door while we went and did other stuff.


Foam board all in.


All the remaining cracks we filled with expanding foam.


Any of the moving parts we coated with WD-40 so the foam wouldn't stick. Once dry, we shaved all the foam flush.


The corner edges of the doors we used Frost King adhesive duct insulation. It's bare minimum insulation, but perfect for this confined space.


When the door shuts, it makes a great seal.


And panelling is up and doors are done! We chose dry-erase board. Now we can write all kinds of cool things on the door!


We wanted to test out the insulation so we tried to get this old heater going. Almost burned down the van! Good thing the upper cabinet/shelf is made of aluminum and not wood. We should add more fire extinguishers and smoke detector into the build...


Decided to run an electric heater to stay warm. It's very comfy in here with full insulation. Didn't have appropriate sleeping space for everyone, so some people slept in the upper cabinets.

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

The first real night in the van was a success. This thing is awesome! Time for our first road trip. Just a mini one for the holidays.


Loaded up the fridge with all kinds of goodies.


Made some awesome food with even better friends! Still need to put the sink in, finish the plumbing, put the floor in, and build the rest of the cabinet doors. Just a few more weeks and we'll be all done! All the progress we made so far feels really good.

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Merry Christmas from way up north!

 

[Buddha.]

You should consider a CO detector. With the combination of possible engine exhaust fumes leaking into the cabin and your stove/heater fumes, it’s a good idea.
When I was a kid we’d sleep in an ice fishing shack and wake up in the mornings with a headache. After adding a CO alarm the cause was obvious. The little propane furnace was poisoning us.

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Yea, that stuff is scary. We don't sleep with the heat on. Good call, when we get back, we'll install a combo smoke/co detector.

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Uh oh. This is very much not good...


Terrible vibrations and noises coming from engine. Also lost the clutch. Still "runs", got off the highway until we got stopped on a hill at a red light.


There are good people out there!

 

[Buddha.]

Uh oh. This is very much not good...

View attachment 633390
Terrible vibrations and noises coming from engine. Also lost the clutch. Still "runs", got off the highway until we got stopped on a hill at a red light.

View attachment 633391
There are good people out there!

That sucks, what area are you in?

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Sucks a lot. Hopefully it's nothing big. Stranded in southern NY area. Got to a parking lot. Gonna make some soup and deal with it in the morning.

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

The passenger side engine mount is broken. Clutch line is severed down by the slave cylinder. Something inside the engine sounded not right.


Dropped the oil pan and found a broken connecting rod and the crankshaft split in half. ?

 

[screwball48]

NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

We can crib the broken engine mount with some wood. We have a can of brake cleaner, two packages of JB weld, and enough extra oil I think to make this work.

 

[PlethoraOfGuns]

Worst Christmas gift ever...


JB weld and duct tape can't fix everything. Gave up trying to fix it in the parking lot. Getting towed. We ran out of food and clean underwear living in this parking lot anyway.

 

[Bikersmurf]

Crappy. I almond wonder if the seller knew this was coming. I’ve never had a connecting Rod break or crankshaft either, I hope you’re able to fix it for a reasonably budget,