EarthRoamer XV-JP "Northwest Edition"
- Thread starter WhereTheHellIsJames?
- Start date
mhiscox
Expedition Leader
Paul may not know, but I do. It is indeed the Isotherm 15 liter/4 gallon Slim.
Thanks Mike, I plan on putting one under my Sprinter...
PaulJensen
Custom Builder
Fifteen...
Fifteen…
(above) Overnight in the heated shop, the epoxy set-up nice and hard… A good first coat…
(above) Both cases got a decent scuff sanding with 120 grit on an orbital sander…
(above) Inside the Jeep, I removed the temporary supports… The back of the propane case is flat and straight… The curb-side bench case will be set hard against it…
(above) I want to see how the curb-side case fits against the propane locker,so I bound the loose cables with stretch wrap to make threading the needle easier…
(above) Curb-side case in place…
(above) Looking into the wheel-well… The propane locker fitting tight with the C-S case… I see room on this side of the propane case to mount the regulator… I'll need to remodel it a bit, but I have the space… Getting the two propane tanks to fit is pretty important, so the time to get it right is worth it…
(above) At the foot of the Porta-Potti case is the shower pan… You see that the cabinet overlaps the shower pan… Not good…
(above) The tape line is where I'll cut the bottom ply… The case will get fiberglassed to the floor for a seamless install… Even though there will be a teak finished floor, I want the shower pan to be fully open, specifically at the Porta-Potti space… Just covering it up isn't an option, it has to be done right…
(above) Holding the bench seat / bed extension / drop leaf thing in place…It swings into place as planned…Good enough for a head or foot rest…Not for sitting on…
(above) At first I thought there would only be a few wires coming through here… How things change… I need to grind away the subfloor a bit more at the keyhole…No chafing points allowed…
(above) Back in the shop with the big door down and the heat on… I added the 12 volt outlet up here for the fridge power… It fits up high because the house batteries are on the other side, down low… Up here it is out of the way of the top of the fridge and will let the pull-out extend without the cord getting in the way… Hopefully…
(above) Box joints & 40 grit… Put on the headphones and turn the volume to eleven…
(above) Hours later…
(above) After a quick sweep then a big blow out of the shop with the leaf blower, it's time to get the first coat of epoxy on the drawer boxes… Dense foam paint rollers work great for that…
I only use Resin Research epoxy…Great stuff and I've tried most of the other epoxies...RR is predictable and that is important when it comes to epoxy...However, it is too thick out of the jugs to roll on easily, so after I pour out the right proportions of resin and hardener, I add about 25% denatured alcohol to thin the mix enough to roll on a thin, even coat...… The epoxy soaks into the wood best if it's thinned… And that's what these coats are for…Soaking and sealing...
(above) I like it…
(above) Here on the rear driver side roll-bar is where a piece of steel was welded on…I cut it away already, but the rough welds were still there and were scratching the side of the cabinet… Grinder time… Sparks flew… Big sparks...It's always a good day when you get to make hot steel embers fly… Primal… “I am man, hear me roar”…
The two bolts on the right side of the wall got a grinding too…They might hit the far back of a drawer…
(above) The propane locker needed some tweaking… The plywood on the wall on the left side just hit the tank enough to keep the right tank from sliding in…So I “whittled away” with a couple of power tools until the twin tanks fit… I also had to grind away at a bit of the inner body metal at the low side of the right tank… Little bits make all the difference…
(above) At the end of the day, I added some subfloor support where I opened it up for the big wire “splices”… Again, I want a solid subfloor even though it will have a solid wood finish floor…It only takes a few more minutes to have it done right…
Another day done...
More tomorrow...
Fifteen…
(above) Overnight in the heated shop, the epoxy set-up nice and hard… A good first coat…
(above) Both cases got a decent scuff sanding with 120 grit on an orbital sander…
(above) Inside the Jeep, I removed the temporary supports… The back of the propane case is flat and straight… The curb-side bench case will be set hard against it…
(above) I want to see how the curb-side case fits against the propane locker,so I bound the loose cables with stretch wrap to make threading the needle easier…
(above) Curb-side case in place…
(above) Looking into the wheel-well… The propane locker fitting tight with the C-S case… I see room on this side of the propane case to mount the regulator… I'll need to remodel it a bit, but I have the space… Getting the two propane tanks to fit is pretty important, so the time to get it right is worth it…
(above) At the foot of the Porta-Potti case is the shower pan… You see that the cabinet overlaps the shower pan… Not good…
(above) The tape line is where I'll cut the bottom ply… The case will get fiberglassed to the floor for a seamless install… Even though there will be a teak finished floor, I want the shower pan to be fully open, specifically at the Porta-Potti space… Just covering it up isn't an option, it has to be done right…
(above) Holding the bench seat / bed extension / drop leaf thing in place…It swings into place as planned…Good enough for a head or foot rest…Not for sitting on…
(above) At first I thought there would only be a few wires coming through here… How things change… I need to grind away the subfloor a bit more at the keyhole…No chafing points allowed…
(above) Back in the shop with the big door down and the heat on… I added the 12 volt outlet up here for the fridge power… It fits up high because the house batteries are on the other side, down low… Up here it is out of the way of the top of the fridge and will let the pull-out extend without the cord getting in the way… Hopefully…
(above) Box joints & 40 grit… Put on the headphones and turn the volume to eleven…
(above) Hours later…
(above) After a quick sweep then a big blow out of the shop with the leaf blower, it's time to get the first coat of epoxy on the drawer boxes… Dense foam paint rollers work great for that…
I only use Resin Research epoxy…Great stuff and I've tried most of the other epoxies...RR is predictable and that is important when it comes to epoxy...However, it is too thick out of the jugs to roll on easily, so after I pour out the right proportions of resin and hardener, I add about 25% denatured alcohol to thin the mix enough to roll on a thin, even coat...… The epoxy soaks into the wood best if it's thinned… And that's what these coats are for…Soaking and sealing...
(above) I like it…
(above) Here on the rear driver side roll-bar is where a piece of steel was welded on…I cut it away already, but the rough welds were still there and were scratching the side of the cabinet… Grinder time… Sparks flew… Big sparks...It's always a good day when you get to make hot steel embers fly… Primal… “I am man, hear me roar”…
The two bolts on the right side of the wall got a grinding too…They might hit the far back of a drawer…
(above) The propane locker needed some tweaking… The plywood on the wall on the left side just hit the tank enough to keep the right tank from sliding in…So I “whittled away” with a couple of power tools until the twin tanks fit… I also had to grind away at a bit of the inner body metal at the low side of the right tank… Little bits make all the difference…
(above) At the end of the day, I added some subfloor support where I opened it up for the big wire “splices”… Again, I want a solid subfloor even though it will have a solid wood finish floor…It only takes a few more minutes to have it done right…
Another day done...
More tomorrow...
Last edited:
X-plorenow
Adventurer
expeditionerd
Observer
I'm addicted to this thread. This is all very inspiring and I feel I'm learning so much.
Amazing Job guys!
Amazing Job guys!
PaulJensen
Custom Builder
Sixteen...
Today is one I’ve been looking forward to… The day the drawers get set…
(above) After the drawer guides (these are rated at 300#) are positioned, a pilot hole is drilled at the front and back screw mounting holes, then with a spade bit a shallow counter sunk hole is spun…
I’m using T-nuts on all the drawers in this build…They will resist movement significantly more than using wood screws…For heavy duty guides like these, it’s important… I’ll also add some wood screws later, but the T-Nuts are the fail-safe way to go…
(above) Sometimes shimming of a drawer guide is needed… I cut some squares of 1/8” and 1/16” plywood and P-Lam for shims…Once I establish how much shimming is needed, I use pressure sensitive adhesive tape to keep the shims attached to the drawer guide…The drawers are being installed accurately, but will be removed later for more finishing, so the shims on the guides help to keep the right shim in the right place…Confusion eliminated…
(above) Guide, shims, cabinet side…
(above) Now both guides are installed…
I make sure the case is on a flat surface and a 40# weight is placed on the top of the cabinet…Load it down as if it was installed…
(above) To set the drawer I do it this way: I put a piece of scrap plywood that is the thickness of the bottom plywood of the case in front of the case… Next a piece of 1/4” ply (the space needed between the case and the drawer) is placed on the cabinet bottom and the scrap piece in front…
(above) The drawer is placed between the guides and held pretty far back in the case… Deep enough to still have access to the front holes on the guides…I use a wood screw to set the guide to the drawer…
See the blue thing in the drawer… It is a 10# weight that is put in there to hold the drawer down flat …Sometimes plywood will flex enough to tweak the drawer… Little things like weighing the drawer make a difference in accuracy...
(above) The drawer is now extended, the weight is at the back and pilot holes are drilled for the rear screws…
(above) T-Nuts are hammered in place on the inside the drawer…
(above) Next machine screws are threaded into the T-nuts…These stainless steel screws have a lower head than regular steel, so I prefer them…
(above) The Potra-Potti fitted and checked for placement…
(If Mike wants to carry extra passengers in the rear, this is now an option…JOKING…)
(above) The Porta-Potti flares out so I’ll need to add a piece of 1/2” ply before I make the drawer face…I’ll also need to reposition the T-nuts…This is why test fitting is important…
(above) Fast forward to the drawer guides for the fridge… Installed… This set is rated at 150#…
(above) No flare out on the front of this one… Installation is fine…
(above) The power cord is loosely positioned…
(above) Pulled out and checked for clearances and butter-like movement… Bingo...
(above) With those two pull-outs 99% done, the case is put back in the Jeep and checked for fit… I do that a lot… In, measured and marked, out, cuts made, back in…
The shower floor cut-out is fine… I’ll need to add 1/2” spacers to lift the cabinet to have the teak floor work out …
(above) The excess fiberglass subfloor has been cut away… It’s good now…
(above) A scrap is put in the floor access hatch…
(above) Back in the shop, the guides for the driver side case are installed the same way as I showed before…
(above) Rock solid install…
(above) Both cases in place… Checking the depth extension of the drawers…Pretty much as planned… Not ready to install yet… Still a lot to do on them before that day is here…
(above) Plenty of clearance here too… I love it when a plan comes together…
(above) I cut and threw in a scrap floor cover… That changes how it feels in here… Ohhh, how that teak will look…!!!…
(above) Back to the propane locker…The pressure regulator / twin tank switch has to get in there, so I cut away the flat side of the locker and made the plywood box to mount the reg…
This build-out is more than anything, using every available inch and fraction of an in that is possible…Building in place, then modifying is pretty much the only way to gain this kind of space… Think about it: Twin tanks, a dual tank regulator and hoses, fit in there…???…!!!… There is not an extra 1/8” of space wasted…
I love this kind of work…!!!…
(above) The regulator box… I had to get a couple of elbows to get the guages to read from the face…They came as top-read…
The brass elbow at the bottom is where the gas line will exit (air tight) to the wheel-well, where the hose to the stove and heater will connect…
I’m glad that is resolved…FIGJAM...Tomorrow it gets installed…
See you then…
Today is one I’ve been looking forward to… The day the drawers get set…
(above) After the drawer guides (these are rated at 300#) are positioned, a pilot hole is drilled at the front and back screw mounting holes, then with a spade bit a shallow counter sunk hole is spun…
I’m using T-nuts on all the drawers in this build…They will resist movement significantly more than using wood screws…For heavy duty guides like these, it’s important… I’ll also add some wood screws later, but the T-Nuts are the fail-safe way to go…
(above) Sometimes shimming of a drawer guide is needed… I cut some squares of 1/8” and 1/16” plywood and P-Lam for shims…Once I establish how much shimming is needed, I use pressure sensitive adhesive tape to keep the shims attached to the drawer guide…The drawers are being installed accurately, but will be removed later for more finishing, so the shims on the guides help to keep the right shim in the right place…Confusion eliminated…
(above) Guide, shims, cabinet side…
(above) Now both guides are installed…
I make sure the case is on a flat surface and a 40# weight is placed on the top of the cabinet…Load it down as if it was installed…
(above) To set the drawer I do it this way: I put a piece of scrap plywood that is the thickness of the bottom plywood of the case in front of the case… Next a piece of 1/4” ply (the space needed between the case and the drawer) is placed on the cabinet bottom and the scrap piece in front…
(above) The drawer is placed between the guides and held pretty far back in the case… Deep enough to still have access to the front holes on the guides…I use a wood screw to set the guide to the drawer…
See the blue thing in the drawer… It is a 10# weight that is put in there to hold the drawer down flat …Sometimes plywood will flex enough to tweak the drawer… Little things like weighing the drawer make a difference in accuracy...
(above) The drawer is now extended, the weight is at the back and pilot holes are drilled for the rear screws…
(above) T-Nuts are hammered in place on the inside the drawer…
(above) Next machine screws are threaded into the T-nuts…These stainless steel screws have a lower head than regular steel, so I prefer them…
(above) The Potra-Potti fitted and checked for placement…
(If Mike wants to carry extra passengers in the rear, this is now an option…JOKING…)
(above) The Porta-Potti flares out so I’ll need to add a piece of 1/2” ply before I make the drawer face…I’ll also need to reposition the T-nuts…This is why test fitting is important…
(above) Fast forward to the drawer guides for the fridge… Installed… This set is rated at 150#…
(above) No flare out on the front of this one… Installation is fine…
(above) The power cord is loosely positioned…
(above) Pulled out and checked for clearances and butter-like movement… Bingo...
(above) With those two pull-outs 99% done, the case is put back in the Jeep and checked for fit… I do that a lot… In, measured and marked, out, cuts made, back in…
The shower floor cut-out is fine… I’ll need to add 1/2” spacers to lift the cabinet to have the teak floor work out …
(above) The excess fiberglass subfloor has been cut away… It’s good now…
(above) A scrap is put in the floor access hatch…
(above) Back in the shop, the guides for the driver side case are installed the same way as I showed before…
(above) Rock solid install…
(above) Both cases in place… Checking the depth extension of the drawers…Pretty much as planned… Not ready to install yet… Still a lot to do on them before that day is here…
(above) Plenty of clearance here too… I love it when a plan comes together…
(above) I cut and threw in a scrap floor cover… That changes how it feels in here… Ohhh, how that teak will look…!!!…
(above) Back to the propane locker…The pressure regulator / twin tank switch has to get in there, so I cut away the flat side of the locker and made the plywood box to mount the reg…
This build-out is more than anything, using every available inch and fraction of an in that is possible…Building in place, then modifying is pretty much the only way to gain this kind of space… Think about it: Twin tanks, a dual tank regulator and hoses, fit in there…???…!!!… There is not an extra 1/8” of space wasted…
I love this kind of work…!!!…
(above) The regulator box… I had to get a couple of elbows to get the guages to read from the face…They came as top-read…
The brass elbow at the bottom is where the gas line will exit (air tight) to the wheel-well, where the hose to the stove and heater will connect…
I’m glad that is resolved…FIGJAM...Tomorrow it gets installed…
See you then…
Last edited:
mhiscox
Expedition Leader
It's taking some time and money, and a LOT of talent, to get this EarthRoamer Jeep remodeled to be as good as it can be. But if you're wondering if it's worth it, think which of these two storage solutions you'd prefer to deal with on a daily basis.
As delivered:
Now:
Things seem to be turning out pretty well, especially given the 25 square feet of available floor space.
As delivered:
Now:
Things seem to be turning out pretty well, especially given the 25 square feet of available floor space.
ersatzknarf
lost, but making time
:iagree:
This is so fantastic. It is a huge help ! ! !
Wish I lived closer to Paul . . .
Guess I will have to try this on my own, but then that's going to be a lot of fun, too.
Amazing and timely thread. Thanks, Mike and Paul
Ford Prefect
Expedition Leader
Looking brilliant!
I always kinda liked the soft cube storage idea- I thought it would be convenient to pack and unpack the cubes and then transfer to the vehicle. Sorry to hear that it didn't work well in practice.
mhiscox
Expedition Leader
Yep, that's the big advantage for stuff that was coming and going. But the the problem was that any given bag didn't hold much, and whereas the drawer can be readily subdivided into sections, with various holders, etc., the Kelty bags ended up with everything just mashed together. Plus you had to pull them out, set them on some flat surface, unzip them, get your thing, zip them and put them back. It got to be kind of a nuisance. When I first saw them, I, too, thought they were pretty trick, but using them was a pain.
Of course, it didn't help any that a hard right turn made them all fly off the shelves onto the floor. :sombrero: