Hodakaguy's 4x4 Sprinter Build
- Thread starter Hodakaguy
- Start date
Hodakaguy
Adventurer
Sun is out...time for some more progress.
Yesterday I snagged a RoamBuilt aluminum rear ladder, now to get it installed.
I like the Roambuilt rear ladder since it has the double hoops and wide steps, it makes the ladder super secure to climb....even in sandals
. I also like how the ladder is out away from the van a bit, keeps toes from scratching up the paint when going up and down the ladder and gives a better footprint.
First up...remove the door panels. I needed to remove these anyways to finish installing insulation in the doors.
I applied some painters tape to the door to keep if from getting scratched up while fitting the ladder. I held the door in place and drilled the upper center hole first then pinned it with a bolt, then aligned and did the same thing on the bottom. Then marked and drilled the remaining holes.
Test fitting to make sure the bolts all fit correctly....Check
Deburring the holes.
I didn't get any pictures but I did apply primer and paint on the holes. After the paint was dry it's time to mount up the ladder.
I used some Sikaflex 221 to ensure a waterproof seal at the door. The ladder came with some gaskets pre-cut and I used the Sikaflex as well for extra measure.
Here's a shot of the aluminum backing plates installed in the doors. I used Sikaflex on these as well.
And installed. Love the looks of this setup.....now to get my roof rack so I have something to climb up to lol.
Continued Below...
Hodakaguy
Yesterday I snagged a RoamBuilt aluminum rear ladder, now to get it installed.
I like the Roambuilt rear ladder since it has the double hoops and wide steps, it makes the ladder super secure to climb....even in sandals
. I also like how the ladder is out away from the van a bit, keeps toes from scratching up the paint when going up and down the ladder and gives a better footprint.
First up...remove the door panels. I needed to remove these anyways to finish installing insulation in the doors.
I applied some painters tape to the door to keep if from getting scratched up while fitting the ladder. I held the door in place and drilled the upper center hole first then pinned it with a bolt, then aligned and did the same thing on the bottom. Then marked and drilled the remaining holes.
Test fitting to make sure the bolts all fit correctly....Check
Deburring the holes.
I didn't get any pictures but I did apply primer and paint on the holes. After the paint was dry it's time to mount up the ladder.
I used some Sikaflex 221 to ensure a waterproof seal at the door. The ladder came with some gaskets pre-cut and I used the Sikaflex as well for extra measure.
Here's a shot of the aluminum backing plates installed in the doors. I used Sikaflex on these as well.
And installed. Love the looks of this setup.....now to get my roof rack so I have something to climb up to lol.
Continued Below...
Hodakaguy
Hodakaguy
Adventurer
Continued from above....
Switches.....
I'll be installing these switches in the ceiling to control the LED lighting, they will allow me to turn the lights off, work with the door switches on the starting battery or use them while camping off the house battery. Now to make some adapter plates so I can attach them to the ceiling.
A sheer made quick work out of knocking out some aluminum squares.
Also used the CNC plasma table to cut out a plate for my fridge power port and cig plug outlet.
Parts.....
Now to finish up the switch plates. I still have to paint them before they are ready to install.
Powerlet and Blue Sea Cig Plugs.
More to come...
Hodakaguy
Switches.....
I'll be installing these switches in the ceiling to control the LED lighting, they will allow me to turn the lights off, work with the door switches on the starting battery or use them while camping off the house battery. Now to make some adapter plates so I can attach them to the ceiling.
A sheer made quick work out of knocking out some aluminum squares.
Also used the CNC plasma table to cut out a plate for my fridge power port and cig plug outlet.
Parts.....
Now to finish up the switch plates. I still have to paint them before they are ready to install.
Powerlet and Blue Sea Cig Plugs.
More to come...
Hodakaguy
Hodakaguy
Adventurer
Up early this morning and back at it.
Time to fabricate the remaining two dome light switch panels. It's pretty easy to change the square piece of aluminum into a finished panel. First up mark out the location you need to cut out for the switch and put the piece in the vice.
Using a drill I made 4 holes in each corner of the inside of the cutout area.
Now I used a jig saw to cut out the center area and follow the lines until I have a square.
Now use a washer to mark out the curve for the corners.
Then use the disk sander to make quick work of rounding the corners down to the marked line.
Now just drill the mounting holes, sand the piece and paint.
This is the power panel I'll use to power the fridge plus whatever else we need to plug in. I'll use a Powerlet port for the fridge instead of a US cig plug. The Powerlet is awesome as it snaps in when you plug something into the port and you don't have to worry about the fridge coming unplugged like a US cig plug when bouncing down a gravel road for miles on end.
For the 3 way dome light switch I'm using a double pole double throw switch. I was asked how I will wire the dome lights from two separate power sources so here's a quick sketch using these switches. The switches will allow each section of ceiling lights to be either: OFF, operated via the door from the starting battery or manually operated from the house battery. I like options.
Continued Below...
Hodakaguy
Time to fabricate the remaining two dome light switch panels. It's pretty easy to change the square piece of aluminum into a finished panel. First up mark out the location you need to cut out for the switch and put the piece in the vice.
Using a drill I made 4 holes in each corner of the inside of the cutout area.
Now I used a jig saw to cut out the center area and follow the lines until I have a square.
Now use a washer to mark out the curve for the corners.
Then use the disk sander to make quick work of rounding the corners down to the marked line.
Now just drill the mounting holes, sand the piece and paint.
This is the power panel I'll use to power the fridge plus whatever else we need to plug in. I'll use a Powerlet port for the fridge instead of a US cig plug. The Powerlet is awesome as it snaps in when you plug something into the port and you don't have to worry about the fridge coming unplugged like a US cig plug when bouncing down a gravel road for miles on end.
For the 3 way dome light switch I'm using a double pole double throw switch. I was asked how I will wire the dome lights from two separate power sources so here's a quick sketch using these switches. The switches will allow each section of ceiling lights to be either: OFF, operated via the door from the starting battery or manually operated from the house battery. I like options
.
Continued Below...
Hodakaguy
Hodakaguy
Adventurer
Continued from above....
Back to insulation work. Cutting more 3M Thinsulate. A good pair of sharp serrated scissors is a must here to get a clean cut on the insulation, forget trying to use an razor knife etc.
Hodakawife doing an awesome job insulating the rear doors.
Can't tell it here but she worked insulation up inside all of the nooks and crannys.
Last year at the Adventure Van expo is Oregon (not overland expo as it says in the pic) my son came back to the van from visiting a vendor and had this piece of Thinsulate with him that the vendor had given him, he said it was to help with the buil . I saved it and it's time to give it a home in the drivers rear door. He was pretty happy today to see it getting installed.
I'm going to re-use the lower plastic factory panels so they went right back on. I'll have matching custom panels for the upper parts of the doors.
When removing the door go very slow and use a propper panel removing tool so you don't break any clips or the panel itself. Here's a shot of the back side of the panel so you can see where all the clips are located.
And back on the van.
Fishing the insulation In behind the L-track.
Cleaning up the factory wiring and making sure it will sit behind the wood strip when the panels go up. Adding a bit of loom here and there to ensure no chaffing points.
More to come....
Hodakaguy
Back to insulation work. Cutting more 3M Thinsulate. A good pair of sharp serrated scissors is a must here to get a clean cut on the insulation, forget trying to use an razor knife etc.
Hodakawife doing an awesome job insulating the rear doors.
Can't tell it here but she worked insulation up inside all of the nooks and crannys.
Last year at the Adventure Van expo is Oregon (not overland expo as it says in the pic) my son came back to the van from visiting a vendor and had this piece of Thinsulate with him that the vendor had given him, he said it was to help with the buil . I saved it and it's time to give it a home in the drivers rear door
. He was pretty happy today to see it getting installed.
I'm going to re-use the lower plastic factory panels so they went right back on. I'll have matching custom panels for the upper parts of the doors.
When removing the door go very slow and use a propper panel removing tool so you don't break any clips or the panel itself. Here's a shot of the back side of the panel so you can see where all the clips are located.
And back on the van.
Fishing the insulation In behind the L-track.
Cleaning up the factory wiring and making sure it will sit behind the wood strip when the panels go up. Adding a bit of loom here and there to ensure no chaffing points.
More to come....
Hodakaguy
Sun is out...time for some more progress.
Yesterday I snagged a RoamBuilt aluminum rear ladder, now to get it installed.
I like the Roambuilt rear ladder since it has the double hoops and wide steps, it makes the ladder super secure to climb....even in sandals
First up...remove the door panels. I needed to remove these anyways to finish installing insulation in the doors.
I applied some painters tape to the door to keep if from getting scratched up while fitting the ladder. I held the door in place and drilled the upper center hole first then pinned it with a bolt, then aligned and did the same thing on the bottom. Then marked and drilled the remaining holes.
Test fitting to make sure the bolts all fit correctly....Check
Deburring the holes.
I didn't get any pictures but I did apply primer and paint on the holes. After the paint was dry it's time to mount up the ladder.
I used some Sikaflex 221 to ensure a waterproof seal at the door. The ladder came with some gaskets pre-cut and I used the Sikaflex as well for extra measure.
Here's a shot of the aluminum backing plates installed in the doors. I used Sikaflex on these as well.
And installed. Love the looks of this setup.....now to get my roof rack so I have something to climb up to lol.
Continued Below...
Hodakaguy
Thanks for not putting the ladder on the side of the van. To these days it still does not make sense to me why people are doing that - worst fuel economy, increased wind noise and increased risk of hitting something.
Hodakaguy
Adventurer
Yeah fear of snagging something on the ladder and having feet scratch up the paint since the ladder is close to the body was two of my big reasons to want the ladder on the rear. Wind noise was also a concern but the giant roof rack I'll be placing up on top will make up for the wind noise I'm sure lol.
Hodakaguy
Farfrumwork
Well-known member
Our insulation looks very similar, except in a low top. Thinsulate is great to work with.
We 'sign our work' in hidden places behind panels in our van (our names and year the work was done), which looks a lot like your donated Thinsulate piece - This is all around our house as well.
We 'sign our work' in hidden places behind panels in our van (our names and year the work was done), which looks a lot like your donated Thinsulate piece - This is all around our house as well.
Hodakaguy
Adventurer
Me to! I don't own that one but have access to it, would be awesome to have that along with a brake and sheer at home.
Hodakaguy
Hodakaguy
Adventurer
Stickers baby!...In case anyone wants a shot of my ugly mug on their vehicle Etc. Lol. My buddy wants me to start a "I spotted Hodakaguy" setup where people tag me with a pic when a sticker is spotted in the wild. I've had several requests for these so figured it was time to get the ball rolling and have some made
Now when I travel I can leave my mark
Hodakaguy
Now when I travel I can leave my mark
Hodakaguy
Pinnacle Campers
Chateau spotter
Ha, I never believed that was really you in the avatar....
While I'm posting, after doing a couple vans full of Thinsulate, I cant imagine using shears to cut it all. How about a rotary cutter? Less manual labor.
Also, rather than recessing the heads of the plus nuts in the L track I would recommend closed cell foam between the two (regardless). It will help keep the moisture from condensing on the L tracks and freezing only to drip later. Definitely need a thermal break here.
Great build details, awesome stuff!
While I'm posting, after doing a couple vans full of Thinsulate, I cant imagine using shears to cut it all. How about a rotary cutter? Less manual labor.
Also, rather than recessing the heads of the plus nuts in the L track I would recommend closed cell foam between the two (regardless). It will help keep the moisture from condensing on the L tracks and freezing only to drip later. Definitely need a thermal break here.
Great build details, awesome stuff!
Hodakaguy
Adventurer
Yeah I get people all the time saying man you don't look like your avatar....I just say " Well I shaved sooooooo..." lol. That was a fun halloween dressing up for the avatar pic
I wanted the L-track tight against the metal for strength and rigidity. I thought about applying the rubber seal that snaps into the L-track and could possibly put a strip of insulation inside the L-track under the rubber strip to help reduce condensation. Hodakaguy
Hodakaguy
Adventurer
Collecting parts.....
Received the Sprinters LED lighting, 6 Baja Designs LP9 Lights.......Going to be like having my own sun with me! I'll be running 4 of the Pro Spot's and 2 of the Racer editions. Gonna have to run some good wire, these babies will pull 55 amps!
I have this mystery box on it's way to me now.....maybe the lights will be mounted here? We shall see
Next up...go snag my van back. My buddy Mike at VanLab cut my interior panels on his CNC machine and covered them for me in automotive tweed, the van has been living at Mikes for the past few days. while Mike performed his magic. For the fabric I chose a dark grey automotive tweed that matches the factory plastic and a lighter tan color that matches the body paint for the ceiling, makes a great two tone look. Since our van is a passenger model we are able to re-use the oem plastic window trim for a nice factory look. Mike does great work, if your needing any van interior work done I would highly recommend VanLab.
Van loaded with panels.
Panels loaded up and another 20' of Thinsulate ready to go into the ceiling soon.
A few pics of the interior as Mike was fitting it up...these shots are with the panels just loose and not set in place yet.
Mikes CNC router where the magic happens -)
Continued Below.....
Hodakaguy
Received the Sprinters LED lighting, 6 Baja Designs LP9 Lights.......Going to be like having my own sun with me! I'll be running 4 of the Pro Spot's and 2 of the Racer editions. Gonna have to run some good wire, these babies will pull 55 amps!
I have this mystery box on it's way to me now.....maybe the lights will be mounted here? We shall see
Next up...go snag my van back
. My buddy Mike at VanLab cut my interior panels on his CNC machine and covered them for me in automotive tweed, the van has been living at Mikes for the past few days. while Mike performed his magic. For the fabric I chose a dark grey automotive tweed that matches the factory plastic and a lighter tan color that matches the body paint for the ceiling, makes a great two tone look. Since our van is a passenger model we are able to re-use the oem plastic window trim for a nice factory look. Mike does great work, if your needing any van interior work done I would highly recommend VanLab. Van loaded with panels.
Panels loaded up and another 20' of Thinsulate ready to go into the ceiling soon.
A few pics of the interior as Mike was fitting it up...these shots are with the panels just loose and not set in place yet.
Mikes CNC router where the magic happens -)
Continued Below.....
Hodakaguy