How do you do it?

[VANquisher]

Hey All,

I'm new to the forum, and have been drooling over all of the awesome van builds here for a little while now. What I want to know is - How do you do it?

As I've sit here drooling, saving up money, and trying to find the perfect van, I have been considering how I am going to convert that van into my dream van.

I am aware that I could just save up a huge chunk of money, write a check, and drop the van off at SMB for a conversion, but that doesn't seem ideal to me -and not just because it seems like the most expensive route.

I want to get my hands dirty. I want to work on the conversion myself. The trouble is, I don't even know where to start. Aside from replacing the water pump and radiator in my '92 4runner, and a couple oil changes, I don't know anything about cars. I know even less about trying to convert the interior into comfortable living quarters.

Do you guys have any pro-tips, resources, words of encouragement, or stories for a guy that wants to embark on a van conversion, but doesn't know where to start?

And if you see any good deals on an '06 E350 Extended 6.0 Diesel Cargo Van or similar, let me know

 

[ujoint]

1st off, welcome to ExPo!!!

2nd, if you want to complete a 4x4 swap yourself, check out my site & watch the videos. (I have 2 more that we just shot, hope to upload in a week or two)

Good luck on the van search! The right van can be hard to find, so take your time & get what you want.

 

[VANquisher]

Hey Chris!

I think I have read every word on your website! I have even gone so far as to email you and ask a couple questions - one involving swivel seats.

I do want to do the 4x4 conversion, and I do want to use a U-Joint kit to do it. But that sounds like a huge undertaking. Any tips on things I can do to learn/prepare for it, while I'm still socking away money and looking for the van?

Even the axle swap seems beyond my capabilities (where does one learn to weld?), and that sounds like the easiest part!

 

[Herbie]

Hopefully this will address your general topic and a few of your specific questions as well:

The short answer, is to "jump in", and tackle one problem at a time. Do your homework and become as much of an expert as you need to be to tackle the NEXT thing. The better answer is to become an obsessive planner, and build as many things "virtually" first. I have a Moleskine notebook full of notes, sketches, measurements, etc. for my van conversion project. I started researching camper options in early 2009. I didn't buy my van until September of that year, but by that time I had already planned a good portion of the build. At each stage I refine the "sketches" into drawings, and then those into building. I've definitely made a few mistakes and had a few "surprises" that forced a design change, either major or minor, but by and large the project is coming along more or less as-planned.

As for getting the skills, like I said, tackle one thing at a time and learn the skills you need to tackle the next thing, wherever practical, then farm out anything else. Personally, I'm self taught on most of this stuff - I'm an EE by trade, but I got involved building "Battlebots" back in the late '90's and had to teach myself everything else involved in building robots. I learned to weld by taking a class at my college's craft center - this was a great intro without being as expensive as a "Certified Welder" class would have been. I learned machining by reading books and begging/bartering for time on other people's machines.

When it came to my recent pop-top transplant, I wasn't sure which skills I would need to make it happen, but everything I've done up 'till now had given me the courage to risk some money and give it a go.

 

[dwh]

A) You gotta have tools.
B) You gotta know how to use them.

There's just no shortcut around that. What you are dealing with is a vehicle, and some cabinetry, with a bit of plumbing and electrical thrown in.

You can learn the vehicle stuff by buying the service manual, study it, and start wrenching. After busting your knuckles about a thousand times, and breaking off a few bolts by pulling on the wrench too hard - you'll start to get the feel of it.

For the cabinetry stuff you can get a book at the DIY store. Draw a plan, buy a saw and cut some plywood up and then put it back together in the shape of something. You might start by making a chest of drawers.


As for welding, like anything else it takes practice. The difference is if you screw up your engine tune up or your galley cabinet, no biggie. If you screw up welding up a rear bumper and your spare tire falls off...ah well...what the hell. Live and learn.

If you screw up welding on a vehicle suspension - it can kill you. And whoever is riding with you. Or even worse, it kills them and not you and you have to live with it.

I'm a halfway decent welder and have even worked as a welder for a gate company. But I sure as hell am not a certified welder and there is no way you could get me to weld on a vehicle suspension (or frame) unless it was an emergency field repair intended only for slow speed and a short distance. And even then I'd try to get out of it and find someone more competent to do it.

 

[dsw4x4]

Welcome to the forum,
Everyone has seem to give you very good advice I too am self taught jump in feet first when your stumped use the forum and any local resources, friends, family etc to help you out. Taking a welding class will put your skill set light years ahead of self teaching yourself and build your confidence tremendously read a lot and ask a ton of question and eventually you will finish your project.
Good luck
Derek

 

[biere]

Do you have a vehicle now?

I started in high school with just changing my oil in my hand me down vehicle from the family.

When it needed a tune up a friend gave me a hand and some pointers and I did the work.

Rotate your own tires and while doing the work take a look at things.

The manuals someone mentioned above are a good point since they will often have a tips section for checking some odds and ends.

As always the net is amazing and I am old enough it was not around when I had my high school vehicle.

For whatever reason I keep wandering back to vans and I am currently searching for an older one ton cargo van.

It may not be worth converting to 4x4 but it will see some odds and ends uses and some mods and just be something I can mess with since it will be a 2nd vehicle.

I find that planning on paper is nice but I need a hard shell to work with and that hard shell shows me my limits.

Some people plan out their build with some masking tape on the floor of a room and start trying to organize things in that space they made.

I can do that for rough ideas but I really need a van body to teach my stubborn head what is going to work and what is not going to work.

I don't plan to build anything super duper amazing and what I do build will be stuff I can remove so the van can be a cargo van anyway.

So while I love my jeep and its 4x4 system and what not a one ton cargo van is on my list to find soon and I figure a locker in the rear axle will get me a decent start on playing with the van and seeing what happens when it is in dusty and muddy environments.

I plan to learn some basic welding this year and already have a torch setup for heating up rusty stuff or just cutting stuff up.

But I don't plan to weld any suspension 4x4 stuff up myself for a darn long time if ever.

I figure I can find someone somewhere who will do the welding and is a certified welder. They might have a shop or a mobile truck.

Some of the guys who have a truck and repair big rigs have a setup that would let them show up in my driveway and get the job done.

I don't expect it to be cheap but I know I am willing to pay someone to do that part right.

Everyone has limits. You have to learn what yours are.

And once I learned what my limits were I got some more skills and education from the school of hard knocks and pushed my limits out a bit further.

Everyone has to start somewhere.

Ask around and see who is working on their car this weekend and ask if they could use a hand while you soak up a bit of knowledge for free.

 

[T.Low]

Dude, I totally understand where you are coming from. Until recently I always thought that spark plugs were to plug the holes so the sparks didn' get out.:ylsmoke:


Seriously though, I'm not a gifted mechanic or carpenter by any means. I can shoot jump shots right or left handed from anywhere on the court, am a natural playmaker on the court or on the ice, had 4.6 40 yd dash speed, can hit anybody's fast ball, can eskimo roll a kayak 12 different ways, and actually convinced a couple of Canadians that the Canadian hour has fewer American minutes in it than an American hour ( of course a bonfire and a few wobbly pops were involved).


But when it comes to how things work, I struggle to comprehend and my wrench skills are awful. I have good ideas but it takes me a long time to figure out how to implement them. I can wheelie my enduro thru all 5 gears but I perform the sloppiest oil changes out of anyone I know.

My approach is to start with the idea that it is all a fixed amount of knowledge that can be learned. Like others have said, do your research, choose your projects . I takes me a long time, but one way or another I get there. Somehow I managed to do successful motor swaps by myself etc. It can be done.

And you will be suprised; when people see you making an effort creating something like 4x4 camper van, the enthusiasm can be contagious and offers to help are not uncommon.

Some of my favorite links I found while researching van builds:
http://www.sportsmobileforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=1405
http://www.vonslatt.com/bus-main.shtml

You go the kajonies to actually ask how to do it, then you got the kajonies to actually get out there and get after it. Have fun and keep us posted.

 

[dwh]

I can wheelie my enduro thru all 5 gears but I perform the sloppiest oil changes out of anyone I know.

I totally feel you on this one. I'm the same way with paint. I have read how it's done. I have followed he instructions exactly step by step. I have PRACTICED DAMMIT! For years!

And still...anything I paint comes out looking like total crap.

(I can however, hang wallpaper better than most pros. Don't ask.)

 

[VANquisher]

Thanks for all the advice! It's encouraging to know that a lot of you guys are self taught. While I continue to shop for my van, I plan to jump in and do as much maintenance as I can on my 4runner myself. Lord knows it needs the maintenance, and hopefully I'll learn a bit in the process.

I've never purchased a used car before, so I'm hoping you guys can share some of your infinite wisdom. I found a 2003 7.3 E350 with 117k miles. They are asking 8k. Does that sound like a good deal? The main drawback I could see in the pics (haven't seen it in person yet, it's a day trip to go see it) was that it was a painter's van and has paint splotches on the interior. Will that clean up, or will everything need to be replaced/resurfaced?

Thanks!

 

[ujoint]

I found a 2003 7.3 E350 with 117k miles. They are asking 8k. Does that sound like a good deal?

Yes. It will disappear quickly!