Promaster Weekender Build

[jmp81sc]

Hello,
Been lurking for some time and decided to post my build. This site was invaluable to my build.

As you can tell I am not a carpenter, pretty rough but functional. Broke it in on some rough roads in Baja and no problems. This is basically a warm weather build, not too much insulation. I live in Southern California and don't camp in snow.

159" high top Promaster, 150 watt solar, 100 amp hour AGM battery, Indel B TF51 refrigerator, LED lights, Fantastic Fan, Motion Windows, Sienna Seat on Swivel. No water system or toilet.

Bed across the back with storage below, couch/bed behind the driver side with storage below, battery behind drivers seat, Stove and fridge on passenger side.

I used cheap fake wood paneling from Lowes with 1/2 inch foil backed denim insulation. The floor is floating with 1/4 inch plywood, 1/2" rubber cushion mat, and Lowes golf cart mat on top.

Spent 12 days off grid in Baja this winter and was perfect for my needs. I wanted an open feel so kept everything below the windows. I mostly cook outside on a Coleman stove.

Still to do: Curtains, exterior flood lights, screen door, shade awning, LED strip lights with dimmer, finish trimming out interior.

I really wanted 4X4 or AWD but couldn't justify the cost of the Sprinter 4X4 or Sportsmobile, and have been getting to most places I want to go for the last 15 years in 2WD vehicles. My last vehicle was an Astrovan and I really liked having a van over a pickup with a camper.

I'm only into this for about $33K all in, and so far it has exceeded my expectations.

Again Thanks for all the info on this site from all to the other members.
John

 

[Huffy]

Looks Great, any bathroom facilities?

 

[homemade]

That looks excellent, great job. Did you install the windows yourself and where did you get them?

 

[haven]

Is the passenger seat from a Toyota van? Looks comfortable. Let us know how the FWD van did on Baja backroads and beaches.

 

[borison]

Looks great, very functional.

 

[jmp81sc]

No bathroom facilities, but it would not be hard to design a porta potty where I put the battery behind the drivers seat.

I did install the windows myself, I just went online and watched videos. I got them from Motion Windows out of Seattle. It was not that hard to do but I went very slowly and measured everything twice.

The seat is out of a Toyota Sienna minivan. Really comfortable and reclines nicely. There is a thread on them here at Expedition Portal. I have another one that I am going to put on the drivers side as a future project. That was a kind of time consuming project actually, but I am kind of slow at fabrication. I spend alot of time measuring and figuring out what I want to do.

I took it on some very rough roads in Baja, but firm, no silt or sand. One particular road has large rocks that I bottomed out on if I was not careful in an Astro Van, but had no issues with the Promaster. I would like to experiment with tire pressure on sand with another 4x4 vehicle around in case I get stuck. I have seen locals with 2wd trucks going on very soft sand.