Skills to build my own expedition vehicle??

[billiebob]

1) Those who have built your own rigs, what skills did you have? Metal fabrication, CAD, woodworking?
2) What skills you wish you had?

Planning, meticulous planning, the ability to see the result of that plan, and experience making mistakes.
Henry Fords Model T was the result of failures with A,B,C.D.... E,F,G...... after the Model T success he started over at Model A again.
Perseverance..... you will not get it right the first time.

Sketching, ability to focus on the goal, solve problems, figure solutions,
BUDGET !! nothing kills an idea faster than escalating costs.....
and a pissed off wife.



And nothing wrong with walking into a fabrication shop or cabinet making shop with a complete, detailed, accurate set of plans and letting them build it. I do not weld, but every project I do needs a welder, I hire a journeyman welder to do it everytime.

I have a grinder and chop saw, I will cut and fit the steel together but finding a welder who has more skill than me plus all the tools, welding bench, safety stuff and skill to do it professionally is way cheaper than me doing it in my driveway.

Wood working is kind of a passion so I do that and have the tools because that is my vocation too. But first you need to see the plan. Without that vision and ability to set it to paper you might get real frustrated, and divorced.

Where it all starts...

 

[jgaz]

You have gotten some incredible advice from some REALLY bright accomplished adventurers ( some of them owning many adventure vehicles over many years, building GREAT rigs and spending $$$$$$$ doing it).

Here is my advice to you... CHILL PUNK ******** KID and start making mistakes!!!

Buy yourself a Skilsaw, a screw gun, a plate of plywood, half a dozen/ ten 2"x4" sticks... And KNOCK OUT the interior of YOUR RIG in a weekend!!! I am not kidding you! What is your sport? When I was your age it was HARDCORE Mt. bike adventuring and kayak surfing. Almost every weekend I was with a girlfriend and fellow RADS down in Northern Baja pioneering trails (lot of hidden hot springs down there) or surfing point breaks that I won't name. So I needed space for my "hardware". Look at the space you need for your toys, and work around it! If the bed needs to be smaller... It just means that your girli girl needs to snuggle tighter! Win/ Win!

But here is the most IMPORTANT thing! Your "sweetheart"!

Girls like to be warm!
Girls like to be able to be out of the wind.
Girls like to be able to be out of the direct sunlight (sometimes not).
Girls like to be able to sleep on a soft LEVEL surface.

And most important...

A girl NEEDS to be able to "pottie" indoors in a private place anytime 24/7!!!!

So now take this information from me and the others (especially about using CAD: Cardboard Aided Design ), and start making your own mistakes!!!

FYI: My main rig Casa Azul was first set up by me when you were 2 years old! I've remodeled her 10 times so far and am starting the most aggressive remodel yet (and still making mistakes)! Thus, its the adventure/ process rather than the ultimate goal or destination!

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Great advice all around, especially keeping the ladies happy.
I love the vehicle? roof section grafted onto the camper roof.

In 1976 a couple buddies and I fitted an Olds Vista Cruiser station wagon roof section onto a Dodge van.
Id give a lot to have a picture of it again right now.

Edit: Looked at your .com site, that’s a whole front clip and roof grafted on! Impressive.

 

[hg1027]

Another vote for "start building SOMETHING."

Do you have any tools yet? Build something with those tools.

Pick some part you want to build/customize.

Do you have any experience building things? If not, maybe start with detailed plans. They might cost money. It is worth it because someone has figured out things you didn't even know would be an issue.

If you do have some experience with some certain tools, maybe stick with that for now so it's not a whole new learning curve.

Drawers in the back. Get some cardboard. Cut it to fit. Glue bits back on where they didn't fit. Make sure you left space for screws. Cut it out of wood. Figure out where you messed up because wood is thicker than cardboard. Realize that you didn't need to use 3/4" thick plywood. It will look better with carpet/paint, but that won't hide all your mistakes.

Bumper for winch/hooks/swing out. Same as above but metal and probably more expensive (but you get free vans so maybe money isn't an issue).

If you build something, take a lot of pics as you go and post them here. People seem to be friendly.

Do you have a personal attention to detail, and enough of a perfectionist in you do something the right way, even if it takes 5x as long? That's my biggest challenge. I know I should make sure everything is square plumb and true before during and after each cut on the table saw and as I'm gluing and screwing, but sometimes it's 11pm and I have work at 5am. If I slow down, I can do half decent joinery, but I usually don't slow down.

 

[hg1027]

Also, if you don't have any power tools yet, find someone to coach you on safety. Rockler and woodcraft used to have weekend classes, maybe still do with covid precautions in place. Sign up for whatever they have, even if you don't need a birdhouse or a patio table. Buy tools with safety features built in. Tablesaw should be a sawstop, there are grinders and circular saws with kickback protection. Wear a face shield and hearing protection.

If you're single and live alone, maybe do your work where the neighbors will see you if you get hurt. I've put my finger in my dads tablesaw (mom drove me to the hospital) and taken a grinder to the forehead (walked in and calmly asked my wife how bad it was, and she calmly said "get the heck in the car I'm taking you to the urgent care so they can pick that schmutz out of your idiot head").

I'm sure I could have handled it my self, but knowing there's someone who will come poke my bleeding self with a stick and render aid is comforting.

 

[Treenail]

There is CAD and then there is The Other CAD...Cardboard Aided Design. Blue tape is wonderful too.

Planning storage logistics is important. You'll likely have a fold-out bed. You don't want to fold out on top of something that you need during bed time.

After cardboard you could dummy together some stuff with plywood cutoffs. Marketplace and Freecycle are treasure troves of materials.

take LOTS of pictures

 

[NatersXJ6]

Take LOTS of interior measurements before you start! All of us that build have made the mistake of measuring only one or two places and then discovering that the wall, frame, base, whatever ... had variability or wasn’t square and level... cars are not as uniform and perfect as you might think.

 

[gatorgrizz27]

My $0.02 as someone who has been a mechanic, woodworker, fabricator, and welder in a professional capacity at some point or another.

#1. Don’t overcomplicate things. It’s easy to go down a rabbit hole of “ this would be so cool” like cabinet doors with the edges scribed the the interior, all wiring completely hidden, no visible fasters, etc. Then you realize not only does it turn a weekend project into a month long one, but it makes it a pain to work on anything once you actually get it done, rather than just building a square box secured with tie downs, and scribed panels to finish everything off that just lift up and give you access to all the wiring when something corrodes or vibrates loose.

#2. Don’t get waaaaay over your head. It’s fine to be ambitious and push yourself as almost everything will be new to you, but don’t attempt something like building a lift kit or winch bumper that will leave you with an undriveable vehicle when you can’t get it done.

#3. Try to keep your stuff as independent from the vehicle as possible. If you run one large power lead back to a fuse block with switches, you’ll have less issues, as well as be able to swap everything over to another platform than if you hack and splice into everything.

#4. You’ll find a bunch of stuff you want to change after you use it, and your skills will develop very rapidly, so don’t sweat perfection the first go around. You’ll be able to do a much better job in the future and there’s no point in having a perfect paint job, etc, on something you’ll rip out in a month.

#5. Seems contrary to #4, but take the time to do things right. Don’t hack something together just to get it done, or your skills won’t grow and you won’t be happy with the product. You should use some discernment as to where projects fall.

Tools are a combination of #’s 4 & 5. Buy the best you can afford for general purpose tools. Skilsaw, drills, welder, etc. They will last you and be versatile for many other projects. For specialty tools that will get used once or twice, buy cheap or rent/borrow. There’s no point in spending $500 on a tubing notcher to build a simple light bar that you could do with an angle grinder and an extra hour.

 

[billiebob]

My number one tool is an old, 1978 Craftsman Radial Arm Saw. It does everything a Mitre Saw and Table Saw do but better.
42years later I still use it daily for work.

But ultimately, yes CAD, Cardboard Aided Design I have been using since Grade School.

 

[NatersXJ6]

VERY WELL SAID Gatgrizz27!!!

Let me add:

#6. Know what you don't!
High amperage wiring done wrong and bad propane or vehicle fuel plumbing can BURN your vehicle to the ground! Once those kind of fires start "there is a snowballs chance in hell" you will be able to save your rig! Oh, and these kind of disasters don't happen in your driveway! They usually are after you have spent the last 6 hours driving "studder bump" double track out DEEP into BFE!
Another side of the equation:
Sometimes its just best to hire the "big guns"! I have owned an industrial design/ product development/ precision manufacturing company for 41 years... And honestly, I can't weld a good seam... IF MY LIFE DEPENDED ON IT!!! But my clients in the medical, aerospace, military, AG, and cycling industries depend on it! So what do I do? Buy the best equipment, hire the best and brightest welders, pay them well, and make the best fixturing for them, and most important... Be the best setup boy they ever had (setup: material cut/ mitered material, DEBURRED, cleaned, and fitted into the fixture)!

Atmadeep1993, PLEASE "keep us in the loop"! We are rooting for you!

It is this setup and fixturing advice that makes the difference between professionally manufactured and home built.
That is also why things take 5x longer than you think. I’ve lost count of the number of times I spent an hour setting up a drill press for a 2 minute hole. That time doesn’t come back to you until you repeat the job 60+ times, and you better hope you don’t end up needing 61 parts!