Black Betty E350 Beast Van!

[ndubes]

Originally Posted by eddyturn

SWEET! Most ski areas have sections of certain parking lots set aside for overnighters to use. You'll get a knock on the door in the middle of the night if they need to do any plowing. They just move you over to an area that they have already plowed then you go back to sleep. Have fun.

Really!? That's awesome, anybody have any idea if Aspen, Snowmass or Telluride specifically will let you do that? I'm anxious to try out the "winter kit" in the CCV top and the Espar, and see how effective it all is. Bringing some 0 degree sleeping bags to be safe

[Twoxentrix]

Think you'll be surprised the heat that Espar can put out - be cognisant of "stuff" you're storing which could obstruct the free flow of air

[mikracer]

I use my van pretty much exactly the same way you do. I had a SMB, but realized that I couldn't use it for anything else other than camping so I sold it for a Chateau passenger van. I was planning on getting a CCV top installed, but the wife wanted some creature comforts so we got a tent trailer and now a toy hauler for our daughter. No big kid toys, just a bunch of hers we bring along.

I really like how all of your electronic bits are installed in the side panels and look OEM. Very clean!

[ndubes]

Originally Posted by mikracer

I use my van pretty much exactly the same way you do. I had a SMB, but realized that I couldn't use it for anything else other than camping so I sold it for a Chateau passenger van. I was planning on getting a CCV top installed, but the wife wanted some creature comforts so we got a tent trailer and now a toy hauler for our daughter. No big kid toys, just a bunch of hers we bring along.

I really like how all of your electronic bits are installed in the side panels and look OEM. Very clean!

The Turtleback trailer we had was kind of what you're describing I think, it was an awesome trailer super capable off road and had everything we needed in it. But with the age of our kids right now we decided need "push button camping", seems like every campsite we pulled into someone was screaming for something and it was always a mad stressful scramble to set up. Plus I think towing just isn't for us, but maybe down the road we change our mind on that, I'm certainly nervous about being able to carry everything we need in the van but hope the high-top CCV gets us to that point.

It is definitely nice having flexibility on what you use your van for though, I would love to have a separate truck as well but no space so my SMB Chateau is my "truck"!

Yeah Action Van in Mesa did a great job making everything look very stock with their installs, they're not cheap (no up fitter that does a good job is I think) but they do great work. I do recommend them for anybody in the area looking for a "van guy"

[mikracer]

Did you do the rear seat/track install yourself? I was looking into doing the exact same thing, just different color seats. My chateau van has second row captains and although they are quick release, they are fixed in that position. The recliners looks awesome and tt would be nice to be able to adjust them back or forth as needed. I know its not a cheap option, but very functional.

[ndubes]

Originally Posted by mikracer

Did you do the rear seat/track install yourself? I was looking into doing the exact same thing, just different color seats. My chateau van has second row captains and although they are quick release, they are fixed in that position. The recliners looks awesome and tt would be nice to be able to adjust them back or forth as needed. I know its not a cheap option, but very functional.

Sounds like we had the same setup as you before - captains in the 2nd row and a bench in the 3rd. They did quick release like yours but could only be in that one position like you said, and left a big metal base when they were out too.

I had Action Van do the L-track install for me. We decided to go the whole lizard skin heat & sound shield on the inside shell of the van, plus quietride insulation, a jute carpet "insulation" layer plus a whole new carpet kit so I decided to let them do the tracks too while they were in there. My weekends with the family are precious and I tend to put off projects like this too long. I'm trying to be better about finding good help and paying them to do it, and spending more time with the family. I also scared myself off when I took my creepy crawly under the van and saw all of the clearance issues I was going to have getting nuts on the bottom side of all the bolts. My knuckles are thanking me now, but it was quite a few hours of labor I had to pay too. We also ended up deciding to modify the Sienna seat bases slightly to get the seats placed more optimally where we wanted them (more space to walk between them in the middle).

All told between the seats, the seat bases, the unwin quick-releases (these were pricey!) and the entire L-track kit is probably about $4500 just for materials, but it gave us exactly what we were looking for. Here's how that broke down:

$1900 for the set of 4 Sienna seats, brand new take-outs
$560 for the set of 4 seat bases from BaseFab/MG Metalworks
$960 for the set of 8 Unwin quick-release mechanisms for the seat bases (2 per seat)
$650 for the L-Track kit
plus a bunch of tax and shipping.

Dang... I hate it when I total up expenses! It's best to spread the expenses out so you notice them less I'm not going to total up what I spent on labor!

The Sienna seats are pretty nice, comfortable and very sturdy and I love not having those rattling seatbelts on the walls! Especially when you take the seats out.

[ndubes]

Originally Posted by Twoxentrix

Think you'll be surprised the heat that Espar can put out - be cognisant of "stuff" you're storing which could obstruct the free flow of air

Speaking of the Espar, the installers said that they thought we needed a separate thermostat kit to really control the temp. The little controller on the wall has a temp setting on it so I don't know why that wouldn't be what controls it. I'm assuming it's like any other furnace in that it has one temperature it blows out at, and it just stops when it reaches a set temp? Anybody that install one have to have a separate thermostat from the control pad that comes with it? Those german instructions aren't terribly helpful

[HK33FAN]

Originally Posted by ndubes

Speaking of the Espar, the installers said that they thought we needed a separate thermostat kit to really control the temp. The little controller on the wall has a temp setting on it so I don't know why that wouldn't be what controls it. I'm assuming it's like any other furnace in that it has one temperature it blows out at, and it just stops when it reaches a set temp? Anybody that install one have to have a separate thermostat from the control pad that comes with it? Those german instructions aren't terribly helpful

I just installed a happybuy chines Espar clone. I will be doing a write up on the install and function of the heater very soon. I believe the chines diesel air heaters are a very close copy if not an exact copy of the Espar/airtronics units. (no instructions included) quality to be determined.

These diesel injected units do not cycle on and off like traditional heaters.
Even with thermostat control, the unit will ramp up to full speed and full heat output until the desired temp is met, then it will drop the full injection rate and fan speed down to the lowest setting but will never shut off until turned off manually or by the timer. If the unit cycled on and off it would build up soot very quickly plus waist a lot of fuel. the worm up cycle for the glow plug draws 7- 9amp every time it has to cold start. The digital controller/thermostats are pretty cool, you can set max/min pump output and also fan speed.

[ndubes]

Originally Posted by HK33FAN

I just installed a happybuy chines Espar clone. I will be doing a write up on the install and function of the heater very soon. I believe the chines diesel air heaters are a very close copy if not an exact copy of the Espar/airtronics units. (no instructions included) quality to be determined.

These diesel injected units do not cycle on and off like traditional heaters.
Even with thermostat control, the unit will ramp up to full speed and full heat output until the desired temp is met, then it will drop the full injection rate and fan speed down to the lowest setting but will never shut off until turned off manually or by the timer. If the unit cycled on and off it would build up soot very quickly plus waist a lot of fuel. the worm up cycle for the glow plug draws 7- 9amp every time it has to cold start. The digital controller/thermostats are pretty cool, you can set max/min pump output and also fan speed.

Very helpful, thank you! Guess we will see how we like it without the thermostat control and decide if we want to add that later.

[eddyturn]

For the ski area parking. You will either have to check their Web sites or just call them and ask about it. Last time I did Aspen, they let you park at Highland but that was a long time ago. Over close to us, Wolf Creek and Purgatory both allow it. That was back some time ago and a van without a furnace but a really warn sleeping bag. Camped out at Steamboat then Aspen and had to go inside in the morning just to warm up. I would get out of the bag to start the engine and get the van heater going then jump back in the bag. Looking forward to doing some of that in the next week or two up at Wolf Creek since the Espar is working stellar now. We'll just leave the top down cuz it's hard to heat with the SMB penthouse up.