30k Mile V10 UJOR Build

[rizzabove]

Wow! Such a nice build! Nice work my man.
The accident is heart breaking but you recovered well and I’m glad to see you stayed with the old school front clip. Keep it OG

[SteelheadJones]

My God man, you’ve had some bad luck. Hopefully it’s behind you.

Can you tell us more about the Rigid LED conversion?

[h.grenade]

Nice van! Sorry to hear about the damage, that sucks. I don't really see the difference between this and an RB50 layout. Maybe I am not looking close enough. Can you explain what you did differently and why? thx and welcome to the forum!

[tylers24]

Originally Posted by rizzabove

Wow! Such a nice build! Nice work my man.
The accident is heart breaking but you recovered well and I’m glad to see you stayed with the old school front clip. Keep it OG

Thank you!

There was some pressure to update to the ‘08+ front end but the OG front end is where it’s at.

[tylers24]

Originally Posted by SteelheadJones

My God man, you’ve had some bad luck. Hopefully it’s behind you.

Can you tell us more about the Rigid LED conversion?

Agreed.

The conversion entails sourcing the headlight bezels, the metal housings for the lights, the metal retaining rings, adjustment screws, and 6 little plastic prongs that support the light from behind (they attach to the headlight panel behind the grille and in front of the radiator). You may need to switch the light’s wiring pigtail on either side too.

This allows you to run a 5x7” sealed beam light with what i call the ‘fleet’ front end look. I’m not a big fan of the headlight options (Vantage etc) if you retain the original big headlamps, this looks a little more utilitarian and opens you up to great options from Phillips, Rigid, TruckLite, etc

[tylers24]

Originally Posted by h.grenade

Nice van! Sorry to hear about the damage, that sucks. I don't really see the difference between this and an RB50 layout. Maybe I am not looking close enough. Can you explain what you did differently and why? thx and welcome to the forum!

The difference is in the equipment, materials, and construction. Sportsmobile LOVES cheap. Propane appliances, MDF, poor assembly techniques

Instead of MDF, we went with lightweight and durable Hexaply which was all cut on a CNC router. The entire galley side of the interior build was assembled with glue outside of the van before being installed and fixed in place inside the van. There isn't a single creak or rattle driving down the highway.

Instead of propane, we did the petrol-fired heat setup which eliminates the need for a propane tank, and the two separate appliances for heating air and water. This freed up significant cubic footage in interior volume to use for more storage (not an RB50’s strongsuit).

Instead of lead-acid batteries, we did a single 240 Ah lithium unit from Big Battery (Owl Max model), which is fed by a 300w panel on the PH top, a dc-dc charger off the alternator, with DC and AC available throughout the van (2000w inverter). This compact and lightweight unit cut significant weight and interior volume as well.

As a result, we fit a 20gal tank under the bench seat next to the Wolf heating unit and still have tons of trunk area behind with stash cubbies on either side for random gear.

All in, I’d say we saved about 700lbs over a comparable SMB build

[86Scotty]

I've been meaning to read this thread start to finish for awhile. Beautiful van and really nice work. Amazing interior! You have had some bad luck, hopefully it's over.

Every time I spend time working on my van I think about how quickly it could be ruined in a wreck. There is no replacement for the time spent even if insurance pays for the van.

Can't wait to see it in action more. My new van has yet to go over Imogene, something I've done in pretty much every rig I've ever had. I can't wait to snap that same pic (again)!

[h.grenade]

Thanks. Got it. Same layout essentially. Those are all great upgrades! I had never heard of the Hexaply. That would have saved me a bunch of time. So would a CNC haha

I went with a Duoetto MK2 and Propex HS2211 under the van for, essentially, the same reasons. I didn't want propane inside the van and it frees up some space. The Wolf would have saved me a few bucks though for sure. But then you have to tap the gas tank if you don't have a second line.

The van looks rad.