Polar Bear 1 - Page 35

Zaskoda · 05-28-2018, 01:10 PM

Thanks to this thread, I now realize I've been tinkering on Polar Bear Van for almost 10 years now. Holy smokes. But I AM still working on her.

Having had a number of issues with the previous design, I've changed the shelf below my window to be more of a table. The thing is, needing to run the heater vent led up to all of this change. It's finally plumbed and vents high enough that we won't cover it up with a pillow or sleeping bag.

New Table, Wide view

Ne Table

Toast

Zaskoda · 07-17-2018, 12:53 PM

Little by little! I finished cutting up an overhead shelf and built a box to contain some switches and wiring on the top shelf. I also left room to install the thermostat up high. Then we tore it all out and started covering. We've got about 1/3 of the new pieces sanded, painted, and carpeted. There's still a lot of finishing work left to do.

Here's the upper shelf built and in place:

Here we are with everything strung about the backyard. Oh how I miss having a shop. =(

The switch panel and shelf are getting closed to their finished state:

And here's a heaping pile of partially-finished cabinets and parts currently cluttering up the basement. Everything moves slower when you've got less space to work in... but at least I can progress!

marret · 07-18-2018, 04:48 AM

Looking good.

Zaskoda · 07-30-2018, 09:07 PM

Try'n to keep it roll'n...

Zaskoda · 08-01-2018, 10:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by marret

Looking good.

Thank you. The next several big pieces going in should finally bring most of the look "together". I have a range of finishing touches to do, but the fundamental look of the van will finally feel somewhat complete and cohesive. It's a big deal, this fall I will have been working on this project for 10 years. Whew!

Zaskoda · 09-07-2018, 04:06 PM

I've got a few more photos to share. First, I've started working on the overhead accessories for the front of the van. The first photo is from testing the zombie blue lights on the workbench and the second photo is with the unit installed.

I also put a little time in on my counter top.

And then, with the end of summer closing fast, I went backpacking:

Zaskoda · 02-05-2019, 05:15 PM

Most of the photos I placed in this thread are hosted on my old Flickr account. Recently Flickr announced that you can only host 1000 photos unless you get a paid account and the deadline for that was today (or yesterday or something). My photos are still online, but I do not know for how long. At some point, a lot of photos on this thread may just disappear. As much as I appreciate having this fun archive of my build, I can't let Flickr bully me into paying a subscription fee by threatening to delete my photos. I complained into the void via Twitter about it here:

https://twitter.com/zaskoda/status/1092523595345981440

I'll find a new place to post photos in the future.

Zaskoda · 07-26-2020, 11:22 AM

When I started working on this project, I never thought it would take so long to reach a "finished" state. Over the last few weeks, Polar Bear ha consumed dozens of hours of my labor purely on the electrical system. I've replaced wires and connections, fixing multiple ground shorts along the way. The good news is the starter battery no longer drains. The bad news is I still don't have reverse lights.

This whole thread is really about the pictures, so here's some:

I finally found a radio that fits in the dash! It's an XAV-AX8000 by Sony. The screen can be adjusted in/out, up/down, and tilt forward/back all with locking screws allowing it to be installed in awkward places. It's an amaing upgrade:

I built another power cluster inside the slider door with 4 plugs and an isolated breaker. I put a bit of a lip on top as I immediately found myself using it to hold beverages:

I broke a spring - literally snapped and didn't realize it for a while. It happened just as the covid lock down started. It took a while, but now I have new springs:

The counter top is complete and has proven useful. I would say we mostly have our kitchen experience worked out. Overhead shelving is working pretty well also. It helps to keep a lot of the little things from getting lost. This shot was taken while camping near a friend's orchard in eastern WA.

Here's a pan of the interior. If you look closely, you can barely see that the slider door power box wasn't installed just yet. (edit: I also noticed the rear overhead light was missing in this photo. More to come on that!)

And this is one of the next steps. No proper overlanding rig would go out without a solar panel, right? I still haven't decided on placement, but it will likely be up front:

Zaskoda · 08-04-2020, 01:03 PM

If only I had taken the time to let a little air out of my tires, my entire day would have been different...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TFgdUUdfDY

The rest of the trip was lovely:

I did discover a problem with my new springs. The bracket on holding the springs together is bumping into my steering arm when I'm under articulation. I don't have pics handy but will post an update soon.

JWA · 08-06-2020, 05:55 AM

So what's the rest of the story on Polar Bear Didn't Get There?

I'm completely clueless about 4 wheeling but would it have worked to back up that rise?

Nice photos otherwise---thanks for sharing!