UJOR 4x4 MTB camper for family of 3 - Page 2

jamesc · 11-05-2021, 03:43 AM

We have a similar layout to the one site in your first post with a pop top. Ours is a sportsmobile top, but same idea. We love the air the top let's in. On hot days, it cools the van pretty quickly once the sun sets.

The downstairs is pretty quiet and worked great to keep our toddler sleeping in louder campgrounds. Now that he is 9, mom likes the quiet downstairs and he and I share the bunk. When he decides he doesn't like sharing the bunk, we'll carry one of our backpacking tents.

We have a stock, Ford van seat in a crew layout. Finding something smaller is on my list.

motovan_mn · 11-05-2021, 07:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nathandeuel

We did get the insulation. We've camped down into the 30s comfortably. But when it was down to 6 degrees at Steamboat last winter I made sure we were at a KOA where I could plug in a space heater to the camp shore power. To avoid that in the future, we do in fact have an appointment in December to have CCV install a heater for us. The Maxxfan they installed sucks but it's not because of CCV; something is wrong with the fan, maybe a rain sensor? CCV says they will address in Dec.

Good to know, thanks! I'm contemplating a cheapo diesel heater on this build. That's a luxury we haven't had in any of the previous vans, but from what I hear those things are vastly oversized for anything van-sized, so it would probably keep things toasty even if the top weren't insulated. But in the interest of saving energy I suppose insulation makes sense.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamesc

We have a similar layout to the one site in your first post with a pop top. Ours is a sportsmobile top, but same idea. We love the air the top let's in. On hot days, it cools the van pretty quickly once the sun sets.

The downstairs is pretty quiet and worked great to keep our toddler sleeping in louder campgrounds. Now that he is 9, mom likes the quiet downstairs and he and I share the bunk. When he decides he doesn't like sharing the bunk, we'll carry one of our backpacking tents.

We have a stock, Ford van seat in a crew layout. Finding something smaller is on my list.

I'm also hoping to find a smaller seat that works with the OEM mounting locations, but alas that is proving to be difficult. I'm going to keep the stock 3 person bench in there for now, but we may resort to drilling new holes in the floor. I did that in our old Econoline (before we had a kid), being sure to overlap with the cross braces that the OEM seat mounts use, but I feel much more risk averse when we're strapping in our toddler!

Orv · 11-05-2021, 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by motovan_mn

Good to know, thanks! I'm contemplating a cheapo diesel heater on this build. That's a luxury we haven't had in any of the previous vans, but from what I hear those things are vastly oversized for anything van-sized, so it would probably keep things toasty even if the top weren't insulated. But in the interest of saving energy I suppose insulation makes sense.

If you don't have insulation you may find the people in the lower bed get too warm while the people in the upper bunk are chilled; while heat rises, the radiation loss to the cold canvas is a lot more significant. I also find our uninsulated pop-top picks up a *lot* of heat from the sun, which is not so nice in the summer if you like to sleep in -- you end up with a choice between being in a heat trap, or having the shades open for ventilation and the light shining in on you.

I don't know if insulation would help much with the solar gain but I suspect it would.

I have a Suburban propane furnace in my van. It's been adequate down to the low 30s. My van is not winterized in terms of plumbing so I don't camp in places where I expect prolonged nighttime lows below freezing, so I can't comment beyond that.

jamesc · 11-05-2021, 03:11 PM

I'm contemplating this seat, but haven't done the research yet. Https://www.suburbanseats.com/p/ambv...categoryid=120

motovan_mn · 01-07-2022, 09:48 AM

Well, apparently UJOR in NC is still waiting on some Dynatrac components to build the front axle before shipping the goods to the CO location. In the meantime Justin has been pretty awesome about sending periodic updates as he receives parts for our build.

We also decided to go with the UJOR roof rack + RTT for the adults, and a single bed inside the van for the kiddo. Our kid is generally pretty good about staying in his room until the appropriate wakeup time, but DEFINITELY won't let us sleep in if we're in the same room (or tent, or van, or...). We are hoping being in separate "compartments" will allow us to maintain a relatively normal sleep schedule while on the road. I asked Justin if it was OK to jump on a Black Friday sale for a RTT and have it shipped to his shop, and he said it was A-OK with him. I believe his words upon taking delivery were "this is the biggest RTT I've ever seen!"

You can see how much space that tent is taking up in some of his IG posts... Sorry!

35x12.5 Toyo Open Country:

AT III

Bronze Method 701:

RTT cameo from UJOR CO ExPo thread:

motovan_mn · 01-18-2022, 07:50 PM

I was having the hardest time finding a pair of OEM captain's seats to replace the 2nd row bench. Then it turns out my buddy that is storing my van for me has a pair from his wagon! So now it's full steam ahead designing for a quad captain's seat layout. Not really sure what to do with this dead space between the cooler slide and the 2nd row passenger-side captain's seat. Looks like it will be about 28" in the fore/aft direction, so that may be good for a 14" deep set of drawers that can still open fully. Or I may decide to eliminate the 4th captain's seat and just run the van as a 3-seater, which is perfect for our family but pretty useless for any other use case.

Nathandeuel · 01-18-2022, 08:10 PM

CCV fixed the fan. And the Espar heater kept us warm at Steamboat when it got down below zero

motovan_mn · 02-11-2022, 03:43 PM

The van still hasn't been converted to 4x4 yet, but we have an end-date in sight! I have a trip planned to Denver at the end of May, and the van should supposedly be done well before then. So instead of flying back home we will be driving the van back! I'm going to give yet another shoutout to Justin at UJOR CO - The van is about 1.5 hrs from his shop but he happily offered to drive out and pick up the van. Just one of many examples of how great of an experience it's been to work with him.

I've been putting together a spreadsheet of weight estimates to try and see how heavy the van will be once all is said and done. Some numbers that may be of interest to you folks that come directly from Chris at UJOR:

UJOR 4x4 conversion - adds ~800 lbs
UJOR roof rack - 80 lbs for RB
UJOR rear bumper - 180 lbs

So taking into account this, some mild interior buildout, RTT/awning, people/bikes/gear/food, etc... I'm estimating the van will weigh around 8500 lbs fully loaded.

I know this is lighter than many of the full SMB builds on this forum but I'm still wondering if I should have opted for a Sterling 10.5 rear axle on this build. I asked Justin if it might make sense to at least upgrade to chromoly shafts and he told me not to worry about it. I guess I'll take his word for it!

Maybe in a couple years after I've recovered from the financial shock I'll start thinking about the Sterling upgrade.

Twoxentrix · 02-11-2022, 06:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by motovan_mn

... Not really sure what to do with this dead space between the cooler slide and the 2nd row passenger-side captain's seat. Looks like it will be about 28" in the fore/aft direction, so that may be good for a 14" deep set of drawers that can still open fully. Or I may decide to eliminate the 4th captain's seat and just run the van as a 3-seater, which is perfect for our family but pretty useless for any other use case.

I like the simplicity of your build, but if you ever carry 4 people storage space (even with a cabinet w/drawers you made reference to) wont be enough for all your gear. In all our years traveling I found Backpacks more useful - Portable, organized, and easily accessible (saves a lot of space & keeps everyone's stuff separated).
I'd leave the space open but build a couple drawers across the top of your Ice Chest cabinet (entire length and about 6-8" high) - could use something like these and build a box around them:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...J8IOS59V&psc=1

Then I'd have all my cloths in the backpacks (detachable bags for toiletries) that you secure in that 'open' space - maybe use a ratchet strap attached to the cabinet so they are secure. I have a top load with front access- much easier to open and pull what you want than to dig into the backpack from the top. Examples:
(I own this one - lot of pockets to keep stuff separated - watch the video on it)
https://www.amazon.com/Gregory-Mount...261&th=1&psc=1

https://www.osprey.com/us/en/product...CABEgIKLPD_BwE

Also own the Exped - good choice as well
https://www.rei.com/rei-garage/produ...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

https://www.amazon.com/TETON-SPORTS-...&sr=8-145&th=1

Just a suggestion to keep things simple.

motovan_mn · 02-11-2022, 07:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Twoxentrix

I like the simplicity of your build, but if you ever carry 4 people storage space (even with a cabinet w/drawers you made reference to) wont be enough for all your gear. In all our years traveling I found Backpacks more useful - Portable, organized, and easily accessible (saves a lot of space & keeps everyone's stuff separated).
I'd leave the space open but build a couple drawers across the top of your Ice Chest cabinet (entire length and about 6-8" high) - could use something like these and build a box around them:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...J8IOS59V&psc=1

Then I'd have all my cloths in the backpacks (detachable bags for toiletries) that you secure in that 'open' space - maybe use a ratchet strap attached to the cabinet so they are secure. I have a top load with front access- much easier to open and pull what you want than to dig into the backpack from the top. Examples:
(I own this one - lot of pockets to keep stuff separated - watch the video on it)
https://www.amazon.com/Gregory-Mount...261&th=1&psc=1

https://www.osprey.com/us/en/product...CABEgIKLPD_BwE

Also own the Exped - good choice as well
https://www.rei.com/rei-garage/produ...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

https://www.amazon.com/TETON-SPORTS-...&sr=8-145&th=1

Just a suggestion to keep things simple.

Thanks for the feedback! I definitely agree with keeping it simple. I guess one thing I forgot to mention is that The platform above the cooler slide is intended to be a bed for a single person. Maybe what I'll do is make a hinged lid to allow access to the "open space" you describe. Then we can toss in backpacks/duffels/any loose items.

Something like this:

I Like the drawer suggestion as well, but putting the sleeping platform on top of the drawers might bring the sleeping platform a little too close to the ceiling for comfort. Were you envisioning the drawers opening E/W (i.e. drawers slide open towards the driver side of the van) or N/S?

I was also trying to think of how to utilize the vertical space above the bikes. One thought I had was to build a drawer system under the bike slide that opens out the rear door (a la "Decked" system). But another thought I had was to somehow build soft storage above the bikes - maybe a bungee net so we can stuff in loose items like blankets, jackets, etc. Or hanging duffel bags, kind of like soft overhead cabinets.

When we had our high roof transit, it was always so difficult to effectively use the vertical space. Something I'm trying to combat in this build.