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Old 06-20-2019, 10:51 AM   #661
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Fitz, thanks for your quick reply. I like the modularity of this setup and will continue on this path. 8ft 10in is indeed high! Mine is at 8 ft now, so I guess I’m looking at adding 8-10 more inches with the top.

I’m with you on the boat weights. I sold my 70+ lb Old Town canoe after thirty years of enjoyment because I just couldn’t haul it around anymore. There are so many lightweight alternatives these days and, as long as you don’t abuse them, they’re a real boon. I row an Adirondack Guideboat Dory that weighs in at less than 60 lbs due to Kevlar construction. I have plastic kayaks that weigh more! If I were getting another canoe, it would be one of the Kevlars from Wenonah or Swift. Lots of room, incredibly light. I have a single and tandem Advanced Frame inflatable for taking on road trips but the Kevlars are even lighter if you don’t mind having it on top.

Thanks again for the info. Happy Trails!

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Old 06-23-2019, 09:34 PM   #662
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Stock MB Jack

If you have read all of this (long) thread, you will recall that I carry both a HighLift Jack and the ARB Brushranger Air Jack, refer to Post #424 on page 43. Anyone who knows me knows that I believe that having options is a good thing.


Well, here's another option for you, one that has been hiding (from me) in plain sight!


Laura has been using the van a bit more by herself or with one of the daughters and I have been giving a lot of thought to her being able to change a flat tire by herself. Keep good tires on the van, hope for the best, plan for the worst, take what you get....


At any rate, I have been looking at the new ARB hydraulic jack that they are VERY proud of - think in the range of $1k - as an option that Laura could handle by herself if need be. I spoke with Mark at Van Compass about compatibility with the HighLift jacking points on their rocker guards and he told me to try the stock jack, that they tested it once on Rob's red van on 35's with their 2" lift and it got the job done.


Experiment on! Here are the results:


First, a look at the stock jack in its resting place under the passenger side footwell. Everyone with a Sprinter has been here, right?





Here is the jacking point built into the Van Compass Rocker Guards, one at each end. This is designed for a HighLift jack, but as you can see, the stock hydraulic jack fits here really well.





And here is a picture of the jack fully extended. Flint is fitted with the Van Compass 2" lift, the tire shown is a 265/70/17 BFG KO2. There is 4-1/4" of clearance between the tire and the ground, more than needed and more than you would use to change a tire, I showed it here at the maximum extent for clarity.





There was a nice solid feel to this on pavement, it would be something else to depend on this off in the dirt or mud somewhere. To expand the capability (and height) just a bit I modified the plastic base for the HighLift jack to provide a bit more stability on something other than a paved surface:






One thing in common that you will notice about the various jacking options I use is that none of them requires me to get under the van to place the jack. Let's just call that personal preference. If I am under a vehicle there are jack stands in place, easily done on pavement, a bit more difficult on anything other than pavement.


I believe this option is one Laura or one of the daughters will be able to handle by themselves, along with plenty of patience and a long-handled breaker bar. The Alabama Hills (gently rolling hard packed gravel) will be about as close to off road as they will see, hopefully they won't have to use any of the on-board options Flint carries. But if they do, they will (hopefully) be set up for success.
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Old 07-07-2019, 01:17 PM   #663
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Documentation

From Post #454 on page 46:
· It takes time to get used to a new van, don’t expect to take delivery and immediately know how to use everything. These vehicles are complicated! I put together a Flint User’s Guide for those times when I either forget or am not around, see the attached file for your reading pleasure/humor


Laura and daughter Mandy recently had Flint out and about for a week or so. As a result of one of their "experiences" I had to revise the cover of my User's Guide - I just thought I'd share! BTW, this has turned into an evergreen document that I continue to revise, especially as Laura uses the van more and more without me (her retired, me not).


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Old 07-14-2019, 09:32 PM   #664
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#vanlife

Working on the van and using the van is what I am interested in, #vanlife gets little to no attention from me.

That said, I can't resist posting this picture.

Me driving, (serious) boyfriend Brandon in the passenger seat, daughter Julie discovering how nice the back seat can be as we roll down the River Road in the Sacramento Delta!




Note the scar on the knee. SAR members tend to collect those....
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Old 07-21-2019, 01:24 PM   #665
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Nice! Anything in the van is always fun. SAR (search and rescue)?
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Old 07-21-2019, 01:59 PM   #666
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Yes, Contra Costa County Search and Rescue team, she has been on it for several years now.
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Old 08-04-2019, 10:34 PM   #667
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General Electrical Upgrades

I had a problem with the ME-BMK battery monitor that eventually required me to replace it. Thanks to VtSoundman for some on-site electrical trouble shooting help. That, and a call to the Magnum technical help line, and all is well now and the State Of Charge function is back on-line and displaying as it should.


Anyway, one "problem" with having a hands-on Electrical Engineer looking over your system is that he offers his opinion on ways to make improvements. Good advice given, so on with a couple of modifications!


SMB ran the wire from the house battery directly back to the T-Fuse with no fuse or switch at the battery. From there it runs to the inverter and the house panel. From what I understand this is typical for SMB and there are a lot of rigs on the road with this configuration.


I made two modifications.


First, I installed a Blue Sea Systems m-Series Mini On-Off Battery Switch so I have an easy way to cut off all loads on the house battery. This switch is now the first component downstream of the battery.


Second, I installed a 50 Amp breaker on the line that feeds the house panel. I just wasn't comfortable with the existing configuration with the supply feeding directly from the terminal on the T-Fuse. This breaker is now between the two, and gives me an easy way to cut off power to the panel.


Here is the On-Off switch, mounted under the rear bench seat between the inverter and the water tank. It is easy to get to, simply lift up the bottom of the rear bench seat.





And here is the 50 Amp breaker, mounted on the plywood panel that the big T-Fuse is mounted on to the left of the inverter. Again, it is easy to get to, simply lift up the bottom of the rear bench seat.





And here is a view of the overall configuration. The 50 Amp breaker is located just below the front of the T-Fuse. It's hard to see in this picture, but easy to access.





Now that this is off of the to-do list, I wonder what will rise to the top next...!
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Old 08-05-2019, 02:53 AM   #668
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Hi Fitz,
Allways read your posts with great interest.
With so much technical information, Sometimes I read them twice. Enjoy your posts. Cheers Doug, Western Australia.
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Old 08-05-2019, 07:59 AM   #669
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SMB Indiana installed almost this exact same main battery cutoff switch on my van right next to the inverter. I use this regularly to make sure there is absolutely no load on the batteries if I am storing the van without a shore power connection.
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Old 08-25-2019, 11:50 AM   #670
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New Tires!

After 3 years and 42k miles I decided it was time to put a new set of tires on Flint. Truth-be-told, the BFG KO2's still had some life left in them, but they have been getting louder and louder as they aged and it's been on my mind to try something different...


If you go back and read Post 597 on page 60 of this thread you will see some of my thoughts behind this decision. Everyone has an opinion on tires and tire sizes. This is not meant to be a discussion of one vs. the other, rather it is a report (with pictures, because everybody likes pictures!) of the choice I made.


Flint came stock with 245/75/16 Continental Vanco Four Season tires. I never drove the van with these tires, as part of the build SMB installed the 265/70/17 BFG KO2's that we have been running.


Introducing the new tires, the 285/70/17 Falken Wildpeak A/T3W's that were recently installed. Tire specs: Load Range E, 33.0" diameter, 11.6" width, 59 lbs.





There were no clearance issues with the rear tires, but the fronts (no surprise) required some trimming. The clearance was good in front of the tire thanks to the Aluminess front bumper, but there was some contact at a partial turn with the front mud flap.





This was anticipated and it was easily corrected by trimming off the leading edge of the plastic mud flap support. In more extreme cases more is removed and/or the heat gun is brought out to re-shape some of the plastic. Here is the trimmed version:





The other location to pay attention to is the dust cover on the factory strut. Wider tires require spacers or different wheels to provide clearance, I wanted neither. Here is a shot of the 11.6" wide tire adjacent to the dust cover. There is minimal clearance but there is no binding. Note: If I still lived in the Midwest with caked-on mud, snow and ice in the winter I would have chosen a narrower width, but with our use case of mainly dry and desert with short trips to the snow this should be fine. Time will tell.





Flint has had various tire and suspension configurations in the 3 years we have had him. Here they are in succession, hopefully this makes for a good way to compare the (subtle) differences.


First: Stock suspension (pre-build and unloaded) with stock 245/75/16 Continental Vanco Four Season tires
Second: Stock suspension with 265/70/17 BFG KO2 tires
Third: Van Compass Stage 3 suspension with 265/70/17 BFG KO2 tires
Fourth: Van Compass Stage 6 suspension (2" lift) with 265/70/17 BFG KO2 tires
Fifth: Van Compass Stage 6 suspension (2" lift) with 285/70/17 Falken Wildpeak A/T3W tires









Now it's time to put some miles on the van and see how these larger tires work out. Time will tell!
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