What was a mistake or waste of $$$ on your van?

[straymonkey]

Angel,

I was in your gallery and couldn't find a picture of van with the storage box. That said, I called Aluminess to ask them about the same thing. They said that they do not recommend it, because max weight is 75 pounds and the box itself is 40 pounds. This means I can only carry 35 pounds. So if you have a solution that would carry 75 pounds, that would work for me.

Thanks

[Angel]

Straymonkey, I am sorry, I thought I had a picture of it. It looks like the standard box that every one has with the shovel and ax on the side.

Aluminus does not recommend it because every one would overload it and blame them. I had to promise not to carry over 75 pounds in it and not blame them if it did not hold up. I carry my 2000i generator which weighs 40 pounds with gas and the 2 gal gas can that weighs 16 pounds and I carry up to 20 pounds of other stuff some times. I do not let it swing free a lot with the generator in it. I just am careful and I love it. When it starts to wear I will have aluminus fix it, pay for the fix and not blame them. It is worth it to me. I do not always have the generator in it. I have removable shelves in it and a drop down table I use when the door is open.

I needed the space to go to Alaska and it is working well.

Angel

[billwilson]

Originally Posted by Angel

Straymonkey, I am sorry, I thought I had a picture of it. It looks like the standard box that every one has with the shovel and ax on the side.

Aluminus does not recommend it because every one would overload it and blame them. I had to promise not to carry over 75 pounds in it and not blame them if it did not hold up. I carry my 2000i generator which weighs 40 pounds with gas and the 2 gal gas can that weighs 16 pounds and I carry up to 20 pounds of other stuff some times. I do not let it swing free a lot with the generator in it. I just am careful and I love it. When it starts to wear I will have aluminus fix it, pay for the fix and not blame them. It is worth it to me. I do not always have the generator in it. I have removable shelves in it and a drop down table I use when the door is open.

I needed the space to go to Alaska and it is working well.

Angel

Hi Angel
Best from Ning and I :)

i have an aluminess rear bump
had a oversize box built to hold a Yamaha 2000 generatior
I also have the flat 2 gal fuel cell on the inside

I DONT run with the gen often
but when i do, i use the swing out
(remember, i have the full aluminess bump)
have not seen any problems

w/o the gen, i load it up with firewood
bbq grill and misc stuff

the large size really keeps stuff handy
and out of my interior space

you can see it swung out but not open
below (and Cooper the Butthead in the Pass window :)
pic is in the lost coast



bw

[straymonkey]

Angel-Thank you for your explanation. I agree that as long as the generator is not in the box while it's in the open position, this idea will work. You have convinced me to go get it.

Bill- Looks like you have an Oz tent. I saw this in another forum but didn't know who had it. How do you like it? Our van is great when it's just my wife and I, but when we bring our 2 teenagers, we need a little bit of space. The Oz tent maybe just the solution for us. Easy to put up.

[Ocsmb]

Originally Posted by haywoodphotomaccom

At this point the Deaver Springs I had installed last Friday for $1800.00. Don't feel a difference in the ride which is what I bought them for....

Van looks better though right? No more saggy butt?

[billwilson]

Originally Posted by straymonkey

Angel-Thank you for your explanation. I agree that as long as the generator is not in the box while it's in the open position, this idea will work. You have convinced me to go get it.

Bill- Looks like you have an Oz tent. I saw this in another forum but didn't know who had it. How do you like it? Our van is great when it's just my wife and I, but when we bring our 2 teenagers, we need a little bit of space. The Oz tent maybe just the solution for us. Easy to put up.

Love the Oz tent
easy set up
WELL made
Happy with purchase

[Onefin]

1. Penthouse top instead of factory sprinter high roof....
2. Paint to match on the top. Doesn't match, isn't paint. It is a cheap fake rhino liner that is the wrong color. Would have done better with a $100 bill at the Home Depot and a Saturday morning DIY.
3. Awning. Rattles. Never opened it, and afraid to use it. I assume it will fall off at some point, so I prefer to not be under it at the time. There are only two kinda homemade brackets holding this 90 pound beast to the van. No idea what method they used to attach brackets to the van?
4. Thule tracks. I think they just used wood screws to attach these to the particle board or whatever is under the fiberglass. Again, don't trust these to be solid.
Just happy we didn't do any sort of interior build out, based on how bad the PH top turned out, I can't imagine how bummed I would be on the interior quality.
I do like getting 23 to 25 mpg in the 4cyl sprinter. When we replace this van (hopefully soon) I will get another 4cyl sprinter.

[86Scotty]

Originally Posted by Onefin

1. Penthouse top instead of factory sprinter high roof....
2. Paint to match on the top. Doesn't match, isn't paint. It is a cheap fake rhino liner that is the wrong color. Would have done better with a $100 bill at the Home Depot and a Saturday morning DIY.
3. Awning. Rattles. Never opened it, and afraid to use it. I assume it will fall off at some point, so I prefer to not be under it at the time. There are only two kinda homemade brackets holding this 90 pound beast to the van. No idea what method they used to attach brackets to the van?
4. Thule tracks. I think they just used wood screws to attach these to the particle board or whatever is under the fiberglass. Again, don't trust these to be solid.
Just happy we didn't do any sort of interior build out, based on how bad the PH top turned out, I can't imagine how bummed I would be on the interior quality.
I do like getting 23 to 25 mpg in the 4cyl sprinter. When we replace this van (hopefully soon) I will get another 4cyl sprinter.

Wow. I love my pop top van. Black carpet instead of hard coin flooring is my only regret.

[daveb]

I also love my "sprayed on top" compared to the fiberglass top but mine is white... a great match and one of the best things I've had done. The biggest mistake was not adding it earlier. I guess some of the other colors are a bit different and everybody's mileage might vary. I saw a maroon and tan color that looked great. The blue was a bit flat compared to a gel-coat top but I'd rather have the Rhino type coating over any standard gel-coat type top. JMO.

[BajaSportsmobile]

My experience is that you can do your best color matching but because of the texture and multifaceted finish, it will look different colors in different lights - nothing to be done about that.