Body Flares!

b. rock · 03-05-2021, 07:44 AM

For those taller than 5'8 or 5'10 and looking to sleep sideways in your van...introducing the flares from Flarespace. I reached out to these folks late last fall/early winter about some Econoline flares and they said things were in the works. I'm fortunate enough to be in the same town as them so this is a first run/trial run/whatever you want to call it on body flares for the E-series. I am in no way associated with Flarespace, just a nearby local.

If you have a passenger or cargo van it'll be much easier than what I have to deal with. As you can see in the pics, I'm headed to the yard this weekend to grab some donor sheetmetal to cover in where the previous windows. These should drop right into where the normal rear passenger windows would go.

We are allocating a chunk of the rear section of the van for bike/gear storage, so being able to sleep sideways saves a good chunk of space in the main cabin. Our plan is to put a reclining sofa right where the flares go, likely on an elevated storage platform.

At a first pass, they are substantial and feel rigid while being handled. They seem to have done a good job of matching the body curvature as well. I'm pretty stoked on them. It'll take me a couple weeks to do the body work to get it all prepped so bear with me (hell I still need to wire in my welder) but it's in progress.

Pics so far:

powderbum · 03-05-2021, 09:10 AM

Very curious to know how much more space you gain side to side with these. I am 6’2” and would very much like the ability to sleep east-west vs. north-south. Possibly you can post some measurements? Once you get everything finished of course.

b. rock · 03-05-2021, 09:31 AM

Rough #s show about 80" across. I'm 6' on the dot and the wife is 5'10", so we'll be adding some insulation as well and should still be pretty comfy.

powderbum · 03-05-2021, 03:38 PM

80”!! That would be awesome. I know the econoline tapers towards the rear so I wonder how far forward the flares would need to be placed to get all of that 80”. Much thanks for the timely response.

Wisco150 · 03-06-2021, 06:03 AM

I love this! I’ve been really interested in a pair of body flares since I first saw them come out for the Sprinter. If there’s anyway to purchase a “factory seconds” or flares that need a little elbow grease to finish I’d be extremely interested in a pair!

AndrewInSeattle · 03-06-2021, 08:13 AM

I've been researching builders lately, and flares seem to be in many of the layouts nowadays. When I was looking ~4 years ago, it was much rarer and super-expensive. Do you know if they've been able to scale up massively and make these things affordable?

b. rock · 03-06-2021, 10:03 AM

I'm not sure what scale up massively and make them affordable would mean to you, but my assumption is that they will be the same or similar price to their other flares. So $1600 give or take. For factory seconds or other things like that, I have no clue.

I really wanted to do a box van build for awhile but was never sold on the wood construction, and now living on a dirt road and hearing delivery trucks rattle by - I'm glad I didn't go that route. The main benefit I was after (outside of square walls) was to easily do a sideways bed, opening up more interior space. These should fill that gap.

IanF · 03-10-2021, 01:53 PM

Interesting... I have similar conversion van windows in my van. I had basically resigned myself to a N-S sleeping arrangement over the bike garage, but I'm interested to see how this turns out.

1der · 03-10-2021, 02:27 PM

These are super cool and I am happy they are moving to main stream.

One consideration as I was looking these is the incorporation of a side ladder. These flares will interfere w mounting a side ladder. Just a heads up.

b. rock · 03-10-2021, 03:38 PM

Yeah, a ladder would either be a no go on the passenger side, or limited in location on the driver's side. I've had a tall trailer and another high top van before and never had a need to get up on the roof of either during a trip, but I'm not storing anything up there either.

For bike storage with these, we are planning on hanging them by the rear wheel and doing a fork mount lower on the wall. This saves a huge amount of space in the actual cab area, and means that the bed doesn't have to go over them.

We spent a few hours in the van taking measurements this weekend ands thinking through the interior and while I didn't end up hitting a yard to grab some sheet metal, we did decide against the generic van sofa/bed idea. While I really wanted to just order something, with the taper of the van up high it just wasn't going to work. We'll either turn it into a dinette style area or a slide out bed with 2 tiered storage underneath to function as steps.