Nemesisnight - The Van Story

[nemesisnight]

Did a little shakedown spring desert trip after installing a agile offroad RIP kit (that I am having issues with but made a separate thread for that) and we all had a blast.




Toquerville Falls


Utah dirt/clay is treacherous when its wet, this road was so scary and i was sliding bad

[arctictraveller]

Nice photos. I sure know what you mean about the slippery mud, I thought I was going to be stuck in Rabbit valley, down by the river, but fortunately it froze over night and getting out was easy. Did you ever find a source for a new compressor?

[nemesisnight]

Originally Posted by arctictraveller

Nice photos. I sure know what you mean about the slippery mud, I thought I was going to be stuck in Rabbit valley, down by the river, but fortunately it froze over night and getting out was easy. Did you ever find a source for a new compressor?

Yeah it's like ice skating and trying to prevent slipping off a cliff or into the ditch with zero traction.

No, no luck, I need to drain my system pull it all out and see what I can find I guess after getting some rough measurements. No one seems to know or have changed theirs that has chimed in at least.

[nemesisnight]

So I have been wanting to add a quick disconnect propane fitting to my van for some time and finally got around to doing it. I wanted to have a place to use my On-board propane for a fire ring and propane grill. I considered running it somewhere outside the van and putting a dust seal of some sort that I could tap into but decided to keep it inside the van for protection and its a good location for the grill mount I am going to install next week.

So my van has propane for the generator and heater. I found this three way under the van I am going to use as my tap in point that is post regulator.....


Here are my supplies. After a visit to a local hose supply store and $115 later I had everything I needed with their help. I decided to use this cotton and metal layered propane hose that is durable and has these cool connections that screw onto it. This will be better than the hard lines and easier to work with (those hard lines have to be bent with a bender and the flexible tubing will be much easier and I can just cut it where I want it to end and add the connections.


http://www.sportsmobileforum.com/for...cture40653.jpg

Turned the three way into a 4 way:


Used a couple brass hose mounts to keep it snug and away from the exhaust and drilled it into the heat shield to prevent new holes in the van floor. Then I used a hole that was already drilled in the floor that I had sealed up with spray foam to access the inside van.


Ran the tubing under my built in ice chest:


Then added the quick disconnect to wedge between the door and cabinet:


Final product works amazing, I have a T quick connect that I can add if I want to run both at once...


We love having the fire pit with 4 little kids as its super easy and most importantly QUICK with instant on or off plus no smoky eyes or stinky smell. Also you don't have to worry about fire bans as it is usually always legal even with campfire bans.

[shadetreevanman]

Everytime I see your van, I keep wishing I had found a top like that instead of mine. Since I insisted on finding a used one, my options were limited. But man, that is a good looking van.



That is a great solution for all the propane devices. I have a VW Westfalia propane tank I've been wanting to mount on my van for the griddle and coffee maker. That hose looks like it would make it an easy job. Now I need to go see the Hose Man.

[renegadeoverland]

Originally Posted by shadetreevanman

Everytime I see your van, I keep wishing I had found a top like that instead of mine. Since I insisted on finding a used one, my options were limited. But man, that is a good looking van.

I agree. I am actually debating between this level, fixed high top or the CCV combo high roof pop-top. The problem is we use our van as a daily driver when we go out as a family so I am trying to balance overall height for normal stuff (getting coffee from Dutch Bros, grabbing dinner at Chic-fil-a etc).

This height fixed top is the only one that will allow me to fully stand up at 6' 3" while the CCV top would allow my wife to full stand in the down position while driving and needing to help our son with anything and I would get the full height benefit while in camp/boondock.

Anyway ... seeing a van like this makes the decision a bit harder as this does look good.

[Twoxentrix]

Sounds like a mod a lot of people have been considering - Just finished replacing my Propane tank and did relatively the same thing - but had 2 lines run to the back of the Van (accessed between the undermount storage box & rear bumper), a high pressure and a low pressure with the 3/8 quick connects. Same motivation you had, ability to run Grill/propane Coffee Maker and Honda generator at the same time.
I like the simplicity of your instal using the 4-way. Since you accessed the existing low pressure side (post regulator) did you remove the regulator on either of the other two appliances? Or do they both still operate normally even though they are fed with low pressure?

[nemesisnight]

Originally Posted by shadetreevanman

Everytime I see your van, I keep wishing I had found a top like that instead of mine. Since I insisted on finding a used one, my options were limited. But man, that is a good looking van.



That is a great solution for all the propane devices. I have a VW Westfalia propane tank I've been wanting to mount on my van for the griddle and coffee maker. That hose looks like it would make it an easy job. Now I need to go see the Hose Man.

Thanks, its definitely come a long way these last few years from what it once was. I love this top, tons of room and the ability to easily have 2 beds in a high top, I really like the layout I have too, i have never seen another Sportsmobile with it.

That hose is super cool and makes routing it a breeze, go for it.

[nemesisnight]

Originally Posted by renegadeoverland

I agree. I am actually debating between this level, fixed high top or the CCV combo high roof pop-top. The problem is we use our van as a daily driver when we go out as a family so I am trying to balance overall height for normal stuff (getting coffee from Dutch Bros, grabbing dinner at Chic-fil-a etc).

This height fixed top is the only one that will allow me to fully stand up at 6' 3" while the CCV top would allow my wife to full stand in the down position while driving and needing to help our son with anything and I would get the full height benefit while in camp/boondock.

Anyway ... seeing a van like this makes the decision a bit harder as this does look good.

Yea the full standing height is super nice, I prefer it over the 2 other pop tops I have had. The extra storage space I get up high plus the cold weather warmth and no setup make it ideal. Sure no drive throughs but a CCV high pop top and 4x4 probably wont fit in many either, and while they are cool they look kinda ugly IMO.

[renegadeoverland]

The problem I am struggling with, is our van is the RB and that makes proportions odd when you go with such a high top and I am not sure if I will like the look as much on that. I am confident I can build a bed setup to work without the pop-top but wish I could find a picture of someone with the RB and this top to see what I am in for.

The only RB sized van fiberine has a picture of on their site is a chevy and its kinda funny looking.

EDIT:

Do you ever feel top heavy? or like wind catches more?