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Old 03-27-2009, 11:52 PM   #1
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Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Fruit Heights, Utah
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Looking for Advice PLEASE, Things you wish or do.....

Hello Everyone Again,
We are starting on our interior build here very soon and I thought I would reach out (on the forum) once again in hopes that the other parents that travel in there van with their kids would have some advice.
We happen to be the proud parent's of a large family and we are having to build our van with that in mind. So I'm looking for some advice on things that other families with kids have found out along the way. Things they have or wish they had, things that make traveling much easier, meaning the little details/design in there van or things they would do different, things to think of or about, things that are a MUST HAVE, etc.
I appreciate any comments/advice that the forum has to offer.
Cheers

Ours is just blue....

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2006 E350 Quigley 4x4, building the conversion with the gracious help from the people on this awesome forum!
I'll try & post all of our progress on our family dream, when we have some.....
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Old 03-28-2009, 07:00 AM   #2
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Re: Looking for Advice PLEASE, Things you wish or do.....

Double post, see below.
R
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Old 03-28-2009, 07:08 AM   #3
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Re: Looking for Advice PLEASE, Things you wish or do.....

We've got 3 kids, ages 11, 7 and 4, and often travel with another adult and several pets. The van is loaded.

An extra captain's chair has been very helpful for kids that still require a high back car seat.

Other suggestions:
Get the biggest refrigerator SMB offers. I wish we had done that since we often run out of room even on short trips. As you know, kids eat a lot.

We'd have dropped the microwave. We use it very infrequently and it draws so much power you need to run the motor or a generator to operate for even a few minutes. Better to have the extra storage space.

If you have any hesitations about a porta-potti, overcome them. We got one after owning the van for more than a year and it has become one of the most heavily used pieces of equipment in the van. Super convenient and certainly worth the hassle of cleaning when we get home.

No need for a built in stove. A regular portable camp stove works just fine for us. In fact, the butane unit we got from SMB has been excellent under all conditions.

The suburban propane heater has been excellent and gets used often. I use it more often to pre-heat the van in cold weather than for camping. After two hours of playing in the snow, it is great to come back into a warm interior. I assume the espar unit could be used in the same way too.

Good luck and enjoy the SMB.

Rob
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Old 03-28-2009, 08:59 AM   #4
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Re: Looking for Advice PLEASE, Things you wish or do.....

My thoughts

I've had some issues with the solar panel installation, and now possibly the solar controller, but the solar has been very useful in keeping the EXPENSIVE house batteries as charged as possible under most circumstances.

House batteries. Kids need and use juice. Get two.

Inverter? Depends on your planned uses.

We have the Transformer-based galley unit installed (microwave, small fridge, sink, fresh water tank, inverter), and it's only been fairly useful so far, but then again, our son only just turned three, and we haven't camped in the SMB much so far. We do not have a water heater, and we don't have a grey water tank.

I always told myself that I'd never have a DVD player in a vehicle, but I have to admit the one that came installed in our used SMB has been very helpful in keeping our 3 yr old from going stir-crazy on long drives. We can go much longer between rest and comfort stops and get to our final destination quite a bit quicker. I should probably consider getting some wireless headphones for my son now that he's old enough, so I don't necessarily have to listen to the movies. A video game input to the screen wouldn't be a bad idea either.

A GPS system integrated into the A/V system. One less piece of additional gear cluttering up the dashboard, and one less 12V connection. The integrated system is more expensive however, and harder to update than a stand-alone unit.

Storage. We have a Transformer-like SMB (all forward facing seats for the kids), and there's very little built in storage, though there's quite a bit of "loose" storage underneath the rear bed platform. The built in storage would be more secure and nice to have, but you trade off against being able to configure the van for different needs.

XL storage compartment. The largest built in storage compartment I have.

Storage compartments built into the side and rear barn doors.

Extra 12V outlets.

Extra cup holders.

Seat heaters. Great on your back for long trips in the saddle.

If you have interior general and reading lights installed, and/or exterior lighting installed (camp lights), get the LED bulbs right off the bat. Much less power consumption when you're camped.

We have the rear 12V A/C system (tied into the Ford A/C system). Has been OK, but could NOT keep up with Arizona heat (115 degrees) and with all my windows (tinted) the A/C was not able to keep the van comfortable.


Herb
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Old 03-29-2009, 12:13 PM   #5
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Re: Looking for Advice PLEASE, Things you wish or do.....

We don't have kids, but some retrospective thoughts anyway (02 RB): My spouse is a great cook who likes to cook real food both inside and out so a decent cook top inside has been a requirement. We installed a low pressure gas outlet on the right side just under the trailing edge of the side door so we could use a high output stove outside (Rocky Mt. Range went our of business, but there are others). If we need high pressure gas outside, we run a hose from an outlet at the main gas bottle. The microwave is nice sometimes, but we're thinking the space might be more useful for other things and it's a power gobbler. Because we like to cook both inside and out, we need two-way access to the pantry. We had SMB West build the original pantry, but it just didn't work well with their materials and construction methods. So we designed and built our own (plywood) which opens on both sides. If you want more info on this, PM me. Our biggest problem is electrical power because we mostly use the SMB without hookups. To help with this we are adding solar. If starting from scratch, I'd suggest two big batteries plus solar. and maybe a bigger alternator. Portapotti is great sometimes (like when someone catches the revenge), but also a space grabber. The Suburban heater is useful in cold and wet weather. For us, the largest frig was a smart choice --- we eat lots of fresh vegs and fruit, and the freezer is very useful. Get all the insulation (including water system) and sound proofing possible everywhere, and don't allow any holes for dust and mice to get in. As a general suggestion, anything you can do to improve the quality of the cabinetry would be good. Stronger, lighter weight, less bulky materials (not mdf and particle board) would be better although more expensive. XL storage compartment is worth the cost as storage is always a challenge. A stronger upstairs bed platform would help; ours sags with big people.
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Old 04-03-2009, 12:41 PM   #6
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Re: Looking for Advice PLEASE, Things you wish or do.....

Thank you all for taking time to write down your thoughts, this will help us out greatly in our build. If anyones else has anything to offer, please by all means leave your thoughts.
Cheers
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2006 E350 Quigley 4x4, building the conversion with the gracious help from the people on this awesome forum!
I'll try & post all of our progress on our family dream, when we have some.....
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Old 04-03-2009, 02:12 PM   #7
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Re: Looking for Advice PLEASE, Things you wish or do.....

Pick a design that all the kids can see out of both sides of the van. I have a "50" design which prevented my youngest son who has taken permanent residence on the drivers side of the couch from seeing anything out the drivers side of the van. He would get really irritated when I'd say "look at that" and he couldn't see it. I had SMB add a small window over the sink (the "Bubba window") and now he is happy (well, as happy as he can be with me telling him he can't buy apps for his iPod, but that's another story).
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Old 04-03-2009, 09:02 PM   #8
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Re: Looking for Advice PLEASE, Things you wish or do.....

I'm of the opposite view of whitewhale, we cook all the time and I originally wanted the cooktop but love having the counter space instead. Permanent counter is better for me than permanent stove.

My nephew gets really car sick sitting sideways. I suffer the same problem so I have empathy and wouldn't want to put anybody sideways. Unfortunately my brother's sprinter has a side bench for the kids and it will be at least a dozen years before he can insist on driving (well try to insist...)

The last thing is the J-hook hole in the upper bed is a really bad idea. Once they discover it there will be no peace in the lower bunk as everything from faces, arms and lets to sheets and stuffed animals will be stuck through it. I would come up with a cover system (thin board on the bottom, some velcro maybe?) before they ever figure out it goes through...
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Old 04-03-2009, 10:58 PM   #9
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Re: Looking for Advice PLEASE, Things you wish or do.....

Jage,

Thanks for the heads up, I think we are going to go with a EB50 "style" seating but with a third captain's chair. As for the top, we have decided to take several peoples advice and go with a fixed top, most likely the voyager. It will give us headroom while we are driving and we still get the bed for the kids, besides it's allot less money!
Thanks again & please keep the comments coming.....
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I'll try & post all of our progress on our family dream, when we have some.....
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