What did you do to your SMB today?

[rltilley]

I swapped out the original steel cable on my Warn M12 winch for synthetic. I also put on a Hawse fairlead and a Factor 55 Flatlink in place of the hook that came on the Warn rope I installed. I still need to re-spool it under tension but the job was fairly easy.

[MauiSportsmobile]

Like everything else, they're sold out. Unless you want to pay inflated top dollar, now is not a good time to buy houses and camper vans.

[YoTerryh]

So I hit a kind of big snag today with the installation of fender flares on my van. It was all going well until I got to the last one which was to be mounted on the driver's side rear.

I completely failed to anticipate the camper customization which includes doors/ports for city water and electric hookups. I'll now need to cut the flare in a way that allows it to go around these obstacles but also do something to close the opening or form it to the body when it gets cut. The material is ABS Thermoplastic, so I'm hoping this material could be modded somehow. Thoughts and ideas?

[DesertSMB]

Originally Posted by YoTerryh

So I hit a kind of big snag today with the installation of fender flares on my van. It was all going well until I got to the last one which was to be mounted on the driver's side rear.

I completely failed to anticipate the camper customization which includes doors/ports for city water and electric hookups. I'll now need to cut the flare in a way that allows it to go around these obstacles but also do something to close the opening or form it to the body when it gets cut. The material is ABS Thermoplastic, so I'm hoping this material could be modded somehow. Thoughts and ideas?

The ABS is glue-able. Several years ago I had the right rear tire lose its tread and it ripped off my fender flare doing damage to it. I had to do some repairs on the screw locations and some other areas. I used ABS sheet plastic from Plastruct (www.plastruct.com) and was able to glue patches onto the fender flare. I used MEK as the solvent but Plastruct has glue that works with their ABS plastic. For the round one your could use a hole saw on the flare to make a suitably shaped opening. If you have a heat gun you can use it to heat up the Plastruct ABS sheet and bend it around something the same diameter as the hole you cut. Your may need to make some gussets out of the same material. The square opening you can just cut out the shape with a hack saw. On the website look under the Plain & Patterned Sheets section. I would go with 0.040 thick sheet. It's kind of a model building type project.


Chris Latham

[YoTerryh]

Thanks Chris! I appreciate the ideas. This seems like a pretty viable solution. Mind taking a quick photo of your finished project? Thanks again!

[JoeH]

Originally Posted by pjpvi

I decided to overcome my fear of rebuilding shocks. Tore apart some old Bilstein shocks and one damaged new one from my recent Baja trip, cut eye mount off the bodies and welded a stud for the rear of my van so now the body will be up instead of down, reassembled, nitrogen charged and they seem to work well. Best part is I've now overcome my fear of rebuilding shocks!

How cool is that?! Now you can also play with custom valving. Were the bilsteins originally sourced from Jeff at Deaver Spring?

[gahamby]

The powder coating on the bracket that holds the 7 pin trailer connector was doing more to protect the rust than protect from it. I peeled all that off, cleaned up the metal, and re-coated it with Eastwood Rust Encapsulator Matte Black Finish. I also re-taped the wiring harness. The 15 year old tape had given it up.

[Charliesmom]

I finally bit the bullet and upgraded the suspension in our HR Transit at Agile Offroad. Bilstein B6 struts in the front and Fox 2.0 shocks in the rear. Also added a couple of other things
I must say that I was impressed at the dramatic improvement in handling of the vehicle at highway speeds, especially in terms of tracking and sway from wind forces.

[Oogs]

Replaced the 8 year old Goodyear Duratrac with Cooper Discoverer AT3 XLT. I really liked the Duratrac tires which had great traction in the wet and snow but wanted a less aggressive AT tire to quiet down the highway ride which is where most of our miles are. We took our first trip and was happy with the reduced road noise. They also aired down well and did just fine on the sand. Also went with an E rated tire as the original Duratrac came in a D.
Attachment 39817

[YoTerryh]

Originally Posted by YoTerryh

So I hit a kind of big snag today with the installation of fender flares on my van. It was all going well until I got to the last one which was to be mounted on the driver's side rear.

I completely failed to anticipate the camper customization which includes doors/ports for city water and electric hookups. I'll now need to cut the flare in a way that allows it to go around these obstacles but also do something to close the opening or form it to the body when it gets cut. The material is ABS Thermoplastic, so I'm hoping this material could be modded somehow. Thoughts and ideas?

I got the 4th of my Bushwacker fender flare mounted up with modifications I made to allow access to the shore power and city water hatches. Basically, I trimmed the ABS flare and then used some rubber industrial floor edging/baseboard-type stuff which I found at Lowe's for $2.97 for 4' length. After mounting the trimmed flare, I then trimmed my flexible rubber strip to cover the opening, allowing one end to sit flush against the van and leaving enough extra to fold over the cut edge. I used ABS cement to attach the rubber piece, taped it in place to allow it to cure and let it set over night. It's not perfect, but looks ok and I'm satisfied with the results. I also got tube of black (silicone?) caulk and will probably finish off the edges later.

Side note, the Bushwacker flares fit ok but I found the self-adhesive rubber welting that comes with them to be so-so to work with. You are supposed to attach this stuff to the edge where it lays against the van. I wish that Bushwacker included a wider, better sticking welting, especially considering what the fender flares cost! This would allow the flare to better contour to the body of the vehicle and improve overall fitment.