BigBlue our travel van - Page 2

BCam · 05-30-2020, 06:58 AM

I've been wondering how well those vents work. Do you ever put one on blow and one on exhaust?

Flying Pig · 05-30-2020, 07:11 AM

Great thread start and we have a 2014 150 2wd that has come along on a solid budget. The next few months we hope to enjoy some great experiences on the road too. The forum here has so much info and many great people.

marret · 05-30-2020, 07:28 AM

Yeah, looks great. Agree with Grampswrx, super cool. I like those vents as well.

What are you covering your side door window with?

asgard · 05-30-2020, 04:37 PM

With regards to the roof vents, they are 6-inch Ventair units.

I liked these because they fit onto one of the wide roof sections, the install is simple. The unit themself is a metal body, powder, or enamel-coated and not likely to degrade with sun like some plastics do. I installed them onto a double plywood backer and used glazing butyl non- setting putty. The foam gasket that comes with it is no use so I replaced it with a better rubber adhesive seal strip.
The fan it appears is directional, it is not a standard blade type but blades mounted on a disc, I think this stops them being efficient in the reverse direction, I did have them wired to a DPDT switch and it might have worked but it was not as I had hoped so reverted back to a single direction, suck. I am looking at changing over to a blade style and adding a variable speed controller.
We mostly use them as passive vents, they can be left open in rain, except if it is driving horizontally and with the smoked caps it is no problem with light escaping of the early morning sun. I paid $50 each for mine via ships chandler - online.
As for window coverings, my wife made up covers for the front two side, sliding and rear windows along with 2 tubular ones and infill for the front window, we bought a custom made front one that is both reflective and black.
We have since changed our operation by leaving the rear on all the time and over-cladding with plywood.
The covers are made with grey felt- Walmart and teh reflective/bubble wrap we used for all the insulation, it is like Reflectix but thicker. Works great.
I have attached a picture of the one that infills around the mirror so you can see both sides and teh construction.

asgard · 05-30-2020, 04:46 PM

The next modification was the replacement of the front sealed beam headlights, they were almost dangerous.
I purchased a set of full-LED units from Carid, they took quite a while to arrive but they work well. They have a hi and low beam in LED and a DRL LED bar.
The issue I had was that being in an area where DRL is mandatory I did not like the fact they were using the low beam section at about 60% brightness and no matter how I tried to use the DRL section it would not work on its own. So as no dealer will disable DRL here I used Forscan and switched it off myself, I then ran a separate circuit that activates with the ignition to power the DRL strip, while I was in the body module I disabled the sidelights coming on when you opened the doors, it is called dark mode or police setting.
NOt to stop there I mounted 2 square LED driving lights into the front bumper, not anything fancy like Rigid but the usual Amazon specials. The bumper is quite the item but a metal blade on a jigsaw did the trick.
Lights now are very good and I can activate the driving light via a relayed switch when needed.

BCam · 05-30-2020, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by asgard

With regards to the roof vents, they are 6-inch Ventair units.

I couldn't find Ventair vents online, could they be Ventline Vanair vents?

https://www.amazon.com/Ventline-VP-5.../dp/B00407CK5W

I also see that MaxxAir makes a similar vent:

https://www.amazon.com/MAXXAIR-00-03.../dp/B07TXX79JL

asgard · 05-30-2020, 08:12 PM

Sorry about the miss naming. You are correct it is a Vanair 6 inch round roof vent with smoke cover.
I read the Maxair is for a 1 inch roof but you can buy an extension the Vanair worked ok on about 2 inches and I think could have done a bit more. I have a spare if you need dimensions. I could photograph one in it's component parts.

ctb · 05-30-2020, 09:23 PM

Oh man LOVE the headlight kit! GREAT COLOR...maybe best color EVER?!? You'll read about folks being interested in your rig and walk up to you and want to ask questions...BUT, you look CIA/FBI

and might be able to enjoy folks just staying away! LOL!!! Welcome and a couple more suggestions? "search" button on top to look for topics/quesitons first, and "trip reports" for places members have gone/been with plenty of pics to motivate you to explore places most campers will never hear of or see! Then post YOUR pics when you go there!!! Man its a GREAT time to own a cool rig to get away from it all! Good luck! Keep us all posted!

Ps Who doesn't't love the ole' suck n blow option eh!?!

Flying Pig · 05-31-2020, 08:05 AM

Straight across plug and play on the LED headlights ? Been looking at the same ones on CARiD

asgard · 05-31-2020, 08:16 AM

The lights are an easy install it is just if you want to use the drl bar in the middle as opposed to the low beam it gets tricky.
I don't know if you have the drl in your location but the Forscan setup allows you to mod it.
They are bright and well worth the effort.
A picture with just the drl bar lit.