FNG tries again. Ford E350

[carringb]

35 watts = 3 amps (ish)

[BrianW]

Originally Posted by carringb

35 watts = 3 amps (ish)

Thanks. So the LED headlights don't really "save" that many amps, it seems.

[carringb]

Originally Posted by BrianW

Thanks. So the LED headlights don't really "save" that many amps, it seems.

True. TruckLight may not use the most efficient LEDs out there. Higher efficiency LEDs cost quite a bit more, and overall that's a trivial alternator draw, so using more expensive LEDs probably isn't justified unless battery-only operation is needed.

One important thing to remember about quality LEDs is they have built-in regulators, so brightness will not vary with battery voltage. You get full output through until about 9-volts. This means you won't lose headlight brightness just because you have dirty headlight contacts, or tire wiring.

The real benefit is the brighter light output and much more uniform beam pattern.

[sandeld]

PROGRESS!!!

I finally told myself, "enough f*cking around!" and drove from CO to WI to build this thing with my dad.

The whole thing is insulated except the floor because we had to order 4 body-to-frame bolts and they won't be delivered until today.

Here's the post on my website of an overly detailed "HOW-TO" guide. Lots of words, pictures, and 2 videos spanning 9 minutes total.

http://lowgravityascents.com/2015/02/28 ... ating-van/

Hope you guys like it!

[sandeld]

Oh hello. I've been holding out on you guys.

My van is 90% done!

The inside is completely built out. I just need to get the ceiling vent, propane tank, and solar system installed.

Also, it's been just GUZZLING the coolant and very slow oil leak so I took it to the shop today. The oil leak was the rear main seal, and the coolant is disappearing into the EGR. So, I guess I'm going to get the EGR and Oil cooling bulletproof kit.

Do you recommend any other upgrades to look into that will prevent something else catastrophic down the road?

Here's my YouTube playlist with 7 videos so far and I still have more to upload:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...0b904L8TARrtLr

Here's my website with everything I've written about living in a van. Everything from 2 years ago when I thought about living in a T@B trailer, philosophical things about downsizing my life, ignoring societal pressures, and just some how-to's and things directly related to this van. And I have a TON more to write about, specifically about the cabinets, gear drawer, bed, and closet.

http://lowgravityascents.com/categor...style/vanlife/

All of my pictures are still gigantic and need to be resized before I can post them in here.

For all you night owls and early birds, here's a link to some pictures in my Google Drive account:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4w...ew?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4w...ew?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4w...ew?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4w...ew?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4w...ew?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4w...ew?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4w...ew?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4w...ew?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4w...ew?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4w...ew?usp=sharing

[sandeld]

More great news in the saga of my van...

It didn't have a jack when I bought it, and now it's sitting in my driveway with a flat tire.

Any suggestions on an emergency jack to buy and keep with me?

[sandeld]

Sorry for my long disappearance. I woke up one day and decided to go to Thailand on a 1-way ticket.

I finally put together a virtual tour of my van with some software I'm beta testing.

I'll warn you now, the software isn't very user friendly, but if you stick with it and click around, you get a great tour of my van complete with a lot of pics and youtube videos. I should just wait to post this until I reformat it to a more traditional tour, but "eh." I figure you guys would like to see it anyways.

(Plus, the internet in Thailand sucks so uploading so many pictures would be a real pain in the ass.)

http://lowgravityascents.com/2015/08/17 ... n-vanlife/

[odinson]

Cool posts. Like the vids. Thanks.

You might want to call fantastic fan. They can ship you a low profile housing and lid for the fan. Drives me nuts to see vans driving around with 6" chimneys on them with no other clearance issues. Seems like an accident waiting to happen. My 'after' is about 2" from flush.

We've got a lot of bridges and tunnels in NYC.

[sandeld]

I just put together a MASSIVE post on my build from start to finish. It's all the pictures from that shitty embedded picture software, all the YouTube videos, and actually a ton more never before seen. (And I still have a ton left for the mentioned project at the end.)

http://davidsandel.com/diy-campervan/

Originally Posted by odinson

Cool posts. Like the vids. Thanks.

You might want to call fantastic fan. They can ship you a low profile housing and lid for the fan. Drives me nuts to see vans driving around with 6" chimneys on them with no other clearance issues. Seems like an accident waiting to happen. My 'after' is about 2" from flush.

We've got a lot of bridges and tunnels in NYC.

Interesting. Wish I would have known before I bought the fan, but unless they're going to give it to me for free, I'm stuck with the chimney dome.