Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 02-15-2019, 09:59 AM   #91
Senior Member
 
shadetreevanman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2017
Location: Riverside, CA
Posts: 385
Project High Top is almost done. Just a few clean up items to address. I bent some metal to follow the headliner transition and wrapped it in material. This is the rear one bent to go around the AC Plenum
Click image for larger version

Name:	IMG_5098.jpg
Views:	35
Size:	106.1 KB
ID:	25818

Here's a closeup of the front transition installed
Click image for larger version

Name:	IMG_5094.jpg
Views:	35
Size:	100.7 KB
ID:	25817

Got all the wiring complete with LED's in all cubbies. In the front cubby where we'll keep our overnight bags I added 2 more of the LED Pucks wired in with the ceiling lights. The side cubbies and the rear cubby each have their own switches.
Click image for larger version

Name:	IMG_5101.jpg
Views:	40
Size:	102.4 KB
ID:	25819

Lady Shadetree requested the side cubby lighting as she thinks it will make great mood lighting when we don't need full lighting inside. She may be right...
Click image for larger version

Name:	IMG_5069.jpg
Views:	28
Size:	57.9 KB
ID:	25820

Inside the side cubbies I added some cargo nets that velcro to the wall for small item storage. I hate items rolling around. There are 2 strands of bungee cord across each opening to hold items in.

To complete the project 100% I need to build some wiring covers inside the bulkheads so items don't roll up against the back of the switch banks and fuse block. And to be honest I'm not too happy with the cargo nets for the front and rear storage. May need to find some that are a little bigger, or at least add some attachment points at the top of the openings. I want these nets to be easily operable otherwise Lady Shadetree will call me over every time she needs in one of them.

Next step is those rear door shades/frames from ndubes. I bought a can of vinyl paint and a can of fabric paint for the color change. I was surprised to see the door frames have a velvet texture surface. I didn't look at the pictures that closely before I bought them. Wasn't sure which paint would work better with the velvet, so I bought both to try. The vinyl paint looks to be an exact match to my other window plastics, where the fabric paint is a bit darker. Hopefully the vinyl paint will work on the velvet without gumming it up if I use light coats. Then I'll use the darker fabric paint on the curtains. We've had heavy rains every time I'm off work lately so I haven't gotten in the garage to experiment. Hopefully over the weekend I can work on it and the other pickup items.

__________________
Tim Potts

2012 Chevrolet Express 3500 6.0
shadetreevanman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-15-2019, 01:13 PM   #92
Senior Member
 
dokaman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Stevenson WA
Posts: 363
Garage
"Lady Shadetree requested the side cubby lighting as she thinks it will make great mood lighting when we don't need full lighting inside. She may be right... "

The best part of VanLife!!!

And your build is supported by your lady.
__________________
Justin

2001 Van Haus E350 EB 7.3L Quadvan 4X4
1999 Sportsmobile E150 - SOLD
2002 Sportsmobile RB50 7.3L 4X4 - SOLD
dokaman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-15-2019, 04:22 PM   #93
Senior Member
 
BrianW's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 4,198
What may be a never ending conversion story…

Ah, some conversion van companies would glue that velvet sort of material onto the plastic frames to make them more “fancy.” Hopefully the spray paint won’t cause it to separate from the plastic. I had a chance to grab a set of those from a parts van a few weeks ago but passed because the “velvet” material was worn through in places. I thought about scraping it off but seemed like too much work.
BrianW is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-15-2019, 04:33 PM   #94
Senior Member
 
shadetreevanman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2017
Location: Riverside, CA
Posts: 385
Interesting. I haven't spent any time staring at these. It would be cool if I can scrape them off. I'm not that fancy myself. I'll give them a good look over this weekend and see what I can figure out. Thanks for the feedback.
__________________
Tim Potts

2012 Chevrolet Express 3500 6.0
shadetreevanman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-15-2019, 11:21 PM   #95
Senior Member
 
shadetreevanman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2017
Location: Riverside, CA
Posts: 385
Quote:
Originally Posted by dokaman View Post
And your build is supported by your lady.
You got that right. As the build progressed she has become increasingly enthusiastic about the van.

Tonight she followed me home in our Jeep. I kept wondering why she didn't try to pass me like she usually does. I figured maybe it was because of the rain. Nope. When we arrived home she immediately showed me the pictures she took of our van so I could see how it looked going down the street.

I got a good woman. Here's one of her pics

Click image for larger version

Name:	IMG_8076.jpg
Views:	29
Size:	98.9 KB
ID:	25827
__________________
Tim Potts

2012 Chevrolet Express 3500 6.0
shadetreevanman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-16-2019, 05:46 AM   #96
JWA
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Reynoldsburg, Ohio
Posts: 3,765
Send a message via Yahoo to JWA
Quote:
Originally Posted by shadetreevanman View Post
You got that right. As the build progressed she has become increasingly enthusiastic about the van.

I got a good woman.
Have her join up here too---user name could be M'LadyShadeTree?

I did chuckle at her not passing you as would be her normal habit---mine seems to always want to lead when we're driving individually. Not sure why but its comical when she has no idea where we're heading. OMG the mouth on that one when SHE get's lost!

I do like those LED's in the small storage cubbies--netting is a good idea too when you can get it working to your liking.
JWA is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-16-2019, 12:23 PM   #97
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Riverside Ca.
Posts: 735
Let me know when your ready to do mine!
Vanimal is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-21-2019, 05:53 PM   #98
Senior Member
 
shadetreevanman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2017
Location: Riverside, CA
Posts: 385
The rear door frames and their shades are officially a bust. I disassembled them and tried to recolor using fabric dye. The tan base color just made the new gray color look dirty regardless of number of coats. The velour textured material absorbed the dye like a sponge, leaving the corners still tan. While the velour material looked pretty decent before I dyed it, afterwards every scraped or damaged area stood out like a sore thumb.

The shades themselves looked great in grey, but didn't want to bend after getting dyed. Hard to get them to fold up cleanly.

Before giving up I tried some vinyl paint on the frames. Still looked pretty ragged. Set them aside in my garage for a few days to ponder my next move.

Do I wrap the frames in trunk liner material? Scrape the velour off? Bottom line was they just didn't seem worth it. They were an impulse buy to begin with. And even if I did get them working, I still have a window van with all those other windows with no blinds.

Hindsight being 20/20 I can clearly see I'm a moron.

My next impulse was to throw the whole mess in my trash can. Now that I got that out of my system (and into my trash can) I can live with the reflectix for a while.

With the added storage in the high top, reflectix storage issues have disappeared anyway. We are camping this weekend at the beach so we'll see how it all works out the way it currently is.

I may stop by the fabric store and look at some curtain material. Sewing can't be that hard, can it? As far as sewing goes, these relatively square flat curtains should be just right for a beginner to learn on.

Reflectix for the win!... so far.
Attached Thumbnails
IMG_5213.jpg   IMG_5212.jpg  
__________________
Tim Potts

2012 Chevrolet Express 3500 6.0
shadetreevanman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-21-2019, 06:57 PM   #99
Senior Member
 
Twoxentrix's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Maryland
Posts: 3,347
Garage
Quote:
Originally Posted by shadetreevanman View Post
....Bottom line was they just didn't seem worth it. They were an impulse buy to begin with.

Hindsight being 20/20 I can clearly see I'm a moron.

My next impulse was to throw the whole mess in my trash can. Now that I got that out of my system (and into my trash can) I can live with...
You're in good company! Can't count the number of times I've started a project that ended out in the trash can, or donated. Couple cervezas and you'll likely envision another approach.
__________________
TwoXentrix
"AWOL"
Twoxentrix is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-21-2019, 07:11 PM   #100
Senior Member
 
BrianW's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 4,198
You could try soaking a section in acetone and seeing if it softens up enough to easily scrape off.
BrianW is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Sportsmobile SIP or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 03:37 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.