Small Projects Thread

[rionapo]

But I guess you're not microwavable when packaged with that reflectix.... :a1:

Meandering through this thread and I felt a need to bump Rob's comment on Reflectix insulation. Around Santa Fe, there are plenty of folks who would like that feature. It protects them from cell phone emissions, EMFs and little green men.

Don

 

[schluchtenflitzer]

Today i changed the oil of the tranny (4R100) and the filter. It was the first time i did this and it was a pain in the ass..... :f6:
A lot of the oil does not catch the bowl for it i took under the oil pan when i loose it.
So i decided to put an oil drain on the std pan.
The floor in front of my garage will be thankfull the next time.... :n7:

 

[86Scotty]

Today i changed the oil of the tranny (4R100) and the filter. It was the first time i did this and it was a pain in the ass..... :f6:
A lot of the oil does not catch the bowl for it i took under the oil pan when i loose it.
So i decided to put an oil drain on the std pan.
The floor in front of my garage will be thankfull the next time.... :n7:

Very Nice! To make it even cleaner and easier do the 'pump' method, pumping the fluid out from the cooler (radiator) return line. I did it for the first time recently and it was MUCH neater and cleaner.

:b5:

 

[nicksandvig]

My room mate got some FREE sound deadening material from his work. He works for a sunglass company and found this in the warehouse....odd. It's made by Rockford Fosgate and is called DeadSkin. Seems like pretty decent stuff and RF is a reputable brand so I went for it. Obviously the price was right and it took me about 4-5 hours to do the entire job. I doubled it up on top of the tranny and on the right side of the doghouse to try and muffle out some exhaust noise. I bought some seam tape and a roller from a local car stereo store. My advise is get the roller, skip the tape, and use lacquer thinner to prep the surface. That last line is KEY!!!

It seems to have done an OK job and making the cabin a tad quieter. I am glad I don't have anything more than a Friday nights worth a labor into it and about $20 in parts though. If I had bought the product I'd be disappointed.

Just wanted to share. - Nick

 

[DudleyTania]

My RB50 layout is almost ideal - but am considering the possibility of removing the slider storage cabinets to expand the sleeping area width. Unknown if anyone has conisdered or done this, but would enjoy hearing about the logistics of a project of this nature.

 

[86Scotty]

Cedar plank shower mat

I wanted a mat that I would be able to sit in grass, sand, or mud that could just be washed off (or not) and stowed. My idea was to get a little higher off the ground than a regular mat so water won't pool at your feet.

Needed: 3-4 1x2 Cedar trim boards, cut in to 24" pieces. $3.50/per at Home Depot/Lowe's
Decent synthetic rope that will melt when heated (to hold the knots)
2 +/- ft. of 1/2 PVC, PEX or similar pipe. I used white PEX from Lowe's left over from my water heater project

Cut boards in to 24" lengths and drill them equally with a drill press, finished on a belt sander
Singe rope on one end and feed through, with 1/2" PEX pieces between
Knot ends as tightly as you can and melt them a little with a torch or lighter. Be careful here! Cedar board is very dry and you'll ugly up your boards with burns if you aren't careful. Ask me how I know. :a1:

First time I assembled this I just knotted the rope between each plank, and it rolled all over the place under my feet. The boards standing on end vs. laying flat is important to add enough height to stay out of the goop, so the PEX and really tight rope works perfectly. Holds my 200 lbs. without moving around at all now.

The tall boy is for reference only, and for later. Being cedar this mat is pretty light and will store easily in a roof box or Trasharoo, that way you don't have to worry about cleaning it or drying it after every use.

:b5:

 

[Tapatio]

Nice, used redwood for mine.

[photo:rzo68ce9]19046[/photo:rzo68ce9]

 

[86Scotty]

Sweet! I like the hooks on the ends too.

 

[Pschitt]

Have done one about the same of yours guys. :a3:

 

[GtDad]

Installed some white led strip light in my cabinets as well as remote USB ports throughout the cabinets..

 

[Viva-SMB]

reelchef,

Nice mods - I really like those USB ports. The fact that they label which one is which output, and plus it looks like the cover closes over the light (of course the cover would be open if using it). What brand/model are they?

 

[GtDad]

Thanks I got them off eBay for about 10 $ each. The cover does seal off light and dust.
Or they can be installed with out the cover.
The switches are from amazon and light up with red led when depressed .
Also added built in voltmeter by the same seller.

 

[tlg-SMB]

Designed a MOLLE style utensil panel. The panel was subsequently constructed by Bedford, VA, based Blue Ridge Overland Gear. The utensil panel is mounted to the galley box when needed and is easily removed via the snaps in each corner. The panel has nylon sleeves and a small, rectangular, velcro patch (located below the spoons/whisk) to hold various odds and ends. A rubberized, oil resistant, coating was applied to the fabric behind the nylon sleeves. The design features were all intended to facilitate ease of clean up. Also designed a removable MOLLE panel to fill the storage void on the cabinet step located behind the driver seat. The panel was reinforced with a plastic sleeve to add rigidity. Hats off to the folks at Blue Ridge Overland Gear. A job well done. Shoot me a PM for additional design details.

 

[GTDad-SMB]

Love this idea, i might make one to use as entry mat for side door.

Cedar plank shower mat

I wanted a mat that I would be able to sit in grass, sand, or mud that could just be washed off (or not) and stowed. My idea was to get a little higher off the ground than a regular mat so water won't pool at your feet.

Needed: 3-4 1x2 Cedar trim boards, cut in to 24" pieces. $3.50/per at Home Depot/Lowe's
Decent synthetic rope that will melt when heated (to hold the knots)
2 +/- ft. of 1/2 PVC, PEX or similar pipe. I used white PEX from Lowe's left over from my water heater project

Cut boards in to 24" lengths and drill them equally with a drill press, finished on a belt sander
Singe rope on one end and feed through, with 1/2" PEX pieces between
Knot ends as tightly as you can and melt them a little with a torch or lighter. Be careful here! Cedar board is very dry and you'll ugly up your boards with burns if you aren't careful. Ask me how I know. :a1:

First time I assembled this I just knotted the rope between each plank, and it rolled all over the place under my feet. The boards standing on end vs. laying flat is important to add enough height to stay out of the goop, so the PEX and really tight rope works perfectly. Holds my 200 lbs. without moving around at all now.

The tall boy is for reference only, and for later. Being cedar this mat is pretty light and will store easily in a roof box or Trasharoo, that way you don't have to worry about cleaning it or drying it after every use.

:b5:

 

[86Scotty]

It works great for that too, especially in rain or sand.

 

[gcvt-SMB]

Spent a little time in the van today.

Installed a second dual USB outlet on the dash, on the passenger side for the GF…

Installed a dual USB/cigarette lighter outlet above the sink…and checked the house batteries with a cheapo plug-in monitor from Amazon.

Lastly, I installed some spice racks inside a cabinet door, which really wasn’t photo worthy but really handy.

What else? Oh, also re-wired the LED fixture above the sink to flip it 180° so I can turn it on when I open the side door without having to crawl inside the van. That'll be helpful. Also installed an indoor/outdoor thermometer thing so I know how cold the fridge is...or if it's working.

Did all that and didn't break anything :a3:

 

[GTDad-SMB]

Ive got the same 12V usb all over my van too. I did however leave the rubber covers on.
The blue led in them is very bright at night and any blue light at night will give you bad sleep.
Blue wavelength light triggers the wake up time portion of human brains. Always avoid any source of blue light in sleeping areas such as, led's on TV, alarms clocks etc.
Ive also been wondering how much current does the voltmeter uses , bean meaning to measure that, thought of putting a push button with it to minimize power draws in my van.
Between
co2 monitors
carbon monoxide detectors
leds from the usb ports
built in voltmeter
wifi controlled lights (now on its own switch)
The draw adds up, when boondocking.
I have replaced all my interior bulbs with a mix warm white and daylight(6500k) led bulbs so I have gains there.
Btw the warm white leds feel very nice at night for a "cosy feeling"but I have each double fixture with warm white led bulb as the first one to come on then a 6500k led bulb as the both lights option for when I need more brightness.
Also right now i am only using 1 agm 24 battery which is small.
I am going to do possibly get a 31 agm battery in the spring and put in a dual battery selector. Unfortunately the battery layout does not allow me to have two 6V batteries due to height restrictions
Unless I mounted them somewhere underneath my van (awkward)

 

[gcvt-SMB]

I disabled the LEDs on all the USB outlets :d8:

 

[Viva-SMB]

Installed a second dual USB outlet on the dash, on the passenger side for the GF…

Nice - I'd like to do that. Anything a person "might want to know" that you learned? Or say a person slightly less used to making vehicle/dash mods was going to add one? (You know, a friend of mine :a2: )

I installed some spice racks inside a cabinet door, which really wasn’t photo worthy but really handy.

I think your standards for "photo worthy" are too high! :a1:

Great to see/read about what you've done, so thanks for posting. I really like the idea of certain switches being handier from the door, vs. having to grope your way in in the dark and then find them.

 

[gcvt-SMB]

Installed a second dual USB outlet on the dash, on the passenger side for the GF…

Nice - I'd like to do that. Anything a person "might want to know" that you learned? Or say a person slightly less used to making vehicle/dash mods was going to add one? (You know, a friend of mine :a2: )

I installed some spice racks inside a cabinet door, which really wasn’t photo worthy but really handy.

I think your standards for "photo worthy" are too high! :a1:

Great to see/read about what you've done, so thanks for posting. I really like the idea of certain switches being handier from the door, vs. having to grope your way in in the dark and then find them.

The dash work is pretty easy once you get the headlight switch off (for older vans like mine - 1997). Some have a release button under the dash, but mine had a little clip on the pull-out switch itself...then there's the trim ring which just unscrews. Everything just pops off after that and is held on by clips. I tapped in to the cigarette lighter wires for both USB outlets. It's a 20amp circuit. Then you just gotta check for clips, dash supports, etc. before you bust out the hole saw and drill.

The switch on the kitchen light had always bugged me. Not sure why they put it on the 'wrong' side. While I had that whole panel out to install the rear USB/cigarette panel, I just spliced in an extra 6" of wire and flipped it over. Now I can turn on the light without having to get in the van or even open the second side door. Much better.

Went out today to add some more spices to the spice rack only to find that the 'indoor' part of the indoor/outdoor thermometer I put in was laying on the floor. Had it stuck on above the fridge. Guess I need some better two-sided tape.

Next up is more LEDs. I've got about three feet worth of flexible LED strips left over in ~6" lengths. I'd like to add those around for mood lighting to use when we don't want any of the big four LED fixtures shining in our faces.