Black95
South Dakota
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ChrisToeFur wrote:Looks great, I like the lower profile you achieved, Can I ask where you got the gutter mount cross bars? I haven't found any that are as low profile as those Just the ladder rack type that are much taller.
I ordered them from Vantech USA in Brooklyn, NY. They are called "2 bar Chevy Express/GMC Savana Ladder Roof Rack 1996-2016." I can't find them in their online catalog, but here is a website that has what they look like.
http://www.rackwarehouse.com/vantech-2-bar-aerodynamic-aluminum-ladder-rack.html
I found some on ebay for about $80 so I didn't pay the price shown on the website above. I included that link so you could see what they looked like before I modified mine.
I cut the crossbars shorter http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseac........d/28113784/gotomsg/29091420.cfm#29091420 so they would fit under the side brackets rather than on top of them. That is how I achieved the lower profile. Then I painted them the OEM body color of my van. Next I looked around until I found a basket that would fit my lower profile roof rack. Hope this information helps.
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michigan
Waterford,Michigan
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Thank you for your post. I always look forward to the next one. I have a 97 Express that I use for camping and you have given me many ideas.
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Black95
South Dakota
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michigan wrote:Thank you for your post. I always look forward to the next one. I have a 97 Express that I use for camping and you have given me many ideas.
Thanks. I would love to see your modifications!
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Black95
South Dakota
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This modification is not one I made to my conversion van, but to the camera tripod I carry in it. I like the Chevy Express van's large door pockets where I carry my little fold up camp chairs and my tripod, because it is so easy to get at them. I modified my tripod with a slow-motion adapter that I purchased from an astronomy telescope website. It allows me to make fine adjustments as I am tracking a bird or an animal with my telephoto or zoom lens on the camera.
http://www.telescope.com/Orion-Precision-Slow-Motion-Adapter/p/7033.uts
The other modification to the tripod was wire-tying the shutter release cable to one of the knobs on the tripod. Now I do not have to dig through my camera bag looking for it and it is always ready and handy to use when I am trying to take tripod pictures.
![[image]](https://i.imgur.com/DdsMXpll.jpg)
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AsheGuy
Raleigh, North Carolina
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Joined: 11/15/2004
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Very interesting thread on your RV but your photos make it hard to read (unless you have a large screen display) because they exceed RV.net recommended size. What method of sizing your photos do you use? If you use the RV.net photo website your photos will be polite and not require reader scrolling right and left to read your text on smaller screens such as are on many laptops. Below is one of your photos as it appears after using the RV.net site to size and host it. It's a little late to make this suggestion but I just noticed your thread a few days ago.
![[image]](http://i.imgur.com/wDJdInKl.jpg)
David & Margaret - 2005 LTV 210B 3S
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Black95
South Dakota
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AsheGuy wrote:Very interesting thread on your RV but your photos make it hard to read (unless you have a large screen display) because they exceed RV.net recommended size...........
I did not realize that the resolution & picture size of 640x480 that I used 20 years ago with my first digital camera was what still works best for pictures on the forum. I just assumed that higher resolution and better quality pictures were what worked better in today's world. I can easily lower the quality and size of all future pictures. I only use my desktop computer and an Apple iPad to view my forums and did not have the scrolling problem with my machines. Thanks for the uptick!
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Black95
South Dakota
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At the suggestion of AsheGuy, all photos on this thread have been resized to 640x480 or smaller for easier viewing on smaller screens. You may have to reload the pages for the changes to take effect. Hope this helps! I took his suggestion too and use RV.Net Photo website to upload all my pictures in this thread now. Anyone who would like to see high resolution images of any posts can PM me.
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Black95
South Dakota
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Time for another small modification to the camper van. My wife wanted more room for small things, so I used a drawer organizer and added a couple of metal brackets that I bent and shaped to fit the contour of my door window trim with my Pop-Rivet tool. After covering the inside (so things don't rattle while we drive) with sticky-back felt, I slid it over the edge of the trim by the window of one of the side doors. The second picture show how I bent the bracket over to catch the edge of the plastic trim and hold it in place.
![[image]](https://i.imgur.com/wMAD7qGl.jpg)
![[image]](https://i.imgur.com/xVeqW0Hl.jpg)
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Black95
South Dakota
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Now that camping season is here, I am finding small modifications to make again. After mounting my roof rack on the van, I did not have a good place to mount my magnetic TV antenna, so I got a piece of metal from my local home improvement store. I cut it at an angle to fit one corner of the roof rack, painted it black to match, and screwed it in place. Now I have a nice flat location for my magnetic TV antenna while camping and it doesn't interfere with loading my recliner camp chairs for travel.
![[image]](https://i.imgur.com/RsC26Sal.jpg)
![[image]](https://i.imgur.com/Nd8dcCil.jpg)
I have also shortened the coaxial cable for the TV antenna since this picture was taken so I don't have extra cable coiled on the ground.
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Black95
South Dakota
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I made another modification to my roof rack basket this week. Due to garage door clearance issues, I could not pack both of my reclining lawn chairs on the rack as it was too short and one chair had to stack on top of the other chair, which made it too high to drive into my garage. I ordered another rack extension on the internet and installed it. Now there is enough room for both chairs to lay flat and I can drive it into my garage without removing one chair first.
![[image]](https://i.imgur.com/YZlvXSml.jpg)
My original roof rack was a Bison brand and it came with one extension. The second extension I purchased was a Curt brand and it fit rather nicely without any modifications.
![[image]](https://i.imgur.com/YWW6CI6l.jpg)
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