Coast Resorts Open Roads Forum: My Chevrolet Express van Class B- camper


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Open Roads Forum > Class B - Camping Van Conversions > DIY

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Black95

South Dakota

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Posted: 02/14/15 02:48pm

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Bigdog57 wrote:

Interesting project! I too have recently bought a van, a 1988 Ford E150 Conversion Van. Still taking care of some mechanical issues before doing the camping conversion. I will likely use some of your ideas. :-)

[image]

Keep us posted on what you do to your van. Your forum name interests me because I used to call my '90 Blazer the "Big Dog."

Black95

South Dakota

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Posted: 02/21/15 05:21am

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My wife's one disappointment with the Chevrolet van was that it had no handle above her to hold on to during my wild driving. I found one from a Buick on eBay and installed it yesterday. Now she is a "happy camper!"
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* This post was edited 07/26/19 04:00pm by an administrator/moderator *

Black95

South Dakota

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Posted: 03/21/15 10:18am

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The latest modification to the "Cookie Monster" van project is a remount of my GPS unit on the dash. Previously I had it mounted on top of the dash with a "sand bag" mount, but that was hard to see in bright sunlight and it moved around easily. I cut and sanded a block of wood to fit in the slot below the radio. I then covered it with sticky-backed felt and added an old GPS slot mount on it to hold the GPS unit. Then I routed the 12 volt power cord through the back of the slot to a 12 volt power outlet mounted under the dash.
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The other modification I made was to install an indoor-outdoor thermometer back in the camper area of the van.
[image]

Now I am looking forward to the next road trip in the van!

* This post was last edited 07/26/19 04:05pm by an administrator/moderator * View edit history

Black95

South Dakota

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Posted: 03/23/15 12:09pm

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I noticed while I was underneath my van that several of the brackets holding the heating/AC pipes had rusted away during the previous owner's tenure. As I didn't want them flopping around wearing holes in them before I got a chance to see if I could order new brackets, I made a quick repair with some galvanized strapping and rubber grommets.

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* This post was edited 07/26/19 08:49pm by an administrator/moderator *

stan909

San Bernardino,Ca

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Posted: 03/23/15 02:39pm

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Clever

drsolo

Milwaukee

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Posted: 03/23/15 05:29pm

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Wowwo.. you should listen to the conversation over in General RVing issues. Title: Anyone been turned away from campground for older rig?

I got turned away either because my RVan was "too old" or because it was a conversion van. whew.

Ingrid and Dan Retired teachers from Milwaukee, WI
1992 GMC Vandura conversion

Black95

South Dakota

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Posted: 04/14/15 09:12pm

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Today's modification for my camper van was a TV stand made out of wood covered with sticky-back felt.
[image]

I mounted quick disconnect brackets on the back of the TV to match the ones on the wooden stand for quick dismantling and storage.
[image]

I made the wooden stand to fit behind my kitchen unit and rest on the window ledge. The front board is longer (as you can see in the first picture) and wedges down between the wall of the van and the back of the kitchen unit for a more secure mounting.
[image]

Here is the TV on the stand in the window. When camping and watching TV we have the window lined with Reflectix insulation to keep the light out and for sleeping.
[image]

When traveling the TV is removed and stored in a safer location inside a padded bag used for laptop computers. The outside pocket of the bag holds the remote and cables.

The latest modification to my TV mount was to add a swivel to the mount so we could swing it out to watch it while we are in bed. I also mounted the TV to the mount permanently so I do not need to remove it while traveling.
[image]

* This post was last edited 07/26/19 08:52pm by an administrator/moderator * View edit history

quietjake

sunny Orygun territory

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Posted: 04/14/15 10:18pm

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Black 95:

I want you to know how much I enjoy seeing your little projects, of such direct and uncomplicated solution to common problems.

It brings me joy as well as the practicality that I can steal some of your ideas to suit my own needs.

Thanks for such clear photos as well.

Happy Trails, good Sir.

Black95

South Dakota

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Posted: 04/15/15 07:25pm

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Today's addition to the camper van goes along with the TV stand. It is a small 12 volt amplified antenna. I made a mount for it out of wood so that I could mount it on top of the van when we are camping. I discovered on the last camping outing that I get better reception with it on top of the van roof than I do with it just sitting in one of the van windows.
[image]

I used a piece of 2x6 cedar for the base and routered a space for two large plastic covered magnets to be recessed into it. The magnets will hold the antenna in position on the roof when camping so the wind does not blow it around.
[image]

Here it is mounted on the roof of my van during my last camping trip.
[image]

On this trip we picked up about a dozen good high definition channels. Even in remote locations in SD I can usually pick up at least one channel to catch the local news. I mounted the 12 volt amplifier in the back of my kitchen unit inside the camper.

* This post was last edited 07/26/19 08:54pm by an administrator/moderator * View edit history

Black95

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Posted: 04/17/15 09:12am

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Today's modification to the van camper was an upgrade to the lighting. I added another camper light on the right side. My wife was pleased as it gave her more light for reading in bed. I also upgraded the bulbs in both this light and the one over the kitchen unit on the left side to LED bulbs. The old incandescent bulbs got really hot and the LED's use much less battery power.
[image]

One good thing about being retired is that I can be on the lookout for modifications and upgrades to my van camper and have the time to do them right away.
[emoticon]

* This post was edited 07/26/19 08:54pm by an administrator/moderator *

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