windguy

@Colby C - thanks for the update. Glad you had a good trip. You are a driving machine doing 23 hrs straight - holy cow! Looking forward to your next van mod.

The fan is a great idea. Thanks for the light link. It's nice that the light has a built in switch. How did you remove the OEM cargo light? Mine is LED upgrade cargo light, but it's blocked by racking so it's not doing much good plus I can't stand it being on when I don't want it on and not being able to switch it on unless I close and open a door. I always leave my driver's side slider open in the garage. Where did you wire the light to?

I ordered the van with the optional 'all weather floor mats'. $52 additional ($60 MSRP). There are two posts sticking up from the carpet and the mat has two holes to secure to the posts, it snaps in place. Easy to remove and put pack. The mats don't extend very far around the perimeter so I'd say they are a bit small for my use. My issue is with sand from the beach but I can see someone in a wet or snowy/flushy environment in the winter having similar issues. Perhaps those Weathertech mats are an improvement over the OEM ones. I'd consider upgrading.

Nice job! Thanks for sharing.

Welcome to the forum - Congrats on your new TC. BTW - Arizona won't be on the U.S. Pacific Coast until after the big one

Great job - I like the design and craftsmanship. Thanks for sharing the pics. Is that a light mounted on the top in the back? How about the black thing in the front behind the driver's seat? Looks like a clamped on lamp perhaps.

Welcome to the Forum and congrats on your new TC. We love to see pics on this forum so please post away There are some pics on some threads that show what's behind those rear side panels. I've debated doing that myself but it doesn't seem like you gain too much from doing so. Worth checking into though to see if it works for your needs. Keep us posted.

No worries, thanks Question - Did you remove the cargo light to disable it and if so how do you pop that fixture out? I'm assume there are some type of clips holding it in but would rather ask before cheesing it up trying to pry it out.

Copy that. It's good you're self contained for road trips. Coastal areas around New England are pretty nice.

I agree, harder to wire up plus your panel is already in use. Mine's a waste of space being a blank panel. Thanks for the option of fixing that dash panel, but that would be too drastic for me to take on. I never look at the analog gauges (speedo and tach). Kind of a waste for me. I check my speed with the center digital speedo. I think the whole dash design lean towards style over function. I did consider a heads up display but haven't done any research beyond a quick glance.

Okay, I'll bite. Why? You live in the sticks so all I can come up with is either a hunter or a huntee, perhaps a moose in rut? @Tiller - great update, thanks. Love the pics. Enjoy your trip!

@GBL - thanks for sharing your tire info. If the OEM tires will last me 42,000 miles, I'll probably never have to change them

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new TC. Interesting to see the van stripped down to the bones. Looking forward to seeing what you do with the van.

I wish that dash panel didn't stick out as far as it does. It blocks my view of the dash. @Tiller - did you consider adding switches to the area at the center of the overhead storage area, like the pic below from another vehicle? In the TC there's a storage compartment for glasses for some TC models, not mine.

Good update. Despite all the driving I think you're having a good time. Enjoy!

Sounds interesting. Curious, what make and model tire? thanks

You're next round of mods sound great. Looking forward to hearing more about and then seeing the finished job. Glad your trip is going well. You're learning as you drive and camp. Hopefully you're getting some decent sleep in the back of the van. Where have you been parking at night? Godspeed!

Sweet! Nice job finishing. What's next?

okay, thanks for the clarification. Just to summarize, the firmware update will enable a tech to disable the exterior lights from coming on when the door is open/closed. It does not affect the interior lights. Does your service ticket from Ford have any reference info regarding this service item, like an SSM# or Firmware #? It would be very cool to see a list of features that can be enabled/disabled by a service tech. I seem to remember the day time running lights is one of the features. I had mine done as an option at the factory, but would like to know what else is available.

I can see how a slightly textured type of paint would be a good idea, especially for the larger slider panels, since it would be hard to get a nice even coat of spray paint over a larger area. Thanks for the tip. This will be a winter time project for me.

@chong - great thread and custom build. Thanks for sharing. Fun to read about the many stages of your build and trip. You did a lot of hard work and it appears to have paid off. Job well done! I've been to Banff, but in September, which was cold enough, as it ended up snowing in Jasper. You and your wife are a pair of hard core polar bears for doing this in the winter and living out of your van no less. Not sure if I should commend you or recommend a psych eval Looking forward to reading about more mods and adventures. Keep up the good work.

@colby c - congrats - great install. thanks for sharing with great pics.

Sounds good. There are virtues to keeping it simple. You are right. Not too many trees in my neck of the woods, er desert. Please keep us posted on your lighting upgrades.

Saw the link below on MSN Sunday night. This is from June so perhaps someone else has already posted about this. http://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/autos-vans/nissan-nv200-recon-camper-van-review/ar-BBDqk0p?li=BBnb4R5#image=BBDqmza|14 Seems like an efficient use of space copying design features of the old Westfalia/Eurovan campervan. May be a good source for getting conversion ideas for the TC. Recon company website link below https://www.reconcampers.com/ Sportsmobile added the MBenz Metris to their conversion lineup. Another decent resource for conversion ideas. http://sportsmobile.com/mercedes-metris/

@Tiller - just had a chance to catch up on this thread. You did a really nice job in customizing your TC. Thanks for sharing with some excellent pics to document your craftsmanship. Job well done! Using the uni-strut as a frame for your platform was a great idea. Very creative. I would like to add some additional lighting in the cargo area as well. For the cargo van version, I have a single LED light on the passenger side but it's often blocked with gear offering limited lighting. Not very useful. Having something on both sides and/or one centered in the rear to project outward like you did is the hot ticket. Have you considered adding a porta potti to your rig? Something like a Thetford or Dometic. I've thought about getting one myself for road trips. It could be useful unless you and the pooch have a solidarity thing going on with a "What's good for him is good for me mantra." Looking forward to seeing more mods. Keep up the good work!