Colby C

I had a 4 door wrangler back in 2009 and it was sweet. This go round, I didn’t really consider it, because it’s out of my budget, and I don’t need the room, and wanted a smaller more nimble trail runner than that. Though the long wheelbase makes a Cadillac ride in the desert. But the little one rides right nice too.

Yeah, this opens up a lot of options for me, one of them being a more fun DD. I’m also slowing down my motorcycle riding after 30 years on 2 wheels, and this lets me get to the places I enjoy without breaking another leg, knee, back etc. The wife enjoys off roading, but doesn’t ride, so she can come along now, and so can buddy the wonder dog. I’ll check back in every now and again.

No, i don't like climbing up a ladder at my size with bad knees. ill likely go back to a ground tent for a little while, and maybe do a teardrop trailer build, or possibly a utility trailer/box with a rooftop tent low slung just on top of the rails. that way i can use a portion of the utility trailer as a "porch"

2018 Jeep 2 door wrangler JK.

sold my 2016 transit connect cargo LWB but the buyer didnt want the camper conversion i made for the interior. this unit will slide in the rear doors of any 2014+ LWB cargo and give you a 4'x6'6" bed, and storage underneath. cushions are 4" thick and firm upholstery foam, covered in grey tweed. solid baltic birch ply construction with vinyl flooring, and the all wood is coated in clear polyurethane (3-4 coats all sides). the deck is covered with dark grey hull liner. very nice unit and makes a sweet little camper rig. installs and removes with 4 bolts. heres a link to my van's build thread. plenty of pics inside. http://fordtransitconnectforum.com/topic/6325-my-2016-connect-lwb-cargo-mini-camper-build/ the sale is only for the camper bed/storage insert, and cushions, and necessary hardware. $750

sold the van today, should be getting picked up this week after the check shows up. will be selling the camper insert separately.

Nothing new to report, just driving the wheels off it. 19.5k miles in a smidge over 8 months.

yeah, i guess its 6 in one hand/half dozen in the other. eventually, this will have a full interior, interior lights, etc etc. but to hell with all the seats. its just me and the wife. if I'm being even more realistic with myself, i doubt ill have this van longer than 1.5 years, and ill be onto something else. it will likely never get fully finished.

any pictures from the inside? what is the inside trim ring like?

yeah, I'm an animal behind the wheel. or behind bars (motorcycle bars) for that matter. shoot, i didnt even stop to piss til kingman.

My Gen2 has a rubber floor, and no pins for floor mats. his van has something none of the us delivery ones have, and thats a CLUTCH PEDAL!!!!! oh how i wish my van was manual transmission, and while theyre at it, put the escape suspension and AWD under it please..... KTHXBYE

lookin sharp.

i have been there myself. im ok, one day without a shower, but by the end of the second day, I'm lookin for something, river, lake, shower, something to get wet and knock the sweat/dust/dirt off. baby wipes work in a pinch, and are better than nothing, but if theres a shower, I'm taking it.

well, things got busy, and i was out of cell/wifi area a lot, so not much more to update. I'm home. had a good trip. the last day, wednesday, i left my sisters in eastern Oklahoma, and drove 1455 miles, straight thru, gas n go. 23 hours. so, heres the details y'all want.... 4809 miles 204.589 gallons $524.29 in fuel costs. so, 23.506 Mpg, towing a trailer, at 70+mph the whole time or 10.9 cents per mile in fuel im ok with that.

I've been camping and driving, and or camping off a motorcycle for my whole life. I have near 15k miles on this van and it's 6 months and 3 days old. weve been staying at camp grounds, mostly KOA's as they're easy to pull in late, and usually have openings. The hot showers are definite bonus (don't forget your flip flops) night 3 we stayed in a army corps of engineers property, was neat, on a bayou, but man, the bugs were horrible, and the showers........ pass. But a cool spot to knock out for the night. Did 720 miles today. Only 60 or so more to go til overland expo east. Van is pulling the little trailer fine, it's got about 1600lbs of weight total behind it, and it tows it very well. Hammer down.

No portholes, no crushed velvet, if I still had my 65 econoline, then yes to both. night 2 in the van on this trip. Happy that my fan doesn't leak in the rain. We're just shy of 1000 miles from home. Also, zero condensation in the van, very happy about that. materials wise for the next phase, I have the sound deadener I used earlier, then it will get some MLV, then 3m thinsulate. As for panels/covers, it'll all be grey, various shades, and likely a stiff cloth, maybe vinyl. Going to add some storage pockets to the back upper panels for stuff like wallet and keys etc. thanks for riding along.

What's next? I am currently 500 miles into a 5000 mile road trip, heading to Asheville, NC for Overland Expo East. So, what's next is some seat time. my foam cushions are too firm, should have listened to the foam guy, but I was stubborn, so what's next is likely new foam for my bed cushions. After that, I'm planning on more sound deadening and some insulation, as well as finishing off the interior space with panels/upholstery on the back walls, and filling in "where windows would be" on the sliding doors. And a headliner. As time and money allows.

ok, heres more of the install. wrapped this up yesterday, but it was late, and i was tired. lay up the flange and drill thru the holes into the adapter, and then thru the metal showing the holes drilled, i ran a light countersink to de-burr the holes Butyl tape on the underside of the flange, slight overlap of the corners (about 1/8") screw the flange down nice and easy..... also made wood blocks for the inside out of some old poplar i had hanging around. drop the fan in, note the wire in the bottom of the pic..... heat shrunk, and in "chinese finger trap" loom. runs thru the body to the right rear where my electrical is. installed/popped open height this thing REALLY SUCKS!!!!! so much air flow

My US delivery transit connect, has no bulkhead in cargo van configuration, do they not sell one without?

ok, so heres a basic run down of what has been happening on my build. tape a giant area off, and mark off where the 14x14" hole is going to be cut. drill the 4 corners and cut out the square. i used a cut off wheel on a die grinder. quick and dirty (like my jokes). i have access to everything, all the cutters, air nibblers, shears, etc etc, but i chose the die grinder because i am well versed in its usage. PRO TIP: tape a trash bag below the area you're going to cut, this seriously kept out 98% of the crap that would have gone all over my bed platform (i removed the cushions) Couple quick shots of the fan up there, kinda just seeing how monster this thing is. i really wish they made like a 8x8" fan, cuz this is totally overkill. the only other powered fan (size anyways) is a vent line vanair and its like 6.25" circle, pretty noisy due to the "squirrel cage blower" and only has one speed. go big or go home i say. Obligatory head thru the hole in the van shot. now, ill 100% admit to getting in the groove and getting this MOFO installed for the night, i forgot to take a picture of @Hein 's BEAUTIFUL adapter, this thing is NO JOKE. its CNC machined to match the curvature in the roof, both front and back, and side to side (like EZ-E's switches), fills in the ribs in the roof to perfection. Well worth the entry price of ~$65 taped off a perimeter, dulled the paint with a Grey scotch brite pad, wiped down with isopropyl alcohol, let dry i used 3M window weld as spec'd in the instructions, 3 beads 1/8" high/wide all around, light clamps to hold as needed. after the squeeze out, used a gloved finger, and made a little fillet of the window weld, then peeled the tape, nice crispy lines. DONE! well, at least with the roof adapter to give the fan flange something flat/level to sit on. let me tell you, this thing is 100% level front to rear and left to right, very impressed.

Received my roof vent flange adapter from @Hein today, VERY nice piece of kit. Like a Dingus i forgot to take pictures of it. Tomorrow, my buddy from the body shop next door is going to come over and cut the hole in the roof, its not that i can't do it, its that i don't really have the time right now, so while I'm working, he can use out the hole and it'll all be good. ill get pics of the adapter, and the products that I'm going to use to install the vent. with any luck, the vent will be finished installed on wednesday. which is just in time for my "exit" on sunday, heading to Overland Expo East, from southern California to Asheville, North Carolina. taking the van, and my little trailer with product, hoping for a good weekend.

Next up will be a maxxair deluxe roof fan. 14" of suction out the roof. see, this year ill have spent like 6 weeks in the van, or more, and the key to not ruining things is evacuating the condensation. i already have the maxxfan 6401k inbound is a roof flange adapter machined from a solid chunk of "plastic" that is machined to fit the curvature and the ribs of the roof. mine is going to be placed 6" forward of the back of the roof, dead center. more to follow as soon as parts get in.

thanks. its ever ongoing as time/money allows.

thanks, it really finished off the doors. next will be panels in where the windows would be, and headliner and upper rear side walls above the black plastic pieces. thank you Dollars. it'd be pretty easy to have them scanned and CNC routered out of ABS sheet.

Thats a weighted question...... the covering of the door cards was about $200 (maybe $175, I don't keep track well) the stainless washers were $40 ish. Mind you, these are fully machined, solid stainless, not the cheap pressed hollow back kind that is common and easy screws were probably $10 rivet nuts likely $20 so there's that, but I'm a mechanic, I've been using this upholsterer a decade, and he's done 50+ cars for me, so my prices aren't exactly market pricing (for my area) i also have the riv-nut tools and that set was likely hundreds of dollars. So, my answer, I'm not sure haha