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So, do the Gen 1's have a quickie button for traction control so you can switch it in and out as needed? My Aurora has that, but I mostly use it for when I want to have some fun and do a burn out ... <G>

Apparently a standard J hook arm. Push, pull, wiggle it all about, swear at it a little, and it popped off. Just didn't want to screw it up is all. Thanx for the assist. Was also pleasantly surprised to find out I didn't have to fiddle about with all the different adapters included with the blades. Never was good with puzzles, eh. They slipped on right out of the package. Now all I gotta do is figure out how to get one of the new ones off seeing as the auto parts sold me the wrong size for the passenger side. The book calls for an 18"er, and I took a 16"er off, but wait ... the 18" is a tight fit but it tracks well and parks ok, without hitting the window seals, so I guess I'm good till the next time. Even if it did hit on park, I don't suppose it would have been all that difficult to move the whole arm a notch on the mount - either way, no worries. Good timing though - sh!t's supposed to hit the fan weatherwise over the weekend, but I'll be ready. PS - I had my doubts about using the Duralast "beam" wipers instead of the conventional spring types I took off, but a quickie test with a hose shows they do a nice job. The real test will come over the winter.

Wipers getting patchy, so figured to get new blades and slap them on. The Duralast FLEX blades are listed as compatible, so I picked up a set. Figuring to make a quick swap, but no ...... the original blades look to be riveted to the stock arms. Or maybe I'm just missing something. In any case, I decided to hold off before breaking what's at least working for now. Pic is what I got right now. (Please tell me I don't have to replace the entire arms ... them suckers don't come cheap!) Worth mentioning, there is a lever by the hinge, but pressing that doesn't seem to do anything. I thought about forcing it with a bigger lever, but once again, don't want to break anything. Also wondering if anyone would know if a standard Anco slip in replacement rubber would fit the stock arms - those hold well to the windshield, but the rubber's pretty bad.

Check this out ... looks like it would be a fairly simple swap ...

Heavy cargo bikes ... more detail please ... I went with a hitch doubler on the back here. Just slides onto the hitch receiver and the original ball slides into the back of that. Trailer hooks up to the lower receiver on the doubler, and the bike rack uses the upper receiver. Disconnect the trailer, pull the pin to lower the bikes, and there's even enough room to open the barn doors on my 2011 ... Nice part is I can park and set up the trailer, then drive off either with or without the bikes. Those were both eBikes too, so pretty hefty at maybe 50 pounds each.

Sure the heater you're looking at doesn't have it's own pump? Last gas heater I had was on a '68 VW Microbus and seems to me that had a siphon pump built right into it. That said, I'd still think propane radiant panels would be a lot safer. No venting or exhaust required if you crack a window and use a monoxide detector ...

Found this one on Amazon a while back and quite happy with how it's worked out. Just fits with the doors closed in bed mode. Folds up into a comfortable chair and provides a lot of flexibility. Old pic (van is still a work in progress) and I've since raised the base several inches for more storage underneath and to make it easier on my tired old knees ... just pop the hold down strap and give the seat a spin on the base to fold it flat for sleeping. Bonus - perfect fit for my Aerobed sleeping bag, so I can dial up my sleep number ... ;-}

I'll see your truck tent ... and raise you one ... ;-} Entry is on the other side. Unit also has a zip on screen room there. Fun part is, it folds down to a 4x8 trailer. Walk in height and a couple minutes to set it up. Tricky part is lining up the van, but a couple flags about where the van door needs to go make it a lot easier. The entire base becomes a full size foam bed, complete with aero mattress pad. I'll leave the "roughing it" part to someone else ... PS - our Euro neighbors might be able to score one of these, but there was very limited import here to the colonies. I happened to luck out and find one that was stored inside most of it's life and saw little use, so it's in excellent shape and just needed a good coat of waterproofing on the canvas. Be interesting to see what all everyone else has come up with.

Nice speaker shelf. Those are bolted to the shelf, so no worries about them getting away. I've since reattached the stock net. On the bright side, if they DO break loose, I no longer have a cargo wall to stop them, so they should just whiz by overhead, so I should be good long as they don't carom off the back wall and catch me on the rebound ... ;-}

Almost bought one of these when I was looking for a van to convert. Good condition, good price. Missed it by ... that ... much. One I was looking at even was an automatik!

Same as the gen one's then. No need to cut the front support as I don't need the extra headroom over the front seats, and it makes a nice reinforcement for a cargo area between the original roof and topper for light duty storage like blankets and such.

Mine need a 5x8 foot hole if I remember right ... ;-} ... and ya ... that is a MaxxAir fan, and measures 14x14. One word of caution - put the remote in a safe place as the built in control panel sucks ... not a bad idea to add the batteries for that to your annual list of things to do. PS - if the type two's are anything like my 2011, there's only one support rib between the front and rear doors. You can see where mine was cut out for the pop top.

If this started after the recall work, then the hinges obviously weren't "replaced properly". Take it back to the dealer and tell them to RTFM before trying again.

I know mine was ... (Stress the "was") ;-} PS - excuse my dust. Work in progress!

Can't say for sure what all's getting measured where, as I didn't do the work, but mine are a flush fit both in and out, and the invoice reads 1" trim ring for all of em. Here's an inside pic of the barn door installation. If you use the same sizes I did, the part numbers are TR16/14 and TR21/14. There's a thin bead of sealant both in and out to waterproof the seams. Main thing is to make sure the windows are oriented correctly with the weep holes down so all the channels drain properly. PS - haven't done it yet, but plan here is to go with standard 1/2" dense insulation butted up to the window frames with a bit of sealant and "T" moulding to make it purty. No rush on that as I don't do a lot of cold weather camping anymore and the TC has a surprisingly good heater anyway. Then again, I may just go with a couple thick coats of texture paint and leave it at that.

I do believe it looks better than the standard super tall, and I'm happy with it. The mods kinda sorta stalled as I ended up back in hospital for a while. Here's the inside just after the install. Most any "pro" I talked to hemmed and hawwed about liability cutting the hole, but there's only one structural support that got cut, and the topper is built tough, so I'm not worried. The guy who did the work said it's probably stronger than stock anyway. Plan is to add recessed light, a couple rear speakers, and some net storage in the space between old and new roofs. ... and here's one from the front ... ... and as it sits today. No progress on the interior, but I got all the stuff, so high hopes there. It's still a fun ride.

Something like this won't work? If there isn't room in the box, I'd just go with another box so you're ready for any extras as time goes on. Plan here is to add add an aux connector block similar to what I use on my motorcycles ...

I made my own, using a standard swing down bike rack and a dual hitch extension I got from UHaul. No extra parts required - just had to get a bit creative, rearranging the mounting plates to fit the extension. http://www.brainfartz.com/images/ranger/bike-rack-(4).jpg (Board won't let me post images direct any more. Silly new HTTPS rules I expect.) Anyway - this allows me to haul a couple bikes AND tow a small trailer at the same time. Works nice with the TC. Pull the pin to let the bikes drop to the ground, and it even let me open the tail gate on my ranger. Nice feature is the extension comes off easily with the rack, allowing me to use a standard hitch for hauling a utility trailer or whatever.

2011 TC here, and only real rust I've seen is around the hold downs and mounts on the cargo floor, and the rear bumper bottom panel. Just some pitting and chips on the main body rails underneath. Probably wouldn't hurt to get those blasted and rustproofed anyway. In any case, it's all cosmetic here.

If you can test the rack, do so. Not exactly cheap to buy new - Use it or sell it. There's a few different brands out there, so best bet would be to find a mfg sticker and do some digging for how to wire up the controller if that came with the unit - maybe some little black box you've been scratching your head over? That said, most of the power units are just added on to the basic unit, so the rack should work fine without the controller.

Remote motor control for a ladder rack ...

Door seals? Dry it off then go around each door with a pressure washer. If you have any leaks there, give the seals a good rubdown with Sil Glide. That softens the rubber and lubes it a bit so it conforms better to the frame. I swear by the stuff for stopping the frameless windows of my Aurora from whistling.

Something that helped me in cutting panels was to rough cut the cardboard to the general shape I needed, then tape narrow strips to the edges as needed to fill any gaps. Ended up with a right tight fit in all the right places. Obviously still a work in progress, but no complaints so far ... PS ... the metal bits of the kitchen area are recycled from the commercial shelving that was in the van when I got it. Waste not, want not, and less crap to throw out or trip over, right?

Good question and one that hadn't occurred to me as insulation isn't that big a priority for me. Even with the cargo area open in Michigan winters, the stock heater keeps up fine. Just camping overnites and weekends, so even a smallish vented propane heater should take the edge off for the few times I'd be just sitting around. Thing is, you DO need to get a good tight seal on the outer door skin, and not sure a thicker ring would do what you want. Best bet would be to contact the store and ask - I figure there's non-structural beauty rings made just for dressing the edges. Be sure to post back with your results ...

Note to self ... no soup cans or half full coolers in the back. ;-} Besides - pretty sure my foil hat will protect me!