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2016 TC XLT LWB Wagon Project Mtn. Biker/Dog Hauler/Camper


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22 minutes ago, stopbreakindown said:

When I inquired it was $375.  Then another $100-$125 to get it to Alaska.  

Kuat is coming out w/ something similar for $300 that I can get from REI so I have a place to return it if there is a problem.

http://www.bikemag.com/gear/kuat-pivot-allows-2-hitch-rack-swing-away/

The Kuat racks need something like that for our TC vans. When I was shopping for racks, we put a Kuat on my TC, then loaded my MTB on the rack and the handlebar end was about an inch from hitting the rear liftgate window. My Thule XT Pro has better clearance then the Kuat and it tilts down, but swinging the entire rack away from the rear loading area is interesting. I would have to see one in person to really see how complicated it is. 

Edited by r1alvin
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I actually had a few EC5 connectors laying around so I made an EC5 to XT-60 adapter and successfully ran my 12VDC shower pump with this Antigravity battery pack! How cool is that? It has a 12,000mah capacity,,,can jump start any vehicle has usb ports on it for phone charging and a built in flashlight. It also has a cigarette adapter charger.

20170627_201336.jpg

Edited by r1alvin
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Back from our trip to Colorado! I drove the entire route solo both ways approx. 13 hours straight. Was not even the slightest bit fatigued after all of that driving! Did a lot of high elevation driving including 1 drive up to the summit of Pikes Peak with a fully loaded van (2 bikes, gear, 2 dogs, full 8 gallon water tank). Overall the van did great but was easier to manage in the hills in "S" mode where I could select the gears. I can now see the value of that swing away hitch that was posted in here for the bike rack.

We arrived a day early as I mentioned above and found a place to pull off on a dirt road in the Pike National Forest. I set up my bed arrangement and it worked great. I also cracked a window and had a bug screen with magnets on the exterior of the sliding door window. Problems arose as temperatures plummeted into the 40's. It got too cold to sleep and I didn't have a sleeping bag or anything, just a thin sheet so I turned the van on to warm up the interior. My fuel guage said that we had approximately "300 miles to E". It seems when the van idles with the heat on, I counted 8 minutes  46 seconds for the fuel indicator to drop a mile. I figured this would give me PLENTY of time to finish a good nap before running out of fuel. (ie: 8min x 200miles / 60 = 26.6hours). Sure enough, I slept great! Woke up, drove down to the Hungry Bear in Woodland Park, CO and had a nice pancake and egg sandwich breakfast with coffee.  

Shower was also really nice to have and I used it several times to rinse myself off and my bikes. It's even better if you need to rinse the dirt out of a wound from MTB riding. 

Finally, the fuel mileage was great! Speed limits were 75+ in many areas and we were doing that and up to 80-84mph on cruise control and I was averaging over 24 mpg! 

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Edited by r1alvin
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Saw a Utube video on cheap & easy window screens and I copied that.

Only good for fairly flat topped windows. So no good for the front doors but good for the sliding door windows on the wagon.

Go to Home Depot gutter section and pick up a couple gutter screens. (Actually buy three cause their cheap under $3 each and it may be a challenge to get the right fit ;) they are white plastic with a bunch of 1/4" diamond holes in it and backed by screening. You can cut them with heavy duty scissors or tin snips or a utility knife. They have a thin channel on one side that you can fit over the window and just pop them into the window channel. 

I cut my first one, matched the second one to match backwards (screen ended up outside). So I got another and fixed that. I took the wrong cut one and trimmed it to fit my Explorer back window and then made a two piece one to match out of the scraps for the second side on the Explorer.

Here's the finished window screens for the sliding doors on the TC, marked so I don't screw up. They are not square on the back, they are tapered. It does take some fiddling to get them in, on the top of the window, in the window channel, and futzing with the safety stop and open when the window hits an obstruction. So you have to tap the power window up to hold the screens without lowering itself.

IMG_1463.JPG

Edited by Boomerweps
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6 hours ago, Boomerweps said:

Saw a Utube video on cheap & easy window screens and I copied that.

Only good for fairly flat topped windows. So no good for the front doors but good for the sliding door windows on the wagon.

Go to Home Depot gutter section and pick up a couple gutter screens. (Actually buy three cause their cheap under $3 each and it may be a challenge to get the right fit ;) they are white plastic with a bunch of 1/4" diamond holes in it and backed by screening. You can cut them with heavy duty scissors or tin snips or a utility knife. They have a thin channel on one side that you can fit over the window and just pop them into the window channel. 

I cut my first one, matched the second one to match backwards (screen ended up outside). So I got another and fixed that. I took the wrong cut one and trimmed it to fit my Explorer back window and then made a two piece one to match out of the scraps for the second side on the Explorer.

Here's the finished window screens for the sliding doors on the TC, marked so I don't screw up. They are not square on the back, they are tapered. It does take some fiddling to get them in, on the top of the window, in the window channel, and futzing with the safety stop and open when the window hits an obstruction. So you have to tap the power window up to hold the screens without lowering itself.

 

Thats cool! I never thought about sniffing around the gutter area, now I will! See if you can cut, tape and epoxy a rain shield to one of those in case of weather. Maybe you can cut a plastic gutter or one of those corrugated roofing strips from the same aisle.

Edited by r1alvin
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Added these heavy duty 500lb. hooks to the rear pillars where the seatbelt use to be. Forgot what they are called but our local Ace hardware had them for cheap. Used a small section of M10 allthread, a hex spacer and a really short M10 Bolt and 2 lock washers. 

20170707_164431.jpg

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On 7/7/2017 at 5:48 PM, r1alvin said:

Added these heavy duty 500lb. hooks to the rear pillars where the seatbelt use to be. Forgot what they are called but our local Ace hardware had them for cheap. Used a small section of M10 allthread, a hex spacer and a really short M10 Bolt and 2 lock washers. 

20170707_164431.jpg

Other than van bondage, what are you planning on using those cool looking, heavy duty hooks for ?

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15 hours ago, Boomerweps said:

Other than van bondage, what are you planning on using those cool looking, heavy duty hooks for ?

I used the hook as a tie off point for the Beagles lead . It actually worked out really well during transport too. They had their harnesses on and the hook allowed them to stay on the floor, in the rear of the van on a soft pad with restricted movement instead of in a wire crate. (Beagles like to snoop around the van lol)  I've been thinking about maybe running a line across the width of the van to both hooks to allow more restricted movement for the dogs during transport but I'm still trying to determine if this would be safe. Both dogs seemed to do well back there as I left enough lead for them to lay on the floor comfortably.

Edited by r1alvin
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These two bagel brothers like camping out in the back of the van more then I do lol.  You can see what I mean with the tie off point there,,,Right now I'm just looping their lead around the hook. I might look into make something more clean and simple, but same idea. Is this an alternate safe way to travel with them in their harness as opposed to being in a wire crate that can fold up etc in a crash? Also serves as a nice place to hook some plastic bags for trash or whatever else.

 

 

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Edited by r1alvin
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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm a crate fan myself as I think in an accident the danger of the dogs being thrown around the vehicles in the harness is more likely an issue than the crate collapsing.  You'd have to have a fairly invasive crash to collapse most crates.  Especially if the crates are kept more in the center of the vehicle.  But even a low speed collision could toss the dogs around the cabin on the harnesses. 

But you have to do what you think is best for yourself and dogs.

 

Edited by Tiller
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