Wild-Surfwood Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 Hi all. Picked up a 2016 Transit last December and I love it. Originally wanted the older version, but the wife said she would never drive it. We needed to drive my car to slow her millage down, so I introduced her to the newer version.....and success:) I’ve got three little ones and a dog plus friends at any given time. So the space was crucial. Anyway, I built a custom platform to share with you guys and working on an awning for camping and tailgating. Racks are pretty disel and can hold a good amount of wait. Mostly me and the kids stargazing lately. Used wood for the platform and stained it gray. The metal brackets to hold the side rails were from old toilet dispensers from my work. The side rails are struts for conduit. Love the versatility of the vehicle as well as my new roof storage/dance floor:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
windguy Posted October 28, 2018 Share Posted October 28, 2018 Welcome to the forum Great job on the rack. I'm sure it will serve you well. You'll need the extra storage with that large posse Looking forward to seeing more mods! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wild-Surfwood Posted November 14, 2018 Author Share Posted November 14, 2018 Thanks Windguy. A lot of great ideas, advice, and mods from members. So I finished the awning tube. I put some 4” L-brackets on the tube to attach to the rack and painted it black. I’m going to be attaching the awning/tarp with nuts and bolts along with 1/2” and 3/4” electrical conduit. Here’s a few shots of the finished product.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fifty150 Posted November 14, 2018 Share Posted November 14, 2018 I curious about these old toilet dispensers that you were able to repurpose. What do they look like? Do you have a close up photo? Is this item something like a machine which sells condoms at a glory hole? Is the part still in production & available, or is it so "vintage" that the company is out of business? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
windguy Posted November 15, 2018 Share Posted November 15, 2018 That long black tube looks like a rocket launcher - 007 style. How does the awning work with that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wild-Surfwood Posted November 15, 2018 Author Share Posted November 15, 2018 Hi Fifty150. The stainless hangers are still being used today. Just not at my work..... These are about 10 yrs old. Here’s a pic of the full unit... I used the bracket to the left and painted it black. Heavy gauge stainless, so it worked out well that it had holes in it already. Would have burned all my drill bits.... and patience ?. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wild-Surfwood Posted November 15, 2018 Author Share Posted November 15, 2018 1 hour ago, windguy said: That long black tube looks like a rocket launcher - 007 style. How does the awning work with that? So the cannon holds the tarp and poles for the awning. I have a pic of the materials laid out before everything was cut and attached.... The second pic shows the bolts the 3/4” conduit will attach to. The tarp will attach to the conduit with those same bolts and wing-nuts/bolts/washers. Almost done with the construction. My 6 yr old is working hard on it right now:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
windguy Posted November 15, 2018 Share Posted November 15, 2018 Got it. Very slick design. Can't wait to see it all setup. Does your helper work by the hour, job or in trade for room and board? You're a cool dad for letting him work (play) with you. Keep up the good work. BTW - that's a sharp looking van color. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fifty150 Posted November 15, 2018 Share Posted November 15, 2018 Interesting. A tube is usually used to carry small amounts of EMT pipe on ladder racks. You can buy them. Or simply use a large piece of PVC. Great idea to use a tarp & EMT pipe, and to use longer bolts so that you can attach the awning to the carrier when setting it up. Reminds me of how we used teach kids to pitch "tee-pee" tents with PVC. I've seen a lot of different set-ups with EMT & tarp. Nothing that you can't take apart, and set up again somewhere else. And just good enough for a few days use when you're camped out. You are brilliant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wild-Surfwood Posted November 29, 2018 Author Share Posted November 29, 2018 On 11/14/2018 at 11:45 PM, windguy said: Got it. Very slick design. Can't wait to see it all setup. Does your helper work by the hour, job or in trade for room and board? You're a cool dad for letting him work (play) with you. Keep up the good work. BTW - that's a sharp looking van color. Hahaha..... he loves to be involved in all of my projects. Restoring two 40 yr Apache campers and he is constantly grabbing tools and banging on something?. A lot of fun.., I can remember working on projects with my gramps growing up. Hope he remembers ours. I’ve got plenty of pics just in case he doesn’t. But I think he will. Definately love the dark gray color on the tc. Drove about 5 hrs to purchase it.... It had all the “amenities” I was looking for along with a good price/mileage. Silver was a contender for sure. Very stealth..? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wild-Surfwood Posted November 29, 2018 Author Share Posted November 29, 2018 On 11/15/2018 at 6:50 PM, Fifty150 said: Interesting. A tube is usually used to carry small amounts of EMT pipe on ladder racks. You can buy them. Or simply use a large piece of PVC. Great idea to use a tarp & EMT pipe, and to use longer bolts so that you can attach the awning to the carrier when setting it up. Reminds me of how we used teach kids to pitch "tee-pee" tents with PVC. I've seen a lot of different set-ups with EMT & tarp. Nothing that you can't take apart, and set up again somewhere else. And just good enough for a few days use when you're camped out. You are brilliant. Ya... the tube is a 10ft pvc pipe cut down to about 8.5’. Painted it black to match the rails on the platform... The L brackets on the platform/tube actually had another hole in it which made it perfect for the hardware to attach the conduit. Finished it up the other day, but it was getting dark. I can take some close- ups of the connections if anyone’s interested. Just need to set it up with better lighting?.... like next to a campfire:) might have to wait until after the new yr for that camping trip. Thanks for the interest guys. jrm223 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhotoAl Posted November 30, 2018 Share Posted November 30, 2018 That is a very cleaver and creative rack and tarp. Love the black unistrut really gives it a nice clean and modern functionality look. Life with small children is a lot of fun (most of the time). We had 4 kids over 10 years, seemed like a lifetime before everyone was potty trained. Now I'm reaping the benefits, today picked up my twin grandchildren and took them to lunch, 2 hours for lunch which went like playground, food, playground, milkshake, playground. Looks like your neighborhood is like around here - people drive too fast. I will refrain from jumping up on my platform about speeding - I love racing and have ridden sport bikes for a number of years BUT neighborhoods and places with people around are not the racetrack! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
windguy Posted December 8, 2018 Share Posted December 8, 2018 (edited) @wild-surfwood - nice to see the finished job. Great work! Edited December 8, 2018 by windguy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gideon Posted December 20, 2018 Share Posted December 20, 2018 (edited) I wish I could find & afford an Apache camper. That was a good idea [solid walls] but quite expnsive here in Canada. And seems as it wasn't commercially successful in US either. Too bad, wish some company would bring similar onto todays market (But NOT:"made in china")! Edited December 20, 2018 by Gideon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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