Off road minivan: Your roof is being bent

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Automotive Insanity > Off road minivan: Your roof is being bent

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

glyph posted:

Time to go to 235s then.

Also, thanks for the link about the lost germans in death valley (in the OP). I didn't know I wanted to spend my morning reading that, but here we are.

Same, but evening and holy poo poo I'm never driving anywhere again. Just gonna stay home safe and sound. At least I need to start taking my inreach with me every time when I go riding.

# ¿ Jun 10, 2021 02:50

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# ¿ May 11, 2024 06:55

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

Sorry, that�s just hyperbole. I like spending both motorized and non-motorized time outdoors. But there�s something about that story that makes me think �there but for the grace of god�� even though we always have a plan wherever we go, let folks know, have a map (and take a picture of the map - my phone is waterproof), carry plenty of water and generally don�t do what looks to me like a number of VERY DUMB things these unfortunate folks did.

The inreach is really for dirt biking which, uh, you can really get some places although on the east coast it�s much more �did you crash bad enough you can�t walk the ten miles to civilization� rather than �lol if you made a series of unfortunate but understandable ~~single~~ errors you will now die� like some of the west coast is.

Anyway, I�m enjoying this thread and your ridiculous (in a good way) van.

# ¿ Jun 10, 2021 04:32

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

Prerunner idea is best, but zip ties is for real the best. I'd be real nervous about rocks and sticks running as is. A risk that's entirely in your control as a general rule but still...

# ¿ Jun 23, 2021 16:26

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

Bulk Vanderhuge posted:

I'm sure business overhead costs play a role as well where you are.

Just keep doing ridiculous poo poo to your van, can't wait to see what the bumper looks like

Just seconding this.

FWIW, on lights I have some baja designs stuff for my motorcycle that I used to race offroad at night and it's fantastic. Expensive, but I personally think it's impossible to have too much light at night if you're doing something sketchy. You can always get by with less light but it's one of those quality of life things that I really appreciate. Also, you know, safety if you're going fast.

e: I also bought some knock offs from ali express that were just fine and about 1/8th the price.

builds character fucked around with this message at 19:38 on Jul 16, 2021

# ¿ Jul 16, 2021 19:18

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

ryanrs posted:

Speaking of flush mount LEDs, it looks like one of those would require me to cut a fist-sized hole in the outer skin of the tailgate? That seems like a big deal for weatherproofing. Do I just lay a bead of silicone before screwing it down, or what?

How much will I regret cutting that hole 4 years down the line?

Little late, but all the folks on the internet building out camper vans who seem competent use this stuff https://www.amazon.com/AP-Products-017-90915-Sikaflex-252-White/dp/B007EXOONA/ or this stuff https://www.amazon.com/AP-Products-017-90891-White-Sikaflex-221/dp/B00O9VFLRS depending on if you want an adhesive or just a sealant.

# ¿ Oct 13, 2021 13:27

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

ryanrs posted:

Here's the news I've been waiting for: Sequoia NF has dropped all fire restrictions.

This means next weekend I'll probably head to Indian Wells Valley, on the western edge of the Mojave. I'm going to play fire restriction arbitrage along the Sequoia National Forest / BLM Ridgecrest border, camping just inside the NF at 5,000 ft. It'll be cold, and very dark (new moon). But I will have a fire to keep me warm.

If the weather is good, and the trail is dry, and there is no snow, then I might reattempt my trip to McIver's Cabin. This will be quite a test for the van. I need to hunt down that new noise before I try this.

If conditions are less than perfect up in the mountains, then I will spend my weekend on the bajadas hunting rabbits.

e: here's why having a fire is so important to me.

My Indian Wells Valley camping spots are along the eastern edge of the Sierras, between Sequoia NF and Highway 14. At this time of year, the sun sets really early, before 6 PM. Then the temperature starts to drop and there's not a lot to do besides sit around camp and read. Which is good! I like sitting around camp reading.

But no matter how much I bundle up, when sitting out there in the dark desert, my core temp drops, my toes get cold, and I get sleepy. Before I know it, I'm in my sleeping bad and asleep and it's only 8 PM.

Then I wake up at 5 AM and it's even colder, and there's still nothing to do until the sun comes up.

But if I have a good fire going, the radiant heat is enough to keep me toasty down into the 40s. I can stay up late reading my books and sipping scotch, listening to the coyotes, and generally being comfortable and alert enough to enjoy being out in the desert. Then I go to sleep at midnight and wake up at 8 AM with sunlight streaming into the van.

That sounds great. Have you tried any of the battery powered heated gear? I have the m12 hoodie and it keeps me pretty toasty down to 50 just sitting in the wind (or much lower moving at all) by itself.

# ¿ Oct 31, 2021 02:32

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

ryanrs posted:

Correct! Sway bar link lost a nut. (Or did I forget to put it back on?) So do I put a new locknut on it, or pull the link and leave it off for the McIver's Cabin attempt?

I have a Milwaukee jacket, but it's kind of overstuffed and doesn't play well with layers. I should give it another try though.

I don�t know if it�s the same, but for heated gear for motorcycles you really want the heated layer to be the bottom so I would guess the base layer stuff is better and warmer.

# ¿ Oct 31, 2021 23:12

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

That looks like a great trip. Crazy how hard altitude can hit.

ryanrs posted:

8===D

I feel like there's a comedy here somewhere where you get the TPMS and put together some ridiculously good system for notifying you and then you hit a huge rock and destroy the other rocker panel and as you pull to a halt and turn off the van to check, the light flickers on.

# ¿ Nov 9, 2021 03:05

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

I wonder if there�s a no-helmet equivalent of a chin mount. Those are the best for GoPros on a motorcycle.

# ¿ Dec 1, 2021 05:25

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

ryanrs posted:

not bother fixing it and just dare Death Valley to gently caress with me.

This is probably the worst plan I've ever read on this site, including the zipline murder factory and the guy who wanted to put a fire barrel in his vanlife box truck.

# ¿ Dec 10, 2021 23:55

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

taqueso posted:

Wouldn't be the first goon to get hosed by death valley

e: https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3714480&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=1

Is that the dude who brought a little buggy and made it like one day, then spent two more lying around before going home?

ryanrs posted:

How dare you! I have never posted in E/N.

If you look back at the thread, I arrived here via the unhappy combination of "you should definitely fix this slightly noisy wheel bearing" and "there's no way to tell if a wheel bearing is just starting to go bad".

I think the real lesson here is I should always wash the van after getting back from a trip, even though it is extremely against my nature to wash my car.

e: Vacation plans accepted by work. Big desert trip starts in 1 week.

e: Firewood logistics. You can't/shouldn't gather wood in the desert, because it is so scarce. So you need to bring in your own. For a 3 week trip, this means multiple resupplies. The largest town in the area is Barstow, CA (pop 25k). So I called the local feed store, and they don't sell firewood. More surprisingly, they didn't know anyone in Barstow who did. The feed store employee said she got her firewood from Victorville, which really is quite a bit out of my way.

But Google Maps shows a "Baker Firewood", in Baker, CA (pop 442). I called and it sounds like an old guy selling from his home, which is perfect.

This is all excellent news because I'd much rather stage out of Baker than Barstow.

I was just making jokes and also don�t want you to do dumb stuff like not fixing your van before going somewhere. This thread owns and your van is great.

# ¿ Dec 11, 2021 02:24

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

Still a great project and I'm enjoying it. Sadly, not much else to say except I'm curious about what you're going to do with your OEM wiring...

# ¿ Oct 6, 2022 22:03

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# ¿ May 11, 2024 06:55

builds character: Jan 16, 2008; Keep at it.

Here's the stuff I bought (other than the actual vehicle parts) to fix AC on my van.

Vacuum pump $90
Vacuum pump oil - not clear if this was necessary or not based on my use but wanted to be safe. $10
O-rings $20
Refrigerant $90 (I think it was ~60 when I bought it though so see if there isn't another brand on sale)
A/C gauge set although I'm not sure it was this one, it looked awfully close if it wasn't. $50

All in, that's $260 and you'll have extra refrigerant left over.

# ¿ Oct 7, 2022 23:04

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Automotive Insanity > Off road minivan: Your roof is being bent