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I was not completely happy with the clamps I used to secure my awning to the drip edge of my van. They were modified clamps that would swivel too easily in the wind. (See previous post: https://chevroletforum.com/forum/exp...e5/#post323812 ) I searched the internet for various clamp styles and made some new ones out of 1/8 inch aluminum sheeting, a metal piece from a farm sprayer parts store, a carriage bolt and a large plastic wing nut. I made three of them, one for each end and one to secure the middle.
I made them flat and 3 inches wide to fit in the drip edge, covered the parts that would touch the van's paint with sticky-backed step/running board rubber. With the large wing nuts, they are easy to tighten by hand -- no wrenches needed. I used a file to file the round hole square for the head of the carriage bolt. The large nut is a spacer because my carriage bolt was too long. I plan to replace it with a shorter one soon.
Today's addition to my conversion van is a step box to make it easier for an older guy like me to get up and into it. I made it about 5 1/2" high, 12" deep, and 20" wide so that it would fit in the door well opening when we travel. Now to paint it blue to go with my rear box and the color of the van. I use it for the camper part of the van conversion. I don't use it for getting into the driver's seat.
I talked my wife into painting my step for me, then I added some black rubber step tread with stickie back and a "Cookie Monster" vinyl stickie on front. Now it is done.
Last edited by Black'95; September 17th, 2016 at 6:57 PM.
My latest addition to my Express conversion camper van is a water container to carry extra water when we are boondocking. I like the way it collapses down to less than 4" but expands to carry 2.5 gallons.
The latest addition to my camper van is nothing very spectacular, but it sure comes in handy! It has a small Velcro patch glued on the back so it is always handy by the door.
To make sure my box and tray are visible to all drivers all the time, I added some of those strip light LED's that you usually see below the tailgate of pickup trucks. The nice thing about the installation was that it came with a 4-wire trailer adapter that plugged right into my van. The lights work with my turn signals, brake lights and tail lights. The width was a perfect fit for my tray.
The latest update to my camper van was the addition of a roof rack. I needed one that did not stick up too high so I could get the van in the garage without removing the roof rack. I opted for the VanTech model.
I cut the cross bars shorter so I could mount the bars below the brackets. Before mounting it, I repainted it to match the color of the van. Now I have room to carry our camper recliner chairs or bring back any thing really large we may pick up on our trips.
Last edited by Black'95; December 1st, 2016 at 10:21 AM.
This is not a modification to my camper van, but it is one that helps save room when packing. I found a link on a website that showed me how to make some clamps for my picnic table cloth. They are made by cutting 1 inch rings from a piece of 4 inch PVC pipe. Then I cut the ring open, sanded the sharp edges, and covered the ends with some sticky-back white felt. I got this idea from an idea submitted to Trailer Life magazine's column called 10-Minute Tech by Robert White from Franklin, Kentucky.
The beauty of the clamps is that they fit perfectly around the propane tanks I carry for my campstove, taking up almost no extra room when I pack.
Last edited by Black'95; November 19th, 2016 at 9:37 PM.
Having some free time on my hands because I am retired, I dug these old solar chargers out of the debris of my garage. I have not used them for many years. I had three of them, so I made a board I could mount the three of them on. I wired up a set of connectors to connect them all in parallel mode and added a cigarette lighter connector so I could plug it in. During daylight hours them will help charge my isolated camper battery when boondocking in national forest campgrounds.
To save some room when packing in my van, I put one solar charger on a hinge and added some legs so it sits at an angle in the sun.
Last edited by Black'95; November 8th, 2016 at 10:44 AM.
Reason: add another picture
My latest addition to my camper van conversion is a dash camera. I wanted something that would record everything while driving for accident recording and image capture while vacationing, like buffalo on the road in Custer State Park! I like this one because it can save files in 1,2,3,4,5 or 10 minute intervals and you can protect them from being overwritten when the memory card gets full. It also activates every time I turn on the ignition. It uses micro SD type cards up to 128 gb and plugs into my computer for file transfer just like a flashdrive. I mounted it on a bag mount so I could easily access it and transfer it from one vehicle to another.
July 9th, 2016, 8:11 PM
