Saturday, 28 November 2015
Thursday, 19 November 2015
20/11/2015 - New add-on: All-in-One storage box & padded chair
After van camping a few times near home on the coast, I realised there's a missing link with regards to my van. I need storage space to frequently removed and put back items like my solarshades. I also would like this to double as a padded seat for "guests" who just want to hang out in the van. The solution was to create a custom box/padded seat. So here we go:
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| The box shown here fits perfectly in the centre right side floor. It's padded on top to double as a seat. The wood used is the same wood as the main cabinet. Nice! |
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| The top is removable with a light velcro in each side. The box is magnetically secured to the floor as my 2 beach chairs are stored to the right of it under the bed nice and snug! |
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| My main cabinet drawer (the pantry) nicely opens up over the storage box / chair combo. |
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| Lost of storage space inside the box. Inside my anti-mossy wall in a bag front cabinet window solar curtains and curtain wires that double as lines to dry clothes/towels, etc. |
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| A view from the outside inward with my new Cessna 172 sticker on the door... |
Saturday, 14 November 2015
15/11/2015 - Minor Mods: X-mas lights, prayer flags & Anti-mosquito wall
So on a bad weather Sunday, I deciced to take care of some well-need minor mods that cost close to nothing:
a) Anti-Mosquito Wall (between front cab & living in the back)
I used netting from an old anti-mossy net for the living area of the van. I trimmed it off an old bed mosquito covering which was not being used. So rather try than cut to fit, I did the following:
1) Glued the soft fuzzy of the velcro to the arch over the wheel hump.
2) Put matching prickly velcro on it with the sticky side out.
3) I spread the netting just over the fringe of the sticky side. It instantly sticks to the net.
4) I cut matching cardboard strips to glued them onto the sticky netting. Let it dry-- it does dry quickly!
5) I removed the prickly velcro/cardboard netting attachment.
6) Finally I trimmed off the excess from the just rearward of the cardboard strip.
7) It doesn't pack well in a sack for storage, but I will give this a go for a while. :)
b) Xmas Lights
Everyone likes Xmas lights! :)
This was quite easy. Just plug the one-way strip of lights into the power strip (which is plugged into the 600W interverted which is plugged into the deep cel batter with goes to the solar panel). The after use some special pins that allow to hang lines to hold them up on a interior van wall. This strip is 4.95m and is perfect length for the rear of the the Delica Starwagon.
c) Nepalese Prayer Flags at sliding door entry
These were very easy to install as well. Just cut off 6-7 flags off the master string of flags. Tied one end to an eyelit already installed to the left of the front passenger seat. I used the already installed curtain wire over the sliding door with white plastic curtain holders to hang the flags like curtains to flutter in the wind!
Having these installed is special because I actually bought these in Nepal back in 2010 on my Mt. Everest basecamp trek 30 day trip.
When these flutter in the wind, ancient Buddist writings said they spread love and good spirits to anyone nearby!
a) Anti-Mosquito Wall (between front cab & living in the back)
I used netting from an old anti-mossy net for the living area of the van. I trimmed it off an old bed mosquito covering which was not being used. So rather try than cut to fit, I did the following:
1) Glued the soft fuzzy of the velcro to the arch over the wheel hump.
2) Put matching prickly velcro on it with the sticky side out.
3) I spread the netting just over the fringe of the sticky side. It instantly sticks to the net.
4) I cut matching cardboard strips to glued them onto the sticky netting. Let it dry-- it does dry quickly!
5) I removed the prickly velcro/cardboard netting attachment.
6) Finally I trimmed off the excess from the just rearward of the cardboard strip.
7) It doesn't pack well in a sack for storage, but I will give this a go for a while. :)
b) Xmas Lights
Everyone likes Xmas lights! :)
This was quite easy. Just plug the one-way strip of lights into the power strip (which is plugged into the 600W interverted which is plugged into the deep cel batter with goes to the solar panel). The after use some special pins that allow to hang lines to hold them up on a interior van wall. This strip is 4.95m and is perfect length for the rear of the the Delica Starwagon.
c) Nepalese Prayer Flags at sliding door entry
These were very easy to install as well. Just cut off 6-7 flags off the master string of flags. Tied one end to an eyelit already installed to the left of the front passenger seat. I used the already installed curtain wire over the sliding door with white plastic curtain holders to hang the flags like curtains to flutter in the wind!
Having these installed is special because I actually bought these in Nepal back in 2010 on my Mt. Everest basecamp trek 30 day trip.
When these flutter in the wind, ancient Buddist writings said they spread love and good spirits to anyone nearby!
13/11/2015 - Friday night fun! 4WDing on the coast at night time!
We had some houseguests so I decided to take one of them out to the coast for at little bouncy bumpy driving fun... Nice weather and nice experience as this was his first ever off road experience...
Sunday, 1 November 2015
2/11/2015 - Custom SolarShades installed - imported from Australia
After some delays from Australia, I got my well-needed Solarshades from SolarScreen Australia. While not cheap, they are a must have for anyone who values warmth in winter, coolness in summer and privacy.
I like how the suctions are strong, but still not too hard to remove. I think winter camping will be a blast. I thought about getting an RV-style diesel heater like this installed, but I will give winter camping a go without it. After all if a warm mummy sleeping bag and window insulation is enough, that's a huge cost savings for me.
Next major modification are the 4 new shocks and custom fabricated rear springs to make up for the extra weight of my van as compared to the usefulness of the base factory shocks/springs. This modification won't get getting done until early December however... (its too expensive! LOL!)
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| Solar shades all installed for daily parking or sleeping mode |
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| Solar shades all installed for daily parking or sleeping mode |
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| These are almost light proof except the stitching on the shades themselves. The window sun visors are NOT holding up the windscreen solar screen |
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| Very very very nice indeed. The top left corner of the front cab windows were cut out like this to give a little light and for a peep hole to the outside world. |
I like how the suctions are strong, but still not too hard to remove. I think winter camping will be a blast. I thought about getting an RV-style diesel heater like this installed, but I will give winter camping a go without it. After all if a warm mummy sleeping bag and window insulation is enough, that's a huge cost savings for me.
Next major modification are the 4 new shocks and custom fabricated rear springs to make up for the extra weight of my van as compared to the usefulness of the base factory shocks/springs. This modification won't get getting done until early December however... (its too expensive! LOL!)
Sunday, 25 October 2015
26/20/2015 - Minor Mod- interior fishing rod holders fitted
In anticipation of many long 4WD camping/fishing trips, I had to find a way to have my fishing rod at the ready, easy to reach, yet stored with stability for the bouncy 4WDing. So I utilised my power drill/screwdriver kit, industrial strength velco and glue, and a minor bit of engineering. I fitted my heavy strength freshwater / medium weight surf casting rod to the inside.
In order to make even the best velcro adhere to a factory Delica interior roof, you're not only going to need industrial strength velcro, but also some serious industrial strength glue, small brass 1/2" screws, a phillips head manual screw driver and a power drill/screw driver. You'll need your actual fishing rod with you in order to do this properly/accurately. Here you go; this is based on a 2 piece/9' long fishing rod:
1) For each adhesion point, cut a enough velcro (fussy/soft) to lay down perpendicular to the length of the van. (I recommend 3 velcro straps/adhesions for the thicker 1/2 of your fishing rod) as shown below)
2) Use your glue to glue it down to the factory roof with the softside up. Glue goes on the velcro adhesive side of course! Be careful to be sure to align it right before doing this!!!!
3) Let it dry for at least 5-10 minutes!
4) With your power drill/screw driver, drill a small screw on the end of glued on velcro on the INSIDE of the van (farther away from the window!)
5) For the other side matching of the velcro (depending on how wide your rod is at that point), cut at least 120% of the length of glued down part. Test the length first BEFORE cutting your velcro.
6) With your power screw drover, use your freshly cut stip and screw together the velcro at the end(s) where the window is closest.
7) If you have the same issue as me, you'll see the power drill has too much torque because the velcro together get all twisted up. So reverse the screw out a bit. Take a phillips head screw driver and slow manually tightening it up. Make it smooth and use your fingers to make sure its nicely done otherwise the velcro will never line and work well.
8) Remove the fishing rod, and note down where it was being held in place.
9) Use your power screw driver to drill another screw into ONLY the backing (the glued part) at the same spot from step 9. Do NOT screw both side of velcro together again!
10) When you're done one of them, it should have 3 screws on the velcro backing and look like this...
11) Repeat 2 more times and when cutting the velcro take into consideration the thickness of the fishing rod where your velcro will be.
12) Repeat steps 1-10 for the thinner end of your rod on the sliding door side of your van. Be careful of lengths of the velcro you cut as this piece of your fishing rod is usually far thinner hence less material will be needed. You should only need 2 strips for this piece.
Enjoy and good luck fishing! :)
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| This is not going anywhere! Even with rough 4WDing I am sorted here! |
1) For each adhesion point, cut a enough velcro (fussy/soft) to lay down perpendicular to the length of the van. (I recommend 3 velcro straps/adhesions for the thicker 1/2 of your fishing rod) as shown below)
2) Use your glue to glue it down to the factory roof with the softside up. Glue goes on the velcro adhesive side of course! Be careful to be sure to align it right before doing this!!!!
3) Let it dry for at least 5-10 minutes!
4) With your power drill/screw driver, drill a small screw on the end of glued on velcro on the INSIDE of the van (farther away from the window!)
5) For the other side matching of the velcro (depending on how wide your rod is at that point), cut at least 120% of the length of glued down part. Test the length first BEFORE cutting your velcro.
6) With your power screw drover, use your freshly cut stip and screw together the velcro at the end(s) where the window is closest.
7) If you have the same issue as me, you'll see the power drill has too much torque because the velcro together get all twisted up. So reverse the screw out a bit. Take a phillips head screw driver and slow manually tightening it up. Make it smooth and use your fingers to make sure its nicely done otherwise the velcro will never line and work well.
8) Remove the fishing rod, and note down where it was being held in place.
9) Use your power screw driver to drill another screw into ONLY the backing (the glued part) at the same spot from step 9. Do NOT screw both side of velcro together again!
10) When you're done one of them, it should have 3 screws on the velcro backing and look like this...
11) Repeat 2 more times and when cutting the velcro take into consideration the thickness of the fishing rod where your velcro will be.
12) Repeat steps 1-10 for the thinner end of your rod on the sliding door side of your van. Be careful of lengths of the velcro you cut as this piece of your fishing rod is usually far thinner hence less material will be needed. You should only need 2 strips for this piece.
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| The heavier base of my fishing rod on the NON-sliding door side of my van |
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| The second and thinner piece of my fishing rod with only 2 velcro points required... |
Enjoy and good luck fishing! :)
Monday, 28 September 2015
Day Trip #1: 27/9/2015 - Peka Peka Beach, 4WD day trip lunch on the beach with my girl...
I took my finally completed / fully modified 4WD camper out with my girl for a day trip to a beach for lunch. Oh what a day! It was also the first day of daylight savings time frame for the 2015-2016 spring/summer/autumn season! Enjoy the pics!
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| Chatting up some fisherman on the beach... |
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| Just in case the apocalypse comes...I am more than ready! |
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| The shovel is bury the dead zombies of course.. (also for self-rescue!) |
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| Busy New Zealand beaches... oh yes |
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