2017 4x4 Build Out - Grey Escape

Yeah too late at this point! Maybe on the next van...my wife really hates it when I say that.

The magnetic strip on the bed panels was a mistake so I took it off and ordered some adhesive felt. I think they need to slide easily for moving around. The thumb screws do fine to secure them.

I had made 6mm panels for the upper rear doors. I realized they would be inadequate for the speakers and LEDs so I made some out of 3/4” and routed a nice radius on them. I needed to space the speaker out so I printed an adapter.



The rear LEDs will be switched at the door so I designed and printed a replacement cover for one of the rear pillar openings. It is sized for a Blue Sea Contura switch.







I am currently tacking the upper cabinets together. Hope to have them welded and mounting finalized soon.
 
I would be interested in selling some. I can also tailor the opening for other switches or interfaces. Let me check material usage and print times and come up with a number.
 
I printed some gray pillar covers. Color is lighter than the OEM color but looks better than the black.



I am just about finished welding up and fitting the upper cabinets.





We have decided to cover the cabinets with laminate. Wife and I could only agree on one color out of hundreds. Looking forward to getting these cabinets finished.
 
Everything is finally covered!





All of the cabinet frames are welded and mount points installed. Now is the fun part of finishing off the cabinets and installing the remaining equipment.
 
I thought I would share one thing I learned from covering the panels. In the process I used 3M 90 for the first set and then 3M 77 for the rest. I definitely recommend the 3M 77 for upholstery work. I had read that recommendation from somewhere else but had a bunch of 3M 90 to use up. It gets the job done but the 3M 77 spray pattern works better for fabrics. Glad that part is complete.
 
It’s been awhile since I have posted. I have been heads down working on cabinets and integration. We have a big trip coming up so I have been working towards a level of completion.

I finished fitting up panels and cabinet boxes to the frames and got them painted and bolted in.

This weekend I finished up the electrical system and charged up the LiFeBlue battery from shore power. Also verified the refrigerator works!



Then I got to putting in cabinets and countertops. Here are some random pics. Still have work to go to finish plumbing and some details. Getting close. Hoping to get some of the upper cabinets skinned for the trip so we have a place to get stuff up and out of the way.

 

MotoXPress

Active member
Great stuff!

Can you tell me the size of your lower cabinets (L X w X H)? I'd like to do something similar and am planning on 15" from inner rear sprinter wall to outside of aluminum frame. Probably 34" tall and on cabinet on each side (water tank on passenger side and electric on drivers)
 
Great stuff!

Can you tell me the size of your lower cabinets (L X w X H)? I'd like to do something similar and am planning on 15" from inner rear sprinter wall to outside of aluminum frame. Probably 34" tall and on cabinet on each side (water tank on passenger side and electric on drivers)


The narrower unit on the drivers side is about 14” deep. Both are about 36” tall. The passenger side one is about 19” deep. I ended up with water tank on passenger side and most electrical on driver side. I am going to try and weigh it this weekend and get side to side distribution.


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We just completed our first major trip with the mostly completed van. Went from Seattle down through Bryce, Zion and Grand Canyon. Then Vegas, Santa Barbara and up the west coast. 3,500 miles over 11 days. Everything worked great and came up with a good list of improvements to make. 200Ah of Li proved adequate for about 2 days. Fridge is the main draw for us.



Before we left I got the unfinished upper cabinets in. This made a huge difference with storage.



Also finished a vertical pantry drawer.



Looking forward to tackling the rest of the build.
 
Working on some minor improvements to the van. There is a somewhat hidden, but not really storage space below one counter. Added some latches so it doesn’t rattle while driving.





Had a little fun with the laser cutter to make the vent cover for above the refrigerator.



I am going to try and get a shelf above the cab done soon. More storage space the better!
 
More laser cutter fun. My wife asked for a reference for the electrical system switch settings and I needed to cover up a gap in how the cabinet went together so I made a little sign.

 
Decided to go ahead and get the Espar D2 installed since the weather is starting to turn. I had put in the mounting plate when I finished the floor and had made a box for it when I put the cabinets in.

I mounted the unit and finished the box. Here it is with some 3D printed inlet vents. I covered the box with laminate and the lid with some coin and aluminum edge.



I got my unit from heaters4u. I was nervous but it appears to be legit. I chose the simple EasyStart Select controller. The only issue I had was I initially missed connecting two of the harness wires together to use the temp sensor in the unit. Also had to get a Molex crimper to make some of the harness connectors. I used some black self-vulcanizing tape. It is great stuff for electrical work if you have never used it. Also used it under the van to protect some of the fluid line mounting areas. There is also no polarity for the dosing pump for those working an install.



I mounted the dosing pump and exhaust clamp with a rivnut. The inlet and exhaust silencer were through bolted using brackets that were included. Even though the instructions aren’t great the kit offers a lot of great stuff to get things mounted.




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Decided to finally build a bunk that allows us to sleep four in the van. Supports bolt into the L-track to support it. It has a rear section that folds out so it will stow in a smaller area.

 

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