Hodakaguy's 4x4 Sprinter Conversion - Pic heavy!

Glenn233

Member
Continued from above....

Battery Installed.






I decided to install the Victron Shunt in the front drivers side corner of the drivers seat base.










The transmission ECU was mounted on the bottom of the seat base, right where the battery is now. There was enough slack in the cables to re-locate it to the front right of the base using the factory mounting bracket. I was able to use one factory hole and had to drill one new hole. Fits like a glove.












More to come.....

Hodakaguy
I have an auxilary battery in my passenger seat base. Id like to insta an epasar D2 (the newer,smaller one) Do you think Moving the battery over like you did in drivers seat base would work?
 

Hodakaguy

Well-known member
One other question as I study your bedframe design in an attempt to replicate it (finally something to get me to learn how to Tig!). How did you cut the rectangular mounting holes shown here?
View attachment 165005

Thanks again!!
Sorry for the late reply. I used a Dremel tool with a small reinforced cut off wheel, worked slick! Then just used a small file to smooth the edges.

Hodakaguy
 

Hodakaguy

Well-known member
And another question... I just bought a 1"x1"x0.125" and 1.25"x1.25"x0.125" 6061 tubes and the smaller one is no where near fitting the bigger one... I was expecting it to be a tight fit, but it just flat out won't go in. I tried sanding it a bit and that barely made a difference. More aggressive sanding eventually allowed me to get a few inches in. I'm wondering what your materials and solutions were. Thanks!
I purchased telescoping aluminum tubing from Alcobra Metals in Spokane WA. Here's a link: https://alcobrametals.com/telescopic-tubing/

Hodakaguy
 

Hodakaguy

Well-known member
I loved your Unimog build and I'm very disappointed you've chosen this platform to make all of us over here look bad.

Your work is phenomenal and the attention to detail is amazing - the amount of love you show your builds is exceptional. Keep it up!
Thanks Mate, I do enjoy this type of work. The Unimog was a fun build as well, just not as practical for the family :)

Hodakaguy
 

Hodakaguy

Well-known member
I have an auxilary battery in my passenger seat base. Id like to insta an epasar D2 (the newer,smaller one) Do you think Moving the battery over like you did in drivers seat base would work?
I already had my heater mounted otherwise I could have mounted it slightly different and would have been able to install the batt and heater under the passenger seat. If not moving the batt to the drivers seat is a good option.

Hodakaguy
 

Hodakaguy

Well-known member
Time to finally start posting the TONS of photo's from this summers travels, It's been ages since I've caught the build thread up and with the holidays over it's time to start going through pictures and posting about the numerous road trips that we have taken with the Van this summer.

So I don't clog up the build thread with hundreds of photos I've started another page that I will be posting all of our travel photos and trip reports on. I'll provide the link here and a few teaser pics below....

The current road trip starts on post 11 here: https://advrider.com/f/threads/the-hodakaguy-camping-trip-report-photo-mega-thread.1460644/

And a few teaser photos....





















Hodakaguy
 

Hodakaguy

Well-known member
Time to finished off the bed build that I started earlier last summer.

Last summer when I finished the aluminum adjustable bed frames camping season started and I threw some scrap plywood I had onto the frames and secured them with ratchet straps. This setup got us through the summer but with winter here It's time to finish it off before hitting the open road once again.

Here's a shot of the bed frames in the van with the temporary plywood installed.




And the bare frames.








With the frames removed I took them into the shop to sketch out the measurements for the top boards.






With the quick sketch in hand I headed down to the store to snag a couple sheets of 1/2" Baltic Bertch Plywood.








Next stop was to visit my buddy Mike at VanLab, Mike is an up-fitter and has a commercial CNC router that made quick work of cutting out the bed frame tops. Thanks Mike!

Transferring the drawings to cad.




Continued Below.....

Hodakaguy
 

Hodakaguy

Well-known member
Continued from above....

And setting up the Router to cut.








And away it goes.......This thing is soooooooo sweet!





Mike approves!






Quick test fit on a frame...yep that should work nicely.




While the second frame was being cut we went over all the edges with a router for a nice smooth finish.






Heading back home




Tops sitting on the frames, one extended and one collapsed. The oval sections will provide ventilation to the mattress and prevent moisture/mold from forming.








Now to weld on mounting tabs, drill and counter bore the holes in the tops, seal the tops and assemble everything.

More to come.....

Hodakaguy
 

jjmcclure

2020 HR 144 4x4
That's really cool! This one is a 1969 that I restored for my father, Build thread here: https://advrider.com/f/threads/69-honda-z50a-minitrail-build.940803/

Hodakaguy
Thanks so much for this. I plan to haul it out to the East, from the West, (my old digs) and get it nice and ready for my kids. I spent what seems to be 000s of hours riding that bike when I was a kid. Would jump it (hard tail!), bend the handle bars, so many memories. This will be so helpful. I think I'm the same year actually, yours looks spot on. Ramble on!
 

Hodakaguy

Well-known member
Thanks so much for this. I plan to haul it out to the East, from the West, (my old digs) and get it nice and ready for my kids. I spent what seems to be 000s of hours riding that bike when I was a kid. Would jump it (hard tail!), bend the handle bars, so many memories. This will be so helpful. I think I'm the same year actually, yours looks spot on. Ramble on!
They are a Blast! I used to be big into collecting and restoring Honda Mini's...soooo much fun!

Hodakaguy
 

Hodakaguy

Well-known member
Time to get the tops mounted to the frames. Originally I planned on welding tabs to the frame and using bolts to attach the two, after staring at it a bit in the garage I decided to use aluminum TRIC-nuts instead (Like Rivet Nuts) as they would be faster and cleaner than tabs.

Here I'm getting ready to start installing the TRIC-nut thread inserts.




I had a scrap piece of tubing on the bench so I installed one of the TRIC-nuts for a test fit and to show how it functions.

Here's the TRIC-nut.




Drilling the hole and installing the TRIC-nut.














Using a standard Rivet Nut Setting tool to compress the TRIC-nut




And BAM....instant threads. Threads stayed nice and centered in the hole, perfect.






Next I clamped the wooden top onto the frame to prepare it for marking and drilling.






Measured and marked center line of the aluminum tubing them marked where I wanted the bolts to be placed. Using a small pilot bit I drilled through the board and into the aluminum.








Next I up-sized the pilot holes in the frame to 3/8" to fit the TRIC-nuts.




And installed and set all the TRIC-nuts in place.




Continued Below....
 

Hodakaguy

Well-known member
Continued from above....

Deburring the holes.








Next I drilled out the holes in the boards to 1/4" and counter sunk them for the bolts.






Test fitting the panel. Fits great!








One panel down.....




And the second panel complete.




Next up all the wood panels were sanded to 240 grit in preparation for sealing. I'm using OSMO Polyx-Oil (See Below) to seal the boards and you don't want to go any smoother than 240 Grit as you need some grain for the oil to soak into the wood.




I'm using OSMO Polyx-oil in Clear Satin to seal the boards. OSMO is great stuff! Human safe and can be applied without making a mess, love the natural finish it provides. Stir the product really well before use and every now and then while you work. To apply the OSMO you use a non abrasive 3M pad and apply a really thin layer of OSMO. Work the oil into the the wood (Can go with or against the grain with the non abrasive pad). Once the wood is fully covered you take a fresh piece of pad and rub it all down again until there are no "wet" spots left and your left with a nice smooth finish. Wait 8-10 hrs and apply a second coat with the same technique and you have a nice sealed finished product.

Note: The links below are my Amazon Affiliate links, I make a small portion each time someone purchases from Amazon using one of my links, at no extra cost to the buyer. I only provide links to items that I personally like and use myself. i use the money to put back into my builds and support making videos/posts. If you prefer not to use my links you can search for the same items directly off Amazon. Thank you for the support!

OSMO Polyx-Oil: Available on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/2XKMgxo
3M White Application Pads: Available on Amazon Here: https://amzn.to/3imLlgj






Applying the first coat. Love the finish!








Hanging up to dry.




All the boards are now complete with the first coat, will apply the second coat in 8-10hrs.

More to come soon....

Hodakaguy
 

Hodakaguy

Well-known member
All together......

Up early the next morning to apply the second coat of OSMO to the boards, then let them dry. Later that afternoon I started the assembly process.




I used Loctite 243 on the bolts that thread into the aluminum TRIC-nuts, and Antiseize on the 4 bolts with Nylocks.














One panel assembled.






Here's a look again at the horizontal mounting rail. This rail can move up and down the vertical L-track to adjust the bed height. The bed itself will expand in and out as the bed goes up and down to accommodate for the walls being closer together as you go up.






Continued Below....

Hodakaguy
 

Hodakaguy

Well-known member
Continued from above....

And both panels back in the Van. Pretty happy with how they turned out.



















And a shot of the Mule overhead storage bags.








Now I'll let the OSMO fully cure for a day or so then throw the mattress back in. Now on to a few other finishing details.

More to come....

Hodakaguy
 
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goinoregon

New member
hodakaguy - i recently added a rubber 1 1/2 x 1 1/4" rubber step down coupling to my orbital sander. from fernco, with the metal adjustment rings. the small end fits on orbital exhaust, and i attach shop vac to other end. does a great job with dust control.
and, how do you extend the bed ?
thx
go
 

GlennR

2016 4x4 170
@Hodakaguy, I'm installing a heater and wondered how you tapped into the diesel supply for yours. Do you have any pics or can you give any tips about how you did it?

Thanks,
 

DSM

Camp-Explore-Build...Repeat
@Hodakaguy, I'm installing a heater and wondered how you tapped into the diesel supply for yours. Do you have any pics or can you give any tips about how you did it?

Thanks,
Sprinters have a line installed in the diesel fuel tank for this purpose. There are good posts and YouTube videos available. Just google sprinter and the type of heater you chose like Webasto or Espar.
Here’s a photo. The black line came from the factory with a cap on it. My heater shipped from EsparParts.com with the correct adapter and all parts required to install my Espar heater into a 2019 sprinter.
The adapter connects to clear line, the the pump (included with heater) and to more clear line which is routed to the heater. I added protection to the lines where it might rub or contact the body. F41184D4-FC3C-4956-AE38-00F4765862CE.jpeg
The newer style S2D2 model kits are easier to wire than older kits. Here’s a very helpful diagram EparParts.com sent me.
2389791A-1C1E-47D8-A70A-9F8DA1F88269.png
And thanks to OurKaravan.com I used the 3 available threaded bungs on the underside of the van to mount the pump using a supplied bracket drilled larger to accept an M10 course thread bolt. Fuel line used two more bungs, M10 bolts with washers to hold the fuel line in place. It is routed over the drive shaft to the under passenger seat mounting location.
9F2291BD-8B40-4F07-9549-BE183FDC6D68.jpeg325EC7E0-2BA6-42BF-9652-709596A6A2D1.jpeg
CEDA4532-C276-465D-8753-520AE4D30B2D.jpeg
Hope this helped.
 
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GlennR

2016 4x4 170
:thumbup:
@DSM, Thanks that was just what I needed.

I know that there are lots of YouTubes available, but it's hard to know who to listen to there. I knew Hodakaguy did it right, so figured I'd ask here.
 

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