Yup, I know. I’ve been remiss in my capacity as chronicler of this van build. You’ve been waiting (some more patiently than others), but I’ve been sitting on my hands. And while I knew that neither Elizabeth nor I had posted in a long time, I didn’t realize that the last post was before we got the van.
We did.
It’s here.
Big and beautiful.
We picked it up on Tuesday 20 July 2021. First thing off the lot, we took it to a truck scale. With a reasonably full gas tank and two occupants, it tips the scales at 6320 pounds. We’ll see what happens to that number as the build progresses.
The pictures above are taken somewhat after that. I had already built and installed the roof rack, as you can see. The rack itself is made of a product called 8020 aluminum extrusion. It’s made by a company called 8020, as well as a few others. I discovered it early this year, while learning how to build this beast. The 8020.net website bills their product as an Industrial-Strength Erector Set. The funny thing is, that’s exactly what I had called it, once I realized what could be done with it, but before I’d visited the site.
Besides the roof rack, the plan is to build all of the van’s interior components (galley, shower, bed/table frame, and so on) as separate modules, framed in 8020, and therefore moveable, removable, and modifiable, with considerably less effort than if they were built of wood or some other material. I could spend many pages discussing the properties of 8020, what can be done with it, and how to work with it. But that’s not the point of this blog. If it interests you, I encourage you to look at 8020.net. It’s really cool stuff, and there’s lots of information there.
Elizabeth
Henry