Help me find a good class B or B+

[GeorgeRad]

These are 2 key companies providing HDPE to the marine industry. HDPE is replacing teak due to its UV resistance and zero maintenance requirements. I found Seaboard surface a little more resistant to scratches and use Mercury Grey color.

https://www.vycomplastics.com/product-families/seaboard/hdpe/
King StarBoard® | King Plastic Corporation

Most of my HDPE was done on CNC by Hein & Company from Hood River, he is a member on most van conversion forums. He is also a good source for the SM600 Thinsulate. There are many CNC fabs in US and they are not expensive as long you provide them with decent 2D or 3D CAD drawings. For simple straight cuts a simple table saw is good. To finish an edge with a router just use a roundover bit, works great.

Rattling prevention:
I used a fishing line threaded through small drilled holes near the edge of the sliding door. It takes about 5 minutes to drill and 5 minutes to thread the fishing line so about 10 minutes/door. https://sprinter-source.com/forum/showpost.php?p=302772&postcount=498

If you would use plywood for sliding doors just glue a piece of thin felt on the inside, unfortunately there is no glue for polyethylene.

The grey silicon rubber is a panel seal from 80/20 #2178. Once properly inserted (a small flat scredriver) 1-inch pieces completely prevent vibration of ¼” HDPE panels and never come off.

 

[Mat Mobile]

Anyway, having looked at a bunch of RVs, right now when I see a TRAVATO (about $80k Street price) I figure it’s worth the $40k over the cost of a bare pro-master to do it myself.

Though I’m torn. I’d rather buy than build, but I’d rather spend the time doing it right upfront than deal with the consequences of their low quality down the road.

My mistakes will be a lot more fun to deal with than theirs!

I think anybody that's somewhat handy and has a fair amount of tools will get to a point where they will question the price of these vehicles. I certainly have.

I'm currently building my 4th van. The previous 3 were all sold at various stages of completion. They all took a lot of work & time! Especially trying to build it just right and also balancing work, chores and home life (and we don't have kids).

There comes a point where $40k isn't that much when you end up spending as many weekends and vacation as you can for 3 years working on a vehicle. I'd rather work one year and pay somebody all that extra cash and have it done. Of course there's the personal satisfaction of doing it yourself... Basically you have to decide if you want to spend your time building a camper van, or traveling in a camper van.

And sometimes having it perfect is over-rated. Done is often good enough.

So for my last van (link), I decided on a new approach. We bought a used RV and I have skilled workmen upgrade it exactly the way I want.

This wasn't cheap! But it will below the price of a new Roadrek 210 Popular and exactly the way I want with new suspension, modern electrical system and appliances and, to be honest, the vehicle I "fell in love with" as a young adult. And there will be room in the budget for an engine rebuild when needed.

Of course everybody has different circumstances... Just food for thought.

 

[technomadness]

Rattling prevention:

I used a fishing line threaded through small drilled holes near the edge of the sliding door. It takes about 5 minutes to drill and 5 minutes to thread the fishing line so about 10 minutes/door. https://sprinter-source.com/forum/showpost.php?p=302772&postcount=498

Interesting. I saw the fishing line reference in your post on the sprinter forums, but I didn’t get it— I guess the fishing line has enough tension to press against the groove? Hmmm.

I might end up using polycarbonate for my sliding doors. May not be able to glue felt to them either but could work up a gasket or something in the groove.

Thanks for the big dump of links a few posts back, still working thru all that while designing. I am not proficient in any CAD tools, but will be ordering pieces cut to length when I do order and will be prepared to cut myself.

Only so much I can do without having access to the van for detailed measurements.



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[technomadness]

There comes a point where $40k isn't that much when you end up spending as many weekends and vacation as you can for 3 years working on a vehicle. I'd rather work one year and pay somebody all that extra cash and have it done. Of course there's the personal satisfaction of doing it yourself... Basically you have to decide if you want to spend your time building a camper van, or traveling in a camper van.

I absolutely agree and this is what I’ve been struggling with for the past two months. I’d happily pay someone $100k (on top of the van cost, so say $140k) to do the work.... and so I will be outsourcing what I can— eg I want to put a Fiama rack and awning on the roof and if I can find a place that will sell it and do the installation, I’ll pay them for it. Same with the heater.

I tried very hard to find an off the shelf vehicle that was close enough but I have a couple requirements that are incompatible with much of the industry... and that’s after giving up probably %80-90 of my “must haves”.

That leaves ARV and I don’t want to spend that kind of money on my first van because I may discover that it not exactly what I want.

I’m building with 8020 something like George has (though very different layout) and by going this route as my needs change I can change the design. Going to be as modular as I can but basically this way I can evolve it as I need, rather than get a new vehicle every 3-4 years as so many RVers seem to as they try to find the perfect thing for them.

Assuming of course I don’t decide I need something huge, at which point I’d buy a half finished skoolie or something.

But after a lot of thought and investigation I’m pretty sure the ProMaster is the right platform for me.

Fortunately I have the time to work on it full time, and have the build planned in stages. Will he living out of it almost right away and traveling as I build, or traveling, building for awhile, traveling again.

Being flexible is key to good travel, in my experience.



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[booster]

HDPE and UHMW can be worked with standard tools, all a CNC does is hold dimensions and shapes easier, and they know what tools to buy for it.

I have cut both on table and band saws, with the right blades and speeds, and a cooling compressed air jet helps and allows you go a bit faster. Same with using a router, which is similar to what a CNC mill would be using. We used lots of UHMW for slides on machinery when I was in the fabrication and machine building shop.

You want very sharp tool with a lot of rake angle (basically a hook cutting edge). High speed steel tools actually work better than most carbides because they come with a lot of rake angle in some tools if you look for it. Look for cutters and blades speced for soft plastics.

As mentioned, both are very soft, cold flow readily, and have very little structural strength. The are also very slippery and almost nothing will stick to them.

Personally, I prefer ABS for most things as it is stronger and can be glued readily. Polypropylene is another choice. Both also come in glass reinforced versions. Fiberglass sheets are great for control panels and such as they can be thin and still strong, replacing aluminum or steel versions.

I would use HDPE for chemical resistant things, and UHMW for bearing slides and such as it is very slippery and durable.

 

[Mat Mobile]

I absolutely agree and this is what I’ve been struggling with for the past two months. I’d happily pay someone $100k (on top of the van cost, so say $140k) to do the work.... and so I will be outsourcing what I can— eg I want to put a Fiama rack and awning on the roof and if I can find a place that will sell it and do the installation, I’ll pay them for it. Same with the heater.

I tried very hard to find an off the shelf vehicle that was close enough but I have a couple requirements that are incompatible with much of the industry... and that’s after giving up probably %80-90 of my “must haves”.

That leaves ARV and I don’t want to spend that kind of money on my first van because I may discover that it not exactly what I want.

I’m building with 8020 something like George has (though very different layout) and by going this route as my needs change I can change the design. Going to be as modular as I can but basically this way I can evolve it as I need, rather than get a new vehicle every 3-4 years as so many RVers seem to as they try to find the perfect thing for them.

Assuming of course I don’t decide I need something huge, at which point I’d buy a half finished skoolie or something.

But after a lot of thought and investigation I’m pretty sure the ProMaster is the right platform for me.

Fortunately I have the time to work on it full time, and have the build planned in stages. Will he living out of it almost right away and traveling as I build, or traveling, building for awhile, traveling again.

Being flexible is key to good travel, in my experience.



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Have you looked into these "start-up" companies mentioned in this post?

 

[AlexJ-ClassB]

A friend of ours is picking up a cool affordable, modular van converted by VanDoIt. Their wait seemed reasonable.

 

[Mfturner]

I agree that spending the money on a high end custom build like ARV is daunting for a first van. We will eventually get there I think, maybe sooner than later, but after renting one of ARV's vans (and really enjoying it) we realized we have more questions than answers as to our needs and desires.

Our solution is a used van whose price was good enough that we should be able to recover most of it when we are ready to upgrade. It lets us work out some logistics (storage, maintenance), figure out if we really need 4x4 for what we do here in CO, have some fun and gives us time for the long lead times we may have. Meanwhile we are registered for the Ohio ARVfest in May for more reconnaissance... Should [edited] be fun.

 

[technomadness]

A friend of ours is picking up a cool affordable, modular van converted by VanDoIt. Their wait seemed reasonable.

They look like they have the right idea— no wood, modular etc. alas they are only doing the transit, and the transit doesn’t work for me for ergonomic reasons. But I’ll be in their area in a bit and should stop by.


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[GeorgeRad]

Interesting. I saw the fishing line reference in your post on the sprinter forums, but I didn’t get it— I guess the fishing line has enough tension to press against the groove? Hmmm.

I might end up using polycarbonate for my sliding doors. May not be able to glue felt to them either but could work up a gasket or something in the groove.

Thanks for the big dump of links a few posts back, still working thru all that while designing. I am not proficient in any CAD tools, but will be ordering pieces cut to length when I do order and will be prepared to cut myself.

Only so much I can do without having access to the van for detailed measurements.

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The fishing line is to reduce the clearance of the sliding panel in the 80/20 guide slot. 0.016” line threaded 1/8” off the edge worked best. HDPE is 0.245” thick and the channel is trapezoidal from 0.275” on the bottom to about 0.280” so 0.245” + 2 x 0.016 = 0.277”. Works great. I just noticed that the Winnebago is using sliding doors in their lower cabinets of the new Travato.

In addition, I designed a simple flapper latch preventing sliding doors to move while on the road.

 

[teck13]

Before you begin you may want to check out the improved Travato 59K (revealed just a few days ago) with the new lithium-solar-electrical set-up. Also, I believe with this update most of the "water" lines and tanks have been moved inside (at least in similar 59G ... fresh water may still be outside in 59K) so cold weather capability should be improved. The new windows are double paned I believe. It's an appealing and impressive upgrade. As Phoebe3 suggested early in this thread the Travato seems to tick a lot of the boxes you are seeking.

 

[technomadness]

Before you begin you may want to check out the improved Travato 59K (...
appealing and impressive upgrade. As Phoebe3 suggested early in this thread the Travato seems to tick a lot of the boxes you are seeking.

Yes, the TRAVATO is too of the list to buy. The GL is a great improvement... but I’m not sure how soon it will be on the market and actually available for sale.

It does seems a bit weird putting $25,000 of batteries etc into a vehicle that is $30,000 by its self.

I would say the TRAVATO is three season, and my design is a hard four season. My design much better fits my lifestyle but I have to build it myself.

Is it worth paying an extra $60,000 and getting %75 of what I want?

The GL is a lot closer. I’m not ruling it out but it doesn’t seem like a slam dunk to me. It’s what I would do if buying off the lot were the only choice.



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[Mat Mobile]

Well, while we're throwing out van converters... Here's one in Montreal: Boreale Vans.

And in Montreal, believe me, we know cold! Check out their insulating post on Instagram. Plus you would have more purchasing power with the currency.