Hodakaguy's 4wd Sprinter Build - Pic Heavy!
Yep Mike will make them if your needing one, Contact Mike directly at https://www.facebook.com/vanlaboratory/DMWI said:
Hodakaguy
Time to get started on the bed frame.
The whole family decided to take a day trip with me to get out of the house and pick up some telescoping aluminum tubing for the bed frame fabrication. I picked up enough for myself and Mike as he is going to fabricate a frame for his van as well.
Supplies loaded up in the van....Sweet!
Starting to lay out the bed frame, I'm using a sheet of wood as a Jig. Since the walls of the van are curved the bed frame will need to extend and contract to allow mounting in different positions depending on the height of the items your carrying below the bed. I like the way the Adventure Wagon MOAB bed uses a gas strut to lock the bed into the side rails so I decided to add a strut to mine as well. The strut should also prevent any rattles while driving by keeping the entire assembly under tension.
I decided to make my bed frame in two panels, I'll be able to use one panel sideways as a single bed when traveling with the dirt bike or install both panels when the wife and I are both going.
Fabricating the mounts for the 20" x 20lb gas strut.
Miter saw with an aluminum blade is the only way to cut tubing...soooo quick and nice.
Coming together.
I'm installing a push button that will automatically lock the frame in the fully retracted position when the frame is collapsed. When removed the frames will store along the wall in a yet to be built storage rack, the button lock will keep the bed collapsed while in the rack. The button will be located on the inside of the tubing under the wood top, hidden and easy to access when you need to release the telescopic function to mount the bed.
Selecting the correct size drill bit with the help of some calipers.
Drilling the hole for the button through both the inner and outer tubing.
Recessing the outer hole so that your finger can depress the button easily.
Ready to install
The button installs by sliding the spring down the inner tubing until the button pops into the hole, a long piece of dowel works great as a push stick.
And button installation complete.
The button will be located here, hidden on the under side of the bed frame.
Getting closer...
Continued Below.....
The whole family decided to take a day trip with me to get out of the house and pick up some telescoping aluminum tubing for the bed frame fabrication. I picked up enough for myself and Mike as he is going to fabricate a frame for his van as well.
Supplies loaded up in the van....Sweet!
Starting to lay out the bed frame, I'm using a sheet of wood as a Jig. Since the walls of the van are curved the bed frame will need to extend and contract to allow mounting in different positions depending on the height of the items your carrying below the bed. I like the way the Adventure Wagon MOAB bed uses a gas strut to lock the bed into the side rails so I decided to add a strut to mine as well. The strut should also prevent any rattles while driving by keeping the entire assembly under tension.
I decided to make my bed frame in two panels, I'll be able to use one panel sideways as a single bed when traveling with the dirt bike or install both panels when the wife and I are both going.
Fabricating the mounts for the 20" x 20lb gas strut.
Miter saw with an aluminum blade is the only way to cut tubing...soooo quick and nice.
Coming together.
I'm installing a push button that will automatically lock the frame in the fully retracted position when the frame is collapsed. When removed the frames will store along the wall in a yet to be built storage rack, the button lock will keep the bed collapsed while in the rack. The button will be located on the inside of the tubing under the wood top, hidden and easy to access when you need to release the telescopic function to mount the bed.
Selecting the correct size drill bit with the help of some calipers.
Drilling the hole for the button through both the inner and outer tubing.
Recessing the outer hole so that your finger can depress the button easily.
Ready to install
The button installs by sliding the spring down the inner tubing until the button pops into the hole, a long piece of dowel works great as a push stick.
And button installation complete.
The button will be located here, hidden on the under side of the bed frame.
Getting closer...
Continued Below.....
Continued from above....
Next up is to attach the 1.25" tubing to the inner 1" tubing on the telescoping end of the frame. Here I drilled holes in the outer tubing to weld the inner tubing to the outer tubing using rosette welds, this will allow me to eliminate the welds on the ends of the tubing and let the tubing have a nice flush mate up.
I'm doing the welding today, here I'm setting up the machine and welding some scrap as a test piece. Garage is a mess but I can't be bothered to clean right now
Filling in the rosette welds.
Welding on the inner strut mount. Always fun welding on the floor and having to use your knee on the pedal
I'll be using 1"x1" lock pins on the end of the frame to engage the yet to be fabricated side rail mounts. Here I'm using more rosette welds to keep the ends of the pins clean and free from welds that would interfere with a snug fit.
Getting there...
More to come....
Hodakaguy
Next up is to attach the 1.25" tubing to the inner 1" tubing on the telescoping end of the frame. Here I drilled holes in the outer tubing to weld the inner tubing to the outer tubing using rosette welds, this will allow me to eliminate the welds on the ends of the tubing and let the tubing have a nice flush mate up.
I'm doing the welding today, here I'm setting up the machine and welding some scrap as a test piece. Garage is a mess but I can't be bothered to clean right now
Filling in the rosette welds.
Welding on the inner strut mount. Always fun welding on the floor and having to use your knee on the pedal
I'll be using 1"x1" lock pins on the end of the frame to engage the yet to be fabricated side rail mounts. Here I'm using more rosette welds to keep the ends of the pins clean and free from welds that would interfere with a snug fit.
Getting there...
More to come....
Hodakaguy
Thanks for posting all your work.
It's very interesting and detailed.
Frank
It's very interesting and detailed.
Frank
Little more work on the bed frame today.
Unit is tacked and out of the jig for welding.
Adding the second strut mount.
Assembled with the strut temporarily in place. The unit slides harder than I would like as the tolerances between the tubing are very tight and there is very little allowance for any warping while welding. I'll look at it tomorrow and see what can be done, either way it's sliding and functional
More to come....
Hodakaguy
Unit is tacked and out of the jig for welding.
Adding the second strut mount.
Assembled with the strut temporarily in place. The unit slides harder than I would like as the tolerances between the tubing are very tight and there is very little allowance for any warping while welding. I'll look at it tomorrow and see what can be done, either way it's sliding and functional
More to come....
Hodakaguy
Not a ton of pics today but I knocked out the second half of the bed frame.
Cutting all the aluminum bits to size
In the jig and ready to tack up.
Welding in the mounting pegs using rosette welds.
Going together
The two bed frames next to each other. Still have some mounting tabs to weld on and a little sanding to make the units slide properly.
Next I need to start on the side mounting rails.
Hodakaguy
Cutting all the aluminum bits to size
In the jig and ready to tack up.
Welding in the mounting pegs using rosette welds.
Going together
The two bed frames next to each other. Still have some mounting tabs to weld on and a little sanding to make the units slide properly.
Next I need to start on the side mounting rails.
Hodakaguy
Today's project...fabricate the side mounts and test fit the bed frames.
I'll be using aluminum tubing for the mounts.
Drilling the corners for the bed frame mounting holes
Transferring the marks over to the 2nd mount.
Capping the ends
Getting there
Welding on the mounting tabs.
Mounting rails installed.
Bed frames installed.
More to come...
Hodakaguy
I'll be using aluminum tubing for the mounts.
Drilling the corners for the bed frame mounting holes
Transferring the marks over to the 2nd mount.
Capping the ends
Getting there
Welding on the mounting tabs.
Mounting rails installed.
Bed frames installed.
More to come...
Hodakaguy
craig333
Riley's Human
Makes me think I should have taken the next semester of welding.
Received my Mule Bags for the van. We will be using these soft overhead luggage bags to hold our cloths etc and help keep the floor free from clutter. I love that the bags are soft for when you bump your head on them and that they are easily removable if I need to take them out to haul something etc.
Ready to install.
Out of the box, bag is folded up and the internal stiffeners are folded flat.
Supplied Mounting Hardware
Installing the mounting studs on the ceiling L-track. The rubber washer helps hold the assembly in place during install.
Rear bag in place.
Installing the forward bags hardware.
And both bags installed. I spaced the bags so there is a slight gap between them so I can still place items into the elastic netting on the ends of the bags. The fit of the bags are spot on! The camera pics up more IR than the naked eye and makes the bags look purple, they are nice and black in person.
The opening flaps have built in magnets to hold them open when needed, nice touch.
Hodakaguy
Ready to install.
Out of the box, bag is folded up and the internal stiffeners are folded flat.
Supplied Mounting Hardware
Installing the mounting studs on the ceiling L-track. The rubber washer helps hold the assembly in place during install.
Rear bag in place.
Installing the forward bags hardware.
And both bags installed. I spaced the bags so there is a slight gap between them so I can still place items into the elastic netting on the ends of the bags. The fit of the bags are spot on! The camera pics up more IR than the naked eye and makes the bags look purple, they are nice and black in person.
The opening flaps have built in magnets to hold them open when needed, nice touch.
Hodakaguy
craig333
Riley's Human
Sure are. Now how can I get those in my camper!
Mighty Dodge Ram
Senior Member
Great solution! I’ll be searching those out.
Just got back from a quick 600 Mile road trip, first trip of the year with the van. Not quite finished with the interior yet but It's time to start camping and worry about finishing the van at a later date
Here's a few photo's from our adventures through Central OR.
Worlds largest map of the Oregon Trail, wrapped around the other side of the building as well.
The town of Baker OR has a really cool museum, here we stopped and are waiting for the doors to open.
One of my favorite things in the museum was this cool old rifle, man If only this rifle could talk!
Checking out some cool old equipment in Sumpter OR. This walking drag line was awesome.
I would so love to restore this tracked Fordson, look at that awesome winch!
Next up we checked out the old Sumpter Dredge. This dredge removed 128,570 oz of gold while chewing up the Sumpter valley, the tailings can be seen throughout the valley. I brought along the drone on this trip and got a couple cool overhead shots.
You can really see the size of the dredge with the wife and kiddo on the deck.
The tailing conveyor on the stern of the dredge and the ends of the sluice boxes.
Buckets baby!
One of the winch systems on board, this winch was used for positioning the dredge in the pond
Here's the winch that controlled the bucket line, you can also see two of the three pumps onboard that had a total of 3000 gpm capacity.
Next we rolled through the abandoned town of Whitney, I love checking out old abandoned buildings.
Lots of cool canyons along the route.
Continued Below....
Here's a few photo's from our adventures through Central OR.
Worlds largest map of the Oregon Trail, wrapped around the other side of the building as well.
The town of Baker OR has a really cool museum, here we stopped and are waiting for the doors to open.
One of my favorite things in the museum was this cool old rifle, man If only this rifle could talk!
Checking out some cool old equipment in Sumpter OR. This walking drag line was awesome.
I would so love to restore this tracked Fordson, look at that awesome winch!
Next up we checked out the old Sumpter Dredge. This dredge removed 128,570 oz of gold while chewing up the Sumpter valley, the tailings can be seen throughout the valley. I brought along the drone on this trip and got a couple cool overhead shots.
You can really see the size of the dredge with the wife and kiddo on the deck.
The tailing conveyor on the stern of the dredge and the ends of the sluice boxes.
Buckets baby!
One of the winch systems on board, this winch was used for positioning the dredge in the pond
Here's the winch that controlled the bucket line, you can also see two of the three pumps onboard that had a total of 3000 gpm capacity.
Next we rolled through the abandoned town of Whitney, I love checking out old abandoned buildings.
Lots of cool canyons along the route.
Continued Below....
Continued from above....
Camp for the night and enjoying the breeze and view out the rear door.
Next morning we drove up to Fossil OR to dig for fossils. There is a public dig area located right behind the high school.
Lot's of really cool leaf and fern fossils, this area looked a lot different back then.
After that we shut down early for the day so we could just relax and the kiddo could spend the day swimming.
The roof rack makes a great place to kick back in the camp chair and relax
Making coffee for the ride home.....another trip in the books.
Hodakaguy
Camp for the night and enjoying the breeze and view out the rear door.
Next morning we drove up to Fossil OR to dig for fossils. There is a public dig area located right behind the high school.
Lot's of really cool leaf and fern fossils, this area looked a lot different back then.
After that we shut down early for the day so we could just relax and the kiddo could spend the day swimming.
The roof rack makes a great place to kick back in the camp chair and relax
Making coffee for the ride home.....another trip in the books.
Hodakaguy
More adventures. If your just here for the build thread and not into trip reports you can skip this post, more build posts coming soon
We just finished a 4 day 1000 mile road trip with the van and my father joined the trip with his Tacoma/Vagabond camper. Such a cool road trip, soooo much scenery and history to explore out there.
Warning...Picture Heavy Post.
Heading out of town we were treated to an awesome sunrise.
First up was the historic mining town of Wallace ID. This is town is full of history and cool things to explore. There is also a bicycle trail on a old railroad bed that is all down hill and travels through tunnels and over trestles...we will have to come back for those!
Dad checking out the signs
Wallace is home to the Center Of The Universe!
I found it strange that the Center of the Universe is located in the middle of a 4 way intersection where people will want to stand on it to take photos lol. All locations in town are referenced from the Cnter of the Universe.
This pawn/antique shop in Wallace is a very cool shop, a must stop when your there!
Dad checking out the Mermaid
My wife checking out the lovely room of death lol.
More fun stores
Wallace is famous for it's houses of prostitution, there were MANY of them in this small town. The last operating brothel closed in 1991. The Oasis cat house closed in 1988 and was boarded up tight with everything inside...they just turned off the lights and left, eventually it was purchased and the time capsule was opened and its now a perfectly preserved museum. Really good tour.
Continued Below....
We just finished a 4 day 1000 mile road trip with the van and my father joined the trip with his Tacoma/Vagabond camper. Such a cool road trip, soooo much scenery and history to explore out there.
Warning...Picture Heavy Post.
Heading out of town we were treated to an awesome sunrise.
First up was the historic mining town of Wallace ID. This is town is full of history and cool things to explore. There is also a bicycle trail on a old railroad bed that is all down hill and travels through tunnels and over trestles...we will have to come back for those!
Dad checking out the signs
Wallace is home to the Center Of The Universe!
I found it strange that the Center of the Universe is located in the middle of a 4 way intersection where people will want to stand on it to take photos lol. All locations in town are referenced from the Cnter of the Universe
.
This pawn/antique shop in Wallace is a very cool shop, a must stop when your there!
Dad checking out the Mermaid
My wife checking out the lovely room of death lol.
More fun stores
Wallace is famous for it's houses of prostitution, there were MANY of them in this small town. The last operating brothel closed in 1991. The Oasis cat house closed in 1988 and was boarded up tight with everything inside...they just turned off the lights and left, eventually it was purchased and the time capsule was opened and its now a perfectly preserved museum. Really good tour.
Continued Below....
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