Evolution of my Eurovan Weekender

[VanGeek]

Thanks bigfoot_ev for your write-ups. I appreciate all the contributions here.

I will follow your engine and transmission mount updates.... My jounce bumper is compromised and the exhaust is riding low which implies my engine and trans mounts are also probably sagging a bit. Mine's a 2001 with 86K. So not a ton of mileage but plenty of years. Not an emergency but something for the todo list.

[bigfoot_ev]

The engine/transmission mount replacements are complete. I can't say it's completely satisfying, mainly due to the left side(driver) transmission mount. I got the engine mount kit from Europarts-sd. It includes a right mount, left mount bolted to a mounting bracket, pendulum mount, and transmission bushing. I did not install the transmission bushing.

I followed this wiki which was a good writeup: https://vweurovan.fandom.com/wiki/Engine/Transmission_mounts

The right side(passenger) engine mount was super simple and straightforward. I guess the pendulum mount was also very easy except you are supposed to torque the subframe bolt to 200 Nm. If I had a lift that would be no problem but driving up on ramps did not give me enough swing room since I needed a cheater bar to give me leverage. In the end I just let my impact wrench work it. You might also need to push the engine toward the rear to get the pendulum bolts to line up. I just hooked a ratchet strap to an eye on the block near the oil pan and ran it toward the rear. It needed very little movement.

The left side mount, now that was a PIA. I just could not get any room to swing my wrenches adequately enough. On the bottom of the bracket there are 2 bolts. The bolt heads are very close to the frame so you need a slim wrench and/or shallow socket to fit. My sockets were 6 sided, I think you would want a 12 sided 16 mm and a 72 tooth or greater ratchet to work the swing room. And if that's not enough, there is a seam that interferes with swinging so a flex head ratchet might be best. I only had a 1/2 inch breaker bar, a 1/2 inch ratchet, and a 3/8 inch ratchet with my 6 sided socket. Also, there is no way I was going to get a torque reading installing these bolts.

And then there were the top nuts. Straightforward enough to reach with my torque wrench. The problem was, when I was trying to get to 55 Nm I just got the nuts to 47 Nm and then they didn't go any higher. The wrench turned but the torque stayed the same. I didn't want to keep pushing so I stopped there. So, that is what I mean by not being very satisfying.

But I definitely had sagging mounts. Even when sitting on the bench you can see how they compare with the new mounts. It may not look like much but remember these are completely unloaded.

Here's the left side. Notice the difference in the bar extending out the bottom

And the right side, again look at the bottom

The pendulum doesn't look so bad

This is a before shot of my jounce bumper replacement. There is no way it was going to fit. Now after the replacing the mounts I can install the bumper but there is no space above it. So, still tight.

Glad to have this complete. I'm not sure what to think about the top nuts on the left side. I guess I'll just keep an eye on it. Anybody have any thoughts?

[bigfoot_ev]

We got back out for some more camping with just the van. I still think we are in shakedown mode. I made a number of small additions all focused on making it easier to spend time camping. But first the obligatory dog camping pic. He might look a little annoyed because he thought we were going for a walk before I made him stop and pose. And I just love the Colorado Red after a wash and wax.

I'll start off with this tiny thing. As you can see it easily fits into the palm of your hand. Since we only have the upper bunk it's a regular thing to inflate and deflate the backpacking air mattresses we put on top of the westy mattresses. There is no way I could sleep on just the westy pads. They are waaay too hard for my back. I've often wondered about the froli system underneath. If anyone has experience with them please let me know.

Anyways, this is an air pump/inflator. It's cordless and charges off USB and works amazingly fast blowing up our backpacking mattresses. Plus it's not nearly as obnoxiously loud as the 12v air pumps you regularly hear in campgrounds. To be honest it does make noise so we just fill up the mattresses with the bunk board down and doors closed.

Camp chairs. We are on our 3rd iteration and so far these chairs are working pretty well. They break down into very compact carrying bags so we take them out for all kinds of occasions, not just camping. But, as is common on this type of chair the feet quickly fail. So I needed to replace the feet on both chairs. Using an idea off the internet, I bought a bag of phenolic handle ends used on a lot of various machinery and drilled out the threaded part to the right size (16mm). Then just tapped them onto the end of the chair legs. So far so good.

Rear hatch lighting. Since we have a fair amount of stuff now stored in the back of the van it's nice to have light readily available. We usually just leave the cooler extended out since we seem to get into that a lot. So, I bought one of those battery operated, motion sensing, light color adjustable, dimmable stick on led light. I think these are typically sold as closet lights and I got a 4 pack because I actually have some closets that could benefit. I usually keep 2 in the van so while 1 is charging we are using the other. We had a motion sensing light on the hatch of our teardrop and it was super helpful so I already know this is a keeper. And we like to keep our lights dimmed and the color warm when lighting the outdoor areas.

These were all pretty inexpensive 'tests' so if they don't work out, no big loss. But if they do work out...all the better.

[Endopotential]

Those are some great little tweaks. You just inspired me to get the USB air pump for my camping mattress.

I replaced the foam inside the OEM grey bunk pillows with some 2" memory foam
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RZXLDQF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1
There was even some left over for me to place an extra layer right underneath my shoulders. Yup, I'm a bit of a princess & pea

The extra thickness makes the poptop a bit harder to lock closed, but well worth it for a good night's sleep.

[bigfoot_ev]

[Endopotential]

Yes closing my top can be a bit fiddly. I had to futz with that engagement lock pin, adjusting the screw length to allow for a bit of
extra length.

Sometimes it takes a second set of hands to pull down on the top while I'm hauling down on the inside. A little tricky if I'm on my own, but thinking I may employ a rachetting cam strap if needed.

But all well worth it for a comfy night's rest!

[bigfoot_ev]

I'm not sure if I'm just late to the party or others might also be interested in these. I've known about them for some time but my earlier messing around left me underwhelmed. But the magnets they use these days are quite impressive. I have 2 specific uses I have been trying to solve in various failing ways.

The first is what to do with jackets when you come in from the cold or wet. Well now I have a great place to hang things to dry and to keep organized. I even tried a makeshift vegetable hammock strung between the front and rear metal bands of the forward bunk board. The magnets definitely work and could hold more than enough weight but the actual hammock needs some refinement.

The next was how to make a rear privacy tent. I tried a couple of times cutting and taping a plastic tarp to fit over the open hatch. That didn't work so well so then I tried to just wrap around the hatch with the tarp but I never had a good solution to attach the plastic. So, now the magnets come to the rescue. I bought 2 nylon coated tarps, one for each side that wrap around to meet directly in back. I chose nylon because they pack up way smaller than a plastic tarp. I can set this up in about a minute.

[bigfoot_ev]

Awnings. Since I have been working on this for waay too many years I've come to the conclusion that what works the best for someone is based on how you specifically use your awning. I have come so close to pulling the trigger on a Fiamma, and then ARB, and then a...whatever is mounted to the side of the van. I always hesitated because when I read why people like their side mounted awning so much it's that it's easy and quick to deploy, like for a quick lunch break. That's a scenario I rarely do. I absolutely agree having a quick and easy to deploy awning is really cool, but it's not a priority for my uses. So, if it's not a priority for my uses why spend the money and have an awning bolted to the side of my van? I have an ARB mounted to my teardrop and it's great. I use it all the time. Here is a typical setup with the ARB but just as important is the pop up 10x10. If you look back at some of my earlier posts you see that I used this pop up with the van as the awning and it worked great, again for my uses.

One of my earliest and probably dumbest attempts was to screw 2 stainless eye straps under the pop top. The thought being I could slip a carabiner through the grommet of a tarp and clip the end to the eye. I was able to accomplish this and still to this day has not rusted but just imagine a little wind flopping the tarp up and down while connected via the carabiner to the van. So, on to the next idea. I bought a Kelty Carport. This is actually a nice piece of kit. Well thought out and well made.

In the photo above you see 2 collapsed poles on the ground. The Kelty Carport can be setup free standing, replacing the van end with the 2 poles on the ground. Or, the 2 poles can be used on the other end away from the van to hold up the entire thing. I really like this awning, my only gripe is that it takes as much time setting up as it would to set up a tent, ie not quick. That means I try something else.

This is by no means the perfect solution and I've just started using it. During this past trip we got a little unexpected rain in the morning and I didn't deploy the tarp overnight. So before I made my coffee I wanted to see how quickly I could get some shelter from the rain. I have to say it worked pretty well. This relies on an awning rail (or Keder) mounted to the van and a matching awning rail rope on the tarp. The awning rail fits under the pop top and is held by VHB tape except the 1 screw in the photo due to the curve in the roof line. The tarp is 10' wide and extends 13' out from the van. I have 4 poles and in the inside looking out photo you can see I have one pole in the middle providing headroom since this is such a large tarp. It has grommets mid way out that allows me to set the poles closer to the van with the excess tarp hanging down creating a little privacy or in my recent case protection from blowing rain. The tarp rolls up nice and tight and I have nothing bolted to the side of the van when the pop top is down. The tarp I bought is an inexpensive coated nylon tarp that I sewed the keder rope on to. The sewing was just 2 straight lines, that's something I can do. We shall see how this works out in the longer term. Oh yeah, you can see those stupid eye straps to.

[IdeaNerd]

Thanks for continuing to update your thread here! Always interesting to read.

I'm particularly interested in your awning explorations. I've thought about and tried a few things myself there but still haven't come up with one I really like. The keder rope is new to me, and looks very interesting! I'm not super-keen on the bulk of a full-time attached awning, and have long been after something similar to what you are working out here, with the anchor portion tucked under the top. This keder rope approach looks promising. Keep us posted on how it works out for you, OK?

[bigfoot_ev]

[IdeaNerd]

[bigfoot_ev]

I thought I had posted this already but I guess not. So speaking of testing ideas out...

I 'borrowed' this idea from Kourt's great makeover of his EVC. The 8020 that I used on this build has a groove exposed on all 4 sides. You have the option of making any number of the sides solid which many prefer for the cleaner look. But me, I wanted the utilitarian version with the groove available for whatever may come. Well when I saw Kourt's small table I thought I might be able to repurpose some parts from the old 8020 camping box. So, a quick and dirty cut to existing plywood cutoff, a flip up table support, plus the 8020 parts and I have a small table to play with. The first goal is to give us a place to set things as we rummage around in the cooler. But this small table fits inside as well on any of the exposed 8020 grooves. I'm still trying to figure out what size works best.

Another item that seems to be working pretty well are these smallish trunk organizers. They have velcro lids that are easily removed but when in place give a bit of support. Handles on the sides that allow us to move them when fully loaded and a movable divider for better organizing. One of them is dedicated to pantry. We bring it in before each trip, check whether we need to remove, refill, or replace items then it's good to go back out into the van. The other changes to whatever needs we have and is emptied after each trip, ie costco runs, dog camping supplies, misc big box items, etc.

[bigfoot_ev]

We just finished a 3 week camping trip. I think I now have a pretty good idea on living out of the van. In short, it's awesome! This was a fall trip in the pacific northwest, so cold and rainy. We camped for days while an atmospheric river passed through BC, then traveled over the mountains to dry out, dropped back down into WA and woke up to snow and 28 degree morning. We used hipcamp at the Northyards Cidery in Salmon Arm and visited family in Tri-Cities to do some wine tasting. The van ran great and all the accessories worked as planned. One upgrade that I have resisted is the switch to new flooring, ie remove the carpet. I actually like the carpet but I don't like cleaning it out. I now admit that a vinyl type floor would have been nice during the wet camping. New project.

Awning update. We could not have survived the rain without some sort of awning/tarp. I think I have a better appreciation for the attached Fiamma/ARB. But not enough for me to switch. I got very adept at setting up the tarp during pouring rain. The keder slide is super quick to get the tarp attached and it does not drip into an open door. So, this is a keeper setup for now. Here's the typical rain setup.

The weather started out nice. Here we were tricked by a sunset looking down the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

But then the atmospheric river came. This is dusk at Porteau Cove, not nighttime, the clouds were just so thick.

At the cidery with all our guts disgorged to dry out.

Traveling on BC 31 at Trout Lake. This highway narrows to a single track at times.

At a campsite on Kootenay Lake. We had the entire place to ourselves.

On this trip we used our diesel heater a fair amount. Nothing better than clicking on the heat from the remote while still in bed. I love it. We also splurged on a set of Fanchers thermal curtains. These made a noticeable difference and we are very happy with the purchase. As a side bonus, because the hooks holding our coats are attached to the bunk leading edge, the coats get pushed up out of the way when the bunk is raised. The magnet hooks are a definite keeper.

Here was a spur of the moment idea I had just before we left. It used leftover 8020 pieces so it was quick and easy to build. I can't say we are sold on it. We used it the first half then didn't use it at all during the second half. Maybe it needs some tweaking.

I'm ready for our next trip. Too bad I got some serious maintenance to do over the winter. First up, fix the rust around the windshield. Then address the foam shooting out of the vents.

[shirk]

Looks like a great trip.

We sprung for a Thule awning (cranks out like a Fiamma) and I do love how quick and easy it is to set up solo in the rain and no tie down ropes needed.

[KillerGriller]

I wasn't aware of these, but knew we definitely needed something to keep the breeze and temps at bay after spending a few nights in the upper deck.

Did they dry out well, or did you end up mostly putting them away wet?

[bigfoot_ev]

[bigfoot_ev]

I got one of my big winter projects done. There was rust forming around the windshield that was the result of a poor installation of a replacement windshield a number of years ago. To fix it required removing the windshield. Then grinding, digging, and sanding out as much rust as possible. Followed by primer, base color coat, and finally clear coat before having a new windshield put back in.

If you're interested in more details I added them to this thread:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=10156727#10156727

This is what I saw that made me start digging into this. This is just one example, it was bubbling in multiple places around the windshield.

Removed the windshield and went after the rust.

Then primer, paint, clear coat and a new windshield.

[Zeitgeist 13]

[bigfoot_ev]

[Zeitgeist 13]

Yep, Salt Creek. Our local van club has camped there several times. I get those North Sound/Straits parks mixed up because they're all pretty amazing.
_________________
Casey--

'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik?