What did you do to your Eurovan or T4 today?

[krusovice]

It was finally warm enough to tackle re-dyeing the extremely faded interior panels. I did all but the one behind the galley (I need a better day to leave the van outside drying). It's extremely satisfying.

I'm quite happy with how the re-fresh is turning out. The only major projects left on the cosmetics are 1. dye the last panel, 2. install the better solar controller, and 3. install the pop-top canvas.

I did run this cable out the battery vent for hooking up the solar panels. (Yes, it's a lousy connector, but it's what I have right now.)

Getting closer to camping season!
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1984 Vanagon 1.9/4 speed
2001 Eurovan Camper

[camcrobe]

Like user krusovice in post above, I added portable solar to my 95 EVC. Took a different path and mounted a small SAE connector on an angle bracket and attached to bolt on the hitch. Wires are run behind bumper and into battery compartment through the vent behind bumper cover (different than the battery vent). Second pic is inside wiring with solar controller on right into 30A fuse, on far left is shunt for battery monitor. Battery is 200Ah AGM that I put in last fall when added the TruckFridge. Cloudy day Sunday, but still got 62W from my 120W folding panel.

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1995 EuroVan Camper. 2.5L
manual trans

[HeyCrutch]

Got the 5 spoke VW BBS wheels that came off the parts van back from being powder coated yesterday. Had Falken WildPeak AT tires mounted this morning, and the recent BigO tires that I had to buy on the way home from California last summer when I bought it have now replaced the 25 year old tires in the spare wheel wells on this van, the Weekender, and even the parts van (with one left as a spare spare). The '97 EVC got a Yokohoma 205 tire mounted to its 15" steel wheel - which was the only real option for storing a spare wheel under that van without modifications. For the first time in many years, all the vans have safe spare wheel/tires to rely on. Hopefully the next owner of the 97 EVC will appreciate it.

Here's a "before" pic (flipped for better comparison)

It has been discussed in another thread on here somewhere, but the Falken Wildpeaks are super quiet on the road ... very surprised given they are a psuedo A-T tire. But I don't notice them really at all. Can't say the same for the Yoko Geolanders on the other EVC that came with the GoWesty wheels. Those add 10 decibels to the ride I bet.
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-2003 EV MV Wk - Forest - 51k
-2002 EV Camper - Ghost - 82k
-2003 EV GLS - Fluffhead - 176k

-1997 EVC - 12vVR6 (SOLD 5/2025)

[krusovice]

Decided to disinfect my water tank today. Found out the straps holding my grey water tank were shot. When it filled with water the straps failed and the tank dropped onto the ground.

Good thing I was at home
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1984 Vanagon 1.9/4 speed
2001 Eurovan Camper

[dsh1705]

Added some under dash lights, as well as some lights for the picture of our late traveling companion, Flea (need to add a bit of tape to block off some of that light on his photo still).

Used some LED tape from Superbright LEDs: https://www.superbrightleds.com/5m-white-weatherpr...64-12v-24v

Hella switch with amber LED indicator that just fits in one of the blanks controls it, switched off the cigarette lighter circuit, so it can be switched on at night (to find whatever you stashed - or fell - into the foot well).

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David
1705.net
95 EVC
ACU,098

[HeyCrutch]

[Da TOW'D]

This weekend I installed oil pressure , volt,and vacuum gauges along with ScanGauge11 to monitor the Automatic transaxle.
I was a bit shocked to see the oil pressure at 100 psi on start up. So I shut it down and checked the internet to see what the pressure should be-- 7 Bar or over 101 psi. it runs at 60 psi once it is warm
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'57 type 1 Blackberry
'58 SC Ruf
'62 type 3 Notch
'92 Eurovan Willy
'99 Eurovan Winnie
and NUTS

[RiversToTheSea]

After weeks and weeks of preparation I backed my van into my garage and wired up my new house side charging system. I'll post a thread with a more detailed discussion, schematics, and better photos later, after I've had time to clean things up and install the last remaining bits.

But the initial tests were successful. All the janky wiring & splicing from a previous owner was removed. The new AC/DC charger works, DC/DC charger works, and BMS battery monitor displays volts, amps, power in, power out, state-of-charge, and way more.

My van barely fits under the garage door:

Oops, was I supposed to drill here?

Business side of the new charger panel:

Since I had so much of the Winnebago pieces out, I took advantage and installed an inspection port in the fresh water tank, based on a thread from kourt, I added shelves to the odd cabinet between the galley and the wardrobe, and did a few other minor mods to the water system.

Next up is replacing the Suburban heater core with a new unit, and finding room for a 1000W inverter.

[Zebedee]

Finally got our Autosleeper Clubman GL through its MOT test (UK yearly roadworthiness) test.

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If you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all.

[HeyCrutch]

Front end makeover on the 2002 EVC is finally completed, with the additions of E-Code headlamps with Flosser H4 bulbs (thanks BusDepot) and clear Euro-style side marker lenses with Hella amber bulbs (thanks DrBjorn).

I had already tried the E-Codes in the Weekender and was very satisfied with the improvement in visibility. The switch to clear side markers is mostly cosmetic, but the bump out does improve visibility for cars in adjacent lanes of traffic.

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-2003 EV MV Wk - Forest - 51k
-2002 EV Camper - Ghost - 82k
-2003 EV GLS - Fluffhead - 176k

-1997 EVC - 12vVR6 (SOLD 5/2025)

[RiversToTheSea]

From a thread I recall from some time back, gunk builds up under the front cargo carrier. The weather was good this weekend (mostly) so I pulled it off for a deep clean and a little upgrade.

What's underneath the old cover after thirty years of PNW winters:

There's a slight interior leak at the upper passenger side corner of the headliner/windshield, I think I found it. This part is rusty so I cleaned it (both driver & passenger side) and liberally applied RTV silicone.

After a deep cleaning:

Top back in place. I rattle-canned the grab rails even though nobody will see them but me.

I also installed these drain hole covers from GoWesty. The instructions were pretty basic, I think the three notches on the bottom are intended to go over the bottom edge of the drain hole.

GoWesty also makes a nice set of attachment lugs that allow better ways to secure cargo into the carrier. I opted not to get them, I keep my van covered over the winter. The GoWesty cargo lugs stick up above the upper rim of the cargo carrier and I'm afraid they would rub against the cover and wear holes through it. Honestly I'm not sure I'll ever put anything up there anyway.

[RiversToTheSea]

Last week I bought a 200W solar panel, and it fits nicely in the rear storage area. But I didn't want to put anything on top of it and risk breaking it, so I built this chipboard shelf. The solar panel stows below it, and I can still store lightweight things on top (this is usually where our bedding and clothes go when camping).

Ladies, if you don't find him handsome, you should at least find him handy!

This is just a test to see if the concept works. After this weekend's trip I'll redo it out of thicker marine plywood, add rub strips, and maybe secure it to the Winnebago plastics,

[bikes!]

Temporary left mirror replacement.

Whilst pulling onto the highway yesterday, I noticed movement at the left outside mirror and glanced over just in time to watch the mirror gently peeling away from the housing before it was sucked into oblivion.

No OE mirrors for a reasonable price in South Lake Tahoe, so a visit to the chain FLAPs, I found a close enough size stick on mirror. Was intended for a Chrysler minivan and will do the job until the new OE mirror arrives on Monday.

Better than nothing:

Details from the packaging:

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VWs past: 66 Kombi, 76 Westfalia Camper, 17 GTI; present: 02 Eurovan MVW, 17 Alltrack SEL & 19 Golf R

[HeyCrutch]

2003 GLS - 175,000 miles

Bought it last year as a parts van for $1000 for the Camper and Weekender from a local ice cream shop that was tired of dealing with it. I wanted it mainly for the BBS 5 spoke wheels which have migrated over to the Camper after being powder coated. Everything after the was just gonna be pick-n-pull I thought.

The van was purchased knowing the transmission was not in good shape -- first gear would barely engage. It barely made it home on the drive the day I took possession (drove it on a Sunday morning with strategic routing).

Recently after I had done a transmission service on the camper, I decide to add some of the drained fluid to the Parts Van just to see if it might be low fluid. Added about 1/5 of a liter and it dramatically improved the engagement of the transmission, although didn't "fix" first gear. Checked the level and didn't even get drips after removing the drain plug, so I knew it was still low. Added another 1/4 liter of the old fluid and test drove it some more with surprise at how much it improved.

Decided to do full pan-drop drain and fill, along with a new filter for it. When I drained the fluid, I only got about 2.5 liters out, and .75 was old fluid I had recently added, which meant that the trans was operating on about 1.75 liters to 2 liters of fluid, instead of the ~ 4 liters that it needs that day I drove it home

After I refilled with fresh Pentosin ATF6 first gear came back entirely. Kicking myself for not doing that the week I got the van home, but at that point I hadn't done a transmission service myself yet (I've now done it 3 times on 3 vans). I'm sure the trans likely still has some damage due to the PO driving it with insufficient A/T fluid, but at least it's in working order now.

It's a shame that you have to drop the belly pan just to do a trans fluid check on these vans (since no dipstick). Checking it isn't really that hard, but having to drop the belly pan first is just enough of a hinderance to prevent people from checking it regularly.
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-2003 EV MV Wk - Forest - 51k
-2002 EV Camper - Ghost - 82k
-2003 EV GLS - Fluffhead - 176k

-1997 EVC - 12vVR6 (SOLD 5/2025)

[HeyCrutch]

Reupholstered the rear/main cabin headliner in the GLS parts van today:

BEFORE.
This was the condition the headliner was in when I bought the parts van.

As most of you already know, the typical reason the headliner fails is not the adhesive, but the foam backing of the upholstery material ... over the course of 20 years it breaks down, failing, and the bond between the board and material is broken, causing sagging, and creating a MESS. In my case the PO had pulled the headliner material off of the board entirely. To do the job correctly you have to scrub off ALL of the old sticky brown foam before you can do the reupholstery job.

AFTER

A few trim pieces left to install, so it's not completely done ... but sure does look a helluva lot better (and will no longer be shedding brown stick foam bits all over the place!

As in the past, I followed all the tips and advice from this professional:


Link


One 96" roll of this material from an Amazon seller is a perfect match and the right length for the rear/main board (you won't have enough remaining if you also need to do the front cabin).

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DCP78N76?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1
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-2003 EV MV Wk - Forest - 51k
-2002 EV Camper - Ghost - 82k
-2003 EV GLS - Fluffhead - 176k

-1997 EVC - 12vVR6 (SOLD 5/2025)

[67rustavenger]

Fantastic work refreshing the headliner.
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I have learned over the years.
Cheap parts are gonna disappoint you.
Buy Once, Cry Once!

There's never enough time to do it right the first time. But there's always enough time to do it thrice.
GFY's Xevin and VW_Jimbo!
2003 Astrovan? GFYS again, Xevin!

[HeyCrutch]

New skill added to the toolkit:

Replaced the Serpentine Belt on the 2002 EVC today -- a very simple and easy job. I had noticed that it had a few small cracks when I was under there doing maintenance last month, so I ordered a Continental belt. The Belly Pan must be removed.

Purchased an M8 x 1.25 x 80mm bolt from ACE for a couple bucks, which was needed to thread into the nose/frront end of tensioner (from up above with hood open). Screwing the bolt in gradually releases tension on the pulley, so that you can slip the belt off. The new belt was tighter obviously so I had to screw the bolt in a bit more to fit it on. Thankfully the tensioner sets tension on the belt automatically. I had also purchased a new pulley from Bus Depot, but when I spun the old pulled (OEM I think) it felt and sounded good, so I held off on replacing it (I'm sure one of the other vans will need it).

Didn't take a photo of the new belt, but I had snapped one of the old belt for reference and I now realize it runs in the shape of an Hour Glass.

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-2003 EV MV Wk - Forest - 51k
-2002 EV Camper - Ghost - 82k
-2003 EV GLS - Fluffhead - 176k

-1997 EVC - 12vVR6 (SOLD 5/2025)

[HeyCrutch]

The 2002 EVC finally has an awning. Many Thanks to @Yebdox (aka Dana W) who donated the awning. I picked it up from his garage last fall while we were traveling in the 1997 EVC. I had started the conversation with him b/c the 1997 Van was missing the C-Channel mounts and his removed Carefree of Colorado awning still had them. Yebdox was smart enough to not separate the mounts from the old awning, so I picked up both. The C-Channel mounts got used on the 1997 van so that it's Carefree of Colorado awning was mounted correctly; and then the awning itself is now mounted to the 2002 EVC (using Fiamma Eurovan Mounts designed for their F35 Pro model).

Thanks @Yebdox (Dana W) for the shade!!!

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-2003 EV MV Wk - Forest - 51k
-2002 EV Camper - Ghost - 82k
-2003 EV GLS - Fluffhead - 176k

-1997 EVC - 12vVR6 (SOLD 5/2025)

[WorthaTry]

Nice! My recently purchased EV came with 2 awnings. The seller said the one on the van is a pretty good sun-shade. But he included a new one that he hadn't managed to get mounted before the sale. So that's on my list of things to do.

I see you have a couple of Yakima bars on the roof. Mine came with 3 of those. What I'm wondering is: how much load can you reasonably put up there and still be able to raise the roof? I'm told the primary lift spring was recently replaced. I'd really like to add a large ski box up there, for skis in the winter and just extra storage space in the other seasons. But I'm concerned about the possibility of overloading it and either damaging the roof, or discovering that the lift springs aren't able to hold it. I would of course unload any heavy items before raising the roof. But just curious to know if anyone knows how much is too much. And is the answer affected much by wind load?
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2001 EV MV Wk

[HeyCrutch]