So I Bought a ProMaster last year.

[MouSe]

I was down in Salem last fall, conducting some business with the State, and on my way out of town passed the Dodge dealer. Three hours later and this was in my hot little hands. I should not be allowed to make decisions. Who let me make decisions?



I bought it to replace my little xbox that was approaching the 200k mark, and while perfect in every respect, it still seemed like a good time to replace the little box with a slightly larger box.



Now I do live in Portland, and work in the city, often with tools in tow. Parallel parking, low hanging branches and tight parking lots are all part of my daily routine. These are just some of the reasons that I got the smallest version of the ProMaster that I could get. 118" wheel base and low roof. Plus I load canoes and kayaks on top, and the tall one requires just too much effort for top loading.

But there it sat, just waiting.

For me to start building it out with no plans, no parts, and no clue as to what I wanted. But I do have Amazon Prime...

 

[mhiscox]

I'll be following along. Good luck with the project.

Careful with the Amazon account, though. Jeff Bezos made enough off the build stuff I bought from Amazon to buy the Washington Post.

 

[MouSe]

The first order of business was to see what would fit in it, so my friend Tank called and said she needed help moving her Ducati.



It fits! Duh. But it really fits. I could have jumped it off a ramp and landed it in the back.

So there it was, and it needed exactly 3 cardboard door panes to get ripped off in order to start with a true empty shell and begin with the build.



So I started with dynamat or some off brand whose name I cannot remember, but same thing, foil fronted rubber and asphalt sound dampening. I then glued a layer of 1.5" closed cell foam over the dynamat I am a little worried about rust via condensation, so my plan was to allow all the walls to breathe, and use no backing materials what would absorb moisture. The closed cell will not take on any water, it sound deadened pretty well, and has incredibly marginal insulation value. Like an R.0001. But hey, it is going to be a dry camper, and I have -30 degree sleeping bags, so who really need insulation? Not this guy!



I also cut out some wood panels for the doors. Finished them with linseed oil. They ended up pretty nice.

 

[Paddy]

Those things really have a face! I like it.

 

[MouSe]

I bought some roof racks that bolted right to the factor roof studs, have a #600 lb rating and were silver anodized to match the car. because if you can't match then why bother. Fashion always comes before function. Actually just happy coincidence. I was also looking for an awning. A crank out one with a manual crank. and they all seemed to be $1000 and up. So browsing Craigslist I found a RV shop just south of PDX that had the rare, all aluminum, over built Thule awnings. They had picked them up in a supply auction and were asking $300 each. I ran down, and offered them $250 and had a brand new in the box Thule awning.

And it mounts directly to the rack via t bolts, as it was designed to do, so no drilling the van skin.



At the same time I started to figure out some cabinets. I was at Ikea (hang head in shame), and they were getting rid of the old line of cabinets at 40% off, so I bought some, brought them home, assembled them, then hacked them apart to change their height, depth, corner fit and shelving. I did some serious cutting through "wood" of what Ikea passes off for wood with is some king of high glue content sawdust and cardboard, umm... stuff.

I set down some 5mm underlayment, then cut out some 5/8 plywood outlining the footprint of the cabinets, and then glued the whole thing to the floor.





In case you were wondering, during this whole build, excepting the grounding screw, the vent fan and the power in, not a single screw went into metal. I am a little paranoid of the moisture of the Northwest just rusting every screw hole made in Italian steel.

 

[MouSe]

So Amazon has now made many wonderful cardboard boxes appear on my doorstep, and they are starting to pile up in my garage. Solar panel, charge controller, LED lights, smoke alarms, screws and well nuts, and a Maxx Air fan.

The van has about 1200 miles on it now, so might as well cut a 14 inch hole in the roof. So I marked it all out in tape.



And cried a little inside. And had a beer... and thought about all the dumb ideas I have ever had. And then though about the semi-literate guy that would saw it out at the dealership, and four holes and four cut lines later.



(About the semi-literate remark earlier. As I look back upon my grammar in the post, I occurs to me that I might just be the semi-literate one.)sp

 

[MouSe]

And the fan was in.



I used a plywood cutout on the bottom, drilled all the holes for the bolts, and ran stainless machine screws through to mount the fan in the super mega plus strong way that I tend to use on everything I build.



Maxx Air fan review. I love this fan, it will suck the doors closed, or just create a gentle breeze. It hums along with little to no noise. But it rattles going down the road to beat the band. It is a rattle trap. if you crank it up just a little bit the rattling dims, but does not disappear, and on washboard, you are pretty sure the four horsemen of the apocalypse are coming for you. But it is rain proof, carwash proof, and does its job with hurricane strength winds.

 

[MouSe]

Time for a camp break!

 

[MouSe]

As you can see in the post above, I have now fully de-badged the van. Ram ProMaster sound like the name of a porn star. Probably starring in BSDM action, funded by someone named Kaiser Wheilhelm. Not saying that Germans are pervs, but they have birthed more than one "Ram ProMaster"

All back door badges are also gone.



The solar panel is also in, a 100 watt panel running to a charge controller and one Duracell agm battery. I am only running the fan, lights, usb sockets and a fridge cooler, so huge power is not my concern. My full amp draw with everything running is 4.2 amps, so the battery with no sun should run around 3 days. But the sun keep coming out every day, and even with overcast and rain, it charges faster than it drains. So my plan to see how long it will last will have to wait for the day the sun does not rise.

 

[MouSe]

So I got the single large floor mat for the front seats from Eurocampers.com, and it is just dotty.



And I bought the van sans the U-Connect system so that I could install my own choice of stereo. It turns out it also prevents hacking of the entire drive system, accessories and electrical! Bonus!

So with the fact that it had an AM/FM radio, upgrades were necessary, new head unit, door speakers and tweeters.



And a subwoofer to bring all the boys to the yard, cause I'm like, it's better than yours! It fit perfectly in a custom box under the front seat.

 

[MouSe]

I built some cabinets for the other side, to support the trip fold bed to bench that I made. It is 5/8 maple finished plywood, and I thought that it would be strong enough not to sag, but I am a large gentleman, who enjoys camping with strong women, and it flexed too much, this will get fixed later, but for now...



I also put in my first attempt at a headliner for the back. This will also come on out. And get replaced. I was quick to learn what works for cloth to wood spray adhesives, how padding works, staples, and other interior finishing. But that is for tomorrows post.

 

[Big mike]

******** !!!! Buddy this van is definately not my cup of tea . But I have to say you are one " far out dude" sorry but I think that would be a compliment to you.
I read every word three times, it was fun informative and well it was fun.
I have a ranch on the McKenzie river . You are more then welcome to come and camp and kayak your heart out . Heck I will even teach you to fly fish....catch and release only.
My daughter and son in law live and work in Portland.
Keep up the great work it's looking great.
Mike

 

[ihatemybike]

Great build so far!

 

[Ryanmb21]

Very cool build, these vans are HUGE on the inside.

 

[philos]

yup.