Astro Van Conversion Build Tour - After One Month of Travel
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- Опубліковано 1 лют 2024
- I've traveled in my Astro Van for a full month. It was a wild and crazy time and I can't wait to go back to it but before that happens I'm giving you a full tour of my Astro Van - Fred.
Fred is my 2001 Chevy Astro Van AWD with roughly 120,000 miles on him. I bought Fred in March of 2023 and over the course of the spring and summer I built Fred into this awesome camper build specifically for traveling full time.
All of the work inside of Fred is completely custom and homemade by me! I put a ton of work into this build so I hope you enjoy!
After a full month of travel I can faithfully say that this build is superior to any other style of build I could've done. For a single person traveling all alone this build is exactly what I needed to make living in a vehicle older than me comfortable and easy going. Of course some things aren't perfect but that expected with a build on a budget like this.
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For the sag in the back put rear springs from an Chevy s10 itll also help with the weight but if you want to think about a engine swap do a 5.3 parts are easy to find and cheap
The 5.7 is probably easier though. With the 5.3l I've read that the oil pan will touch the front diff, so you'll have to lift the motor via the mounts to get a little clearance.
But since the 4.3l is a "shortened 350" it shares a lot in common with the 5.7. A lot of people have noted it fits well with not too much difficulty. Plus the 5.7 of that era, used the same fuel spider idea(8 vs 6), so all the connections are in very similar spots.
Also connects to the transmission the same way, as it uses the smaller diameter nipple on the 4L60E input shaft. The 5.3l (LS) changed the input shafts in the 4L60Es over in 99 to be much larger. (They made the input shaft bigger so the Torque Converter Clutch lockup had more surface area of o-ring.)
You’re a total legend Bronson
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🙂🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
🫡
I watch a lot of Van lifers on You Tube. I love your can build. The blanket and pillow case your mother made is beautiful, bright and cheery. I found your channel a few days ago and have been binge watching. You are doing an outstanding job . Your channel is going places. Excuse the pun. ❤
I’m so happy whenever people tell me they find my channel and can’t get enough, it legitimately makes me so happy!!! Welcome to the channel, it’s so exciting to see you hete
It's a great build! But yes, as I was looking at all the materials it appeared that weight would be an issue, for suspension and fuel economy. If I were to do this, I'd have used a lot less wood, or thinner wood, and in some areas used a light weight plastic such as your cabinet behind the drivers seat. For the walls/ceiling a 1/4" or 1/8" or thin fake wood laminated flooring could have been used and probably cut your wood weight by 50% or more in those areas.
Very cool 😎
if you put some sheet insulation on your roof below your rack you can cut about 15* of heat gain inside the van.- nice van :)
ps- pick up a cast iron pot , fill with DRY playground sand, put it on your stove long before bedtime- let it heat up.. before bed turn off everything and let the sand be a 'radiant heat source. (aka 'sand battery)
Duuuuuude the sand battery idea is by far the best one I’ve heard yet. Lots of people say hot water but I like this one 10x more. Thank you so much!
Walmart grab their blue 3 inch memory foam iPod the king size and folded in half. I have a dodge grand caravan and my beds in the same place. Yours is obviously.😂 so the 3 inch king size gave me 6 inches high slice stickers, folding it over kind of put it on a slant. You will love it I promise.!,!!!👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻🙋🏼♀️
Thank you very much. I’ll definitely look into it
??? But Walmart doesn't even carry a 3-inch memory iPad.
@@NoteFromSELF Mine sells up to 4inch foam toppers…in store not online. Yeah you got a cut on the fold if you can fold it in half I folded mine in third, so I had to folds one on each side. I laid it down and folded both sides into the middle.😁
Dude you are hilarious!! I didn't see the inside of your van in your first video but wow its really built well! amazing job in such a short time lol it took me 3 years to build my camper.. Ill definitely be following along on your adventures beautiful build dude I love it!!
Awesome! Yeah man I sped through my so fast lol
I've heard that those Astrovans were built on the Chevy S-10 chassis, and that if you have an all-wheel drive Astrovan, you can convert it to 4wd by putting in a tranfer case from an S-10 and an aftermarket shifter. Might be worth looking into.
I’ve looked into it and I was planning on it until I got my fridge. The shifter comes up through the floor right where my fridge is. I can’t live without it unfortunately
Haha, you can't go wrong with peanut butter, but you can go wrong without it. Lol. Love your build and your commitment to frugality. If only I was as handy as you. But I see some of the simple things you've done that I can adopt when the time comes and I can build my own. Thank you for showing your fab ideas and insights, definitely will be following your adventures.
A fellow peanut butter fan
A fellow peanut butter fan 🫡
Good luck with your build! If you have any questions leave a comment and I’ll be sure to answer!
Nice build. I am still on my 2nd 4.3 V6 engine. My first one went 250,000 miles. The 4.3 doesnt have a lot of of hp but its a much simpler engine compared to todays motors and it can go many miles before developing oil blowby. I put airbags on my chevy 1500 -- seemed to help with washboard a little and can help with bumper / ground clearance on drops when aired up.
This video's audio and video quality is much better than the earlier one. Also, personally I think you might wanna install a raisable rooftop, either buy one or build one. Although the van has cooler door desigh and space than other van which is big, log, the roof is still too short.
(Double layer or even triple layer matrisses is a solustion, or air matress at bottom and on top of it put that matriss can hold more supports too)
personally i wouldn’t do air bags in the rear if you loose air blow a air bag your stranded i would personally get lift blocks in the rear (if it has leaf springs) if it has coil springs in the rear i would do either taller stiffer springs or 2-3 inch pucks to go on top of the spring
Walmart air matress 20 bucks best thing ever
I like your van did a vantake job on Fred
Thank you!
Hey bro, A lot of people use high density foam for their beds and it's supposedly very comfortable. You can also cut it to size too. That might be something worth looking into..I hear it's not the cheapest but IMO sleep is vital and comfort is needed for decent sleep. Keep up the great work my guy. Gained a new subscriber here. Happy trails.
Thanks for the info bro, very helpful
Ola!
I purchased a 4 in tri fold mattress off Amazon that I love!!! I have bunk beds in my converted cargo trailer and when I have a friend stay with me they always say what a good night's sleep they get. A good night's sleep always makes travel days so much better!
That’s great information, thank you
I’m currently looking at mattresses, what particular one did you go with?
Great job Bronson!
hey have been watching you for a bit now. Enjoying your stuff. Have fun!
I’m glad your enjoy, thank you for watching
Well built van and great job with your welding projects.
Thanks 👍
16:10 - that is pretty fan-cy
Great Van Tour... You inspired me. Gives me some great ideas for my upcoming Van Tour.
I’m glad I could give you some inspiration!! Good luck on the van tour video 💪
@@bgrace27 Yeppers, i tested my solar system. it checked out ok but not as robust as yours
Great fun watching this video. Excellent editing, great production, great content.
That van is extremely rare in many ways. AWD is rare in most any van but yours has it. And those barn doors on the back have to be rare af… You've got a keeper.
I hope we cross paths some day. I'm out here full time.
I'm looking forward to your next adventures…
Thank you 🙏
❤ Fred looks like a Tonka truck😂 he is a sexy beast😊👍🏻👍🏻
Sexy beast is an understatement 😳😂
I have a 96 daily Driver & a 03 I'm building both AWD, Thanks for the tips
Thanks for watching!
Impressive! Got some great ideas THANK YOU!
You’re welcome, I’m glad I could help 🤙
Love your van you sure did a great job ❤
Thank you!!!
Very Nice!....If heading to Death Valley be sure to check out the small town of Tecopa...Cool steakhouse and you may run into the famous Wonderhussy....have fun!
You’ve got my attention… time for some google maps research 😁
Your storage (behind the driver's seat) reminds me of @The Ultralight Nerd's.
I’ll have to check it out!
My 2nd or 3rd time watching this video! Very impressive build! Im looking for an astro or safari currently! I feel like it’s gonna take awhile to find a decent example for a decent price! Everyone wants top dollar for their subpar vehicles
Yes they do, I was looking for months before finding this Van and it wasn’t even a good deal but I could work with it and that’s what mattered.
Good luck on your adventures and finding the right vehicle
This is a nice build! 👍🏻You did an awesome job building everything out yourself! Looks great!!😊
And lol 😂 at your olive oil. It needs a thermal wear now. & You’re pretty funny, too! I really thought that was a blood splatter design on your window shades, haha! 😂
Btw, You remind me of Mav, sure y’all ain’t related?! 🤔
Thank you very much!
A lot of people say that I’m a lot like Mav 😂 I’d seen a few ice fishing videos of his before ever making a UA-cam channel but kinda forgot about him until people started saying I’m a lot like him. I totally get it though, we make similar content and look pretty similar
You've done a great job, very inspiring Bronson.
Thank you 🙏
Yo Bro ,Your van is Dank!! I would do one of those in a heartbeat that thing is set up. Good job on that.
Oh yeah and about the airbag suspension I have them for my truck ,,when I put my truck camper on they work great !
I was going to do the airbags but I’ve done some more research and decided to go with the “add a leaf” option since it’s quite a bit cheaper and less worrisome. Fingers crossed it works
I’ll tell you what man i’m going to go that same route,, then I don’t have to worry about leaks and the air, bags, rupturing, etc. these are already my second set so you’re research is spot on.Good deal broski!😎
12:28 - i just ordered a 2 inch thick queen sized (60"x80") really good quality memory foam mattress yesterday. i plan on cutting it right in half and stacking the 2 halves so it will be 30"x80" and 4" thick, which will fit perfectly in my SUV and still leave me with about 1/3 of the space behind my front seats that can be used for storage and stuff.
the queen sized ended up costing $40.50 with the 20% discount they offer.
buuut you look like you have a much narrower bed, so you would probably be fine with the twin (38"x75") they have a $10 off coupon and a 20% 0ff coupon, so it ends up costing like $20-$25, depending on how much tax your state requires, and if you have prime for free shipping.
if i was you i would keep the foam mattress you already have, and put this memory foam one on top.
i'm planning on doing a video about my basic build and how i kept the costs down, so i have my affiliate link saved already, so here it is so you don't have to spend literal days going through all the listings for foam mattresses like i did, because sneaky Amazon likes to hide a lot of results if you try to sort by price lol
but ya, here's my link to the most inexpensive high quality twin sized memory foam mattress that i could find after like 3 days of searching amzn.to/3I8OY6Y
Well holy moly, thank you very much. Always such information from you my friend 🙏🙏🙏
@@bgrace27 haha welcome. I actually feel a bit scummy putting my affiliate link in the comment now that I think about it, but i already had it saved to my clipboard and was running late because I'm a slow typer and wrote out such a long comment 😅
@@PKAdventures no worries man, it only helped me
I was at Joshua and Death Valley the first week in March! Had I seed your video before (great job, very pleasant personality) I would have looked around to see if I could spot the yellow fuzzy monster. Maybe next time. I am just about to buy a 2003 AWD Astro, passenger version, and I will eventually have to do some work on it. I am 70 years old, retired and totally retarded when it comes to constructions skills (I have the fine motor skills of a chainsaw). Wish me luck and let's keep in touch. And best of luck to you.
Ole Fred is sure a hard one to miss! If you ever seem my around, don’t be afraid to come say hi!
And GOOD LUCK to you on the Astro van!! AWD is the way to go, very impressive of you my friend
Nice build. Keep up the good work. I like your sense of fun.
Thank you 🙏
Good luck 👍🍀 💵
Nice Job Dude!! Your dad has a nice collection of racks!!!
Yessir, we love hunting in my family ✌️
I got my matress onine at the foam factory. Make sure to include THE or it will take you to wrong site. They are great. You can get any size you want and any thickness. I got a 4" hard foam and a 2" memory foam for the top. $75 or more is free shipping and it is more comfortable than anything I've ever slept on. I spent about $130 , its been 2 years and no regrets! Highly recommend
Thank you very much! 💪🤙
just subbed up! very nice build!
" I'm broke". Same bro, same. 🤣🤣🤣
Glass half full bro 🥹
Well done, travel well!
If you ever wanted you can definitely convert it to a 4x4 with an S10 transfer case and a kit form a certain company i don't remember but awesome van as it sits!
I’ve looked into that VERY heavily but the 4wd shifter would be right in the way of my 12v fridge 😫
Loved this video, you had me laughing the whole time, love your sense of humor 😂
I'm so glad!
Nice setup. The mortar can is a good idea. I might mount the one I have to the Ford. You seem handy enough, you should do a double drawer in that dry food storage. If you go about 6” deep on each drawer (from the looks of it) you could get quite a bit of storage without it shifting around while you drive.
I love the mortar can absolutely worth it. I think I’ll build something eventually…
Beautiful build 🎉
Nice recap ... thanks for sharing these stats with us.
🤟
Love your van - great job!
Great job, I am trying to find one.
Thank you! Good luck
Great video that shows off all the hard work you did on the van build. It definitely helps to have the garage while building. Something I'm lacking to finish my van. I've toyed with the idea of selling my van and buy a Dodge Grand Caravan. Mostly my issue is getting in and out of the van. I need running boards for both sides. I'm planning on going to Florida to join up with a group of ladies who are living the van life. Fingers crossed that my health allows it.
That’s too bad you can’t get the Astro to work out for you Nancy 😔 I don’t blame you for thinking about the dodge van. I’ve actually heard great things about them for being used as campers. Let me know how it goes!!!
@@bgrace27 I’ve also seen and heard how good the Dodge Grand caravan is. I’m not 100% sure about selling the Astro. I’m mostly discouraged that I’ve haven’t been able to join in on the fun being out on the road.
Man I feel you on the gas mileage hahaha and we got the same tire pump I bought it cause it had Astro in it 😂😂 new subscriber and fellow Astro van lifer
Duuuuude that’s what I was thinking too 😂 Astro gang hehe
Hey Bronson, I am still amazed at such an awesome van build that you did. If you ever decide to go into the van building business let me know as I will pay you to build a van. And yes, I have also looked at the Revel Sprinter Van with a 3.0 liter Mercedes Diesel Engine and it is not cheap. Also, I liked your window coverings as the design looks so awesome and adds character to the inside of your van. But also, have you thought of adding a video camera system to the outside of your van for security? Since watching you cook meals on the road, I thought of cooking ground hamburger with potatoes and eggs together in a skillet. Ok I am making my self hungry. Thanks for sharing a tour of Fred, he's awesome.
I might take you up on that offer Calvin! I love doing builds and I think it’d be a fun challenge. Unfortunately it might not be for a long time but I’ll keep you in mind.
Every time I cook in my videos, I am always thinking about you and your awesome comments now, it’s awesome
Ok that would be so awesome as I can't see spending a $200,000 on a van, that's a lot of money. But I know you're busy traveling making excellent videos. I know you're build quality is awesome as you know what you're doing. So whenever you get the time that would be most awesome as I won't have to setup my tent lol
The van looks great. I'm curious to see if the airbags help. I have a similar problem with my astro van and I don't know if bags or extra leafs is a better solution. I have heard that bags can sometimes result in poor ride condition if nothing is being towed. I don't know, looking forward to see what you do next.
I ended up going with the Add-a-leaf spring helpers and so far they’ve actually helped a good amount. I only got about an 1” of clearance but my suspension stiffened up a ton.
I got the Hellwig brand
WAIT! Don't leave me hanging! What do you do with the Walmart sack?!
Uhhhh it hasn’t gotten to that point…..yet
Awesome van! It doesn't look like it had a 6 inch lift done. Are you sure it had the 6 inch lift?
Yes I’m sure, there is a lot of weight. I am in the midst of beefing up the suspension to regain some of that
Love your roof brackets man so inspiring how much would you charge me to build me a brackets with a latter and back box
Haha that depends on the vehicle and what you’re looking for specifically. Most likely I’d do a time and material type deal
Bronson, what are you going to do in the extreme heat for air-conditioning?
Windows rolled down 😔
I guess that works if you're in the desert as I understand it gets cold at night and hot in the daytime. However, Live in Florida where it's 96 in the summer with 100% humidity. I'd definitely need a roof Ac put in the van or a camper.@@bgrace27
Dude, how reliable is your Astro? I bought the 1st gen here in Poland - where it is extremely rare for equvalent of about $3k And I'm making it ready for ocasional vanlife hopefully this season. Without tje full build coz I want to have options. Like putting a motorbike inside.
My last van for this purpouse was a VW T4 - and it is much easier and cheaper to maintenance and has waaaay better MPG.
But... I had an rollover and the veedub is gone.
Now I went the American Iron, as I always wanted.
If you know what can crap out in an Astro or - most importantly - what probably WILL crap out - let me know. I'll order it just in case.
Thanks in advance 👍🤙🤙🤙
So far my Astro has been pretty reliable. I would watch out for the Spyder Injectors they have. My old truck had the same engine and it went out. apparently they go out often.
The ABS will be funky guaranteed but that’s not a big deal.
Other than that just normal wear and tear as far as I know
@@bgrace27 thanks 👍
Fred's butt...lol
lmao did you buy the van in Durango? Looks a hell of a lot like my elementary school parking lot in that shot of the "before"
Yes sir I did buy it in Durango….and met the lady at an Elementary school parking lot
Small world, holy cow
@@bgrace27 even weirder that i live in Canada now lol. Love the channel, dog