This van build was epic! I have been watching the video series of this van build from start to finish and learned so much. You definitely have a talent for teaching in a way that is concise and keeps the listener interested. Some people maybe knowledgeable on a subject but lack the ability to convey that knowledge to an audience. I know you already have your commitments to your van build business and volunteering as a Firefighter, but maybe in the next phase of your life, I believe you would make an awesome high school vocational teacher.
Howdy Nate - Just a quick off-topic comment. In 2018, I set up my solar and electrical system in my 2017 Sprinter based on your original design in your old Sprinter. Now, 5 1/2 years later it is still working like new. It has been running my ARB fridge 24/7 the entire time without a hiccup. Until today... I was powering a metal chop saw with the system. We were cutting some square tubing that was about 20 feet long. The first cut went well. The second cut we wedged the blade and the power went out. System was completely dead. No AC or DC. I was fearful my AIMS inverter had given up the ghost. Come to find out, the 200 amp fuse between my battery bank and the inverter had blown. The system did exactly what you designed it to do. I replaced the fuse and all is perfect these 5 1/2 years later.. Good Job, my friend! Onward for another 5 years!
I enjoy watching your videos because you do a great job of explaining what you did and how you did it... which is the point of my watching! Thank you for doing new things with your builds and showing how to do things with different materials and things that are fairly readily accessible to DIYers. Rock on!
Was waiting to see what you were going to do with the bed. Was hoping you were going to do a bed lift, would have been interesting to see how you did it.
Nice.. finally someone else using the flexibility of Unistrut! I have used this product also in my build. It is super strong and lightweight. I used Stainless Steel with all SS spring nuts and bolts washers etc. the nice brackets you made are also available to buy in many different angles and shapes! There are also plastic inserts for the valleys to keep out dust and makes a clean look. I used this as a base 1 5/8 then built my 80 20 on top of it.. worked amazing!! cheers Nate
Nice! I saw the pre-fab brackets but I was sorta making this project up as I went along and wasn't sure which brackets I would need. Chalk that one up to not planning ahead. 😂🤣
Again, another awesome video and useful content. Congrats on 200+K subscribers, you guys have developed a great platform and deserve all the credit. Unistrut is great material for van building, enjoyed this application. I used your plans to build my electrical system and it's working flawlessly!! So thanks again.
Thanks for the video! I have a steel cutting blade for my chop saw it’s a little pricey but worth it. It makes cutting metal much easier and cleaner not to mention the finished product is far superior than when cut with a grinder, plus it takes the silica issue out of the equation
I was planning to use 8020 but I’m sure Unistrut is a lot cheaper. We are sleeping side to side (we’re short) so it’s great to see that there are options out there for a custom length mattress.
🤣😂 Yeah, I think a lifting bed would have introduced too many complexities not to mention rattles and squeaks. Wanted to keep it simple and low profile this time around.
This was the one I was looking forward to - great solution! Out of curiosity do you have a view on "inserts" to have the bed around the other way, freeing up more space ?
Thanks! The inserts are good, but I just don't like the look of them from the outside, personally. I'm also not a fan of the idea of sleeping with my head in a 'hole in the wall'.
Fantastic! I have learned so much from you guys! It seems that every time you release a new video, you show something that will be useful in my truck conversion. Thank you!
This video has been inspiring! May I ask, do you think it would be possible to use Unistrut to secure a small sheet of drywall? I'm trying to figure out how to make a drywall access panel in a (house) wall where I have little more than 1-1/2" of space, and unistrut seems like it would be great for achieving the rigid construction I want! My situation is that I have a 1/2" plywood behind the 1/2" drywall, both about 15" tall x 40" wide... This is to be installed on the wall at the edge of my bathroom (wall to wall in this case) to cover my pex manifold. I just... did not think in advance how I would install a panel over the front of it... Maybe I could install T-nuts into the back of the 1/2" ply wood, almost like you did with the slats on your bed frame? Sorry if this is confusing
@@EXPLORISTlife haha yes, I come out of a family of wood workers. So I can show what I can do with it. I have some ideas with rounded wooden corners to finish it all. But first the structure with all the functions. My main wood material is 12 and 8mm plywood and 44x18mm wooden slats. I build lightweight and strong but not how most people do it. Just my own design. That is the awesome thing of building, you can do it how ever you want 😄
So nice to see your work! Have you considered to put the bed across? (east-west), that would save some precious space. in fact, the way you did it, the whole van is just a bed, isn't it? Is there any space left for a shower or kitchen?
I definitely considered that and wanted to make it work; but being 6' 2", it just wasn't feasible. We do indeed have space for a kitchen (Last weeks video: ua-cam.com/video/zNpmj3ChmJ8/v-deo.html). We 'could' add a shower in place of one of our storage/bathroom modules, but I have no desire for an indoor shower in a van. At 6'2", showering in a 6'5" tall van just really isn't feasible. We didn't have a shower in our old sprinter we lived in for 4 years and never regretted it. It's super easy to find showers at campgrounds or nationwide gyms and going swimming to rinse off is also highly underrated.
Cost, complexity, and noise (rattling from moving parts), mainly. It's SUPER easy to load/unload the bikes without the need for getting under the bed with the clamp style fork mounts we will be using. That vid will be out in two weeks.
I've been waiting for a follow up video for the alternator charging, is that coming? You mentioned in the electrical build video that the buck boosts wouldn't be available until December. Did that end up coming to pass, or are they still on backorder? The build is coming along nicely, great job!
That video is indeed still pending. We are STILL waiting on the buck boost to become readily available OR (more likely) for the newest version of the Orion to be released.
Hey! Just wanted to follow up on this. We just released the alternator charging video that accompanies this tutorial. Here is the direct link to that: ua-cam.com/video/FuBAKTCCnt4/v-deo.html
@@EXPLORISTlife Wow, I'm surprised you remembered this from two months ago! You must have a memory like a steel trap. It came up on my feed, and I checked it out this morning. I appreciate you following up to let me know!
Add a linear actuator to that bed so you have the option to not remove the front tires of your bike when loading or when you need the extra height below.
I don't think I'm too keen on disassembling the bed I just made to add that functionality. 😂 It takes about 30 seconds to put the front tire on our bikes. Maybe that's a 'phase 2' functionality of the build or something.
There are six means of egress (3 doors (driver, passenger, and sliding side door) and 3 manually opening windows) in our 60 sq ft structure. Blocking off the back door is a non-issue in terms of fire safety. Not too often I get to use my actual degree in Fire Science. Thanks for that.
The whole thing? Or just the frame? We used 6 pieces of ~6' of Unistrut that weighs 1.89lbs/ft; so 68Lbs and then figure Figure ~10Lbs for brackets & hardware. 10lbs or so for the wood slats. Another 15lbs for the headboard. I don't know how much the mattress weighed, but probably ~30lbs? Somewhere in that ballpark.
15 series 8020 weighs 1.34lbs per ft, so it would weigh ~48lbs in total compared to the 68Lbs of Unistrut. I mean... I'd consider it; but not for weight. I'm not too worried about the difference of 20lbs in a 1-ton vehicle. 10 series 8020 weighs quite a bit less, but I played around with some scrap 10 series 8020 we have here at the shop, and I didn't feel like it was rigid enough to use for the bed platform.
Ultimately, you can use whatever mattress you like. There's no need to come to my channel though and talk shit about the sponsors who fund these videos and make them available for free to all of you.
You know what hurts more than hitting your head on a edge or corner? Hitting your head on a nut or bolt... Might have been better to use pan head bolts for that head board.
🤣😂 Get out of here. It's like 60lbs of unistrut installed in a 1-ton cargo van with the highest payload capacity on the market. I'd love to see you go up to somebody and tell them that their 6-year-old is 'Way too heavy' to ride in the van 'cause they weigh 60 lbs.
@@EXPLORISTlife dude I use unistrut in my job everyday we are always looking for solutions for same strength less weight and they are available....unistrut is way too heavy in a camper like for like material
If the comparable product is 8020, 15 series 8020 weighs 1.34lbs per ft, so it would weigh ~48lbs in total compared to the 68Lbs of Unistrut. I'm not too worried about the difference of 20lbs in a 1-ton vehicle. I'm going to have a 20lb swing depending on if I have groceries vs not. If you've got a different way to do things, then you should do that. I'm just showing you how I did it; not trying to pass laws that force you into doing things the exact same way I do it. Or even better yet, maybe you should make your own video showing how you do it about that instead of coming here to talk shit on my projects? You know... contribute to the community, perhaps? I know you probably aren't willing to put in the effort to plan, film and edit a video when you can simply type 'way too heavy' and be on your way, though.
If you want to give safety advice, here's a better spot to go: www.osha.gov/careers 'breathing fibers' doesn't even crack the top 20 most dangerous things I did that day before lunch.
This van build was epic! I have been watching the video series of this van build from start to finish and learned so much. You definitely have a talent for teaching in a way that is concise and keeps the listener interested. Some people maybe knowledgeable on a subject but lack the ability to convey that knowledge to an audience. I know you already have your commitments to your van build business and volunteering as a Firefighter, but maybe in the next phase of your life, I believe you would make an awesome high school vocational teacher.
Hey, Tiny Off-Grid House Research LLC! I appreciate that. Thanks so much! Cheers! 🙂😀
Howdy Nate - Just a quick off-topic comment.
In 2018, I set up my solar and electrical system in my 2017 Sprinter based on your original design in your old Sprinter.
Now, 5 1/2 years later it is still working like new. It has been running my ARB fridge 24/7 the entire time without a hiccup.
Until today...
I was powering a metal chop saw with the system. We were cutting some square tubing that was about 20 feet long. The first cut went well. The second cut we wedged the blade and the power went out.
System was completely dead. No AC or DC. I was fearful my AIMS inverter had given up the ghost.
Come to find out, the 200 amp fuse between my battery bank and the inverter had blown.
The system did exactly what you designed it to do. I replaced the fuse and all is perfect these 5 1/2 years later..
Good Job, my friend! Onward for another 5 years!
I enjoy watching your videos because you do a great job of explaining what you did and how you did it... which is the point of my watching! Thank you for doing new things with your builds and showing how to do things with different materials and things that are fairly readily accessible to DIYers. Rock on!
Hey Wendy Byrne, Thanks so much! Cheers!
My son and I built our bed platform from Unistrut two months ago!!! It works great for bed platforms! Thanks for the Video!
Was waiting to see what you were going to do with the bed. Was hoping you were going to do a bed lift, would have been interesting to see how you did it.
Nice.. finally someone else using the flexibility of Unistrut! I have used this product also in my build. It is super strong and lightweight. I used Stainless Steel with all SS spring nuts and bolts washers etc. the nice brackets you made are also available to buy in many different angles and shapes! There are also plastic inserts for the valleys to keep out dust and makes a clean look. I used this as a base 1 5/8 then built my 80 20 on top of it.. worked amazing!! cheers Nate
Nice! I saw the pre-fab brackets but I was sorta making this project up as I went along and wasn't sure which brackets I would need. Chalk that one up to not planning ahead. 😂🤣
Thank you for sharing your experience and expertise.
Again, another awesome video and useful content. Congrats on 200+K subscribers, you guys have developed a great platform and deserve all the credit. Unistrut is great material for van building, enjoyed this application. I used your plans to build my electrical system and it's working flawlessly!! So thanks again.
Awesome! Glad it helped. Thanks for watching!
so much for looking out the back window!
Not a priority.
@@EXPLORISTlife Then, why did you get a van with windows?
Wanted the option for a rear dinette if we hadn’t built a platform bed.
@@EXPLORISTlife How about moularity, so you could do both?
@tonybucca5667 Yep! that was the plan.
A very great looking job. Very informative!!! John from Cape Cod
Thanks for watching! Cheers!
Thanks for the video! I have a steel cutting blade for my chop saw it’s a little pricey but worth it. It makes cutting metal much easier and cleaner not to mention the finished product is far superior than when cut with a grinder, plus it takes the silica issue out of the equation
You should have made the bed that raises up and down with motor and winch
very good your videos. I'm building a camper and the information is very important.
I was planning to use 8020 but I’m sure Unistrut is a lot cheaper. We are sleeping side to side (we’re short) so it’s great to see that there are options out there for a custom length mattress.
Looking good! So glad you didn’t add the bogus raising bed crap. 😄🤙🏼
🤣😂 Yeah, I think a lifting bed would have introduced too many complexities not to mention rattles and squeaks. Wanted to keep it simple and low profile this time around.
What spray paint did you use? I sprayed my Unistrut matte black and it looks terrible
Wow!
Almost finished ....
Almost!! 🙌🙌
always so much fun to watch and learn! why use spring nuts on the unistrut bolting?
This was the one I was looking forward to - great solution! Out of curiosity do you have a view on "inserts" to have the bed around the other way, freeing up more space ?
Thanks! The inserts are good, but I just don't like the look of them from the outside, personally. I'm also not a fan of the idea of sleeping with my head in a 'hole in the wall'.
Fantastic! I have learned so much from you guys! It seems that every time you release a new video, you show something that will be useful in my truck conversion. Thank you!
Awesome! Glad it helped. Thanks for watching!
Nice work
Thanks! 🙂🙌
This video has been inspiring!
May I ask, do you think it would be possible to use Unistrut to secure a small sheet of drywall?
I'm trying to figure out how to make a drywall access panel in a (house) wall where I have little more than 1-1/2" of space, and unistrut seems like it would be great for achieving the rigid construction I want!
My situation is that I have a 1/2" plywood behind the 1/2" drywall, both about 15" tall x 40" wide...
This is to be installed on the wall at the edge of my bathroom (wall to wall in this case) to cover my pex manifold.
I just... did not think in advance how I would install a panel over the front of it...
Maybe I could install T-nuts into the back of the 1/2" ply wood, almost like you did with the slats on your bed frame?
Sorry if this is confusing
Do you have a parts list?
Nice bed! Im also busy with my bed. It will be wood and much lower 😄 total height with matras 40cm
Thanks! I hadn't worked with Unistrut much before this project outside of hanging air conditioners. 🤣 Works pretty well!
@@EXPLORISTlife haha yes, I come out of a family of wood workers. So I can show what I can do with it. I have some ideas with rounded wooden corners to finish it all. But first the structure with all the functions.
My main wood material is 12 and 8mm plywood and 44x18mm wooden slats. I build lightweight and strong but not how most people do it. Just my own design. That is the awesome thing of building, you can do it how ever you want 😄
great series! Kinda sad the van is done now!
That DeWalt band saw table is awesome. Did you make that? Or have a link to the one you are using?
Yeah, I love that thing. Got it from here: amzn.to/3LKbu94
So nice to see your work!
Have you considered to put the bed across? (east-west), that would save some precious space. in fact, the way you did it, the whole van is just a bed, isn't it? Is there any space left for a shower or kitchen?
I definitely considered that and wanted to make it work; but being 6' 2", it just wasn't feasible. We do indeed have space for a kitchen (Last weeks video: ua-cam.com/video/zNpmj3ChmJ8/v-deo.html). We 'could' add a shower in place of one of our storage/bathroom modules, but I have no desire for an indoor shower in a van. At 6'2", showering in a 6'5" tall van just really isn't feasible. We didn't have a shower in our old sprinter we lived in for 4 years and never regretted it. It's super easy to find showers at campgrounds or nationwide gyms and going swimming to rinse off is also highly underrated.
Can I ask where you got your window covers? They look cool. Great job on the unistrut bed!
For sure! Those come with the Arctic Tern windows we installed back in this video: ua-cam.com/video/-u6nYDLOQ9s/v-deo.html
Loving the videso - can I ask what the usable weight of the van is, after build ?
We haven't weighed it yet.
Just curious, what size unistrut did you use
The 1 5/8" stuff.
Where can I get detailed plans for building this bed assembly?
We didn't make a plan on this one. 🤣 Just made it up as we went along.
Ok thanks
Any reason you guys didn't look at a bed lift system to allow extra clearance for loading and unloading your bikes?
Cost, complexity, and noise (rattling from moving parts), mainly. It's SUPER easy to load/unload the bikes without the need for getting under the bed with the clamp style fork mounts we will be using. That vid will be out in two weeks.
I've been waiting for a follow up video for the alternator charging, is that coming? You mentioned in the electrical build video that the buck boosts wouldn't be available until December. Did that end up coming to pass, or are they still on backorder? The build is coming along nicely, great job!
That video is indeed still pending. We are STILL waiting on the buck boost to become readily available OR (more likely) for the newest version of the Orion to be released.
Hey! Just wanted to follow up on this. We just released the alternator charging video that accompanies this tutorial. Here is the direct link to that: ua-cam.com/video/FuBAKTCCnt4/v-deo.html
@@EXPLORISTlife Wow, I'm surprised you remembered this from two months ago! You must have a memory like a steel trap. It came up on my feed, and I checked it out this morning. I appreciate you following up to let me know!
Add a linear actuator to that bed so you have the option to not remove the front tires of your bike when loading or when you need the extra height below.
I don't think I'm too keen on disassembling the bed I just made to add that functionality. 😂 It takes about 30 seconds to put the front tire on our bikes. Maybe that's a 'phase 2' functionality of the build or something.
Love the headboard but I think its a fire hazard since toy cant get out of the back wsith it so high.
There are six means of egress (3 doors (driver, passenger, and sliding side door) and 3 manually opening windows) in our 60 sq ft structure. Blocking off the back door is a non-issue in terms of fire safety.
Not too often I get to use my actual degree in Fire Science. Thanks for that.
@@EXPLORISTlife Thanks for clearing that up, and I love the video's and love the new online store.
Wonder how heavy that is?
The whole thing? Or just the frame? We used 6 pieces of ~6' of Unistrut that weighs 1.89lbs/ft; so 68Lbs and then figure Figure ~10Lbs for brackets & hardware. 10lbs or so for the wood slats.
Another 15lbs for the headboard. I don't know how much the mattress weighed, but probably ~30lbs?
Somewhere in that ballpark.
@EXPLORIST life - DIY Campers would,you consider using 80/20, which comes in silver and black colour half of the weight?
15 series 8020 weighs 1.34lbs per ft, so it would weigh ~48lbs in total compared to the 68Lbs of Unistrut. I mean... I'd consider it; but not for weight. I'm not too worried about the difference of 20lbs in a 1-ton vehicle.
10 series 8020 weighs quite a bit less, but I played around with some scrap 10 series 8020 we have here at the shop, and I didn't feel like it was rigid enough to use for the bed platform.
You are good
Thanks!!
Zinus 6 Inch Green Tea Memory Foam $159 Amz!!
Ultimately, you can use whatever mattress you like. There's no need to come to my channel though and talk shit about the sponsors who fund these videos and make them available for free to all of you.
portable band saw is easiest way to cut it
You know what hurts more than hitting your head on a edge or corner? Hitting your head on a nut or bolt... Might have been better to use pan head bolts for that head board.
Nah. What we did was just fine. Feel free to do that in your own build, though!
Way too heavy
🤣😂 Get out of here. It's like 60lbs of unistrut installed in a 1-ton cargo van with the highest payload capacity on the market. I'd love to see you go up to somebody and tell them that their 6-year-old is 'Way too heavy' to ride in the van 'cause they weigh 60 lbs.
@@EXPLORISTlife dude I use unistrut in my job everyday we are always looking for solutions for same strength less weight and they are available....unistrut is way too heavy in a camper like for like material
If the comparable product is 8020, 15 series 8020 weighs 1.34lbs per ft, so it would weigh ~48lbs in total compared to the 68Lbs of Unistrut. I'm not too worried about the difference of 20lbs in a 1-ton vehicle. I'm going to have a 20lb swing depending on if I have groceries vs not.
If you've got a different way to do things, then you should do that. I'm just showing you how I did it; not trying to pass laws that force you into doing things the exact same way I do it.
Or even better yet, maybe you should make your own video showing how you do it about that instead of coming here to talk shit on my projects? You know... contribute to the community, perhaps? I know you probably aren't willing to put in the effort to plan, film and edit a video when you can simply type 'way too heavy' and be on your way, though.
Ah he can't take feedback his little ego is hurt hahahahahaah love this what a tool
Don't know why people freak out about some weight in a van, it's a cargo van. It's designed to carry stuff! 😊
Dude buy a mask! Breathing those fibers is not good!
If you want to give safety advice, here's a better spot to go: www.osha.gov/careers 'breathing fibers' doesn't even crack the top 20 most dangerous things I did that day before lunch.