DIY AWNING on Minivan Camper Conversion.
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- Опубліковано 29 сер 2024
- I DIY'ed the whole camper. If I did it, you can do it.
If you'd like to buy me a coffee, THANKS!! Hit this link: ko-fi.com/lesl...
Here's some of the stuff I used for the awning. As an Amazon Associate I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no cost to you:
Square perforated tubing for roof crossbars:
flex-craft.com/
Roof basket:
amzn.to/34QUEPF
Tarp poles:
amzn.to/3fTfrIC
PVC components: I just picked 'em up at Home Depot.
Dog Collars: Dollar Tree
Carabiners and Tarp Clips: I picked 'em up at a hardware store.
Sewing machine:
amzn.to/3fTFMpM
And here's the stuff I used to make the van a camper.
Roof rails:
Get the OEM - Original Equipment Manufactured - roof rails:
amzn.to/3wah36c
Roof cross bars:
flex-craft.com/
Motion activated light:
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Collapsible crate:
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Telescoping table leg:
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Table Support Channel and Slide:
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Rechargeable fan:
amzn.to/3wXxOll
Igloo cooler:
amzn.to/3gazkKc
3-drawer unit in pantry:
amzn.to/3fYKuCW
Collapsible bucket:
amzn.to/3geumvR
Disposable "toilet" bags:
amzn.to/34QW6Bx
Mattress:
amzn.to/3ghpciu
Mattress fabric (Looks like the design I ordered was discontinued. But I LOVE this one):
amzn.to/3gic9O9
Zippers for mattress covers:
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Lantern that's crushable, USB chargeable and SOLAR chargeable:
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Toiletry travel bag (Hubby loves this!):
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Quick Dry towel (Another of Hubby's faves):
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Dog collars= priceless idea!! Thank you
A tent footprint would work too. Most have tabs in corners at least for stakes. Nice job.
Thanks for saving me from over thinking & trial by error .
I overthink so you don't have to 😉😜 Thanks for watching!
Clever and useful - and adding in those drawings really helped clarify.
Hi C! I'm glad this was of help. Thanks for checking in.🙂
That’s brilliant! I love making things myself rather than paying way too much for stuff. Plus, it’s usually made better. And for sure a one of a kind! You can’t beat that. Thanks Leslie!
❤️💜💚
Hey Paige, I saw a saying once: "Why pay $30 to buy something today when you can make it yourself in a week for $50?" Some of my projects feel that way, LOL!
Nice. Stores so compactly, and I'm SURE it's much less expensive than the commercially available ones.
Hi Nicole, yep. Especially if, like me, you rummage around the garage to look for useful materials 😆 Thanks for taking the time to check in!
Love the animated drawings and overlays. Very informative. 👩🏫
Hi Peet, shucks. Thanks! And thanks for watching.
Dog collars you are brilliant! We are making an awning for our 6x10 V nose tramper. Thanks for the ideas.
Finally my wandering up and down store aisles looking for inspiration has paid off 🤣
Instead of rolling up the material maybe you could run a ridge line diagonally over the top center of the fly, if you attach the ridgeline from the left side of the cargo rack or something higher in the cargo rack, to the right corner expandable pole that should support the whole thing.
Hey Don, That's very creative. Thanks!
Yes! I have to adult right now, can't wait to get a few to watch this.
Ok, meet ya back here later 😉
gawd dang Leslie, you are awesome!
I'm shadow banned, but...
Cut a slot in the PVC pipe. Run a length of "all thread" from end too end, with a acorn nut on one end and on the other end put a handle for turning it like a crank.
Glue the awning to the all thread, put through the slots. Crank to wind it up, pull to extend to awning.
Just like a pro build :)
Nice idea! Great work, thank you for sharing 🌟
You could use a side panel for a straight leg dinning tent the kind you find at most box stores. As I was watching your tutorial I realized I had the materials to make this already in my stash of items I was going to to donate but can now repurpose to make an awning for my vehicle for camping. Using telescopic painters poles and PVC left over from a re plumbing I did in a guest bathroom. My car already has a rack on it for my kayak and was looking for something to give us additional living space while using my Honda Element as a car camper. Thanks for the detailed instructions this is brilliant.
Hi Jennifer, How cool that you can magically produce this out of stuff you already have. Designing it was fun, my retired-engineer Dad and I spitballed some ideas and... Voila! Thanks for watching and thanks for taking the time to check in.
I now have weekend plans. Thanks miss
Tony, I'm just out here trying to keep your project list full! 🤣
@@TheVanThatGotAway doing a great job miss. I may need to hire you for a week to get it all finished.
You do an amazing job of explaining what you have done. Your videos are filled with information. Well done and thank you.
Hey Joseph, thanks. It's amazing exactly how MUCH information I kept coming up with as I go along. It's a lot to digest but I hope it's useful to someone. Thanks for watching!
Ingenious! Your description and illustrations are so clear.Thank you for the time you took to create this video.
This tent tarp would probably work better off the back hatch where the door hatch can take up slack from domed area. Or put an extra tent pole in that space. I'm gonna try it.
Hi new subscriber here. I’m just getting started and planning to buy my van as soon as I can find the right one. This is a very clever and inexpensive awning idea. Thanks for the inspiration!!
Really awesome video and I love the illustrations. Great instructional video!!!
Well hey Sherry! Thanks for the kind words. I'm glad the illustrations are of use. I don't see a lot of other van UA-camrs sketching stuff out, and I always thought it would be easier if I could see their projects laid out like that. Are you currently doing a build, yourself?
More videos please! Lol. I could listen to you giving tutorials all day long, on ANYTHING! I have a Toyota 4runner and leave the Northern California Sierra's in the winters for Arizona. Every year I rebuild my "seatless" cargo living area, and am always looking for new ideas. I too, use anything I can in my garage, house or yard to repurpose and I love all of your hacks on "inventing" what you need, it's a lost art nowadays! Looking forward to more videos!
Hi Gypsy, LOL! Be careful, I just might start doing tutorials on basket weaving or calculus or some crazy stuff. I admire your willingness to reinvent your space every season. Let me know how the next version of your 4runner camper looks, okay? Thanks for checking in!
@@TheVanThatGotAway Hahahahaha, basket weaving and calculus! You funny! I can't wait, lol
Excellent--superbly explained video!
Glad you enjoyed it, Luanne, thanks!
this is brilliant! thank you!
Hi Sophia! I'm glad you enjoyed it. This was an awesome project that I got to design with my Dad when we were visiting. Thanks for taking the time to check in.
Genius!!
Nah, I'm just stubborn and optimistic 🤣 Thanks for watching, Tracy!
Thank you for another great video. It is great that you repurposed that tent fly. The fly always out last the tents. I love the PVC tube for storage. Thank you again for creating this video, safe travels.
Hi Anita, I know! I'm looking around saying, "How the heck do I have 2 tent flys and no tents?"😜 Thanks for the good wishes.
Hi Leslie! Recently found you and have started with your first video! You're an inspiration!
Aw, thanks Holly! It's so great to have you here 😀
I love how articulate you are….very few, if any, of the “umm” and “uh”’s! Your details are fantastic, I’m sure it takes a lot of time and effort to make your videos. I bet you’re an engineer of some sort? Thank you!
Thanks, PJ! I worked very hard to stop saying "Ummm" and "You Know" as much as I used to. Not easy! My Dad's actually a retired engineer and I've always considered myself to be an honorary engineer via genetics and upbringing, LOL!! Thanks for the encouragement. ☺️
good that you can take the tarp material off and dry it out, away from the car when it gets parked up wet
Hey PTS, Yes! We even used it to fashion a make-shift shower a few times. Thanks for checking in 🙂
Great simple awning and the tube storage is very impressive. Well made video and the overlay drawing just look so professional.
Thanks Glyn, And thanks for taking the time to check in.
I can’t decide if you’re an engineer, a structural engineer professor, or the most resource genius woman in the world!
I have the same van, I have a beautiful canopy cover we never even got to use because our movers destroyed the frame. But the easy to understand way you have explained this is what is a huge win for me, I can do this!
I do have an off topic question and I think you might have covered it in another video, so direct me there if you did. The window rain guards/ vents that you have, do they just stick into the outside of your door frame? I ordered a set from EBay, they came without instructions, but I always thought the would be “in set” where they mounted by slipping into the window track area if that makes sense. Well when I got them, they’re essentially stickers lol. I have the same chrome trim around my front and slider door windows. It just seem to me that in my hone state of Texas, they’re gonna last about 26 minutes into our first summer day. We’ve already had days of 95°! Or because we go to the coast at least 2 times a year, I use drive thru car washes. Is that a no go with those, well I guess it would be with your roof rack and set up. Anyway, I admire your ingenuity and look forward to see what else you create! Have a Vantastic day! 😉
Yay, Texan, I have had AVS vent shades on many vehicles now. The set on my 2009 Jeep Patriot is as old as the Jeep. They have one 1/2" x 1/4" chip from a hail storm 6 years ago. They are secured with 3M tape. Someone tried to break into the Jeep and pried about 1" of the tape lose 8 years ago but failed. I purchased 3M tape and repaired it. The vent shades that fit in the window tracks may cause wind noise over time. I just ordered and installed the vent shades on our newer minivan, AVS brand with 3M Tape. They are pricey, but worth it for us. Bonus that I got them at the local auto parts store and they are made in the USA. Safe travels.
Those were one of the first things I got when starting the build. I got cheap ones. I'm going to try the ones Anita mentioned because she made them sound tough. Also, I'm not afraid anymore to spend money on tough rain guards 🤣 We already had one come loose and start flapping all over the place, driving through Oklahoma at 80 mph. Not cool! 😜 And we don't even take our van through car washes, LOL! 😃
@@TheVanThatGotAway the AVS vent shades are definitely tough. Our Jeep has not been parked in the garage until we have had an empty nest. We live in Kansas City, Missouri. We have an anueal temperature range of -23°F to 103°F. Wind in spring and fall or when weather is coming through is 15 to 35 steady with gust routinely 65mph and up. 3M tape, I read is used in window installation on sky scrapers. You may be able to just reinstall your current vent shades with 3M tape. You just clean the surfaces with alcohol, let it dry and stick the tap to one surface then the other surface. I read an insane number of product reviews, to learn we already were buying the top vent shades available. At O'Reilly's Auto Parts they were saying we have these instalk and I said no I'll wait for the AVS with 3M tape. Definitely worth the wait and price. I don't want to deal with failure on the road. Thank you again for your videos. They are amazing.
@@TheVanThatGotAway that’s exactly what I told the EBay seller that I bought it from. The first reason I did not want to affix them to my van, is I didn’t want to cover the only “stylish feature”, the chrome 😂 on my van. 2nd I advertise for my daughters business and have a big Think Pink Insurance logo on my rear window, so I have to keep my van clean on the outside. It’s black 🤦🏻♀️ so a light drizzle will make the thing look dirty, so I go thru drive thru car washes at least once a week. And couple that with the Texas heat...
I think I will just resell these and get the good ones.
@@anitasimmons3599 thanks for the great tip, I’m going to look for those, like Leslie said, I’m not afraid to spend more for a better result, I just mistakenly ordered the wrong ones. I should have realized that the photos on the EBay ad didn’t actually show the vents on the vehicle, just a photo of my year make and model of my van with the guards in packaging. Reason number 367 of why I shouldn’t shop at 3am lol!
Thank you very informative!! ❤️👌
Hi Pongetz, Glad it was helpful! Thanks for taking time to say hi.
Awesome!!!👠🚌👠
To bad you took it off u can keep it and use it as car cover as it's dome shape , to park in snow and rain , it would add protection to car and stuff u have above ur car and also will keep area around ur car a bit protected and in also its adds extra layer of insulation against sun if it would cover ur car roof and a side of it , it makes a huge difference in temprature if car is covered at its roof and a side from Direct sun light
Fantastic videos! I love your no-nonsense approach and the drawings are extremely helpful, too. I hope you can make some revenue from this because I know it’s a lot of hard work.
I just bought an ‘06 Sienna last night to use while visiting the US in the summers (I’m an American living in Abu Dhabi, married to a teacher) and it was scary to have a friend buy the van without me there, but I’m embracing the fun of it all!
I know you said you’ll do another video about the window screens-I can’t wait! ☺️ For now, I can get my dad started on collecting the awning materials as I’m sure he has everything already in his basement. 😉
Thanks again for the awesome content. I’m learning so much from you and Eric Enjoys Earth.
Hey Minn! Congrats on getting the van and embracing the unknown. Heck, we even bought our last house sight unseen. 🤣Just gotta have faith, right? Keep me in the loop about how the build goes! Is this gonna be a long-distance endeavor?
@@TheVanThatGotAway Thanks! We’re going to stay in the Great Lakes area this summer because it’s been two years since I’ve seen any of my family and friends. 🥺 First we’re going to go with my mom, sister, and her kids to Voyageurs National Park, the only NP in MN. We’ll drive the van but stay in a motel.
After our ‘Eid holiday in Minneapolis, we’ll go on our own for a two-week road trip up to Devil’s Kettle Falls/Grand Marais and then down along the southern shore of Lake Superior because I’ve never been to Isle Royal NP or Pictured Rocks. We’ll skirt Lake Michigan down to Green Bay, and then back east through Wisconsin and up the Great River Road (WI Hwy 35) to show my husband the bluffs of the Mississippi in all of their summer glory. 😍
People of UA-cam: Can we do this trip in 10 days and still relax at each place or is that crazy? Note: We drove all over Italy in five days one winter, so we’re used to long days of driving).
In future years we may do Banff or somewhere more far-flung, but we should have some beautiful places to sleep on this trip! I’ll keep you posted on our cheap thrift-store build. It’s not so much the low prices but the hunt that I miss-there are no second-hand shops or proper garage sales in Abu Dhabi!
No 2nd hand shops??? 😲😬😲 I couldn't handle it! 🤣
cheap sunshelter removeable wall would work
Hi Leslie thanks for the wonderful idea and guides. I decided on getting a Toyota sienna, not a dodge caravan, so I am remodeling my campervan in the making. Can I bounce an idea off you different subject. I was going to use a army footlocker w/casters as a bed base, plywood, 4" memory foam, 33 inch wide, fold like Murphy bed against the wall/windows, with straps and hooks. Large cushion for daytime seating. What do you think? I think you're a outside the box thinker.
Hi Karen, I think that sounds amazing! I was looking at all kinds of ways to do a murphy bed in here. But to sleep 2 of us, I couldn't find a way to make it work. Using a locker sounds very cool. Are you posting any videos, by chance?
@@TheVanThatGotAway No I am nowhere near completion on this plus I need to get more tech savvy to post videos. I will try to do one when I finish the bed. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Onward!!
Ingenious especially with the dog collars. I have a new Ford transit no roif rack. I want to be able to put an awning up like that...any ideas?
Hey Leese, Without anything on the roof to secure it, I'd opt for a pop-up screen shelter. As long as you have the space to carry it, that is. Thanks for asking and thanks for taking the time to chat. How's the build going?
@@TheVanThatGotAway the build is going at a snail's pace because I have a bad back and I don't have anyone to help me so it's mostly been acquiring and not building.
I like your idea of getting a separate item because then I could put it exactly where I need it! I also found one on Amazon that has really strong suction cups and it's a tarp and tarp poles but also I have these Caribiners that have really strong magnets on the ends and those may work...
You give wonderful clear instructions! Do you have suggestions as to how to attach it to a 'naked' roof? Or even the side of my camper? I have an actual campervan, (1995 Roadtrek), but the original owners ordered it without an awning. Thank you for your wonderful videos!
Hi Michelle, Thanks for watching. Congrats on having such a cool camper! To attach the awning, there really needs to be a some structure to bolt it on to. If you don't have that and you don't plan on installing a roof rack, maybe plan B is to get a pop up shelter instead? Let me know what you decide. Do you love your camper?
Hi Lesley, very interested in learning more about your bed build out. May I ask what the dimensions were for the plywood pieces that made up your bed platform. Also the dimensions on your cushions? Were all four the same size? Also I was just curious if you made the covers for your mattress cushions or did you go to an upholstery shop for that? I love your idea and the heavy fabric that you used! Thank you for sharing your great hard work!
Hi Diana, Thanks for asking. Tell ya what, I'll do a video for you on all the details and dimensions of the whole bed. Hang tight! And thanks for watching.
@@TheVanThatGotAway awesome thank you so much!
*Watch next* > Full in-depth tour of my Minivan Camper: ua-cam.com/video/FsCz8USgvJg/v-deo.html
and How I Use The Toilet in my Minivan Camper: ua-cam.com/video/61V3hTasCdw/v-deo.html
👍👌❤️🇨🇦, sweet
Boa noite linda menina tudo bem amor beijos linda
Where do I buy poles. Keep, hearing we do sell
Don't sell
Very ingenious! Question.. are the tarp clips and telescoping tubes easy to find?
Hey Michael, yep they are. I picked up the tarp clips at Home Depot (also try any camping store) and I put a link to the telescoping tubes in the description. Thanks for asking.
@@TheVanThatGotAway thank you Leslie. Always a pleasure to watch your posts. Very well done. I got the foam board from the Dollar Tree and it worked out great for all the side windows. It was too small for the rear window so I ordered corrugated plastic from Walmart and used that. A tip you might like: I used heavy duty aluminum foil and pressed it into the window opening to create a template, traced it onto cardboard for a rough outline, trimmed that to fit the opening exactly, then used that cardboard template on the plastic. A bit tedious, but it worked well, and it’s all fun anyway, right?
Oh that's awesome! I love using kitchen stuff for non-kitchen projects. Great idea.
@@michaelomara4981 that’s a great idea, and one I think I could manage. I think I will do this, I already ordered my reflectix and have it just ready to go!
nah! I'm not buying it. Without a shadow of a doubt, a man designed and built that. Women can't do this sh!t. It's a genetic thing.
LOL
PS. Good job! Helpful
🤣 LOL, eso!
@@TheVanThatGotAway haha - thanks for taking my comment in the good humour with which it was intended!
It's like I'm in your head 😉🤣
👎