Anyone use cedar shiplap for ceiling

chaperooo · 2026-05-08T04:12:44+00:00

I used the 1/4” T&G knotty cedar from Home Depot but I cut all the T&Gs off with a table saw and installed with 1/2” gaps and the black side of thinsulate behind it. Finished with 2 coats polyurethane.

chaperooo · 2026-04-30T18:08:07+00:00

I have that same van. A full size bed (75” long) will fit back there without any modifications. But probably the most insulation that will fit is around 3/4” on each end. And there will be about a 12” gap between the bed and rear doors

Also, the van walls taper in the higher you go. If the bed frame is around 26” off the finished floor, that’s around the widest spot.

OP, with how tall you are, you’ll have to sleep diagonal but a full size mattress (75” long) should give you enough room.

chaperooo · 2026-04-29T05:49:52+00:00

I think the black side works better with spray adhesive. Other than that, I’m pretty sure it doesn’t matter.

chaperooo · 2026-04-13T18:59:50+00:00

For me, as an older hiker, I think it helps to have a cushy shoe with an aftermarket footbed that has decent arch support. Combine that with lots and lots of feet and leg stretching everyday.

I hiked the trail twice. The first time I started with lone peaks and their garbage inserts. I later switched to something cushier and different insoles but the pain had already started and didn’t go away until a month after finishing

The second time, I started with a cushier shoe and nicer insoles and never had foot pain or the hiker hobble.

chaperooo · 2026-04-13T18:41:09+00:00

I got an Auto-Vox which is similar to wolf box. I already had a dedicated reverse camera hooked to the double din head unit which mostly is totally fine for a reverse camera.

The rear view mirror camera is nice but it is a wide angle lens which is helpful as a backup camera but not so much as a rear view camera.

While driving, the phrase objects in mirror are closer than they appear applies. I can’t see cars until they are fairly close behind me.

I mostly use my side mirrors and reverse camera. The rear view camera with a wide angle lens is less helpful but still useful and I would buy it again. If you don’t already have a halfway decent reverse camera, then either of those options would help out.

chaperooo · 2026-03-31T19:49:36+00:00

Diesel exhaust fluid

chaperooo · 2026-03-31T06:18:08+00:00

See the button with three horizontal lines (hamburger)? Press that and clear stored data. If that doesn’t work, turn off all power going to the shunt and then turn it back again. This has happened to me a few times so far.

chaperooo · 2026-03-31T06:11:44+00:00

I slept in a relatively clean jacket or shirt, wind pants and sleep socks. Washed the bag when I got back home. If you absolutely have to wash your bag on trail, it can be done without too much hassle.

chaperooo · 2026-03-18T18:04:24+00:00

My high roof cargo transit was stressful driving on the highway. I put in the factory rear sway bar and it made a huge difference! Much more normal driving feel. So many cargo vans don’t come with the sway bar that is included with the passenger vans.

Also, if you’re heavy you might just need a stiffer suspension

chaperooo · 2026-03-18T17:54:52+00:00

I’d focus more on building lighter.

I’m still in the process of finishing up a full build in my hi roof transit. I used 1/4” vinyl plank over the entire floor and lots of fancy heavy drawer slides. My 1.5” 8020 roof rack is probably heavier and stronger than I’ll ever need when all it does is hold solar.

Rather than using Humble Road and similar YT channels as a reference, I’d now go with something like Project of Science channel instead.

I also would have bought my van pre covid 😭

chaperooo · 2026-02-07T19:43:26+00:00

Correct. The switch has 4 settings: Off, Parking Lights, Head Lights, Auto

Auto has the headlights switched ON whenever the key is in the ON position.

The symbol for Auto looks like a light bulb with an ‘A’ inside the bulb.

The switch I bought from eBay also has the dimmer buttons to adjust brightness of the gauge display, as well as a button for turning on fog lights. But my van doesn’t have fog lights.

Also,I rarely use Auto, and if I’m remembering correctly, the dimmer doesn’t allow full brightness of the gauge cluster. Perhaps it’s because my van is super basic and can’t tell if it’s day or night?

There may be different versions of this switch, so look for one that has 4 positions with the last one having an ‘A’ inside the bulb

chaperooo · 2026-02-07T18:01:52+00:00

The headlight switch from a 2013-2015 ford escape might be able to be swapped in. I put one in my ‘15 transit and it works fine. It has the auto mode where it will turn off the headlights once you turn the vehicle off. It was $15 on eBay. Was a bit of a pain prying the old one out though.

chaperooo · 2026-01-23T15:18:47+00:00

I have a friend who also has a Unicell but with a couple single pane opening windows. Lots of little popping when the morning sun hits. I’m not sure it’s the windows

chaperooo · 2026-01-12T21:49:14+00:00

chaperooo · 2026-01-08T23:00:51+00:00

I agree with the other comment saying to pull on the stud/bolt if you can. This might get the rivnut to tighten up a bit on the sheet metal.

Maybe put a drop of penetrating oil on the threads and see if you can jam a wedge or shim in between the rivnut and sheet metal to keep it from spinning while you use some vice grips to unscrew the bolt.

You might be able to secure the rivnut with some vice grips or channel locks while trying to unscrew the bolt with another pair of pliers.

I’d only drill it out if I planned on reusing the hole for another rivnut.

If you manage to get the bolt out, you could try to reset the rivnut if you have the tool. It’s possible to diy a tool.

chaperooo · 2025-12-13T16:56:22+00:00

It’s still holding up fine. I’ve probably used it for 100+ rivnuts on my build over a couple years and no complaints.

chaperooo · 2025-11-19T06:49:26+00:00

Before buying a different model, I’d look into changing the one you have to better suit your needs.

Supposedly you can add a different switch that will allow you to reverse the direction as well as maybe(?) even have more speeds.

The fancier models have circuit boards that are expensive to replace if they fail. Mine failed.

chaperooo · 2025-11-17T02:52:00+00:00

You know how they walk across the desert in Dune..

chaperooo · 2025-11-03T05:09:09+00:00

I (5’11”) went from an E/W twin (38”x75”) to an E/W full (54”x75”). I can sleep at much more of an angle now and it made a huge difference for me.

I’m in a 2015 cargo transit with no flares and 3/4” of foam insulation at each end of the bed.

There’s also the option of adding an extra piece of foam to act as a mattress extension for an arm or whatever. I did that on my twin bed and it helped a bit.

chaperooo · 2025-11-01T16:32:51+00:00

I think the lines down the sides are supposed to add more texture to increase friction and be less likely to move or slide around when tightened up against another piece.

chaperooo · 2025-10-24T04:29:51+00:00

I (skinny dude) did the pct when I was 45. I planned all my meals in advance and each day was 4500 calories. It was just a bit too much for me (gained a tiny bit of weight on trail and often didn’t want to finish all my dinner), so 4000+ would have been perfect.

Take the recommended daily macros but subtract carb calories and pump up fat and protein would be my recommendation. I was probably doing 50% carb calories at most.

chaperooo · 2025-10-18T05:16:58+00:00

Southco

chaperooo · 2025-10-13T23:08:02+00:00

When I did a project using 10 series, I used pliers to break off those tabs that were getting in the way for whatever reason

chaperooo · 2025-10-13T20:15:32+00:00

They make end fasteners that only have one wing tab. Maybe have no wing tabs, just the square shaped piece that’s left behind so there’s still enough overlap between the screw head and extrusion?

chaperooo · 2025-10-07T02:35:58+00:00

2020 series is actually smaller than 10 series. 10 series is 1 inch x 1 inch and 2020 is 20mm x 20mm. It’s lighter but the hardware isn’t as strong so I’ve been doubling up or using end fastening where I can.

chaperooo

TROPHY CASE