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.
@EXPLORISTlife Жыл бұрын
Hey, Tiny Off-Grid House Research LLC! I appreciate that. Thanks so much! Cheers! 🙂😀
@kevnrob1 Жыл бұрын
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!
@wendybyrne1301 Жыл бұрын
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!
@EXPLORISTlife Жыл бұрын
Hey Wendy Byrne, Thanks so much! Cheers!
@HoesStoleMyTacos Жыл бұрын
When cutting strut, use a circular saw with a ferrous metals blade. Its the fastest, and most accurate solution. As a bonus use a speed square to ensure your cut is straight. Trust me I'm an electrician and I work with the stuff all of the time.
@tomas-qr2el Жыл бұрын
very helpful comment. It cuts thru it like buttah :D
@beamreed2396 Жыл бұрын
You should have made the bed that raises up and down with motor and winch
@rhetthookham5590 Жыл бұрын
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.
@jamesholmes6311 Жыл бұрын
My son and I built our bed platform from Unistrut two months ago!!! It works great for bed platforms! Thanks for the Video!
@TUNDRALU Жыл бұрын
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
@EXPLORISTlife Жыл бұрын
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. 😂🤣
@terryrosenthal3692 Жыл бұрын
Thank you for sharing your experience and expertise.
@venturingthemiles10 ай бұрын
What spray paint did you use? I sprayed my Unistrut matte black and it looks terrible
@tonybucca56672 ай бұрын
so much for looking out the back window!
@EXPLORISTlife2 ай бұрын
Not a priority.
@tonybucca56672 ай бұрын
@@EXPLORISTlife Then, why did you get a van with windows?
@EXPLORISTlife2 ай бұрын
Wanted the option for a rear dinette if we hadn’t built a platform bed.
@tonybucca56672 ай бұрын
@@EXPLORISTlife How about moularity, so you could do both?
@EXPLORISTlife2 ай бұрын
@tonybucca5667 Yep! that was the plan.
@robingee8195 Жыл бұрын
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.
@EXPLORISTlife Жыл бұрын
Awesome! Glad it helped. Thanks for watching!
@tonyd6884 Жыл бұрын
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
@warrenscorner7 ай бұрын
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.
@BTNomad Жыл бұрын
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!
@EXPLORISTlife Жыл бұрын
Awesome! Glad it helped. Thanks for watching!
@mundodebandeirante Жыл бұрын
very good your videos. I'm building a camper and the information is very important.
@rudivandoornegat2371 Жыл бұрын
Wow! Almost finished ....
@EXPLORISTlife Жыл бұрын
Almost!! 🙌🙌
@johncooke1386 Жыл бұрын
A very great looking job. Very informative!!! John from Cape Cod
@EXPLORISTlife Жыл бұрын
Thanks for watching! Cheers!
@gl8365 Жыл бұрын
always so much fun to watch and learn! why use spring nuts on the unistrut bolting?
@sambarker1245 Жыл бұрын
great series! Kinda sad the van is done now!
@unimog404 Жыл бұрын
Nice bed! Im also busy with my bed. It will be wood and much lower 😄 total height with matras 40cm
@EXPLORISTlife Жыл бұрын
Thanks! I hadn't worked with Unistrut much before this project outside of hanging air conditioners. 🤣 Works pretty well!
@unimog404 Жыл бұрын
@@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 😄
@jimlucraft5891 Жыл бұрын
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 ?
@EXPLORISTlife Жыл бұрын
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'.
@mpxz9999 ай бұрын
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
@johnsharpe2351 Жыл бұрын
Can I ask where you got your window covers? They look cool. Great job on the unistrut bed!
@EXPLORISTlife Жыл бұрын
For sure! Those come with the Arctic Tern windows we installed back in this video: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/Y9tmobx1sbW1aac.html
@RollinHomies Жыл бұрын
Looking good! So glad you didn’t add the bogus raising bed crap. 😄🤙🏼
@EXPLORISTlife Жыл бұрын
🤣😂 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.
@ron-almog Жыл бұрын
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?
@EXPLORISTlife Жыл бұрын
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: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/sLSgoM1kqM7Remw.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.
@Samwahealing2 ай бұрын
Was that bed strong enough for 2 people on it and moving around? The unistrut frame looks great but from what I seen the entire system is held by those 4 brackets on the l-track. After using it did you find it was enough to hold it up?
@EXPLORISTlife2 ай бұрын
No problems.
@SamwahealingАй бұрын
@@EXPLORISTlife thank you so much. I will look into something similar
@timf6916 Жыл бұрын
Nice work
@EXPLORISTlife Жыл бұрын
Thanks! 🙂🙌
@taylorr7010 Жыл бұрын
Just curious, what size unistrut did you use
@EXPLORISTlife Жыл бұрын
The 1 5/8" stuff.
@donnaknox2206 Жыл бұрын
Do you have a parts list?
@xares420 Жыл бұрын
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!
@EXPLORISTlife Жыл бұрын
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.
@EXPLORISTlife Жыл бұрын
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: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/fNtydK6FqKnSpGg.html
@xares420 Жыл бұрын
@@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!
@nickohdub Жыл бұрын
That DeWalt band saw table is awesome. Did you make that? Or have a link to the one you are using?
@EXPLORISTlife Жыл бұрын
Yeah, I love that thing. Got it from here: amzn.to/3LKbu94
@andrewmillerphotography Жыл бұрын
Loving the videso - can I ask what the usable weight of the van is, after build ?
@EXPLORISTlife Жыл бұрын
We haven't weighed it yet.
@sergevilleneuve1715 Жыл бұрын
You are good
@EXPLORISTlife Жыл бұрын
Thanks!!
@christopherinch90 Жыл бұрын
Any reason you guys didn't look at a bed lift system to allow extra clearance for loading and unloading your bikes?
@EXPLORISTlife Жыл бұрын
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.
@wilty5 Жыл бұрын
Where can I get detailed plans for building this bed assembly?
@EXPLORISTlife Жыл бұрын
We didn't make a plan on this one. 🤣 Just made it up as we went along.
@wilty5 Жыл бұрын
Ok thanks
@USA-GreedyMenOfNoIntegrity Жыл бұрын
Zinus 6 Inch Green Tea Memory Foam $159 Amz!!
@EXPLORISTlife Жыл бұрын
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.
@irieswag Жыл бұрын
Love the headboard but I think its a fire hazard since toy cant get out of the back wsith it so high.
@EXPLORISTlife Жыл бұрын
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.
@irieswag Жыл бұрын
@@EXPLORISTlife Thanks for clearing that up, and I love the video's and love the new online store.
@897aa33 Жыл бұрын
Wonder how heavy that is?
@EXPLORISTlife Жыл бұрын
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.
@897aa33 Жыл бұрын
@EXPLORIST life - DIY Campers would,you consider using 80/20, which comes in silver and black colour half of the weight?
@EXPLORISTlife Жыл бұрын
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.
@d4drift123 Жыл бұрын
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.
@EXPLORISTlife Жыл бұрын
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.
@wmscottd Жыл бұрын
portable band saw is easiest way to cut it
@BiGG_X2 ай бұрын
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.
@EXPLORISTlife2 ай бұрын
Nah. What we did was just fine. Feel free to do that in your own build, though!
@iamjamesmannion48535 ай бұрын
Dude buy a mask! Breathing those fibers is not good!
@EXPLORISTlife5 ай бұрын
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.
@paulc9848 Жыл бұрын
Way too heavy
@EXPLORISTlife Жыл бұрын
🤣😂 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.
@paulc9848 Жыл бұрын
@@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
@EXPLORISTlife Жыл бұрын
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.
@paulc9848 Жыл бұрын
Ah he can't take feedback his little ego is hurt hahahahahaah love this what a tool
@brendanryan262 Жыл бұрын
Don't know why people freak out about some weight in a van, it's a cargo van. It's designed to carry stuff! 😊