My Chevrolet Express van Class B- camper
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Dec-21-2014 03:50 PM
After all those years with my wife and I getting older, she decided we needed a little more room so she found me a 2001 Chevrolet Express van with low mileage on the internet. After checking it out and taking it for a test drive we bought it on the spot. It was a nice passenger conversion LT model with all the bells and whistles available in 2001. I will chronicle the changes I made to transform it into my Class B- motorhome in the next few postings. I call it my Class B- (B minus) motorhome because it is just a regular van without the raised roof.
Camping at Custer State Park, SD in February, 2015.
Camping and visiting Scott's Bluff National Monument, NE in October, 2014.
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Class B
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Mar-13-2020 09:01 AM
J herb wrote:
HI Mike,
thanks for the new picture of your swivel install, I ordered mine on 2/20/20 and they told me it would ship around 4/8/20, how long did you have to wait for yours ?
In your last picture it looks like you have a carpeted floor mats on top of your OEM flooring ! if so were did you get them as I haven't found any yet. Jay
I think my seat swivel took about 2-3 weeks, if I remember correctly. I remember them sending me an email about it taking awhile because they don't make them until they receive the order. So they have to make them first and then send them out.
As to the carpeted floor matt, my wife found a gray one that was 4'x4' which was just the right size for the area behind the seat and in front of my bed frame. I did have to raise my kitchen unit up to slide it under part of it. It did cost about $80 though. Here is where she got it from:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004D0OMAM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
The floor mats in front of the driver & passenger seats we ordered from a different location. We got them at:
https://www.carid.com/lloyd-mats/lloyd-classic-loop-floor-mats-4137888.html
Keep on Modifying your van!
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Mar-13-2020 07:40 AM
thanks for the new picture of your swivel install, I ordered mine on 2/20/20 and they told me it would ship around 4/8/20, how long did you have to wait for yours ?
In your last picture it looks like you have a carpeted floor mats on top of your OEM flooring ! if so were did you get them as I haven't found any yet. Jay
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Mar-13-2020 07:09 AM
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Mar-12-2020 12:56 PM
Gary
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Mar-12-2020 09:46 AM
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Mar-12-2020 09:25 AM
Gary
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Mar-12-2020 07:54 AM
FunTwoDrv wrote:
Mike,
Curious about the passenger seat position and rotation. Did the position of the seat, while facing forward, change at all? Could you elaborate a bit on how you modified it to clear the door arm rest?
When I mounted the swivel on the passenger seat side, the seat mounting holes on the swivel were offset about an inch to the inside. I am not sure why they did that unless they were concerned with clearance problems with the mounting bolts. This moved the passenger seat about an inch closer to the center of the van. When I swiveled the seat to face backwards in the van, it then was about an inch closer to the door and it prevented me from swiveling the seat a complete 180 degrees. I took it off again and drilled some new holes for the seat about an inch to the right of the current holes in the swivel mount. The clearance was closer for the mounting bolts but I could still get the seat mounted and swiveled. I was prepared to grind the bolt heads down if needed, but I found I didn't have to do that. Now I could swivel the seat a full 180 degrees without hitting the door. I do have to open the door to swivel it. The other position of the seat that was affected was the height. With the swivel mounted, the seat sits about an inch and a half higher. I made a 1.5 inch high foot platform for my wife, who is shorter than I am and the higher seat position bothered her as her feet would not sit flat on the floor putting pressure on the bottom of her thighs.
Top view
bottom view showing the carpet cover
the foot platform in place in the van
I am sorry I did not take pictures of the new holes I drilled in the swivel seat platform to show the new position to the old.
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Mar-12-2020 06:54 AM
Curious about the passenger seat position and rotation. Did the position of the seat, while facing forward, change at all? Could you elaborate a bit on how you modified it to clear the door arm rest?
Gary
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Mar-10-2020 09:39 AM
Then again like in my old 2001 van, I ran one air hose up under the hood with a quick coupler on it and the switch to control the compressor located just to the right of my relay for camper options. All of my wires have labels for what they control in case I forget in my old age.
Finally I ran a second air hose with quick coupler to the rear which was mounted below my bumper with another switch to control it from this location.
I now have an air supply for toys (balls) that need air, tires, and air for my extra water tank.
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Feb-22-2020 06:03 AM
After the ladder was installed, I then went to work on the underhood trouble light I got from my sister's wrecked Suburban. I had to fabricate a couple of mounting brackets for that also. I guess that is why I have been putting off these two jobs. The only thing I have not transferred from the old van to the new is the tachometer. But in my defense, the new van does have a digital tachometer function on the dash display of trip, odometer, and mileage functions.
Now I just keep my eyes open for new ideas from the postings of others on this forum. The modifications never stop.
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Feb-15-2020 01:55 PM
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Feb-14-2020 02:08 PM
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Feb-14-2020 09:41 AM
Black'95 wrote:drsolo wrote:
Well... woman, but I am also a retired science teacher. LOL.
Sorry, my mistake. I shouldn't assume! Now I am even more impressed! Not only can she work on vans, she can cook too! Or did a man make the cake for you? It looks delicious!
I will not lie. I have a full time lodger who is a carpenter/ plumber/ electrician and a husband who is pretty handy and they just work off my designs. My building days are pretty well over.
The latest iteration of the inside of my RVan
I will not lie. I didnt make the cake. Bought it for my birthday. Praga: Chocolate cake, ganache and raspberry filling in between the layers and iced with chocolate butter cream; cherry filling on the top with chocolate shavings. It was delicious but over the top in richness.
1992 GMC Vandura conversion
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Feb-13-2020 01:39 PM
drsolo wrote:
Well... woman, but I am also a retired science teacher. LOL.
Sorry, my mistake. I shouldn't assume! Now I am even more impressed! Not only can she work on vans, she can cook too! Or did a man make the cake for you? It looks delicious!
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Feb-13-2020 07:13 AM
Black'95 wrote:drsolo wrote:
The latest addition to my RVan is a safety bar on the side door. Took the wimpy handle off and replaced it with a bathroom safety bar that has a textured grip. It is wonderful.
You are my kind of man. I like your ideas about the multi-use table and the safety bar. From my old science teaching days, my motto was always "bigger is better." The students didn't think so when it was a quiz or a test!
Well... woman, but I am also a retired science teacher. LOL.
1992 GMC Vandura conversion