Hodakaguy's 4wd Sprinter Build - Pic Heavy!

Oh my, you are a brave soul indeed!

Uploaded the next set of pics from last summers road trip.....

Full pics here:  https://advrider.com.../#post-41802657






Hodakaguy

Thanks Mate.  Bog Hot Springs is one of my favorites....sooooo nice!

 

Hodakaguy

I like willow creek hot springs MUCH better!!! Amazing build by the way!!!

Edited by SpudBob, 19 February 2021 - 06:19 PM.

I like willow creek hot springs MUCH better!!! Amazing build by the way!!!

Thanks Mate.   I'll check that springs out.

Hodakaguy

Mobility and fun on the go!   I've been looking at options for a personal EV's to take with us on trips and keep coming back to Onewheels.   A Onewheel is basically a single wheel electric "Skateboard" that is capable of traveling on dirt, gravel, pavement, etc.   Two of the smaller Onewheel Pints will take up little space and provide a ton of fun while on the road.

Here's a youtube video (Not Mine) that shows a Onewheel Pint in action:

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Link to the official Onewheel site here: https://onewheel.com...585e6546de409c4


Our two Pints fresh out of the Box and ready for fun.




20 minutes or practicing and my son and I were cruising around the neighborhood, they are very intuitive to operate.   Here's a shot down at the park putting on miles :-)




Now to figure out how to haul the two Pint's in the van.   There is only one spot that is "open" where the boards can be stored and out of the way, that's the rear passenger side corner.




Next up.....stare at the space and figure out a design that will keep the boards secure and take up as little space as possible.  After a while of staring and with a plan in my head it was time to start cutting metal.

I have some left over aluminum and Birch ply from my bed project which will work perfectly for this mount and match the bed system in the process.   Here I'm starting to cut metal and assemble the rack.




Still practicing/learning welding aluminum, starting to get a bit better at it. Aluminum is really fun to weld.








Here I'm using scrap pieces of foam to figure out the correct spacing and height for the wheel mount.








Temporarily setting the assembly in place to check for clearances to make sure the door still closes etc.  I had measured all that ahead of time but better to find out now if there is an issue :-)






Rubber caps will make the open ends look a tad more finished.






Next up it's over to my buddy Mike's place.  Mike runs a sweet van up fitting business called Vanlab and made quick work on cutting out the base and back plates from my scrap birch on his sweet CNC router.  We decided to cut a Onewheel Pint image into the back board for an extra touch.  Thanks Mike!











 

Continued Below.....

Continued from above....

Back to work on the frame.  Drilling and inserting Tric nuts (Similar to Rivet Nuts) into the frame to hold the base and backboards on.












Sealing the boards with OSMO....great stuff.








Adding some extra height to the ends to lock in the boards.






Here I'm cutting down some rubber floor mat panels to install in the carrier.  All surfaces that touch the boards will be foam padded.  The base foam panels are held in place by compression, the side pieces are applied with Gorilla glue.




The notched areas are for the bolts that will bolt the base of the carrier into the OEM floor tie down points.










Next up I'm making foam rails that will attach to the back board.  The rails are comprised of aluminum strap cut to size and foam strips glued to the aluminum, then the whole assembly is screwed onto the back board.

Here I'm using the optical center punch to mark out the hole locations on the aluminum strap.









 

Continued Below.....

Continued from above.....

Getting there....








Now to make the upper mount/brace that will tie the carrier into the vans L-track.  I'll be making a removable mount that will bolt to the upper bar on the rack, that way if I want to use the rack in the house when it's not needed in the van I can remove the upper brace.






The upper brace bolts on via rivet nuts on the top and rear.




And here is what happens when you get in a hurry and drill holes for the rivet nuts in the wrong location....extra holes lol.   Luckily they were on the back side and I was able to just move the holes inboard a bit so the two rivet nuts wouldn't hit each other.   Oops....lol.




Using these L-track studs to attach the upper brace to the L-track.  These are genius and have sooooo many uses.






Removing the OEM bolts out of the tie down points, the rack will mount in these locations using longer bolts.




Installing the longer bolts through the rack and into the tie down locations.




And here the rack is fully bolted into position.  The rack is super solid and keeps the whole assembly away from the wall panel so nothing will rub/wear on the tweed fabric.




















These are going to be a blast!

Hodakaguy

ATGATT. That is all. 

Just returned from a 4100 Mile road trip with my father following us.....I'll have to get all the pics posted up but here are some teasers.

Hodakaguy

Parts are starting to show up, lot's of mods coming soon!   




While I'm waiting for the new suspension to show up i decided I would make some progress and get the new tire carrier installed.  

I wish all products came packaged with the care and detail that the OWL setup showed up with.   You can really tell they care about their product and want to make sure that the end user has the best experience possible.








Popping off the door panels.  I like to use an extended reach clip removal tool, I reach down into the door and pop each clip by applying pressure as close to the clip as possible.  This allows me to easily remove the panel without worry about breaking clips.  












Installing the bolts through the hinges.  The bottom bolt (Stainless) has been ground down to fit the slightly smaller recess and prevent the door from binding.    Everything is kept slightly loose at this point.






Washers are used to shim up the hinges.  Didn't get a photo but there are plastic bushings that insert into the carrier where the bolt slides through.




The OEM magnet is removed off the rear door and an internal reinforcement plate is installed.  Then the insulation and door panel are re-installed.






All bolts are tightened up at this point.  Grease was installed on the bolts/pivot points.  




Nice and solid!  Quality of the whole setup is top notch!  Now the wait for suspension and getting the new tires installed on the wheels so I can mount the spare on the rack.  








Lot's more to come.....

Hodakaguy