Getting setup for some camping, always needing more room. Yeah, more room yet lots of us drive the most giant box on the highway.

Oh, well, ANYWAY.

Looking to put some of the camping gear up top. Thinking a rocket box on a rack or a big basket and some of the roll top bags like you might use for a canoe trip or the like.

Hitch will be busy carrying our bicycles.

Experiences, photos?

Thanks ya'll.

 

I'm thinking of doing this too....I tried the soft cargo carrier strapped to the roof and was disappointed to find out that the rainproof, wasnt. (Yes, I should have used trashbags around the contents, but thought that a waterproof bag was...waterproof)

I have been looking at the Thule Gutter Feet and the matching square crossbars, along with a MOAB rack or maybe a Thule plastic rooftop box. Yep, they aint cheap...but they look like they will do the job. In the cargo basket I would load waterproof items, such as folding chairs, tarps, and maybe a few plastic boxes for canned goods. No clothing or sleeping bags...man, those things get HEAVY when they are soaked!

http://www.etrailer.com/roof-2009_Ford_Van.htm

Thule M.O.A.B. Roof Top Cargo Carrier - Mother Of All Baskets Thule Roof Cargo Carrier TH690XT

BTW...I bought and installed a set of small aftermarket roof rack bars that attach to the roof metal, and was not really happy with them. I should have just spent the money and went with something that attaches to the rain gutter like these Thule Gutter feet.

 

Yeah, exactly! That stuff that takes up all the insides and rattles like mad. With 6 to 8 bodies in the van it really can get tight with so little cargo room. The 15 passenger was made for just that, 15 passengers. And when it's just the 6 of us my kids are 100% spoiled rotten to having a seat per kid.

I'm kinda between the MOAB or a large long roof box on one side and a bike rack on the other side so the 3 of us that like to cycle can have all of our toys. The hitch bike rack is only a 2 bike setup as that's about the limit of the smaller vehicle.

 

You guys crack me up. This "place" is so refreshing-- guys trying not to spend too much on transportation, keeping business costs under control, helping each other solve problems, figuring out how to fit all your family's s**t in the vehicle on vacation. It is all so sober, grown-up, mature, and American.

The other forums I haunt are F150 and F150 Lightning (i.e. hotrod) forums. It is all about wretched excess (I admit I am not immune to excess), spending money on thrills and material desire, helping each other yes, oh yeah, and strippers. Lots and lots and lots of strippers and t@ts and a$$ and barely concealed crotches, and a fair amount of chest-puffing and aggressive obscenity and dominant posturing and conflict.

A lot of the guys are very young, without a lot of worldly responsibilities; many of the ones who are grown-up and have plenty of responsibilities indulge their alter-egos where they show no evidence of these responsibilities and look and sound exactly like 23-year old men.

The majority are honest and decent, try to help you out, and won't cheat you even if they get a chance. But it is a weird world, where grown-up men with wives and daughters use chicks with artificial t$ts as their avatars.....

Anyway, this is all to say, I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Gentlemen. I am no puritan or ascetic, I like to look at women as much as anybody else (but I think they must be respected) and I can dig a 600-hp truck (or van, G#d help us) as much as the next immature guy.......... but I am a little more comfortable with your crowd.

Nobody here has told me I am stupid, use the search engine you lazy b$$$$ard, or advised me go take a s%%t in my hat, yet.

k9dr

 

Doctor o' Dawgs all that follows is meant completely in humor, trying to keep your appreciation for FTE Van Forums alive. To which I've selectively culled your reply only to speak to a few things...

Well as one of those guys with a pretty girl as my avatar I don't know whether to be ashamed or simply admit I too like attractive features no matter if they're 600HP mechanical beasts of 5'10" blue-eyed natural blondes with all original heavenly eqiipment? There's not one iota of disrespect torwads Ms Christie Brinkley intended and sadly her image is far more alluring than my own, I hoped only to give a bit of eye candy. I might use my Linda Vaughn imagine again sometime soon----as I said pretty things are universally appealing no matter their form or origin.

We might be a lightly more "mature" (aged?! ) crowd but by and large most of us here intend to help even though there is the occasional disagreement of misunderstanding how something is best achieved. Personally I read a lot here on FTE so along with that and what I actually do or have done the goal is pass along info that might be helpful or avert a disaster if someone isn't aware of the more pertinent bits relating to any one procedure or operation.

We also get semi-wild or previously never-conceived ideas that have been refined or abandoned due discussion of it all. I think we've saved many a dollar or project by giving different POV's, trying to see how one thing may affect something else.

There's a ton of knowledge here, many a ton of opinions and yes for the most part we're well behaved, mostly on our own however when/if we step out of line there are no less than three moderators to check us back in line. Its noteworthy IBTim who is our Supreme Commander is listed as a Mod but so far he's not had to step in---that I know of anyway because Tom and Powerstroke72 do so well. (I really think we're mostly well behaved on our own but just wanted to suck up to the Mod's in case I ever need good will on my side............)

You're a good addition but a few recent arrivals seem bent on something less helpful in nature, seemingly channeling that younger man hubris and know-it-alledness many exhibit liberally and in great amounts. They tend to leave after a while because they're bored so we endure them until something changes, their participation or presence, either one suits me.

So welcome to our little slice of heaven and try NOT to think naughty stuff about my favorite avatar, she who is 60 years old and still turns heads, just like a new fully supercharged Shelby Mustang would!

 

And just think...it's not even a social website.

 

600HP! Ya'll keeping that a secret TOO?????

Welcome k9dr and come on in. This "place" is one of the forums, along with the OBS diesel forum, where folks do banter ideas and work on solving issues. Good folk, good ideas, bit of humor. And a pile of old and new vans that we just want to keep running to do what we need 'em to do.

 

Yup, I like this little corner of the Internet. I bought my first Ford truck, a brand new F100 pickup, when I was 26 years old in 1978. (And I'm still the same age but with the digits reversed...) I got started on vans in 1986 with a Ford flatnose in 1986, a couple GMC vans after that, and my current E150 after that. So 28 years having a van in the motorpool and 36 years with trucks.

Throw in a whole load of other vehicles ranging from 426 Hemi musclecars, couple Corvettes, some English sports cars (which taught me how to work on cars when I was 17 years old because they broke weekly and I had no money), an FJ40 Land Crusher, and numerous other cars. Depth comes with experience and having to do a lot of suffering to keep cars running over the years...

And anyone who fixes sick dogs is OK by me.

George

 

You must have come from Pirate.

The chick in my avatar is my wife, and 100% natural.

 

Would that be The Pirate Bay video site?

Without offense I'll repeat said avatar chick is one major cutey!

 

Pirate 4x4. It seems the favorite activity over there is a contest to see who can out A-hole the next guy. Being dicks just because they're allowed. Lots of good info and stuff but some of the attitudes I can do without. I will admit though, recently it doesn't seem as bad as years past.

Yeah, I'll liked her so much I had her imported.

 

Some forums are like that, those mostly populated by the younger set---boys being boys mostly, seeing who squirts the biggest stream. We try to keep things friendly and helpful here; had one bozo who has been dispatched, feared another was cropping up but seems he's eliminated himself, thank goodness.

I too imported one----something about those off-shore femme fatale types.

 

got a jeep cherokee safari rack on mine, didnt quite mount but got her on good lol, oh and yes i got an old snowboard as a makeshift wind fairing, actually works perfect

 

By Gawd that's just one very creative re-use of something Nightman--I love it!