I don't know what time of the year is popular for eagle watching around Lake Fork, but I know that eagle watching is a popular hobby around Lake Fork. Lake Fork is where Alba, Texas is, just a little north of I20 about an hour east of Dallas. Good luck with your trip.

 

Thanks - we like birdwatching...might check it out.

 

Nice set-up Jeff,
Have you thought of mounting a safari roof-rack or mount the gen in a more secure location. A Honda generator was a good choice the quietist gen made they claim.

 

I'd probably put a rack on the roof if I needed to carry more stuff, but we seem to be able to keep the gear to a minumum...taking less and less each trip, especially now that we're really set up for the generator and have the A/C in the window. We only need to use the front hitch now for the wheelchair.


By more secure, I'm assuming you mean less liable to turn up missing? If we're not using the generator, we keep it covered.

And if we're out on the boat, we put the generator inside the van.

 

That is a very impressive setup. I hope to be able to do exactly what you are doing someday (only 23 more years to retirement). That is an awfully nice bird watching rig you have too.

 

I live in a rough area that is why I asked. I've thought building a nice rig but not until I own my a place that is way out in the boonies. Then I can post signs that read "If you're seen here tonight, You will be found here come morning" but back to the subject.
Do you run the electric pump to fill the generator tank or straight to the carb? Is Your hitch extended? If so where can I find one? And when you had box mounted up front did your van over heat? The reason for all of my questions. I'm in the Indiana National Guard and My unit is out of Camp Atterbury. I drive 3 hours one way to do guard drills. I camp out in the parking lot because no barracks. They have a camp ground but always full. So I would like to be warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Also where can I find a pop up style roof? Sportsmobile won't do anything older than a 92. My wife is almost 6 foot tall.

 

I have an electric fuel pump mounted under the back of the van that I use to fill the generator. We like to have the generator run out of gas in the early morning hours.

I plug the pump into the trailer hitch plug (tail-light) to get power to run it.


Yes, the hitch is extended.
Ballmount Class III 3/4" Rise or 2" Drop - Extra Extra Long, 6,000 lbs. 80232 : Trailer hitch bike rack and trailer hitches - etrailer.com

Or Northern Tool


Never had a problem with the box causing overheating even in the 100°+ temps in Utah.

For high-tops, I would check with your local "Mobility" experts. We have one nearby that specializes in putting on high tops.
Custom wheelchair van modifications and accessories

Thanks for being in the National Guard.

 

Some day I should put pictures up of my setup of the air unit in the back door. I'm only using a 5200 btu air unit in a cargo van that I insulated well. I can get it cold enough in there that you want to use blankets to keep warm.

Last summer during a afternoon where we locally where I was staying at for a weekend the temp hit around 90 and I ran the honda 2000 generator for about 12 hours on the one gallon. This was around 3 hours with the air on power save and then the rest of the night I had the air off and a small fan running along with a dish receiver and a tv.

In October we did a overnight at a rest area in Iowa with outside temps just below 40. Ran the generator on the one gallon for just over 8 hours and that was running a electric blanket all night and a electric heater hung from the ceiling that was set to come on and off all night. The back of the van where we slept was close to 80 near the ceiling and the front of the van was around 64. And just as we got ready to get out of the van to go inside to the toilets the generator ran out.

I am working on a steel box that has been around the house for a few years now. I am modifying it to hold the generator in it with an open/close door for the exhaust and another open/close door for the fresh air to come in. Although chances are I will keep it inside the van until I need to use it at night or during the day and use the boxx to store other supplies such as extra gas for the generator. Right now I have a one gallon gas plastic can in the drivers door jam. It doesn't seem to let off fumes in the van.

When March comes around I will be using some of this set up during a 3 week trip to California. I am also no where near retirement I just like to go places.

 

thats an awesome idea, im 17 and have a '95 e250 that will eventually have a full size mattress along with all my tools. a sort of camping/work vehicle. my dad is retired and likes sleeping in his car on the beach in Mississippi but i think if i fixed him up a van he would like it so much more, these forums are just giving me more and more ideas

 

jeffnick...what did you use to fill in the gaps around your unit and the window

 

I made a 'window' around the AC out of 1/4" plastic...much like cutting board material. To make it fit tightly I made pasteboard template of the original glass window (it's hard to transfer the shape of the curved glass directly), then cut one out of 3/8" plywood. I used the template again to make a very loose fitting frame around the installed AC and cut the 3/8" to the same opening. I then mounted the 3/8" frame in the window, there were large spaces between it and the AC. I cut pieces of pasteboard to fit tightly against the AC body, then taped them to the wood. This gave me a close fitting template for the plastic. I caulked plastic to metal frame and the AC metal body to the plastic 'window' with silicone.

Here you see the loose fit plywood with the close fitting pasteboard in place. There is also a scrap of the plastic leaning against the table leg. Note that I destroyed my first wood frame by trying to make it fit directly and ended up using just the sides from the original wood frame and a new top piece. This 3 piece frame gave me more flexibility in getting a decent fit.


I left the plastic white for quite a while until I stumbled on special plastic paint. It doesn't quite match and I'll probably squirt it with the color from the rattle can now that I have a base coat that isn't lifting off the plastic.

 

What kind of plastic, specifically? Cutting boards are usually nylon or UHMW-PE. Most "plastic paint" is meant for PVC plastic and doesn't work well on nylon or UHMW-PE. UHMW-PE is technically a tough plastic, but not dimensionally stable, it will creep (sag) with weight loading it down in the heat.

Plexiglass (acrylic) or better yet Lexan (polycarbonate,) would work, and maintain visibility. However, it could compromise privacy unless you can fit an odd curtain or something over it.

Plywood is pretty good. I had to replace mine last year though, it was so rotted it might fall right out. House paint may be a good idea.

Mine had been installed with dozens of small wood screws drilled through the metal. I think an aluminum bezel acting as a washer, with the holes outside the lip so it just sandwiches the lip between the plywood and the bezel might be a better idea.

 

I used 1/4 aluminum diamond plate on mine back in the 80's with the diamond pattern on the inside. Then with stainless steel - galvanized metal - aluminum primer on it had no trouble keeping the factory body paint on.

 

Heck I don't know. I asked the guy at the plastic place what he recommended. The receipt says HDPE. For boating projects I use King Starboard but they didn't carry it. The only fasteners I used were thru the original holes for the glass.

 

HDPE is a specific type of plastic, that's High Density Polyethylene. Again, many "plastic paints" won't stick to this, some are just made for PVC. Others actually DO say "polyethyelene" on the label, you gotta read the fine print on the back.

HDPE (and UHMW-PE) are very vulnerable to UV damage. It becomes hard and brittle and cracks easily. It can become structurally unsound after only months of being outside in direct sunlight. Over time, it can actually crumble. So a complete, opaque paint layer is very important. Any scratch or unpainted edge will be subject to UV decay. Typically, you'd not use PE for "outdoor" applications at all. There ARE UV-resistant grades of HDPE/UHMW-PE, but they're specialty items and are only partial protection, they might last 5x-10x longer in direct sunlight but that still means it can't take even a year in the sun.