Been away from the forums for awhile, our new adventure rig

[Echelon]

We are still running our old rig all around WA and BC but we recently stumbled upon this bus. It has a Dometic 12/120V fridge, Coleman propane stove and Coleman propane furnace, sink with 18 gallon holding tank. We are going to slowly renovate it and upgrade with some all terrain tires. It will be a fun adventure vehicle after its been fixed up a little. It has been converted from aircooled to Ford Cologne V6 engine.

 

[Gabriel Bozeman]

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We are still running our old rig all around WA and BC but we recently stumbled upon this bus. It has a Dometic 12/120V fridge, Coleman propane stove and Coleman propane furnace, sink with 18 gallon holding tank. We are going to slowly renovate it and upgrade with some all terrain tires. It will be a fun adventure vehicle after its been fixed up a little. It has been converted from aircooled to Ford Cologne V6 engine.

[emoji7] I love it! Great choice. I've always wanted an orange VW Bus. I've got a '74 Beetle that I use as a daily driver. Truly a great rig. So jealous! It even has a converted engine! Perfection at it's finest! Congratulations!

 

[Echelon]

I will be updating as we get this ready for our overlanding adventures, we are working to revamp the interior. I have tested the Dometic fridge and power system and its still working great. We are adding solar polar with the Goal Zero Yeti 400 and some solar panels for off grid camping.



We uncovered and removed all the original materials and are replacing with a new fabric.

 

[Echelon]

Heres a shot with the original interior. We are replacing the floor with laminate planks. Recovering the laminate with new where needed. Revamping the propane tank and lines for the Coleman furnace so we can use it in cold weather camping.

 

[Echelon]

Inside is close to being ready for camping now.

New floor going in.

Here’s the bed folded out it has another cushion that covers the whole rear.

Cabinets starting to go back in, this one has the propane furnace, sink, holding tank, and closet.

 

[systemdelete]

The bus looks great, can’t wait to get my ‘71 back on the road.

 

[kkriewald]

I love the rig. I'm a little curious, why the engine swap? VW is about the only thing that I would never swap. Lol

 

[Echelon]

I love the rig. I'm a little curious, why the engine swap? VW is about the only thing that I would never swap. Lol

It was like that when we purchased it, it does give it more power going up mountain passes this way however and sounds like a beast when its running.

 

[CurrentlyRockhoundin]

Hey man I'm just over in Spokane and I have a lot of experience in van building if you ever need a hand.

Here are a few that I have built, both a 2016 Promaster and a 2019 Promaster, I did 100% of the work myself.

 

[Echelon]

Hey man I'm just over in Spokane and I have a lot of experience in van building if you ever need a hand.

Here are a few that I have built, both a 2016 Promaster and a 2019 Promaster, I did 100% of the work myself.

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Those look really nice, are you building them for you or as a job? We are hoping to be able to camp in ours this summer if we can get the electrical figured out. Do you have much experience with automotive electrical? I think our interior is pretty decent the way its setup but we have to get the engine and electric in line before anything.

 

[CurrentlyRockhoundin]

Those look really nice, are you building them for you or as a job? We are hoping to be able to camp in ours this summer if we can get the electrical figured out. Do you have much experience with automotive electrical? I think our interior is pretty decent the way its setup but we have to get the engine and electric in line before anything.

Kinda not really, I've built them for people and i have been paid but its not like a full time gig. Yeah I can help you with a 12 volt system. What do you have in mind?

 

[Echelon]

Kinda not really, I've built them for people and i have been paid but its not like a full time gig. Yeah I can help you with a 12 volt system. What do you have in mind?

I’m just having issues with the existing wiring, I have wiring charts but no experience on testing and troubleshooting. The brake lights and signal lights do not work at all and I’m not sure what to do to find the short or malfunction.

 

[CurrentlyRockhoundin]

I’m just having issues with the existing wiring, I have wiring charts but no experience on testing and troubleshooting. The brake lights and signal lights do not work at all and I’m not sure what to do to find the short or malfunction.

Old wiring can be a nightmare, if your able to the best bet is to pull everything out of the van and run new wires. You could find the short, and fix it but you could also just be kicking the can down the road trying to bandaid it.

 

[Bagallthethings]

I had a 69 for a long while, I ended up wiring the entire bus front to back because of almost the same issues. There are a lot of great vw people in the pnw. My good friend currently has a vanagon that's decked out.

 

[Munga Brown]

I had a 69 for a long while, I ended up wiring the entire bus front to back because of almost the same issues. There are a lot of great vw people in the pnw. My good friend currently has a vanagon that's decked out.
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Love the van! But dang, man.... that salt will kill it!

I live on the coast, have never taken my vehicle on a beach, and ended up losing my first truck to salt corrosion (just from the air). The body was ok, but all the under carriage & a lot of under the hood components were corroded to the point I couldn't find anyone that would work on it. I now regularly wash the undercarriage, even if I'm not actually washing the truck.

 

[Bagallthethings]

Love the van! But dang, man.... that salt will kill it!

I live on the coast, have never taken my vehicle on a beach, and ended up losing my first truck to salt corrosion (just from the air). The body was ok, but all the under carriage & a lot of under the hood components were corroded to the point I couldn't find anyone that would work on it. I now regularly wash the undercarriage, even if I'm not actually washing the truck.

Yea, I pressure wash mine a few times every time I get back from the ocean. The van is being used for the parts, he's in the middle of building a new one and will be swapping all his stuff over to the new shell. It's a euro import syncro with all the goodies and a tdi swap from a 2012 I believe. He's planning on doing an around the world trip with it starting here in a few months. Think he's planning on being on the road for a few years.