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

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Echelon

Rank IV

Enthusiast III

101744

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

Rank V
Launch Member

Traveler II

2,902
Oak Harbor, WA, USA
First Name
Gabriel
Last Name
Bozeman
Member #

16950

View attachment 101744

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

Rank IV

Enthusiast III

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.

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

kkriewald

Rank IV
Launch Member

Enthusiast III

1,080
US
First Name
Kurtis
Last Name
Kriewald
Member #

20271

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

Rank IV

Enthusiast III

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

Rank IV
Launch Member

Enthusiast III

1,310
Spokane, WA
First Name
Jared
Last Name
Goguen
Member #

20084

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?
 
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Echelon

Rank IV

Enthusiast III

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

Rank IV
Launch Member

Enthusiast III

1,310
Spokane, WA
First Name
Jared
Last Name
Goguen
Member #

20084

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.
 
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Bagallthethings

Rank III
Launch Member

Enthusiast III

646
Graham, WA, USA
First Name
Tyler
Last Name
Hallberg
Member #

21921

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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Munga Brown

US Northwest Region Member Rep Oregon
Launch Member

Enthusiast III

1,003
Central OR Coast
First Name
Martin
Last Name
S.
Member #

21803

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.
View attachment 139355
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.
 
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Bagallthethings

Rank III
Launch Member

Enthusiast III

646
Graham, WA, USA
First Name
Tyler
Last Name
Hallberg
Member #

21921

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.
 
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