Running RCCrawler.com we travel across the country and do live coverage of events. We typically have setup under tents, but being in the dust, and heat is not good for our computer equipment.

We decided this year to build a van that we can do coverage from, as well as be a moving billboard for our company.

I figured this would be the best place for this build, I'll be doing a lot of the same stuff that is done to an expedition vehicle, and in a way this is an expedition vehicle. We'll be driving it all over the country to events, and I am sure more than once we'll end up sleeping in it.:flipoff2:

We picked up a 1992 Chevrolet Astro van to start with. I an friends with the guy that owned it before and even though it was a fleet vehicle it was very well taken care of. 164,000 miles. Drivetrain in these things is well proven, 4.3, 700r4.

The first thing I did was take it to my mechanic and have him go over everything. All fluids and filters were changed, along with the sparkplugs and idler arms.

Then it was off to pickup a new set of wheels. These are 16" Helo's. I wanted a little bigger wheel, but still wanted some sidewall for light offroading.

To insure proper branding I called up my graphics guy at FreqESkinz (http://www.freqeskinz.com/) and had him design up a badass wrap.

I gutted the shelves the previous owner had in the back and insulated everything with 1" foam from home depot.

Then I put down the subfloor so we have a smooth floor to lay carpet on. You can also see the layout of the desk that is going to fold up against the wall.

I put in a call to Darick at the visionXstore (http://shop.motorsportsquared.com/main.sc) for a set of lights to put on the roof rack.

I needed something with a super low profile so I can still put this van inside of my storage unit.

Darick recommended the visionX solo solstice lights. Not only are these lights super small they are LED and draw a very minimal amount of power for the amount of light they put out. 10watts for 900 lumens.

I knew these lights were small, but until I got the package I didn't realize just how tiny they actually are.

I had to open one up and plug it in to see what kind of light they put out. These little suckers are every bit as bright as my old 8" 130w halogen pro comp lights I used to run.

I have 2 100ah sealed deep cycle batteries that will be running everything in the back of the van and the external lights so I needed a switch panel to control it. I could have wired up something myself, but being short pressed for time to get this ready for Nationals I went with this prewired switch panel that comes ready to go with breakers installed for every circuit. sea choice 50-12341 8 switch panel is the maker and model number. A nice thing about this panel is all the switches light up when you power the circuit so a quick glance at the end of the night will show let you know everything is off.

I am trying to figure out a way to air condition the van while we are stopped and setup.

RV units are WAY to big for this little van, and they are too tall on the roof as well.

I was thinking about sticking a portable house unit inside and running the vent out through the floor, but are there any other options?

not going to get much smaller than this for a portable unit.

http://www.portableairshop.com/American-Comfort-1%2C000-BTU-Personal-Air-Cooler-ACW100/ACW100,default,pd.html?cgid=Portable_Air_Coolers-Residential_Air_Coolers

Those little solstice lights are rad. I put a 10x light bar on my zuk and it is blinding.

I dont have much input on the AC unit but maybe something light a Fantastic Fan from a rv would help cool things down. The one in my camper works well enough that we didnt run the AC that often this summer.

http://www.fantasticvent.com/

I put in a call to Darick at the visionXstore (http://shop.motorsportsquared.com/main.sc) for a set of lights to put on the roof rack.

Those (http://shop.motorsportsquared.com/product.sc?productId=105&categoryId=-1) look pretty cool! Until I saw the price! :eek:

You really have $1200 tied up in those?

not going to get much smaller than this for a portable unit.

That is awesome, but I am not sure 1000btu would be enough. The math says I need about 5000btu. If I could find something like that, 5000btu and under 24" tall it would be ideal.

I dont have much input on the AC unit but maybe something light a Fantastic Fan from a rv would help cool things down. The one in my camper works well enough that we didnt run the AC that often this summer.

http://www.fantasticvent.com/

Those look great I am just really trying to keep stuff off of the roof, we are building a full length roof rack so we can be up there, and anything like that will get in the way.

Those (http://shop.motorsportsquared.com/product.sc?productId=105&categoryId=-1) look pretty cool! Until I saw the price! :eek:

You really have $1200 tied up in those?

Trust me for the light these put out, and the minimal power they use they are worth every penny.

just look through these or the other tabs at the top, they have tons of stuff:

http://www.portableairshop.com/Cool-Only-Portable-Air-Conditioners/Residential_Portable_Air_Conditioners-Cool_Only_Portable_Air_Conditioners,default,sc.htm l?psortb1=category-pos_Residential_Portable_Air_Conditioners-Cool_Only_Portable_Air_Conditioners

you could get an 8k-10k unit unit and run it on low.

Are you sure you need 5k BTU to cool the back end of an Astro Van? That seems like a lot but I have not done the math on it...

Picked it up on friday from getting the wrap put on.

Then went to work building a full 4x8 roof rack for it.

The finished product for now, once we get back from Nationals I will be putting aluminum panels between all of the lights to finish it off a little better.

just look through these or the other tabs at the top, they have tons of stuff:

http://www.portableairshop.com/Cool-Only-Portable-Air-Conditioners/Residential_Portable_Air_Conditioners-Cool_Only_Portable_Air_Conditioners,default,sc.htm l?psortb1=category-pos_Residential_Portable_Air_Conditioners-Cool_Only_Portable_Air_Conditioners

you could get an 8k-10k unit unit and run it on low.

Are you sure you need 5k BTU to cool the back end of an Astro Van? That seems like a lot but I have not done the math on it...

Depending on which calculator I use they are saying between 3000 and 5000 to keep it cool.

Thanks for the link I just ordered this 8000btu unit. It only draws 840watts so that should leave plenty of power left for everything else I need to run off of my generator, and I have no doubt it'll have plenty of cooling power.

http://www.portableairshop.com/EdgeStar-8000-BTU-Ultra-Compact-Portable-Air-Conditioner-AP8000W/AP8000W,default,pd.html?cgid=Residential_Portable_ Air_Conditioners-Cool_Only_Portable_Air_Conditioners

out of curiosity, how much did the full wrap cost and how long are they supposed to last if not being scratched off on a trail?

Ok, need a picture of those lights at night!

out of curiosity, how much did the full wrap cost and how long are they supposed to last if not being scratched off on a trail?

I had estimates to wrap it from $2100-$3500 oddly enough this time the most reputable company came in the cheapest, so that is who I went with.

They are saying it should last about 5 years.

Ok, need a picture of those lights at night!

I wired them up last night, it is insane how much light these little things put out!

I will try to snap some pics tonight.

Obviously if you insulate the walls of the van you'll stay a lot cooler inside. Any plans to go that route? I know you said you're short on time right now...

A buddy of mine has one of these as a work van. It really is a pretty bullet proof platform. He was loaded down heavy all the time and live on a pretty bad dirt road. He had a bunch of issues with it bottoming out. We cranked the torsion bars a little. But timbren progressive bumpstops on and called bilstein and got some custom valved shocks front and rear. New leaves out back done at the local spring shop. Rides much better.

Obviously if you insulate the walls of the van you'll stay a lot cooler inside. Any plans to go that route? I know you said you're short on time right now...

If you look at post #4 you can see I did insulate the back I did the walls and celing with just some 1" foam from home depot.

A buddy of mine has one of these as a work van. It really is a pretty bullet proof platform. He was loaded down heavy all the time and live on a pretty bad dirt road. He had a bunch of issues with it bottoming out. We cranked the torsion bars a little. But timbren progressive bumpstops on and called bilstein and got some custom valved shocks front and rear. New leaves out back done at the local spring shop. Rides much better.

I don't think I am going to have this loaded way down, but I know it isn't the best riding thing out there right now. I may look into suspension upgrades soon.

Ok, the rack looks great, the lights look Awesome!! So glad we could be a part of your vehicle!!!

It'll never work.

Any night shots with the 'command centre' lit up??