[Nicholas Wray]

Hi!

Just getting ready to dive into building out Poncho! This is my second van, the first one was a 2007 Sprinter 144". Pics of that one can be found HERE in my intro!

Poncho is named after my dog who recently passed away, he went on lots of adventures and road trips w/me so I thought Poncho would be an appropriate tribute I'm not 100% sure where I'm going w/this one but no rush. Poncho is a 2017 159" high roof.

I'll primarily use this for hauling my photo gear around and going on climbing trips!

upcoming projects:

Sound deadening (used Rattle trap last time, considering same plus the 50mil fat mat on the floor) considering +/- between nioco vs. fat mat/rattletrap
Insulation - used recycled denim & reflectix last time, probably do the same - it worked well.
walls - not sure yet.
Flooring - nothing fancy, it will see a lot of traffic w/dirty climber shoes rocks etc.
Fan - did fantastic fan last time but considering the maxfan this time so I can keep it open during rain.
Slider window - vented for air flow w/the fan.
Solar & Batteries - the last one had 200w of PV and 96ah of batt. considering doing 300w & ~200ah on this one.
Bed Platform and Cabinets - full size bed perpendicular orientation (i'm 5'9"), some locking storage for the the valuables, and lots of functional drawer space for clothes/food/climbing gear.
Refrigerator - had a norcold 2cf 12v fridge last time, probably stick w/norcold and get the next size up.
Stove & Water - Hoping to have an attached stove in this one and some onboard water/gray water/sink system.

pipe dream - would love to build the bed so i can roll a motorcycle in the back but i don't know if it would actually be worth the energy to try to figure out. the bike is a bmw GS so it'll take up a lot of space. keeping this idea on the table/back burner for now. I like being able to drive till I can't function, park, sleep & i feel like having the moto will make that difficult.

 

[MsNomer]

Looks like your needs are similar to ours as hikers. Check out my build, though the photos are gone til I find an alternative to photobucket. How high would your bed need to be?

 

[RDinNHandAZ]

All good except for the denim. There are much better choices- study a few builds here and think about Polyisocyanurate board or Thinsulate fabric or better yet, both in different places. Denim sops up condensate and you will never know it until the mold starts to grow and the rust starts to form. DAMHIK
My thread still has pictures and I did the Polyiso. and great stuff.
F650GS or 1200GS or their variations? I’m on a F650GS now as the R1100R is sold.
If you travel solo or can do bunks put them longitudinally along one side and bike chock & tie downs on the other. Squeeze by the bike to get into bed, and you can load a bike back in first.

 

[Nicholas Wray]

@MsNomer I did try to check yours out but as you mentioned no pics :/ I'll check back to see if you get it fixed!

@RDinNHandAZ The denim worked great in my sprinter, I used it in the upper walls and enclosed it in a vapor barrier - it insulated great and I wasn't too worried about it getting wet because of how i had it enclosed. I could be swayed away from it but R13 denim is going to be hard to beat with foam but if someone can convince me I'm game. I just know that it worked so well and if done properly condensation isn't an issue.

I have an r1100gs right now but i'm selling it and will replace w/a r1200gs

I do some solo travel but i prefer to travel w/a friend or significant other. snuggling is important in the latter ;P

Anybody got any input on Noico vs. FatMat/Rattletrap? or does anyone have a scrap of noico you can mail me?

 

[Nicholas Wray]

My thread still has pictures and I did the Polyiso. and great stuff.

found your thread, I have been leaning towards rigid because even though i did use a vapor barrier in the last one, i am still worried about it getting wet and growing mold. leaning more and more towards rigid foam, thanks.

 

[Nicholas Wray]

I decided to give the Noico a shot, I have a little rattle trap left over from the sprinter and ordered a mix of 50mil and 80mil.

 

[medicineman4040]

Poncho will be an exciting and interesting build!
Very much looking forward to progress I hope you'll keep us apprised with.

I understand your love of your BMW. I recently sold a Kawasaki KLR 650 and KLX 250. We
actually ride our bicycles more than we did the dual sports.

So do you want the Bimmer along for performance or function/mobility? Because when
we cant cycle anymore this is our future-
https://www.radpowerbikes.com/products/radrover-electric-fat-bike?variant=1121017969

I could easily get two of these on a swing away carrier on the back of the PM.

On your build, you have a HUGE advantage having done this before with a Sprinter! Coming into
this with even a smidgen of foreknowledge is wonderful.

 

[Nicholas Wray]

@medicineman4040 Just want to have it around for mobility/fun it might be more realistic to just make room for bicycles

Agreed, It's painful to spend time researching things for endless hours at this point, trying to resist falling down that rabbit hole for too long and just make decisions based on what worked well and what can I improve on w/cost, weight, time in mind.

 

[bigmobrown]

I installed 36 sf of Noico 80 mil in my 159 last weekend and it really did a good job of reducing the drum effect when driving.

 

[Nicholas Wray]

Upper Insulation complete

Upper Insulation complete