Storage Bags in the Rear Wheel Wells

If you have a 2018-20 Revel, and if you're *not* doing a GLSS from Canyon Adventure Vans, then you have unusually-shaped rear wheel wells in the garage area. I've searched a long time for a better way to use the space in these rear wheel wells, so I was very glad to finally find these Jeep storage bags that fit that space almost perfectly. (Note that there is a driver's side bag and a passenger's side bag, and they differ slightly from each other.)

In order to mount the driver's side bag, I considered using expansion nuts, but found these machine screws to have a very firm hold in the plastic, and simply capped them with large black washers, shown below.

I anchored the lower right corner (red circle) first, then applied 3 more screws & washers along the lower rear seam (blue line). Then I pulled the bag up so that it was vertically taut, and applied 4 more screws & washers along the top (green line). 

At this point, the bag was very firmly attached to the van, and I stopped there. Looking into the bag without the velcro dividers installed, it looked like this:

The bag measurements are these, yielding 1850 cubic inches of storage in a padded, zippered bag.

To my great surprise, I am able to put the entire contents of my emergency supplies and water replenishment totes into this bag, freeing up the space on the garage floor for other gear. Everything in the following photo fits in this bag.

I'm keeping it zippered shut, and will continue using my cargo net over this space for eventualities.

UPDATE: I realized that if I turn one of these bags on end, it provides a good fit in the remaining space in the wheel well. I've loaded it up with shoes & boots, and will give it a try on our next road trip. That awkwardly-shaped space is really starting to get utilized efficiently...

20-Oct-2020

Toolbox & Emergency Supplies

Some people have asked about the tools that I carry on the road with me for road trips. This is the minimal set of tools that will fit into this 12" toolbox. After 3 years of driving this van, I haven't had a problem yet that couldn't be solved with what you see here.

A: Hose clamps for pinching off the Espar line if it ever has trouble starting. Never had any problems with the Espar, but some have, so this is just in case...

B: Tool for manually raising & lowering the electric bed.

C: Offset screwdriver, so handy for the van's tight spaces.

In addition to that toolbox, I keep a set of emergency/backup supplies & hardware stuff. Items that you may not be able to identify from the picture are:

D: Folding metal shovel

E: 12 volt air compressor

F: Spare parts for the Espar heater

G: Water Bandit for pesky spigots

H: Water funnel for gravity fill when no hose is available

I: OBD II reader for Sprinter error codes (and resetting them)

J: Lug wrench for Method wheels

19-Oct-2020

Rear Door Storage

I'm trying to optimize storage in the van, and decided to use the rear doors for storing several flat, bulky items that are always with us on the road. 

The first, a small folding table, was hung on the rear passenger door using Mini Quick Fist clamps and a bungee cord. Each clamp is capable of holding 25 lbs, so I could have gotten away with just a single clamp, but I used two for lateral stability (swinging). Placement was a little tricky because I needed to maintain access to the interior handle, resulting in unfortunate clamp mounting points on the door panels. (I tested the screws in the plastic, and feel comfortable that expansion nuts (well nuts) don't seem necessary here.)

I used black 2-hole D-rings for the bungee cord mounting points.

I also mounted an outdoor privacy tent on the rear driver's side door. This was the simplest possible design that I could think of which did not include hanging. Once again, I used the black D-rings for the bungee mounting points, along with these perfectly-sized bungee cords.

19-Oct-2020

Sticky Grey Water Valve

The grey water valve was getting difficult to open & close, so I found an interesting 10-minute fix for this. 

I drilled a small hole in the valve body, just off-center.

I got a can of white lithium grease with a small nozzle injector and filled the cavity with a fair amount of grease.

Then I worked the valve back & forth a bit until it was sliding well, and inserted an appropriately-sized screw. Works great.

4-Oct-2020

Soft Storage Bags

We needed a bit more soft storage in the van for things like extra blankets, laundry, etc, so we got a couple of these bags (Fabric Stuff Bags 24 x 10 Deep) from RB Components. I thought about using expansion nuts to hang them, but the screws that RB shipped turned out to be just fine in the plastic walls of the Revel. They mostly clear the bed, but do get compressed/squeezed when the bed is raised all the way. The bags seems well-made and durable, with solid grommets at all the connection points.

17-October-2020

Sliding Door Noise Suppression

Our van's sliding door was making a lot of creaking and groaning noises when the body would experience torsion, like turning on a hill, going over a curb, etc.  I tried a lot of different lubrication ideas for all the door's contact points, and the combination of the following has knocked down the noise about 90%.

I used white lithium grease for most of the contact points, sprayed into a rag and wiped on with q-tips.

These mechanisms are sometimes referred to as 'pin cups'. I used white lithium grease on both the male and female parts.

Many people on the internet say that greasing this peg is very helpful for noise suppression. I did it, and it helped.

I used silicone spray on the surface of this rubber bumper.

And more lithium grease here.

16-October-2020

Disassembling the Bench & Shower

I thought these were some fascinating photos, included here for reference.

17-October-2020

OBD Scanner & Resetting Fault Codes

I think that it's indispensable to have an OBD scanner in your van at all times. You may be on a long trip when the Check Engine Light (CEL) comes on, and you don't know how severe the issue is. It could be something major, in which case you shut off the van, get a tow truck, and your trip is over, or it could be something minor, in which case you can disregard the fault and continue on your merry way. 

There are many scanners out there, and several people are happy with their BlueDriver OBD scanner. I selected the iCarsoft MBII Scanner because it appeared to be the most full-featured for the Sprinter and it also allows the user to reset fault codes, which can save you an expensive trip to the dealer to turn the CEL off. I've used it a few times with good results.

If you get a fault and the CEL come on, it can be a little tricky to wind your way through the byzantine menus. Here is a visual guide to the path, compliments of Rajeev in the Facebook group.

At this point, you can choose to have the device perform an automatic diagnostic scan, or you can manually direct the device to subsystems. In this case, Rajeev was demonstrating how to turn off the SRS fault code.

13-October-2020

Light Replacement with USB Ports

We don't need both of the puck lights in the bed area (we rarely use them at all), but we do need to charge our devices there with USB ports. I decided to remove one of the puck lights and replace it with a dual USB port. It was a trivial replacement - - just snip two wires, attach two new female spade connectors, and it's done.

12-October-2020