Van Dwellers for Christ
This page has many helpful tips for van dwelling life.
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(This video describes the issue and shows some beautiful scenery) In van life it is always good to be able to do things yourself and find ways to get things done. Recently I heard a rattle under our gospel van and thankfully it wasn't to motor or trans but the muffler. Turn out the pipe going into the muffler was broken loose and caused a leak and bad rattle when we idled. On inspection the muffler was still good/solid so I decided to do a fix that I have done before. Hopefully this will edify you if you ever need to do this. ******************************************* 1) Make sure your muffler and pipes are sound as well as the brackets that support them. If they are all good, go on to this post. If not, replace items as needed. 2) Find the break, rattle or leak as I did pictured here (see the crack).  3) Wire brush it clean and always wear safety glasses. (I did not last time and got a painful speck for days, so be smarter than me.)  4) If you can, drive a metal screw into the pipe to hold it more secure. 5) Get a JB weld product called Steel Stik, and kneed it into strips the size you need (oh and wear gloves as its nasty stuff to wash off).  6) Place the JB weld around the broke area and press firmly into place as shown here. See the metal screw that I drove into it for support.  7) Then wait at least 1 hour before you run the engine and you are good to go. It is wise to check it in a day or so and every so often to see how it is staying fixed in place.
Note: yes, eventually I will need a new muffle but; I will get at least another year or more out of this muffler and for $6 of JB weld product, why not do it? I saved about $400 for a muffler repair in a shop and $125 me doing it. You can use that product for all kinds of van life fixes too. Hope that blessed you in van life? Go HERE for many more van dwellers tips. See the biblical gospel to eternal life HERE. We travel as full time van dwellers preaching the biblical gospel all over America and you can see many street preaching videos HERE. May God be praised Tupos with Aman dontperish.com  (from raw materials to finished project) The following are some pictures of a custom top storage box my brother and I made for his use in full time van life. (2006 dodge caravan) It will be used for long term storage of things not in every day use. In 2024 the total cost was about $200 and it was done in about 7 hours; at leisurely pace. It weighs less then 25 lbs and its dimensions are 5 feet by 17 inches wide by 11 inches deep. It is made of all painted aluminum with 2 x 2 wood as a frame. Metal angle brackets were used to add strength on corners. It is fastened to top luggage rails with 4 u bolts. Main tools used were a drill, grinder, saw for wood and metal cutters. Note: You can indeed buy top storage boxes but they are plastic and cost $500-$1100 for decent quality large ones. Enjoy the steps as we made this one enjoying our fellowship together. See the biblical gospel to eternal life HERE. **********************************************       We had to leave one spot due to someone reserved the pavilion so; we moved and kept going no issues. We van dwellers are used to moving a lot.           We had to make a "improvised longer tool" to get at the bolts to mount it but we got in done! It will be a useful item in van life for many years to come.  Done, and he likes it a lot.....
Thank you Father for the energy to do such things and thanks to sister Aman for providing yummy snacks along the way! ************************************** |
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