Van Dwellers for Christ
This page has many helpful tips for van dwelling life.
 In this video... I quickly cover how to replace your blower motor in a Ford van. I did it in 1.5 hours for $25 vs hundreds in a auto repair shop for several hundred. Check it out and see the gospel to eternal life on our website. And down the gospel road we go!  I was organizing and decided it was time to lay out the items/tools I use weekly and in emergencies, to edify others in van life. The following video highlights them and while it is not an all inclusive list, it is a good start on tools for van life to be prepared always. Enjoy the video (notice how I got to preach to some youth as I was making it).  Before My brother and I made him a small hand wash station for the back of his van on his generator box. The following is a quick run down of the parts and design.  We used 4 inch PVC pipes and added needed items to make a water tank for van life.  We had a beautiful spot by a river to do the job.  We glued the items together.  We cut a 1 3/4 inch hole in the end cap for the spigot.  We had to paint it as they didn't have pipe in white.  The usual hand tools were needed; a hack saw, drill and wrenches (the coffee was a nice perk) And the result turned out well.....  It holds over 2 gallons of fresh water and to be able to wash your hands / face easily is a blessing in van life for sure! Here's a video of a larger hand wash station with 6" pipe that I made for our van. Same concept and it works awesome.  Always being prepared is very wise in van life to cover any aspect that arises to help yourself or a neighbor. I was blessed to find a brand new small first aid kit in a thrift store for $4 (they run like $20) and it reminded me that I really needed to add that to our van life tip page.  I did a quick video below showing the basic contents and I encourage you to be ready with one of your own. Enjoy and be prepared always! We updated brother Akouos generator box so he has more storage. It started with raw material and slowly took shape over a few hours. It's made of 2 x 2 frame and aluminum sheeting so it is very strong but light weight. It is removable if need be and will be a nice addition to his 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. God be praised! (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! ************************************** If you have a generator that has a CO2 sensor that cuts off the engine way too often; I found a easy fix. Just locate the sensor which is a little black part that has several wires and holes so it senses the CO2. Then cover it up with two layers of duct tape and use some ty wraps to hold it on tight. Works great and it's simple .... van on! God be praised! See this video that highlights my stainless steel portable wood stove. It's a great addition to van life.  I replaced the front shocks on my 2012 E350 shuttle bus van. The top bolts were very hard to get to and rusted on. I tried various wrenches but nothing worked. Some mechanic shops would often cut them off with a torch but I wanted to install them my self to save money. If you ever want to do yours here is how I found works great! * Get a small reciprocal saw with metal blades that has a 1 inch or under stroke as it is tight in there. Then you just cut the shocks out and it's super easy. See the video and hope this helps you all .... God be praised |
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