Hermione's Makeover

[deli1733]

You should think about putting some soundproofing under your MDF floor.

[nxski]

I thought about it but it's really no noisier (possibly less) than before. As ease of cleaning was more of a concern I wouldn't even mind if it was a bit noisier. Like I said, the rubber provides a good amount of soundproofing. Also, unless you put sound dampener under the entire floor (not just in the grooves) there will be no difference in sound level or in insulation and the sliding chairs would no longer work because the floor would be higher. My buildings and acoustics courses have taught me that even if there is a slight bridge between the outside and inside there really won't be much of a difference in sound or temperature. I was sceptical of this at first but the rules seem to be holding true with my van.

[davidwwc]

Hi Nick,

Nice job to your L300 ! You have put in lots of goodies that will serve you quite a good time down the road. Just little bit worry about the hanging bicycle. Seems to me from the picture the rack is only secured by an angled metal piece and locked by a clip pin. The tow hatch for sure is very strong. While you are travelling as well as off roading , will that metal bracket holds well ?


Cheers,
DC

[nxski]

The bike rack is one of the best you can buy. It might look flimsy in the picture but it is far from it. The weakest point in the rack is able to handle around 750lbs. The triangular piece is what allows the rack to rotate backwards so you can open the hatch without having to remove the rack or even the bikes.

http://northshoreracks.com/

[nxski]

A simple modification for the side steps and...presto, radiator guards!

[nxski]

Also, back to the comment about the bike rack...I found these pictures of the rack in 4X4 mode

[nxski]

Here are some pictures of my latest unintentional mod. I was given a set of Yakima racks for a 2004 Ford Taurus Freestyle (that's what I'm told) but one of the sides was missing the rubber 'paint protector' so i didn't feel good about selling them. It turns out they fit very well on my Aira Works rack and provide a nice divider for my Jerry cans.

[Artacoma]

I guess that just about completes your roof accessory collection , maybe a folding tent up there yet?

[nxski]

That's pretty much it I'm contemplating putting a second spare tire up there.

[thedjjack]

two tires up top + two carge boxes too much weight way to high.... Hermione will not look good on his (his?) side...inished

yes I know my roof is high, but it only weighs 100lbs total....

[nxski]

I should have explained better. There is one spare under the vehicle that is smaller than the wheels I have on it now. The second would go up top for road driving only. For off-roading I remove everything from the top and put it in the tailgate so the weight on the roof is like yours, just over 100lbs.

I'm planning ahead for my roadtrip through north America and I don't want too much clutter in the vehicle, nor do I want it to be very long. It can't be worse than a Mercedes sprinter with ladders on the top

[thedjjack]

I think it is too much weight on the road to have a tire up there.

My van came with the tire on the roof and it pushed the rain gutters down! Sprinters are much wider and not lifted like a 4x4. I would put it on the bull bar like RichD or the back like me (back is better for LazyGreenFox point about braking and load)...

For road driving one spar is enough (lots of new cars do not even have spares )

Off road a few tires is nice. My record is 6 flats in 24hours! Do not ask it happened at work and I flatted 10 ply tires so it was not the tire!

[nxski]

Bending the gutters would be my biggest concern. The problem with having the tire on the back or front is that it lengthens the van. Having it inside is fine for offroading but sucks for everything else. As I will be doing some offroading on my trip in tempted to take 2 spares but I'll forget that if it causes too many headaches.

[thedjjack]

Adds maybe 8 inches to the van.....For a road trip no difference....Taking two spars is a lot of weight in a already heavy little van. Not worth the effort unless you are really going remote.

Money better spent on 8-10 ply load rated truck tires (usually need atleast 16" rims to find "real" tires)....

Cheers
David

[nxski]

My tires are 10 ply light truck tires. I probably will just forget about the spare. 8" means a lot to me since I do a lot of 'urban camping' which involves tight parallel parking. I'm so anal about it I'm removing my propeller when I have to sleep the night in the city.