DOES SIZE MATTER? Which80/20 Aluminum best for VanLife?// VAN BUILD
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- čas přidán 5. 09. 2024
- #vanbuild #fordtransit #vanbuild
In this video, Jeff discusses using 80/20 aluminum extrusion framing to build a lighter weight and stronger camper van. If you have questions about our van or van life, leave us a comment below. Thanks for watching!
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We're most of the way done building a DIY camper van on a 2018 Ford Transit 148WB high roof body.
== A B O U T U S ==
Hi! We're Jeff & Patti, a husband and wife travel duo currently building & traveling in our DIY Transit Camper Van. We're ready to travel mostly full time now that we're officially retired. We've always dreamed of traveling full time, and on March 1st of 2020, we took the leap and started that life! By March 17th we made a harrowing escape out of lockdown in Peru (see our video recounting this experience), and the one-way ticket dream came to a screeching halt. But we'll restart the adventure as soon as we're allowed. Today we're balancing van building work, Elliptigo riding, hiking, and fun everywhere we can while still complying with our local shelter in place rules. From hiking and cycling to photo taking and video making, we're trying to see and experience as much of this world as we can! We're ready to move into our DIY Transit van 1/3 of the year, and our travels will take us all around the world another 1/3 of the year living the Airbnb lifestyle, and we will maintain a physical residence in a loft over a garage behind our 1876 storefront commercial property - at least for a while. You could say we already live in a van down by the river, literally.
We also set an intention to ride our Elliptigo bikes in all 50 states in pursuit of a 100-mile ride in each. So far we have completed nine states.
Be sure to hit subscribe here on CZcams and follow along on Instagram for more daily fun! Oh, and be sure to say hi while you're here. :)
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finally a video confirming to me that a 10 series will be just fine for my use but also that the cheap 20 series angle gussets will work with the 10 series
Excellent video. I have long thought that people who are using one and a half inch for everything is way overkill. “Look, watch me do a pull up on my overhead cabinets!” Well, you don’t do that at home in your kitchen, so why would you ever do it in your van? Great information to use the appropriate strength material for the task needed.
Thank you very much for your comment, JohnGo.
Done. I will go with 2020 for all my cabinets. The 2020 is the only series they sell in bulk on Amazon. I can buy 10 bars of 2020 for less than 3 bars of 1010. Where bending stiffness is needed, just shorten the span or use the double 2040. Fasteners for the 2020 is widely available.
Very cool. Will you do build videos? If so, please send us a link and Jeff would be glad to answer any questions!
Thanks for sharing your research on all the components, you did a great job simplifying to help me understand the differences.
My pleasure! So glad it was helpful to you! Any questions, ask away.
Fantastic, finally a video using smaller alu
More to come! Subscribe if you would please.
Thank you, Jeff You answered many of my questions. I'm just starting to learn about 80/20. I plan to build storage space in a new Ford F350 crew cab by first removing the rear seat and go from there. Thank you again.
Let us know if we can help. Sourcing 80/20 can sometimes be tricky to either locate and or find decent pricing. Might do another video on that topic.
@@PattiStirk You are so correct about sourcing. I reside in a rural area where most business have never heard of 80/20.
@@doncrawford8872 Sounds like opportunity invest in a small stack and sell it at local prices 💰⤴️.
Someone recently told us it's best to order from 80/20 directly.
This was very helpful. We had decided on 80/20 for our build but we we're struggling over sizing. It's difficult to find that info anywhere so this was great. Thank you!
Thank you for your comment. Be glad to answer any specific questions if we can.
Thanks for that! Been looking for some practical advice on sizing and you have answered all my questions. Cheers!
Thanks for watching and a huge thanks for commenting, it really helps us out as makers.
Thank you. Just learning about the 80/20... for an custom Overlander Truck camper. Love the flexablity to change out as you go or grow. Win win..Great explanation of each application along with the connectors. The little stuff is what folks never consider in a build. It all adds up either weight or $$$. You covered both very well plus cross over in sizes too.
⛺=🙂 Mark (& Teresa)
Thank you so much for your comment, Mark. Glad you found it useful. Any question, ask away. We all learn that way.
(Jeff &) Patti
@@JeffPattiAkaElliptiVANgo I sure will! Thank you. One last question would be why 80/20 over Makerbeam or other brands?
Sharing is so important. Life is to short and we are all here to help one another. I'm a certified professional waller ie I play with stones.. I'm only 1 of 13 at my advanced level 3 in the US. My YT channel Rockin Walls is just that. Helping others. Mark (& Teresa)
@@OutOfOfficeCamping Yea we’ve used Makerbeam, it’s good quality & reasonably priced. We used some of their 3/4”. Better prices because there is competition in the 3/4” space? Sorry we lumped them all together in this case. Good catch!
Jeff (& Patti)
@@JeffPattiAkaElliptiVANgo Thank you again. It's all Greek but I'm a quick study thanks to the internet and CZcams...😆 Mark (&Teresa)
GREAT video! Thanks for your information. VERY helpful!
Glad it was helpful! If you have any more questions, fire away!
FUNtabulous ... and THANK YOU for sharing your 80/20 knowledge. I'm just starting and want to use 80/20 as well. Much appreciated.
You are so welcome! How is your build going?
Thankyou. You made it less complicated. :)
Thank you for your comment. That really helps us in CZcams ranking too.
Great video on explaining 80/20
Really informative video. Think you just saved us a good amount of money for our van build. Appreciate the time you spent on sharing this information.
Glad it was helpful! Thank you so much for watching!
Wow what a great resource!! Definitely bookmarking this for when we go to use this stuff!
Thanks, Kookz! Time for us to binge on your content again. Your videos are always so much fun. Did you ever sort out an Internet solution you love?
Thanks for vid, Jeff and Patti!
Would you be willing to do a vid on how you attached drawer slides and other hardware?
Absolutely, great idea!
I originally planned to use Wood because of the price difference. That’s changed drastically in the last 18 months. Where can I find information on relative strengths of the different sizes? Specifically how much will a 48” span support?
Best video I have found including on the factory site. That should hire you.
Hal- The 8020 web site does provide technical specs regarding deflection at various lengths and loads, but its pretty complicated since there are so many variables. For example, a 48" span could hold considerably less if you don't want any deflection. Also, if the load is uniform over the whole span or a point load in the center there will be a difference. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful! PS-Thanks for the kind words!
I've been wondering about this--thanks for this great topic.
Thank you so much for your feedback, A.W. Jeff is glad to answer questions if you have any.
A 2024 top-tip is to simply run your builds with yur own design, weights and lengths through ChatGPT.
Have been doing this for my own design work after having had aluminum furniture for over 20years think most 80/20 builds engineered not just for military needs but literally, the end of the world. And that is a lot of weight be to be carrying around before armageddon.
Instead, put your design into Chat and get it to clculate all the higher engineering stresses and strains for different reinforcements and thicknesses. Takes about 45mins a unitbed whatever to really push it hard for all the answers. Howeve, once done you can be safe in the knoweldge that the design is efficiently spec'd, of minimum weight and thus cost. Sweet. Thanks OpenAI as this can cost zilch.
I know the feeling, I built my roof rack with 2020 aluminium extrude and I built all of my van from aluminium extrude 3030. It’s really expensive and I have used over 600 brackets, 1200 bolts and 1200 Drop in T nuts. Atleast my build is light, allowing us to have 250L freshwater tank ☺️. Check out our Instagram to see the build progress ☺️
The O Team fantastic and thanks for commenting, O Team! We will definitely check out your Instagram. Please check out our’s as well.
Jeff & Patti A/k/a ElliptiVANgo sure thing, I’ll follow you there also ☺️
Very Cool Jeff & Patti.... feel free to park in front of our house in Fort Collins some day.
Mark Oberschmidt will do! Jeff’s older sister Andrea lives there too!
OB-We plan to spend a good chunk of next summer wandering your fine state! We will look you up!
@@jeffhines979 you better be parking in my driveway little brother!
@@blossomog5499 I don't know, I hear there are bears in your driveway.
@@blossomog5499 I mean Jeff's much younger sister...
Thank you for sharing I’ve been thinking about using 8020 in my 1967 GM TDH-4519 city bus conversion
You totally should. Oh man that sounds sooooo cool, James. How can we see photos of your bus conversion?
Awesome explanations. Thanks for the video. I hope you both enjoy your trips.
Our pleasure, Mariam. Thank you very much for watching and a huge thanks for commenting, it really helps makers like us!
I liked that 5/16 carriage bolts fit the 1550 and the fabricating of aluminum brackets. i didn't know.
Hope it helps, Mario. Cheers!
great explanation ty alot
You are welcome!
thanks a lot Jeff. Most people just got with serie 15. I think it is overkill at leas to upper cabinets.
Thanks Alex, we agree.
Great explanation! Thanks!
You're very welcome! Thanks for watching and commenting.
That was perfect, thank you!
You're very welcome, Elizabeth. Thank you for your feedback so very much!
Glad I saw this as I'm thinking of going entirely 20 series with M6 bolts. Seeing your galley solidified it for me. The design for our Ford transit doesn't really have any large clear spans. There's maybe one or two openings that are 24". The extruded Aluminum is so much stronger than people think. Most of the content I'm seeing have folks using the imperial 10 or 15 series on everything. That just feels like overkill.
Curious, though, if you experience any deflection concerns with the 20 series galley? It doesn't look like you have large clear spans either, but I could potentially see the smaller thickness experiencing more movement during rides?
Sorry for the delay!!! In the galley, I did build a small series 15 pedestal for the fridge to sit on (in hindsite, it was probably overkill), but to your point, there are no spans longer than 24" and I used 1/2" PVC panels which also help distribute any load.
@@jeffhines979 Grateful for the reply! I ended up pulling the trigger a while ago. I'm sure I'll post the progress on CZcams at some point. Hope all is well!
Hey Sean, how is it going? Any videos, pics, or questions?
Hopefully you saw Jeff's response from his personal account, Sean.
@@JeffPattiAkaElliptiVANgo We are getting close to moving into our Van. We will likely publish in the coming months a video of our rig. I'll be sure to tag ya'll when we get to it.
The 2020 series has really allowed us to a build strong interior frame while keeping it lightweight. In addition, because it's so narrow, it allowed us to build close to the exterior wall, preserve a 26" aisle, and increase the density of storage compartments.
All of that came, however, at the cost of an extended build time. Very fiddly trying to clad everything and mount surfacing materials.
More to come!
at time mark 6:04 nice use of round edge 👍
do the corners mitre if you choose two rounded pieces ? 🤷🏻♂️
Oh and just curious if you played with:
1) Tinkertoy Construction Set (The Toy Tinker Company)
2) ERECTOR (a Mysto Manufacturing Company )
Or
3) Just a LEGO kid (The Lego Group - Denmark)
back in the day.
Yes, they mitre just fine, but will leave a pretty sharp point that can catch clothing, etc. 8020 makes a nice rounded corner piece if you want to spend extra money.
Thanks for the great breakdown on the 80/20 product. I built my Transit - was going to use 80/20 but due to availability and the fact that I was traveling a bunch between going home to tweak the build - I went with a traditional wood & plywood construction.
What is the brand and model number of the sink tap & filtered water spigot? Great clean all-in-one system. (my taps are currently separate)
THX
Let us dig that up for you and I"ll have Jeff post the model # and source for the sink and the filter. Thanks for commenting!
@@JeffPattiAkaElliptiVANgo That would certainly be appreciated. THX
Ty
Thank you!
Nice video series. How do you fasten the PVCs onto the wall and ceilings? I like it’s light weight.
We used mainly ship lap for the walls and ceiling. But in the shower area, we just screwed Ut in and then grouted over the holes.
Thanks a lot for the response. I thought you used PVC on the wall and ceiling.
Great video. Could you bolt 2 lengths of the 3/4 in. together, one on top of the other to get your big bed span piece to have the same strength? And in this manner be able to just use the 3/4 size everywhere?
Jeff’s reply: Absolutely, but tricky to bolt two of those together. The connective hardware will start adding up $$, but seems like a great idea!
Also check out unistrut. Lots of brands
And different brackets And attachments.
Is unistrut a website or a physical distributor and if so where? Thanks for the tip!
@@JeffPattiAkaElliptiVANgo it's both. A surprising amount of companies appear to manufacture it. Check out some of their online catalogs at the huge assortment of brackets and fittings.
gold material, thank you
It really is a great material for van builds. Light, no rust, no mold, conforms to some extent to the odd shaped van skeleton. Thanks for your comment.
Great insight on a great product ! Thanks !
Glad it was helpful!
I have seen other DIY van builders use 15 series 80/20 for their entire build and they are so overbuilt its not even funny. The other fact people don't realize is every piece where series 15 is used vs 10 series is an extra half inch of space taken up in a build and when space is at a premium all those extra half inch segments add up to several inches in the end and now stuff is not fitting properly.
We agree 100%.
Only an engineer would drool over this stuff. What a brain, Jeff! This is just astounding to me! Have fun on your wild journey!
Who doesn't love discussing structural elements!?!?
But we need your yoga, friend!
Hi Jeff & Patti
The shipping costs of the 80/20 is astronomical. I have managed to find a local Metal Distributor that sells it & there's Metal Shops all over that carry it & cut it to size. You save a l of Money buying it Locally .
The Standard size for Van Building is the 1515 (1-1/2") It's a lot sturdier & keep it all one size to avoid buying & carrying different sizes of Fittings,
Check out Kevin of OurKaravan for a Detailed Van Build with 80/20.
Jeff & Patti enjoy your Retirement & hoping to meet some day on the Trails.
Cheers from Toronto, Canada.
You are so lucky to have found it locally.
Wow, excellent video. Jeff by any chance do you know the standard weight capacity per length for each size 10/15/20? I'm just not sure if the 20 will be able to support a fridge and an oven separate areas? And for overhead cabinets, if the 20 would be o.k since of weight support?
Hey sorry we missed this question. Can we research and get right back to you? ~P
CV, it all depends on the length of unsupported span you're building. For example, the 20 could support a fridge if it had a support every 12", but if the clear span was the width of the fridge or greater, then you probably need to upsize the aluminum. Also, depending on the thickness of plywood or other sheeting, it can also carry some of the load. Good luck!
I always felt that 15 series was over kill. I've seen builders use 1.5' x 3' (15 series) as their main support beam on upper cabinets. I was planning on using 10 series until watching your video. I'm now looking into 20 series with 1/4' plywood insert into the channels as the bottom panels & partitions. Are the channel gap size different or will 1/4' fit in 20 or 10 series?
Thanks! Our "right sized" extruded aluminum has been working great for over 2 years on the road. The gap is slightly different and may require a bit more effort to get the 1/4" plywood into the series 20. Also, be aware there are different manufacturers of the 20 series and some have a 5mm channel and some have a 6mm channel. A number of fittings (or the 1/4" plywood) won't drop in to the 5mm channel. Good luck!
Hopefully you received Jeff's response from her personal account? If not, he will be glad to reply!
It appears that on the driver side wall you have used some slat-wall. This has been an idea I’ve been kicking around for a while and would like to know more about how you installed it, and how it is working out? I have been concerned about finding large enough bins and securing them so they don’t move or rattle. What can you share? My story in much like yours. We are retired, and ordered a 2020 Transit, Long AWD in December 2019. Then COVID! Finally delivered in July. Now getting materials has been slow, so I am just inching slowly forward.
Rick, we used 1/2" shiplap on the ceiling and the walls. Our overhead bins are 1/2" PVC that was glued and screwed. SO far, it's all held together and hasn't made any noise! I hope you can still get out and travel between material delays!
So… the 8020 10 size is slotted like the 15 for bolts but they don’t make a bolt size for it? How could that be?
You mentioned you use 5/16" carriage bolts with the 15 series, do you know what size of bolts will work with 20 series?
Hi. We couldn’t find a generic bolt for the 20 series. However, the bolts designed for the series 20 are much cheaper because there are more suppliers (on Amazon).
I’m going to have a 24x72 inch counter/sink galley. I weigh 116 and was thinking I’ll prob want to sit on it at times since it’ll take up so much space. Should I go with the 1.5 inch 15 series to be safe?
If you're building a bed module using 8020 would the 1515 series be fine; if the wife weights 345 lbs, and the male half weights 230 lbs? While the other subsystems are in the lightest material such as the 20mm series?
Well, our beds are 75" x 30" and a frame of Series 15 works fine and I think it would for you also. However, if you're both in one bed you might look into an intermediate vertical support and another horizontal member down the middle. The beauty is you can build it without supports, test it out, and if too much deflection, add the supports in!
80/20 saves so much in weight
It really does!
It really does save a lot of weight and $$!
Great starting point gor the use of this great material. Thank you for the time spent. On a separate subject, what heater unit was that in one of your shots at 1:10? Looks like a wolf series combi. If so, what are your thoughts on it? Thinking of going this route in our build🙏
Scott, it's a Truma Combi. It isn't hooked up yet, so I can't give you a full evaluation, but I do like that it takes care of hot water and van heat, only requires one 3.5" hole in the side of the van, and it runs on propane or 110 when hooked up to shore power.
Thanks for getting back to me. Cannot seem to get my hands on a Truma as they only sell to OEM dealers. I did find a unit from General Components in BC that has similar operation and runs on diesel and 110. Just cannot find out any reviews or ratings on it as it's fairly new.
Hope you can find one, and also hope they keep evolving as time passes. Be safe out there!
Where do you buy this stuff?
In the US, you can buy from 8020,Inc. directly, or from Amazon or some other sources.
Did you just drill into the 80/20 to install the slats? I plan on doing the same thing and just want to understand completely what you did there.
No we actually used standard 80/20 connectors which slid into the channels.
Do you have any more videos about how you built your bed? I'm looking at using something similar to 8020 and looking for ideas before I commit.
Also,, I can get 20x20, 30x30 or 40x40.. 30x30 is 1.18 inches, while 40x40 is 1.57 inches, would you use 40x40 everywhere, or is it better to use 20x20 for cabinets etc?
Thanks :D
We used the 20x20 for cabinets, 40x40 for the bed that spanned the entire width, and 30x30 for the bed that folds up.
@@JeffPattiAkaElliptiVANgo Thanks :D I've been sitting here looking at 8020 alternative (not available here) and .. yeah.. I think it's difficult to plan how I wanna do it.
It seems to me that using extruded aluminum is gonna cost me around 3-5 000 USD. A 3 meter (approx 9ft) length of 4040 is gonna cost me minimum 97.80 USD.
2 pcs of 2 meter 4040 for the bed alone will be 140 USD. (rounded up) Then all the fasteners are at least $10 each. (angle brackets etc)
@@JeffPattiAkaElliptiVANgo I sent you a similar message on Instagram earlier, just so you know that's me :)
In building your van with 80/20 extruded aluminum, is it better to go with metric or standard American measurements?
Great question. Strangely, we kind of used both. We used series 15 (US) for the bed. Series 10 (also US) for the other bed. And Series 20 (metric) for the cabinets. That's just how it comes for the different sizes. There's a Series 25 that's very close to Series 10.
Would you say it's OK and strong to use the 3/4inch for a bed structure?
Yes but it would probably need intermediate supports.
I've just discovered this stuff myself. You might check Zorro.com. Looks like pretty good pricing.
Thanks for the source, Gary.
Holy 8020 is CHEAP.. I'm looking at getting 30x30 (mm) here in Norway and it's about $40 per 6.56 feet. (2m)
Wish we could help you out by sending it to you, Andreas.
@@JeffPattiAkaElliptiVANgo Hehe :) If only we could use teleporters :)
I've found another website, but they only have 1 profile in 40x40, 4 slotted.. 92.5" for 56 USD
By the way, do you reckon 20x20 will be good enough for making cabinets etc? It would be about 0.787" by 0.787"
Where do you buy the material?
Tough one. We bought from three different places. 80/20 directly and then sometimes you can find better deals on Amazon. Best to shop around.
There are really just two options --- 8020.net or TNUTZ.com. Some say there are compatibiity issues, so I recommend going with only one MFG; don't mix and match. Find a local distributor for 8020 to save on shipping. If you go with Amazon vs. 8020,net, you save on shipping... I ended up sabing about 40% in shipping going this route. Be sure to minimize purchases to get the best shipping value. Cost of materials doesn't really change with small vs. bulk orders.
Hey, I hope you are well. I have seen all videos. Very well. I appreciate your work. I have sent an email by ifthekar robin, kindly check it out.
and waiting for your reply.
Thanks
Thanks for that! Been looking for some practical advice on sizing and you have answered all my questions. Cheers!
Thanks for your feedback and feel free to ask any questions once you start your build!