B-van sewing project reference list

[InterBlog]

#vansizedsewing (a hashtag I defined based on James Adinaro’s turn of phrase)

I’m going to use this thread to consolidate information on sewing projects and sewing vendor options for Airstream Class Bs (with some overlap of trailer-related projects that are applicable in the B context).

Right now, that type of information is distributed among about a dozen different threads on this forum. It’s also a popular topic on DIY van forums where people tackle their own projects, and where people without the desire to learn how to sew will request vendor information from the community. There are a couple of Sprinter-specific seamstresses and seamsters out there right now who are doing wonderful work and developing small businesses to serve the #vanlife community.

Here’s my first listicle of threads, threadposts, and blog posts on this topic:

(1) "Screenroom or screening", a thread that includes both commercial vendors and DIY examples of exterior bug screen options. There's a link therein to my blog post describing how I sewed an awning surround out of no-see-um netting.

(2) Magnetic rear door screen threadpost on the thread "Couch or bed while traveling"

(3) Jumping-off threadpost for Insul-bright window insulating shades on the "Declaring war on Interstate heat gain" thread.

(4) Blog post describing a cab gear loft sewn out of ripstop nylon and which snaps into the T1N Interstate's OEM privacy curtain bases. I can't imagine living without this.

(5) Blog post on a roof carrier I sewed out of tarp to hold our inflatable kayak.

(6) OPTIMIZING THE CLOSET DOOR OF AN AIRSTREAM INTERSTATE - a blog post about re-sewing a large IKEA shoe holder to serve as a closet door organizer.

(7) FitRV's laundry management system DIY sewing project (by James Adinaro, seamster-of-necessity)

(8) FitRV's DIY front privacy curtain post - very nice design!! James took sewing classes just so that he could learn how to make this.

(9) Recent Sprinter Forum thread about insulated window coverings.

(10) Class B Forum thread on DIY window screens

(11) A blog post I wrote way back in 2014 about sewing storage tubes for sleeping bags.

There's the first eleven - I know there are many more that are worth bookmarking, so feel free to add them here. Thanks.

[Boxster1971]

INTERBLOG - great thread. Love the OCSD graphic! had to share it with my dear wife who is in her sewing room now making another quilt. She has made several items for our Interstate van. She made a couple of panels to cover the rear windows. I got tied of repairing the worthless blinds that came with the van so I just insulated to windows and covered them with the panels she made.

[InterBlog]

For those of you who have been debating whether to tackle pre-summer sewing projects, note that Joann is having its Valentine's sale right now. If you download their app, you can save a bundle of money over full retail if your project demands a lot of materials. They are currently advertising 40% off outdoor fabrics, for instance.

Of course, you have to deal with the aggravation of going to a Joann store on sale days (it's pandemonium at times). I've run out of a van essential - ripstop nylon - so a trip is in my future. For the quantity I'm going to purchase next, incremental savings are not worth waiting for special sales and dealing with the crowds.

Of course, if your goal includes socialization, there's hardly a better location. Everyone in a sewing store is instantly everybody else's best friend. A shared interest like that is the ultimate ice-breaker.

[Pahaska]

For those with twin bed models.

I buy queen size flat sheets, blankets, and spreads, cut then down the center, and bind the cut edges. The results fit the 27" wide twin beds perfectly. Way cheaper than any RV bedding.

[InterBlog]

Some pictures grouped all in one post.

(1) Collage including 6 different sewing projects (sleeping bag tube, hose bags, shower curtain keeper, kayak roof carrier, Yeti and gasoline can mud covers, and solar side shroud:



(2) Second half of that collage (I had previously entered a contest with these two DIY collections) showing no-see-um screens and side sun visor:



(3) Shoe organizer re-sewn for the closet door (actual shoe organizers are rarely 3 shoes across):



(4) The other portion cut from the IKEA shoe organizer:



(5) ThisVanLife's products from Instagram:



(6) Rip-stop nylon clothes packing bags to fit specific spaces:



(7) Slider thermal cover with Insul-bright core:



(8) Gear loft of rip-stop nylon:



(9) Fire starting kit, size-minimized:



(10) Tarp envelope for UCO grill. UCO now sells its grills with one of these included:



(11) FitRV's privacy curtain:



Most of those projects above were mine, obviously. As I discover other vanners who have done neat sewing projects, I'm going to add them to this thread.

[Mansderm161]

Thanks so much!

[Mansderm161]

Love that! How are they attached? Looks like snaps

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by Mansderm161

Love that! How are they attached? Looks like snaps

Which piece?

I'm in the process of designing a privacy curtain analogous to FitRV's. We currently have the Heatshield cab and windshield covers. They are excellent quality, but there are times when I wish I did not have to mess with 3 different pieces which take time to put in place.

When we put the 3M CR-70 on the cab windows last year, it never occurred to me that it might impinge on the use of the windows for other things (see Alex's "Front clip protection and window tint" thread for full discussion of 3M CR). That tint tends to reject anything that touches it. I cannot affix my iPhone suction cup holder to the cab window any longer. I also cannot affix the Heatshield suction cups without a fight. This is especially true in colder weather when the suction cup plastic gets stiff.

Anyway, that's one of the reasons why I started this thread. I'd like to have a curtain that I can throw into place in 10 seconds. Save the Heatshields for when I really need them.

[Alex AVI]

INTEBLOG - Very nice stuff. Excellent projects for sure. The thing I hate about sewing is I am not good at it I used to be decent (never got to good-level) and then I introduced my wife to it. So she now has control of the laundry room/sewing room. So I can't even put practice time in anymore. She has progressed to between very good and excellent, but not Pro level. The projects you listed are all stuff within her capability. Problem is her priorities lies in other sewing projects - like clothing for our grandkids, specialized medical work clothing for her co-workers, bedding for our stick house, but never for the AI. I still waiting for her to start on my request for bath valance that I wanted to line up the top of the wet bath. Sewing is not hard to get started, but takes lots of practice to perfect the skill. Right now, me sewing-it-up would be tantamount to sCRewing-it-up

[gghayes]

I agree with the worthless window covers that come with the van. Can you tell me how you hooked up the panels your wife made?
Thanks Gloria

[Mansderm161]

As a seamstress, but nothing yet for the AI, I think the hard part is deciding first how it will be mounted or installed and then finding appropriate fabrics and notions. I bought my AI new and there is a lot I would like to change; I'm just not ready to drill the first hole! Like, I love the sheet metal installed so you can use magnets....I do not have one magnetic area in mine and I looked everywhere...its leather walls, but I hate to pull that leather off or install over it.....just yet. I travel with a cat, so once he makes his first scratch...I'll probably jump in and begin the madness![emoji6] I love all the ideas...this has to be one of the largest creative groups on the planet...IMHO.

[InterBlog]

How many of you have been married for long enough to know what your spouse is thinking long before (s)he has opened his/her mouth?



I knew in advance that my husband would not like this one. Why? Because it lacks all elegance and sophistication. I'll give you that (and him). It looks messy because it cannot drape evenly - it has to go behind the swiveled passenger chair. And it has to be short enough for the dog to get underneath to access her bed in front of the swivel.

But I'm not sure that I want to over-think this mini-project and do more than what I've done here. I want to have a privacy curtain available to me for use if needed, for 10-second deployment if I have a sudden uncontrollable urge to take a nap. It cannot interfere with the gear loft or the cab headroom. So I put this one on quarter-inch shock cord (not eighth; both are sold by the foot at REI), held in place by two of the mini-bungee hooks that I mentioned on another thread (the cab trim pieces are stout enough to sustain the weight / pull of this - ripstop weighs almost nothing). When the curtain is pushed behind the driver's seat for storage, the shock cord can be placed behind the loft's Velcro front supports to get it out of the way and provide a "rail" for improved loft item retention. The cord and the curtain can be completely removed if desired.

Older Interstate owners - there is a reason in addition to privacy why you might want to consider having such a device handy: the T1N Sprinter is notorious for losing refrigerant from the cab a/c. If you are traveling in summer and your a/c starts to die on you, you'll want to have a curtain to pull across or put in place, so that you can contain what little cold air you are receiving in the immediate cab area. ASK me how I know this.



It has to have a lot of excess fabric and play if it is to fit behind the swiveled seat and block the passenger side line of sight. My finished size ended up being about 90 inches across. Joann ripstop is a 60-inch nominal fabric. I have a generous 3-inch pocket on the top (plus turn-under) so that the shock cord can move freely. And a 5-inch hem (plus turn-under) on the bottom, so it's about 48 inches deep in finished size.

Behold, privacy curtain version 1.0. Let the road testing begin.

[Lily&Me]

This modification had been done when I got this rig last summer, a screen for the cargo door, attached at the top and with Velcro to hold it in place along the sides.

[Mansderm161]

I think it looks pretty good, definitely functional and I can see where the dog can go under. Well done!

[Lily&Me]

It Velcro’s down on both sides to about the last 18” above the step, so she could get out if she really wanted to, but I am teaching her this is a door she does not go thru unless I tell her she can.

Don’t need her letting herself out, off leash, with me unaware.

This would not deter very determined insects, but I have used it, it is reasonably attractive and does quite well.

An easy, do it yourself project for one who sews.

Maggie

[InterBlog]

"Are we there yet?"

"Yeah, we're there. That fish told me."

My husband pulled some electronic guts out of the Sprinter portion of the rig yesterday, on account of lingering codes that are being thrown following our glow plug problem. He thought he had that fixed, but I've loooonng since learned The Drill: Take it for a thorough test drive after every alteration. Don't wait for a trip for the inevitable unforeseen complexity to crop up. Because there WILL be one.

So it was down to Galveston this morning for the drive and to log the next code. Of course there was another code.

Tips on Galveston:

(1) Go early when there's nobody there.

(2) A few light showers never killed any of the power walkers, but they sure kill the crowds.

(3) While the other early birds are out searching for the latest crop of shiny shells that were thrown up by the most recent high tide, it is worth keeping your eyes open for dark objects. 99%++ of the time, it'll just be oysters or miscellaneous junk. But Galveston is dredge-nourished and there's a surprising quantity of Pleistocene-ish material in the area. I'd put a wager on this vertebra being about 10,000 years old. Even if you don't find fossils, there's some interesting anthracite coal left over from the steamship era, and well-solidified tar balls from Ixtoc or Deepwater Horizon turn up from time to time. Souvenirs of the industrial world that lies just beyond the sea fog.

Anyway, there's the new privacy curtain in daylight - it looks impenetrably black when viewed from the outside, which I like. We had a good morning walk to go with our new Sprinter code. More on that later on another thread.

[InterBlog]

PSA peripherally related to this thread:

Consider appropriate genetic testing to identify strengths and limitations in your children and grandchildren (and maybe yourself). Something important could be missed if this is not done.

I was nerdy, bookish, and quiet as a child. I never discovered that I had athletic capacity that exceeds the population average until I was in my late 30's. My first reaction was to feel a great deal of disappointment, and my first thought was "I wish someone had let me know" because I would have enjoyed applying it to some competitive pursuit while I was still young enough to do that.

In my mid-50's, I'm considering "senior games" competition. I can meet Texas qualifying times in the swimming pool (but I'd need training to sustain those times long enough to win!).

I bring it up because they've recently developed a genetic test for this kind of thing. It's important and it's useful. If there had been a genetic test 40 years ago, I would have lived a different life.

This also serves as a useful response for when people on this forum make comments about me (and sometimes to me) such as, "OMG, what is up with that chick?!?!?! She never stops doing van projects!! Sewing projects and electrical projects and metal projects and wood projects and storage projects and more projects! It's just one project after another after another after another! Is she NUTS?!"



I cannot sit still. I HAVE to be moving and doing stuff. I'm a mutant. See? It's true:

[Alex AVI]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

It's just one project after another after another after another! Is she NUTS?!"

INTERBLOG -
The Project Life Cycle (big & small, for the young & old):
Step1. Planning a project keeps the mind exercised.
Step2. Executing a project keeps the body exercised.
Step3. Completing a project rewards & recuperates the mind & body.
Step4. Go back to Step1. If unable to perform Step4, skip to Step5.
Step5. Make sure the Will & Final Arrangements are in place.

Projects, like exercise, will keep you young longer (not forever). Those who say you are nuts, they probably will fast forward to Step5

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by Alex AVI

....
Step5. Make sure the Will & Final Arrangements are in place.

Projects, like exercise, will keep you young longer (not forever). ...

Like this prolific blogger did? He kept working on his camper truck project until the very last second of his life, apparently.

https://blog.vagabonders-supreme.net/

[Alex AVI]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

Like this prolific blogger did? He kept working on his camper truck project until the very last second of his life, apparently.

https://blog.vagabonders-supreme.net/

INTERBLOG - So sad reading those last few posts. But yet, that's the best way to go, working on your <insert favorite> project until the very last. Every hobbyist community has a TIOGA GEORGE <RIP>. I never followed his posts, but I stumbled into it looking at info on the Silver Strand camping options in San Diego, CA last summer. Had no idea until now that he has a following. Amazing adventures.

We had an identical guy for cycling wrenches by name of SHELDON BROWN <RIP - still missed a decade later>
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheldo...cycle_mechanic)