YouTuber Will’s Whereabouts took a chance on a pre-owned Ford Transit that spent most of its life as an Amazon delivery van, and found more issues than he bargained for when he started digging into it. After quite a bit of elbow grease and a brand new paint job, he's putting some finishing touches on the revived van's exterior from top to bottom, including fitting it with a custom roof rack and new wheels.
Will took a five-hour road trip to acquire his new roof rack, which he had custom made from scratch. Will had a little help from a crew of metalworkers, and they begin by measuring and bending steel tubes to perfectly fit the Ford Transit. Once the base is laid down and welded, they have to fit the "top base." And once the bones are put together, they have to check to make sure it fits the top of the Transit, which involves taking it on and off the van's roof with a forklift.
The crew welded in some crossmembers to make it strong enough to hold solar panels to help power Will's sleeper van, along with bright off-road spotlights. One of the hardest parts was figuring out how to actually mount the roof rack to the van, which required specially fabricated brackets. Once it's all put together, it's sent off for powder coating, which gives it the perfect finish.
Next up: the wheels. The original wheels, as Will puts it, are "awful." So he heads to a specialty wheel and tire shop, Rogue Alloy, who supply him with some rugged rollers. Altogether, the ensemble looks pretty mean, ready for overlander adventures. "Dave," as Will affectionately named the van, is now completely made over and ready to start tackling overlanding adventures - although there's still plenty of work to do inside, outfitting the living quarters.
No Comments yet