https://yakvans.com/home daily 1.0 2020-10-30 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5db89c21fd39c25baab4b631/t/5db8c25ec796393b549ddb73/1572389483307/ Home - We created Yak Vans to share our passion for nature and feel safe and comfortable. https://yakvans.com/book-a-yak daily 0.75 2020-05-28 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5db89c21fd39c25baab4b631/t/5ecfd306db946a588c9f5ac7/1590678288135/2020-05-28_10-01-10.png Book a Yak https://yakvans.com/about daily 0.75 2020-10-30 https://yakvans.com/what-is-a-yak daily 0.75 2020-05-28 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5db89c21fd39c25baab4b631/t/5ecfd3f8e0c9fa05fdafe2f6/1590678541116/2020-05-28_10-01-10.png What is a Yak? https://yakvans.com/tour-our-van-build daily 0.75 2020-06-10 https://yakvans.com/tour-our-van-build/solarsystem monthly 0.5 2020-10-30 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5db89c21fd39c25baab4b631/t/5ee1019c9e54345ce13886e1/1591804328103/IMG_1997%255B1%255D.jpg Tour our Van Build - Solar System - There are many way to secure the solar panels on the roof. We decided to secure our solar panels inside the custom rails so they are hidden from the casual observer. An added benefit is we can still use the custom rails to secure other gear. Our wiring enters through the stop light housing to avoid drilling more holes on the roof minimizing the risk of a leak. If you look closely, underneath the panels we added inline fuses for each positive wire. This help protect the system inside the van in the event of a catastrophic shock Hint: Minimize holes as much as possible Tip: Solar panels work best when they have good ventilation, so raising the panel a bit will help keep them working at optimal performance. https://yakvans.com/tour-our-van-build/flooring monthly 0.5 2020-10-30 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5db89c21fd39c25baab4b631/t/5eceeab57112f61d1bd0db56/1590618815805/IMG_2045%255B1%255D.jpg Tour our Van Build - Flooring - First Layer We started by cutting minicel foam to fit between the ribs of the van using double sided tape. The process is time consuming but creates a level surface to work on for the next layers. You can see in the photo we already installed our custom aluminum rails and secured them to the body of the van. Don’t have a write-up on this one; but needless to say, they are very secure. Whatever we bolt to these rails isn’t going to move. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5db89c21fd39c25baab4b631/t/5eceeb5443434a3117b49971/1590619143700/IMG_2047%5B1%5D.JPG Tour our Van Build - Flooring - Layer 2 The second minicell layer to fit between our aluminum rails. Again, we use double sided tape to keep the layers from moving. We also used Gorilla tape to connect the minicel panels. Tip: For a perfect fit, we used the plastic floor that came with the van as a template and then measured a dozen times the rails to get our cuts spot on. Use a new knife! https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5db89c21fd39c25baab4b631/t/5f9c7dcee3cd9c058225992e/1598364194726/ Tour our Van Build - Flooring - Final Layer Pick your favorite floor. We went with a Waterproof Laminate for two reasons: The laminate is thin enough so that our rails are flush, and doesn’t take much more away from the interior (we are trying to conserve headspace) The laminate has a little bit of flex which will help avoid problems down the road as the material expands and contracts with changes in temperature. Hint: Avoid a major mistake — We though it would be smart to seal the 1/16th in. groove between the floor and aluminum rail. We used 3 different products. In the end they all failed or looked terrible. Spent an entire afternoon pealing off the caulking. In the end only we can see the small 1/24th in. groove because we were on our knees staring at it. https://yakvans.com/tour-our-van-build/insulation monthly 0.5 2020-10-30 https://yakvans.com/tour-our-van-build/thewesty monthly 0.5 2020-10-30 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5db89c21fd39c25baab4b631/t/5f9c7fa012e2142e54a83763/1598364194726/ Tour our Van Build - The Westy - The West got a much needed paint job recently. The van is still at the paint shop due to some back-ordered parts from suppliers. Here is a quick sneak peak. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5db89c21fd39c25baab4b631/5eceeeadf66c3f2e6489428b/5ecef18b0b3df05501699e87/1590620556912/IMG_0868%5B1%5D.JPG Tour our Van Build - The Westy https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5db89c21fd39c25baab4b631/5eceeeadf66c3f2e6489428b/5ecef13b7a668f3cbebdd82d/1590620480465/IMG_1055%5B1%5D.JPG Tour our Van Build - The Westy https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5db89c21fd39c25baab4b631/5eceeeadf66c3f2e6489428b/5ecef1c15080b6612884dcd6/1590620616221/IMG_1051%5B1%5D.JPG Tour our Van Build - The Westy https://yakvans.com/tour-our-van-build/choosing-the-right-van monthly 0.5 2020-06-10 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5db89c21fd39c25baab4b631/t/5ee0fb00824e633c76023325/1591802637830/GXAX3373%5B1%5D.JPG Tour our Van Build - Choosing the right Van - Start by laying out some rough measurements. During construction we flipped the kitchen to be on the driver side and shower/toilet enclosure to be on the passenger side. More on that later in the build pages. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5db89c21fd39c25baab4b631/t/5ee0fca5f99b063e4c9d86cb/1591803077594/IMG_1384%5B1%5D.JPG Tour our Van Build - Choosing the right Van - Creating some furniture templates will help you visualize the space. It’s obvious at this point the kitchen and shower was swapped sides. Without the furniture template it would have been impossible to anticipate this change. More on why we changed later in the build. Hint: It has to do with the passenger seating. We used foam insulation instead of cardboard from our local hardware store because it’s easy to cut and rigid enough. Tip: Look for damaged pieces and ask for a discount. Yes! There is a hammock in this photo - may have taken the van on a small voyage and the hammock was a great alternative to sleeping on the van floor.