Swiss Army Van

[MushCreek]

I'm getting my van ready to be the headquarters for my build. You really have to plan ahead when you're going to build on raw land with no other resources available, as many of you off-grid types know. Here's a couple mods I made to my van. Since I'll be traveling a lot, I need to carry a lot of tools securely. I have a Kennedy machinist chest that I couldn't sell on Craig's, so I took off the wheels, and bolted it to the floor of my van. After doing a lot of head-scratching, it finally occurred to me to mount it in the side door, facing out. That way, when the van is packed full, I can still reach my tools. Locking the box keeps the drawers shut. Plus, a thief will have to work a little harder to steal them. I also made a mount for a vise on my trailer hitch. I don't have a step bumper to bolt a vise to, and I don't like leaving them out in the weather. This way, I just pull the whole thing off, and lock it in the van when not in use. It's hard to see, but a made a clamp which snugs up the receiver hitch so it doesn't wobble around in use. By dumb luck, I can just open the rear door with the vise on there. Sure will be nice once the barn is up, and I can work in a civilized environment!

[glenn kangiser]

Cool ideas, Jay.

Lumber rack on the roof?

[MushCreek]

I have a set of ladder racks that would certainly work. I'm hoping to have most of the lumber delivered, but there's always one more thing you need.

[Alasdair]

I love it! But where is the thing for taking stones out of horses hooves?

[glenn kangiser]

Even my big truck where there is little room for anything around the crane benefits from having a rack on one side capable of carrying some 2x4s or a 20 foot long steel beam if necessary.  Thinking of adding a lumber rack on my Jeep Cherokee Chief - something like Don has.