Hello friends! My wife and I recently went to a speed van show (dangerous, dangerous place) and definitely got weird eyeballs at the idea of having a shiny, new, fancy van. But with a price tag of nearly $200,000, it just looks like one really reckless investment! To each their own, but we thought that kind of money would be better served elsewhere.
…which led to magical words I never imagined would leave my wife’s mouth: “Honey, why don’t you turn our Ascent into a camper?” I stared in disbelief “Seriously!?”
For all of you who have been married for a while, you may know that this kind of thing rarely, if ever, comes around, and I wasted no time in case it was a fleeting, fleeting thought. I went into midlife crisis mode.
So I set out to build it, turning our Ascendant into a capable overlord. I’m still a work in progress but wanted to start a thread to document my progress and hopefully answer any questions – learned a lot the hard way.
I’m documenting everything on YouTube, but those videos will come more sporadically and slowly.
A brief overview of the build:
INTERNAL
• Floor: Removal of second-row captain’s seats, aluminum extrusion glued to the original seat bolt holes, showing birch wrapped in a liquid-extracting automotive mat.
• The floor has space to place a water container (with power tap) and a Dometic CFX3 25L refrigerator.
• The 3rd row remains, filled to the brim with car seats.
• Rear cargo area without component tray removal and a rebuilt birch shelf/cabinet system.
• A GoalZero Yeti 1500X battery lives in the rear of the cargo, with the Yeti connection integration kit (uses the smart alternator to charge when the car is running)
• I replaced all the dome lights with red LEDs from Diode Dynamics, better suited for sleepover/not awake kids.
• A child’s sleeper bed extends across the front driver and passenger seats, resting against the door panels, a sort of bunk bed.
• Relocation of the backup camera (on the highest panel on the rear door)
OUTER
• Method Racing 502 Wheels (18×8″)
• BF Goodrich KO2 256/60/18 tires
• LP Adventure 2″ lift
• Prinsu roof rack
• Go Fast Camper RTT
• Alu Cab shower cubicle
• RalliTek NashFab Access Ladder
• RiG’d Supply UltraSwing (fits a full-size spare) + camp table
• 1up Super Duty Triple Rack
• Yakima Roadshower 10gal – currently designing and manufacturing a way to mount this to the rear bumper or hitch bar just below the shock receiver.
✌🏻
