Sienna MiniCamperVan Secrets: Grabbin’ Grab Bars

[@zsolovyev]

Dear Bruce, thank you for your inspirational ideas! I am building my minivan setup and your videos are my primary source for the "blue print". ; )

[@BruceParks]

I’m glad you’ve found my videos useful. That was the goal.

[@docwatson1134]

I love your carpentry work, very precise. I have to laugh at the idea of not modifying the van. I bought an 04 Sienna, with full repairs, and the 100K maintenance I'm still under $6000 out of pocket. I am fully enjoying pulling trim, cutting out whatever gets in the way, drilling holes anywhere and installing rivnuts into the sheetmetal. Whatever plastic trim I toss will be replaced with 1/4" birch ply with a clear finish. Again, you do beautiful work, have enjoyed watching your progress.

[@a.w.thompson4001]

One benefit of not modifying the van is that if your vehicle has an accident or failure, you may be able to transfer the build to a replacement.

[@BruceParks]

It would be fun to modify a van with no restraints like that. I guess if the resale is low already, making a permanent camper could actually increase its value 🙂

[@perwillgo]

Hi Bruce, it was great talking with you at Hyner View today, I have seen some of your videos before, lots of good ideas, now I got to watch more of them. Take care

[@BruceParks]

@Will Perez. Great talking to you, too. Did you wind up flying today? I’ve subscribed to your channel. I’ve got several new videos planned of van upgrades I’ve completed. Stay tuned. BTW, if you’re on Facebook, I posted about our visit with some pics. facebook.com/1234701397/posts/10227562239741650/?d=n

[@perwillgo]

@@BruceParks , I did get to fly, 412 foot gain above the wall and only a 15 min flight, everyone else flew and made the same comments after they landed, the air was very trashy and a real workout, overall a nice day at HYNER. I'm not on Facebook thanks

[@mohawksteel2215]

very nice feature . It is the little things that add up to bigger things to make projects that much easier. I remember I had a man who had limited intellect hired to dig a trench for some electrical wires that I was running. I gave him a stick marked at the depth that I wanted the trench to make it easier for him I returned several hours later and he said he had completed the task. Looking upon the trench it was a foot to shallow , lol he had sawed a foot off of the stick so as to make his job easy. Little things do make a job easier.

[@BruceParks]

Agreed! I tend to look for good quality solutions to design challenges. Sometimes it takes longer, and sometimes no one will ever see it except me, but if it's the right thing to do I'm doing it.

[@johnwhatley]

Thank you for sharing the little details. Really helps those of us that are building out (or about to build...) our mini-van campers. Looks like a fun hike.

[@BruceParks]

Glad to help, John. Thanks for watching!

[@mikem8881]

Love the engineering behind that.

[@BruceParks]

Thank you, Mike. I appreciate your comment!

[@mikem8881]

@@BruceParks Hey Bruce, what kind of bolts did you use to connect the grab-bar clamp ?

[@BruceParks]

These Connector Bolts amzn.to/2C9NxDh

[@denisee8048]

So nice to see you and your wife enjoying yourselves out west! Thanks for the little tidbits of information... very helpful and appreciated. Happy trails👣

[@BruceParks]

Thanks, Denise!

[@guillermofranco7748]

I am paying attention to everything you publish because very soon I will start my project in my van. Thanks everything has been very useful

[@BruceParks]

I’m so glad my videos have been useful to you. Good luck with your build!

[@MissAllyson707]

This was a big help to me Bruce. Thank you so much! 👏🥳

[@BruceParks]

Glad it helped!

[@AdventureGearTV]

Always improving the rig, and always more great ideas.

[@BruceParks]

Glad you think so!

[@BuckeyeCrab]

We have a 2019 AWD Sienna & just love your videos! You are so talented & such an inspiration!! Keep ‘em coming!! ✌️& ❤️

[@BruceParks]

Thanks so much! More goodies coming this summer.

[@anthonyb.2868]

Great job! I drilled all the way through and used t nuts and longer bolts. Hadn't seen how you did these but with my limited hand tools I could not be as refined. By the way, I added a little but of tubing on the end of the water spout to focus the flow into the sink when rinsing stuff, especially when using one hand to pump.

[@BruceParks]

Good tubing tip, thanks!

[@a.w.thompson4001]

Very interesting detail! Thanks, Bruce.

[@BruceParks]

You’re very welcome!

[@kranjams]

Welcome to Santa Fe! You inspired our Sienna conversion last year. Let us know if you guys need a hot shower, we live about half mile from the Plaza.

[@BruceParks]

Ha, now you tell me! I’ll keep you in mind next time. Thanks!

[@anhmuanguyen4054]

Nice…so nice Bruce…bravo…

[@BruceParks]

Many thanks!!

[@RealJohnnyDingo]

Great detail video, thanks! I will definitely be using this in the future. The 2021 Sienna has giant grab bars on either side that would be attractive anchor points.

[@BruceParks]

I'm jealous of the gas mileage that the new hybrids get!

[@mikem8881]

WoW ! Nice design.

[@BruceParks]

Thanks, Mike!

[@cappallCogadh]

Hi Bruce, new to you channel. Just got my van and hope to build out the rest of the summer for a fall trip. Love your design, lot of great ideas. Probably make a bit more basic to start but like the cabinets up with cross bar design, gives you more floor space. I want solar and have some ideas. Like that your system is modular.

[@BruceParks]

Welcome aboard, Curt. Thanks for taking the time to write a comment. I'm always willing to help others so don't hesitate to ask questions during your build.

[@cappallCogadh]

@@BruceParks you probably don't want the headache, but a CNC router and plans, I could see self-assembly kits. I have a challenge of a Town & Country with the DVD console across the ceiling, but I think I can make it work. I also like the way you designed fresh air flow.

[@BruceParks]

@@cappallCogadh Yes, I've thought quite a bit about setting up shop with a CNC router and becoming proficient with modeling, at least to a point sufficient to drive the equipment but life keeps me busy enough to push that aside. I'm comfortably retired and the bug to gear up for a commitment like that hasn't bit me hard enough yet. Thanks for the thought!

[@mariohrvatska4351]

Thank you Sir for another great and interesting video,have a nice trip!

[@BruceParks]

Thanks!

[@MellowNomadicAdventures]

Nice Bruce! Love the detail! Mine didn’t come out quite like yours however it works! Love what you’ve done with your van! Safe travels! -Marshall 😊💪

[@BruceParks]

Thanks, Marshall, much appreciated!!

[@richardmccombs617]

Just an idea on threaded inserts. I have put them in backward so the insert head is blind , t nuts also work well. This puts the load on the brace. It is sometimes harder to start the screw. Just 2 cents

[@BruceParks]

Good idea on the backwards inserts. I’ve got t-nuts in lots of other spots around the build.

[@susanpremo8068]

Great video Eo, my husband says I walk too fast for him too!

[@BruceParks]

Haha!

[@thormatt2963]

Great job. I would love to see a video on you used templates to get your wood pieces to fit so well.

[@BruceParks]

Making templates just requires patience. I use cardboard cut roughly to shape and fill in the gaps with precision cut paper taped to the cardboard. Lots of fiddling but not hard to do.

[@thormatt2963]

@@BruceParks Thanks Bruce....ill give it a try.

[@harryenright7939]

Great idea Bruce. How did you figure out where to drill your holes on the backsplash wall in line for the grab bar placment perfectly over the vans grab bar?

[@BruceParks]

Once the grab bar clamp was made, I held it in place against the upright, straddling the grab bar, and clamped it to the upright. I scribed the outline of the clamp onto the upright, removed the clamp, and drilled two holes through the upright. Then I reclamped the clamp to the upright and drilled into the clamp through the backside of the holes I previously drilled in the uprights.

[@harryenright7939]

@@BruceParks thank you Bruce. Again, great job! Love following your build and adventure videos.

[@alexandergavrilov2566]

Bruce, do you have a link to the threaded inserts you used? I looked in your online document and I see T-nuts, but I didn't see threaded inserts. Also, not being a woodworker, I'd appreciate any other tips you have on the hardware you used, especially how to get all pieces flush to each other, without nuts or bolts sticking out. Love the hardware you used and how well everything fits together. Thanks for these videos, they are incredibly helpful! I'm building out a 2014 Sienna so I'll follow a lot of what you've done.

[@BruceParks]

The threaded inserts are listed in the online doc as: EZ-Lok Threaded Inserts amzn.to/2OOYoKu. Regarding how I fasten wood without hardware sticking out, there are several approaches to consider but each case is unique. I use a lot of T-nuts, threaded inserts, and torx-drive construction screws to enable one-sided fastening. But also, I rely on a large collection of screws and bolts of different lengths so that I can pick the ideal length for the specific application. In some cases, I've shortened screws to prevent them from poking out the backside. Ha, you should see my storage containers for all my hardware. Maybe I should do a video on that, lol.

[@alexandergavrilov2566]

@@BruceParks You should do a video on that, totally! Thank you for your reply. I loved your "screens build" video. You are very handy and I think the "how to" videos would be much appreciated by your viewers :) I know they would be by me for sure. Again, thank you for all the info you share, it's incredibly helpful!

[@LorenHenriksen]

Love the grabbin' grab bar that grabs the grab bar ! Bet you can't say that three times real fast ! Lol Who's the "Babe" with the funky hair ? Looks a bit young for you Bruce ! Thanks. From Canada

[@BruceParks]

Great to hear from you again, Loren. You made my wife’s day!

[@franciscomoises82]

Nice

[@BruceParks]

Thank you!

[@chrisbarclay6127]

I can't believe he actually goes that far. I'm not knocking the workmanship or the idea. It's really very nice.... But I would just do zip or cable ties. Yes they are not very attractive but they can be hidden and will only take minutes.

[@BruceParks]

Hey I appreciate your comment. Lots of different ways to build these vans. One of my priorities was to build everything so that they are super secure in case of a bad crash. And also wanted to prevent anything from wiggling or vibrating during driving; long pieces of wood tend to move a bit in a moving vehicle.

[@robertclarke7411]

Do you have the video on how you made the window screens

[@BruceParks]

Here you go: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jpKzoqt9qs6ZpqM

[@LorisWhirled]

What are these grab bar grabbers for, exactly? I’m lost.

[@BruceParks]

I have two posts (uprights) supporting one beam (header). The grab bar grabbers secure the posts tightly in place so that the beam is rock solid. Also, my sink vanity cabinet is bolted to the post so everything is well secured and will not wiggle at all and are safely held in case of a bad crash.

[@jwuhome]

I think you need to talk to IKEA to mass produce your design to make it available to the general public.