We’ve been carrying our EVDO data card with us so we can get online in the van, but that didn’t seem like a Vanagon Hack, so we decided to get a more permanent WiFi solution in the Vanagon.
As you can see in the video, we wired the outlet to the stereo for on/off capabilities.
More pictures after the jump…
A user at The Samba posted a series of pictures on how he mounted a HDTV in his Vanagon. You can head over to the forum topic here to see all the pictures. This is very cool!
HDTV in the Vanagon
We added an additional fluorescent light to the passenger’s side of the Vanagon. We had to fish from the back light, but that wasn’t so bad. You can purchase these lights at GoWesty for about $55 and install it yourself. It adds a lot of light to the cab.
We decided to put a few cup holders around the front area of the Vanagon. We ordered them from GoWesty, and put some in beside the shifter, and on the side of the passenger’s seat. Now we can carry drinks for everyone in the van.
Around the shifter
Below the passenger's seat
Have you wondered why there is no light over the passenger’s seat in your Vanagon? With a little work, you can have one. We purchased an extra light from GoWesty and then started the project.
Final result of the Passenger's side light.
See the project after the jump…
Probably the coolest hack we’ve tried is the green lights over the AC controls. All Vanagon owners know there are no lights for the AC controls. We got some LEDs from Radio Shack and my brother somehow managed to wire them in.
We removed the controls from the dash, drilled some holes and inserted the LEDs. The picture isn’t so good but believe me, it works very well.
I tried to take a better picture without the flash that would show the illuminated lights, but it didn’t really work. Sorry.
Because I want to use my laptop in my vanagon, we picked up an accessory plug at Radio Shack and installed it next to the table in the back. Perfect!
First we drilled the hole and fished the wires
Final Result
I bought a center console from Wal-Mart which appears to be the same one that GoWesty sells for $100. I paid $39 or so. I popped it in the van but it wasn’t very stable…so we added some weight to the bottom.
The instrument cluster was fairly dirty so we decided to rip it apart. Using a little brush we were able to clean it up a bit.
After purchasing the Vanagon we had to clean it up. The seats were very dirty so I had them steam cleaned twice. Here are some pictures:
