Great video, I think watching I decided I didn't want to install flares but now I'm convinced I want to buy an air saw lol, looking forward to that rust video!
@sassy.wormhole! Thanks for stopping by and glad you enjoyed the video! I think if I were to start over again I’d probably go with the @Vanspeed capsules. I still can’t get over the fact that the flares don’t drop all the way to the body line on the drivers side and the capsules add a lot more noticeable space front to back. With our layout having the bed sideways was an absolute must. The air saw is great I’ve used it so many times on the van. I’ve heard from others not all airsaws are created equal. A few people who watch the channel tried the Harbor Freight one and it eats blades. I think any form Ingersol Rand would be good. I’ve also heard you need a pretty decent sized compressor. I already had mine so the investment was minimal. If I were starting from scratch I might look at the Electric version from Ingersol Rand amzn.to/48GUBp8. It’s pricy but when you weigh the cost of getting setup with a compressor (if you don’t have one) it might be cheaper overall. I’ve been busy with a few other things but I do want to get back to the rust video. Any paints in particular you’d like to see. I have the following already for the test - Rustoleum auto primer - Rust Bullet - Rustoleum Enamel - POR15 - Eastwood Rust Encapsulator
Hey Nick, thanks for much for all the comments and the encouragement. Putting these videos together is a LOT of work and definitely slows down the van build a ton. Aside from documenting our own build if we help just one other person think about things differently or learn from our mistakes or successes then I think it’s been worth it! Thanks again!
Keep it up with the awesome videos. Very insightful, awesome pacing and overall great video work. Love to learn and laugh at the same time, keep the jokes rolling.
Hey Corey thank so much for the feedback and we are glad you enjoy the content! We appreciate you taking the time to let us know. We have a lot of fun and put in a lot of time and effort to make them so it’s nice to know that comes across and is well received. Thanks again and we’ll keep things going!!
Many people intall flares some what the same way but also different some install windows prior to first installation but don't you think precut backing foam on flare before installation easier, I have 07 170 Mercedes Benz sprinter van I plan to add flares among many other things for now I'm just watching and learning from other people mistakes but I do think the air reciprocating saw may work better in corners but the teeth blades is the key to any cut
That's definitely a good point and something we considered. The main reason why we didn't put the foam on first is because we wanted to prioritize a completely, verifiable & sealed joint for flare to van body over anything else. In addition to ensuring a structural bond, making sure there was no chance of water getting ingress was our number 1 priority. In fact, I recently watched another TH-camr loose their capsule (basically the same as a flare) down a washboard road because of improper bonding and prep techniques so something you don't want to mess around with. Now one could argue that most of the joints are visible with or without the foam on, however the main problem area is up in the front of the flare. That pocket continues about 4-5" beyond the cut where the flare actually bonds to the van and it's actually a pretty tight space. In order to put sealant there on the inside and make sure it's formed a full fillet with no leaks you have to be able to see it and with the foam installed I think this would be super difficult and honestly quite messy. Both the Sikaflex 252 we used and the MS 5510 Bk from flarespace are quite viscous and stick to everything they touch. Some people have been successful with that method though, so if you are feeling up for it and it makes sense to you to do it that way I would say to give it a try and report back for others considering this method! We can all help each other improve! On the topic of blades, yes you are right a 32TPI quality blade is a must regardless of tool type. The airsaw is just such a more agile & ergonomic cutting solution for this type of stuff I find myself always reaching for it. In fact I just used it yesterday to cut a beam underneath the van for my heated water install! More on that soon! Thanks again for stopping by and best of luck on your build!
Hey Kelly, the cost was $800 here in the Bay Area (everything’s expensive) for them to color match. I actually left the van there for the afternoon for them to mix the color exactly, you can’t tell they aren’t factory. I’ve heard people in smaller metros getting away with $400 for the set. You’ll wanna take it to a reputable shop that has experience with fiberglass. Hope this helps.
Thank you@@moonrakerdesign I'm also in the North Bay, around Santa Rosa and I got two estimates and they were both over $1k. I just thought it would look so much better with it matching the existing color of my van.
Great install video. What are your thoughts on doing the upholstering before you install the flares on the van? It seems like it would be easier working on a bench.
Thanks for the kind words. Definitely thought about that, but IMO it was more important to ensure a complete water tight seal. In order to do that you need to fillet and caulk from the inside as well. It would be a serious challenge to do this without making a complete mess especially up behind the flares in the towards front. As you are pushing adhesive up in that gap it's so tight and so hard to not get the glue everywhere. Honestly, I was worried about upholstering after the fact, but with another person it's actually really simple. It was our first time and it turned out great.
sourcing Moonraker approved products for my Flares now. You still leak free and support using Sika 252 w/ 207 Primer? (Stuff that came with them seams generic and Sika appears to be the Gold standard of Goops )
Both work! The Silane based adhesive is easier to work with because of no need for primer and it’s thinner in viscosity which means it’s easier to pump. You do have to scuff the paint more for bonding. I think they recommend sandpaper if I remember right. If it’s not expired I’d go with that, just to save money and they wouldn’t recommend anything that didn’t work OK. But yes, no issues on my flares still 100% leak free through a bunch of rain and a bunch of rough roads! Thanks for the continued support!
Another great video guys! What type of benefits overall do you expect from the seam sealer? I am considering adding this step as well. Keep up the great work! PS - Eager to get my hands on those hood strut brackets and flush mount brackets! Hopefully you're making progress making those available.
Hey @paniro21 thanks for the continued support! The seam sealer is 100% overkill and there are plenty of vans on the road without it. Overall our reasoning was I wanted it to be a continuous joint: inner wall to outer wall to flare. I also wanted it to seal off that gap so debris and things don't fall/build up in there during the rest of the build. The hood strut brackets are in stock and shipping! I can whip you up a set of the current Dometic brackets unpainted or I'm working on 2.0 right now which will be actually 100% flush. Not sure when I'll have time to finish those with everything else going on though..... too many projects!
Thanks for the feedback, it’s a personal preference and in later content we’ve mixed up the selection and learned more about EQ to create that vocal space. BTW who then hell didn’t tell you that people will usually listen to you more in life if you provide your feedback constructively 😊. It’s hard to imagine your ears are actually bleeding, but if they are you might want to see a doctor as it could be an unrelated medical problem.
Great video, I think watching I decided I didn't want to install flares but now I'm convinced I want to buy an air saw lol, looking forward to that rust video!
@sassy.wormhole! Thanks for stopping by and glad you enjoyed the video! I think if I were to start over again I’d probably go with the @Vanspeed capsules. I still can’t get over the fact that the flares don’t drop all the way to the body line on the drivers side and the capsules add a lot more noticeable space front to back. With our layout having the bed sideways was an absolute must.
The air saw is great I’ve used it so many times on the van. I’ve heard from others not all airsaws are created equal. A few people who watch the channel tried the Harbor Freight one and it eats blades. I think any form Ingersol Rand would be good. I’ve also heard you need a pretty decent sized compressor. I already had mine so the investment was minimal. If I were starting from scratch I might look at the Electric version from Ingersol Rand amzn.to/48GUBp8. It’s pricy but when you weigh the cost of getting setup with a compressor (if you don’t have one) it might be cheaper overall.
I’ve been busy with a few other things but I do want to get back to the rust video. Any paints in particular you’d like to see. I have the following already for the test
- Rustoleum auto primer
- Rust Bullet
- Rustoleum Enamel
- POR15
- Eastwood Rust Encapsulator
This is the best install video of flares I have watched and pretty sure I have seen them all, multiple times. So many great tips!
Hey Nick, thanks for much for all the comments and the encouragement. Putting these videos together is a LOT of work and definitely slows down the van build a ton. Aside from documenting our own build if we help just one other person think about things differently or learn from our mistakes or successes then I think it’s been worth it! Thanks again!
Boom goes the dynamite. Wonderful!
Definitely some early internet jokes sprinkled throughout the videos!! You can tell when we grew up! Thanks for the comment and the support!
Best Flarespace install video I've seen yet!
Wow, thanks for the kind words and taking the time to write this comment. It’s means a lot to us and it’s much appreciated!
Hells yeah on the mustache Todd!
lol! I’ve been rocking it on and off ever since 😅
The best flare video I've seen. You deserve way more views!
Hey @KenBeaconHill Thanks for stopping by and for taking the time to write this, this means a lot to us and glad you liked the video!
Keep it up with the awesome videos. Very insightful, awesome pacing and overall great video work. Love to learn and laugh at the same time, keep the jokes rolling.
Hey Corey thank so much for the feedback and we are glad you enjoy the content! We appreciate you taking the time to let us know. We have a lot of fun and put in a lot of time and effort to make them so it’s nice to know that comes across and is well received. Thanks again and we’ll keep things going!!
Super helpful!
Hey Rachele! Glad it helped you out. If you need any clarification or advise on anything don’t hesitate to reach out!
Just subscribed !! Well done!!!
Thank you for following along we really appreciate it and glad you are enjoying the content. Thanks for the support and the comment!
Many people intall flares some what the same way but also different some install windows prior to first installation but don't you think precut backing foam on flare before installation easier, I have 07 170 Mercedes Benz sprinter van I plan to add flares among many other things for now I'm just watching and learning from other people mistakes but I do think the air reciprocating saw may work better in corners but the teeth blades is the key to any cut
That's definitely a good point and something we considered. The main reason why we didn't put the foam on first is because we wanted to prioritize a completely, verifiable & sealed joint for flare to van body over anything else. In addition to ensuring a structural bond, making sure there was no chance of water getting ingress was our number 1 priority. In fact, I recently watched another TH-camr loose their capsule (basically the same as a flare) down a washboard road because of improper bonding and prep techniques so something you don't want to mess around with.
Now one could argue that most of the joints are visible with or without the foam on, however the main problem area is up in the front of the flare. That pocket continues about 4-5" beyond the cut where the flare actually bonds to the van and it's actually a pretty tight space. In order to put sealant there on the inside and make sure it's formed a full fillet with no leaks you have to be able to see it and with the foam installed I think this would be super difficult and honestly quite messy. Both the Sikaflex 252 we used and the MS 5510 Bk from flarespace are quite viscous and stick to everything they touch.
Some people have been successful with that method though, so if you are feeling up for it and it makes sense to you to do it that way I would say to give it a try and report back for others considering this method! We can all help each other improve!
On the topic of blades, yes you are right a 32TPI quality blade is a must regardless of tool type. The airsaw is just such a more agile & ergonomic cutting solution for this type of stuff I find myself always reaching for it. In fact I just used it yesterday to cut a beam underneath the van for my heated water install! More on that soon!
Thanks again for stopping by and best of luck on your build!
Great Video! How much did you spend on getting your flares painted to match your van?
Hey Kelly, the cost was $800 here in the Bay Area (everything’s expensive) for them to color match. I actually left the van there for the afternoon for them to mix the color exactly, you can’t tell they aren’t factory. I’ve heard people in smaller metros getting away with $400 for the set. You’ll wanna take it to a reputable shop that has experience with fiberglass. Hope this helps.
Thank you@@moonrakerdesign I'm also in the North Bay, around Santa Rosa and I got two estimates and they were both over $1k. I just thought it would look so much better with it matching the existing color of my van.
FIRST! Great one as usually
Thanks for the encouragement friend!
Great install video. What are your thoughts on doing the upholstering before you install the flares on the van? It seems like it would be easier working on a bench.
Thanks for the kind words. Definitely thought about that, but IMO it was more important to ensure a complete water tight seal. In order to do that you need to fillet and caulk from the inside as well. It would be a serious challenge to do this without making a complete mess especially up behind the flares in the towards front. As you are pushing adhesive up in that gap it's so tight and so hard to not get the glue everywhere. Honestly, I was worried about upholstering after the fact, but with another person it's actually really simple. It was our first time and it turned out great.
are you using the "yay" from Homestar Runner? Thanks for another great vid, Todd!
So funny you'd notice that! It was definitely inspired by that, I couldn't find the exact clip, but this was pretty close!
sourcing Moonraker approved products for my Flares now. You still leak free and support using Sika 252 w/ 207 Primer? (Stuff that came with them seams generic and Sika appears to be the Gold standard of Goops )
Both work! The Silane based adhesive is easier to work with because of no need for primer and it’s thinner in viscosity which means it’s easier to pump. You do have to scuff the paint more for bonding. I think they recommend sandpaper if I remember right. If it’s not expired I’d go with that, just to save money and they wouldn’t recommend anything that didn’t work OK.
But yes, no issues on my flares still 100% leak free through a bunch of rain and a bunch of rough roads!
Thanks for the continued support!
Another great video guys! What type of benefits overall do you expect from the seam sealer? I am considering adding this step as well. Keep up the great work! PS - Eager to get my hands on those hood strut brackets and flush mount brackets! Hopefully you're making progress making those available.
Hey @paniro21 thanks for the continued support! The seam sealer is 100% overkill and there are plenty of vans on the road without it. Overall our reasoning was I wanted it to be a continuous joint: inner wall to outer wall to flare. I also wanted it to seal off that gap so debris and things don't fall/build up in there during the rest of the build.
The hood strut brackets are in stock and shipping! I can whip you up a set of the current Dometic brackets unpainted or I'm working on 2.0 right now which will be actually 100% flush. Not sure when I'll have time to finish those with everything else going on though..... too many projects!
God dam that who the hell told you playing music at the same time as talking works.. I gave up after my ears started bleeding.
Thanks for the feedback, it’s a personal preference and in later content we’ve mixed up the selection and learned more about EQ to create that vocal space.
BTW who then hell didn’t tell you that people will usually listen to you more in life if you provide your feedback constructively 😊. It’s hard to imagine your ears are actually bleeding, but if they are you might want to see a doctor as it could be an unrelated medical problem.