I spent $2,826 and cut two irreversible holes in my Ford Transit only to decide I would never do it again.
The flares plus shipping were $1,930. Professional color-match paint on the raw fiberglass panels added $300. The two Flarespace awning windows they forced me to buy ran $590. Jigsaw blades were about six bucks. That’s $2,826. Nearly 8% of my whole build budget.
In this van the bed runs east-west. Your body lies across the width, not along the length. The flares taper. At the front sleeper position you only gain 2.5 inches. At the rear sleeper you get 3.5. I measured it myself after the dust settled.
$1,130 per inch at the tighter sleeper. $942 average. $807 if you only count the widest bulge. Pick your poison.
Part of the problem is I was already in a shit mood the day we cut. No coffee, numb hands, 18 degrees outside. The hardware wouldn’t thread where the structural bridges sat behind the metal. I knew better than to force it. Told myself to slow down anyway. Kept going.
Flarespace shipped the wrong product twice. Three shipments before the right panels showed up. Then they only sent one bag of screws for two windows. Fourth snafu. I drove to Home Depot in the cold with rain coming in two hours.
The windows themselves feel cheap. Gritty mechanical action. Chunky gears you can see. Plastic handle that registers as plastic the second you touch it. The CR Lawrence unit in my sliding door feels refined by comparison. Flarespace told me I couldn’t use the CR Lawrence in their flares. Something about dimensions. Sure.
We used Sikaflex 510. Three millimeter bead. The data sheet wants 72 hours at 70 degrees and 50% humidity. We gave it 32 hours before it saw 33-degree weather. Hope is not a plan.
Three and a half inches. Almost three grand. Nine hours.
Not for me.
At 5’10” I fit fine without them. If you’re under about 5’11” I’d skip it. Send the three grand somewhere else. Lithium, solar, insulation, whatever actually moves the needle for you.
I’d still run two awning windows. Just not Flarespace ones.
How many inches is $3,000 worth to you?
Timestamps:
00:00 - Welcome
01:58 - Color Matched Painting
04:06 - Vehicle Prep and Tools Needed
05:17 - Cutting Out The Window Panels
09:22 - Installing the Flares
11:16 - Adhesive Cure Time
12:30 - Unboxing the Windows
15:27 - Installing the Windows
19:28 - Comparing vs CR Lawrence
20:31 - Conclusion
22:09 - Project Cost Summary
23:43 - Was It Worth It?