Van Build: The Furnace

Once I was in compliance with all the nuances of the installation, the fridge worked like a charm. I've taken the van now on a ten day trip through Escalante. 381 miles with 160 being on dirt roads, and 25 of those were on four wheeled drive roads. The fridge even actually kept stuff frozen in the freezer the whole time. And I mean rock solid frozen. And it's quiet. You can't hear it running at all. I did not use the fan from Dometic, I used the same fan Campingworld sells. They're the local Dometic dealer. Now for the propane furnace. I liked the Heatsource 2000 from Propex ( an English company ). Go Westy sells them. What I liked about it, you can vent it through the floor, and not have to cut a hole in the side. You have more flexibility where you can install it. They have even newer models that you don't have to orient it in any special way.

With all the insulation I installed, I barely had to use it on the trip. In Bryce I turned it on one morning to cut the chill. By the time the coffee was ready, I was back down to my t-shirt. I usually shut it off by the time I go to bed, and sleep in a sleeping bag. I already had experience with the unit because I installed another one in our 76 VW Bus. One time in Bryce we had to have it on all night long because it was like Zero degrees outside that night.

Van Build: The Fridge Install

Excited to complete the project we decided to tackle the Fridge Install first. So now would be a good time to get out the instructions right? Nope. Turns out the best time would have been before I painted it. Except then I was still in the decision stage. I was still on the fence of whether or not to go 3-way or 2-way. The instructions clearly stated that there had to be two vents. An intake and exhaust vent, one above the other. There were some major issues. I had only installed one. Then there was a large window in the way. :a7: Back to the drawing board. Son of a biscuit. Out go the front cabinets, and insulation. Now to source a replacement window. I took some time to find one with the right dimensions. And, don't forget I'm cheap. A custom one never entered my mind. I found one on e-bay, it was white, however. I can paint it black. It was an RV window, and not a van one. It ended up being far better than the old one. It cranked out, and had a screen. Now to take the window out and fill the big hole. I had some sheet metal left over from a HVAC project at the house and fit it.

Measure three times and fill once. I used the same method as before, making a body line by hammering the metal on a piece of strapping. Using panel adhesive and spot welds about three inches apart I affixed it for good. I had to use an old shelf bracket to stiffen the narrow piece between the window and upper vent. Welds and adhesive there, too.

I decided to install the window first, then paint around it. Since it was an RV window the application wouldn't be quite right. I drilled some holes, applied a hefty bead of butyl tape and riveted it in with big rivets. Then I painted it. Again. Then put the cabinets in. Again.

Some other considerations that had to be made included an upper curved baffle that directed the air up and out and a baffle on the in side of the outer wall, to ensure that only 1 1/2 inches was between the wall and back of the fridge. A fan had to be installed, switched from the circuit board that turns on with the fridge. 3/8 copper tubing into the vehicle had to be used, then down to 1/4 for each appliance, all on their own in-line shut off valve. But wait there's more... get your free copy of how to install a propane fridge today! Gee wiz, no wonder SMB went with a 2 way fridge.

 

 

Van Build: Interior Cabinets Part II

With the fridge enclosure and kitchen cabinet set in there, I had to make sure the seat would fit properly side to side, and front to back. I soon realized that the seat was made to fit with the base centered to the seat itself. If I slid the seat base over all the way to the wheelhouse, there was a 4 1/2 inch gap, between that and the inside wall. That also means that the seat overlapped the cabinet by as much. I had ordered the 46"x52" sofa bed, the narrowest available. It was obvious that I had to move the seat back and bottom over, and leave the base as close to the right wheel well as possible. So it was off to the metal fabrication shop for some stock. At first I decided to get some smaller stock and just extend the brackets.

It worked for the seat back, but not the seat bottom. It was too flexible when you sat on it, and was torquing the frame brackets too much. Back to the metal shop. This time I had a large 1/4" thick piece cut that spanned between the seat bottom mounting brackets, and extended another 6". This gave the seat bottom the rigidity that it needed. I installed the metal stock, measured over 4 1/2 inches, then drilled some holes. I bolted it all together. Now the seat sits nicely, and cantilevers over the wheel house. I have just enough room for the cabinets. You can see in the above image the metal installed on the seat back. The seat came with some brackets that bolt to the floor. Rather than go with just a nut and bolt, I wanted to be able to remove the seat without crawling under the vehicle. Quick bolts are the answer. I got mine here: [url]http://pitposse.com/pobishreha.html[/url] For some reason they only sell them in 3 packs, so I had to order six. Maybe the other two will come in handy. I added some sheet metal under the van to reinforce the floor and drilled some holes. Next up was to build the extend-a-bed. They do sell these at the same place as the sofa bed, but I figured that I'd end up rebuilding that one too and couldn't justify the extra cost versus a piece of foam.

I liked the idea of using some square steel tubing to make the bed extension, and the closet base. This had the benefit of being able to maximize the storage underneath. If I built it modular, the seat extension could also be removable, just bolted to the floor plywood using some nut-serts. That's what I did on the bed extension, I bolted the closet base down to the floor with bolts and nylon lock nuts.

Look at all that storage!

The above image shows the bed, the extension and the closet platform ready. I adhered white marine grade vinyl to the side wall in preparation for the closet install, which will be built in place.

Here is another pic of what will be the back of the cabinet. I wanted to keep the inside of the cabinets white, so I applied white marine grade vinyl to the insulation with 3M 90 spray adhesive. I used foam backed headliner fabric for the rest of the walls.You can also see the sofa bed in the reclined position.

Here are the vertical dividers and the front panels, insides painted white, ready to be installed.

I used L brackets and screwed the dividers to the body of the van in the upper inner reinforcement, and down to the plywood. Like I discussed earlier I had a left over sheet of laminate, which I used contact cement to adhere on the cabinet fronts. Plus doors from some used cabinets, cut to fit. At first I tried to hinge the rear closet door, but realized it would interfere with the couch. I bought some aluminum angle metal for tracks and made the doors slide instead.

I made a counter top out of particle board, but will be sending it out to be professionally laminated. For $160 bucks I had any color of choice. Can't really beat that doing it myself.

We were so excited by this time we couldn't wait to get out in the woods and try her out. We threw in the Yeti cooler (just happened to fit in the fridge cabinet) and headed into the aspens for a quick overnight!

It was great to finally camp in Jupiter. The road was really muddy and we got to use the 4wd

Van Build: Interior Cabinets Part I

Now that I've received my Fridge and rear fold down seat it was time to start measuring and seeing what dimensions the cabinets could be, and figure how every thing would fit. Originally I figured I'd be making everything by scratch, but as luck would have it my girlfriend's landlord at work was getting rid of some used cabinets, and a bar sink! Score! I new I could use some of it.

Here's the fridge. It's huge, and has a freezer, oooh. It also happened to fit perfectly in one of the cabinet enclosures.

With all the new floor insulation, I didn't want the carpet back in, so I ordered a molded front plastic floor covering from stockinteriors.com I ordered tan, but it came in kind of a baby schmidt brown. I then ordered a quart of interior trim dye from SEM, in a color of my choosing. I sprayed it with my HVLP spray gun. I trimmed the mat, and installed it, then reinstalled the seats.

So with the fridge enclosure, and the sink I could start making some plans. I probably didn't take enough pictures of the cabinet build, but will do my best to describe the process. Firstly I set the fridge enclosure just behind the drivers seat. Now I would say I am of average height and I set the seat to a comfortable driving position. I only allowed an inch behind the seat back. If I were any taller, or had to build this for the taller than average Joe, none of this would probably have worked. Then I measured for the cabinets. Lucky for me three doors, and one drawer fit with only a little trimming. There would be two cabinets. A kitchen cabinet, and a closet unit. The closet unit would end up being built in place with what ever length was left over.

Here you can see the kitchen cabinet under construction. I painted the insides of all the cabinets a glossy white enamel. This helps seeing inside a dark cabinet, and allows for easy spill clean-up. The outside of the cabinet will be a Formica laminate, that I had left over from a previous kitchen remodel.

The bed/sofa had to be installed to make sure I had the proper tolerances. And a tight fit it was. There were some issues with the bed install, but I'll get to that in an upcoming post.

Van Build: House Battery

Now that the bed and fridge are special ordered, I thought I'd start on the House Battery set up. This forum has really great resources on the different options, and how to-s. The different products that are out there really will make your head spin. Since I opted not to do a solar array, I chose a rather basic configuration. I went to NAPA and got about 30 feet of #2 red wire and a $30 battery isolator. Then it was to Amazon to order some Blue-Sea goodies: Blue Sea Systems 6007 m-Series (Mini) Battery Switch Selector, 3 Blue Sea Systems Class T 225 to 400A Fuse Blocks with Insulating Cover, 3 Blue Sea Systems 225A Class T Fuses, and one Blue Sea Systems PowerBar Dual BusBar with Two 3/8-Inch 16 Stud and Insulator. Sam's club had a screaming deal on deep cycle batteries Energizers 29HMs. Then I visited our friendly local metal vendor for some 3/8 thick 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 angle iron.

Research told me that the most common place for auxiliary batteries to be installed is on the frame rail between the body and side loading door cargo step. Ford even puts the extra Diesel's starting battery there. Using the batteries for measurements, I welded up a battery bracket assembly, then checked and rechecked the tolerances between the floor and the top of the batteries. I could use one hole that was already drilled, but had to drill three more holes in the frame.

I then cut some wire at various lengths using a die grinder to start building the isolator and switch panel, as well as the wiring to wire the two deep cycle batteries in series. A ground wire was added from the batteries to the stock ground wire already located on the chassis.

So the idea here is to run the wire from the starting battery across the cowl to the first fuse block, then into the Blue Sea switch position 2, then run wire from position 1 to the isolator input. I then ran a wire from the isolator output back to the switch in position 1+2. The final wire to the house batteries is installed to the output of the isolator. The idea here is with the switch position to '0' the system is physically isolated, the switch in position '1' is electronically isolated, the switch in position '2' is isolated physically too, but position '1+2' is physically connected. So you can either use the isolator, or the switch as redundant systems. The beauty of '1+2' would be if you needed a battery boost should the starting battery get too weak, or to charge the house batteries should the isolator fail.

The wire from the isolator then runs to another fuse block close to the house batteries and installed on the rail. The third fuse block was installed just after the house batteries, also on the rail. If there were a dead short the fuse closest to the battery would blow then isolating the batteries from the system.

Seeing the photos helps make more sense, I hope. Some additional research told me that the batteries sitting in the battery bracket assembly shouldn't be allowed to flop around. I've heard cases where the batteries jumped up and struck the floor over big bumps. My solution was to use some wire cable and turnbuckles as battery tie downs, as you can see in the image. I had to use two floor jacks to lift the batteries into position, then grade 8 bolts and nylon lock nuts were used to secure the deal.

Now the batteries do hang down below the frame, but not any further than the transmission cross-member, and still above the bottom of the running board. Since I have a short wheel based van, I don't think clearance will be an issue. Looks like were good to go...

Van Build: Propane and Essentials

A lot of research and thinking was going on about this time. All the decisions from here on out had to be made, measured and mapped. I had been familiar with different configurations, but never really considered anything other than a Volkswagen layout, since I was already intimately familiar with it. It so happens that layout has been proven and adopted by SMB in their RB50 layout. There were two major decisions that had to be made first. What bed and refrigerator? Other considerations were propane and Solar, water holding and furnace. After looking in the wrecking yards and considering fabricating a fold down bed, I decided to order a 'Princess' manual fold down bed from Discount truck and van: [url]http://www.discountvantruck.com/rvvansofas/Princessvansofabeds.htm[/url]. After much deliberation, and discussion, I decided to go with a 3-way Dometic refrigerator RM2354:[url]http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/rv-refrigerators/americana-fridge-single.htm[/url] It's not the most popular with SMBs, but I decided that a solar array was expensive and I was wary of installing them on the pop top for cosmetic, and functionality reasons. It might be just too heavy to lift the top, and as it was my Girlfriend could barely lift it. That means we're going all propane, which in my experience was extremely efficient. It's kind of old school, but has been a proven platform for decades. We're more of a cook top cookers than microwave cookers at home anyway. The LP fridge will allow us to boondock longer without having to worry about the house batteries dying in the first eight hours. With the fridge and bed ordered, I could now take measurements and begin to to draft a design for the cabinets. In the weeks that followed I started working on the infrastructure. I had ordered this 5.5 gal 'Van' mount Manchester tank [url]http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/lp-gas/rv-propane-tank.htm[/url] and this access door from Sportsmobile [url]http://www.sportsmobilestore.com/propane-compartment-door/[/url].

From my research this is the combination that they install on their vans. After taking tons of measurements I realized there was pretty much one place that the tank and door could fit. The same place SMB installs them. I drilled through the plywood and floor to install the brackets. I used large carriage bolts and nylon lock nuts. I could set the tank up there but without the hole in the side of the van couldn't be sure how well it fit. Time to cut a hole. I used some cardboard to create a template then cut a huge hole with a Jig saw and die cutter in the inner panel. I painted the access door black, and installed that and the tank. I used a thin layer of butyl tape to seal the door frame to the body. Some corrosion protection on the bare metal edges was necessary, plus some additional seam sealer at the bottom sill to further prevent rust. While I was at it I cut the hole for the lower vent for the fridge, and installed it the same way.

Phew, it all fits. A nail biter for sure. As you can also see I ordered some Bushwackers from SMB at the same time as the access door. I really couldn't find them anywhere any cheaper. Up next: House Batteries and wiring

Van Build: Insulation

Thanks for tuning in for the next installment... As you can see the interior is totally gutted, but not ready quite yet to insulate. There was a whole bunch of glue and foam residue from the old carpet pad. The conversion company used copious amounts of spray glue to adhere the foam pad and that had to come off. I used an angle grinder and a wire wheel for a few hours, then vacuumed and wiped off the rest as best as I could. Now I did spend some time here on the forum researching all the different ways to insulate your ride. Lot of different products, and price points. It seemed to me the consensus was that fiberglass insulation was out because of the tendency for it to become laden with water and promote rust, should it come in contact with it. Spray foam, too. (Although it is used in some automotive applications) I decided to use HushMat Ultra [url]http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001VKT9NM/ref=pe_385040_30332200_TE_item[/url]. It is self adhesive, and guaranteed to stick! A mix of aluminum facing and petroleum based product commonly used in restorations for sound deadening and heat prevention, HushMat Ultra seemed like a good product. I bought a 30 piece bundle and installed it in a couple of hours.

I put it all on the floor, and into the step wells. I did run out with a quarter of the back of the van left, so I had to order another 20 pieces. I was then able to continue up and around the wheel houses and fuel filler housing. It was pretty expensive, but really easy to work with. It contoured nicely with any surface it was applied to, and as advertized stuck like a bee-otch. Continuing with the insulation I purchased a couple rolls of EZ-Cool automotive insulation. Its aluminum backed and faced closed-cell foam. [url]http://www.ebay.com/itm/331113135984?item=331113135984&viewitem=&sspagename=ADME:L:OC:US:3160&vxp=mtr[/url] This product was much more affordable, and the roll went a long way, so I was able to add a couple of layers on the wall and ceiling for more insulation. It was applied with generous coats of 3M spray adhesive 90, both sides. I laid Ez-Cool on the floor in one layer, so along with the Ultra Mat, Ez-cool and plywood I felt there was enough insulation there. I stuffed all the crevasses with remnants as well. It looks pretty cool all silver and spacy inside. If I were to do it again, I would use Weldwood Contact Cement for the walls and brush it on. The spray just wasn't enough in spots, and I had to reapply with contact cement anyway. The 5/8" CDX plywood was cut and installed side to side to span the floor ribbing. I counter sunk the self-drilling screws spaced the same as the ribbing.

After that I sealed the plywood with some left over polyurethane I had on the shelf.

Van Build: Q&A

There are some questions out there from others that are attempting to install a Westy top. The first question was: What were the exact dimensions and measurements of the opening, bolting positions and fabricated reinforcements. I'm not going to say these measurements are exact, so I encourage you to perform your own measurements and double check. Measure 15 times, cut once. This is the opening diagram measured from the opening of the Donor Eurovan roof. Note the measurements are in Standard, rather than Metric. This will help with cutting the opening.



This next image measured the bolting positions of the bolt holes in the donor Eruovan roof. This will help to know where to drill and install the nutserts, or nuts to bolt the pop top to the van.



This next image is of the inner reinforcement used to span the floppy roof and reinforce it to the top inner van side. The metal was 1/16" thick. Note the measurements, and angles written on the metal mock up. The passenger side piece had to be cut and re-bent to take in consideration the un-uniform angles over the side cargo doors. This was done during the installation. Some other tidbits of information: Not pictured here is a mock up of the bed reinforcement. It was a z channel 8 feet long, and 2 inches wide at both sides and one inch tall. The striker for the front latch had to be lengthened to fully extend down to the latch. I lengthened the striker by cutting another bolt, then sectioning the striker bolt. This was done by cutting a notch in the length with a die grinder, and welding the seam down the notch. You can then adjust the length of the striker by screwing it in or out. There are seat belt anchors in the upper reinforcement. I drilled holes in the roof reinforcement during the installation, and bolted the fabricated pieces up there to hold it while I welded it. I also left the bolts in. The front seat belts had to be bolted through the metal as well. Hope this helps.

The Pop Top Story Part III

I removed the headliner, which was installed in three pieces. Removing the first piece was interesting. A rodent had stored juniper berries up in there, and as I began to let the piece down, they started to fall. I yelled to my girlfriend to grab a trash can, and filled it up with hundreds of those berries. Glad I had the dust mask on, who needs a hantivirus. I took a bunch of measurements off the donor roof. I measured the mounting holes, and all the openings. I marked on the outside of the roof the measurements. Next what I did was remove the inner roof bows. I heated up the structural foam and used a thick scraper to separate the bow from the roof of the van. They then came off with two bolts on either end. I then began to cut a smaller hole from the inside. This way I could make the final cut standing in the hole.

Used the Sawzall... No going back now! Woot Woot!

Okay now there's a big hole!

Guess I better cover it up.

It's on there! I drilled holes and bolted the top down based off my measurements from the donor roof. Sweet. It pops up and down no problem.

Except there's a problem.... It's just bolted to one piece of sheet metal. It flops around, and puts a lot of torque on the metal when it's open. There's no way to put the bed back up there. I don't remember reading anywhere about this issue. Time to get out the thinking cap. :b3: I tried every way I could think of to use the old VW bed reinforcements, but they were way too narrow. I used some blanks and bent them to diagonally bridge the roof to the van side panel. I then used another piece to make a z channel. The idea here is to layer the inner reinforcement, the roof panel and the z channel. The inner reinforcement will provide stiffness up to down, and the z channel front to back. I then had a steel fabricator place I work with cut and bend the stock to the exact angles from my mock up made from the blanks.

One of the most important components to this project was going to be the front reinforcement. This was salvaged from the donor van, and housed the latch assembly. It also had welded nuts to bolt the front lifting bracket. Here's where all the measurements I took from the donor van roof come into play. I bolted it up, got the top working then welded it all up together. Here you can see the reinforcement, and the bed panels installed.

Here we have the top on, and the canvas secured. It's tight, but there are no wind or water leaks!

Wooo Hoo!

Price rundown. $850 for the top, $300 for gas, hotel and meals to drive to Denver to get it, $100 for the metal, $500 for the canvas, $400 for the paint (est.). $2150. Not bad. A couple of important things I failed to mention on the top installation. Firstly I used the VW rear roof reinforcement. It's a galvanized z bracket of sorts that holds the bed panel at the rear. It's curved on the top, which matches the curve of the pop top. Installing this beneath the roof metal raised the curvature to match the VW top at the rear. This helped close the gap that was back there. Another issue I came up with was: what to do about the roof ribs at the front. I had seen some people trim out the top to match the convoluted metal. I chose to install 2" body side moldings in the channels to fill it level. That way the pop top gasket could be used and create a seal. Okay, now lets put the cart back behind the horse. Time to gut the interior and find out what were really looking at. I knew there would be some rust, just not how much.

Yikes I can see the ground. Two huge rust spots and holes, just inboard of the rear wheels. The rear body mounts are detached on the reinforcement too.

Time to grind and cut it out

I had to cut the body bolts, because they were in the way and rusted in the mount. I then had to weld an inner piece on to the reinforcement. This also held a sleeve between the plate and the reinforcement. The sleeve allows the body bolt to be tightened without crushing the floor down when tightening. Instead of trying to replace the body mount, which has a threaded sleeve, and is installed with the body off (no going to do it). I cut the threaded sleeve, got a grade 8 bolt and washer and nylon stop nut, and slipped it back through the hole and tightened it down a the end. The photo above shows weld through primer on the area to be welded. I then had to find a donor part to fill the floor with. It happened that there was an old pick up bed out back with no rust in the floor. The convolutions matched up pretty well and made short work of patching the floor.

Fun with a welder! A little primer and some under coat, and we're done. I checked the front under the front seats, and there was a little rust there. It had very few perforations, and they stopped before the inner floor reinforcements. Some seam sealer, rust stopper, and a coat of paint took care of that. Up next was to remove the driver's side window and weld in a whole new piece. Most body techs would opt to replace the whole quarter panel, but I figured welding in metal would save more money. I was lucky to find an old Subaru hood that had roughly the same contours. I just had to pound the metal on a piece of strapping to fabricate the body line. I then used panel adhesive and spot welds to permanently affix the hood in the opening.

I installed self adhesive sound deadening pads from 3M to stiffen the metal and keep it from oil canning. Some bondo, and lots of elbow action.

Here we are in primer

I left the drivers front window in, and as it turned out was a mistake. At this point I hadn't made a decision on what refrigerator I was going to install. Not having the fridge, I had little idea what was necessary for it to work correctly. We'll get to that, and how I corrected it later. Also as you can see in the following photos, I installed some used running boards from a Crew Cab pick up. I cut and welded the brackets directly to the inner rocker panels.

Here we are getting ready for paint.

My Girlfriend helping masking... Damn I love that woman!

Ta da!