I chose to use 1/4 inch sheets of Luan 4X8 paneling for the interior. I wasn't sure how it would look, if I would stain it, paint it, until I had it up I wouldn't know for sure. But the panelling is quite beautiful on it's own, simple and woodsy , kind of the look and feel I was going for, so in the end I simply coated the panels with boiled Linseed Oil and was extremely happy with the outcome...
The side walls were first, the ceiling I reserved until later due to the fact that I had decided to run all of m y electrical wiring in the channels at the top of the side walls, where the original wiring was already, and across the ceiling. Once I had the ceiling insulation in place I was able to route all of my electrical wiring and then hang the ceiling panels, but I'm getting ahead of myself...
Again, I say that everything in a van is curved. So even when you have a full sheet of plywood, and you make the proper cuts for the wheel wells and fuel door, you still have to tweak things here and there to get it to fit. In the above picture I was able to run one full sheet from the back of the driver's seat to near the end of the wheel well. You will see the insulation showing through behind the cabinet. I had planned on putting a backing panel on the bottom cabinets so I wasn't concerned with filling that space...
A look at the other side reveals the same thing, except I only cut the panel the height I needed and left the back of the cabinet open to the insulation...
I added two long panels, one on each side, to the rear extended area of the van and started framing in the rear cabinet. In order to add more strength and to provide an attaching point for more panelling, I decided to bring the rear two supports straight up as far as they would go and to bolt them directly to the metal framework surrounding the rear doors...
Here's a couple of pictures that give you a better perspective. Notice the two long uprights that are built into the rear cabinet support. I also wanted to make this sturdy so that I could leave a wide opening in the rear. I had planned on designing m y water supply in this area and I wanted to have easy access to fill and replace large water containers...
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| Very solid once attached. |
Now that I had the basic cabinets constructed, I cut countertops for all three cabinets from 3/4 in plywood, again, this gave them added strength. The rear cabinet countertop by necessity had to be smaller than the size of the frame. There was no way to get a piece of plywood behind the vertical ribs without disassembling the entire structure. I know because I really tried...
What I decided to do was to cut it to a size that left a significant opening on both sides that would allow me to store items like folding chairs and tables. I checked the size of most folding chairs and I could easily tilt them into place and have ease of access. I was so proud that it worked out that way, but the chairs I ended up purchasing wouldn't fit, big guy , big chairs. But I was able to use the openings for access to things I had stored underneath on the sides like motor oil and antifreeze containers...
It's amazing how much work and effort has to go into every project for the van. Remember when I said I was feeling very confident, felt like I was really making progress? Well, it's been ma n y day s since then and I still see so much more that has to be done...
I had set myself a goal of retiring from my job b y the first of August, but every time I looked at the van, I thought, how in the world am I going to get this done by then? Yet, I persisted, and eventually it did all come together...
Okay , time for another break and do something different for a while...
The van headliner was old and deteriorating and it originally extended back a couple of feet behind the seats into the cargo area...
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| Headliner extended back farther than I wanted. |
I wanted the panelling to run all the way up to the seats so I cut it off, scraped all of the ugly greenish, sticky felt-like material off, gave the fiberglass shell a good scrubbing, and bought some upholstery adhesive and a couple of yards of burlap material...
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| Scraping and cutting. |
It was easier than I thought to cover it and it turned out really well. The type of fabric matched my earthy, simplistic taste and a new headliner was born...
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| Newly recovered headliner. |
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| Headliner installed. |
The weather was right, I had my new Fan-Tastic Vent fan, so yeah, let's do it...
Fortunately the top of the van was made with a large flat area for the installation of a roof vent. The installation was relatively simple. I measured the opening, several times, to make sure before I cut the hole. I had to build a square wooden support to go against the top of the inside of the van roof that allowed the screws to bite into something solid rather than just sheet metal, but other than that I simply followed the instructions (I did use other screws than were provided, I liked mine better) and it was installed and awaiting the installation of the roof insulation and paneling to install the interior trim piece and finish up the job...
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| I also made sure I had the vent pointed in the right direction. |
Sadly, I guess I forgot to take a lot of pictures, but when it came to installing the roof insulation I don't have a lot of shots taken during the process. Most are after the fact, but I will explain as best as I can...
Time to insulate and panel the roof...
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