2014 Chevy Express 2500 Van Build: Luisafernandes

[AimlessWanderLust]

Honestly, I was hoping the sound dampening would be more effective than it is. It DOES dampen the sound, mostly just causing louder, higher pitched noises to be more muted, but noises like knocking or rain definitely are not gone. for the cost (we bought like 6 "bulk" boxes of Roadkill to cover the entire van, ~$100 each) and the hassle of installing it, I don't think I'd do it again. Just not sure there's all that much benefit.

 

[Luisafernandes]

Then maybe I did well not getting it.

 

[Luisafernandes]

Another nonstop weekend with lots, and lots of work. 20, 30, 50 times in and out of the van. Cut a little here, cut a little there. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
It's coming all together though. I finished the driver side bulkhead panel, and here's how I did it.
Having cut, stained, and applied wipe on poly last weekend, today I cut and sprayed glued 1/2 Polyisio followed by two layers of Reflectix and one more layer 1/2 Polyisio. It turned out that these layers wore precisely what I needed to cover the 1 1/2 inch space in between the two panels, which I divided using 3/4 by 1 1/2 poplar.
Where the panel ends on the right side I'll attach a door later on.
The panels wore screwed to the overhead board and to the floor using an aluminum L bracket.
Here's some pics;

 

[Luisafernandes]

Finished the passenger side bulkhead panels, just letting them air out till next weekend when I'll be installing them. Same with bed frame. Also made the desk shelve and a dividing panel.
Here's one of the two bulkhead panels;

And the bed frame. This piece goes in the back end dividing the bed from the storage/trunk/garage area;

This is the desk with the panel that will go on the left side, the bulkhead will be on the right. I used Minwax Ebony stain to contrast with the gray used on the walls and ceiling.

 

[iatemycat]

Wow, I love your van so far! You are doing a fantastic job with it.

 

[Luisafernandes]

Wow, I love your van so far! You are doing a fantastic job with it.

Thank you!

Ps, what does it taste like? : )

 

[Dutch253]

Thank you!

Ps, what does it taste like? : )

Like chicken? Seriously though, you're doing a phenomenal job! This thread is very inspiring and I'm going to subscribe to see where it ends up. Keep up the good work! In the end your patience will pay off for sure!

 

[Luisafernandes]

Like chicken? Seriously though, you're doing a phenomenal job! This thread is very inspiring and I'm going to subscribe to see where it ends up. Keep up the good work! In the end your patience will pay off for sure!

Thanks Dutch253!

 

[Luisafernandes]

A very productive day working on the van, from sunup to sundown.
Though I had the two passenger side bulkhead panels cut, stained and with three coats of poly, it still took me more than half a day to engineer the finished bulkhead.
I cut a piece of 3/4 plywood to fit between the panel on the cabin side and the seatbelt column and stapled the two together.

Used two pieces of 3/4 by 1 1/2 poplar stapled together (same as driver side panel) to finish the left side. On the right side I used the same poplar wood cut in small different size pieces to help with the contour.

Then made a paper template to cut the Polyisio and Reflectix.

Applied the two layers of Polyisio with two layers of Reflectix in between.

Here's the installation on the van:

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The end with the small pieces of 3/4 poplar will get a 1 1/2 by 1/4 strip of plywood to finish it off.

Then moved on to the bed. (Please note that I did not go to bed. I worked ON the bed platform.)

The wheel wells will have a removable piece of plywood, this way I can utilize the space.

God willing, there will be more tomorrow.

 

[akrvbob]

Astoundingly good work!
Bob

 

[Luisafernandes]

Thanks Bob!

 

[Luisafernandes]

Another busy nonstop day. I was able to cut and stain the two panels that make up the door, and after a few hours to let the stain dry somewhat, I temporally installed it for privacy reasons. Next weekend I'll remove it to insulate and finish with the wipe on poly.
I used a piano hinge with 1 1/4 screws, not the tiny ones it came with.
With stain applied;

After 15 minutes or so the stain is wiped with cotton cloth;

Door and finish trim over the door installed;

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Desk installed. Shelf that goes above it stained;

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My idea to install my road bike vertically

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My idea to install my road bike vertically against the side in the trunk/garage area is a great one, unfortunately my van isn't a high top. Until today I hadn't check to see if it actually fit, it doesn't.
I can still bring it with me just like this;

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Here's the bed area minus the mattress;

And I also cut a piece of 1/4 plywood that I placed under the floor by the side door step. The plastic molding curved away from the floor, so every time I stepped close to the edge the floor "felt" like it was going to brake.

 

[Bela's Mom]

Very nice work!

 

[Luisafernandes]

Very nice work!

Thank you!

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Oh almost forgot. With some leftover 1/4 plywood from the ceiling panel I cut a strip
1 1/2 wide and with some metal screws I finished the side of the bulkhead panel;

 

[Expresscamper]

Maybe...
Maybe I should've used 1/4 plywood on top of the foam to give it some stability, though it feels pretty good do far. Time will tell.
Here some pics;

Hello, I have a few questions I like to ask you from your experience.
#1. Do you regret not using the van cargo mat as for floor underlayment?

#2. Has the polysio foam board noticeably helped insulate the floors? And where did you get the foam board at??

#3. What is the best way to go about installing laminated wood planks flooring in van?

Thanks for any help you can give. As I'm currently working on my flooring too.:idea:

 

[Luisafernandes]

Hello, I have a few questions I like to ask you from your experience.
#1. Do you regret not using the van cargo mat as for floor underlayment?

#2. Has the polysio foam board noticeably helped insulate the floors? And where did you get the foam board at??

#3. What is the best way to go about installing laminated wood planks flooring in van?

Thanks for any help you can give. As I'm currently working on my flooring too.:idea:

Hi Expresscamper!

#1; I have no regrets not using the cargo mat. I thought about it for a few weeks before I actually made the decision and have no regrets.
The laminate levels the floor and allows me to screw to it if need be, which I actually did where I installed the bulkhead panels.
Of course if someone doesn't have the means to buy the floor (I bought 3 boxes on sale for about $26 each) then by all means use the mat.

#2; the Polyisio foam has a higher R value than the cargo mat, thus it will insulate better. Have I noticed a difference? I can't really tell. Only because I never slept in the van before installing the floor.
You can buy it at Home Depot or Lowes, or any other home improvement store.

#3; I'm not sure if I did it perfectly right, but look at the way I did it. My only regret was not using 1/4 plywood above the Polyisio to give it more stability.
While connecting the boards together the floor felt slightly soft, but now that's all done fells very ridged.
Another thing a did, and many people don't was NOT to screw the laminate wood floor to the van. I avoided puncturing the metal floor, which could cause problems sooner or later. Instead I used foil tape along the edges to not only help secure the floor but to seal the edges also.
With the foils securing the edges, the bulkhead screwed to the floor and the weight of everything else, including things siting on the floor that will be screwed to either the van's ribs or other things already screwed to the van's ribs, I found no need to screw the floor to the van's metal floor.

Hope that helps, let me know if anything else comes to mind.

 

[Lafnbug]

One idea I had was to suspend the bike from the ceiling (over the bed), so the drop bars would be over my feet, and the rear wheel over my head. This requires a fairly low bed, though, to leave a comfortable place to sleep. Currently investigating a Dahon Tournado, the frame breaks down and can fit in a 26x29x10 case, or in my situation a purpose built closet. Still thinking on that....

You could hang your bike upside down in that space with two rubber coated hooks (available at Home Depot). This would open up floor space in The Garage for other items. Just a thought...

Overall, this is the nicest conversion I've seen. Attention to detail is top notch, everything looks great. One question; have you thought about how/where you will run your solar cabling through the roof? Or, where you will attach your controller, or battery box?

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I forgot to mention that my idea about hanging my bike over the bed was to hang it in a horizontal position; laying on its side, up against the ceiling.

 

[Luisafernandes]

One idea I had was to suspend the bike from the ceiling (over the bed), so the drop bars would be over my feet, and the rear wheel over my head. This requires a fairly low bed, though, to leave a comfortable place to sleep. Currently investigating a Dahon Tournado, the frame breaks down and can fit in a 26x29x10 case, or in my situation a purpose built closet. Still thinking on that....

You could hang your bike upside down in that space with two rubber coated hooks (available at Home Depot). This would open up floor space in The Garage for other items. Just a thought...

Overall, this is the nicest conversion I've seen. Attention to detail is top notch, everything looks great. One question; have you thought about how/where you will run your solar cabling through the roof? Or, where you will attach your controller, or battery box?

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I forgot to mention that my idea about hanging my bike over the bed was to hang it in a horizontal position; laying on its side, up against the ceiling.

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Thanks for the idea regarding the bike but personally, I'm not storing my bike overhead. I'm keeping it in the garage area. I might remove the front wheel and attach it to a quick release.
The solar is on hold for now, temporally, until I buy a roof rack. I work and overnight in populated areas, so keeping stealth is very important. When I buy the solar panels I want to make sure they remain as unnoticed as possible, at least from the ground.
Thanks for the kind complements.

 

[Luisafernandes]

Got some stuff done this weekend, just half a Saturday and a few hours Sunday morning. Enough to remove the bulkhead door, apply three coats of wipe on poly, make it 1/2 inch less thick, insulate it, and rehang it.
Here she is with a latch on one side and a tie down ring (more like an oval) on the living area side. I use that ring to either open the door or to keep it securely open.

Here I installed a book shelve above the computer desk. Eventually all the mess under it will be put away in a proper place.

To the left side of the desk I'll install a cabinet with doors that will house two 7 gallon water container if need be, and plenty more space for other stuff.
These are the pieces drying and awaiting next weekend;

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For my bed I bought a 3" tempurpedic mattress topper. But sleeping on that I tossed and turned all night with my hips hitting the plywood underneath. The next day I bought interlocking foam and placed under the mattress; a little better but not much. Went back to Walmart or Kmart and bought 1/2 inch exercise mat. Still hurt. Then bought two camping mats. Better, but still no good. Went back to Walmart and bought a 2" foam gel topper and added that under my mattress and on top of the other three layers of foam, still no good.
For tonight I'm trying my 3" of tempurpedic topper on top of 4" of memory foam, 2" of which are supportive foam. I removed all the other stuff except for the interlocking foam. We'll see how good a night I'll have. So far it feels really nice.
Here some pics;

You can see some of my storage bins under the bed. Eventually I'll make a cover for that opening.

 

[Luisafernandes]

A very good nights' sleep on the new mattress set up.