freerangetortoise
Active member
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]First off, I've leeched off this site for over four years and this time I hope I've finally been able to contribute. I wrote this up in my blog (minus a few images since I maxed out here) but wanted to share it here as well seeing as my blog gets zero traffic.[/font][/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif](I'm not going to pretend that I know what I'm doing because I don't. I'm sure there were plenty of shoulda's, woulda's and coulda's along the way but I did what I was gunna do and this is what resulted.)[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]My road leading up to the purchase of Martha started four years ago. I was researching the best bug out vehicles for disaster preparedness because I was out of a car and needed to buy one anyway – might as well have some fun with it. [/font][/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]That’s when I first discovered vandwelling and ever since then, that little seed started growing bigger and bigger.[/font][/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]Fast forward to last September. I had my bug out truck and was over it. So I threw a small truck camper on it, then a bigger truck camper, and an even bigger one after that. I finally realized that no matter what it was that I did to the truck, I was never going to be happy because what I really wanted needed was a van. So, against better judgement and despite being upside-down on the truck, I traded it in and picked up Martha – a 2015 Ram Promaster 1500 standard wheelbase, standard height top, base model cargo van.[/font][/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]I got to work the very next weekend, but this is what I started with – a blank canvas.[/font][/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]
[/font][/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]First thing I did was apply strips of some peel & stick roofing material on the walls and ceiling of the Martha’s interior. It’s not exactly soundproofing material but it absorbs some of the vibration as I’m driving down the road. I’m not sure whether it actually works or not but I feel better knowing I at least tried to combat the noise! Same thing on both sides and on the ceiling.[/font][/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]
[/font][/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]Then I put up Reflectix with the super duper 3M adhesive spray. I understand that Reflectix requires an air gap in order to work more effectively and for the most part I applied it to the ribs of the van. But for the long runs, I stuck it right to the skin otherwise I’d have droopy bits everywhere. Same thing on both sides and on the ceiling.[/font][/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]
[/font][/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]Over the Reflectix, I added 1″ rigid foam insulation with 3M adhesive, aluminum foil tape-thing, screwed it, basically I stuck it up there using whatever method I could. The floor was a lot easier – I just cut it to fit around the wheel wells and plopped it down.[/font][/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]
[/font][/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif] Then threw some 7/16″ OSB on top of that.[/font][/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]
[/font][/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]To cover the insulation on the walls, I used Masonite because well, it’s cheap and light and fairly pliable. But what I wanted to show in this picture was the little custom black brackets (4 of them) that bolted to factory locations (for seat belts?). I used these brackets to fasten 2×4’s to make up the frame of my bed. My fabricator brother made those up for me, extra beefy might I add, because as most older brothers do he likes to tease my heft.[/font][/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]
[/font][/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]And here’s the bed. I still have plenty of headroom up top and LOTS of storage height underneath. We love to mountain bike (though we’re not very good at it) and imperative that we have a place to keep our bikes. We toyed with the idea of a hitch carrier for out bikes but thieves here are ruthless. You lock up your bike and tires but they take your seats, pedals, etc. No thanks![/font][/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]
[/font][/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]That was pretty much it as far as the foundation goes. This part went fairly quickly and I remembered to take photos. After this point, I had a death in the family and construction was obviously slow and sparse – so either there weren’t photos taken or I have misplaced them. Nevertheless, here’s the final product as she sits right now. I’m sure things will change if they need to.[/font][/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]The cabinet on the left: that’s the sink/kitchen area. It houses a fresh and gray water tank as well as cleaning supplies and a fire extinguisher. The fresh water is pumped via cheapo eBay 12 volt water pump through 1/4″ I.D. hose. I made a “faucet” out of 1/2″ copper tubing and Gorilla glue to hold it together. There’s a stainless Ikea sink we picked up for $20 that sits on top that drains into the gray tank. Easy peasy. Also, there’s a leaf that flips over and the cabinet door props said leaf up when the door is partially opened.[/font][/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]Toilet: Cassette-type Porta-Potty behind a divider wall for privacy. The door closes when we need it to.[/font][/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]
[/font][/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]Leaf opened and propped for more cooking space. Please disregard clutter in the sink as these items haven’t found a home yet and/or are still being used for construction.[/font][/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]
[/font][/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]Quick note on picture above: The “sofa” was $10 find at an out-of-business grocery store that was getting rid of all furnishings. The “sofa” was a small table used for displaying cookies in jars. I asked the store manager if this was study enough to use and a seat and he reassured me that because it was in an industrial environment, standards require all furnishings to be made using heavy duty materials and construction. Anyway, it hasn’t failed us yet so it looks promising. I threw a Harbor Freight moving blanket folded several times over for padding and Joann’s bargain bin fabric to pretty it up a bit. Below houses the cooler and dry food storage, amongst other miscellaneous items.[/font][/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]Covered the ugly OSB with this low cost peel & stick faux-wood flooring stuff. Looks good but not very durable. Scratches EVERYWHERE already. But I don’t really mind – kind of adds a bit of rustic feel.[/font][/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]
[/font][/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]That’s about all there is as far as the interior. We’re using Sterilite plastic containers for storage underneath the bed and bungee cords everywhere. There’s a 100 watt Renogy panel on the roof to a Renogy kit charge controller with a Wally World 122Ah deep cycle battery inside. That powers either a 3000 watt Harbor Freight inverter (hardly used) or runs to a fuse panel that runs the lights, cigarette plugs, USB plugs, other 12 volt goodies.[/font][/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]Other stuff: As well as the fire extinguisher, there’s a carbon monoxide detector above my bed, and plans for an explosive gasses detector once we start carrying explosive gasses (propane). Also, bear spray and other forms of protection (hint: the American flag pillow).[/font][/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]I’ll be happy to answer any questions you may have or take more pictures if you want to see anything specific. As a non-professional constructor of things (I push papers M-F), I’m very open to criticism especially if there’s any safety concerns![/font][/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif](I'm not going to pretend that I know what I'm doing because I don't. I'm sure there were plenty of shoulda's, woulda's and coulda's along the way but I did what I was gunna do and this is what resulted.)[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]My road leading up to the purchase of Martha started four years ago. I was researching the best bug out vehicles for disaster preparedness because I was out of a car and needed to buy one anyway – might as well have some fun with it. [/font][/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]That’s when I first discovered vandwelling and ever since then, that little seed started growing bigger and bigger.[/font][/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]Fast forward to last September. I had my bug out truck and was over it. So I threw a small truck camper on it, then a bigger truck camper, and an even bigger one after that. I finally realized that no matter what it was that I did to the truck, I was never going to be happy because what I really wanted needed was a van. So, against better judgement and despite being upside-down on the truck, I traded it in and picked up Martha – a 2015 Ram Promaster 1500 standard wheelbase, standard height top, base model cargo van.[/font][/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]I got to work the very next weekend, but this is what I started with – a blank canvas.[/font][/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]
[/font][/font][font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]First thing I did was apply strips of some peel & stick roofing material on the walls and ceiling of the Martha’s interior. It’s not exactly soundproofing material but it absorbs some of the vibration as I’m driving down the road. I’m not sure whether it actually works or not but I feel better knowing I at least tried to combat the noise! Same thing on both sides and on the ceiling.[/font][/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]
[/font][/font][font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]Then I put up Reflectix with the super duper 3M adhesive spray. I understand that Reflectix requires an air gap in order to work more effectively and for the most part I applied it to the ribs of the van. But for the long runs, I stuck it right to the skin otherwise I’d have droopy bits everywhere. Same thing on both sides and on the ceiling.[/font][/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]
[/font][/font][font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]Over the Reflectix, I added 1″ rigid foam insulation with 3M adhesive, aluminum foil tape-thing, screwed it, basically I stuck it up there using whatever method I could. The floor was a lot easier – I just cut it to fit around the wheel wells and plopped it down.[/font][/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]
[/font][/font][font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif] Then threw some 7/16″ OSB on top of that.[/font][/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]
[/font][/font][font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]To cover the insulation on the walls, I used Masonite because well, it’s cheap and light and fairly pliable. But what I wanted to show in this picture was the little custom black brackets (4 of them) that bolted to factory locations (for seat belts?). I used these brackets to fasten 2×4’s to make up the frame of my bed. My fabricator brother made those up for me, extra beefy might I add, because as most older brothers do he likes to tease my heft.[/font][/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]
[/font][/font][font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]And here’s the bed. I still have plenty of headroom up top and LOTS of storage height underneath. We love to mountain bike (though we’re not very good at it) and imperative that we have a place to keep our bikes. We toyed with the idea of a hitch carrier for out bikes but thieves here are ruthless. You lock up your bike and tires but they take your seats, pedals, etc. No thanks![/font][/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]
[/font][/font][font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]That was pretty much it as far as the foundation goes. This part went fairly quickly and I remembered to take photos. After this point, I had a death in the family and construction was obviously slow and sparse – so either there weren’t photos taken or I have misplaced them. Nevertheless, here’s the final product as she sits right now. I’m sure things will change if they need to.[/font][/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]The cabinet on the left: that’s the sink/kitchen area. It houses a fresh and gray water tank as well as cleaning supplies and a fire extinguisher. The fresh water is pumped via cheapo eBay 12 volt water pump through 1/4″ I.D. hose. I made a “faucet” out of 1/2″ copper tubing and Gorilla glue to hold it together. There’s a stainless Ikea sink we picked up for $20 that sits on top that drains into the gray tank. Easy peasy. Also, there’s a leaf that flips over and the cabinet door props said leaf up when the door is partially opened.[/font][/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]Toilet: Cassette-type Porta-Potty behind a divider wall for privacy. The door closes when we need it to.[/font][/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]
[/font][/font][font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]Leaf opened and propped for more cooking space. Please disregard clutter in the sink as these items haven’t found a home yet and/or are still being used for construction.[/font][/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]
[/font][/font][font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]Quick note on picture above: The “sofa” was $10 find at an out-of-business grocery store that was getting rid of all furnishings. The “sofa” was a small table used for displaying cookies in jars. I asked the store manager if this was study enough to use and a seat and he reassured me that because it was in an industrial environment, standards require all furnishings to be made using heavy duty materials and construction. Anyway, it hasn’t failed us yet so it looks promising. I threw a Harbor Freight moving blanket folded several times over for padding and Joann’s bargain bin fabric to pretty it up a bit. Below houses the cooler and dry food storage, amongst other miscellaneous items.[/font][/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]Covered the ugly OSB with this low cost peel & stick faux-wood flooring stuff. Looks good but not very durable. Scratches EVERYWHERE already. But I don’t really mind – kind of adds a bit of rustic feel.[/font][/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]
[/font][/font][font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]That’s about all there is as far as the interior. We’re using Sterilite plastic containers for storage underneath the bed and bungee cords everywhere. There’s a 100 watt Renogy panel on the roof to a Renogy kit charge controller with a Wally World 122Ah deep cycle battery inside. That powers either a 3000 watt Harbor Freight inverter (hardly used) or runs to a fuse panel that runs the lights, cigarette plugs, USB plugs, other 12 volt goodies.[/font][/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]Other stuff: As well as the fire extinguisher, there’s a carbon monoxide detector above my bed, and plans for an explosive gasses detector once we start carrying explosive gasses (propane). Also, bear spray and other forms of protection (hint: the American flag pillow).[/font][/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]I’ll be happy to answer any questions you may have or take more pictures if you want to see anything specific. As a non-professional constructor of things (I push papers M-F), I’m very open to criticism especially if there’s any safety concerns![/font][/font]
