And So It Begins ... Again ...

[Gideon33w]

Great find and job done thus far!

Thank you thank you. The find far outweighs and wrenching skills I have. I also lost the morning to tidying up my last toy to sell.

 

[Gideon33w]

congrats on the van find.  good luck hope you can make it to RTR.  BTW doing the pinion seal with the spacer and no crush sleeve is super easy because it's almost impossible to over tighten the pinion nut.  highdesertranger

Thank, finding one in my budget was the big worry. 
I certainly plan on it this year. I'll bring coffee
It's funny, TONS of wrench time but never did a pinion seal myself.
Just never had one go bad and same for friends.

 

[Gideon33w]

Cleaned her up a bit. Added 5% tint to the windows getting covered with paneling. Stuffed the sound deadening material and polyester batting into some of the spaces.
About to start framing and paneling. Since I don't have the budget for insulation I'll be laminating the back of the paneling with a radiant barrier.

 

[Gary68]

what type of window film? i am looking for some quality 35-50% ceramic but the good makers only sell to reputable companies and no retail

 

[CautionToTheWind]

^^^ have you tried eBay? Nano ceramic available on eBay.

Look'n good Gideon!

 

[Gideon33w]

I used the cling type which was a serious mistake. Absolutely terrible results but it does the job I guess.
I only put it on the windows getting covered with paneling. Uncovered windows will get normal 5% tint.

Paneling is up, bed is mostly built, kitchen is half done, plus a bunch of misc.

Lamenting the back of the panels with mylar works beautifully. I put up a piece without and let that side sit in the sun and even through the 5% tint the panel without it was hot and the one with is was maybe warm. Best option if you can't afford or don't want to do insulation. The large air gap to the window ensures it works well. All I used was spray adhesive and then got the mylar reasonably smooth. Trim off the excess and put the panel in place.

More pictures to come. Been at my buddies since he has more woodworking tools than I do. It's going though.

 

[dr_nelson]

Darn Gideon, you're going at full speed! You're very focused (I know you have to), but still saying...

 

[Gideon33w]

Yeah. Everyday I'm leaving the van at my buddies and going over first thing next morning to build. Tools ready to go.
I have some experience building things so no learning curve. Plus, I knew what I needed/wanted from the get go.
Bed and kitchen are done (95%). Tomorrow I'm doing the cabinets/closet. Got rained out today. Monsoon season.

 

[Gideon33w]

Until I can get more done and post pictures.

Ran into an interesting layout problem on my new van. - I wanted a van with rear AC but didn't realize just how much width I'd lose at the rear.
A longitudinal bed is probably the best use of space so I had to come up with something different.

Didn't need door access so it's a good use of space. The back of the couch is removable and lays in between it and the bench to form the bed. Passenger rear corner houses my Aqua-tainer water jug with the sink next to it and counter space for typical use or stowable stove next to that. Fridge goes under the counter. Purple boxes are the wheel wells. Standard box Chevy Express which is almost exactly 8'x6'. Sliding passenger side door still opens and the foot well is for battery, charge controller, and inverter. Bed boxes are about a foot high. Kitchen counter goes right to the bottom of the rear windows. I access the rear from the front. Space between the cabinet and closet is 36" wide and the space between bed and bench is 24" wide.

Sorry for throwing something together on just MS paint real quick but this is the layout I went with. Let me know if you have any questions.

 

[Gideon33w]

Because of the pace I'm working at and how early in the day I start I'm losing the middle of the day to the heat.
And, thanks to monsoon season, the evening have been questionable on if I get rained out or not.
That said, should have the basic build done by the end of this weekend.
Then, I just need to add some finishing touches, solar/power setup, and tint the unpaneled windows and such.
After all that, I will get around to fixing a few of the issues the van had when I bought it and I'm good

 

[Ballenxj]

Because of the pace I'm working at and how early in the day I start I'm losing the middle of the day to the heat.
<-------->
After all that, I will get around to fixing a few of the issues the van had when I bought it and I'm good

Working in AZ heat can't be fun.
 If the panel over the window isn't too hard to remove, I recommend tinting the window under the paneling too for continuity.
I will be interested in watching your solar build. Good Luck.

 

[dr_nelson]

(...) Sliding passenger side door still opens and the foot well is for battery, charge controller, and inverter.

That's actually a great space efficient idea!

 

[Gideon33w]

Working in AZ heat can't be fun.
 If the panel over the window isn't too hard to remove, I recommend tinting the window under the paneling too for continuity.
I will be interested in watching your solar build. Good Luck.

It is a pain but thankfully the high desert can be manageable. Today was nice out. Already did the tint ;-)

 

[Gideon33w]

Bulkhead is built, closet is built, kitchen and bed are done, a fair bit of painting is done, and I coated the roof with Kool Seal ... Tired ...

 

[akrvbob]

I'm deleting off-topic posts. This is a van build thread, it is not a Prius thread or a how to evacuate thread.

Those are both great topics! But, they do not belong here, start a new thread for them.

 

[Gideon33w]

Don't mind all the tools and little bits which need finishing. The key items are all built. Just need to clean up and finish a few misc bits here and there.
Not too bad for a tight budget and building in less than a week if I do say so myself, haha.
Could have gone the mattress and milk crate route but for my own sanity $250 in lumber and several days is well worth the difference.
Solar, vent fan, stuff for building a swamp cooler, and some other misc has been ordered. Should have it by tuesday mid day.
The back of the couch lays in the middle to form the bed. It is also sized so switch sides if I like. Helpful since the bench (sliding door side) is deeper.

 

[Gideon33w]

Oh, it's all 2x3s, 2x6s, 3/8ths particle board, 3/4 ply, and the paneling. You can grab anything you see and shake the whole van without so much as a squeak.
Put it all together with 3" self counter sinking coated decking screws, brad nails, and washers self taping screws (into the metal of the van). Just about bomb proof.

 

[dr_nelson]

Awesome man! And the velocity of your build, amazing!
Thanks for sharing pics!

 

[Ballenxj]

Oh, it's all 2x3s, 2x6s, 3/8ths particle board, 3/4 ply, and the paneling. You can grab anything you see and shake the whole van without so much as a squeak.
Put it all together with 3" self counter sinking coated decking screws, brad nails, and washers self taping screws (into the metal of the van). Just about bomb proof.

Impressive!

 

[CautionToTheWind]

Good job!