Building Arabella

[Txjaybird]

Almost There  I read your build thread back when I first became a member here.  I just read it again almost 1 year later. I must say that I'm terribly disapointed.......  .......In myself!  After crawling and scooting around on the floor in my Aliner while putting 2 coats of stain on the cabinets and then pulling off and painting the cabinet doors I came to the conclussion that I'll never be able to really "Build "a damn thing.  I'm just too banged up and your thread reminded me of that.   I read it again tonite and got some good ideas on the way I may be able to do a smaller "build" in the Safari hightop conversion van that became mine 2 weeks ago.  Except for the bed that I want on the side behind the drivers seat I'll be using mostly ready made units, plasic dressers, shelves and small wooden pieces I already have.  

Got Smart was good enough to give me a list of what I need for a portable solar hookup { I wonder if he likes meatloaf and peach cobbler} shhhh don't say anything.  At that time it was for the 4x4 Ranger so I could use a fan and lights to work in my storage units.  Now I need it for the Aliner and Van as I will not always take the Aliner when I travel unless I'm full timing, which I want to be.

I really admire your ability in designing and building your Home On Wheels.  I'm glad I saw the video earlier and hope it's back up soon. I'll miss RTR this year.  I was lookink forward to meeting so many people from here.......maybe next year.

 By the way my sisters Dad once told me that all the females in my family are "expert pilot's".  We pile it over here and then we pile it over there.  When you were describing your van, trash, give away piles in getting ready to travel it made me smile thinking of him.  Sadly he's no longer with us, he was quite a character and is missed.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!  

Jewellann

 

[AbuelaLoca]

Thoroughly enjoyed your van video, Beth! Still looks great!!

 

[Almost There]

Is it back up??

I ever so seldom watch anything on YouTube - my data service is limited!

 

[AbuelaLoca]

 

[gargoyle]

Nice van Almost There.

Hope your journeys are well.

 

[ArtW]

I watched it last night at work, about 1/4 way through, I was like 'Wait, that's Lady Arrabella, HI AT!'

 

[galladanb]

We watched with fascination for your olpooper!!!

What is it called again, cost, etc!

Did you make the cabinet its in? How high or tall is it?

My Sandy really likes your cabinet door and interior looks!

 

[Almost There]

Gallandanb - it's called a C-Head.

Here's a link to their site: http://www.c-head.com/

And yes, I made the cabinet that it's in. It was originally designed to not only to be the 'bathroom' but to also provide an additional seating area in the van. I planned on putting a foam cushion on top of it.

The edge of the bottom of the box is, by necessity, several inches lower than the toilet seat. I got all the extra measurements from Sandy at C-Head when I was doing the design because the box was built BEFORE the toilet got shipped. Easier to do it the other way but oh well!

The only design problem I ran in to with it was that I had designed the whole lid to lift up. When I installed the box I realized that due to the inward curve of the wall of the van, the lid wouldn't open all the way. I ended up with the top of the box in 2 sections, one fixed and one lift section. Now it can't be sat on by anyone because there's no support under the one side.

Box is (outside dimensions) 27" deep by 20" wide by 19 1/2" tall. The lid is 3  1/2" deep. The box is deliberately larger than the toilet so that the whole toilet can be lifted out if necessary.

I use the spare space in there for storing cleaning supplies and the spare toilet paper rolls.

 

[ValerieP]

Just finished reading this thread. I was impressed when I watched Bob's video, but now I'm totally amazed! Your van is fantastic!

 

[PattySprinter]

Wow! What an inspiration!
Watching the video now )

 

[Elaine K]

Then assembling of the cabinet can be done! Getting things squared, glued and screwed with only one set of hands was way too much fun! No, no videos exist, if I had an extra set of hands they would have been holding pieces, not a darn camera....

Together and test fitted -  Yeehaw, it fits!

Now the back can be installed, edge banding done (that's a treat!) and the side closest to the drivers seat painted. Here's paint drying again!..

Thanks for posting pictures.  This what I plan to make in my van too.  Pictures really help to see how to do it.  Based on your experience using the Kregg tool, I bought one for myself.  How did I live without one all these years!  So much easier to fit cabinets together.  
Wish I had of used thicker plywood on my floor though.  Your idea of securing everything using the Kregg is brilliant!

 

[John61CT]

Thick plywood on the floor is of course very heavy. Not needed if the steel floor is sound, use PlusNuts to secure stuff.

 

[Almost There]

Thanks Elaine, I'm glad my build thread has been useful to others.


John - Not all of us are willing to have holes in our steel floor.

And the 3/4" plywood weighs in about the same as a battery (68 lbs). I have almost 2 full sheets in there. So I'm figuring that it's just like carrying 2 more batteries! I'll take the weight hit. Actually all my batteries weigh more than the sheet of plywood does.

 

[John61CT]

Sounds like you're just not familiar with them.

Same ones holding the rack to the roof, done right airtight, no water, no rust, no downside at all.

Yes lead is heavy, that's a key advantage of LFP.

Between MPG and suspension longevity, investing in a light weight buildout pays off big time in the long run.

Some can't afford every technique, many just don't want to bother, your van your call, just putting the information out there.

 

[highdesertranger]

I find the plus nuts and rivnuts over time if exposed to the elements tend to seize. the nut itself will spin making it impossible to get the bolt out. when this happens you need to cut the bolt and/or nut to get the bolt out. highdesertranger

 

[John61CT]

Done properly with good components, top quality stainless genuine PlusNut, that should not happen. Lots of cheap Chinese hardware sold out there, if under a buck per nut you need to find a better supplier, aircraft maintenance is really the target market for the good stuff.

Zinc galv paint prevents rust, top quality marine butyl mastic prevents any exposure of the body panel.

And the hole has to be a very tight fit to start, the bulb's expansion is at very high torque.

Also 95% of the time I've used them it's for a permanent mount, L-track, roof rack etc. If a thread's used a lot I guess it may need replacing every few years?

 

[tnvangirl]

I love your van. You did such a great job. Thanks for sharing all of the details.

Someone said earlier in the thread that you did the reflectix correctly. Can you explain how you did it? I understand there is supposed to be a gap of about an inch between it and the surface. is that what you did? How did you attach it? Thanks!!!!

 

[Almost There]

Reflectix needs a dead air space between it and the outer metal shell.

I studied the instructions for using it in a steel building like a Quonset hut because there were no instructions for in a vehicle....  

To create that dead air space I used the thickest bubble wrap I could get my hands on. It doesn't need to be an inch and the thickest I could get was 5/8".

There may indeed be up to an inch of air space behind the reflectix because the panel when installed was not pushed tight against the van wall, rather it was adhered to the ribs themselves. The *dead* air is only guaranteed inside the bubble wrap but it's proved to be quite adequate over the past 2 years of full-timing.

The reflectix I bought was 48" inch which was perfect for the van because the inside walls were just over 48" between the floor and the roof rib.

I cut each panel out of the reflectix to fit tightly between roof rib, floor and each set of upright ribs.

Then laid it out on the work table and applied bubble wrap to the side that was going to be facing the van wall. I used a spray adhesive.

The panel was then taped to the ribs with aluminum foil tape. I made sure that the tape overlapped and was completely around the panel. 

I also did the same thing on the wheel wells. They needed a lot of cutting, angling and shaping but that's where my sewing skills came in to play.  

I didn't insulate wit polyiso for two reasons - a) I never intended to be in colder weather and b) 1/2" polyiso wasn't available in northern Ontario, thinnest sold was 2".

Hope this helps.

 

[tnvangirl]

Yes that's very helpful...thank you so much. I may be back with more questions later  :shy:

 

[ValerieP]

I think I understand, but probably not! So, could I glue bubble wrap to the back of the Reflectix, and then glue vinyl to the side that would be seen inside the van and then glue it to the ceiling in pieces? What type of glue could I use and would it stay stuck to the ceiling?