Chevy Express 2500 Stealth Race Van Build

[Artsyguy]

Hi Folks,
As promised months ago, thought I would start a thread that documented my van build of this spring and summer...I'll TRY posting some pics (need to understand the technical aspects of this forum) to go along with the commentary and add to this thread as frequently as time permits...I've spent countless hours reading this forum(best one that I know of) along with hundreds of YouTube vids to help inspire, clear up confusion, and simply make me think about things I might have not known.  By starting this thread and post, I hope I can be as helpful as many of you were to me.  I was too lazy to capture videos of the build, and this thread won't be that technical.  Much of the info can be had just by doing a little searching and a lot of reading.  What I will do, is show what I did, the reason for it, and be happy to address any questions. 

Unlike many of you, I don't have plans to live in my van (though I suppose it's nice to know that I COULD if push came to shove).  I think some background info might be helpful to those who want to know where I'm coming from.

I am a 59 year old commercial photographer living in Pittsburgh, PA.  Still working the daily grind, despite really bad knees and problem for not stepping away from the dinner table when I should.  My biggest love in life is all kinds of auto racing.  Mostly IndyCar, IMSA SportsCars, and Vintage road racing.  It started when I was a kid from attending races at Watkins Glen which was near my home.  Since then, I've camped in tracks all over the country and have recently felt too old to be trying to hoist myself out of tent to take a wiz in the middle of the night.  Always enjoyed tent camping, but that ship has sailed and I figured if I didn't build a van soon, physically it would be too tough to do so the longer I waited.  So....I purchased a used 2015(former Enterprise rental) Cargo Express 2500 this spring, from a Chevy dealer with about 24K miles on it.  This still carries the remainder of the factory warranty.  It was in really great condition so I jumped on it.  The only things that made me NOT want to buy it was, Glass on rear doors and no cruise control.  A remote key fob to lock and unlock doors would have been nice also.

The one purchasing mistake that was made...I neglected to inspect the roof exterior paint.  I discovered installing my FantasticFan it had some scratches from trying to get into a parking garage.  They have started to show rust, and I will need to fix this with some sanding and paint before winter.

 

[user 15722]

Looks nice ! wheels

 

[Artsyguy]

My build list was fairly simple.  I wanted a STEALTH van.  Not that I plan on doing many overnights outside of the racetrack or a campground, but think it would be useful in an urban environment and cut down on hotel bills when traveling long distances.  The idea of just quietly pulling in someplace and sleeping really appeals to me.  The van would be a stock as possible on the outside, with no customizing and no windows.  White is by far and away the best color for stealth, cleanliness, and heat reflecting ability.  I chose the 2500 because I wanted something that would easily carry the weight of any mods that I would do.  I thought about an extended van because the extra inches would really be nice.  Especially because I needed a bed lengthwise to fit my 6"2" frame.  In the end I decided to go standard length because I will use the van to commute in the city half the time and thought it would just be easier in urban parking lots and maneuvering through traffic and narrow city streets.

My MUST haves were a full size bed (to sleep 2 when my wife wants to go along, which is NEVER at the track).  I wanted an icebox integrated with the van, as I've grown weary of lifting heavy coolers in and out during drunken weekends.  Had to have a Fantastic Fan.  Wanted an interior to be easy to clean, so a solid floor instead of carpeting was a must.  A house battery to run the fan, LED lighting and charging the phone and iPad, and JBL Extreme speaker system.  The decor was to be based on my favorite race track bar, The Seneca Lodge in Watkins Glen, NY.  It is a rustic log cabin affair with decades of racing memorabilia hanging on the walls and ceilings, along with typical lodge stuff like deer heads, archery arrows, ball caps, college banners,etc.  Anyone who is anyone in the racing world has tossed a few back at this legendary racer bar and cabin inn.  It is a very loud, cluttered atmosphere, and I knew I couldn't have room in a van for all the stuff they have, but I knew I'd work it out to make the van as racy as I could and something that race friends (new and yet to be new) would enjoy spending time around.

I knew I wouldn't be able to easily install logs in my vans, so I would go with 1/4" Cedar Pine planks.  Smells great!

 

[Artsyguy]

Looks nice !  wheels

Thanks Wheels!  I hope my posts won't be too long winded, but I do have a few things to say  Stay tuned...

 

[Artsyguy]

The first thing I did was to eliminate the back windows.  Actually I didn't "eliminate" them, but just covered them.  I used rattle can PlastiDip paint.  My plan was to paint the exterior glass instead of the interior (which would have been easier and less expensive) but wouldn't give the effect I wanted.  I also considered that having the glass painted white would reflect sunlight vs. black glass that would absorb heat.  I was surprised at the number of cans I went through to cover the glass.  I used 3 full size cans of paint and 2 cans of GlossCoat to complete the job.  It took a LOT to get a full, deep coverage that I wanted.  So far the paint has held up great.  It is supposed to peel right off when it gets worn or ugly.  The paint with gloss coating still is somewhat matte compared to the glossy paint of the van, but from a few feet away it blends really well.  The average person would never think that it's glass covered by paint. 

 

[Artsyguy]

Next up was the floor.  I figured that until I had a smooth surface to work on, it would be rough on my knees dealing with the ribbed steel of the floor and also easier on the feet to work in such a confined space.  I used 5/8 OSB board that was polyurethaned as a moisture protector on both sides.  I used the factory rubber mat that came with the truck as a rough template some measuring, cutting, discarding, and more measure and cutting got me where I needed to be...
The thing when doing a van that doesn't have a 90 degree edge anyplace is indeed challenging, but nothing that can't be overcome with a little(or a LOT of thought if you're math challenged like I am).  I thought about insulating in between the ribs on the floor, and thought it would most likely be more trouble and time, with little if any payback.  So I just laid up the floor base with none and it is free floating.  The weight of the build will hold the floor in place. 

After getting a solid surface to work from I proceeded to start lining the van with Fat Mat sound deadner.  This was a MUST for me.  My daily driver is a Lexus and when I test drove the naked van I thought I would get a migraine from all the clattering and banging.  The only noise I want to hear when driving is the rock and roll coming out of my speakers!  

I can attest to the fact that Fat Mat is expensive.  I don't believe the cheaper alternatives like roofing material would be a smart move because they are a petrol based product and I didn't want the smell of tar leaching into my ride.  I'm also convinced that while 100% coverage of the Fat Mat would be nice, it probably isn't necessary.  I bought one large roll off Amazon and attempted to cover about 2/3 of the open areas in the van as well as inside all the door panels.  Wheel wells got 100% coverage.  I installed when it was warm out, so problems that I've heard of other people handling the material when cold simply didn't happen for me.  Just eyeball the lengths and put it down.  Nobody is going to see it in the end...

 

[Minivanmotoman]

FYI, the gloss plastidip is pretty much useless I found. And when it gets dirty, hard to clean. I just put a fresh coat on there and it freshens it right up. Usually do this once a year. Mine has been on there for 3 yrs, no problem. Can't wait to see your final interior.

 

[Vanada]

Already looking very neat! Putting the kettle on for this one...

 

[Artsyguy]

It was exciting to hear the difference driving down the road with the Fat Mat installed and wood floor. Much quieter already, and adding insulation is only gonna make it better!

 

[Artsyguy]

So with the rough floor in place over the Fat Mat, Fat Mat on the walls and ceiling, I was ready to move on to the next step, INSULATION.  For this step I tried not cutting any corners but at the same time have a pragmatic view that it is a van, and full of holes for air to go in and out.  The only insulation I used was the pink panels.  I purchased various thickness panels, ranging from 2" to 1/2".  In the end, the 1" and 1/2" materials received the most use and placement.  I didn't take in account that I would not be able to bend 2" panels to fit in door recesses, where in many places I've got 3-4" of foam.  My suggestion is buy more of the thinner stuff, and then layer it.  It's much easier that way, and you'll be able to cover more surface area. 

One thing I wasted A LOT of money on was various types of spray adhesives.  This was frustrating, because after spraying, the foam would literally get eaten by the spray.  I tried numerous well known brand adhesives and hot glue.  In the end I found them all to be not worth it.  I DID use a few rolls of Reflectix Tape (Aluminum tape with a great adhesive).  I found that to be the best thing for holding panels in place.  If you measure correctly, the foam can be forced in between the ribs and the pressure will keep panels in place.  You need to keep in mind that glues and tape is just an intermediate use for the most part.  The paneling or whatever wall and ceiling material you choose to finish with will keep the insulation in place.  I did try to keep the tape over gaps in the insulation as I layered thinking it would be good for keeping heat transfer down.

One more tip...I figured this out kinda late, but I'm not always the sharpest pencil in the box!  To make working on your van easier on your knees and back, simply use a small stool or chair and work sitting comfortably!  I'm 6'2"  and my head cleared sitting in a standard 18" seat heigth chair. This might seem obvious to many of you, but it flew over my head. This is also the the main reason for putting down the rough flooring first.

I debated long and hard about installing the vent before or after insulating.  After reading many suggestions and ideas here, I chose to insulate everything first, thinking I could do a neater install.  I'm glad I did it that way and the install went great down the road.

 

[Artsyguy]

Next up was the flooring.  So far the van was progressing, but nothing really sexy or exciting so far to look at.  I wanted to see SOMETHING I could get excited about, so I figured that now would be the good time to install the flooring.  I had experience as a teen owning a van conversion that was carpeted, and knew I didn't want that again.  Race weekends and the great outdoors can be muddy, so I wanted a surface that could take abuse and that I could clean easily.  

I decided to go with vinyl plank flooring from Home Depot.  It looked like it would be easy to install and go down quicker than a laminate floor.  I went with a more expensive vinyl plank that had some texture in it and it looked quite nice.  I think it was called Hickory.  Again, the floor just laid down floating on top of the plywood.  No adhesives were used, or suggested.  The fit is tight and the planks are going anywhere.  Especially after the build components starting getting screwed down through the planks and OSB underlayment.

You will notice in the pictures that I ran the sub flooring out all the way to the left side barn door.  Recessed the Right side access door floor to the edge of the step.  The area on the left side made a great storage place for a pair of LLBean Duck shoes and shower sandals.  I had originally intended the top side to fit my cooler, but as I got further down the road I realized there wasn't  going to be enough room with my large bed.  I finished the edges with some black rubber molding and champagne colored aluminum molding for the rear doors purchased at Home Depot.

Almost everything I used came from Home Depot for my build.  There is a store exactly 1 mile from my home, so multiple trips a day to the Big Orange was common! My wife thought I was crazy that put finished flooring under the bed, and I did spend double for something that won't really be seen. However, I'm one of those types who wants stuff to look good (or as good as I can get it with my limited skills) even in areas that aren't regularly seen. I also figure, as my needs change, my build fixtures might need to change also, so I didn't want to run out of floor.

I installed this on a very hot day.  I parked under some shade, but almost got dehydrated from not drinking enough water during the day.  Drink lots folks!  Building vans is hot and tiring work!
 

 

[Artsyguy]

With the flooring installed, I gained a "let's get busy" attitude, and proceeded to start make kraft paper templates for the 4 doors of the van.  This was fairly simple to do.  I just taped a piece of paper with a straight edge on to the top edge of the door, and then started cutting around the edges with an x-acto knife and taping the paper down to the door as I went.  I also made marks on the template the best I could where solid metal would come in contact with the door panels so I would know where to use my stainless, self-tapping metal screws.  For the panels I used 1/8" sanded Luan purchased from, where else?  Home Depot.  I placed the template directly onto the sheet of Luan and traced the outline in pencil.  Cuts were made with my 18V battery Ryobi jigsaw.  This saw was used frequently in the build.  Not only for wood, but it cuts through PolyIso like butta!   For anyone starting a build, if you don't already have a saw like this, know that you WILL need one.

I also noticed a very deep recess in one of the barn doors while I was thinking this all through.  I decided I would leave an opening and build a small, mini bar area that would hold a couple of bottles, my martini shaker and my favorite stainless martini glass that was given to me by a friend who understands that camping weekends and martinis can easily result in broken glassware!

Building the cove was similar to building a shower soap/shampoo cove so I figured since I had done that a few years ago, how hard could building one in a van be?  Turned out pretty simple.  I used some 1" polyiso for the base and sides.  Sort of glued and screwed/taped everything together the best I could.  Not wanting a pink lining of the mini-bar lead me to think about lining options.  I wanted cheap, easy to install, good looking, and did I mention, easy to install?  I purchased a couple of 14" vinyl tile flooring squares from Home Depot for about 1.50 each.  I measured a few times, and then cut the tile with tin snips to the size I needed.  I thought originally that I would use a utility knife, but the tiles were tougher to cut than I anticipated, so the snips worked well.  On the raw Luan cut edges of the mini-bar/cove I purchased some black rubber door edge protector stripping from AutoZone and it slid over the the luan edgers with ease.

The Luan panels bend and formed really well to the non square doors of the van.  1/4" ply would have been way too stiff without steaming and bending techniques that I know nothing about.  Time will tell if the Luan will hold up on the door panels.  Since I'm not using this as a work truck, I think they will be fine.  All the panels were treated with a semi-gloss Poly to bring out the wood grain and to help against any possible moisture problems.

Of course, my impatient self wanted to see something sexier than just door panels...so I hung one of my framed race posters on the back door.  First step for interior design!  Yay!!

 

[Artsyguy]

Time for the walls...I explored a couple of options, mostly stained or painted 1/4" Luan panels, but kept coming back to the tongue and groove cedar planks that I've seen in a number of vans. I love the look of it, how it smells, and mostly felt that it would enhance the "lodge" look I was going for since split logs wasn't going to be practical.  The planks take little interior space, and are light.  I also felt that having some texture is important instead of all flat, smooth surfaces.  All the planks were polyurethaned with semi-gloss before installing.

Without a 90 degree corner, or square anything in the van I really sweated the details on how the best way to install these would be.  I decided to go one plank at a time, from the top and work my way down.  Tongue facing up.  I tried getting the top plank as level as I could and as close to the top side crossbeam as I could without going over it.  I screwed the planks down using GRK 1" screws from Home Depot.  They were screwed into 3/4" wooden vertical furring strips attached to the vertical ribs.  These screws have a torx head and built on washer.  They are brass and an absolute JOY to work with.  Some people might not like to see the screws exposed, but I don't mind seeing them as their warm coloring matches the polyurethaned planks.  You do not need a pilot hole with these, and of all the screws that I used I may have split the wood only  3-4 times when I got careless and tried placing screws into knots of the wood.

I can't stress enough how helpful it would have been to have a helper when working with this stuff.  It is extremely hard to keep the two boards together over the length of 8' own your own.  I didn't have anyone helping me, and I'm sure it took 3 times longer because of it.

I kept at it, and in a couple of days I had my walls covered.  Lots of measuring and jigsaw cuts around the wheel wells and corners of the van to make the final pieces fit into place.
On the drivers side wall that is longer, instead of trying to stagger joints because the length is longer than 8', I made the decision to just butt the ends together, thinking that the joint will be eventually covered by some type of cabinet, wardrobe or electrical closet.  Or, maybe a combination of all of the above down the line.

 

[~Wes]

Looking real nice, good job!

 

[Artsyguy]

Thanks Wes! Glad someone is reading this

 

[Artsyguy]

Forgot to add a picture of the screws I was using.  Again...these are FANTASTIC to build with.  I believe the shortest length that my Home Depot carried was 1".  You can get them much longer, but 1" is a good length because if you screw up (pun intended) and over drive, the screws won't be so long to puncture the outer skin of the van.  Gotta be constantly knowing what material and where the end of the screw is going when doing your build!

 

[Ballenxj]

The one purchasing mistake that was made...I neglected to inspect the roof exterior paint.  I discovered installing my FantasticFan it had some scratches from trying to get into a parking garage.  They have started to show rust, and I will need to fix this with some sanding and paint before winter.

I'm in the process of eliminating rust from the roof or my Dodge. Not scraped in an underground garage, but flaky paint. Looked like it was sunburned and blistering. What the heck Dodge? Snow covered the roof most of the Winter, and when it was gone, I found rust.
Anyway, research lead me to Krylon primer with rust inhibitor. They say it chemically changes the rust making it inert. The process was scuff the areas to be painted while knocking all the loose rust off. Clean it, let it dry well, then spray it. I got the Krylon at O'Reily's Auto parts. I then went to Lowes and got an Elastomer based roof sealer made by Blackjack, I think it was. I then rolled this stuff on. Believe it or not, it looks better now.
A camper van to travel the race circuits? COOL!

 

[Artsyguy]

The nice thing about working on the roof is that it is seldom seen. I'm not planning on spending tons of time painting mine after I've sanded and laid down primer. I'll rattle can it and get the best match I can get, but white is white! As long as the roof isn't rusting, it's all good.

 

[Artsyguy]

Let's get to the ceiling!  I thought about just using a sheet of Luan on the ceiling, but nooooooo......The cedar planks looked so good in others vans that I decided this would be the only way to go.  Again, I attached furring strips on the ceiling ribs.  I lost another inch on the ceiling, but the alternative was trying to drill into steel ribs and all the holes they contain.  By adding the strips I now had MORE insulating to do.  Another 1" of polyiso force fitted between the ribs worked out great.

Now the angst began...The planks are 8' long.  Not long enough to cover the entire ceiling.  I'm pretty certain that I would like to construct a wooden bulkhead made out of 1/4 Ply sandwiching polyiso.  I know the angles are going to be tricky on the passenger side and where I want to put the wall there is no ceiling rib for support on the top.  So I haven't quite figured it out yet how I'm going to do it.  I figured there was no need to worry covering the area with planks since I'd be putting up a bulkhead.  I screwed the planks to the most forward rib that was still under the 8" board.  There is no rattling or problems so far.  I also figured out a way (temporarily) that covers the unfinished ceiling in the front (about 16") and looks good and keeps with the theme of my Seneca Lodge Too race van.  Photos to come...

 At this point, I finally got smart enough to install the ceiling sitting in a chair.  It would have been so much easier with two people.  Again, it took twice as long to fit the planks together before screwing them in overhead.  The GRK screws were used again to fasten the planks.  The planks were polyurethaned before installing on the wall.  The planks DO reach all the way to both sides. I shot the photos before I installed the final planks. Here's a look: 

 

[Artsyguy]

With the ceiling installed, I moved on to probably what most people consider the scariest part of their conversions; cutting a hole in a perfectly good roof to install the fan.  After tons of research and listening to other forum users, I decided to go with the Fantastic Fan.  Also, my brother has one in a construction trailer and told me it was one of the best purchases he ever made.  I purchased mine off from Amazon.  After using it a bit, I tend to agree with my brother, and am happy with the performance, rain sensor, and quiet running/low draw motor.

I purchased the the second down the line in terms of cost.  It has everything except variable speed (mine is 3 speeds) and no remote control.  I thought I might want the remote, but then figured I'd probably lose it while on a bender during a race weekend, so decided against it.  The fan works great.  It is reversible, has a rain sensor, electronic open/close, and a thermostat for automatic use.

The fan install was probably the EASIEST thing I did building the van.  Measure twice (or three) times and cut once.  I taped the outline using both gaffer tape to guide my blade and to protect the roof in case I slipped.  I cut through the roof using a Bosch Multi-tool and it worked great.  I was originally thinking I'd use a jigsaw, but the Bosch allowed me to keep cuts straight and no need to drill pilot holes in the roof.  I DID drop pilot holes after I removed the roof panel in the corners of the polyiso foam from the top.  This allowed me to once again use the Bosch Multi-Tool from inside cutting through the cedar planks and insulation.  The hardest part was just getting above the cut on the roof of my van.  I stood on a step ladder and leaned over from the back of the van.  I didn't go too far towards the front because I knew it would have been tough to access.  At about 290lbs., I didn't want to sit on the roof.

I will say to anyone building their van, DO NOT LOOSE SLEEP over this important accessory.  It really is THAT EASY to do!  I waited until after I installed my ceiling thinking I could do a cleaner install. Some people do their fan before the ceiling.  My thinking is, there would be more precision cutting and measuring needed before hand.  I could be wrong...If you have any questions about specific details, feel free to ask me!