Chevy Express 2500 Stealth Race Van Build

[Artsyguy]

This is a little out of sequence but thought I would show a picture of this setup that I used to travel to the Mid Ohio Indy race in early July.  Ceiling and fan had not been installed yet and everything was still a bit rough.

My first weekend out in the van was for Mid Ohio Vintage race in June.  I put a mattress on the floor to sleep, but really, it wasn't much more comfortable than sleeping in my tent.  So for the next race, I raided my off to college son's bedroom and put his Twin bed frame and mattress in the back for the weekend.  Much better!  Even looked nice, but it was just temporary as I wanted to install a full size bed in the van large enough for two people.  I used a small L bracket on each bed leg and screwed into the floor to keep it in place while driving.

 

[Artsyguy]

So here is icebox that I built into the van.  After deliberation and knowing how I use my van, I decided that an expensive electric fridge would be overkill and constant large draw on a house battery.  At first I was going to try to figure out an area to store a cooler, but the current one I use is huge and very heavy to move around when full.  I was too cheap to buy a new smaller cooler, and then it dawned on me that I had a dorm fridge sitting on my deck that didn't keep stuff very cold and had seen better days.

I became inspired by watching a few You Tube vids of people making homemade "Yeti" style coolers on the cheap.  The dorm fridge would be the perfect size for my needs!  I started by tearing the motor, compressor, and refrigerant lines out of the fridge.  I needed to have the fridge lay back side down to the floor, so it would open as a cooler and keep everything in place.  I removed all the shelving and was left with one hole at the bottom of the fridge.  This made a perfect drain size hole.  With that, I bought a piece of dishwasher feed hose for .25 at a local construction materials recycling warehouse.  From there, I went to Home Depot and bought a valve that could be opened to drain the melted water outside the van.  Everything was sealed around the hole at the bottom of the fridge with the same stuff I used to seal my Fantastic Fan with.  From there I stuffed as much polyiso into the bottom as I could.  On the 3 sides I glued and taped 2" of polyiso to the exterior walls.  Opening the door, I cut out another 2" of polyiso and placed on the inside of the door.  Everything there was held into place with Reflectix Aluminum tape.  I now had a very well insulated cooler.  

Instead of leaving the ugly foam to be seen by the world, I used the same cedar plank boards from the walls and ceiling and sided three sides with that material.  On the back I used a sheet of Luan just to neaten things up a bit and help keep the insulation working.  I placed moving felt on the bottom of all 4 corners so I could drag it towards the side doors, when I become to lazy to climb into the van to get a drink.  I used 1/4 round moulding on the floor made to the exterior dimensions to hold the cooler in place when driving.  It sits touching my bed frame so it is pretty solid and doesn't move around.  Future mod will include some type of quick release L bracket to the floor and/or wall for safety in a bad collision.

I've been very happy with the cooler.  My first trip out it kept ice for 5 days!


Cheers,
Artsyguy

 

[Artsyguy]

Been awhile since I've posted...Just got back from a week long trip to Burlington, VT and Cape Cod, MA.  The van worked out great!  Slept comfy and warm in the crisp fall nights.  Didn't need to use shore power for the small electric ceramic cube heater that we took!  I did learn a lot about what I need and what isn't important.  I urge anyone to spend some time in their van before thinking they have it finished.  You learn what to take, leave behind, and what can annoy you.

After the cooler was built, I put the bed in and storage along the passenger side of the van.  The bed frame was built out of 2x4 frame and 3/4" plywood as the base.  The bed takes up a LOT of space, since I'm around 6'2-3" and sleeping in a horizontal bed wasn't an option by the time I put enough insulation in.  Actually, I COULD have had the bed going crosswise if it was just me sleeping diagonally on the mattress.  However, there are occasions that I think my wife would like to join me, so having the bed comfortable for 2 people was the number one priority.  I did hinge the bed platform in the middle so that I can lift both the rear and front section up for access.  Currently it's quite heavy with a Full size, 10" Memory Foam mattress.  I plan to add some vinyl covered wire with carabiners attached so that I can attach to the ceiling to hold up the bed while I'm accessing stuff under the bed.

The side storage area is also hinged.  In there I keep tools, jack, rolled up tarp, cleaning supplies, paper towels, extra TP, camera tripod, etc.  In the front is a divider to keep liquor bottles, my cigar humidor, some plastic cups, etc.  This storage are will need to be reformatted.  The mattress is too large and opening the storage requires lifting up the mattress.  It worked when I used a different mattress, but the new memory foam is simply too wide.

As said earlier, I decorated the interior to reflect the Seneca Lodge quirky interior.  Discovered pretty quickly that arrows sticking out of the wall isn't the best of use of space and I have a couple of indentations in my forehead to remind of that.  They are going to go.  I still need to install the bulkhead wall, permanent house battery, and switch system for LED lighting, fan, phone chargers, etc.  Maybe later this fall...  The Simpson IndyCar race suit acts as a covering of where the cedar planks end on the ceiling and cover the small section of uncovered polyiso up to the drivers compartment.  Functional and it adds to the race decor I want.  I didn't want that ceiling area to be finished before I figure out how I'm going to install the bulkhead.  Where the Homer bucket is seen in the photo will be replaced with cabinets from the floor up and over top of the ice box. The Homer Bucket Loo is probably something I can do without for now, since I'm never far from a porta john at the race track.

 

[Artsyguy]

Here are some pics of the doors.  This is basically a scrapbook of my racing life, experiences at the track, friends and inspirations.  Many of the photos are mine that I shot throughout the years, along with team/sponsor decals, Seneca Lodge memorabilia, Old press clippings from vintage Autoweek Magazine, posters, and just stuff that makes me smile and brings good memories.

The metal between the walls and ceiling has since been covered with a contrasting, darker crown molding.  Behind that is an LED strip light system that is remote controlled.  The colors can be variable, dimmed, and set to pulse/fade, etc.  I've only had time to put the LED strip on the driver side of the van.  I'll get around to doing over the rear doors (along with some kind of treatment to cover the metal) and passenger side shortly.  I'll post pics when that happens.

 

[Scout]

That is a nice build. It seems to have alot of room.thanks for sharing

 

[Artsyguy]

That is a nice build. It seems to have alot of room.thanks for sharing

Thanks for the comment Scout!  The key is to try to lay out stuff as efficiently as possible.  I'm still learning and won't be surprised that if I completely re-do the interior at some point as I get better ideas.  So far, though I'm quite happy.  Still need to get the bulkhead, house electric and overhead cabinets built.