Did you keep the original panneling or make new?

[protryon]

I'm thinking I'll either augment the insulation behind the panels or remove the panels in favor of a plywood panel. Would make for better mounting of smaller stuff than plastic, but wouldn't fit as nicely. What have you guys done, and what do you think?

 

[akrvbob]

Can you give us some more information? Do you have a passenger van? Which brand, make, model and year? What are your plans, travel full-time, just take trips or....? Where will you be? Is it hot, cold or both? How elaborate a build do you have in mind? What's your budget? What's your timetable? What is your skill level?

The more we know, the better answers we can give!

 

[protryon]

I have a used cargo van, 2005 Ford E150. I'm going to live in it at first 5 days a week while I'm working, then 7 days a week afterwards. I live in the bay area and its usually fairly mild here. I have a very complex build in mind, with a few grand for budget. Time table is about 200 hours over the next month, low skill level. (I have used many power tools before, but I'm new to conversions and such.) Do you think making my own plywood panels is a good idea?

 

[MrNoodly]

My cargo van had no paneling. I bought it from a security systems company. So I insulated and paneled it. Since the walls are a compound curve -- top to bottom, front to back -- I used fiber reinforced polyester because it's more flexible than even 1'8" luan. I used 1/8" luan for the ceiling, though, because it's rigid enough to not sag. As for mounting things, I screwed 1x2s to the van's ribs then screwed the paneling to the 1x2s. Other things can be mounted to the 1x2s. The 1x2s also gave me more space for insulation.