Do you folks use a bulkhead or a van partition in the back of your van

[Trekking]

Curious as what do people use for a backing behind your driver's and passenger's seat in your van.

 

[Patrick46]

I've had several vans and stepvans that had hard bulkheads in 'em when I bought them, but I've always torn them out in very short order.

Some like 'em, but I can't stand them, as they take up too much valuable, useable space, and when you're in the back, they block access to the front part, which I also like to utilize.

I wrap a curtain around my windshield, so I can use the entire interior of my rig, and not just the back part. I'm also a big fan of swivel seats so I can turn those around when I'm parked and they become part of my living space.

There's only so much space in a van....why limit yourself to just the back.

 

[Reducto]

I have a piece of 2" rigid foam cut to fit the space as close as I could manage with some black fleece glued to the driver side. I also have a 2'x2' hole in the middle of it so I can see out the window on the sliding door (which is now painted black so no more of that) and so I can reach back and forth.

I still get some light leaking out around the top and sides but I have plans for adding some weather stripping when I need to go back to stealth parking. If you don't need to be able to remove the barrier completely like I do you could build a frame around the edges and get total blackout and very good insulation.

 

[Van-Tramp]

I have removed the curtain that separates the cab from the living space as I tend to use the seats rotated 180 degrees as living space.

However, when the cold weather hits, it is the cab area with all it's windows that is the least insulated. So, I bring back curtains (or hang a blanket) to separate those windows from the space in the van that I need to heat. It has been working great but I do miss having that extra space.

 

[Malibusurfer]

My passenger seat swivels for day use, but stealth camping I welded up a 1/8" steel bar that bolts to each side of the van sides right behind the front seats. It's bent so it only has about 1/4" of room below ceiling. I made double sided curtains with a loop at the top to run inside rod ( black facing front ) to block all visible light from living quarters. All my windows ( side and rear ) are set up the same way but with elastic cord, not steel like front bar and looped on top and bottom.

 

[Reducto]

I should note that my Toyota has a big hump behind the front seats so using that area as living space wasn't an option for me like it is for most of you. Still, with the big windows in front having insulation there makes a huge difference. I have an indoor/outdoor thermometer with the sending unit under my dash and regularly see 20 degree differences both hot and cold. It's a big boon to stealth as well.

There's probably a way to construct a moveable wall in full size vans that allows you to use the front seating when you need it and a barrier when you need to curl up in the back to get warm or stay cool.

 

[Trekking]

Ton of great ideas your folks. That curtain idea sounds like a pretty good one there. I see the bulkhead is not a good idea as it takes up a lot of room and with many of them you have to access the back of the fan through one of the doors.

I have a question regarding the swivel seats? I was wondering where you can purchase one of them and for the full size Ford vans?

 

[accrete]

In my chevy cube van (in the early 80's) i had a pull down white window blind and on each side ~2ft ply walls. This way if one looked into the cab with the white walls and white blind (in down position) there was nothing past the cab to see...stealth mode. From the outside you would never know it was totally maxed out comfortable living in the "box".

In our van conversion, there is no stealth going on...it is obviously a camper, and that was our intention. At night we put reflectix inside the windshield and both cab windows for privacy. Sometimes the reflectix will go right up when in camp if the sun is really out.

 

[Malibusurfer]

I built my own swivel seat... Two plates of steel with a pin that you can move and remove to swivel.... Probably not DOT approved, but pretty darn strong!!!

 

[Darth_Muerte]

I just use black curtains and a sunshade to get privacy in the rear. I did consider a wall for the back, behind the bed, but decided against it. I spread my tools out in several small boxes so as to evenly distribute the load, so there was no point in the divider imo.

 

[Simran]

Unless you live up north I think you could just leave this decision to personal preference. Although the
deserts get pretty chilly at night too. The reason is that moisture builds up on the wiring in the cab
under the dash which can lead to problems down the trail when using a heater to stay warm. Just look
at all the frost on the inside of a windshield melting and think about it running down into your wiring.
I live way up north and I have a bulkhead in the front and rear to stave off 30 mile an hour winds when
it's below 0. It also affords me a storage area for extra propane tank and tools I regularly use.

 

[Patrick46]

Another quick point regarding the bulkhead wall...

I lived on the road in semi trucks for a number of years, and they have these thick pleated curtains for the sleepers, separating the driver's area from the sleeper compartment, (for both sound and heat/cooling segregation.)
I hated they way they made the sleeper feel like a coffin, and how small it made the driving area feel, so I always took those down too, and it always gave it a nice open feel to it. Throw a curtain around the windshield, and the whole interior was mine!...rather like a van. (this was back in the days when there were tons of cabovers on the road, and the huge sleepers of today were unheard of.)

I have a question regarding the swivel seats? I was wondering where you can purchase one of them and for the full size Ford vans?

Go to a junkyard man. There are usually several junked conversion vans in there, but don't forget to check the junked Class 'C' motorhomes too, as these nearly always have swivel seats in 'em too.

oh, and they don't hafta come from a Ford van either. Most have a universal type mounting system.

All you'll need to mount 'em is basic tools...nothing fancy.

 

[akrvbob]

My cargo van came with the bulkhead behind the front seats and I left it in. I like the security it offers but more importantly I think in a severe accident things are going to go flying and the wall will keep my dog and I safe.

But to be fair I don't live in the van. I live in my converted Cargo trailer and just take 2-6 month trips in the van during the summer.
Bob

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

We built one out of wood when we did the conversion. It eats up quite a bit of space in the back area (we actually wanted it about 6 inches forward, something got mixed up ), but i just store stuff in front of it like my spare tire etc. Funny enough, i placed brown curtains in front of it anyway so you cant really see anything from outside, at first glance the van actually looks empty through the front window

We put in a plywood door that slides (no track...well we made a wood slot/track for it). I never use this in the warm months and rely on the curtain but it has become very handy this winter to be able to close that door...makes a huge difference in heating.

I might sacrifice the sliding door to put a fridge in there, with the guts of the fridge in the front behind my seat.

 

[Blue]

I'm mid build right now, but after living in alaska in an RV I can tell you the front cab is where your going to loose the most of your heat to cold windows and in an older rig, improper sealing of those windows (not to mention smaller holes in the firewall for your electricals). So I'm doing the same thing I did when I lived there in an RV. I'm taking that silver insulator material (looks like the packing material with silver stuff on both sides) and making a curtan with that, then I will use spray adheasive and glue some flanel to it, and attach it with velcro to the the roof and sides of the van. This will be greatly valued when heating a smaller area and keeping that cab cold out of the interior of the van, and when I want to be able to see out the back, I can roll it up and set it aside. I'm thinking I will also use some velcro and split it down the center on the off chance I need to reach into the front cab for anything.

 

[Simran]

Blue,
That is an excellent option. It will allow for more living space in the warmer weather too.

 

[MrNoodly]

The bulkhead that came in my van didn't have a door. There was one piece behind the driver seat and another piece that went the rest of the way across. So I removed that piece so I could have direct access to the rear. I removed the passenger seat, too, so I'm not worried about protection there.

 

[flying kurbmaster]

I can't see what you guys are saying about loosing space. Sure the bulkhead wall in my vans take up 1 1/4 inches by 6feet x 6feet but my guess that is no more space then a curtain. I use the front of both vans. I know you mean a visual thing, To me it is like another room and with the sliding door open I can see through, I have venetian blinds that come down over inside the windshield and down the door windows, When sitting in the back looking through, it feels like a city apartment, I have a toilet under the front drivers seat that flips up, usually the front seat is flipped forward whenever I am stopped for longer periods, a cupboard under the passenger seat, I use the engine compartment for temporary storage and have many hooks for coats, my stereo is upfront, the front is used as a mud room, with a sliding door to the rear compartment, the door and the bulkhead are both insulated. this is in the Kurbmaster. In the toyata it has a small removable window that I can slip through in an emergency or to reach my fridge that sits on the counsel between the seats.I have cupboards and shelves mounted on it. There is not as much room up front in this one but I can still store stuff on the passenger seat and floor.

The advantages of a bulkhead as mentioned, safety from flying objects, noise reduction, heat retention front and rear, added steathness, I think these outweigh the loss of visual open space for me at least. Especially the heat factor, but also you can hear your stereo a lot better when driving, and when driving in cold weather easier to keep the front warm and windshield defrosted

 

[MrNoodly]

The bulkhead that came in my van didn't have a door. There was one piece behind the driver seat and another piece that went the rest of the way across. So I removed that piece so I could have direct access to the rear. I removed the passenger seat, too, so I'm not worried about protection there.

And since I don't need to live in cold weather, heat retention isn't an issue. (I would have added this to my original comment, but the @#$% no-editing-after-5-minutes rule wouldn't let me.)

 

[flying kurbmaster]

Oh another thing I forgot to mention is that in the bulkhead behind the passenger I cut another door out so I can see through as well so with the door sliding into the wall behind the drivers seat and the door flipped down above the passenger seat I actually loose very little of the visual and gain a lot.