Doin' the buildout

[Curtis]

Ah coming along quite nicely indeed.<br><br>Appreciate all the pics as I am in the buying stage and will<br>use much of your build out as a guide.

 

[MrNoodly]

I think I've saved myself the trouble and cost of building a bed frame, thanks to eBay. It's even tall enough for typical storage bins to slide under.<br><br> <br><br>I also found some used rear door interior panels. I'd just need to cut speaker holes.

 

[MrNoodly]

Meanwhile, at Lowe's, they have shop cabinets that might serve my purposes. This one could fit behind the driver's seat, perpendicular to the van wall, at the foot/head of the bed. Adjustable shelf, ball bearing drawer glides, locking bottom, adjustable feet... Sure beats anything I could cobble together.<br><br>http://www.lowes.com/pd_30622-46-GA...currentURL=?Ntt=garage+cabinet&amp;facetInfo=

 

[MrNoodly]

Got the cabinet, assembled it and considered a possible location:<br><br> <br><br>The question is how to anchor it.

 

[Zil]

Yea. anchor it. Lots of weight to tumble around.<br>It does look good in the van, though.

 

[psytechguy]

Maybe use the bolt holes in the floor from the seat pedestal and run some long bolts with fender washers up through the floor of the cabinet?

 

[MrNoodly]

I made some mounting brackets for my solar panel. I started with angle iron/L-channel, cut pieces to length, drilled holes and had them powder painted white to match the ladder rack. Then I drilled holes through the solar panel frame (making sure not hit the cells) and bolted on the brackets. I made the holes a wee bit larger than the bolts so there's some tolerance for flex. I left the bolts a little loose and used a jam nut (double nuts) to keep the nuts from coming off. Next I'll drill holes in the ladder rack cross bars and bolt the puppy in place.<br><br> <br><br> <br><br>When I dropped off the brackets at the powder painter Friday, they said it would be two or three weeks. They called this morning (Monday) to say the brackets were ready. "Eh, yeah, we happened to be doing another white project Friday afternoon, so..." Only $14 for the job.

 

[MrNoodly]

<em><span style="color: #999999;"><strong>"</strong></span></em><span style="line-height: 18.18181800842285px;"><em><span style="color: #999999;"><strong>Maybe use the bolt holes in the floor from the seat pedestal and run some long bolts with fender washers up through the floor of the cabinet?"</strong></span></em><br><br>Yeah, something like that.&nbsp;<br><br>Or I could have a machinist cut down the base of the former passenger seat to about 1.5" tall, then weld those "feet" to a steel plate that would bolt to the cabinet bottom. Then a steel strap from somewhere near the top of the cabinet to the side of the van to keep the top from wanting to sway.</span>

 

[psytechguy]

Once you get the floor of the cabinet bolted down, shoot a screw or bolt through the back corner into that doorpost. That oughta firm things up!

 

[MrNoodly]

The bed frame arrived. Some assembly required.<br><br> <br><br>Here's the bed pretty much in place. I'll build a headboard/storage thing and a footboard. To keep it from moving around, I can bolt a side rail to the van rib above the wheel well.<br><br> <br><br> <br><br>That's a 6" thick regular foam Twin Xtra Long mattress with a 3" memory foam topper. Comfy.

 

[dfunkt]

Can you elaborate a little about that bed frame now that you have it and have set it up? &nbsp;

 

[MrNoodly]

It's a steel frame with slightly arched ash slats, similar to Scandinavian bed frames. My concern is whether the leg attachments are strong enough. They don't have any gusseting or bracing. That's one reason I'll build head and foot boards. They can stabilize the bed and keep the legs from folding at the joints. As far as straight down load bearing capacity goes, it's over 500 lbs, if I recall correctly.

 

[MrNoodly]

I worked on the ceiling today, using up the last scraps or foam board to finish the insulation. There are at least two layers of foam board. Three layers in most places. <br><br>Then got some luan to cover it all. I went with luan instead of the FRP I used on the walls because I want to make sure I won't get any sagging over time. Luan is also strong enough that I didn't need to run a stud down the center of the ceiling. <br><br>Here it is partially installed. Bye-bye Pink Panther.<br><br> <br><br><br>Here I've started painting the ceiling.<br><br> <br><br>I'm thinking about running some LED lights along the junction of the roof and walls.<br><br>Oh, and the monitor on the dash is for the rear-view camera.

 

[MrNoodly]

Gettin' serious now. Got a table saw even though I'm supposed to be radically downsizing my life. <img src="/images/boards/smilies/rolleyes.gif" class="emoticon bbc_img">&nbsp;But I need it to build a headboard and cabinet.<br><br> <br><br>Mmmmmmmm, lap joints.&nbsp;<img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" class="emoticon bbc_img">&nbsp;All that time watching Norm on the <em>New Yankee Workshop</em> is paying off.

 

[MrNoodly]

I made a lot of sawdust, a pile of scrap lumber and whatever this contraption is.<br><br> <br><br>No, it's not one of those optical illusions. At least not on purpose.

 

[psytechguy]

MC Escher lives!

;-)

 

[MrNoodly]

This should give a better idea what the contraption is for.<br><br>

 

[Van-Tramp]

Very nice.<br><br>I use the same jugs for water. Be warned, they do leak a little if stored on their side. Hopefully you have enough height there to store both with the top up?

 

[user 423]

Looking good. Hey, what's up with the Kaw? Did you blow the engine or something? How have the eBay sales been going?

 

[MrNoodly]

Everything about the Kawasaki was fine. It's just that I can make more selling the parts than the whole bike. It's a strange world.