Have van, not sure what to do next

[TooManyDogs]

Hi everybody! I joined crvl about a year ago with the thought that I wanted to travel in my Ford Escape, after my dogs (I had 4 at the time) die. I'm down to 3 dogs but have come to the realization that a van would be much nicer to live in than the little Escape. So....

I bought a 2004 Ford 350 high top that had a wheelchair lift (I got the dealer to lower the price in exchange for keeping the lift. A win for me, as it saved me from having to do the work myself). I opted to keep the middle row of seats, as well as the front passenger seat, for the dogs.

I'm not exactly sure what to do next. I've sat in the van and pondered various configurations all weekend. I see these wonderful builds and not sure if I can do the same. I also have a tendency to tear things down without being able to put them back together again. Yeah...

So, I'm leaning towards leaving the interior as is, building a bed and a compartment to hold my bicycle, and another to house a Whynter 45 qt frig, as well as putting an old students desk to use as a counter. Practice living in that for awhile until I get a better idea of how exactly I want the van setup. Having never lived in a van, I don't really know what to expect. Somehow things almost never go according to plan.

But I'm curious about the van and would welcome any input.
1) The van floor has what appears to be plywood covered with grooved rubber matting, on top of the actual van floor. Would you leave this? If you take it out, what would you do with the van floor?

2) How do I get the metal brackets off the rubber matting? The brackets are how the seats and wheelchair lift were secured to the van.

3) Is there a special way to pop these "buttons" off the plastic trim so as not to break them (In case I do decide to keep the interior intact)? I would like to inspect what's behind the walls.

4) The high top is double layered but I don't know if it's insulated. How can you tell? There are these ?rivets at the top. Can I assume there are structural supports right under there? And so I should be able to attach various things along those areas?

5) Also, from the pic in #4, you can see there's a small plastic "shelf" where the van and the high top meet. I would like to put a board across the back, securing it by screwing into the plastic. Good idea? Any better suggestions?

6) If I don't remove the plywood, what would be the best way to fill in the holes left by the various bolts? Work from under the van? How?

Thanks for your help. Everyone has been so supportive on this site!

TMD

 

[WriterMs]

Wow, TDM,
Your pondering resulted in a ton of really good questions. I cannot answer any of the technical things even tho my rig was also a public transit van with wheelchair lift.

My circumstances were that my handy brother-in-law was laid off for a time when I bought my van -- so he took on the project with minimal help from me once he knew the basics of what I wanted. I took a few items to his place that I knew I wanted bolted down inside my van. I'll attach a pic of my van in nearly travel mode -- meaning things are on the floor that get placed elsewhere once I'm at camp and also that the bungee cords are out to hold some things in place. (So I have a good deal more walking space when at camp than what you see in the pic.)

I already had a microwave cart that I could use as my "kitchen" counter and to store kitchen items and my bin of toiletries. So the wheels came off of that and it got screwed down in the space where the wheel chair lift had been. (My brother-in-law and nephew did have to take out my lift... but then we sold it for $500 and the van had cost me only $650. Of course I put more than 3 times that cost into getting the engine in shape and new tires, etc.)

I told my BIL that I wanted to slide rubbermaid totes under the bed so he used that as the minimum height to build a plywood platform across the back. I do wish I had the bed running along the side now, but conventional wisdom I had read recommended across the back. I wanted a metal 2-drawer file cabinet in my van (already owned it) and also a set of cheap plastic drawers. You can see in the pic these were all placec and secured.

My floor was a mess but I did not anticipate living in my van for a long time, so we simply slapped a roll of linoleum down in the middle and back. At the front, I used a large rubber floor mat cut to fit.

I have a few leaks at the old chair lift doors and along the seam where the fiberglass top meets the van wall on one side. Numerous caulkings did not solve the problem entirely so you will want to watch for that. I am very afraid to put ANY holes in my fiberglass top because I fear more leaks, but in the pic you can see the factory had found something sturdy to bolt the rear air conditioner into up there.

Don't know if any of this is helpful to you, but I do know I lived in my van like that for over six months and was extremely happy doing so. In the next year, I expect to be back out there full time. So, you may want to do the simplest things and actually weekend camp or take short trips to see what works for you and what does not.

 

[Gadget728]

My hi top Savana also had a rear Ac unit. Since it didn't work I removed it and to my surprise, my whole hi top has a hollow square tubing frame and is well insulated.
You have a great setup to build out, I eagerly await your results!! Best to you.

 

[drysailor]

I bought a 2004 Ford 350 high top that had a wheelchair lift (I got the dealer to lower the price in exchange for keeping the lift. A win for me, as it saved me from having to do the work myself). I opted to keep the middle row of seats, as well as the front passenger seat, for the dogs.
I'm not exactly sure what to do next. I've sat in the van and pondered various configurations all weekend. I see these wonderful builds and not sure if I can do the same. I also have a tendency to tear things down without being able to put them back together ag
TMD

Hi Dogs - A few newbie thoughts on your project-
1. Floor: if it looks solid, and covers all you want to cover, you could leave it, & maybe add something on top of it to your liking, as long as
    it's not too thick/heavy.
2. Brackets: if you're referring to that long slotted plate, it looks like it's just riveted to the floor. You can usually just drill thru the heads of
    the rivet and the rest of the rivet will fall out/or can be pushed thru with a nail.
3. Plastic buttons: there is a plastic/fiberglass upholstery tool, usually an inch wide, 6 or 8 inches long (looks like a miniature crowbar) that
    you can find at auto parts stores or an online upholstery site, that is good for prying these up - but be warned, some of them will likely
    break when you do this (can buy more at online upholstery site or possibly a local auto upholstery shop).
4. Top: I don't think you can assume anything here. You could feel the inside of the top after the sun has been up for a few hours, & see
     if it's hot (could indicate insulation or lack of) but perhaps some of the hightop owners on the forum could give better advice.
6. Holes in Floor: you could just bolt thru them. Use plenty of sealant and/or rubber washers on the bottom. Since you're just plugging
    here, you might be able to find some kind of low-profile wide head thingy at the local auto upholstery place.
DaveM

 

[TooManyDogs]

Thanks for the responses!

MS: I appreciate you pointing out the things to watch out for. The liner/van seal worries me. How often do you check for leaks, and how do you fix it if you find one?

Gadget: Thanks! It's coming along very slowly. Taking the seat belts off is taking a long time. I wish my dogs could hold a wrench on top to secure the bolt while I worked underneath, ratcheting the nut off.

Dave: Thanks for the great info! I'm definitely leaning towards keeping the interior intact for now. Am finding many more holes already where they took out the wheelchair lift that I'll have to plug.