Interior Contruction, Designs, Ideas, and Examples
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That's why I hope for posts here. I think there are quite a lot of people who buy older RVs which need rebuilds or just remodels for various aesthetics. The dynamics of that are a lot different from that of building out a van or cargo trailer.
highdesertranger
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" The dynamics of that are a lot different from that of building out a van or cargo trailer."
not really. what do you think is different?
aside from repairing water damage it's the same in my book. but you could also have water damage in a van or cargo trailer too. frankly i would never buy an RV with water damage, I have repaired to many so I know what's involved.
highdesertranger
not really. what do you think is different?
aside from repairing water damage it's the same in my book. but you could also have water damage in a van or cargo trailer too. frankly i would never buy an RV with water damage, I have repaired to many so I know what's involved.
highdesertranger
With a van or cargo trailer you are building from scratch with whatever quality materials you can afford. In an RV you are working with whatever existing quality materials there are unless you completely rip everything out. In an RV you may well be re-purposing structures or modifying only specific systems. There is an entire industry of products specifically designed for RVs which you might need or want to continue to utilize. In a van or cargo trailer you can literally do whatever you want. I understand that if you buy an old RV and completely gut the thing down to studs and then build out its pretty much exactly like doing a van or cargo trailer, but most people aren't going to be doing that. Or at least the ones interested in this thread probably wont.
I was doing a conversion on a 21' Sunrader motorhome. I sold it before I completed it but I have a few photos of the project. Your layout might be similar. In order to have lots of desktop and counter space I used the overcab as the primary sleeping space. At the rear I did have a bench across the back that could double as a guest bed. The desk extended over the foot of the bench as I travel solo I used that bench for a recliner for working on my laptop or watching movies. I allowed as much knee room for sitting at the desk in a chair as I could. Of course the distance between the wheel well and the bench at the rear is what actually determines the knee space in such a setup. I did take out all the cabinets and built all new ones but left the bathroom. The tall storage closet was build against the bathroom wall. I really don't need a hanging closet so I made it all drawer bins.
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JeanInaBox
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crofter said:
So you if I understand correctly you built a wall frame and bolted it to the floor... then slid in floor sheet... bolted that to floor... then your bed platform goes from wall to wall attaching at stud points?
Jean....The front of a cabinet is called a "face frame" I did not put in a floor sheet first that already existed, this is in an motorhome, not in a van. As to attaching it to stud points. That would make it too dependent on the location of the studs which might not be located exactly where you need them to be. Instead you can run a cleat across the surface of the studs along the right and left side walls, secure that to the studs and then attach the face frame to that cleat.
In the case of the motorhome example in the photo above there were was no existing framing inside the walls because it was a molded fiberglass shell, a Sunrader motorhome. I had to remove the wall panels and epoxy in horizontal lengths of wood that was the thickness of the wall cavity to the shell itself. Then put the paneling back up. So my situation was somewhat unusual as many motorhomes have framing inside the wall cavity. But if you have framing studs already in the wall then the horizontal cleat can be attached to the studs on top of the paneling.
If it had been one of the newer composite paneled constructions that have no framing inside the panels and not suitable for attaching a cleat to those wall panels then I would have had take yet a different approach to create the rear bed with would have involved stick framing a box all the way around and then screwed that to the subfloor. Therefore the framing of the bed cabinet is not attached to the walls at any point it is only attached to the floor.
If you are going to renovate an existing motorhome you have to put your brain to work to figure out how you will secure things and still have it end up looking very nice as well as be strong. Sometimes that might mean removing the paneling and adding in more structure inside of the wall cavity. It is very difficult to anticipate what the best approach will be because of all the variations in the way motorhomes are put together. Plus of course the variations of what people want to have as their renovated design. This is why my first response to this thread was step number one is to figure out what you have in your motorhome in the way of internal structure and existing cabinets and then create a measured drawing of that structure before you attempt to do any renovations.
I have been building stuff all of my life, I began making my own furniture in my early 20s because I could not afford to buy any. The photo is of me when I was 30, back in 1981 working at Boeing in the "mockup" division part of a crew building a full scale model of an extended version of a Boeing 737. So while I am working on my own renovations I am not exactly new at this stuff, and it is not just a hobby or a one time only situation for me. My brain is trained to think this stuff through before I begin the project.
In the case of the motorhome example in the photo above there were was no existing framing inside the walls because it was a molded fiberglass shell, a Sunrader motorhome. I had to remove the wall panels and epoxy in horizontal lengths of wood that was the thickness of the wall cavity to the shell itself. Then put the paneling back up. So my situation was somewhat unusual as many motorhomes have framing inside the wall cavity. But if you have framing studs already in the wall then the horizontal cleat can be attached to the studs on top of the paneling.
If it had been one of the newer composite paneled constructions that have no framing inside the panels and not suitable for attaching a cleat to those wall panels then I would have had take yet a different approach to create the rear bed with would have involved stick framing a box all the way around and then screwed that to the subfloor. Therefore the framing of the bed cabinet is not attached to the walls at any point it is only attached to the floor.
If you are going to renovate an existing motorhome you have to put your brain to work to figure out how you will secure things and still have it end up looking very nice as well as be strong. Sometimes that might mean removing the paneling and adding in more structure inside of the wall cavity. It is very difficult to anticipate what the best approach will be because of all the variations in the way motorhomes are put together. Plus of course the variations of what people want to have as their renovated design. This is why my first response to this thread was step number one is to figure out what you have in your motorhome in the way of internal structure and existing cabinets and then create a measured drawing of that structure before you attempt to do any renovations.
I have been building stuff all of my life, I began making my own furniture in my early 20s because I could not afford to buy any. The photo is of me when I was 30, back in 1981 working at Boeing in the "mockup" division part of a crew building a full scale model of an extended version of a Boeing 737. So while I am working on my own renovations I am not exactly new at this stuff, and it is not just a hobby or a one time only situation for me. My brain is trained to think this stuff through before I begin the project.
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DannyB1954
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I am kind of the mindset as well that one RV is not that much different than the next when it comes to modifications. One can completely rebuild a Class A as well as someone with a van can just toss in milk crates with a plywood top for a bed and call it good. Both can be small or large projects. Working in a bare cargo van just saves some steps in having to remove things so that you can redo it correctly. When they did my van conversion, to put in large side windows they hacked out the wall frame members. It looked just fine before I tore out their interior panels to insulate. One wall stud on both sides was all that was holding the roof up.
In both van and RV, you have to dig down to the bones if you want it to be strong. Attaching something to a panel in a van conversion is little different than attaching it to press board in an rv.
In both van and RV, you have to dig down to the bones if you want it to be strong. Attaching something to a panel in a van conversion is little different than attaching it to press board in an rv.
crofter
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Sorry. May not be possible to explain the simple design and how to stub up from a floor.JeanInaBox said:
I would not fasten anything to the wall of a van.
-crofter
if you want to build a bed inside of the motorhome without having it attached to the walls it is not that difficult.
You can use 1 x 3 lumber for the basic structure. Make a front, back that are identical, make two identical ends. Add some 2x2 strips around inside the frame at the top and some cross pieces for supporting the board under the mattress. Add cabinet doors to the front. Attach it to the floor with brackets to keep it from moving around.
But here is the problem with attempting to build it this way, there are usually obstacles, such as propane tanks, water tanks, water heaters, baggage compartments and more that might be located under the bed area that would be difficult to work around. So it would be a lot easier to attach the cleats that support the mattress into structural framing that the motorhome is built with, that way you only have to build the front face frame and secure it in place to the floor with brackets and either to the cleats you put on the wall or to a structural member that is behind the wall. Also it takes a lot more lumber and labor time to build a full all the way around frame instead of building just one section plus attaching the 3 cleats against the outside walls. My choice, would be the one with the least amount of time and materials involved. Everyone else can choose how they want to do things, it matters not one little bit to me if you don't do things the way I approach them because it is your time and your money, not mine and I am not going to be sleeping on that bed.
You can use 1 x 3 lumber for the basic structure. Make a front, back that are identical, make two identical ends. Add some 2x2 strips around inside the frame at the top and some cross pieces for supporting the board under the mattress. Add cabinet doors to the front. Attach it to the floor with brackets to keep it from moving around.
But here is the problem with attempting to build it this way, there are usually obstacles, such as propane tanks, water tanks, water heaters, baggage compartments and more that might be located under the bed area that would be difficult to work around. So it would be a lot easier to attach the cleats that support the mattress into structural framing that the motorhome is built with, that way you only have to build the front face frame and secure it in place to the floor with brackets and either to the cleats you put on the wall or to a structural member that is behind the wall. Also it takes a lot more lumber and labor time to build a full all the way around frame instead of building just one section plus attaching the 3 cleats against the outside walls. My choice, would be the one with the least amount of time and materials involved. Everyone else can choose how they want to do things, it matters not one little bit to me if you don't do things the way I approach them because it is your time and your money, not mine and I am not going to be sleeping on that bed.
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