Is plywood on a van floor necessary?

[poot_traveller]

I have a 1999 Toyota Hiace that was already a self-contained van when I purchased it but I pulled everything out except the plywood floor and a top storage area.  My question is; do I have to have a plywood floor?, can I just pull it out because I'm mindful of the additional weight the plywood floor adds to the van and brings no obvious benefit.

The floor (under the bed) is just going to be used as a storage area.   And the remaining floor will have thick carpet underlay and thick carpet.

Do you reckon I should pull the plywood floor out?

 

[maki2]

It is your van, do whatever you want to with it. Take out the plywood floor if you want to. If you end up not liking it that way then you can put a new plywood floor back into it. Your time, your money, you get to make the decisions.

 

[MrNoodly]

I don't have a plywood floor, just the padded rubber flooring that came with my Express. It works for me.

 

[ckelly78z]

I imagine that most people find it is easier to work with a flat surface that can be drilled/screwed easily, rather than the bumpy metal floor. It will also be a bit quieter, warmer, and not a permanent situation like gluing carpet to your metal floor. Your van, your choice.

 

[poot_traveller]

It is your van, do whatever you want to with it. Take out the plywood floor if you want to. If you end up not liking it that way then you can put a new plywood floor back into it.  Your time, your money, you get to make the decisions.

Yeah I'm just making sure there isn't an important reason to have a plywood floor.  My recent failed trial & error efforts at a van conversion have shaken my confidence a little.  I think I jumped into it too quickly and didn't do enough research.

 

[poot_traveller]

I don't have a plywood floor, just the padded rubber flooring that came with my Express. It works for me.

Sounds good.  I'm going to have carpet & thick carpet underlay for the floor.

 

[poot_traveller]

I imagine that most people find it is easier to work with a flat surface that can be drilled/screwed easily, rather than the bumpy metal floor. It will also be a bit quieter, warmer, and not a permanent situation like gluing carpet to your metal floor.  Your van, your choice.

It has rubber flooring over the metal.  I just can't see any reason to have the plywood floor that came with the van.  I just spoke to my mate ten minutes ago, he's a carpet layer, and said it doesn't need plywood when the carpet and underlay gets put on.  I'm satisfied.  Thanks

 

[MrNoodly]

I used to have nice carpet runners in the "center aisle" of my van with one side held down by the bed legs. But rugs collect dirt, mud, grass, thorns, grit, etc. unless you remove your shoes every time you enter the van. Even if you do remove your shoes, crap will drift in through open doors and windows. My rugs were hard to clean and didn't stay clean very long. That's why I now only use a couple of small cheap mats. Since they're not anchored or held down by anything I can easily pull them out, shake them, beat them, sweep them. When they get too dirty despite my cleaning I can replace them with other cheap mats.

 

[travelaround]

Whatever works for you! This is your personal work of art to live in. I love my new floor, but surely there are other ways to outfit a van.

 

[ZoNiE]

I'd keep the plywood, add vinyl flooring and use a throw rug so it is easier to keep clean. Rugs can be shaken out, washed, and replaced. Carpet gets dirty fast in vehicles, and stinky.

 

[Stardust]

Adding my 2 cents, I agree with Mr. Noodly and ZoNIE that ease of keeping whatever floor covering you decide on clean is a big factor to consider.

 

[maki2]

Yeah I'm just making sure there isn't an important reason to have a plywood floor.  My recent failed trial & error efforts at a van conversion have shaken my confidence a little.  I think I jumped into it too quickly and didn't do enough research.

A good way to approach these things is to ask people to list the pros and the cons for the specific situation. That way you have some baseline information and can do an analysis adding in the factors of your own specific situation.

For instance I know that vehicle floors are rarely truly flat. Part of that is because they are trying to achieve some clearance over certain obstacles. But another reason they don't have truly flat floors is putting in features such as ribs and some of those molded in shapes for clearances actually creates more strength in the floor than if the material was left truly flat. Think about those corrugated walls and ceilings on metal buildings. Those corrugations are adding stiffness in one direction and the underlying framing of the building is adding the stiffness in the other direction.  Structural engineering is always a factor when building things especially when it is a requirement to keep things light in weight.

You will make a lot less mistakes when you take the time to put on your analytical thinking cap and play structural engineer before you start cutting into, removing or adding features.

So now lets return to your question of is plywood over the van floor really necessary? Obviously in terms of the strength of the floor of the van it is not necessary because the engineers who designed the van made it perfectly strong without the plywood. Now try to think about the advantages of having a wood floor. There are several of those but remember it is not essential to have advantages, they are simply beneficial to have for doing certain types of things. Such as screwing wood cabinets down onto a plywood base versus putting sheet metal screws through the metal structure. It might also help your cargo sit more level but then again maybe you store things in containers so that is a benefit you can easily do without. Downside it is more weight and it does take up some of the available vertical space height. So that list of pros and cons is something you will need to think through for yourself based on your own preferences.

 

[bandaidqueen]

I would recommend saving the plywood if you can; you might want to put it back in later. I agree that carpet might not be the best, especially if you will be living in your van. But if you're just using it for trips and driving, and have a home base/garage where you can clean it really well, carpet should be fine.

 

[wayne49]

Re Carpeting.

If you encounter fine dusty areas the carpet will be a magnet for the poof dust. Sand, etc. same thing.
I have a Class C that has carpet. One of my coming winter projects will be to rip that out.
In Nevada, in my experience, the dust very likely carries Valley fever. Especially the area near Death Valley on one side and the Nevada Test Site, Yucca Mtn Waste Repository, on the other.

I also have a 22' travel trailer that has linoleum flooring. Straight shot from the back to the front with a mop.

 

[VJG1977]

If the plywood is in good shape, why bother to remove it?  Of course it is your van so do whatever you want but is the gain worth the effort.  Some wood putty and sanding, then a couple coats for floor paint will give you a very easy to maintain floor.  Instead of carpet you could get several rubber backed bathroom mats for the central area.  They are easy to shake out and can be washed.

 

[poot_traveller]

I used to have nice carpet runners in the "center aisle" of my van with one side held down by the bed legs. But rugs collect dirt, mud, grass, thorns, grit, etc. unless you remove your shoes every time you enter the van. Even if you do remove your shoes, crap will drift in through open doors and windows. My rugs were hard to clean and didn't stay clean very long. That's why I now only use a couple of small cheap mats. Since they're not anchored or held down by anything I can easily pull them out, shake them, beat them, sweep them. When they get too dirty despite my cleaning I can replace them with other cheap mats.

I'm going to remove the floor board and put in heavy underlay and carpet.  I'm probably going to learn a hard lesson about not using carpet in a campervan because it gets too dirty, oh well

 

[poot_traveller]

I'd keep the plywood, add vinyl flooring and use a throw rug so it is easier to keep clean. Rugs can be shaken out, washed, and replaced. Carpet gets dirty fast in vehicles, and stinky.

I'm getting carpet and underlay put down next week, so I'll find out how dirty it gets.

 

[poot_traveller]

Adding my 2 cents, I agree with Mr. Noodly and ZoNIE that ease of keeping whatever floor covering you decide on clean is a big factor to consider.

I'll be parked by the beach 95% of the time, so it will be sand I need to worry about.

 

[poot_traveller]

A good way to approach these things is to ask people to list the pros and the cons for the specific situation. That way you have some baseline information and can do an analysis adding in the factors of your own specific situation.

For instance I know that vehicle floors are rarely truly flat. Part of that is because they are trying to achieve some clearance over certain obstacles. But another reason they don't have truly flat floors is putting in features such as ribs and some of those molded in shapes for clearances actually creates more strength in the floor than if the material was left truly flat. Think about those corrugated walls and ceilings on metal buildings. Those corrugations are adding stiffness in one direction and the underlying framing of the building is adding the stiffness in the other direction.  Structural engineering is always a factor when building things especially when it is a requirement to keep things light in weight.

You will make a lot less mistakes when you take the time to put on your analytical thinking cap and play structural engineer before you start cutting into, removing or adding features.

So now lets return to your question of is plywood over the van floor really necessary?  Obviously in terms of the strength of the floor of the van it is not necessary because the engineers who designed the van made it perfectly strong without the plywood.  Now try to think about the advantages of having a wood floor.  There are several of those but remember it is not essential to have advantages, they are simply beneficial to have for doing certain types of things.  Such as screwing wood cabinets down onto a plywood base versus putting sheet metal screws through the metal structure. It might also help your cargo sit more level but then again maybe you store things in containers so that is a benefit you can easily do without. Downside it is more weight and it does take up some of the available vertical space height.  So that list of pros and cons is something you will need to think through for yourself based on your own preferences.

This post alone has convinced me to rip out the wooden floor board.  It covered all the pros and cons.

Thanks

 

[poot_traveller]

Re Carpeting.

If you encounter fine dusty areas the carpet will be a magnet for the poof dust. Sand, etc. same thing.
I have a Class C that has carpet. One of my coming winter projects will be to rip that out.
In Nevada, in my experience, the dust very likely carries Valley fever. Especially the area near Death Valley on one side and the Nevada Test Site, Yucca Mtn Waste Repository, on the other.

I also have a 22' travel trailer that has linoleum flooring. Straight shot from the back to the front with a mop.

I'm installing carpet.  I can see sand being a problem but I can live with a sandy carpet. No Nevada desert fever where I'm at.