Just bought my rig! Ideas welcome.

[thorned.frog]

Hi all,
I just purchased my van, an '04 Chevy Express Access. It originally lived as a prisoner transport van but I will be converting it into a camping/tailgating rig. It will be more of a weekend warrior vehicle than a permanent living space. See pics for current progress tearing that sonnofagun apart.

I've thought about different layouts and decided that the Westfalia style would be best. So here is my question: If I want to seat 4+ people, what is the best way to get a row of seats that fold down into a bed? Most aftermarket rock and roll beds are sold in the UK. Should I just go to a junkyard and see if I can find one from an old VW? Has anyone had success building one? Much appreciated!

I've got a whole list of ideas for other parts of the van that I pulled from the forums, so thanks to everyone for the input. I will post more pics as I add stuff!

 

[rvpopeye]

Welcome aboard TF!
Do I see a Hannibal Lecter closet in there ?!!

 

[Gary68]

a lot of conversion vans have rear fold down seats,should be able to find some for an express,wouldnt want to make it to much like a westphalia or it will start to fall apart and catch fire and all that vw stuff

 

[Gary68]

oh,nice rig,love that its not white,what engine?

 

[BradKW]

I like the shiney ceiling..what is it? Gonna keep it? Add a disco ball, lava lamp and satin sheets...grooovy!

What's the whole thing going on at the side door? It's unusual enough to make me wonder if it could be incorporated into a build, for reasons I haven't thought of yet...

There's lots of domestic RV furniture suppliers...lot of them in Indiana for some reason. Here's a selection of jack knife sofas: http://www.rvfurniturecenter.com/rv-jackknife-sleeper-sofas/

 

[thorned.frog]

Welcome aboard TF!
Do I see a Hannibal Lecter closet in there ?!!

That you do! It is pretty freaky.. Luckily everything was unlocked when I bought it haha. Can't believe they put people (two by the looks of it!) in there. I can barely fit even with the door open.

 

[thorned.frog]

oh,nice rig,love that its not white,what engine?

Thanks! It's got the 6.0L Vortec V8. So approx. 3 MPG but it'll be perfect for loading up with all the crap I'm gonna put in it.

 

[thorned.frog]

I like the shiney ceiling..what is it? Gonna keep it? Add a disco ball, lava lamp and satin sheets...grooovy!

What's the whole thing going on at the side door? It's unusual enough to make me wonder if it could be incorporated into a build, for reasons I haven't thought of yet...

There's lots of domestic RV furniture suppliers...lot of them in Indiana for some reason. Here's a selection of jack knife sofas: http://www.rvfurniturecenter.com/rv-jackknife-sleeper-sofas/

Thanks for the link, I'll check it out. At this point I'll just start looking in junkyards for a folding bed from either another Express or a VW. 

The ceiling was just sheet metal; I took it out as it took up too much head space. Even with some insulation and plywood it will have more headroom.

 

[Bdog1]

That aluminum is good building material. As scrap has good value too!


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[muddy]

Have you looked at how dinettes in small campers work?

Like this one: (This isn't the nicest one out there, but you can see what I mean).