My new E-350 Extended van

[coultergeist]

I also worked on getting the television mounted today.&nbsp; I built a mount for the television that is hinged.&nbsp; It can be viewed from the bed area, but it can also be rotated around to face the front of the van.&nbsp; It can be seen while sitting up front or working in the kitchen area.&nbsp; <br><br>I didn't get the wiring done for it yet.&nbsp; I should be able to get that done over the next few days.

 

[rokguy]

<EM><STRONG><SPAN style="COLOR: #888888">Hi coultergeist,</SPAN></STRONG></EM><BR><EM><STRONG><SPAN style="COLOR: #888888">your van is coming together nicely, mate.</SPAN></STRONG></EM><BR><EM><STRONG><SPAN style="COLOR: #888888">Looks great the work your doing, will be very comfy when your finished.</SPAN></STRONG></EM><BR><EM><STRONG><SPAN style="COLOR: #888888">Geoff</SPAN></STRONG></EM>

 

[coultergeist]

Thanks Geoff.&nbsp; <br><br>I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.&nbsp; The major things will be done in a few weeks.&nbsp; So far I'm pretty happy with how it is turning out.

 

[coultergeist]

I spent this afternoon planning out how I want the last big cabinet area to be laid out.&nbsp; I think I have a pretty good plan.&nbsp; I worked on a few wiring things also.&nbsp; Should get more done on the cabinet area in the next few days.&nbsp; Will post pictures as it progresses.

 

[wagoneer]

Just a thought, you have incorporated a lot of 2x4,s does this make open space disappear?<br>how does it feel inside cramped, uncomfortable ? In my situation a dual purpose Living and hauling will require a different approach. since my bubble top is not quite as high as yours I am able to stand in one half of the van and it.s 5 ft the other half. did you have a rear AC? I like what you have done.

 

[coultergeist]

Hi Wagoneer.&nbsp; Thanks for the compliment.&nbsp; I appreciate it.&nbsp; <br><br>The floor plan still has a good bit of room to move around in.&nbsp; The bench seat behind the driver's seat folds against the wall when not being used.&nbsp; Basically, that leaves the entire area in front of the kitchen counter open.&nbsp; The two main cabinet areas are directly across from each other.&nbsp; Each is about three feet long.&nbsp; The one on the driver side is not as deep as the one on the passenger side.&nbsp; Both extend from floor to ceiling.&nbsp; There's a two foot wide walkway between them to get to the bed.&nbsp; <br><br>One thing I didn't like about my Safari van was that it was hard to find enough storage space.&nbsp; I maximized it as best it could be, but there never seemed to be enough.&nbsp; I wanted to address that with this van.&nbsp; I didn't have to make the driver's side storage cabinet, but I wanted to make sure there was more than enough storage space.&nbsp; I am utilizing every square inch of space that I can.&nbsp; The storage compartments that are accessible from the bed area were built for that reason.&nbsp; There was a little bit of space left between the back of the main cabinet and the curve of the windows.&nbsp; These areas were built to take advantage of that little bit of space.&nbsp; The goal is to be able to have everything I would normally use stored somewhere in the living area of the van where it can be reached easily.&nbsp; Things not used often can store under the bed and be accessible from the back doors.&nbsp; <br><br>There will also be a small storage cabinet under the bench seat.&nbsp; <br><br>Part of my construction technique is to use 2 by 4 runners bolted to the floor.&nbsp; All the cabinets and other items are then mounted to these runners.&nbsp; I did this for a couple of reasons.&nbsp; The first is that it makes it easy to have a super secure anchor point to mount everything to. The second reason is that it elevates everything off the floor a little bit.&nbsp; If there's ever a water leak or rain finds its way in then all the contents of the cabinet should be safe as they will be slightly elevated above floor level.&nbsp; All the runners are pressure treated lumber so they should be able to stand up to quite a bit of moisture abuse.&nbsp; The other major reason is that I plan to install hard wood flooring when all the work is done and the squared off area created by the runners will make it quick and simple to install.&nbsp; <br><br>There is rear A/C&nbsp;and heat installed in the van.&nbsp; The unit sits on the driver's side under the bed between the fresh water tank and the sidewall.&nbsp; It is part of the reason why the bed sits at the height it does.&nbsp; It will have the ducts redirected once the last of the cabinetry is installed.&nbsp; The cold air duct will come out into the aisle from the rear of the van.&nbsp; The warm air duct will exit through the driver's side cabinet area.&nbsp; <br><br>It may not look like it, but the water tank is mounted so that it is very secure but also very easy to remove once it is drained.&nbsp; It was done that way so that there would be easy access to the rear A/C unit if it ever needs to be worked on.&nbsp; <br><br>I went with the framing technique I am using for two main reasons.&nbsp; The first is it makes it pretty simple to have a very strong installation.&nbsp; The other is that it makes it really easy to change the layout in the future.&nbsp; Things can be added or removed relatively easily.&nbsp;&nbsp; If it were built differently, it would be much more difficult to adapt or change it in the future as needs change.

 

[coultergeist]

I put in the first of the drawers yesterday.&nbsp; The rv supply place only had one drawer slide set.&nbsp; I ordered the other two last week.&nbsp; They were supposed to be here today.&nbsp; They waited until I called to check on them today to let me know they are on back order.&nbsp; It will be next week before they are expected to get here.&nbsp; I really wanted to have all the drawers finished today.

 

[coultergeist]

Since I couldn't finish installing my drawers today, I worked on more television and antenna stuff.&nbsp; I ran the wiring for the power outlet.&nbsp; I installed the feed through insert next.&nbsp; They are in the double outlet box on the right in the first picture.&nbsp; That step is completely finished.&nbsp; The audio/video cables and hdmi cable from the DVD player have been routed through the feed through insert and connected.&nbsp; I tested that out and it worked flawlessly.<br><br>After that I worked on the antenna.&nbsp; I acquired a winegard sensar III antenna head at a yard sale.&nbsp; I had to order a power supply for it.&nbsp; It showed up last week.&nbsp; I ran the power cables to the power supply.&nbsp; After that I sat the antenna head on the roof of the van and ran the antenna cable to test it.&nbsp; <br><br>I did a channel scan and anxiously waited to see how many channels popped up.&nbsp; The result was absolutely none.&nbsp; I am about 50 miles from the closest stations, but at least something should have showed up.&nbsp; Back traced all the wires and couldn't find any problems.&nbsp; Used a different antenna cable, still nothing.&nbsp; This went on for two hours.&nbsp;<br><br>Finally, I sat down on the floor, just trying to take a break from it for a minute and clear my head.&nbsp; Looked in the direction of the power distribution panel and realized what was wrong.&nbsp; I had ran&nbsp;a bunch of the 12v circuits but I hadn't actually put the fuses in yet.&nbsp; I felt really, really stupid.<br><br>I put in the fuses and tried a channel search again.&nbsp; I picked up every channel out to about 60 miles.&nbsp; The antenna did really well once the not-so-bright installer (me) hooked everything up right.&nbsp; I think it will do great once it is installed permanently.&nbsp; <br><br>I think I will get the wingman attachment for the antenna this weekend and see how it does.&nbsp; It's suppose to make a pretty big difference on UHF reception.&nbsp; Might extend the range out even further.&nbsp;There are a few more channels I'd like to pick up in the 80 mile range.&nbsp;I will try it and see how much of a difference it makes and let you know.

 

[rokguy]

<EM><STRONG><SPAN style="COLOR: #888888">Hey coultergiest,<BR>there's nothing more comfy that watching tele in bed. glad you got your fuses sorted, smarter than myself trying to start a truck the other day with the main battery switch OFF, realised after 1/2 hour&nbsp;and felt like a real dill.<BR>Geoff</SPAN></STRONG></EM>

 

[Zil]

Geoff, i did one better, i called road service first.

 

[coultergeist]

Thanks Geoff.&nbsp; I'm reminded of a line from one of the Batman movies.&nbsp; Bruce Wayne is telling his butler Alfred that he's learning from&nbsp;his mistakes.&nbsp; Alfred tells him kind of tongue in cheek, "Well, you must be pretty knowledgeable by now."&nbsp; Lord knows I have many such little ridiculous mistakes to look back and laugh at from my lifetime.&nbsp;

 

[coultergeist]

I'm still trying to figure out exactly how to layout the driver side cabinet area, but I am just about there.&nbsp; I did get the first few supports in.&nbsp; There will be adjustable shelves above these rails.

 

[coultergeist]

While I was trying to figure out how to layout the main cabinet area on the driver's side, I worked on the small storage area below the folding bench seat.&nbsp; It is completely framed out now.&nbsp; There will be some insulation that will go on the side wall of the van behind it.&nbsp; Once that is in place I can add the rear and side walls to the cabinet&nbsp;and put on the front doors.

 

[coultergeist]

I've spent the last several days staining and finishing pieces of wood for the driver's side cabinet area.&nbsp; I finally got to use some of it today.&nbsp; This is the first of the adjustable shelf areas.&nbsp; I have to stain the removable shelves tonight, but otherwise this small area is done.&nbsp; There will be another similar area to the left of it.&nbsp; Hopefully, I can get that part done tomorrow.&nbsp;

 

[coultergeist]

I worked on the rest of the adjustable shelf area on the driver's side.&nbsp; It is basically complete.&nbsp; Once the side panels and doors get put on it should look and function pretty well.&nbsp; <br><br>I still have to get the drawers installed and the lower cabinet areas completed.

 

[coultergeist]

I thought I was going to work on getting the drawer supports in today.&nbsp; My rv supply department set me up for failure.&nbsp; I opened up the package with the two sets of drawer rails only to discover that both were incorrect.&nbsp; One set was two inches too short (but labeled as the right length) and the other had mismatched parts.&nbsp; I returned the parts.&nbsp; Supposedly replacements will be here by the end of the week.&nbsp; Hopefully, it will work out that way.<br><br>Since I couldn't do the drawers, I worked on getting the cable entry door installed.&nbsp; It came with a plastic knob originally.&nbsp; It seemed kind of flimsy, so I converted it to a metal thumb latch.&nbsp; Should be a lot more robust.&nbsp; <br><br>I got myself hit in the face with the drill when it got caught on something, but it was worth it.&nbsp;&nbsp;I can now&nbsp;run electric, water, and&nbsp;television cable through the rear door without opening it.&nbsp;&nbsp;<br><br>I went with the access door because I thought it would be more useful in the long run than having individual connection points&nbsp;on the outside of the vehicle for water, electric, and tv cable.&nbsp; <br><br>This way I can run whatever I want through the van and have it connect inside.&nbsp; I can also run things outside through it.&nbsp; I could run an extension cord outside to power something.&nbsp; The outlets at the back of the van&nbsp;are connected through the main switch panel, so if I do run a cord outside, I can turn it on and off without leaving the&nbsp;van.&nbsp; Great for outside lights at a campground.

 

[coultergeist]

I also got the shower curtain rail in today.&nbsp; It was kind of a pain.&nbsp; Twenty-four screws to mount it.&nbsp; Most of them were pretty difficult to get in.&nbsp; Had to take my time. It fit in the area it was meant for really well.&nbsp; The first picture shows how the curtain will be tied back when it's not being used.&nbsp; The second gives an idea of how it will look in use.&nbsp; The picture only shows it with one shower curtain.&nbsp; There will actually be two in use.&nbsp; It will completely encircle the area.&nbsp; <br><br>The curtain rail is roughly 32 inches by 30 inches.&nbsp; The shower pan is 36 x 24.&nbsp; I stood in and moved around.&nbsp; It is roomier than it sounds.&nbsp; I think it will do pretty well.&nbsp; Hopefully, I will get to try it out soon.&nbsp; I still have to run the water lines.&nbsp;

 

[coultergeist]

My replacement drawer slides showed up yesterday.&nbsp; Picked them up after work.&nbsp; It was raining all yesterday and last night so I just relaxed the rest of the day.&nbsp; It's still kind of dreary this morning, but the rest of the weekend should be really nice weather.&nbsp; In hopes of getting lots done I got an early start.&nbsp; <br><br>Took out my spiffy new drawer slides.&nbsp; Figured I would put the runners on both drawers first and then do the slides in the cabinet.&nbsp; The cabinet part takes longer as they have to be lined up and spaced properly.&nbsp; I got the first set of rails on the first drawer with no problems.&nbsp; Went to put the second set on and couldn't believe my luck.&nbsp; The second set is once again only 16 inches long.&nbsp; I have to go back to the rv supply place and swap them out yet again.&nbsp; This is getting really old.&nbsp; At this rate, I will have spent more on gas than on the slides.&nbsp; I'm tempted to just use regular drawer slides.&nbsp; There is no real difference in cost.&nbsp; I'm using these because they lock closed automatically when you close them all the way.&nbsp; <br><br>At least my inverter and some of my cabinet light strips showed up in the last few days.&nbsp; I can get those things worked on while I am waiting yet again for the right drawer slide to show up.

 

[coultergeist]

I got a few of the panels installed today.&nbsp; I put on the main side panel on the bed side of the driver's side cabinet.&nbsp; I also got the lower part of the front bench side panel on.&nbsp; I have the piece that goes above it cut as well.&nbsp; You can see it in the picture where I was test fitting it.&nbsp; I am working on about ten other panel pieces right now.&nbsp; In the next few days I should have pretty much all the remaining doors and shelves installed.

 

[coultergeist]

<p>It takes a whole day to get something cut, sanded, stained and urethaned.&nbsp; It is very tedious, but there are a lot of gaps of time when you can work on other things while you are waiting on the various coats to dry.&nbsp; One of the things I worked on today was one of the latches for the television.&nbsp; <br><br>It is pretty simple.&nbsp; It is a standard hasp with a rotating end.&nbsp; This is used to lock the television in place facing the front of the van.&nbsp; There will be a different type of latch that holds it in place in the bed area.&nbsp; I have it, but I haven't had the chance to put it on yet.&nbsp;</p>