Removing carpet and walls on my van?

[PatsyG]

Any tips on removing the carpet and walls from my newly acquired 1996 Dodge Ram RV Van? I would like to find the easiest way, if possible.
Then I can put in plywood floor and insulation.

 

[SoulRaven]

If the floor, walls, and ceiling were professionally done, I would think long and hard before removing them. Too many people seem to believe they can improve upon them only to wind up with something far inferior to what they started with.

 

[PatsyG]

If the floor, walls, and ceiling were professionally done, I would think long and hard before removing them. Too many people seem to believe they can improve upon them only to wind up with something far inferior to what they started with.

I am debating that myself, but just thinking about insulation. I know I will remove the carpet and padding on the floor. It is only 20 years old but is decrepit and filthy. May just remove the carpet for now so I can put down plywood.

 

[Sameer]

hI very much disagree with not stripping out the back..i eliminated a lot of excess weight and...it was the only way i could PROPERLY. I was shocked to find how little insulation had been used. Wisps of pink insulation were replaced with inches of of proper insulation. i guarantee that the company's that manufacture the vehicle has insulation as a very low priority. If you are considering 'long full-time vandwelling, strip out the inside and insulate properly. When the temperature drops to 23 degrees and the winds are blowing...or...temperature rises above triple digits you will thank yourself. Many other advantages to stripping the inside. You can wire as you wish and design the inside to fit your needs. Everything from the front seats to the rear runs off of the house battery and my engine battery is just to start the engine. All in All...everyone must do what they are comfortable doing to make their 'mobile-home' fit them perfectly. The difference between a well insulated van and one that is not is 'Comfort", especially during a bad weather like wind and cold and snow during the Winter...where ever you are! or even late into the Spring in the Southwest! Your van wasn't designed to live-in full time. That is something you have to do.

 

[masterplumber]

Patsy, I would pull the back seat out, and the carpet. the carpet should come out pretty easy once that last seat is removed. You may need to unscrew a trim piece here or there as you go, like around the side and rear doors. Then put down some plywood and flooring, build a simple platform for a bed across the back, add a side cabinet or bureau like you talked about to the drivers side for storage and kitchen, and then use it like that for a while. While tearing everything out and starting from scratch has some advantages, it is also a lot of work. Not so much the tear out but the rebuild. I'd hate to see you get discouraged before you ever get to hit the road.

Step 2 would be to pull out the house stereo and tv. to gain some storage. If you want to watch movies your better off with a small portable dvd player that runs on 12volt, and if I recall the stereo didn't work anyway - never understood the need for 2 stereos in 1 van anyway ; )

Then if you've lived in it for a while and you have an idea of changes you want to make, that would be the time to tear everything out and build version 2.0. I guaranty that you will have different ideas of what you need after living in it, than what you think you need now - everyone does. If you do get to Colorado this summer I'm more than willing to help with the heavy lifting. Would love to introduce you to my wife and other son.

 

[PatsyG]

Patsy, I would pull the back seat out, and the carpet. the carpet should come out pretty easy once that last seat is removed...then put down some plywood and flooring, build a simple platform for a bed across the back, add a side cabinet or bureau like you talked about to the drivers side for storage and kitchen, and then use it like that for a while. While tearing everything out and starting from scratch has some advantages, it is also a lot of work.
Then if you've lived in it for a while and you have an idea of changes you want to make, that would be the time to tear everything out and build version 2.0. I guaranty that you will have different ideas of what you need after living in it, than what you think you need now - everyone does. If you do get to Colorado this summer I'm more than willing to help with the heavy lifting. Would love to introduce you to my wife and other son.

What you say makes perfect sense and doesn't leave me dreading the work. I will take you up on your offer, if I can - may need to get the apartment sold to have the money after paying for van repairs.
I would love to meet your wife and son.
You are my hero!

 

[Almost There]

Patsy, I totally agree with Masterplumber - remove the yucky carpet and put in a real bed. Call it good for a start.

It is a LOT of work, even just stripping out the old interior is a lot of work because it has to come out in the opposite order of how it was put in. The minute you undo one screw you find 3 more things that have to be undone BEFORE that first piece will come loose.

Even with all my experience (40 years of vanning), I only came 'close' to having the design right the first time. Tomorow I get to remove a shelf and move a partition under the bed so that the new batteries will fit properly.

Live in it a while and figure out what you need and don't need to keep you happy with it. It's kind of like the 'measure twice, cut once' maxim of carpentry. If you put in what you think you need before you actually live in it, I can almost certainly guarantee that in six months (or less), you'll be at least modifying it if not ripping it out and starting over.

Oh, and make notes as you figure things out - at our age, we all too soon forget that brilliant idea...

 

[PatsyG]

Patsy, I totally agree with Masterplumber - remove the yucky carpet and put in a real bed. Call it good for a start.

It is a LOT of work, even just stripping out the old interior is a lot of work because it has to come out in the opposite order of how it was put in. The minute you undo one screw you find 3 more things that have to be undone BEFORE that first piece will come loose.

Even with all my experience (40 years of vanning), I only came 'close' to having the design right the first time. Tomorow I get to remove a shelf and move a partition under the bed so that the new batteries will fit properly.

Live in it a while and figure out what you need and don't need to keep you happy with it. It's kind of like the 'measure twice, cut once' maxim of carpentry. If you put in what you think you need before you actually live in it, I can almost certainly guarantee that in six months (or less), you'll be at least modifying it if not ripping it out and starting over.

Oh, and make notes as you figure things out - at our age, we all too soon forget that brilliant idea...

Started ripping out the carpet today, and came across exactly what you said about the complications increasing as you go. Even being able to work with a full sheet of plywood will be impossible for me to do - will probably have two sheets ripped down the middle. The "heavy lifting" gets more difficult every year. But I will figure it out, as you say. And make notes.

 

[Almost There]

Started ripping out the carpet today, and came across exactly what you said about the complications increasing as you go.  Even being able to work with a full sheet of plywood will be impossible for me to do - will probably have two sheets ripped down the middle.  The "heavy lifting" gets more difficult every year.  But I will figure it out, as you say.  And make notes.

Ha, I can't handle a full sheet of anything, let alone 3/4" plywood that I used for my floor.

With an empty van, I first made the template for the passenger edge all the way from behind the front seat to the back door. I used bristol board but pieces of cardboard taped together will work as well. Then I did the same for the drivers' side.

I wanted all of the seams of the plywood floor to be beneath my cabinets and bed. This meant a full sheet of plywood needed to start in the front corner on the passenger side. I figured out where it needed to start based on the seat when it was turned around facing the back of the van.

I needed two sheets of plywood to do the whole floor - one full sheet, one ripped at 24" lengthwise.

At H/D I got them to cut the one sheet for me. Then I had them load the full sheet good side up on the bottom of the load with the cut plywood (and some other wood I needed) on top.

At home I unloaded the partial sheets then arm-wrestled milk crates under the 4 corners of the full sheet while it was still in the van. Applied the template starting at the front passenger corner, double checked it and cut it with a jig saw. Vacuumed up the sawdust and lowered the sheet in to place.

It never came out of the van....

THEN, I fitted the other partial sheets around it. 1 full length (8' x 24") down the drivers' side and the other partial sheet cut to fit the back of the van across the width of it.

BTW, I used 3/4" plywood for a good reason - you'll have all kinds of advice on this one
I screwed all my cabinets and the bed frame down to the floor without ever worrying about breaking through the wood on to the steel floor of the van. No holes were ever put in the van floor this way and I'm confident that all the components of the van are firmly attached to the floor.

 

[SoulRaven]

There is a good possibility that you're going to find a rather thick fiber mat under the carpet. This serves as sound deadening, insulation, and it is also designed to wick any moisture up and away from the metal floor so it can be evaporated out through the carpet. If that mat is there and intact, I would be hesitant trying to improve upon it. Instead I believe I would just recover it with automotive grade carpet. Automotive grade carpet is designed to allow any and all moisture to easily be evaporated out of it.

 

[PatsyG]

At home I unloaded the partial sheets then arm-wrestled milk crates under the 4 corners of the full sheet while it was still in the van. Applied the template starting at the front passenger corner, double checked it and cut it with a jig saw. Vacuumed up the sawdust and lowered the sheet in to place.

It never came out of the van....

THEN, I fitted the other partial sheets around it. 1 full length (8' x 24") down the drivers' side and the other partial sheet cut to fit the back of the van across the width of it.

BTW, I used 3/4" plywood for a good reason - you'll have all kinds of advice on this one
I screwed all my cabinets and the bed frame down to the floor without ever worrying about breaking through the wood on to the steel floor of the van. No holes were ever put in the van floor this way and I'm confident that all the components of the van are firmly attached to the floor.

Great idea but I am not sure I can get the van under my carport without hitting anything. Maybe I can get someone to spot me. I have it parked in visitor parking right now. Thought about a cordless jigsaw, but I know I would get noise complaints. Maybe I could rent a jigsaw and cut it in the HD parking lot.

 

[Patrick46]

Great idea but I am not sure I can get the van under my carport without hitting anything. Maybe I can get someone to spot me. I have it parked in visitor parking right now. Thought about a cordless jigsaw, but I know I would get noise complaints. Maybe I could rent a jigsaw and cut it in the HD parking lot.

are you doing this at 2 AM???

If you're working on this at 2 PM, nobody will have room to complain.

 

[PatsyG]

are you doing this at 2 AM???

If you're working on this at 2 PM, nobody will have room to complain.

Trust me, they will complain. I'll try asking the HOA president for permission. If I were working under my carport, I'd say they have no right to complain, but in the open visitor parking, I know the people adjacent to those spots will complain.
So I will talk to the Prez.

 

[Patrick46]

RRrrrrrrrrrr......this is why I could never live in a place with HOA's!!

a jigsaw is a lot quieter than a lawnmower, and I'll be they don't complain about those.

 

[PatsyG]

RRrrrrrrrrrr......this is why I could never live in a place with HOA's!!

a jigsaw is a lot quieter than a lawnmower, and I'll be they don't complain about those.

RRrrrrrrrr.....is right. But there's advantages and disadvantages. And some people are more onery than others. One of them walked by yesterday when I was ripping carpet and asked me three times if I live here. Then wanted to know my name, which apartment, and how long I have lived here. Told him my first name, apt, and told him to check with the prez. He got nicer after that.

 

[Mobilesport]

PatsyG   so did you decide to go ahead with redoing the walls?

 

[PatsyG]

PatsyG   so did you decide to go ahead with redoing the walls?

Not at this time. I do not really have a good place to work on it at this time. I cant fit it into my carport, so parking around the side of the building. I haven't even put in a floor yet because of construction logistics. I could operate machinery on my patio, but at 71 do not have enough strength to carry sheets of plywood back and forth. I think I am going to put some cheap, but clean, carpet down for the time being and then do some work at masterplumbers house in CO this summer, if I can.
It will be much easier than trying to do it here.

 

[masterplumber]

You know you're welcome here.

 

[PatsyG]

You know you're welcome here.

You still owe me a breakfast. LOL

 

[GotSmart]

Not at this time.  I do not really have a good place to work on it at this time.  I cant fit it into my carport, so parking around the side of the building.  I haven't even put in a floor yet because of construction logistics.  I could operate machinery on my patio, but at 71 do not have enough strength to carry sheets of plywood back and forth.  I think I am going to put some cheap, but clean, carpet down for the time being and then do some work at masterplumbers house in CO this summer, if I can.
It will be much easier than trying to do it here.

Watch out for that Woolfie dog.  He loves to get underfoot.     (Giant fur ball!)

Doug will set you up right.