The Bitty Build community project!

[SoulRaven]

The idea came up in this thread to help me build out a van at the next RTR. The notion is I could bring the cargo shell and some (most? all?) materials needed, and others can pitch in with the actual construction. I'm hoping we can flesh out some of the details in this thread to find out whether this thought can actually take wings and fly.

To anyone with even good intentions towards this, whether or not you're actually able to help out, thank you so much.

First question: Which RTR should we aim for? I can hold out until January 2017 if needed, but someone else mentioned the summer RTR. Any thoughts on which would work better?

 

[masterplumber]

I know I plan to be at the winter one, but probably won't make the summer one. I'd love to help. As I mentioned on the other thread, I really like the idea of different people building modules and bringing them to RTR. It would allow more people to be involved and speed up the process there. There is only so much room inside a van for people to work.

 

[ggwoman]

I can saw, hammer, screw, sew, ulphoster, measure (like ten x's, I can be a bit ocd not wasting wood! lol), I've cut and laid tile, plumbed. The only thing I won't do is electrical stuff. Too scared. I plan to be at both so whatever works for you is fine with me. Btw Bitty, my tracfone set up easy within minutes and works just fine.

 

[GotSmart]

I know I plan to be at the winter one, but probably won't make the summer one. I'd love to help. As I mentioned on the other thread, I really like the idea of different people building modules and bringing them to RTR. It would allow more people to be involved and speed up the process there. There is only so much room inside a van for people to work.

Too bad, I was thinking you would be the perfect forman.  

I would love to work on it.  I will stay outside and fabricate things.  I am too clumsy and slow to be working inside. 

I will try to get my schedule set.

 

[Almost There]

I'm more than willing to pitch in as well.

I'll be at the RTR 2017, the summer one, well, I'll be at home doing penance for being born a Canadian...  

I have no room for a pre-built anything in the van and would caution against doing any pre-fabs. Even with building modular units on site, I can attest to the necessity of measuring a third/fourth/fifth time and adjusting the plans when each unit is going in. My best laid plans were out by at least a 1/2" just about all the time.

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

I'll be at the 2017 RTR and will be more than happy to lend a hand. 18 years of custom cabinet and furniture making experience at your disposal.

 

[flying kurbmaster]

for starters,this is what you will need and you have to find out what kind you can live with, insulation, panelling, some wood framing, flooring, I am not sure how you will test them other then getting a small sample and sleeping with it and see what happens. you might get some ideas from that website with the women who built a small house that popeye I think mentioned in the other thread, you may be able to eliminate some of the worse offenders.

 

[ggwoman]

for starters,this is what you will need and you have to find out what kind you can live with, insulation, panelling, some wood framing, flooring, I am not sure how you will test them other then getting a small sample and sleeping with it and see what happens. you might get some ideas from that website with the women who built a small house that popeye I think mentioned in the other thread, you may be able to eliminate some of the worse offenders.

okay, the mental picture here is well....just well. LOLOL

 

[ilovemyvan]

THIS IS ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Bitty, you have no idea how I wish I could be there. It doesn't look like there will be a shortage of helpers, but still I wish I could go.

Nicole

 

[SoulRaven]

I have no room for a pre-built anything in the van and would caution against doing any pre-fabs. Even with building modular units on site, I can attest to the necessity of measuring a third/fourth/fifth time and adjusting the plans when each unit is going in. My best laid plans were out by at least a 1/2" just about all the time.

I was wondering about that, but trying to dismiss my concerns with "well maybe everyone else is just better at measuring than I am." It's kinda comforting in a weird way to know that isn't the case?

I'll be at the 2017 RTR and will be more than happy to lend a hand.  18 years of custom cabinet and furniture making experience at your disposal.

Oh my gosh, that's incredible! Thanks so much! Are there specific woods that are better suited to vandwelling that I should prioritize checking tolerance?

for starters,this is what you will need and you have to find out what kind you can live with, insulation, panelling, some wood framing, flooring, I am not sure how you will test them other then getting a small sample and sleeping with it and see what happens. you might get some ideas from that website with the women who built a small house that popeye I think mentioned in the other thread, you may be able to eliminate some of the worse offenders.

Sleeping with it, yes.... (I know someone who carves wood into the most interesting shapes for....oh never mind )

I've figured out a lot of that stuff already just with sorting out my own setups so far. Reflectix is fine, rigid foam insulation is good, corrugated plastic, some sort of wood framing (he wasn't sure what kind but it worked okay), and a few other things I know I'm forgetting at the moment. I can tolerate a lot more than I used to so finding materials we can use shouldn't be too difficult.

For adhesives and sealants I'll probably be relying on AFM products, they can be a great less-toxic alternative.

Flooring--anything with vinyl, rubbery-smelling neoprene, latex (bf's allergy, not mine), or carpet is out. I can potentially sometimes make old carpet work, but it's an extensive process to do so and new carpet is a far worse offender. Cork is my dream flooring for the feel of it, but it would need to be sealed really well to protect it from spills and such and I need to test out reactions to the other stuff they put in it. "Natural linoleum" is another possibility, wood too; I should test out Purebond plywood. Any hard tile flooring should be ruled out for psychological reasons.

Any other suggestions for materials I should test out? What types of wood should I test? I feel like I'm missing a lot but my stress-addled brain isn't serving me very well.

Also, general suggestions for a van? I theoretically have my heart set on a mid-rise Ford Transit, but in reality it seems the basic requirements so far are 1) tall enough for me to stand up in (5'2", 2) new enough to be mechanically reliable, and 3) longer than a Transit Connect. I'm also trying to avoid going completely huge. I plan to head out to a used car lot and do some test drives to get a better feel for what's out there. The cargo shell will initially be @DarthVixen's van until I move into it, that simplifies the process with Social Security breathing down my neck.

 

[Gary68]

if your going real wood and chemical sensitivity i would stay away from the oily/sappy woods like cedar,fir,pine and such and stick with hard woods with a natural finish that dosnt bother you

can you stand in a conversion van with the t.v. top?

 

[flying kurbmaster]

ok so if rigid foam is good that is great, one of the biggest obstacles, get a piece of 1 inch polysio and test it, some 1x pine because it is cheap and test it, get some white carpenters glue from your dad and run a line or two on the pine let it dry and sleep with it, ( and don#t even think of carving it), and maybe some of that clip together flooring, if you like that stuff you can get it with a wood finish( looks nice and easy to maintain), if these work you are almost there, the only thing you have to find is some kind of paneling, for the walls, and cupboards that will work. (Luan,,hard wood veneer or some kind of coated Masonite or whatever else that will work). I wouldn't be afraid of having stuff built ahead of time using tested materials, a cupboard for your clothes, a counter for your stove, a box for your toilet, and a bed frame, most of these vans are the same size, and once we know year and model someone on here can give us a floor size, so I don#t see a problem for someone who can measure, and if someone can build these things they will likely know how to read a tape measure, and if in the unlikely event that an error would happen it can be adjusted afterwards with a little tweekking. you are almost there I like Gary;s idea of a TV roof if you can stand in it, they are fairly stealth.

 

[rvpopeye]

Bitty
Oh My Goshk Skuh kuh kuh kuh kuh
I don't think you have to sleep with the wood THAT way ?
You're too funny !

That paneling that was in the Kam Van was nice looking and light weight . maybe you could check it out as a possible material?

 

[SoulRaven]

if your going real wood and chemical sensitivity i would stay away from the oily/sappy woods like cedar,fir,pine and such and stick with hard woods with a natural finish that dosnt bother you

can you stand in a conversion van with the t.v. top?

I have good experiences in the past with AFM products used as a finish, so I know I'm covered there.

Are TV tops the fiberglass addition? I checked one out and it was like just 1.5" too short to stand up in. I actually found it more annoying than my low top Chevy G20 since my brain kept getting tricked into thinking I could stand up straight.

Do they come in different heights? Would it make sense to consider buying a van and having a TV top added to it, or is it too pricey a modification?

A mid-height Ford Transit we looked at had what felt like absolutely perfect space. 6" tall interior. Those are going to be tough/impossible to find at a decent price, though. I'm planning to check out the possibility of buying from an auction, there's several 2015 Ford Transits with less than 50K miles, how much can be wrong with them in that time period? But, at the moment it's just ideas. We're having more medical issues piling up so progress on this subject is slow.

Bitty
Oh My Goshk Skuh kuh kuh kuh kuh
I don't think you have to sleep with the wood THAT way ?
You're too funny !

That paneling that was in the Kam Van was nice looking and light weight . maybe you could check it out as a possible material?

I was just saying that it COULD happen, that's all!!

What paneling is that, exactly?

 

[Gary68]

there are many different styles and heights,the easiest is to get a cargo van and add a top,if your lucky you can find a newer van with a high top although pretty rare,more common are older campervans with high top

i have never done it but people here say its not to hard to add a top,so maybe add that to the Bitty build?

 

[rvpopeye]

Kam's interior pic..



It's the paneling in the cabinet doors and walls and ceiling
looks like tongue+groove

 

[SoulRaven]

Kam's interior pic..



It's the paneling in the cabinet doors and walls and ceiling
looks like tongue+groove

Dang that's nice.

Okay, researching fiberglass tops now. What would be the drawbacks of one? I've heard of leakage concerns, I'm also wondering if it's as viable to put solar on them? All things I might find out on my own but checking if anyone knows offhand.

I'm also eyeing a short bus...but I've never driven one before so would need to get a feel for it.

 

[Richard]

I'm not well-informed about this but when I read "Luan" in a few comments here, it reminded me of some important health concerns I read about not long ago: (bold red emphasis is mine)

Glue. Ask the vendor to tell you what glue will be used on the roof. Then look it up onine and check to make sure it is not only "VOC compliant" (which means it's within legal limits but may offgass like hell), but NO-VOC. Water-based glues are generally safer than solvent based products.

Luan. Ensure that the roof decking is made from a 100% urea formaldehyde-free luan. Avoid particle board. and masonite. ideally, you would use zero-formaldehyde luan, but to my knowledge, no such products exist in the U.S.. Many products that are called "no formaldehyde"  have subsituted phenol resin for urea resin, which makes the formaldehyde,more stable. You get less formaldehyde offgassing, but you still get offgassing. A lesser evil, but one I'm afraid you're stuck with until a better product comes along.

- See more at: http://www.greenbuildermedia.com/gr...ree-luan-and-no-voc-glue#sthash.Afl1wyHz.dpuf

Hope that's helpful!

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

I'm also wondering if it's as viable to put solar on them? All things I might find out on my own but checking if anyone knows offhand.

Sternwake has a panel on his fiberglass top.  Discussion and pictures in this thread:

https://vanlivingforum.com/Thread-mounting-solar-panel?highlight=fiberglass

 

[WheelEstate USA]

I would not be afraid to mount panels on fiberglass. It's done on boats all the time, as are many other fixtures. It's not hard to make sure they are secure and there are no leaks.