Vagabound's Build-Out - 1993 Ford E350 Box Truck

[rvpopeye]

Well !
Guess next cuts will involve considerably less pucker!!!
It will get to the point you will volunteer to do the deed on someone else's install...........ezy pezy.......

 

[Vagabound]

Been following this quietly for awhile.  Looks good.  Howsabouts a pic of the outside?  Open and closed.  Thanks.

As requested, below.

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Believe I'll paint the trim and lock hardware white. To casual observers and miscellaneous passers-by, it will just be another black window in the side of a truck like the one I have on the other side of the truck vs. an obvious door. At least that's my evil plan. Will probably use Rust-Oleum spray paint, but I don't know if it's going to need a primer. At the moment it's painted aluminum.

It looks great except that first step is a doozy! lol

Yep ... Really got to get around to making some kind of steps. Using a ladder at the moment. Thinking about one of those aluminum accordion folding stair gizmos.

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Screws: What is the issue about plastic trim or whatever to cover the screws on the outside of the door.? The door didn't come with any of that. I'm thinking about just calling it done, or if it's a security issue, putting some kind of epoxy in the screw heads to make them harder to remove.

Tom

 

[LeeRevell]

Looks good. A bit narrow though, I'd likely have to squeeze through sideways. I have trouble with many RV doors.

 

[rvwandering]

Screws: What is the issue about plastic trim or whatever to cover the screws on the outside of the door.? The door didn't come with any of that. I'm thinking about just calling it done, or if it's a security issue, putting some kind of epoxy in the screw heads to make them harder to remove.

Tom

    The plastic trim keeps water from wicking through the screw holes. I can't imagine that anyone would break into your truck by removing the door screws but if you don't use the trim you should cover the screws with something to seal out water.

 

[Vagabound]

LeeRevell:
I know what you mean. I was originally thinking about a 32" wide door. However, interior build-out dimensions and the existence of a 24-1/2" inside frame, high-quality, but inexpensive, exterior door in the bargain pile in Quartzsite changed my mind. 

That said, entry really isn't as much of a problem as you might think. I went on YouTube and watched a few gymnast videos. Now I just get a running start,  spring off of a piece of plywood, vault towards the door, twist sideways in mid-air, glide silently through the door, and land inside on my feet like a cat. Piece of cake.

FWIW, I can stand inside the door jamb with a little space on both sides of my shoulders and over my head. 

So far, no problems ... except that one time that the wind blew the door shut just as I was coming off the plywood. 

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tonyandkaren:
Thanks for clearing that up. I suppose I will weatherproof the screws another way. As for security, in addition to the 30 or so screws in the outside frame, I also have 10 large construction screws going sideways through the door jamb into 2x4s mounted flush on the inside wall. That door is in there pretty solidly.  And those 2x4s also double as trim.

Tom

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

Hi Tom,

Looking good! Nice view too. You're like a seasoned pro. I was always the one who got to cut the sink holes in the corian and laminate tops at the cabinet shop I worked at, so I can appreciate the pucker factor. You do get used to it though.

I had a set of those accordian type steps to get into my truck camper, they are great. However, they do require a bit of balance because they don't have any handrails.

Here's a link to an invaluable piece of hardware, used to hold rv doors from blowing closed when you want to leave it open
https://www.amazon.com/Pack-T-Style...&qid=1486507280&sr=8-3&keywords=rv+door+latch

 

[LeeRevell]

Tom, 24 inches sounds workable. Some RVs are narrower. Your door looks skinnier in the pics.

 

[Vagabound]

Sitting in the Arizona desert just after sunset. Wind is dying down. Coyotes are serenading. Clouds are pink. Campfire around the corner.  Nice ending to the day in which I got FA done except a bit of caulking..

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Matt (ERLH):
Thanks for the nice compliment. Now that the door and window both fit, and are full of screws and sealant, it's easier to relax. And thanks for the link  to the door doohickies. I'm sure they'll come in very useful. And for steps, on Amazon, for an extra $50-80, they'll throw in a hand railing now.

Mr. Laminate Countertop ... just the guy I want to talk to! My tomorrow or next day job is mounting a laminate countertop on legs, and cutting a hole in it for a small, rectangular stainless steel bar sink. If you have any tips, please pass them along. It is too long, so I also have to cut about a foot off of the end of it and I'd like to do so without chipping the laminate badly. Plan to cut it with a circular saw.

One specific question: Most wooden countertops seem to be made of particle board with some kind of laminate on top. So is mine. However, unlike professionally made countertops which also have lemon attached to the end come mine has bear particle board ends. Any ideas on how to cover that up if I don't have any access to laminate material and don't plan to go buy any?

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Lee: Yeah, those photos sure do make it look tall and skinny.

Tom

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

Matt (ERLH):
Thanks for the nice compliment. Now that the door and window both fit, and are full of screws and sealant, it's easier to relax. And thanks for the link  to the door doohickies. I'm sure they'll come in very useful. And for steps, on Amazon, for an extra $50-80, they'll throw in a hand railing now.

Mr. Laminate Countertop ... just the guy I want to talk to! My tomorrow or next day job is mounting a laminate countertop on legs, and cutting a hole in it for a small, rectangular stainless steel bar sink. If you have any tips, please pass them along. It is too long, so I also have to cut about a foot off of the end of it and I'd like to do so without chipping the laminate badly. Plan to cut it with a circular saw.

One specific question: Most wooden countertops seem to be made of particle board with some kind of laminate on top. So is mine. However, unlike professionally made countertops which also have lemon attached to the end come mine has bear particle board ends. Any ideas on how to cover that up if I don't have any access to laminate material and don't plan to go buy any?


Tom

Hi Tom,
    Start with the sharpest blade with the most teeth you can get or already have.  Masking tape down the line you want to cut and if using a circular saw, flip the top upside down as it will chip out the bottom less than the top.  

If you want to dress up an unfinished edge with out buying any laminate I'd probably just paint it a color similar to the top.  You can make it look nicer by using a wood putty or bondo on the raw edge and sanding it smooth once it dries to fill in some of the pores of the particle board.  Then paint, and you'll have a good looking edge with some protection against water/moisture.  I always paint the edges around the sink after I cut the hole just to add some moisture protection there as well.  

I think a railing for those steps is a good add with the height of a box truck.  Funny how the higher you go the less confidence you have in your balance, especially on narrow stairs that have a little give to them.

 

[rvpopeye]

The door trim can be had at an RV parts store and maybe amazon too
I think there might be different widths so........

Place the sink upside down on the counter where you want it and trace the outside.
Measure the amount of space you'll need to the mounting rails and draw in another line inside the first one .
Drill a hole in each corner and skilsaw the rest.
Plumber's putty to seal the sink to the top..................
Finish those ends with solid wood ?????

 

[masterplumber]

Hey Tom, the only thing I'd add is if you cut the top with a circular saw do all of the above, but also set the depth so it barely cuts through. That really helps to keep it from chipping also.

 

[BradKW]

Looks great...There are iron on laminate counter ends at HD to match counter... Already cut to profile...

 

[Headache]

Looking good so far! I wish I would have been available to answer questions about the door and window installs. The only thing I didn't see suggested that I did with mine was to use butyl tape around the outside under the lip before screwing down for a water tight seal. Hope things are progressing!

 

[Vagabound]

Looking good so far!  I wish I would have been available to answer questions about the door and window installs.  The only thing I didn't see suggested that I did with mine was to use butyl tape around the outside under the lip before screwing down for a water tight seal.  Hope things are progressing!

Hi there. Yeah, your input would have been useful. It always is. That said, although somebody else mentioned butyl tape, I didn't have it and didn't use it. Instead, I used Sikaflex construction sealant. It's polyurethane based and is flexible. Good, bad, or indifferent, that's what's on the door and window now. I think it will work for a long time.

More progress to report when I have the time to sit down and write it and fuss with the pictures. Thanks for asking.

Tom

 

[Headache]

I have more time for internet but now it's a matter of when and where I get all set up. Don't really have a good way to use anything in the van since I need a normal keyboard and use a trackball instead of a mouse so I'm at the mercy of the community room being open where I park. I'll get it figured out.

Looking forward to the updates!

 

[Vagabound]

Progress Update:
What makes a truck a house?

I'm not sure I know the answer to that, but I think that it has something to do with windows.

At the point that I got the window installed finally, something started changing. Sure, the physical structure of the box was changing, but I mean something about the way I felt and saw my rig. It was at that moment that I started to feel like I was living and working in a cluttered, cramped, annoying house instead of a cluttered, cramped, annoying truck.

Since that time, as you may know, I've gotten a door installed. And then a kitchen counter with sink and water supply from jerrycans and a foot pump. And then a shower which relies on a bug sprayer-type water supply.

Although my rig is far from being finished, it is roughly functional for most basic living purposes. Now at least I can get up in the morning, make some tea in the kitchen on my propane stove, have some breakfast, use “the facilities”, do my work during the day, and then at the end of the day, take an actual shower and sleep in my own bed. Creating that basic set of capabilities was an important milestone in my build-out.

What's next is a new back wall to separate the living space from the shed next to the roll up door. After that, lots of reorganization and repacking and shelves and hooks and eye screws and pegs for pegboard and bungee cords. Oh, and lots more dithering and cussing related to having to get rid of things that simply won't ever fit.

I will pass on one method that I plan to use related to storing and finding things later. This idea came to me from a woman who lived on a boat for a long time, having similar storage problems to vandwellers. The idea is to create a drawn or written map of your storage locations with a list of what is in each location. After that, religiously put things back where they belong and you ought to be able to use that map to find what you need when you need it. It could even work for people in a small van who are forced to put their extra shampoo in the side door well, for example. I've used it for normal storage before and the method works well as long as you keep the map and lists updated.

Some photos are attached to show you a bit of the progress.

Tom

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The new door with the trim and hardware painted white. Even from a slight distance, it achieved my goal of making the door barely noticeable. That photo is a particularly bad example of the door's stealth potential. I took it in early morning sun which accentuated the shadows around the frame.



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The kitchen counter started out 2 foot by 4 foot. Then I discovered that I had built things a little bit bigger than I had planned, such as the bed frame. That necessitated cutting the counter down, but I installed a piece of that scrap has a folding counter extension.



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The kitchen counter extension adds approximately one extra foot to the counter. It just folds down on two simple hinges. The mechanism to hold extension up is just something I thought of, not having anything better to do the job. Not quite satisfied with the device that I fashioned to hold the extension up, but it works at the moment. None of the folding extension thingies in the box stores seemed to be quite right.Suggestions appreciated.



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The shower consists of a bar that I made from electrical conduit screwed into the wall with two connectors and two galvanized floor flanges. Electrical conduit fittings and the galvanized floor flanges fit perfectly together. The resulting shower curtain bar is quite strong. Then I just put two shower curtains up overlapped roughly and haven't yet figured out where they need to open and close. The tub is just a Rubbermaid bin with a drain installed that can empty out of the bottom of the truck. I will probably modify that at some point such that I can catch the runoff into a jerrycan if I need to do that. At present, when I take a shower, if I'm not in a place suitable for allowing the greywater to discharge, I just leave the plug in the drain and carry around the shower water in the bottom of the tub until I reach a suitable spot to pull the plug.

 

[wayne49]

I have more time for internet but now it's a matter of when and where I get all set up.  Don't really have a good way to use anything in the van since I need a normal keyboard and use a trackball instead of a mouse so I'm at the mercy of the community room being open where I park.  I'll get it figured out.

Looking forward to the updates!

Vagabound, Please excuse the intrusion.

Headache, how does the trackball compare to a mouse for cursor control and usability? Currently, I am considering alternatives to my mouse. Recently my enter key on my keyboard wore out. Ergonomically I would think not having to extend my wrist would be preferable and my table surface does not line up as well as an office desk and chair.

Thanks, Wayne

 

[highdesertranger]

nice Tom, looks a lot different then when I saw it last. highdesertranger

 

[Gary68]

https://www.amazon.com/Amarine-made...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=6MEMWB5199X50FDQ6WHK

folding metal table bracket or something like that

 

[BradKW]

I'm disappointed that this update didn't include the promised video of your flying side door dismounts.

That said, lotta respect for getting it done one step at a time while living in it...gotta get frustrating at times.