What do you do first?

[forforests]

:blush: When you are at the beginning of a van conversion, what do you do first?  Inside ceiling, walls, floor? What if you want to do solar or a ceiling fan later, how do you provide for that so you don't have to rip up stuff to get it done?  Any advice?

 

[Almost There]

1st - design, redesign, and redesign again...

Seriously, insulate first, then floor underlay, decide on where wiring is going to run - install as needed, finish walls, build whatever cabinetry/bed you want built in, finish. Ceiling can be done last unless some of the cabinets run to the ceiling then you have to figure out in advance how to deal with it.

I put my central ceiling panels in in 4 sections leaving the cut out in the middle for the fan box. I simply built a 'plug' for it to neaten up the ceiling until I could get the fan installed. Caveat - I knew what I was doing, if you've never done it before the first thing to do is study up on all of it so you won't be ripping things out!

 

[Trebor English]

How much time do you have?  Some people have had a bad breakup and they are out that day.  In that case all you are doing is loading up and organizing.  On the other hand you could take a year of 10 hours per week to build stuff.  Whatever you plan, try to make it flexible.  After you spend a few nights and 1000 miles you might want things different.  A MaxxFan can go in last but the wire to power it should be inside something.

 

[Qxxx]

Very FIRST thing .... figure out how you want the bed, lengthwise or crosswise. Everything else vectors off of that decision. Depends a lot on how tall you are and how you sleep.

For a small van, you only have one choice, lengthwise.

In my GMC Savana van, the distance across the back just over the wheel wells is 74"-76", so I have a foam mattress, twin size 38"x74", crosswise in the back. Being foam, it conforms to the curvature of the walls. However, and this is a very big deal, since the mattress fully takes up the entire cross width, I cannot put regular insulation and paneling in there like most people seem to want to do.

For Ford or Chrysler vans, it'll be somewhat different considerations. Everything is a compromise.

 

[SheketEchad]

Ummm. Buy the van? Just a guess here...

 

[MotorVation]

I started by acquiring the equipment I needed after buying the van. Then I sat around and tried to figure out what to do next. For months and months. So, finally I put the bed in and got myself a good mattress. After that I covered the windows. Etc, etc

If I had it do over again, I would have covered the windows first. When sitting in the van, it went from, "well, here we are", to "well, here I am, and this is my Hobbit Hole."

Gaining privacy was the largest and best change I've made to date. It all started coming together after that.

Edited to add: My van was a 15 passenger and has windows all the way around.

 

[Giuseppe Hardblast]

Just get in it. You Will figure out what's next as u go

 

[travelaround]

What I do first is.. get a cup of coffee. Then daydream about van improvements. When you dream up your best potential floorplan .... you need a floor. I know some say to insulate first, but I don't regret getting a nice solid floor first. Mine is red oak plywood, whitewashed and verathaned. No laminate or anything else on top except a couple of small area rugs. I'm doing the insulation now. More than half way done... nothing more motivating than a snow storm expected next week. I've been using flimsy curtains and will switch to insulated curtains (sewn with Thinsulate inside) ... my next project. Now, more coffee... more daydreaming. I've been winging it, living in the van since I got the floor finished... starting July 2. A learning curve.