Cool pics of vintage camper vans

[boywonder]

http://houselove.org/van-dreams.php

[Abitibi]

Nice!

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[Annie O]

Good stuff! Some of the floorplans mirror daydream ideas I have, ie the dormobile and Skoda with the work surface up against the drivers seat. (Without the color schemes that look like the 70s threw up on them ) Can't wait to measure mine for feasibility, albeit micro scale since I bought a 138 WB

One thing I don't understand yet is how to install a cabinet - hang or stand? I have looked at some build videos but have not found one yet that goes into structural mounting principles. I am trained to estimate projects off blueprints and engineering drawings, so yeah I think like that. Is there a van interiors 101 thread?

[86Scotty]

Thanks Boywonder! There's some really cool stuff there.

[boywonder]

Originally Posted by Annie O

One thing I don't understand yet is how to install a cabinet - hang or stand? I have looked at some build videos but have not found one yet that goes into structural mounting principles. I am trained to estimate projects off blueprints and engineering drawings, so yeah I think like that. Is there a van interiors 101 thread?

FWIW, all of my cabinets are bolted/screwed to the floor only......no brackets....for some reason, I had no issues cutting a giant hole in the roof, but have never penetrated the interior plastic with a screw.

....and before installing the floor...think hard about wiring sizing and requirements across the van.....so you can run a few wires under the floor....run extra.

[tlg]

Interesting stuff. Enjoyed looking at all the different approaches to building a camper.

[Annie O]

Originally Posted by boywonder

FWIW, all of my cabinets are bolted/screwed to the floor only......no brackets....for some reason, I had no issues cutting a giant hole in the roof, but have never penetrated the interior plastic with a screw.

....and before installing the floor...think hard about wiring sizing and requirements across the van.....so you can run a few wires under the floor....run extra.

Too funny! Well I don't want anything to do with a cut out roof because I've never had a sunroof that didn't eventually leak!

So did you have to drop your gas tank to bolt cabinets down?

Thanks for the insight about running electric. So I should learn about that FIRST? Hmmm one thing I know I want is good task lighting and power source but Have zero knowledge about it unless there is a pole nearby I can sub an electrician to tie into- duh!

Can I just run conduit or cable trays for later?

[boywonder]

I used a few of the holes in the floor from the seats that I removed to fasten the floor down....as well as the threaded pass-throughs for the positive and negative battery cables that connect the house batteries and the starting batteries.

..no dropping the gas tank...

I also used modern square drive wood screws (purchased from Mcfeelys.com) to fasten various cabinets into the plywood floor.

Keep in mind that the floor is pretty wedged in there around the wheel wells, etc with floor to ceiling cabinets, etc. so it really isn't going far.

As far as wiring goes, I would think of it this way....

You are gonna end up with stuff on both sides of the van that needs power, so run some heavy gauge red/black wires (like 8 ga) across the floor (or perhaps the ceiling if you are not doing a pop top) and install a fuse block (Blue sea Brand highly recommended) on both sides of the van...either a 6 circuit or a twelve circuit. Allow extra circuits in addition to what you are planning (don't ask me how I figured this out!)

Also run some 14/2 or 12/2 romex house wire under your installed floor if you are planning to use an inverter and 115VAC stuff.

If you can come up with a way to integrate a wire chase or conduit, you'll thank yourself later. I have no way of adding additional wires under the floor.

I also somewhat underestimated the required wire gauge on a few things early in the build, and have since upsized some wires...complete PITA.

[KTMRIDER]

Originally Posted by boywonder

As far as wiring goes, I would think of it this way....

You are gonna end up with stuff on both sides of the van that needs power, so run some heavy gauge red/black wires (like 8 ga) across the floor (or perhaps the ceiling if you are not doing a pop top) and install a fuse block (Blue sea Brand highly recommended) on both sides of the van...either a 6 circuit or a twelve circuit. Allow extra circuits in addition to what you are planning (don't ask me how I figured this out!)

Also run some 14/2 or 12/2 romex house wire under your installed floor if you are planning to use an inverter and 115VAC stuff.

If you can come up with a way to integrate a wire chase or conduit, you'll thank yourself later. I have no way of adding additional wires under the floor.

I also somewhat underestimated the required wire gauge on a few things early in the build, and have since upsized some wires...complete PITA.

All great advice there and highly recommended. Also a good time for any stereo wiring for speakers, Amps, backup camera etc.
Eric