Hello Everyone,
I've been on idle with the van for a while but I've finally made some headway. I've been quenched by all the great builds on this forum and biding my time for when my budget allowed me to keep going.
My build is a lot different than most. With the fiberglass top on my van I've only got about 60" of clearance, not much room to stand, I'm 6'-3". We have the full queen size permanent bed in the back and now we've acquired a bench seat out of 2014 GMC Denali. I have removed almost all of the plastic molding in the back of the van. I'm adding 3/4" plywood for base flooring and having the seat mount fabricated. Once the mount is completed and I get the van back I'll strip it all out, prep the floor (fill holes) and start the insulation. My plan is to use th 3/4" plywood on the floor for sound deadening and insulation. On the sides of the van I plan to insert non-backed insulation in the voids and reflectix throughout.
Ultimate plans include two frame mounted AGMs, charge controller, solar panels, DC fuse panel, wiring for Engel or ARB fridge, lighting, outlets, etc. You can see the cabinetry I plan to install behind the drivers seat and along the drivers side adjacent to the bench seat, I've mocked it up with cardboard in a few photos below. It's basically a 50 style layout but shorter based the rigid bed platform in the back. Plans also include Vantech raingutter roof rack mounts and cross bars with a full length/width custom roof rack with ladder. Also included in the build will be a MaxAir Vent near the back. To do this I'll need to redo the factory headliner and reroute the A/C ducting, as well as trim out the roll cage. This van came with a heavy duty roll cage between the roof and headliner. Still working on those details.
If budget allows I'd like to be complete with all of this by February or March. I just dropped the van off at the fabricator this morning and should have it back late this week. The fabricator is a good friend of mine, his shop in middle/southern TN near the town of Pikeville. He does great work and is looking do more of this type of work if anyone in the area is looking for a shop. I'll post up details of the install and can provide his contact information if needed.
Here are some photos of the progress so far.
Seat when delivered: Cost was $425 shipped. Found it on ebay from a guy in Texas.
Mock up of interior. The bigger box behind the driver seat will have the top loading frig on top and drawer on the bottom for storage:
From the front:
Seat rotates up to allow for gear access. A must for the way the bed is seat up. Plus I'll have child seats on the 60 seat so it won't move much. Crucial that I found the 60/40 seat. Well this this more like a 70/30.
More of seat rotated up:
I'm still not certain how I will install the reflectix on the sides of the van and still be reinstall some of the plastic paneling. I won't reinstall the factory paneling behind the cabinets along the driver's side but I do plan to reinstall the paneling in the back area.
I still need to cut out the last piece of plywood for the very back of the van, that will be on the list as soon as I get the van back from the shop. I didn't get good picture of the flooring that I've cut and installed, was too busy getting things ready to deliver the van this morning.
I'm excited to finally be moving forward on this build. It took me a while to find the right seat, order it, shipped, etc. More to come soon, hopefully.
Cheers,
Justin
Linear Mode
