MG Metalworks Build

[Flux]

Originally Posted by mgmetalworks

Thanks man!

Europe does have some sweet stuff for camper vans. I'm designing some folding seat/bed mechanisms for our vans but I'm on the fence about offering them for sale. A friend and product liability lawyer gave me the run down of "worst case scenario" and how to mitigate risk. Not sure I want to make an insurance guy rich just to sell a few seats.

I hear you loud and clear. It sucks because this is the type of stuff that stifles industries from doing exactly what you are trying to do, make cool stuff.

Funny because I can remember riding in the front seat of a car with no belt and all the adults smoking. Or in the back of a pickup. I think we sat in lawnchairs in my parents van going on camping trips.

Either way those are some beautiful seats and I can't wait to see the finished product.

[mgmetalworks]

Originally Posted by Flux

Funny because I can remember riding in the front seat of a car with no belt and all the adults smoking. Or in the back of a pickup. I think we sat in lawnchairs in my parents van going on camping trips.

we had a '71 Monte Carlo bench seat mounted on some boards to keep it from sliding forward and backward in the bed of a truck. No belts, rode around like that all summer as a kid. hahaha!

[EmMay]

When someone on a cellie blows it in front of our rig, you can be sure we want seats that are assured to function safely in a crash. And, when you sell to the public at large they have to be safe, secure and known to protect our selves, our kids. Safety First.

Your seats look awesome. Do the homework on regulating, if it works it works if it doesn't you're priced out, not to stifle you (Flux's input) but to make us all safer and protect you from litigation that could destroy your business and families financial security indefinitely.

[Jsweezy]

So I know everyone that has read this thread has thought to themselves, "Those seats better make me breakfast in the morning for that price!".

I'll just add that I sat in them today and my opinion of them is this. I would make those seats breakfast in the morning for that price. They are so comfortable that you literally feel like it's holding you in it's arms singing you a lullaby as you drive down the road.

I, unfortunately, will never be able to afford them. But I will go for rides in MGs van as much as possible.

[mgmetalworks]

Originally Posted by Jsweezy

So I know everyone that has read this thread has thought to themselves, "Those seats better make me breakfast in the morning for that price!".

I'll just add that I sat in them today and my opinion of them is this. I would make those seats breakfast in the morning for that price. They are so comfortable that you literally feel like it's holding you in it's arms singing you a lullaby as you drive down the road.

I, unfortunately, will never be able to afford them. But I will go for rides in MGs van as much as possible.

That pretty much sums up my feelings on them too...

[mgmetalworks]

I've been working on this concept for a while... I originally wanted to debut this in the SEMA van in 2015 but just didn't have time to pull it all together.

The trouble with the van floor is that it's uneven, oddly shaped and not a straight edge in sight along the perimeter. Doing something cool started to look challenging. I wanted some flexibility in my van so I planned on some L-track in some configuration or another from the start.

I've been down the road of installing L-track through the floor and while it worked, it is such a pain to do, not to mention you don't have access to all the holes in the L-track from the bottom side of the body...and the body is basically a tin can, not much to bolt to in the first place. So what if there were a way to bolt down the L-track from above? And could I use the existing holes in the van (from seat mounts) to secure the floor?





So here's how I'm doing my van... Two 11' long laser cut steel plates with L-track holes pre-cut, some weight reduction cut outs and a grid of mounting holes. The stack up works like this...starting with a leveled out van floor (I have to shave off some of the seam sealer in spots to make things sit flat) and under the plates will be some sound deadening material (a foam-like material) which is the equivalent of many layers of Dynamat. Steel plates then bolt to existing factory seat mount holes and some drilled holes (through the body) in easy to access locations. On top of the plates will be a "subfloor" material. I'm not using wood but rather a fiber reinforced foam board that is 40% the weight of plywood with the same mechanical properties. Then on top of the subfloor will be my flooring material of choice...I'm going with a rubber material but I'd also consider the same Starboard materiel as the SEMA van if I wanted to change things up. The L-track then bolts down over the edges of the flooring material (flanged L-track) and holds the flooring in place. I'll have some edge trim for the door openings plus the split between driver area and back and those will be bolted in as well. All of it is removable if need be.

The L-track runs almost full length...stops at about the center of the fuel door to be exact. I have some short sections along the outsides planned as well. There are nuts welded to the bottom side of the plates as you see in the pictures so installation should be really easy.

The plates will be bolted down in no less than 20 places and the L-track has 25 holes spaced every 4". The plates are also pretty much captive in the van once they're attached together so I really have no worries about the floor moving forward, backward, side to side nor up.

Now I can already see your responses coming in about weight... The entire flooring "system" weighs less than the 4 factory bench seats that were originally in the van. The plates themselves only account for ~240lbs. The rest is mostly the rubber flooring. Starboard or some other flooring material is easily half the weight of the rubber floor I'm using.

I'll need to update my CAD models for the next van because I can get rid of a bunch more weight by cutting away more material and I also need to update some hole positions.

When it comes time to design my interior, I'll have all of my mounting points already sorted out so bolting in cabinets will be super easy. I am also planning on disconnects for any of the wiring/plumbing so I can easily reconfigure the layout or use the van as cargo carrier or ???

Long term, I'll design a set of plates for each style of van and interior layout so everything will be a simple bolt-in affair.

[Flux]

Now that is thinking outside the box!! Almost a shame that will get covered up.

Not to hijack, but I had a bad panic moment yesterday when my boxes of 8020 arrived with my rack and interior pieces. I used 15 series and everything just seemed too heavy. At this stage I am donating blood to get the final pieces for the build. I am an awning and fridge short right now. But anyway, I sat down and did a spreadsheet of weights for the 10 and 15 series and decided to keep it for the interior as it's only a 30lb difference. The rack components are getting reordered in 10 series. I want that 30lbs up there back too. I don't plan on hauling heavy on the pop top.

I do love this versatility though. Having a van that can transform and rearrange is highly desirable. Plus you can try things on a whim and dial in your floor plan is a great thing. I totally agree about the tin can thing. I think of it as a big formed sculpture and many of the formed pieces have me scratching my head. Trying to square things up inside is a real test!!

As always, thanks for sharing your ideas! It keeps me going. All I need is a laser and a bigger press brake................

[86Scotty]

Nice work Michael. Very nice.

Rear tank filler hump looks factory too.

[larrie]

Slick. I like the idea of using the factory mounting locations as anchor points for the flooring and cabinets. It is worthwhile taking the time to transpose them up through the flooring rather than drilling screws or bolts from the top.

[Glider]

Bravo, Sir!
That is one of the loveliest things I have seen in quite some time.