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Old 09-17-2012, 07:57 PM   #21
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Out with the old, in with the new

Quote:
Originally Posted by GreyDawg
hi Eric --

Thanks for reconstructing your build thread. Derek has my van now -- a 5.4L v8 that averaged 16.5 mpg on the ramble through the NM and CO mountains, including awesome camping near Leadville at 10,000' --- for a new top, solar panel and roof rack, and some interior mods.

And now I'm really, really glad that I decided to have him paint the top!

--Meredith
great Meredith! Glad to hear it. Leadville (area) is on my list!
I hope Derek takes good care of you.
Keep us posted!

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Old 09-18-2012, 05:20 PM   #22
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Re: Out with the old, in with the new

continued.....For my (sub)floor, I went with the popular route of 1/2 rigid foam board then 1/2 ply. It's been done a few weeks now and it's so nice to have a solid, quiet, insulated floor to mount cabinets etc. to. I was prepared to make cardboard templates as many have done, but I had pretty good luck laying out the old carpet on top of all 3 sheets of ply/foam and just tracing. I used the tape measure as well of course and made sure I had all of the tricky spots accounted for and it went very smoothly.

I sealed up all holes in floor (from seat brackets) with black silicone and when I laid the foam board in, I slit each fitted piece down the middle about halfway through, so I could fold them upwards to get them in and out while I was finalizing everything. The carpet was the template for the foam board and the foam board was a template for the plywood

Since I've added 2 more buckets behind the front seats, I wasn't sure exactly how to do the foam/wood around them. Under them? Cut around them and just put carpet squares beneath? I wasn't sure what would work best. I mentioned this to Derek at CCV while on the phone with him about something else and he recommended cutting squares of ply to go under the seats in place of the foam board, meaning a double layer of ply just under the seats since ply over foam there would crush down when the seats are bolted back in


While I was in there, I put Reflectix over the wheel wells and fuel filler hump, and sealed everything up with aluminum tape. Then I screwed the floor down with outdoor decking screws. You have to be pretty careful here as there a lot of places on the floor that are reinforced and you just about can't get a screw through them. You also have to watch out for freon lines for the rear air, but the fuel tank is spaced well below the floor so not much to worry about there. I crawled under the van several times figuring out the best places to screw down the floor.

So nice to have a finished floor to work on. Easy to sweep my mess out as I the build goes forward

TBC.....................
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Old 09-18-2012, 06:12 PM   #23
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Re: Out with the old, in with the new

Nice progress. Before I settled on the Van Tred I almost went with the same route. Looking good!
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Old 09-18-2012, 06:43 PM   #24
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Re: Out with the old, in with the new

Nice. So, where did you get that foam board from?


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Old 09-18-2012, 08:21 PM   #25
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Re: Out with the old, in with the new

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Originally Posted by BroncoHauler
Nice. So, where did you get that foam board from?


Herb
Come on Herb you know everybody gets that stuff at Home Depot, where else can you even get it?



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Old 09-18-2012, 09:16 PM   #26
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Out with the old, in with the new

Quote:
Originally Posted by BroncoHauler
Nice. So, where did you get that foam board from?


Herb
Lol Herb. For the life of me I can't remember!
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Old 09-24-2012, 05:22 PM   #27
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Re: Out with the old, in with the new

continued.............insulation. I have puzzled over why I should even bother trying to improve it for awhile. If I had cargo van, I think I could make a nice cocoon, but all the windows in a passenger van kind of kill the idea. Anyway, Reflectix is effective and cheap, and I'm already using it in my windows for privacy and insulation, so I thought I would add plenty of it in the vast caverns behind the factory passenger trim.

I left an opening to access the factory jack since it will still be accessible under a dinette bench in the back. This is also where CCV put my fuse panel for the roof motors/relays/lights, and I'm probably going to add another fuse panel there since it's a good accessible spot.





I noticed when I had the factory trim out that a LOT of exhaust noise comes through the rear side door footwell. I couldn't believe how much noise I got while I had it removed, so I spent some time adding reflectix there not only to insulate, but hopefully to quieten the interior noise as well in this area. This part is a work in progress, but I like the factory step there, and wanted to re-use it if possible with the addition of 1.25 inches of new floor height, so I added some blocks to raise it as well as the Reflectix. It looks kind of strange apart, but put back together and painted with a little dark paint and you can't tell it's not stock.


The finished product. An UNBELIEVABLE reduction in exhaust noise all back together. Hopefully some insulation improvement as well. Like I said, I can't decide if I'll keep this or just build a new step altogether and ditch the factory plastic, but it looks good and fits good.

I plan to add Reflectix to the insides of all of the doors as well, but that will have to wait awhile. I plan to do some fold down tables and shelves inside the side and rear doors SMB style.
TBC...........................
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Old 09-24-2012, 06:37 PM   #28
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Re: Out with the old, in with the new

I'm gonna have to get busy and play catch up to make Gnarvan look that good inside. I like all the insulation and the new wood floor!
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Old 09-24-2012, 06:52 PM   #29
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Out with the old, in with the new

When I pulled the factory panels I was amazed at how much space is behind them. Passenger side is better than the drivers but both sides have a lot of wasted space. Have you made any decisions for flooring?
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Old 09-24-2012, 07:02 PM   #30
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Re: Out with the old, in with the new

Thanks John, cabinets are coming, it's just about to get cool looking. I'm catching up slowly on the thread here, it's way behind the actual build.

continued...............furnace install. I was about to install a furnace in the van, right next to the gas filler tube. I didn't really think about the ramifications. You can read about that discussion here.
http://www.sportsmobileforum.com/vie...p=87546#p87546
I wound up working out the layout of my cabinet, and now the furnace resides in the dead center of it, above the left wheel well, and hopefully it will accomplish the goal of being forward enough to heat the van evenly, and still in 'code'. Not really worried about code on a home-build, but I have burnt myself a couple of times and I don't think blowing up the van with me and my family in it is the way we want to end a camping trip.
Here are some pics of the layout and 'exterior' install mostly, I am still plumbing the lp, water, electric, etc. in this cabinet.
trim cutout for furnace (about 3.5' from filler now)

cabinet that will house it

figuring out where everything will live

furnace sitting while I work up the courage to cut a rather irreversible hole in the side of the van

OK let's do it, first line it all up, mark with a Sharpie and cut some guide holes

Remove cabinet (again) and interior trim (again) so I can fit the grinder, which is the only thing I have to make this cut other than a jigsaw, which should work well on the outside. Guide holes were off a bit, but I got the job done

Now holes through the outer wall............ouch

Now move outside and use lots of masking tape to avoid scratching the paint




In this one, you can see where my blade jumped on me. I'm still getting over this. It scratched the paint making quick work of my masking tape and turned the blade into a J. It buffed out ok but I'm still pissed. It's things like this that make me glad this is an older, high mileage van. I took my time and still butchered the area around the hole. Oh well, at least this van is for utility, not for staying pretty.

Not bad in the end, add a little paint to ward off rust

And there you go, but I'm not interested in a big chrome furnace vent on my van

Remove, sand down with 1000 grit, and paint with high heat bar-b-q black paint

And there you have it, the outside is done, painted and sealed with Vulkem. I used stainless screws and shot them black as well, not sure if that will stay there though. Sorry for the lousy iPhone pic at dusk, I'll take some better ones asap.

TBC.............
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