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Old 02-03-2010, 06:36 AM   #71
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Re: Hal The Van

I've been mulling over the idea of the floating floor and now I think I'll go back to my original plan. Glue 3/4 by 2" strips 90 degrees to the floor ridges spacing them 16" or 24" on center then put in the 5/8" foam board between with 1/2" AC plywood on top. I plan on using 1/2" ply on at least the drivers side because I am mounting a roll over sofa to that surface. Might re-use one of the commercial welded steel shelves that came with the van on the passenger side. The sofa folds up flat on the wall so I should have nearly 48" of clear floor width. Got the 45 amp converter AC/DC combined panel, frame mount propane tank and sofa yesterday. Pictures to follow. As usual, life happened and I won't be trying out the van this week. Oh well, maybe next break.

Rick

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Old 02-03-2010, 08:37 AM   #72
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Re: Hal The Van

Quote:
Originally Posted by 02Chevytonner
I've been mulling over the idea of the floating floor and now I think I'll go back to my original plan. Glue 3/4 by 2" strips 90 degrees to the floor ridges spacing them 16" or 24" on center then put in the 5/8" foam board between with 1/2" AC plywood on top. I plan on using 1/2" ply on at least the drivers side because I am mounting a roll over sofa to that surface. Might re-use one of the commercial welded steel shelves that came with the van on the passenger side. The sofa folds up flat on the wall so I should have nearly 48" of clear floor width. Got the 45 amp converter AC/DC combined panel, frame mount propane tank and sofa yesterday. Pictures to follow. As usual, life happened and I won't be trying out the van this week. Oh well, maybe next break.

Rick
You would have too much flex with just 1/2" especially with 24" centers. Also why not attach the 2" on the floor ridges so that they are more solidly mounted? I am still trying to figure out how I can insulate the van floor and use a subfloor suitable for use with Line-X. I talked with Nancy at Sportsmobile about this but she is unfamiliar with Line-X coatings. It seems that Sportsmobile uses 3/4" plywood as well but I am not sure how it is attached or what type of insulation is used. I know they use regular bat insulation on the walls which I am not a fan of for a moving vehicle as it will settle and has gaps. I am considering using spray-in insulation instead as it will not settle and will fill in all gaps. Has anyone done this?
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Old 02-04-2010, 01:08 PM   #73
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Re: Hal The Van

More insulation.
All the supplies I used for this posting were already on hand.

After I mounted the first insulated fiberboard panel I noticed the empty space behind it.
From left to right in the picture below is the inside of the van, fiberboard, extruded foam glued to the fiberboard, empty space where the rear windows would have been mounted, Reflectix insulation on van wall.


This gap varies from 1-1/2 to 2 inches.



That's the top half of the wall. The lower half also has voids but not as large.


That's too much space to ignore so I'll use pink fiberglass to fill it. Since fiberglass doesn't do it's job if you compress it too much I'm going to make a custom fiberglass panel. This is a Proof of Concept since I haven't done this before.
Start by covering the area to insulate with a plastic sheet. You can use a magic marker to draw directly on the plastic where you need the insulation.


Remove the plastic sheet and spread out on the floor.
I'm working in the basement and it's cold this time of year so I've spread out foam to keep the plastic off the floor.
Use a paint brush and cover the area you previously marked out with contact cement.


The rolls of fiberglass I had on hand were 3-1/2" thick. So I wanted about half that thickness for the top half. If you're careful you can peel apart the insulation keeping the thickness roughly where you need it. When you need to trim a piece don't try and pull it apart. A really big pair of scissors comes in handy for this.


Put the fiberglass down on the prepared plastic sheet.


Continue with the lower half. Notice big scissors.


For the lower half of the panel I only wanted around a inch thick layer of insulation but had a problem keeping it consistent as I peeled. I ended up with a patch that was too thin. Just put some more contact cement on the fiberglass and pile a little more pink stuff on top.
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Old 02-04-2010, 01:24 PM   #74
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Re: Hal The Van

More insulation - continued

Cover the glued insulation with scrap plywood to put pressure on the contact cement.


After I let it sit overnight I wanted to see if this idea really worked so I hung it from the clothsline.


While it was hanging there I pulled on the fiberlgass at several places to check if it was holding to the plastic. It was attached to the plastic as well as it had been to the paper back rolls I removed it from. Even the part where I glued fiberglass to fiberglass. I was quite pleased it worked as well as it did. Given time it also expanded to the the approximate thickness I was aiming for.

Used duct tape to hold the panel up for a test fit in the van. The plastic sheet faces into the van. I'm expecting that when the fiberboard panels are screwed into place they will hold the the plastic backed pink fiberglass panels in place. If not I can use duct tape.


At the rate I'm going I should have all the van insulation work done ..... just in time for Spring.
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Old 02-05-2010, 02:08 AM   #75
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Re: Hal The Van

Blimey! You'll be steaming in there even in winter!!!
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Old 02-05-2010, 08:57 AM   #76
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Re: Hal The Van

Wow. Just wow. I'm in awe at this thread, and all the great photos, and awesome write-up!

This will be a reference that I come back to when I start my DIY build.

Thank you!
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Old 02-06-2010, 05:43 PM   #77
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Re: Hal The Van

Thanks Dave_in_Delaware,
I appreciate that.
Dave
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Old 02-07-2010, 10:56 PM   #78
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Re: Hal The Van

The Pillar Panel.
A few posts back I mentioned the "beam" to the right of the side cargo door. I'm not sure what the correct name is but I'll call it the Side Cargo Pillar. To correctly cover this pillar requires extra work because besides the different structural elements it doesn't mate up evenly with the First Panel I installed which is on it's right. The mating problem is due to the first panel's being bowed into the van wall.


When I lined up the first panel for trimming I positioned it so there was an extra inch to the left of the left edge of the pillar.


This is so I can shift the cut panel to the right so it will overlap the first panel.


Remember this overlap when you create the template.


Cut and insulate this panel like the others.




Now to start modifying the panel. First up the Rectangular Bump.
The panel won't sit flush because of that. Need to remove some insulation to compensate.
Cover the rectangle with a piece of newspaper cut to be the same size. Roll some tape to make it sticky on each side and put on the paper. Then when you dry fit the panel push it against the paper and it will stick to where you need to remove the insulation.


Remove insulation.


Panel will fit flush now. Attach the panel with screws. Notice the gap on the bottom caused by the recess.


Want to fill the gap for two reasons. A chance to add some extra insulation but more importantly is the need to add some edge trimming. The trim will hide everything behind the panel. The fabric covering will be glued to this trim. The added insulation will provide backing to support the trim pieces.
Cut and dry fit the insulation piece. The marks are so when it comes time to glue I'll know where to position it.
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Once I exit Hal, this is what I do.
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Old 02-07-2010, 11:33 PM   #79
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Re: Hal The Van

Pillar Panel - continued

You can see the gap along the right side of the pillar panel where the first panel bows into the van wall.
Into this gap, cut and dry fit foam insulation so it's flush with the pillar panel edge.


Next step. Place posterboard in the location where you need to create a trim piece. Just run a pencil along the edge where the posterboard meets the panel.


Tape the marked posterboard to some fiberboard and cut along the line. You now have a trim piece.


Here I'm using tape to hold the cut trim pieces in place. This covers the gap seen in the above picture. The extra foam pieces previous added are behind this edging providing support.


Now to put it all together. Move all the pieces inside where it's warm enough to glue.
Use the contact cement along with clamps to glue on the foam pieces. Use the marks from before to reposition the foam pieces. I'm using a couple pieces of plywood on the outside to evenly apply pressure to the foam piece while the cement sets.


Here are the foam pieces that go along the right side of the panel


Once all the foam pieces are attached use them as backing to hold the edge pieces in place.
Use contact cement and clamps.


That's it. I won't be posting information with this much excruciating detail about the rest of the panels I build. It's just that this single panel had most all of the problems I've run into so far so it made a good example.
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Open the pod bay doors Hal.

Once I exit Hal, this is what I do.
https://larry.wvnet.edu/~van/pics/lic...late-small.jpg
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Old 02-11-2010, 09:38 PM   #80
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Re: Hal The Van

After all the snow storms we've had lately I don't think Hal will be going anywhere until the Spring thaw.
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Once I exit Hal, this is what I do.
https://larry.wvnet.edu/~van/pics/lic...late-small.jpg
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