My big fat interior (re)build

[arctictraveller]

[QUOTE=REF;240229]Today’s progress....
I sorted and added quick disconnects to all the poptop wires that came down through the van body. There were no grommets used in the original install, so all the wires were in jeopardy of rubbing on the sharp metal and shorting out.

It's crazy to think that SMB would wire it that way. That was exactly why Ramsey's van caught fire a few years ago. It's a good thing you found that.

[1der]

Floating the floor is definitely something that works, if one chooses to go that route.

I used the same type of high quality birch plywood in our build that REF has used. 1/2' ply from behind the seats to the rear door and wall to wall. Since our rig is a walk through I ran the ply in such a way that most all seams were under a cabinet or under the gaucho. There were a couple of exposed seems. I biscuit jointed all the seems and then tied them together with a few Simpson StrongTie plate TP411 under the cabinets and gaucho.

The cabinets are very firmly secured to the walls utilizing the upper and mid level stiffener channels. They are then secured to the 1/2" ply floor. All the systems such as water tank, inverter, etc. are secured to/by both the floors and cabinets / cross braces.

If you really need to secure the ply to the metal van floor, there are holes that are typically in place where the bench seats would attached. Those can be used with nuts and bolts.

I have no squeaks or rattles and by having the floor floating, the van can "move and flex" without pressuring the cabinets. It has worked very well with quite a bit of offload travel and lots of Baja washboard.

[REF]

[QUOTE=arctictraveller;240396]

Originally Posted by REF

Today’s progress....

I sorted and added quick disconnects to all the poptop wires that came down through the van body. There were no grommets used in the original install, so all the wires were in jeopardy of rubbing on the sharp metal and shorting out.



It's crazy to think that SMB would wire it that way. That was exactly why Ramsey's van caught fire a few years ago. It's a good thing you found that.

This was not SMB’s work, all the wiring was from CCV when the new electric lift top was installed with a bunch of lights in/out and solar, there’s literally no wiring in a manual lift SMB top, unless you had a fan.

[REF]

Steelheadjones-
The CNC programming is all Matt’s at AVC’s gig, I have no clue about any of that stuff. I will be working with him on offering a flat pack (unassembled and boxed) RB-50 cabs.
The Vantred didn’t really compress all that much, I just snugged the ply down on top of it.
There had been just plywood screwed down to the bare metal floor before, so yes, noticeably quieter, although that probably also has a lot to do with all the Noico sound deadener and full thinsulate insulation that I put in, but road noise coming up through the floor seemed much less intrusive. I haven’t really done a long trip in it yet, and I’m sure it’ll be even quieter once the rest of the interior is in, but initial impressions were impressive.

[rallypanam]

Originally Posted by arctictraveller

It's crazy to think that SMB would wire it that way. That was exactly why Ramsey's van caught fire a few years ago. It's a good thing you found that.

Not to defend SMB’s work.. but Ramsey’s incident was in the stock wiring loom that runs up behind the drivers seat and to the back.. Was it affected by other wiring tapped into it someplace by SMB? Maybe. But it was definitely the stock harness, hence why we had to jerry rig his taillights!

[rallypanam]

Originally Posted by REF

so yes, noticeably quieter, although that probably also has a lot to do with all the Noico sound deadener and full thinsulate insulation that I put in, but road noise coming up through the floor seemed much less intrusive.

I’ve been pretty impressed by the Noico stuff. My Sprinter is significantly quieter with the addition of Noico and no other changes.

[86Scotty]

Originally Posted by rallypanam

I’ve been pretty impressed by the Noico stuff. My Sprinter is significantly quieter with the addition of Noico and no other changes.

Not to hijack REF's thread here but I think you'll find that these newer Euro style vans are so much quieter than the older vans in the first place it's hard to believe. My Transit is totally quiet inside with street tires. AT tires were much more noticeable. Toyo AT's are terrible, BFG's were amazing until 50k. As you add insulation and then build it out filling more space they become even quieter.

[Orv]

Originally Posted by REF

This was not SMB’s work, all the wiring was from CCV when the new electric lift top was installed with a bunch of lights in/out and solar, there’s literally no wiring in a manual lift SMB top, unless you had a fan.

My manual top has wiring for two overhead lights and a TV antenna, but it's pretty minimal. It just hangs down in the inside corner of the canvas, and gets pulled inward by the bungees when the top folds. I recently ran some backup camera wiring the same way.

[arctictraveller]

Originally Posted by rallypanam

Not to defend SMB’s work.. but Ramsey’s incident was in the stock wiring loom that runs up behind the drivers seat and to the back.. Was it affected by other wiring tapped into it someplace by SMB? Maybe. But it was definitely the stock harness, hence why we had to jerry rig his taillights!

True, I should have pointed that out, but my real point was that the fire was caused by wires run through a jagged un-protected hole in the sheet metal of the body. Again, it was shocking to see tha Ford did that too.

[allenl]

Originally Posted by 1der

Floating the floor is definitely something that works, if one chooses to go that route.

I used the same type of high quality birch plywood in our build that REF has used. 1/2' ply from behind the seats to the rear door and wall to wall. Since our rig is a walk through I ran the ply in such a way that most all seams were under a cabinet or under the gaucho. There were a couple of exposed seems. I biscuit jointed all the seems and then tied them together with a few Simpson StrongTie plate TP411 under the cabinets and gaucho.

The cabinets are very firmly secured to the walls utilizing the upper and mid level stiffener channels. They are then secured to the 1/2" ply floor. All the systems such as water tank, inverter, etc. are secured to/by both the floors and cabinets / cross braces.

If you really need to secure the ply to the metal van floor, there are holes that are typically in place where the bench seats would attached. Those can be used with nuts and bolts.

I have no squeaks or rattles and by having the floor floating, the van can "move and flex" without pressuring the cabinets. It has worked very well with quite a bit of offload travel and lots of Baja washboard.

Good info, thanks!