Here we go again - 2011 E350 build

[Twoxentrix]

Wheels look great!
I know you’ve got the square tubing on the box swing arm, but with the weight of the generator in there it still places a lot of stress on the the pivot support - did you also order the nylon support wedges from Aluminess to help take some of that load off?

[rallypanam]

Originally Posted by 86Scotty

4138E8B2-280F-4BA3-9B72-B000A6C6E48F by E A, on Flickr

I was looking at this very picture thinking man, he really needs to do seomthing about that ugly chrome bumper... and then I saw the logo on the box in the trailer...

[86Scotty]

Originally Posted by Twoxentrix

Wheels look great!
I know you’ve got the square tubing on the box swing arm, but with the weight of the generator in there it still places a lot of stress on the the pivot support - did you also order the nylon support wedges from Aluminess to help take some of that load off?

Not yet, the latches on the newer Aluminess stuff are different and very supportive. I'll look in to this though.

I really don't need to carry my generator everywhere, I've just been figuring out storage for things.

[86Scotty]

Originally Posted by rallypanam

I was looking at this very picture thinking man, he really needs to do seomthing about that ugly chrome bumper... and then I saw the logo on the box in the trailer...

Gotcha
.

[eddyturn]

If there was a LIKE button, I sure would hit it for these new posts. Looking very good! Thinking of going up to 35's as my fender wells have been modified for them if I want to go that route.

[86Scotty]

I did not at all like how the Quigley t-case shifter came in this van. It was sticking straight up out of the floor, taller than I remember with previous Q's I've had. Also, the newer console makes it much harder to move to the back of the van from the driver's seat. I pulled it, cut it off and re-welded. It's ideal now.

EB1A5B3D-155C-4CF1-90D3-A30F543FAFC3 by somethingnottaken, on Flickr

I'll skip over the minutia of insulating everything and just say I did a much more thorough job on this one than I ever have. I insulated everything, every cavity, including above headliner, inside doors, even inside rear taillight housings and similar places where there are lots of body cavities. I used a combination of Siless liner and some foil back foam stuff as well as Rockwool insulation. I probably overdid this. It was winter. I was bored.
IMO it's all a crapshoot anyway on a window van. It's like wearing 3 pairs of wool socks and long underwear with not shirt on.....but I digress.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

For the subfloor I used 1/2" rigid foam and 3/4" plywood. A lot of these pics are just personal reference and do not show the completed job before I covered it up. Also, a lot of it has been rethought out and/or will be useless when the top is cut off. Also, some of these shots show Reflectix insulation that was laid down by in the rear by the previous owner. I removed and re did it with better product and then gray carpet over everything, even what will have cabinets covering it.

0A800E0D-D3F0-44D8-90F1-52F58B1DE0AA by somethingnottaken, on Flickr

AECA2C93-CD2F-42AE-B49E-838071004B51 by somethingnottaken, on Flickr

A453121B-C44B-4B0E-B4F9-857EE6BE3C38 by somethingnottaken, on Flickr

2714684E-0985-4AA0-917A-C7588BAC2129 by somethingnottaken, on Flickr

86939FA5-B9D1-4ED5-8081-1F712E646B6D by somethingnottaken, on Flickr

416B2C35-FF56-4815-A8B0-134D323598EC by somethingnottaken, on Flickr

EFE0C6CA-0B78-42A2-BF71-11067E5D6D64 by somethingnottaken, on Flickr

D66EA06D-096F-4E71-99C3-34BEE541ADE4 by somethingnottaken, on Flickr

A1ADB22B-CEFB-4580-9003-996B59CCC639 by somethingnottaken, on Flickr

2F92841F-497D-47DE-A62D-AF8C87D3AF4D by somethingnottaken, on Flickr

[86Scotty]

The first part of the interior buildout was settling on a floor plan. I really wanted to build something similar to a SMB RB50 floor plan. She really wanted more of an RB30 SMB floor plan. As you might've guessed we're now building an RB30 floor plan.

Screen Shot 2023-06-21 at 11.01.12 PM by E A, on Flickr

First was a bed. I wanted to challenge myself and see if I could build a suitable folding bed from scratch using cheap and available parts. I chose to start with some futon brackets I found online. At $20 or so they are disposable but worked out perfectly. I had used these a few years ago to try to modify a van bench seat in to a bed and it went poorly. This worked out better.

First, determine angles, comfortable size and height and sweep of bed from side wall with these brackets. Keep in mind I'm better with a saw and hammer than a calculator.

1800D42A-D3C3-4A43-997A-01570849F307 by E A, on Flickr

271F203D-8A6C-420C-A7B0-53EF73097BB1 by E A, on Flickr

EDA61906-68F7-486B-849E-571EEEBF9012 by E A, on Flickr

Once I got the basic measurements figured out with scrap I started to form the box and foundation for the entire left side cabinet, essentially one big structure the way I did it as you will soon see.

C6140680-A361-4D75-9012-6C2403A7587E by E A, on Flickr

B82C5B9C-4DD1-4FE0-83C6-7550B09440C5 by E A, on Flickr

817BB824-E1C7-4E60-8EC1-7E3E4BBF5AC6 by E A, on Flickr

3932B4A4-E2BF-47B1-9BC4-D7F46D646BF4 by E A, on Flickr

E8E9CD94-8C00-4171-B9CA-B0589BA95DF4 by E A, on Flickr

F6FE10D5-740A-4377-A925-49A75CF0CBC9 by E A, on Flickr

This bed is designed to be a more comfortable couch than bed. It's about 40" wide and 72" long and will only be our bed until we get a pop top. It's the ideal size and 'sit' for a couch. I went with 3" foam on it and have since added a 1.5" memory foam top since I had an old mattress around to cut up. I think 4" foam would've been a better choice. We'll make the final decision on that before upholstery after we sleep on it for a trip or two.

Oh, the angle aluminum supports along the front edge and top of back section as well as the supports you see I added (standing 3/4" ply pieces) firmed it up nicely. I also added some legs to the floor. The back section of the bed nearest the driver's side wall rests on the storage tray I made behind it, pic below. The bed is absolutely rigid. I'm very pleased with the result.

56BF7EA7-AE20-4FDF-8107-A39339AC297C by E A, on Flickr

Another feature that this bed build offered is space behind for storage. I built a tray behind the back section that will store an insane amount of things when in couch mode. Easily all of our bedding, pillows and lots of other oblong things.

F2EA05A1-EC43-4452-A36D-1EDA57BC6E07 by E A, on Flickr

Temporary bedsheet upholstery. It works for now.

66375E1B-A34C-473E-904E-248A9608B89B by E A, on Flickr

[WhitH]

Thats looking real nice Clark, real nice.

[86Scotty]

I wanted smarter space and layout than I've had in a homebuild before and it literally took me a couple of months to finalize a plan I liked. Basically it goes like this:
Diesel furnace, 2500w interter, 300ah battery, powered sub, DCtoDC charger, fridge, microwave, pantry, porta potty and closet on driver's side. I managed to do it even adding a couple of large drawers under the bed. it's packed but no more so than many vans. All wiring and electrics under the couch except battery under fridge.

First, build that wall:

BEF4025D-9819-43EF-9733-19A706FE5496 by E A, on Flickr

4490879A-B1C5-4E7E-ACAD-E0F8F6B2B6B0 by E A, on Flickr

Then build a few more:

ECF40B9F-84E9-464D-96F6-92BAD9C07F0D by E A, on Flickr

47D5105D-4824-40B3-8B40-8F5B9DCAC6C1 by E A, on Flickr

A8098382-F0D3-4DE5-BDF1-D63DA9768E55 by E A, on Flickr

6EF8A047-AF6B-4F3F-A19A-EF5975CCE18F by E A, on Flickr

4F58686B-089F-47CD-8989-13A105503049 by E A, on Flickr

E0324D63-8FC6-4ADF-AD88-01AE46AA7E5B by E A, on Flickr

E502C8D8-8363-448E-828F-991FA4BB112A by E A, on Flickr

D21D06EC-8909-4C95-9CC1-A7435C9BD5D7 by E A, on Flickr

F6BDC3FF-E900-48D9-9C37-BA28FB22261B by E A, on Flickr

2DE0F72A-374B-42D2-A18C-D8AFCD5F5AE9 by E A, on Flickr

Right about now is when it got really intimidating and really fun. I have never built a lithium powered camper so a lot of these toys were new to me.

What you're seeing: 300ah lithium battery, Kisae 50 DCtoDC charger, Aims 2500 psw inverter with transfer switch, Victron shunt/monitor, bus bars and fuse panels, lots of breakers, lots of wire, lots of AC receptacles, etc.

7D8876AC-3995-4D9E-9DE5-0EBB2A3DC1FB by E A, on Flickr

4FC0465C-E45B-4727-B19D-DE743AEA074B by E A, on Flickr

C6A6DE57-1E59-4251-863B-7780D8111AEF by E A, on Flickr

A662B18E-4FE7-4405-A444-8FE7D54E5799 by E A, on Flickr

A3577F2F-76F8-40F8-82DD-4864E2CC134E by E A, on Flickr

01DA5A55-A2AA-435A-9E6E-9C12BACF8092 by E A, on Flickr

D2D033E7-1C44-4428-B6D1-F8F3CB9BC79B by E A, on Flickr

FF852813-83C2-47DE-8D07-3D78B0549729 by E A, on Flickr

Furnace goes back there, had not yet arrived at this point:

B878F023-90EA-41EA-9D3E-949AF25773B2 by E A, on Flickr

All tidied up and we now have power!

542FA598-48E6-4FE8-9AA6-F20C84F35A70 by E A, on Flickr

845704B1-3FF1-4BAA-8ED4-388BC8312585 by E A, on Flickr

[SteelheadJones]

Love how far this has come and love where it’s headed. All that insulation makes me swoon.

Personally I think the walk-through aspect and view out the side doors from your couch makes a 30 the way to go.

Is that a ShopVac tube in the eighth pic of post #56? Is it permanently installed?

Oh, and do you have a link for those futon brackets?