The Vanilla Transit - Page 6

GreyDawg · 02-26-2018, 07:42 PM

Uhm, that would be van #4? I remember the CCV van, and Rusty, and the Vanagon ...

Whoops, I'm a hypocrite. I'm on van #4 starting with an E-150 in 1994. But none of them were nearly as nice as Eric's "practice" vans.

86Scotty · 02-26-2018, 09:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BroncoHauler

This is typically the point where 86 tells us he's selling his van.

Good one Herb, thanks for the laugh. It will happen probably.....but not today.

86Scotty · 03-01-2018, 09:42 PM

Well, hmmm, what has happened. A LOT has happened. Mostly miles. I've put almost 45k on this van already. These things are pretty easy to cover the miles in. I have spent a lot of the winter in the mid west states and been a whole lot of ice and snow. I wish I had coated the underside first but a Tennessee boy just doesn't think this way. I'm already seeing some rust on the exhaust and drive shaft and it will definitely be ready before next winter. I'll be coating it with Fluid Film or the like.
Anyway, my point was that this thing drives amazingly in the snow. I have an open rear, not the factory limited slip, and with the BFG's it's still on rails. It's very confidence inspiring compared to the lumbering feel of a big converted E-series.

Moving on. I tried for months to get my rear cabinet done but kept getting held up by the crap that needed doing first, a ceiling for instance. Got that done finally and got both roof vents mounted since I have no other opening windows. I set one to draw in and one to exhaust. Works well so far.

Untitled by 86scotty, on Flickr

Untitled by 86scotty, on Flickr

With that I was finally ready for my rear cabinets. I have the van set up for work or play so the quick release seat tracks are still there for the middle seats. My galley and rear cabinet design required lots of compromises to make these seats work. Here are the seats in place:

Untitled by 86scotty, on Flickr

Untitled by 86scotty, on Flickr

As I think I've stated before I have to haul 48x48" pallets regularly so I need the space from wheel well to wheel well open. So how to do this and still have some storage? Not easy but easier with a square high roof van. I started by building some low boxes to enclose my batteries and still provide access to tie down points and give me some storage nooks. Here's the passenger side one:

Untitled by 86scotty, on Flickr

Also, the Transit has threaded holes everywhere! There are plenty along the upper sides above the windows where ac ducts and curtain airbags used to be. I was able to use these to rigidly mount my cabinet backs and then just build the cabinets off of them.

Untitled by 86scotty, on Flickr

From there it was just a slow process of cutting templates out of thin material for the cabinet sides to hug the van walls and window recesses, and then to figure out where I needed shelves to fit my junk.

Untitled by 86scotty, on Flickr

86Scotty · 03-01-2018, 10:25 PM

So, my rear cabinets and bed platform HAVE to fit behind those seats. No way around it. This van is big but they're never big enough. Another goal I had was to have rigid and versatile tie down points with an adjustable bed platform. I might need my bed stored all the way at the ceiling or just high enough to clear any load I might be carrying. I settled on E-track over my first idea of L-track since I already have lots of E-track straps etc. and it's much cheaper. The end result was that I have a nice 48" wide bed but from seatback to rear doors it's only 63" long. I'm 6'2" or 74" but I'm alone in the van almost always so I just sleep at an angle and can stretch out fine.

I seem to have set the camera down for the rest of the cabinet build until almost done but here's the idea. 1/4" birch sliding doors on tracks from Mcmaster. 1250 watt Tripplite inverter run to 4 outlets throughout the van. One outlet hidden in closet with power strip for small appliances and chargers. Bed platform infinitely adjustable made of 2x4's and 3/4" ply. E-track run 8 ways from Sunday to anchor about anything and all this behind the middle 3 bench seats. 4" firm foam for bed and ply and foam are split (each 2' wide) for ease of setup/breakdown/storage.

Keep in mind none of this is finished. It will all come back apart in pieces for molding and stain.

Untitled by 86scotty, on Flickr

Untitled by 86scotty, on Flickr

Microwave and printer in closet, lower shelf for tools, cordless power tools and chargers

Untitled by 86scotty, on Flickr

Untitled by 86scotty, on Flickr

Notice the bed platform stored at it's highest in the above pics. Also, outlet by rear door. There are two more outlets where needed, on the front of the passenger side cabinet just inside slider door and on the face of the galley cabinet above fridge.

Here she is having swallowed up a 48x48x24" pallet of aerospace parts, 2000 lbs. worth:

Untitled by 86scotty, on Flickr

WhitH · 03-01-2018, 11:00 PM

Great stuff. Love the use of the E track and the ability to both haul and sleep in it. I’ve been thinking about both E track or L track for a similar platform type setup in mine.

Pschitt · 03-02-2018, 12:24 AM

Nice design Scotty, really clever!

tlg · 03-02-2018, 05:17 AM

Wow. Nicely done.

BrianW · 03-02-2018, 05:48 AM

Nice! But is the e-track strong enough to keep the bed frame from decapitating you in the event of a hard frontal impact?

86Scotty · 03-02-2018, 08:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrianW

Nice! But is the e-track strong enough to keep the bed frame from decapitating you in the event of a hard frontal impact?

Yes. Locked in place with 1/2” bolts for pins. I’m hauling pretty heavy freight so the biggest challenge was making this cabinet super strong. Every piece of it is anchored better than anything I’ve ever done.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

GreyDawg · 03-02-2018, 08:20 AM

Fabulous!

I too love all the holes in the Transit --they make adding cabinets, etc easy. Well, as easy as adding cabinets to a surface that curves in three directions can be ....

You have bypass doors, which I also plan. Couple of questions:

1. What did you use for the track? (At reasonable cost, I've only found plastic track with poor reviews for sturdiness).

2. What thickness are your doors? My bypass doors will be under the 30" high east/west bed, so they will need to stop forward motion of stuff stored under the bed. I'm concerned that 1/4" ply will not be sturdy enough, and that it may have unacceptable warping as I move between humid and arid climates.

If I go with 1/2" or even 3/4" thick doors I am not sure what I will do for track.

Thanks!