I am new, and happy I found this site

[Otter]

DrewM, yes, I have the original carpet and put a couple of grey rubber (vinyl??) mats I had custom cut off rolls at a local shop that sells all kinds of rubber matting and flooring. It wasn't expensive but looks nice, I can wipe it clean, and it keeps the carpet in pretty good shape. I like the look of carpet, but it can get grungy looking pretty fast with a few muddy footsteps. Mine was a temporary solution until I figured out what else I wanted to do.

Ya, that German video is something else! I wish we had that stuff here but, so far, not. I'm thinking of building two of those pieces to make a small, removable kitchen.

About the bed platform... I've been wracking my brain for a year trying to figure out how I could make the platform removable but stay in the van. Like, wanting to transport a bike, or whatever, but then set up a bed once I'm there. It finally occurred to me that I could make the platform exactly the same size as the middle area and have it rest 1) on the floor when I want the space; and then 2) lift it up to rest on 2x4's or 2's bolted to the boxes when I want the bed. It's important for me to not have a set of legs/supports in the middle because I want to put an under-body storage box there. But, otherwise, you could cut that platform in half and find a way to store them sideways during the ride.

52 threaded holes, dang! I wish I had that many to choose from, though you might wonder about the integrity of the floor with so much swiss cheese. I think I'm going to just build stuff where I can find a few holes and/or put L-track in those spots to hold some furniture. My seats are bolted through and I do wish I had more choice about that. MG (Expovans) is working on a template that bolts to the existing floor holes and is strong enough to bolt seats to. But it looks like he's bogged down with other work, so I don't know when we'll see it. And it'll be quite a few bucks when its done.

[DrewMoto]

Otter, check out this thread when you get a chance: Batvan

Lots of ideas in there similar to what you and I have been talking about.

I particularly like his ambitions on RV'izing the factory HVAC system and his bed and storage box system. I've just skimmed it so far but it looks promising.

Here are some pictures of my floor deal. The 52 threaded holes are actually 7/16-20 nuts welded to 1/8" thick steel plates that bolt in at each seating row. Each plate reuses the factory seat mounting holes plus 3 or 4 newly drilled holes through the floor. Not swiss cheese at all.

This kills about 3/4" of my head space but I mulled over a lot of options and ended up settling on this one as a compromise between my "dream setup" and cost/time. One thing I'm considering as a permanent replacement for carpet is either 18 gauge sheet metal or 1/4" King Starboard. But like I said, I'm going to live with the carpet for now since I already have it.

The company that converted the van, CVC, didn't put a finish on the steel plates, so they rusted a little in the 2+ years of ride share service that the van saw. I knew that my use would probably expose them to a lot more water so I removed all the plates and sprayed them with cold galv. I'm reusing the foam spacers and carpet but I used lacquer thinner to remove all the carpet glue from the floor and plates -- I don't see the need for it and I want to be able to easily pick it up to inspect/clean.

[Otter]

Thanks for the Batvan link. I was on there earlier this year and saw his stuff, but haven't kept up with it. That Bat video sure is funny!

I like those plates you have. You could really go nuts with attaching things and it's kind of a slightly less flexible version of MG's template, which looks more like a spider. But, you know, anyway you go you're going to lose at least 3/4", so you're really not bad off there. You could cover those plates with whatever you wanted, carpet, vinyl flooring, etc.

It's an adventure, for sure. Lots of ideas all around. Guess the trick is to make it do what you want, not what somebody else wants. Now that it's raining here in Portland, my first priority will be to clean out my garage so I can be dry.

Have fun!