I'm really not sure at which point in the process of planning this trip that I committed to such a lofty undertaking as a complete customization of a full size van. Even up to the moment of getting the thing into the driveway, I was as lax about our on-the-road living situation as a sheet on the fold-down back seat. But after several weeks of having the green giant sleeping soundly in front of our house, I found myself neck deep in low-grade conversion van interior trash and on my way to a full-on camper. The deadline I've given myself is May 10th. This will surely kill me.
With that, I give you a progress report.
This is just the start of the pile o' crap I've removed. Our backyard is an absolute eyesore. Sorry, neighbors! Just kidding, eat it, neighbors!
The metal shell I was left with after stripping everything out needed to be insulated. Not so much for hot/cold air but for highway noise. The wood furring strips holding the foam in place will also give me something to screw into later when the walls and furniture go in. The thing about using a passenger van versus a panel van is that the windows present silly challenges. This was a pain to do properly, but it'll be worth it later. Right?
Opposite wall.
Everything I read on the internet about sleeping in a van suggested that some sort of ventilation fan in the roof is absolutely necessary. Ok, internet. So I cut a hole in the fiberglass roof...
...and jammed a fan in. Now we have some extra sunlight blasting in there. Awesome.
It looks like I bungee'd a cardboard box to the roof. But really I installed a solar panel. The wiring has been threaded through to the inside but nothing's been bolted down or connected to a battery. (Any electrical experts out there, I have a few questions and could use help, comment!)
In this picture you can also see the sections of window that I blocked out with silver foil coated board - a material I ripped out of the headliner. Recycling!
I skinned the walls with some thin plywood. 95% of this wall will become the inside of cabinets. This whole side of the van will be our storage, stove, sink, etc.
The opposite wall and wheel well will be exposed, so it's gonna take some finish work to make it look nice. Felt maybe?
The flooring consists of cheap carpet padding and OSB (oriented strand board, aka 4 x 8 sheets of trash). This will be covered up by some kind of laminate.
In photo-less mechanical news, the brakes are dope, the oil is brand new, and the tires, save maybe one of them, will get us all the way home. The only bummer is the driver side power window motor is on the fritz, which means no drive-thru food on the trip. Just kidding! More drive-thru food!
