Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Getting Down To Business

Over the last few months we have been getting down and dirty converting the van.  Here are the highlights!  It may not seem like much, but the foundation steps are often the most critical.



First off we decided on a layout for the interior.  This layout features a permanently deployed rear bed (Jen’s request).   A drivers side Galley, and a 48' bench/couch.




Next we got rid of that ugly cargo divider.  Feels so much bigger!


Anyone need a sprinter cargo divider?


The van is only 72” wide where the bed mounts (left-right orientation).  Because I am 73” tall we needed to make a window flare to allow for some extra headroom.  Here is the flare in process.  It is being molded from fiberglass over a hand-made foam plug.



We also decided to spray expanding foam insulation into the walls of the van.  We purchased ours from Tiger Foam.  It was surprisingly easy to work with.  After many hours of masking, and about 30 minutes of spraying we had some results.




On a warm day in October I installed power lock actuators and cruise control bits. We used OEM actuators made by VDO (Amazon had great prices). I still need to run the wiring and hook up the remote unit.  




In my next post I will discuss some of the van's camper systems.  Heat, water, electrical, and solar.  We have decided to go with no propane (single fuel all the way!).


Chucks new owner has been treating him well.  Here a few photos from his new home.