[Matter]

Straight, square, plum walls in a van?! It is possible and this is one way I have figured out how to do it. And, the only reason this wall needs to be square is because there is going to be a bench next to it that has a backrest that will fold/flip up to make the foot of my bed. So the wall on the side of the bench needs to be flat so the backrest can swing up and down. Hope that makes sense.


http://instagr.am/p/CPmAQ-PHcib/

 

[surly Bill]

I just used a big square on the floor and scribed to it. My biggest "square" was about a 2x6' piece of plywood so I could make the faces of the upper cabinet/shelves perpendicular from the floor.

NEVER use a level when building things in a van! Fuggetabout trying to park so the floor is level and then building using a level. Everything is dead reckoning from a baseline, that baseline being the only flat plane in the van; the floor.

 

[greenvan]

Surly is spot on, there are a few things in the van that do line up, but mostly its all weird, lol. I did find a few fastener holes that are parallel to the floor front to back in the walls. I used a laser level on a tripod for a few things, but mostly it was just confirming what my eye saw.

The one trick i have seen but its a massive space waster is to basically build a Stud wall where the inside of the stud is s flat but the backside is conforming to all the nooks on wall.

Good luck, i feel your pain as i had to do something similar for moving bed.

 

[coguzzi]

think a transit is bad (fairly square) shoulld try building a sprinter--every single surface has a curve

 

[Michael Ophus]

Cedar Plank walls and ceiling, Start at the center of the roof rib and work outward in both directions. As far as up and down on the walls concerned the walls are mostly square, I started at the top because any trimming to the width of the last plank is less noticeable at the floor since it is mostly behind bed and cabinets.

 

[orton]

I added a string from center of roof rib down to center of floor. Measured from the string to the bottom extrusion of the upped cabinet front face 80/20 frame that is hung from the roof ribs. Temporarily connected the two face frames together with a piece of 80/20 extrusion. Adjusted the location of the bottom extrusions so both face frames were the same distance from the string. Then I made the upper cabinet bottoms to fit between the face frame and the van walls.

I have 4 fold down panels that make the bed platform. In the up position they have a latch to keep them against the walls. In the down position they rest on top of the table that is located between the two bench seats. In the up position they they are not perpendicular to the floor. They are stored at an angle that matches the angle of the side walls.

Bed/Table | Orton Travel Transit (ortontransit.info)

 

[surly Bill]

The interior of the Transit can be deceiving, not only are the walls concave or taper in at the top, the ceiling is also concave AND tapers in height from front to back. And the height from the floor to the windows (or window cutouts) changes front to back.

For someone with OCD that requires things be plumb and square, it could lead to madness. When dealing with organic shapes, it's probably best design-wise to go with the flow and adapt/incorporate these curves. It's more work, though. Everyone knows how to layout and make 90° cuts, and tools are made with this in mind, cuz home construction is dumbed down so anyone can do it (that's also why they use wood, even though it's not the best material for the purpose, because it's primitive and simple).

Like Michael said above, scribing some wall shims to make the wall, or parts of it, perpendicular to the floor is one solution, but it does create wasted space as you add several inches to the wall at floor height in order to be flush at the top. There are several methods to scribe, here's one that works but takes a few steps to get the final curve:

Scribing a perfect fit for curves

I’m making a wooden toolbox for my pickup bed. How do I make a template to fit over the curved wheel well?

www.woodmagazine.com

Here's a how-to using a scribing tool for van walls. Same method as above, but bigger and a video

Here's a convoluted description of using a tick stick. I used a version of this method to make snug cabinets for my old Sprinter.

When I did Marble and Granite work, we used wood strips and hotglue to make templates. It's a little wasteful for materials, but will give you an exact full scale template. You make curves by using several pieces then matching the overall curve. Industrial hotglue dries in seconds, so you only need to hold the wood strip in place for a few seconds before going to the next.

 

[Michael Ophus]

My cedar planking required a stud wall. That straightened and squared the walls.
North/south bed so losing a few inches of van interior width did not matter

I used this sprinter blog as a guide for my transit walls.

Cedar Paneling for Van Interior

Cedar Paneling for Van Interior: We love skiing. We love mountain life. We love the feel of rustic cabins. We love the smell of cedar. We wanted a real cabin on wheels. This means there was only one material we wanted to use for the walls and ceiling of the van: CEDAR PANELS! Th…

www.instructables.com

 

[BobCollins]

Might I suggest a laser level?
Not for its gravity reference, but for its ability to paint straight lines on the interior.

You can align the laser lines with references in the van to keep construction in the van consistent.

 

[GotDiesel?]

Just to clarify terms, square and plumb. Square describes a 90 degree angle relative to a straight line. Plumb describes a 90 degree angle relative to a level line. The distinction is that a line can be straight and but level. Level is a term that relates to gravity and the center of the Earth.

With that, there is normally nothing in a van that is level. Unless you drive on to leveling blocks to level the floor. Also, there is very little in a van that is square, maybe nothing that is square.

So, for adding anything to the interior of a van, it is best to just forget about either level or plumb. Work with square. For the most part, square is in relation to the van floor, which ideally is flat. Normally, we would want things like cabinet fronts to be square to the flat floor and shelves and drawers to be square to the cabinet fronts.

As to fitting cabinets to the walls of the van, scribing is the best answer and will take into account a whole bunch of variables. See the Bob Wells video above.

 

[gregoryx]

Actually, a level /can/ work pretty well. This digital level thing works pretty well. Get the angle on the floor, adjust by 90. I'm sure there's plenty of evidence that it's not perfect; but it's super close - close enough that most attempts to test it with perfectly square large pieces of ply came out right on. It's been a great way to get cabinets that are hung from the roof - and able to be set at any angle - square with the floor (and one's sense of square).

 

[LostInWoods]

George from Humble Road uses a large 8020 square. Would cost a good bit though.

 

[rockDAWG]

I use something like these:

Amazon.com: GemRed 82412 Mini Digital Level Angle Gauge Angle Finder Protractor Inclinometer Aluminum Framework with Magnet : Industrial & Scientific

Buy GemRed 82412 Mini Digital Level Angle Gauge Angle Finder Protractor Inclinometer Aluminum Framework with Magnet: Angle - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

GemRed 82305 Digital Angle Finder Protractor (Stainless steel, 7inch/200mm) - - Amazon.com

GemRed 82305 Digital Angle Finder Protractor (Stainless steel, 7inch/200mm) - - Amazon.com

www.amazon.com

They both can be re-zeroed on the reference plane (van floor)

 

[ArgonautVans]

I measured my van a lot, and the walls only really change maybe .25” front to back. Bottom half of the walls are pretty much straight up, middle and top are curved/slanted in. We’ll see how my build goes, but my I think it’s less of an issue than most people think