[Vanaroo]

I like that idea for joining the plywood sheets. I don't have anything like a biscuit or domino joiner, and don't really like the look of a "line" in the flooring where the joint between plywood sheets telegraphs through. I'm going to add this to my list of ideas for how to handle that

The meetups sound nice. I like working solo, but find that I miss having others around to share the energy (particularly if one person is feeling a bit meh), noodle problems with, share triumphs.... the type of camaraderie you get working on your boat in a boatyard with other people around working on their boats simultaneously.

 

[Vanaroo]

It is amazing now, isn't it? I'm from the "pre-Internet" age myself and often find myself now thinking "How did we figure out ANYthing back then?!" Of course, it's as you say: We had to find that one person, and our information was more limited and we had to rely more on experts to tell us things. Or magazine articles (hope they publish one the same year you want to do that project). I guess that's why we all had boxes and boxes of old magazines to look back at.

Looking forward to seeing you do your epoxying, etc.

 

[Vanaroo]

MR fan here, so reading about your 1/8" luaun experiment with interest. I like the alignment tabs What am I seeing about a foot aft of "the blobs" that looks like a mini divider hanging down? (Maybe you explained that further up but I forgot.)

I also noticed how much interior building you were able to do without worrying about damaging the floor due to how you basically suspended things from the walls.

 

[Vanaroo]

I would think a number of people would be interested if you'd care to write it up. I definitely am (although I don't actually have a van in hand yet). Even with a high roof, some may be interested in keeping the overhead as lightweight as possible.

I'm used to the "top down" approach in houses where you don't want to get the finished flooring messed up while you work. Nice to put it off as long as reasonably possible anyway. Plus as you say you can avoid unnecessary material and weight.

 

[Vanaroo]

Wow, thanks for writing that up! I'm on my way out the door but will read that over a few more times later. Very interesting how you purposely did not have the seams at the beams (which at first glance seems logical, as you would butt sheetrock together on a stud).

 

[Vanaroo]

Super helpful details. Thank you! When I actually have future van, I know I will be referring to your thread again (but it's also great now because all I can do is plan and scheme). I like the clean look of your interior, and also with a medium roof I don't want to be giving away precious inches to thick planks, etc. I also need to stay well under GVWR in order to leave room for towing in the GCWR, so lightness is good.

Did you consider using some type of marine ply as opposed to the luaun? I suppose you wouldn't have chosen the luaun unless it was either better for the purpose (bendier?) or equally good but more economical. Or maybe marine ply isn't even available that thin (guess I have never tried for any less than 3/8"). Edited to add: I went back and re-read and I see you had a stash of materials on hand from other projects.

What did you use for paint on the walls and overhead? It looks great. I would be very happy if mine ended up looking at least similar to yours. So clean and functional looking. I really really like the idea of being able to partially disassemble when desired. My previous campervan (bought used and converted by an official company) always made me nervous because the walls were filled with wire nuts and unprotected water pipes -- and it would have been a nightmare to try to get to them if anything went wrong (or to make anything more robust).

I still need to figure out the best floor situation. I like yours but maybe don't want to use that "extravagantly thick" 1" foam with a MR. I do want to keep the heat from the exhaust system and hot pavement out as much as possible though. Still thinking on that one...

 

[Vanaroo]

Thanks for the details. I'm already a Benjamin Moore paint fan so that's noted. Plenty of epoxy on hand for the backs. Guess I just need the van

I've been thinking about doing a floor basically just like yours but with 1/2" XPS or Polyiso - if I can find either in that thickness. Then 1/2" ply subfloor and sheet flooring of some type. I like the idea of Thinsulate but I think with the overall thinness I'm considering, the rigidity of the foam board would be a plus.

So that'd be around 1-1/8" above the floor ribs. Then since the 1/8" luaun works for the overhead (plus maybe some type of adhesive foam between that and the roof ribs? For a bit insulation/isolation?). All that together would be less than 1-1/2" off the 70" of headroom I've read exists in a MR (I think that's from the top of the floor ribs to the bottom of the roof beams in the center of the van). If that all works, I'd have 68"+ headroom in the areas I'd be standing in, which would be great. And lightweight! I was prepared to go HR if necessary, but like the compactess of MR if it could work. Plus since I need to keep GVW down, having more upper cabinets might be counter-productive.

Seeing what you have done is a great proof of concept and very encouraging. The idea of the tabs and mid-space junctions on the 1/8" luaun is not something I would have come up with on my own.

 

[Vanaroo]

Frugal if they last for years; cheap if they break prematurely 😉

I jest of course. I bet you already know this trick, but you can make a bucketful of "pinch clamps" by slicing the pipe as you did and then just having a single crosscut through the slice at some point.

 

[Vanaroo]

Note to self: Buy scaffolding.

Looks like it made the job easier!

 

[Vanaroo]

Nice! I'm curious: Are you going to sink a refrigerator into that "bump out" in the tall closet? That's something I've been thinking about. It would seem less imposing if it didn't have to project 24" into the "room."

I also have a favor to ask you: When it's convenient, could you measure from the rear pillar (where your aluminum angle starts by the rear doors) to that spot where your closet horizontal piece hits the aluminum angle at the forward end (it's around 4-5" aft of where the angle ends). I was thinking about using the bump out just aft of the one you have open, so would like to know the distance from the door jamb to where that bumpout would end (in other words, the beginning of the bumpout for the windows in the rear half of the van).

Or, just the length of that angle would give me a good idea.

I have the Sportsmobile graph paper layouts, but I don't think they are totally accurate for where the window bays are.

 

[Vanaroo]

Thank you! Graph paper template has been annotated. Some day, I may work on something where half-inches don't count (or at least that's what I tell myself 😂 ).

 

[Vanaroo]

Me too! I kinda wish you would post* stuff you are doing even if "there are already other great examples." Because those aren't your examples. We wanna see how SSV does it

*if you have the time and inclination

 

[Vanaroo]

Those are going to be appreciated! Mosquitoes....... grrrr.

Made me think of an owl. Could discourage rodents too 🤔