My biggest WW project ever

[Cian]

3 months? And you're taking this van with you??

[Yetloh]

MsNomer said:

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We leave three weeks from today for 3 months in Europe.

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Are you coming to the UK? If so, I hope you have a great time here. If you need any ideas on places worth/not worth visiting I would be happy to help.

Jim

[MsNomer]

"3 months? And you're taking this van with you?"

I wish!!

Jim, thanks for the offer. We are saving England, etc., for our old age. This time it's mostly hiking in Norway and Poland.

[MsNomer]

I had no intent to make my cabinetry removeable. Cargo van becomes camper, end of story. OTOH, LOML was immediately enamored with the convenience and capacity of the van compared to our now-available 8-ft-bed Tundra. I refused to budge.

Until I had made the cabinetry and laid it out to paint. Duh. Except for the wheel well assemblies, this is just a bunch of flat panels. If I assemble with barrel nuts (X-dowels), I will have knock-down cabinetry that assembles-disassembles in just a few minutes and stores easily, plus a happier hubby. In addition, it can be easily modified if we decide this panel needs to move there.

Barrel nuts are not the easiest woodworking task if you're not Ikea, but doable with help from my WoodNet friends. It's a fantastic sense of accomplishment when you feel the screw grab the nut deep in the bowels of a plywood sheet.

In keeping with this theme, I am using insert nuts to attach the cabinetry to the plywood floor and to attach the bed board to the cabinetry. A bit of angle iron and aluminum angle will be used to make the transition at the floor.

The mattress, which we already had in the truck, is 4' x 6' x 4" foam in three 2' sections. It rests on a 1/2" Baltic birch board, which is in 4 sections. The center 38" will be attached to the cabinetry. The head 2' (passenger side) will be on a piano hinge to fold over with the mattress to expose the walkway. At the other end, two smaller hatches on piano hinges will expose the wheel well storage and the dead storage.

I'm generally not fond of plywood grains, and the ply I used for the cabinetry had lousy grain, so I painted everything my favorite color. However, when I got the Baltic birch for the bed board, I found it more pleasing, so if I ever decide it's worth the trouble, I could easily remake the panels in Baltic birch.

This is as far as I will get for the next three months--we leave next Wednesday for Norway and Poland. We normally memorize guidebooks before such trips, but this time we have to take them because we haven't even read them!

Within a couple weeks after we return July 16, we need the van for Wyoming and points west. All that's left to make this much of the cabinetry useful is tying things together and that shouldn't take long. Otherwise, even without the sink cabinetry and extra battery, we will still be in more luxury than the tent.

10 drawers will fill the front spaces.


Left side in this photo will fold over to expose walkway and wheelwell storage.


You may also notice the addition of windows. Three of the four got installed before wet weather came. The door will have to wait. Installing them was not difficult, but it was tedious and nerve-wracking. I did the cutting, LOML did the drilling and screwing.



Level with the bar to within 0.001". The others are close.


No room for error

[Cooler]

Peter Tremblay said:

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Very nice!

BTW how do you like the van?

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The older ones are all rusting out in our neck of the woods. Not too cool for an expensive truck.

[MsNomer]

This is no Sprinter. This RAM Promaster is the Americanized Fiat Ducato--Fiat body, RAM drive train. 2014 was its first year of production, so no older versions. The body has been galvanized since 2006. It is the only one of the large vans that does not have a rust problem.

I love driving it. I especially love its 40' turning radius. Aerodynamics are amazing. It handles well even in cross-winds. Big trucks passing are not even felt. Big trucks directly in front are felt. Also, even with what I've done so far, it has evolved from noisy tin-can cargo van to quieter than my Corolla, which I have always considered quiet.

[MikeSmith]

My son installs high dollar sound systems, and one of the first things he does is strip all the roof and sides out of a car and dynamax's the entire body, including the doors. He wants as close to "quiet" inside the vehicle as possible, so nothing will distract from the sound system.

[Cooler]

MsNomer said:

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This is no Sprinter. This RAM Promaster is the Americanized Fiat Ducato--Fiat body, RAM drive train. 2014 was its first year of production, so no older versions. The body has been galvanized since 2006. It is the only one of the large vans that does not have a rust problem.

I love driving it. I especially love its 40' turning radius. Aerodynamics are amazing. It handles well even in cross-winds. Big trucks passing are not even felt. Big trucks directly in front are felt. Also, even with what I've done so far, it has evolved from noisy tin-can cargo van to quieter than my Corolla, which I have always considered quiet.

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That is good to know. I cannot imagine why Mercedes would allow a truck to be produced with so many rust issues.

Good looking job.

When I was a youngster I converted a telephone company van into a "sleeper" (it was done on the cheap.) Installing the plywood floor (over carpet padding) instantly made the van quiet.

I installed two non-powered roof vents. A huge improvement in ventilation and I recommend it wholeheartedly. The new ones have fans and automatic closing lids in case of rain. If you are going to camp out with this an isolated battery is a good idea as it will not run down your main battery. Even if you just park the van for lunch in the summer the fan will make it comfortable to return to and will make it much easier for the A.C. to cool the van when you do return. They make ones with IR remote so you never have to leave the driver's seat to control it. Nice.

See: http://www.fantasticvent.com/fan-tastic-...-fans.html

[Cooler]

To see how you stack up look at the Sportsmobile. They are said to be the last word in Dodge truck conversions: http://www.sportsmobile.com/#

[MsNomer]

Sportsmobile isnt the only game in town.

Hymer

Safari Condo, whose site is down for maintenance right now

PleasureWay

Winnebago

However, all of these are much more complex than I'd ever want. Safari Condo's short version is the only one I'd ever consider were I buying. IIRC, I'd have to about double my cost to do so.

In Britain alone, there are at least 13 upfitters for this van. Hymer may be the beginning of European upfitters stepping into the American market now that their platform is available here.