Everything on the floor was ready. LET THE CONVERSION COMMENCE! With timber prepared and cut to length, the floor batons were screwed and glued to the floor across the van. I felt this provided the most robust floor support system, as some of the floor was battered and uneven.
Cross member supports in place - Screwed n glued, with the odd additional under-beam packing.
The square spaces are not too big that the floor may sag or bend later, but also provide a good insulating footprint.
25 mm insulation board was used in order to maintain a decent floor height, also level with the batons. Just cut with a knife and slotted into place. I used Ecotherm insulation board which provided a thermal conductivity rating of 0.022W/mK
Next, I taped over all of the floor batons with aluminium foil tape. This provides a complete vapour barrier to stop warm air hitting the external floor and condensing, thereby potentially causing rust.
With sore knees / back and 50mtrs of foil tape used, I felt like I was building and becoming part of a space satellite!
Back to Earth and the 12 mm plywood flooring was cut to size and applied, remembering of course to mark the edges and ensure you know where the floor batons are underneath!
6ft across by 4ft wide! That enabled me to use only 3 strips and reduce the amount of floor joins.
4 days of work, measuring and cutting, mostly by hand (less the plywood!) - With a good stable base and well worked out insulation, I know the job has been done to my standards, hopefully keeping me warm later on.
The Complete Project so far:
My Latest Brainwave & Project
Assessing The Task
The Strip Out
Floor Preparation & Rust Treatment
Hole Plugging & Lock mending
Finalising The Floor Foundations
The Insulation Begins
You make this beaver proud with the quality of your work! This looks awesome and should last years!
I don't intent spending THAT much on this project. I think that the lifespan of the vehicle will be around 10 years, in my possession? Maybe.
So the fit should be pretty robust enough for that duration.
howdy sir preppervetuk! oh my gosh this thing is perfection! that had to be hard putting all the insulation down and then all the taping because you had to stay on the narrow wood slats right?
I'd have to wear knee pads.
You could do custom conversions for people if the profit was enough but I guess you just want t hit the road!
excellent post sir!
I used a 2 ft wide off-cut piece of plywood to move around so I didn't puncture the floor... It took a long time, but not doubt the insulation propterties should be worth it.
oh yes sir it was another perfect job and it's a beautiful thing to watch as it progresses!
You know I'm taking notes for future use, right? ( hee hee)
Excellent floor job! Good point about the foil tape. Is this your first conversion?
haa...
Yeah it's my first conversion for this type of vehicle, but I live in another type already.
Well you're doing this one like a PRO! It's going to be awesome. I can't wait to see what you came up with for a layout. Hidden storage spaces I bet!
Keeping the condensation off the metal is a smart decision. What will you use to heat the living space?
At the moment i am looking at getting either diesel blown air heating, or a very small wood/multi-fuel stove burner.
In a space that small I think it would be hard to regulate the temperature manually, like with a wood stove. Anything with a thermostat would be better. Are you going to carry propane tanks? There are very compact catalytic propane heaters available. They need good ventilation for safety and humidity control.
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I have used similar heaters in such small spaces before and I found there was just too much condensation that accumilated. The gas has too much moisture content in it....
Whatever I decide, it will be a simple system.
i'd really like to do this, a van conversion, or perhaps buy something already converted so i can travel about. would love to see what else you do to this.
I scoped out the price of an already converted van, they were way too expensive.
Fitting out my own van, I am able to put things where I want and how I want. I also know what is behind the walls etc.
I cannot wait to get it into a finalised state, where i can get going, although projects like this are never finished lol.
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