Step one. Bought the van.
Hello Everybody, First post. I camp a lot in tents but after spending three days straight in a tent in the rain at Dolly Sods I swore I'd make a change. Here it is. Bought it Wednesday. Dro...
Forum Discussion
Thanks to everyone for the encouragement. I do really appreciate it.
BFD (Big Flooring Deal), Post 1
Putting down the floor and securing it in place is for me a big deal since it signals the end of one phase of the van conversion. Up till now I've been able to pull up the flooring whenever needed to work on whatever new project I dreamed up. It's just been laying in place. To start adding cabinets, building up so to speak, I've got to decide that there isn't any more reasons for the floor to come up. So I've got to commit to the final design. That's why this is a BFD.
But of course there a couple of last minute changes I want to make first.
Here Tiger is pointing out one of the problems that need fixed. There is a floor seam that runs from the middle of the battery frame towards the side door. The seam is in the middle of the door opening and anchoring the ends could be a problem.
When standing outside looking into the side door this is the right floor piece...
And this is the left.
Get a new sheet of plywood (11/32") and using the other two pieces as guides cut it so the seam will now lie to the left of the fuel inlet hump. The new sheet doesn't cover the same width as the first two flooring pieces so part of the left piece is reused. Now it's a solid sheet of plywood at the side step edge.
As you can see in the previous photo I'm sealing the plywood before securing it to the floor. Here's what I'm using. The only reason I'm using this particular stain is because I already had this gallon on hand. It did the job OK. Two coats, top and bottom.
Here's comes the hardest part of this project. The basement opening.
In using the basement day to day I've found the opening isn't large enough to easily allow the passage of a body. Sorry did I say body. I meant sack of potatoes. Yeah, a sack of potatoes. And it's even harder if that sack of potatoes is struggling.
Just kidding. When creating the opening for the basement I thought the widest part should run side to side. Having used it for a while I'm thinking that having the widest part run front to back matches better with the center aisle layout of the van. It wasn't the work of changing the opening that bothered me but the fact of redoing something that was working just fine. Also I'd have to trash the custom built hatchway door and frame since it wouldn't fit the new opening. Had a long debate with myself over this one since it was either change it now or forget about it.
What finally won me over to the change was the need to weld the floor to fix the earlier cut. I'd never welded on the van itself before so this would be something new.
How it looks after enlarging the basement opening.
I'll weld a patch to close up the section of floor where it was previous cut. Use a wire wheel to remove the paint from where I'll be welding.
For patching material I'll use the section of metal that was cut from the van wall where the side window was installed. This is Hal's version of a skin graft.
Before welding on the van I had to make up an heavy duty 220 extension cord so the welder would reach outside.
Here's the patch welded into place. Need more practice on thin metal welding but think it will hold OK. You'll notice I didn't try to bend the metal to match the floor ridge. This metal is too thick for me to do more than a simple bend with my homemade bending rig so just welded it flat. Since the underneath of the van at this point is protected by the basement it's not that big a deal. If the patch was on a part of the floor that wasn't over the basement I would have done something different.
Before starting to weld I disconnected both the positive and negative terminals on the van battery. I've read online where some people do and some don't. Didn't want to take any chances and it's not that difficult.
Prime and paint. Using Rust-Oleum white enamel paint. Doesn't match but who's to know.
Notice the gap at each end of the patch where the floor ridge dips down. Seeing that gap got me to thinking. I'll come back to that.
Cut and stain a new sheet of plywood to match the new opening. After making sure it's a good fit take the plywood into the garage and use it as guide for the new hatch frame.
Here you can see the whole floor after staining along with the new hatch frame.
Speaking of bodies, I'm staring at the new opening and wondered to myself if I would fit in the basement. It took some maneuvering but was able to get all six foot of me, head and all, into the basement. After I got my arms inside couldn't reach the camera.
The plywood will cover the edge of the side plastic step so have to secure the step first. Here are the original fasteners for the side step. I replaced them with metal bolts and nuts.
Use #10 sheet metal screws at each corner of each of the three plywood sheets that make up the top floor layer. My plan is to bolt each cabinet I add in place through the floor. I'll be doing the same to the sofa-bed. It's the bolted down furniture that will keep the plywood in place. The twelve screws should work until then, hopefully.
continued -
BFD (Big Flooring Deal), Post 1
Putting down the floor and securing it in place is for me a big deal since it signals the end of one phase of the van conversion. Up till now I've been able to pull up the flooring whenever needed to work on whatever new project I dreamed up. It's just been laying in place. To start adding cabinets, building up so to speak, I've got to decide that there isn't any more reasons for the floor to come up. So I've got to commit to the final design. That's why this is a BFD.
But of course there a couple of last minute changes I want to make first.
Here Tiger is pointing out one of the problems that need fixed. There is a floor seam that runs from the middle of the battery frame towards the side door. The seam is in the middle of the door opening and anchoring the ends could be a problem.
When standing outside looking into the side door this is the right floor piece...
And this is the left.
Get a new sheet of plywood (11/32") and using the other two pieces as guides cut it so the seam will now lie to the left of the fuel inlet hump. The new sheet doesn't cover the same width as the first two flooring pieces so part of the left piece is reused. Now it's a solid sheet of plywood at the side step edge.
As you can see in the previous photo I'm sealing the plywood before securing it to the floor. Here's what I'm using. The only reason I'm using this particular stain is because I already had this gallon on hand. It did the job OK. Two coats, top and bottom.
Here's comes the hardest part of this project. The basement opening.
In using the basement day to day I've found the opening isn't large enough to easily allow the passage of a body. Sorry did I say body. I meant sack of potatoes. Yeah, a sack of potatoes. And it's even harder if that sack of potatoes is struggling.
Just kidding. When creating the opening for the basement I thought the widest part should run side to side. Having used it for a while I'm thinking that having the widest part run front to back matches better with the center aisle layout of the van. It wasn't the work of changing the opening that bothered me but the fact of redoing something that was working just fine. Also I'd have to trash the custom built hatchway door and frame since it wouldn't fit the new opening. Had a long debate with myself over this one since it was either change it now or forget about it.
What finally won me over to the change was the need to weld the floor to fix the earlier cut. I'd never welded on the van itself before so this would be something new.
How it looks after enlarging the basement opening.
I'll weld a patch to close up the section of floor where it was previous cut. Use a wire wheel to remove the paint from where I'll be welding.
For patching material I'll use the section of metal that was cut from the van wall where the side window was installed. This is Hal's version of a skin graft.
Before welding on the van I had to make up an heavy duty 220 extension cord so the welder would reach outside.
Here's the patch welded into place. Need more practice on thin metal welding but think it will hold OK. You'll notice I didn't try to bend the metal to match the floor ridge. This metal is too thick for me to do more than a simple bend with my homemade bending rig so just welded it flat. Since the underneath of the van at this point is protected by the basement it's not that big a deal. If the patch was on a part of the floor that wasn't over the basement I would have done something different.
Before starting to weld I disconnected both the positive and negative terminals on the van battery. I've read online where some people do and some don't. Didn't want to take any chances and it's not that difficult.
Prime and paint. Using Rust-Oleum white enamel paint. Doesn't match but who's to know.
Notice the gap at each end of the patch where the floor ridge dips down. Seeing that gap got me to thinking. I'll come back to that.
Cut and stain a new sheet of plywood to match the new opening. After making sure it's a good fit take the plywood into the garage and use it as guide for the new hatch frame.
Here you can see the whole floor after staining along with the new hatch frame.
Speaking of bodies, I'm staring at the new opening and wondered to myself if I would fit in the basement. It took some maneuvering but was able to get all six foot of me, head and all, into the basement. After I got my arms inside couldn't reach the camera.
The plywood will cover the edge of the side plastic step so have to secure the step first. Here are the original fasteners for the side step. I replaced them with metal bolts and nuts.
Use #10 sheet metal screws at each corner of each of the three plywood sheets that make up the top floor layer. My plan is to bolt each cabinet I add in place through the floor. I'll be doing the same to the sofa-bed. It's the bolted down furniture that will keep the plywood in place. The twelve screws should work until then, hopefully.
continued -
