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.
Drove it home today.
1999 Ford E-250, 6 cylinder, 125K miles.
Was a home builders work van. Some slight surface rust.
Cargo doors a bit dinged up.
I'm planning on doing a full conversion. Most of the work I'll do myself but some will be beyond my abilities. I'm giving myself a deadline of no later than spring. Van won't fit into my small garage so that will affect how/when I can work on it.
I've been reading this and other conversion forums for a few weeks. It's been a huge help so far. Learned quite a lot already but there's still a lot I don't know. Counting on the pros who frequent this forum for some advice.
Advice like: The previous owner drilled some 3/4 inch holes in the floor for bolted down shelving. Whats the best way to cover these holes from underneath? Should I treat the metal edges of the holes before I start?
Thanks for your time, now and in the future.
WVvan
P.S. I'm thinking of call it "HAL the Van".
Why HAL? Well since my name is Dave....
Dave Bowman: Open the pod bay doors, HAL.
HAL: I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that.
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.
Drove it home today.
1999 Ford E-250, 6 cylinder, 125K miles.
Was a home builders work van. Some slight surface rust.
Cargo doors a bit dinged up.
I'm planning on doing a full conversion. Most of the work I'll do myself but some will be beyond my abilities. I'm giving myself a deadline of no later than spring. Van won't fit into my small garage so that will affect how/when I can work on it.
I've been reading this and other conversion forums for a few weeks. It's been a huge help so far. Learned quite a lot already but there's still a lot I don't know. Counting on the pros who frequent this forum for some advice.
Advice like: The previous owner drilled some 3/4 inch holes in the floor for bolted down shelving. Whats the best way to cover these holes from underneath? Should I treat the metal edges of the holes before I start?
Thanks for your time, now and in the future.
WVvan
P.S. I'm thinking of call it "HAL the Van".
Why HAL? Well since my name is Dave....
Dave Bowman: Open the pod bay doors, HAL.
HAL: I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that.
Back to work.
I'm going install a trailer hitch and then a bike rack on the van.
I'm using a Hidden Hitch Class III trailer hitch with a 2" receiver. I bought and mounted this hitch back in May. I used Model #87465. It's weight ratings: WC-TW: 600:6000 WD-TW: 1000:10000
I just checked the Hidden Hitch company site and it's no longer listed so I guess it's been discontinued.
I ordered it from etrailer.com for $184.95 (free shipping). They no longer list it either but I did a search and some other retailers still have it.
Here's the box after I opened it.
The box was damaged but the hitch was OK.
The hitch has a minimum of packing.
I was worried that the extra parts my have been lost with the big hole in the box but not to worry. The parts bag is securely taped to the hitch.
Once everything is unpacked this is what you get. The instruction sheet is one page.
Here's a closer look at the attachment hardware.
Notice there are three kinds of washers, three kinds of spacer blocks and two kinds of bolts. The nuts are all the same. The instructions read that drilling might be required but it wasn't.
Before starting the installation I suggest you crank down the spare tire. One reason is to get it out of the way.
Another reason being that you can use it to help support the hitch as you install it.
The hitch is about 36 pounds which makes it too heavy and cumbersome for me to hold in place with one hand while I bolt with the other. So some extra support is needed. I used a jackstand.
I could have used two jackstand but the tire and the one jackstand worked best. With two jacks the hitch would rotate. The tire is wide enough it stopped the hitch from rotating as I raised the other side.
There are holes in the frame that line up with the holes in the hitch so no drilling is needed.
When you start using the attachment hardware you have to closely follow the instructions. The different square spacers go between the frame and the hitch or the frame and the bolt head depending on the bolts location.
The washers are slightly concave so you need to place them with the bow facing upward.
When viewed from the rear I'm working on the right side first. Just get the nuts started. Don't tighten anything up yet.
After doing the right side I slide the spare tire out of the way and moved the jackstand to the left.
Attach the hardware on the left side.
I ran into a snag when I went to install the third bolt on the left side. The emissions canister (charcoal canister) is in the way.
At the time I was installing this back in May I didn't want to mess with the canister so I just skipped the third bolt. The trailer was only going to be used to support a bike rack so I wasn't worried. Since then I've removed the canister and found out it wasn't that big a deal to take off.
Look on the outside of the frame member and you'll see the two bolts that hold the canister in place. Just remove these two nuts and the canister can be moved out of the way.
I got around to putting on that final bolt today.
Tighten all the bolts in a alternating fashion. The hitch will bend slightly as it is tightened up against the frame.
That finishes up the trailer hitch. When you go to crank the spare tire back up you'll find it now rests against the inside of the hitch. You might have to give the tire a nudge or two as it raises so it clears the trailer hitch.
Next up is the bike rack.
I'm going install a trailer hitch and then a bike rack on the van.
I'm using a Hidden Hitch Class III trailer hitch with a 2" receiver. I bought and mounted this hitch back in May. I used Model #87465. It's weight ratings: WC-TW: 600:6000 WD-TW: 1000:10000
I just checked the Hidden Hitch company site and it's no longer listed so I guess it's been discontinued.
I ordered it from etrailer.com for $184.95 (free shipping). They no longer list it either but I did a search and some other retailers still have it.
Here's the box after I opened it.
The box was damaged but the hitch was OK.
The hitch has a minimum of packing.
I was worried that the extra parts my have been lost with the big hole in the box but not to worry. The parts bag is securely taped to the hitch.
Once everything is unpacked this is what you get. The instruction sheet is one page.
Here's a closer look at the attachment hardware.
Notice there are three kinds of washers, three kinds of spacer blocks and two kinds of bolts. The nuts are all the same. The instructions read that drilling might be required but it wasn't.
Before starting the installation I suggest you crank down the spare tire. One reason is to get it out of the way.
Another reason being that you can use it to help support the hitch as you install it.
The hitch is about 36 pounds which makes it too heavy and cumbersome for me to hold in place with one hand while I bolt with the other. So some extra support is needed. I used a jackstand.
I could have used two jackstand but the tire and the one jackstand worked best. With two jacks the hitch would rotate. The tire is wide enough it stopped the hitch from rotating as I raised the other side.
There are holes in the frame that line up with the holes in the hitch so no drilling is needed.
When you start using the attachment hardware you have to closely follow the instructions. The different square spacers go between the frame and the hitch or the frame and the bolt head depending on the bolts location.
The washers are slightly concave so you need to place them with the bow facing upward.
When viewed from the rear I'm working on the right side first. Just get the nuts started. Don't tighten anything up yet.
After doing the right side I slide the spare tire out of the way and moved the jackstand to the left.
Attach the hardware on the left side.
I ran into a snag when I went to install the third bolt on the left side. The emissions canister (charcoal canister) is in the way.
At the time I was installing this back in May I didn't want to mess with the canister so I just skipped the third bolt. The trailer was only going to be used to support a bike rack so I wasn't worried. Since then I've removed the canister and found out it wasn't that big a deal to take off.
Look on the outside of the frame member and you'll see the two bolts that hold the canister in place. Just remove these two nuts and the canister can be moved out of the way.
I got around to putting on that final bolt today.
Tighten all the bolts in a alternating fashion. The hitch will bend slightly as it is tightened up against the frame.
That finishes up the trailer hitch. When you go to crank the spare tire back up you'll find it now rests against the inside of the hitch. You might have to give the tire a nudge or two as it raises so it clears the trailer hitch.
Next up is the bike rack.
Thanks for your kind thoughts. I do appreciate it.
Here's a couple of pictures from yesterdays "Memorial Presentation" at the local funeral home. When I made the funeral arrangements I was told that's what you call it when there is a urn and no casket.
That's the urn I made sitting in his easy chair.
There's a flag since Dad was in the Army Air Corp during WWII (Pacific Theater).
So around 3:00pm yesterday the room is full up with people talking and laughing since this seems to be the only time you get see old friends and relatives any more. I was talking to a second cousin and standing few feet from Dad's easy chair, which is the recliner - rocker kind, when there was a brief power outage and the lights in the room when off. I quickly moved closer to the chair and reached my leg way out and pushed down on the edge of the chair with my foot then moved back to where I'd been standing. The lights where only off around 4 seconds but when they came back on there was Dad's chair with his urn on the seat rocking gently back and forth with no one near it. Suddenly the room was totally silent as everyone stared at the chair in amazement. I didn't want to freak anyone out too badly so I quickly fess'ed up. Everyone started laughing in relief and saying how for a moment they were sure Dad had come back and was joining in with the group. No one took offense since we're not a solemn kind of family. There's always much more laughter at these kinds of gatherings than tears.
I'll mention one more thing about urns before I go get back to work on the van. The urn I made for my Dad isn't my first. I did something similar for my brother who died last year. Since he was a computer geek like me, and proud of it, I did something bit different for him. Here's his.
To show you how geeky he was "Beam me up Scotty. I'm done here." was truly one of the last things he said before he died. As kids we watched the original show in it's first run and loved it.
After I created the urn and put Alan in it I posted about it at a site for fellow computer geeks and thought no more of it. I was his executor and had a lot other things to deal with. A few days later a friend contacted me to let me know that the urn story had gone viral. I was amazed to see the story had ended up in a couple newspapers, bunch of websites and blogs and the front page of the Huffington Post. I guess it was a slow news cycle.
Even today if you google "computer urn" the top response will be the flickr page I set up for the original photo. Last I checked it had been viewed over a 1/4 million times. I guess it's my most famous photograph.
Back to work on the van. I've not been able to touch it since Dad first fell ill a week and half ago. Today I'll be re-positioning the charcoal canister. The main problem will be to get one of the cats to work the wrench and tighten the nuts inside the van while I hold the canister in position underneath the van.
Here's a couple of pictures from yesterdays "Memorial Presentation" at the local funeral home. When I made the funeral arrangements I was told that's what you call it when there is a urn and no casket.
That's the urn I made sitting in his easy chair.
There's a flag since Dad was in the Army Air Corp during WWII (Pacific Theater).
So around 3:00pm yesterday the room is full up with people talking and laughing since this seems to be the only time you get see old friends and relatives any more. I was talking to a second cousin and standing few feet from Dad's easy chair, which is the recliner - rocker kind, when there was a brief power outage and the lights in the room when off. I quickly moved closer to the chair and reached my leg way out and pushed down on the edge of the chair with my foot then moved back to where I'd been standing. The lights where only off around 4 seconds but when they came back on there was Dad's chair with his urn on the seat rocking gently back and forth with no one near it. Suddenly the room was totally silent as everyone stared at the chair in amazement. I didn't want to freak anyone out too badly so I quickly fess'ed up. Everyone started laughing in relief and saying how for a moment they were sure Dad had come back and was joining in with the group. No one took offense since we're not a solemn kind of family. There's always much more laughter at these kinds of gatherings than tears.
I'll mention one more thing about urns before I go get back to work on the van. The urn I made for my Dad isn't my first. I did something similar for my brother who died last year. Since he was a computer geek like me, and proud of it, I did something bit different for him. Here's his.
To show you how geeky he was "Beam me up Scotty. I'm done here." was truly one of the last things he said before he died. As kids we watched the original show in it's first run and loved it.
After I created the urn and put Alan in it I posted about it at a site for fellow computer geeks and thought no more of it. I was his executor and had a lot other things to deal with. A few days later a friend contacted me to let me know that the urn story had gone viral. I was amazed to see the story had ended up in a couple newspapers, bunch of websites and blogs and the front page of the Huffington Post. I guess it was a slow news cycle.
Even today if you google "computer urn" the top response will be the flickr page I set up for the original photo. Last I checked it had been viewed over a 1/4 million times. I guess it's my most famous photograph.
Back to work on the van. I've not been able to touch it since Dad first fell ill a week and half ago. Today I'll be re-positioning the charcoal canister. The main problem will be to get one of the cats to work the wrench and tighten the nuts inside the van while I hold the canister in position underneath the van.
Hi All,
I did a little project today that wasn't van related but I hope you'll forgive me if I share it with you.
First a little backstory.
In 1984 my Dad retired from his job as a Tool and Die Maker For International Harvester. He then parked himself into his easy chair where he's been ever since. He wasn't much for hobbies.
Here's Dad in his chair. He never strayed far from it.
Well Dad passed quietly away Wednesday night. You can't take it with you because if he could have he certainly have taken that chair with him.
So for today's project I took the end table from next to the easy chair, it had also been there as long as the chair, and some fabric from the chair.
I cut up the end table and used the wood to make a box then covered it with the fabric from the chair.
I will use this as the urn for Dad's ashes. Since he spent the last 26 years in his chair I thought he'd like to spend eternity with it. It's where he was always the most comfortable.
I'd have liked to spend more time on it but the funeral is tomorrow. I figure it's not too bad for one days work.
I've also been going through the family photos to find ones of Dad for the funeral.
Here's my favorite. It's 1932 and deep in The Depression. Dad is in the middle and he's nine. His brother George is on the left with his sister Mary on the right.
Their Dad had lost his business in the crash and they were just getting by but you wouldn't know it to look at their faces. I guess it just shows you can be both dirt poor and happy. As the saying goes, "Count your blessings."
I did a little project today that wasn't van related but I hope you'll forgive me if I share it with you.
First a little backstory.
In 1984 my Dad retired from his job as a Tool and Die Maker For International Harvester. He then parked himself into his easy chair where he's been ever since. He wasn't much for hobbies.
Here's Dad in his chair. He never strayed far from it.
Well Dad passed quietly away Wednesday night. You can't take it with you because if he could have he certainly have taken that chair with him.
So for today's project I took the end table from next to the easy chair, it had also been there as long as the chair, and some fabric from the chair.
I cut up the end table and used the wood to make a box then covered it with the fabric from the chair.
I will use this as the urn for Dad's ashes. Since he spent the last 26 years in his chair I thought he'd like to spend eternity with it. It's where he was always the most comfortable.
I'd have liked to spend more time on it but the funeral is tomorrow. I figure it's not too bad for one days work.
I've also been going through the family photos to find ones of Dad for the funeral.
Here's my favorite. It's 1932 and deep in The Depression. Dad is in the middle and he's nine. His brother George is on the left with his sister Mary on the right.
Their Dad had lost his business in the crash and they were just getting by but you wouldn't know it to look at their faces. I guess it just shows you can be both dirt poor and happy. As the saying goes, "Count your blessings."
Sofa-bed continued:
After getting a new can of contact cement I glued on the edge strip.
Apply Formica to the right side.
Install the T-nuts.
There isn't enough Formica on a single 4x8 sheet to cover both sides of the two End Pieces. I was not going to cover the left side of the Left End Piece since the plan is to have it right up against a cabinet. Problem is I'm not sure how deep the cabinet will be so part of the End Piece might be visible.
I lucked out because I had a scrap piece of white Formica I got a few years back from a friend who didn't need it. Sometimes it really does pay off being a pack rat.
I'll use the scrap piece to cover the End Piece. Here I'm cutting the laminate using my table saw. You can see the table saw leaves a chip free edge.
Route the End Piece.
Left End Piece done.
Have to attach the slider hardware to the End Piece. I have to be careful because if the bolt goes too deep I'll crack the Formica.
Use the caliper to get the hole depth.
I'll use the 1" bolts.
To be sure that the 1" bolts would be safe to use I first used a 1-1/4" bolt since I knew it was too long. I slowly tightened the bolt into the End Piece while holding my hand against the Formica on the opposite side. I kept twisting the bolt till I could feel it under the Formica. This way I'd know how it felt if the 1" bolts were going too deep.
Carefully bolt on the hardware. If you remember from earlier in the build the sliders have to be attached in a certain sequence.
This should be the last time I'm attaching the slider hardware so I'm going to make it a bit more permanent. Use two nuts and a lock washer.
Then use a hand saw and cut off the excess machine screw threads.
Screws all done.
Finish up the Left End Piece.
Then the Right.
The sofa-bed parts all stacked in the garage.
This will finish the main construction work on the sofa-bed. I still have to sew together the cushions and come up with a way to bolt the sofa-bed to the van floor.
Once the sofa-bed has been bolted down I won't be able to lift up the wood flooring. There are two projects that must be done before that.
The heater fuel tank must be installed under the van and bolted through the metal floor.
The Undervan Storage Box (AKA "The Box") must also be bolted through the metal floor.
I'll start write ups on those two projects next.
After getting a new can of contact cement I glued on the edge strip.
Apply Formica to the right side.
Install the T-nuts.
There isn't enough Formica on a single 4x8 sheet to cover both sides of the two End Pieces. I was not going to cover the left side of the Left End Piece since the plan is to have it right up against a cabinet. Problem is I'm not sure how deep the cabinet will be so part of the End Piece might be visible.
I lucked out because I had a scrap piece of white Formica I got a few years back from a friend who didn't need it. Sometimes it really does pay off being a pack rat.
I'll use the scrap piece to cover the End Piece. Here I'm cutting the laminate using my table saw. You can see the table saw leaves a chip free edge.
Route the End Piece.
Left End Piece done.
Have to attach the slider hardware to the End Piece. I have to be careful because if the bolt goes too deep I'll crack the Formica.
Use the caliper to get the hole depth.
I'll use the 1" bolts.
To be sure that the 1" bolts would be safe to use I first used a 1-1/4" bolt since I knew it was too long. I slowly tightened the bolt into the End Piece while holding my hand against the Formica on the opposite side. I kept twisting the bolt till I could feel it under the Formica. This way I'd know how it felt if the 1" bolts were going too deep.
Carefully bolt on the hardware. If you remember from earlier in the build the sliders have to be attached in a certain sequence.
This should be the last time I'm attaching the slider hardware so I'm going to make it a bit more permanent. Use two nuts and a lock washer.
Then use a hand saw and cut off the excess machine screw threads.
Screws all done.
Finish up the Left End Piece.
Then the Right.
The sofa-bed parts all stacked in the garage.
This will finish the main construction work on the sofa-bed. I still have to sew together the cushions and come up with a way to bolt the sofa-bed to the van floor.
Once the sofa-bed has been bolted down I won't be able to lift up the wood flooring. There are two projects that must be done before that.
The heater fuel tank must be installed under the van and bolted through the metal floor.
The Undervan Storage Box (AKA "The Box") must also be bolted through the metal floor.
I'll start write ups on those two projects next.
Sofa-bed continued :
I'd hammered the T-nuts into the right side of the Right End Piece. Before covering this side with Formica I used the wax block I had on hand to coat the ends of the T-nuts. This is probably overkill but I didn't want the T-nuts sticking to the Formica when I tighten the bolts.
Apply the glue to the Formica and the End Piece.
Use the same method as before for applying the Formica. Here it is after routing and sanding.
OK. One done.
Start work on the Left End Piece. I'll apply the edge trim first.
I've used up all the Original Formula Contact Cement (flammable) at this point so switching to the Non-flammable Formula.
Here I am applying the non-flammable formula to the edge of the End Piece.
Now here I am scrubbing off the non-flammable formula with a wet rage.
I found out that the non-flammable formula isn't near as sticky as the original formula. With the curved corner causing the laminate edging to spring outward the non-flammable formula wouldn't hold it. I didn't have that problem with the original formula. Back to the hardware store for "the good stuff".
continued -
I'd hammered the T-nuts into the right side of the Right End Piece. Before covering this side with Formica I used the wax block I had on hand to coat the ends of the T-nuts. This is probably overkill but I didn't want the T-nuts sticking to the Formica when I tighten the bolts.
Apply the glue to the Formica and the End Piece.
Use the same method as before for applying the Formica. Here it is after routing and sanding.
OK. One done.
Start work on the Left End Piece. I'll apply the edge trim first.
I've used up all the Original Formula Contact Cement (flammable) at this point so switching to the Non-flammable Formula.
Here I am applying the non-flammable formula to the edge of the End Piece.
Now here I am scrubbing off the non-flammable formula with a wet rage.
I found out that the non-flammable formula isn't near as sticky as the original formula. With the curved corner causing the laminate edging to spring outward the non-flammable formula wouldn't hold it. I didn't have that problem with the original formula. Back to the hardware store for "the good stuff".
continued -
From today.
Under van tire carrier after removal.
All the tools I used to accomplish the above.
Look at all that lovely empty space!
Full details to follow (eventually).
I wonder if I can relocate the charcoal canister?
Under van tire carrier after removal.
All the tools I used to accomplish the above.
Look at all that lovely empty space!
Full details to follow (eventually).
I wonder if I can relocate the charcoal canister?
Took some time off this week to go camping.
On Tuesday I'm biking on a gated closed Forest Road through the Cranberry Wilderness when I find my path blocked.
This one's slightly blurry (I was a bit psyched while holding the camera) but you can better see one of the cubs.
After a while the bears ambled off to the right. As soon as I lowered my camera another cub ran across the road. I quickly biked to the spot where the bears had walked into the woods. The land slopped away from the road so I had a pretty good view. I stopped and waited quiet as can be but neither heard nor saw anything. Like they were never there.
By the way I do carry pepper spray with me.
On Tuesday I'm biking on a gated closed Forest Road through the Cranberry Wilderness when I find my path blocked.
This one's slightly blurry (I was a bit psyched while holding the camera) but you can better see one of the cubs.
After a while the bears ambled off to the right. As soon as I lowered my camera another cub ran across the road. I quickly biked to the spot where the bears had walked into the woods. The land slopped away from the road so I had a pretty good view. I stopped and waited quiet as can be but neither heard nor saw anything. Like they were never there.
By the way I do carry pepper spray with me.
