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I had someone message asking for more details regarding how I did the ceiling in my van so I thought I'd post that here for others.
I bought this wood planking (Pine Ridge v-groove) from Home Depot. http://www.homedepot.com/p/8-ft-x-4...-6-Piece-VSV7-88-6-244-ST-HOMEDEPOT/202535999 I primed and painted prior to cutting and installing. Priming and painting is very quick when it isn't already in the van. I used a 4" foam roller. Make sure you get the edges that connect really good. Sometimes the fit isn't really tight so if you don't paint an edge that goes in the groove it can be exposed. I'll have to touch up a few of these edges.
At the beginning I was struggling a little with figuring out how this was going to go. I didn't put runners running parallel to the van and I didn't fur out the ribs either. I didn't want to lose any headspace. I was concerned with all the holes in the ribs and whether I'd have trouble screwing into them at some point. I also didn't want a solid row of screws across the ceiling nor did I want all the pieces of wood to come to an end at the same place. I wanted to lay it like you would a hardwood floor. Honestly I got lucky and it went very well. I went slow but it was a pretty easy process. I think I painted 24-26 boards just to make sure I had plenty. I messed up 1 or 2 and still had 3 boards left over. Also I wasn't for sure about connecting the boards to each end of the cargo area. There was nothing to screw to at the back and I really didn't know if screwing into the rib with the headliner would work.
First I cut a 2x1 down to fit the few raised spots and tabs on the rear ceiling so it would lay flush. Then I cut little slits in the back (the part that would be facing the floor) so that it would easily bend with the curve in the ceiling. I used Loctite PL to attach this to the ceiling. To insure a good bond I left it braced for 24 hours. This gave me something to attach the ceiling to in the rear of the van.
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I stuck to a 4 run pattern when installing the ceiling boards. Also I marked the center of the ceiling ribs all the way across so I would know exactly where to measure.
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I started on the driver's side and the first row met at the rib closest to the middle. Both boards were almost the same size (it isn't exactly center). Then I would do another row with a long board and a really short one. Flip that and do a long board and short board on the opposite end. Then again have two boards that were almost the same size meeting in the middle. I never screwed the boards to the ribs where two boards met (except on the first row where a cabinet would hide it). That would make for an ugly joint.
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Also I would use loctite pl between a board and rib sometimes just to help keep it on the ceiling. I didn't do this all the time just randomly to hold the board a little tighter to the ceiling in a place where it was a little far from a screw. I used stainless sheet metal #8 screws with finish washers behind them. I would drill the hole first then insert the screw. As you can see in the pictures I didn't use a lot of screws. I may go back and add one or two in the rows in the middle. Not for any major reason, just to tighten it up a bit. The boards actually hold together really well.
I had to cut around the fan and AC. Make sure the brace around the fan is built up enough (thick enough) so that the boards lay flush on it. I never put a screw in any boards on the front end where they went over the edge of the headliner. I may do something with this later to finish it out more but for now it's good. The AC is holding all the little boards in the middle in. If you don't have an AC in the front you may have to screw in here. That's about it. I've already had to take a few boards on the driver's side down once to change out my solar cables coming in the roof. The first I bought were one size too small. It wasn't a big deal. about 30 minutes and everything was back in place. Hope this helps.
Here are a few more pictures of the install
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I bought this wood planking (Pine Ridge v-groove) from Home Depot. http://www.homedepot.com/p/8-ft-x-4...-6-Piece-VSV7-88-6-244-ST-HOMEDEPOT/202535999 I primed and painted prior to cutting and installing. Priming and painting is very quick when it isn't already in the van. I used a 4" foam roller. Make sure you get the edges that connect really good. Sometimes the fit isn't really tight so if you don't paint an edge that goes in the groove it can be exposed. I'll have to touch up a few of these edges.
At the beginning I was struggling a little with figuring out how this was going to go. I didn't put runners running parallel to the van and I didn't fur out the ribs either. I didn't want to lose any headspace. I was concerned with all the holes in the ribs and whether I'd have trouble screwing into them at some point. I also didn't want a solid row of screws across the ceiling nor did I want all the pieces of wood to come to an end at the same place. I wanted to lay it like you would a hardwood floor. Honestly I got lucky and it went very well. I went slow but it was a pretty easy process. I think I painted 24-26 boards just to make sure I had plenty. I messed up 1 or 2 and still had 3 boards left over. Also I wasn't for sure about connecting the boards to each end of the cargo area. There was nothing to screw to at the back and I really didn't know if screwing into the rib with the headliner would work.
First I cut a 2x1 down to fit the few raised spots and tabs on the rear ceiling so it would lay flush. Then I cut little slits in the back (the part that would be facing the floor) so that it would easily bend with the curve in the ceiling. I used Loctite PL to attach this to the ceiling. To insure a good bond I left it braced for 24 hours. This gave me something to attach the ceiling to in the rear of the van.
I stuck to a 4 run pattern when installing the ceiling boards. Also I marked the center of the ceiling ribs all the way across so I would know exactly where to measure.
I started on the driver's side and the first row met at the rib closest to the middle. Both boards were almost the same size (it isn't exactly center). Then I would do another row with a long board and a really short one. Flip that and do a long board and short board on the opposite end. Then again have two boards that were almost the same size meeting in the middle. I never screwed the boards to the ribs where two boards met (except on the first row where a cabinet would hide it). That would make for an ugly joint.
Also I would use loctite pl between a board and rib sometimes just to help keep it on the ceiling. I didn't do this all the time just randomly to hold the board a little tighter to the ceiling in a place where it was a little far from a screw. I used stainless sheet metal #8 screws with finish washers behind them. I would drill the hole first then insert the screw. As you can see in the pictures I didn't use a lot of screws. I may go back and add one or two in the rows in the middle. Not for any major reason, just to tighten it up a bit. The boards actually hold together really well.
I had to cut around the fan and AC. Make sure the brace around the fan is built up enough (thick enough) so that the boards lay flush on it. I never put a screw in any boards on the front end where they went over the edge of the headliner. I may do something with this later to finish it out more but for now it's good. The AC is holding all the little boards in the middle in. If you don't have an AC in the front you may have to screw in here. That's about it. I've already had to take a few boards on the driver's side down once to change out my solar cables coming in the roof. The first I bought were one size too small. It wasn't a big deal. about 30 minutes and everything was back in place. Hope this helps.
Here are a few more pictures of the install
