[yennes]

Here is the start of the story, found the best deal in Boise, Idaho. Turned into a Mt Bike trip.

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Started with a couch and carpet

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Added a floor and a moto

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I used 1/4" slates from Home Depot, 3/4" foam board and 3/4"Plywood along with Great Stuff foam. Use the tie-down hole to bolt it all down and spare tires for weight. The fllor is really solid and I have only used 1 1/2" of my height.

 

[yennes]

Part 2

The next easy project was the roof vent, I went with Maxxair and decided that I didn't want it right behind my ear when driving and not over my bed so I went right behind the next to last roof brace. Cut the hole with an angle grinder since running a jigsaw on the uneven roof looked problematic. Worked great and quick. It was really hot this Summer and the vent made a huge difference in how hot the van got. I did a temporary wiring job straight from the battery and used the remote control.

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[yennes]

Part 3 Design
The goal for the van is camping at bike races in the Summer and skiing in the Winter. I decided on a garage layout with bed above, galley behind the driver and a bench in front of the bed bulkhead for storage, propane, batteries, inverter, water tank/pump etc. The height of the garage is 43", tall enough to put a Mt Bike in without taking off the front wheel and 39" deep, enough space to put in four bikes criss-crossed.

The bak of the bed is supported by a bed frame rail and secured into the rear corners with U-bolts
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The front bulkhead was wedged in and the bed platform was added in two pieces. Then it was sent out for foam insulaton.

 

[yennes]

Part 4 Insulation

I put in the floor, fan and garage before getting the van insulated. We have a local, low budget foam sprayer just down the road. I did about half of the prep and got the job done for $450.

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They got a little too much on the ceiling so I bought a Kerfing saw and spent a few hours trimming.

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I really like the foam, I found myself driving a lot faster since it was so quiet!

 

[yennes]

Part 5 Galley Design

I am basically cloning Gary's Builditsolar.com build. A big thanks goes out to him for doing all the research, I am going with most of the things he speced, so here is to rough draft.

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And here is the mock up.

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And here is where it is now.

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[yennes]

Part 5 Speakers/Bed/Water heater

I took some time off for the wood shop to do some random stuff. Now that the van is quiet I added rear speakers. I had the rear speakers wired before the insulation so it was just a matter of finding the factory wires under the passenger footwell and connecting them up. I chose Focal speakers form the local Stereo store on wood planks. The dealer charged me $60 to enable the speakers after I gave the information on how to do it, Thank you Forum.
I also ordered a bed, 4" foam and 1" memory foam. It's a Full and it looks like I need to trim off about 9" plus the corners. feels good and I still have some headroom.

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One other trick thing I found is the tankless water heater. Somehow it doesn't need a vent and since its for an outside shower, it will only be used when the doors are open.

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Then I went all in on the awning, Fammia, $1200 from Van Specialties. They offered to install it for $120 but I had to draw the line somewhere. It was no big deal to install.

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[seapro]

In post 3 you indicate that propane is to be stored inside the van. I think this is not legal and it is very dangerous. In a serious accident especially if the van is upset the propane gas could be an extreme fire hazard. Shutting the valve off at the tank is not foolproof. Another thing to consider is the fine print in your insurance policy. Does it mention that the insurance company might not pay if the vehicle is operated in an illegal way?

 

[bicycleweed]

Nice project!

 

[Jumper]

Am still skeptical about the spray in place foam, but it looks like you're doing well with it & once it's covered should be excellent insulation.

Was wondering if there was any residual chemical smell from the foam? Guess like most things it dissipates in time.

Didn't see propane tank, but recall signs prohibiting propane tanks at entrances to tunnels. Never learned the fine print & went through many times with small camp stove size propane tanks. See motor homes that must have much bigger propane tanks.

 

[seapro]

Some tunnels prohibit propane altogether. More common in the northeast from what I see is a probation on propane tanker trucks and a requirement for motorhomes to stop for inspection. At the inspection they verify that the propane tank is external and that the gas is manually turned off at the tank. In an accident they want to eliminate propane flow from lines to appliances. Also they do not want to have propane shut off only by an electrically operated solenoid valve.

 

[stanw909]

European vans have propane inside. As far as the law is concerned. Don't ask don't tell.

 

[Roblee]

The bed rail and hot water installs are unique. I like your no nonsense approach. Anxious to see more. Thanks.

 

[yennes]

The van is finally out of the shop "bad grounds" and the build continues. I plumbed in the water pump, shower and sink. Also ran the propane pipe for the shower, stove and furnace. I cut a hole in the side of the van for the vent and got a nice cross section of the foam insulation, almost 2" thick.

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On to the electrical this weekend and cutting down the seats and adding a swivel.

 

[RDinNHandAZ]

Document the seat cut down and post up please! I'd like mine 2" lower after installing the Sportscraft which is 1.25 inches of lift.

 

[Zyzzyx]

Aye, a lower seat base is in my future as well. I've been eyeballing the shorter bases available in Yurrup for the Ducato.


I've got wee-short legs, and even with the seat adjusted all the way down, wouldn't mind it another 1/2" lower. So I'm not even looking at a swivel mount until I figure out a shorter seat base.

 

[yennes]

Shortened seat base and swivel install

After much planning and measuring I decided that 3" was about the maximum that the seat base can be shortened so that's what I did. On the front and back I took 3" out of the middle and the ends lined up fine. For the diagonal tube I cut the 3 inches out of the top so it could be welded to the upper.
We added a gusset to the top of the diagonal tube first and then welded the whole thing together. The back was completely flush and front tubes were off less than 1/8"
The seat swivel was easy with the airbag wires going through the pivot. Very solid and smooth.
I plan to do something with the drivers seat also but need to research if any other seats are compatable, maybe something leather out of a RAM pickup?

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[yennes]

Lots of progress on the Van( Mobile Yurt) this last week. Installed the water pump, furnace vent, batteries, inverter, battery isolater and all the breakers and wiring. Wired circuits for the furnace, fridge, fan, water pump, interior and exterior lights. designed and did a temporary install of the control panel with switches for furnace, pump, fridge and lights with the thermostat and remote solar control.
Took a field trip up to Van Specialties in Portland, to get some ideas and Lori was very helpful. I got some thin foam and fabric for the wall panels and discussed the pros and cons of DIY CRL side window install, they don't recommend it on the Promaster due to the thin body steel. They charge $350 so I will think about that, seems some other Forum members have been successful.
Everthing came together just in time for the first day of skiing. I will post more pictures next week.

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[stanw909]

I strongly suggest adding some sort of metal hood over your hot water heater. You'll figure out soon enough that a lot of heat will exhaust out of the top. Love DIY projects. Thanks for posting.

 

[uNik]

Am still skeptical about the spray in place foam, but it looks like you're doing well with it & once it's covered should be excellent insulation.

Was wondering if there was any residual chemical smell from the foam? Guess like most things it dissipates in time.

Didn't see propane tank, but recall signs prohibiting propane tanks at entrances to tunnels. Never learned the fine print & went through many times with small camp stove size propane tanks. See motor homes that must have much bigger propane tanks.

Yes Foam smelts (stinkssss) for about 1 day after I did spray.

 

[Nexus6]

European vans have propane inside. As far as the law is concerned. Don't ask don't tell.

European vans have the propane in a locker that is sealed from the interior with a vented door to the outside, much like truck campers here.

In my old Econoline I would haul around a 20lb bottle inside but secured with a clamping steel bottle rack bolted to the floor. Always removed at night for sleeping and had a leak detector. Still worried about it and probably not the best idea even if you're not worried about the law.