We like caravanning, been doing it for most of our married life. We sold our old one and started looking for a new replacement. Then covid hit and prices went through the roof, that ended our caravanning, I refuse to pay the exorbitant prices they are now asking. I'd like a new car too, but new car prices also went through the roof, along with prices for just about everything. Bloody Chinese!
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Van Go
- Thread starter Jim
- Start date
Same problem here in Blighty.
Looked to change my VW Amarock pickup for a newer one.
Bugger me with a fractured table leg; the prices are off the scale.
I paid £20,000 for my 10k mile truck 4 years ago; put 51k miles on it and today its worth £22,000!
No wonder my insurance has gone up.
Bloody Chinese!
Over the top of the drivers compartment they (Eclipse Conversions) left the original van top in place while laying the fiberglass top over that. Makes for a pretty large cubby hole that runs the full width (about 6ft) of the van, is about 3ft front to back and about 18" tall at it's widest. Since everything is a compound curve and the fiberglass has no attach points, I cut out panels from 1/4" plywood and used spray in foam to glue everything in place. If you've never used it, the foam make for an excellent glue. And of course it's an insulator as well as a sound deadener. A "threefer" if you will.... storage, heat/cold resistance and a quieter ride going down the road.
After all that cured up I painted it with wood primer and cut and glued in some neutral tan carpet. I seem to have lost that photo, so when I'm back on my feet and mobile I'll shoot a pic and put it up here. All that's left is finish trim around the opening. That'll happen along with the rest of the finish trim. It makes a nice little storage space that I just call "the closet."
Sue and I reckon it'll hold a good 2 weeks worth of clothing properly organized.
After all that cured up I painted it with wood primer and cut and glued in some neutral tan carpet. I seem to have lost that photo, so when I'm back on my feet and mobile I'll shoot a pic and put it up here. All that's left is finish trim around the opening. That'll happen along with the rest of the finish trim. It makes a nice little storage space that I just call "the closet."
Sue and I reckon it'll hold a good 2 weeks worth of clothing properly organized.
After the repairs to the floor, I went ahead and primed the entire floor with Rust oleum metal primer.
Then I used my table saw to cut some 2X4's down to 1/2" by 1.5" pieces.
The stampings in the floor are 5/16" deep. So what I did was used the spray foam to glue in 1/2" foam insulation sheets and went over the top of that with 1/2" plywood floor.
So at this point the floor is pretty much done except for a few bits here and there. Can't seem to find some pics of that. Once again, when I'm mobile I'll shoot some and put 'em up here.
Then I used my table saw to cut some 2X4's down to 1/2" by 1.5" pieces.
The stampings in the floor are 5/16" deep. So what I did was used the spray foam to glue in 1/2" foam insulation sheets and went over the top of that with 1/2" plywood floor.
So at this point the floor is pretty much done except for a few bits here and there. Can't seem to find some pics of that. Once again, when I'm mobile I'll shoot some and put 'em up here.
Very thoughtful way to treat that ribbed floor. As you say…. a 3 for. 
Yeah, a "threefer" .... thermal insulation, sound deadener and and flat floor for a foundation to build off of.
What a great thread! Congrats on your new project Jim! Nice to be doing something you and your wife will be enjoying together. I must figure more of that out for myself too.
I am keen to follow your excellent workmanship through this build
I am keen to follow your excellent workmanship through this build
Foot Doc cleared me to put some weight on it a few days ago. "Just take it easy"... he said. Riiight. 
Anyway, here's a few shots of the cubbyhole/closet after the carpet install. Still needs wood trim around the edge.
More to come in a few...
Anyway, here's a few shots of the cubbyhole/closet after the carpet install. Still needs wood trim around the edge.
More to come in a few...
The center brake light was mounted high on the fiberglass top, and it leaked... big time.... that and it's little more than a joke. It's more on the top than the back. Prolly worked great for any low flying helicopters. Not so much the traffic behind, so I took it out. If you go back to the first pic on the first page you'll see what I mean. You can't really see it from standing back there.
So I removed the housing and roughed up the fiberglass gel coat with some 180 paper. I've got some aluminum tape from my airplane days that's just one step down from sheet stock. Cut that to fit the opening and stuck it in. Hit that with the 180 paper too. Yeah, it's that tough. Cleaned it all up and bondo'd it all flush to the outside. It's primed but not shot white yet. There was storm clouds in the distance and I didn't want to chance it.
As I'm want to do, I forgot to take some before pics.... here's some after. I'm gonna find some nice LED combo driving/turn/brake lights and mount one on each side of the top. High enough to be visible pullin' a bike trailer or some such, but low enough the helicopters don't try and navigate on it.
There's been a Home Depot bucket in the back to catch the rain. So yeah... problem solved, bucket removed.
So I removed the housing and roughed up the fiberglass gel coat with some 180 paper. I've got some aluminum tape from my airplane days that's just one step down from sheet stock. Cut that to fit the opening and stuck it in. Hit that with the 180 paper too. Yeah, it's that tough. Cleaned it all up and bondo'd it all flush to the outside. It's primed but not shot white yet. There was storm clouds in the distance and I didn't want to chance it.
As I'm want to do, I forgot to take some before pics.... here's some after. I'm gonna find some nice LED combo driving/turn/brake lights and mount one on each side of the top. High enough to be visible pullin' a bike trailer or some such, but low enough the helicopters don't try and navigate on it.
There's been a Home Depot bucket in the back to catch the rain. So yeah... problem solved, bucket removed.
Very nice! Great progress. Following this with great interest. 
Good work Jim. Glad to hear your starting to heal (No pun intended)The center brake light was mounted high on the fiberglass top, and it leaked... big time.... that and it's little more than a joke. It's more on the top than the back. Prolly worked great for any low flying helicopters. Not so much the traffic behind, so I took it out. If you go back to the first pic on the first page you'll see what I mean. You can't really see it from standing back there.
So I removed the housing and roughed up the fiberglass gel coat with some 180 paper. I've got some aluminum tape from my airplane days that's just one step down from sheet stock. Cut that to fit the opening and stuck it in. Hit that with the 180 paper too. Yeah, it's that tough. Cleaned it all up and bondo'd it all flush to the outside. It's primed but not shot white yet. There was storm clouds in the distance and I didn't want to chance it.
As I'm want to do, I forgot to take some before pics.... here's some after. I'm gonna find some nice LED combo driving/turn/brake lights and mount one on each side of the top. High enough to be visible pullin' a bike trailer or some such, but low enough the helicopters don't try and navigate on it.
There's been a Home Depot bucket in the back to catch the rain. So yeah... problem solved, bucket removed.
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Got the wheel well's boxed in today. Muggy as all hell out there. Soaked through and through 'for I was done. 
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Looking good. It will be nice viewing with those big windows on the sides.
Nice work Jim; hows the foot holding up?Got the wheel wells boxed in today. Muggy as all hell out there. Soaked through and through 'for I was done.
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It makes for a slow go of it. Doc still wants me to take it easy.... something like 5 min on it then 15-20 min of resting it. Trying to follow orders but damn that slows ya down a bit.
I'm getting ready to add insulation in the walls of the van and of course... you can't throw a cat on the internet without hittin' somebody's opinion of the best way to proceed. The general consensus though seems to be that fiberglass inside steel walls is a less than ideal solution. The reason being it can absorb moisture... allowing the van to rust from the inside out. Yeah, American vehicles do a pretty good job of rusting out all on their own. Giving 'em help ain't .... well... helpful. Spray in foam is pretty expensive. There's also "rock wool" ... another too expensive solution. And I can't find any data on it but it seems to me that it would work just like fiberglass as far as moisture retention go goes.
I've got a few rolls of R-13 and R-19 fiberglass that was given to me years ago. Bein' a cheap SOB, I'd really like to use 'em. So here's what I've come up with. I compress the insulation down with a 8X8" piece of plywood and cut that square out with a razor. Then I stuff it into a 1 gallon ziplock bag, compress it flat with the same plywood square and seal it up. What you then have is a bag about 10X10" and less than an inch thick. You can take the bag of fiberglass and fold it in half, roll it into a tube... just about any shape you need to fit it inside the nooks and crannies of the walls.
After it's in place, or immediately prior, you then cut 2 small slits in the bag and allow it to expand out into the cavity. This shot is about 5 min after I cut the slits.
This system should answer the question of moisture retention/buildup quiet nicely. Any moisture that does find it's way past the 2 little slits will be very minimal and trapped inside the bag where there won't be any direct contact with the steel. Any moisture that forms outside the bags will eventually find it's way to the factory drains in the bottom of the van... just like any moisture buildup normally would.
The fiberglass is gratis and a bag of 20 ziplock's cost me 5 bucks at the dollar store. Meaning that I can insulate the walls for about 10 bucks. That's immensely appealing to my inner cheapskate.
So, anyone see a fatal flaw to my logic or my system?
I've got a few rolls of R-13 and R-19 fiberglass that was given to me years ago. Bein' a cheap SOB, I'd really like to use 'em. So here's what I've come up with. I compress the insulation down with a 8X8" piece of plywood and cut that square out with a razor. Then I stuff it into a 1 gallon ziplock bag, compress it flat with the same plywood square and seal it up. What you then have is a bag about 10X10" and less than an inch thick. You can take the bag of fiberglass and fold it in half, roll it into a tube... just about any shape you need to fit it inside the nooks and crannies of the walls.
After it's in place, or immediately prior, you then cut 2 small slits in the bag and allow it to expand out into the cavity. This shot is about 5 min after I cut the slits.
This system should answer the question of moisture retention/buildup quiet nicely. Any moisture that does find it's way past the 2 little slits will be very minimal and trapped inside the bag where there won't be any direct contact with the steel. Any moisture that forms outside the bags will eventually find it's way to the factory drains in the bottom of the van... just like any moisture buildup normally would.
The fiberglass is gratis and a bag of 20 ziplock's cost me 5 bucks at the dollar store. Meaning that I can insulate the walls for about 10 bucks. That's immensely appealing to my inner cheapskate.
So, anyone see a fatal flaw to my logic or my system?
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Moisture trapped in the wadding will sweat inside the bags, especially in warm / hot ambient outside temperatures. I would place them Zip-tie down in the van void. Any escape moisture will then travel down the panels to the bottom.
Maybe just use the wadding free form in the void. Natural evaporation would be of benefit in your climate?
A.
Maybe just use the wadding free form in the void. Natural evaporation would be of benefit in your climate?
A.
I'll make the bags in the basement where humidity is only about 30%. Being that low any moisture inside the bags will be minimal... and trapped in the bags where it can't cause rusting problems.
Using it free form means it'll be susceptible to the moisture in high humidity climates. Almost all I've read and watched about van insulation agrees that's a big no no.
For the hard to get to areas I'll still use the spray in foam. I just want to minimize that due to the expense.
Yeah, that seems a good idea. As much as possible I'll face 'em down.
