Advice on fixing to interior of T6

[GinoT6]

Hi all, I'm after a bit of advice. I've made a door guard from plywood to prevent my children from catching their fingers in the door when closing but not sure how best to fix it to the interior of our T6. Ideally I would fix to the protruding centre column but i have no idea if this is possible and what type of fixing to use. Any advice please?

 

[WinFreak]

Velcro? It’ll stick to the carpet like anything but I wouldn’t try to move it in and out of the van often, it’ll ruin the carpet

 

[GinoT6]

Cheers WinFreak, I did consider velcro just wasn't sure if it would be strong enough as the ply requires a bit of bend in it to be flush with

 

[WinFreak]

Oh then maybe not, it might pull the carpet loose from the panels behind

 

[manfrotto]

On the pillar there is a threaded hole for a seat belt anchorage. It is positoned around halfway up the window. You could probably feel it through the covering you have. That could be used to hold the plywood very securely. Note - The thread on the hole is Seat belt industry standard (7/16" UNF) rather than metric.

 

[DXX]

Press studs, I think the edge of the ply should have some rubber or plastic U trim fitted or it will eventually splinter.

 

[StratosFearXX]

If you're happy drilling holes (probably no wiring inside that column) then three or four self tapping screws would work?

 

[GinoT6]

Press studs, I think the edge of the ply should have some rubber or plastic U trim fitted or it will eventually splinter.

Cheers DXX. I was planning on covering it with he same carpet as the sides, would that prevent the splintering?

 

[DXX]

Cheers DXX. I was planning on covering it with he same carpet as the sides, would that prevent the splintering?

I would think so.

 

[GinoT6]

If you're happy drilling holes (probably no wiring inside that column) then three or four self tapping screws would work?

Bit nervous about drilling holes directly in the metal pillar now after reading it's not a good idea due to possibly affecting it's structural integrity. But there is a wooden panel towards the bottom that could work hopefully

 

[StratosFearXX]

Bit nervous about drilling holes directly in the metal pillar now after reading it's not a good idea due to possibly affecting it's structural integrity. But there is a wooden panel towards the bottom that could work hopefully

I wouldn't want to drill either but I'm trying to do my (pretty new) van without drilling any holes (apart from one big 5 inch hole for the diesel heater.

Magnets could work. Bonded onto the ply, don't carpet over them ideally.

 

[manfrotto]

This is what a naked C pillar looks like on my t6.1 LWB

The read arrows are the seat belt anchor threaded holes and you can also see where the holes are for the lower panel rivnuts.
The lower panel itself is just cheap card material so couldn't really attach much to it and expect it to hold.

 

[GinoT6]

This is what a naked C pillar looks like on my t6.1 LWB

The read arrows are the seat belt anchor threaded holes and you can also see where the holes are for the lower panel rivnuts.
The lower panel itself is just cheap card material so couldn't really attach much to it and expect it to hold.
View attachment 298324

Thanks Manfrotto! That's so helpful. Hope you didn't strip your van down just for me!

How big are those 2 holes by the red arrows?

 

[manfrotto]

Thanks Manfrotto! That's so helpful. Hope you didn't strip your van down just for me!

How big are those 2 holes by the red arrows?

Haha - I had to strip the van out today to use as a VAN to collect some goods tomorrow. I have set it up as a campervan with everything modular, so really easy to remove when required.
Those two holes marked are threaded for Std Seatbelt anchors which is 7/16" UNF, so quite large.

 

[GinoT6]

Haha - I had to strip the van out today to use as a VAN to collect some goods tomorrow. I have set it up as a campervan with everything modular, so really easy to remove when required.
Those two holes marked are threaded for Std Seatbelt anchors which is 7/16" UNF, so quite large.

Modular? Clever idea.
So does that make those two holes around 11mm? Do you know if there are fixing clips that big?
Looking at your photo I'm wondering whether it's possible to use the 5 lower panel rivet holes that are already there to fix into?

 

[manfrotto]

Modular? Clever idea.
So does that make those two holes around 11mm? Do you know if there are fixing clips that big?
Looking at your photo I'm wondering whether it's possible to use the 5 lower panel rivet holes that are already there to fix into?

If you want to use the seatbelt holes you would just need to get 7/16th UNF bolts which should be available from Hardware stores. The lower one however angle in so may not work for the ply you are using

The lower panel holes will work (I mistakenly called them rivnut holes- they are actually Scrivet holes - AKA panel clips). The holes are slightly less than 8mm and the panel is held in with the Scrivets. To use those holes you will neet to get some much longer scrivets. I have seen elsewhere on the forum others have got them from places that do interior fitouts etc.

 

[DXX]

Press stud screws need approximately 3-4mm drill hole. That won’t weaken the pillar

 

[GinoT6]

Thanks for everyones advice. If anyone is interested, here is the finished work, I used 3 long fir tree push plugs in the existing 8mm holes at the bottom of the plywood and secured the top with velcro. Seems to be holding, but time will tell!