First van, first self build

[Davidh]

I've been using this forum a lot since i got my first van last september so thought its about time to post some of the work I've managed to achieve thanks to the vast knowledge the other members have. This is my first conversion so by no means am I experienced at this. Hopefully some other new owners can see this and itll help them realise whats involved and how more manageable things are than you might expect. My van was an ex electrician's van when I picked it up, 2016 t28 swb. Im still a long way off finishing but here are some of the progress pics I've managed to take so far.

Van after getting the windows fitted (wasn't comfortable doing this myself.

 

[Davidh]

Next was ply lining out and to sound deaden, insulate and remove the bulkhead.

 

[Davidh]

Next I decided to debadge the rear as I preferred the look. Pretty straight forward to do, just heat with hairdryer amd peel off then use some degreasee to get rid of the residual glue.

 

[Davidh]

Next I glued down 9mm batons between the ribs on the floor with tigerseal and applied sound deadening all over then made a temporary floor out of 12mm ply just so it was more comfortable to work on and use before I carpeted the sides. Floor insulation will get added at a later date.

 

[Davidh]

As we wanted to get away but it was Still winter I managed to knock up some quick thermal blinds out of 2 layers of leftover insulation and some window suckers off of eBay. My first very pricey purchase was the new single passenger captains seat instead of the bench. It was super easy to switch over, just remove a few nuts and the new one slids onto the existing bolts.

 

[CAB]

Nice work @Davidh

 

[Davidh]

Next was a few nice little exterior mods. Tried to wrap the front badge but decided to just respray it body colour grey. Fitted new gloss black grill and led drls along with thq v3 headlights with HID's. Also done the chrome strip in the grill indium grey too. Didn't enjoy taking the bumper off so made sure to have all the parts so I could do it in a oner. Couple of broken clips but managed to get it all back on. Also got some matt trapezoid black side bars, kind of wish I went for the gloss black, oh well. Also fitted a carbon bumper protector as the old one was peeling off. Kind of the previous owner to apply it with silicone so half the paint came off with it!

 

[Davidh]

At this stage lockdown hit so I tried to power on with van stuff while I was off work. I made i start on the electrics which for me was the most daunting part but was made so much easier thanks to the help and advice from Martyn @travelvolts. I also managed to get the carpet lining of the metal work done which went a lot easier than I thought. I got my carpet from as:trim and found it really easy to work with. I used tape and penned lines where to glue my carpet up to and covered the windows so I didnt have to removed excess glue spray from them.

 

[Davidh]

The electrics... I went for a ctek 250se, victron monitor, 120agm battery, victron battery charger, victron inverter along with the other required items for a 240 and ehu system. Being 2 captains chairs I found fitting it all in a real struggle especially trying to leave room for heater ducting. I fitted the battery, ctek, ip65 charger and bmv712 under the passenger seat. The inverter, consumer unit, fuse box auto switch live under the driver seat.

 

[Davidh]

Next the roof. I knew what I wanted to achieve but actually figuring out how to do it was a whole different story. I wanted a suede roof with ribs running from front to back with a one piece halo border and to make it even more fun I wanted it to be removable if for any reason I needed access behind it again. This is where velcro saved me! I like to think it turned out pretty well! I eneded up using 2 pieces of 3.6mm ply for the ceiling then glueing strips on and covering them in suede which jid the fact it was 2 piece.

 

[Andy M]

Great work and a lot quicker than I’m doing mine!!

 

[Davidh]

Great work and a lot quicker than I’m doing mine!!

Thanks! This has been over 9months so not that quick really

 

[Andy M]

Feel a bit better now you’ve said that!

 

[boxelder]

It's nice following the amazing work on these threads, while knowing that it would be pointless trying, with 3 kids and a hound. Within 5 minutes of finishing bolting my RIB seating onto the freshly installed floor my daughter and her mate jumped in and lay on the bed. Muddy footprints all over the floor and 'detritus' on the seating.
Even the dog jumped in to add to the shite. You can't get him in normally.......

 

[Andy M]

My problems exactly which is why I’m not doing a full side kitchen and RIB bed this time. Just a pod and self build pull out bed
Wet dogs, muddy boots and mountain kit would just trash it!

 

[Davidh]

It's nice following the amazing work on these threads, while knowing that it would be pointless trying, with 3 kids and a hound. Within 5 minutes of finishing bolting my RIB seating onto the freshly installed floor my daughter and her mate jumped in and lay on the bed. Muddy footprints all over the floor and 'detritus' on the seating.
Even the dog jumped in to add to the shite. You can't get him in normally.......

That's the thing, the more work you put in the more precious you become with it. Its a catch 22 haha I'm still trying to decide what to do inside ie. layout. Been busy saving pennies for wheels and suspension at the minute.

 

[Andy M]

I think we’re building the same van!

 

[Andy M]

Agggghhhhh! Floor screws won’t bite into the battons ! Envy your RIB bed holding it all down now!

 

[boxelder]

What's there - 12mm floor on ply batons? 9mm batons? Long enough screws? Try a pilot hole? I used self tapping, self countering tile backing board screws. Some didn't catch in the batons - not sure why.

 

[Andy M]

Yep 12mm on 9 with dodo sound/insulation on top. Tried 20mm screws but most failed so went to 25 mm but still not happy.
just found a thread advising to pilot the 12 and counter sink sothe screws only bite to the 9mm.