144" High Roof European-style build

I did not use carriage bolts in my conversion, various slide-in, rolled-in or twist-in T-nuts and relying on 8020 slot “lips” 2° bending scheme to keep bolts locked. But the problem is sliding along the slot, there is no gouging.

I also used Southco M1 but without latch holding brackets. If you place M1 in the correct position they will latch on 8020 slot.

Great work and videos.

GeorgeRa said:

I did not use carriage bolts in my conversion, various slide-in, rolled-in or twist-in T-nuts and relying on 8020 slot “lips” 2° bending scheme to keep bolts locked. But the problem is sliding along the slot, there is no gouging.

I also used Southco M1 but without latch holding brackets. If you place M1 in the correct position they will latch on 8020 slot.

Great work and videos.

Click to expand...

Perhaps that's an unintended advantage of the carriage bolts, they don't move easily after you have set the bolts. I was unaware the 80/20 tapered in like that.

I will require use of a catch for the Southco's to work, and that's because my drawer faces are 3/4" thick and are full-overlay. Pretty slick that your inset drawers will work without the catch.

I have done a pretty lousy job of keeping this thread up to date. Since the last update the galley is more or less finished. It is framed with 80/20 and covered in 3/4" bamboo plywood. Drawers are stainless steel as are the drawer pulls, countertop is marine ply with matte black laminate, zero-radius sink and half stainless/half black faucet. Working on a pull-out work surface to go in the void you see above the refrigerator and there's a trim piece that will cover the exposed aluminum to the right of the refrigerator.


{Youtube video on galley}

1-year into my build I decided there were some things I wanted to change. I pulled the interior apart and added Hehr half-slider windows:



...and to spray Lizard Skin ceramic insulation to help combat heat:


It was a little disheartening taking what felt like a huge step back, but I am so glad I did as the windows made the interior feel much more light and airy and even with the low winter sun angle the van sheetmetal heats up a lot less with the ceramic insulation in place.

We have never done much winter camping but now that we have the van we plan to camp as much in the winter as the summer. The parks are empty and even in a partially-insulated state the Espar has no trouble keeping the van warm.


The van continues to impress us in its comfort, ease of driving, and amazing gas mileage. 22MPG is the lowest I have recorded to-date; 33 MPG is the highest; average is 24-27 MPG. (4 cyl engine)


V1.0 of the pull-out table:


I followed GeorgeRa's lead on overhead cabinet framing, utilizing 80/20, PVC spacers and fiberglass angles to act as a thermal break.

{Video on Upper Cabinets}

The van is once again in disarray as I complete the final wiring and insulation so I can get the headliner and upper cabinets back in for, hopefully, the last time. I'm trying to do as much future-proofing as possible on the wiring through use of 3 separate Blue Sea fuse blocks (one on the driver's side near the battery for powering things on that side of the van), one in the galley for the fridge, water pump, CO/LP alarm, etc., and one in the overhead cabinet. I also have blue smurf tube leading from the battery box to the overhead cabinet and another going over the sliding door to hopefully eliminate the need to pull the headliner and upper cabinets when things are inevitability added in the future.

Early on before I had my lithium house battery, I hooked the Espar to the factory Auxiliary battery. Now I'm thinking that's a good place for it to remain. There is nothing else hooked to the Aux and if it's so cold that the Espar is running a lot, perhaps there won't be much solar available to recharge the lithium house battery. I don't usually sit in one place for more than a day or two, so having it connected to the Aux battery that automatically charges on alternator power is probably a good setup.

Your last two video links aren't working...

Are you planning on an inside stove or cooktop?

ranchworld said:

Your last two video links aren't working...

Are you planning on an inside stove or cooktop?

Click to expand...

Videos fixed, thanks. I plan to be outside most of the time cooking on the propane cooktop, but I do have a portable induction I can use inside or I can drag the gas stove inside. I also plan to buy an electric kettle that will heat water quickly and reasonably efficiently on electricity for morning coffee.

If I end up using the induction a lot I may sink it into the countertop.

asimba2 said:

Videos fixed, thanks. I plan to be outside most of the time cooking on the propane cooktop, but I do have a portable induction I can use inside or I can drag the gas stove inside. I also plan to buy an electric kettle that will heat water quickly and reasonably efficiently on electricity for morning coffee.

If I end up using the induction a lot I may sink it into the countertop.

Click to expand...

Kenetube,

Which kettle are you using ? My electrical is very similar and i've just been using a pot and induction burner.

Hi asimba2 - first off, Bad Ass build! (I too LOVE the California VW's, but alas not in the cards for us in the states... I'm moving into the 4x4 Sprinter from a highly modified Syncro). Your choices in finish really pull it together!

I researched high and low about any number of Euro sliding benches. I really liked the VW Caravelle Transporter benches, also on rails, and available gently used on UK ebay. I was looking at 3 person benches as I have two kiddos (15 & 8). In the end(?) I bought a stock Sprinter bench to mount in my Cargo. I pick up my van tomorrow(!), so I have not mounted the stock bench yet, although I don't have time to change course for round 1 (see its not the 'end' )

My questions are around how you had the RIB seat modified to fit the VW rails/latching mechanism?


I'm still stuck on this as an option for my build, and would greatly appreciate any more info you could provide.

My build starts tomorrow!
(I'll be using a lot of 80-20 as well, eventually. We use it everywhere at my work for development, test, and production EQ)


Thanks!

GrayGhost said:

Kenetube,

Which kettle are you using ? My electrical is very similar and i've just been using a pot and induction burner.

Click to expand...

It is currently out-of-stock on Amazon but this is the one: http://amzn.to/2pcN9Ox
It is labeled a "dual voltage" kettle, meaning 120VAC and 240VAC, which I could care less about, but the heating element of this particular model is 700W. If you look at the Bonavita non-dual voltage model that looks identical, it's 900W. Being unsure what it's real power draw is, it's possible it wouldn't run on a 1000W inverter.

Farfrumwork said:

My questions are around how you had the RIB seat modified to fit the VW rails/latching mechanism?

The seat/bed itself is a little under $1900. When you add in shipping you can probably plan to spend close to $3k by the time the seat is here. The VW rails and the cost to have the VW latching mechanism adapted to the seat are not included in that price.​

I'm still stuck on this as an option for my build, and would greatly appreciate any more info you could provide.

My build starts tomorrow!
(I'll be using a lot of 80-20 as well, eventually. We use it everywhere at my work for development, test, and production EQ)


Thanks!

Click to expand...

Thanks, and congrats on the new van! As you probably know, the seat itself is a standard Scopema Altair RIB seat/bed. The rails are standard off-the-shelf VW California/Caravelle rails, and as I understand it the rollers and release mechanisms attached to the seat are also VW, but have been slightly modified. Uberbus adapts the roller mechanism to the Scopema frame. There are two rail length options for different wheelbase VWs, and I got the longer rails that are 8' feet long. With the seat all the way forward the second-row occupants are behind the driver like a passenger car (particularly important when you've got young children), but I can slide the seat 8-feet back and get it out of the way when needed.

The seat works fantastic. I couldn't find a layout I liked that would safely seat (with 3-point shoulder belts) AND sleep 4, in a 144" Sprinter. The seat solved that problem.

Please start a build thread when you get moving on your build; sounds like it will be a good one.

Ken - Any issues with the Lizardskin off-gassing? Any smell inside ?

Thanks.

MotoXPress said:

Ken - Any issues with the Lizardskin off-gassing? Any smell inside ?

Thanks.

Click to expand...

Lizard Skin's website says it's "environmentally friendly," and we all know the internet never lies, but the fact that they say you can spray it without wearing a respirator is perhaps slightly more convincing. That said, I did wear a respirator.

To answer your question, the van never had a strong odor but I left it open for a couple of days to air-out. I have not noticed any residual smell since the application.

Thanks for the great build. I was wondering if you can share some details on how you mounted the brackets for the 8020 overhead cabinet frame about the window through the headliner. I saw an earlier post you used fiberglass spacers through what looked like the headliner button holes. Just wondering how these were attached to the van body. I'm thinking this would be the cleanest way to install a surf board rack in a passenger version.
thx again!

chrisrad99 said:

Thanks for the great build. I was wondering if you can share some details on how you mounted the brackets for the 8020 overhead cabinet frame about the window through the headliner. I saw an earlier post you used fiberglass spacers through what looked like the headliner button holes. Just wondering how these were attached to the van body. I'm thinking this would be the cleanest way to install a surf board rack in a passenger version.
thx again!

Click to expand...

{Video on Upper Cabinets} <---this should answer your question, but essentially I have 2 bars of 80/20, one behind the headliner and one in front of, that are connected together through a 1" thick, 8.5-degree PVC spacer. The spacer passes through holes I drilled in the headliner.

For a board rack I think you could put some plusnuts in the van wall, put some similar holes in the headliner as I have and put a bolt through your rack, through a similar PVC spacer as I used, and into the plusnut.

I am definitely thinking about Lizardskins ceramic for the ceiling of my grey metalic. I wonder if a gallon would do the whole roof of a 170.
I am still contemplating the sound deadening Lizardskins, which would need to go on first. Especially for the floor, or just use rolls of butyl.
I heard you can use a brush, but it's really thick. I wonder if a regular Walmart paint sprayer would work? With good prep, it's all going to be covered anyway.

Obliged said:

I am definitely thinking about Lizardskins ceramic for the ceiling of my grey metalic. I wonder if a gallon would do the whole roof of a 170.
I am still contemplating the sound deadening Lizardskins, which would need to go on first. Especially for the floor, or just use rolls of butyl.
I heard you can use a brush, but it's really thick. I wonder if a regular Walmart paint sprayer would work? With good prep, it's all going to be covered anyway.

Click to expand...

I have heard of people rolling the Lizard Skin on, but it's not something the manufacturer recommends. The stuff is thick like mud, so I imagine it would be a real challenge to try and roll it onto smooth steel.

I suspect you could do just the roof of a 170 with one gallon.

asimba2 said:

I have heard of people rolling the Lizard Skin on, but it's not something the manufacturer recommends. The stuff is thick like mud, so I imagine it would be a real challenge to try and roll it onto smooth steel. I suspect you could do just the roof of a 170 with one gallon.

Click to expand...

I am too lazy sometimes. I should have researched before asking that question. At least I am now subscribed to this excellent thread, like I already am to your channel.

Lizard skins has a calculator, but it is in square feet. The approximate Springer-source consensus for insulation size with ceiling and sides, or floor and sides is 50lsft/25sft for 144, and 60lsft/30sft for 170.

1 gallon for 144
2 gallons for 170

Their spray gun kit is around $90. It has a 90 degree nozzle. So I may use it, so I can maybe also undercoat the vehicle with an undercoat paint. It’s cheaper on Amazon than Lizardskins website: 2 gallon size of sound, 2 gallons of insulation, and kit is around $380. Did adhesive stick well to the ceramic for your thinsulate?

Not sure you need both the sound and insulation. My plan is Lizardskin Insulation on walls and ceiling then Thinsulate on top of that.

I found the Spray kit for $80 and two GAL of insulation on eBay for ($80 and $134)- $214 no tax or shipping from jegs.

MotoXPress said:

Not sure you need both the sound and insulation. My plan is Lizardskin Insulation on walls and ceiling then Thinsulate on top of that. I found the Spray kit for $80 and two GAL of insulation on eBay for ($80 and $134)- $214 no tax or shipping from jegs.

Click to expand...

If I am already spraying the ceramic insulation up top and sides, it would probably be easier to also spray sound deadener on the floor and sides, rather than roll out Dynomat type butyl sound deadener. Besides if I have left over, I could hit the underside wheel wells. That was my thinking anayway. My Sprinter was just ordered, so I have plenty of time to ponder.
The ceramic Insulation Lizardskins has a short shelf life. You might want to plan your application and open it as soon as you get it within the return time, just to be safe. I read the only negative review on Amazon where a guy waited over a month and his dried up, and it was past the time to return it. Good luck!

Obliged said:

I am too lazy sometimes. I should have researched before asking that question. At least I am now subscribed to this excellent thread, like I already am to your channel.

Lizard skins has a calculator, but it is in square feet. The approximate Springer-source consensus for insulation size with ceiling and sides, or floor and sides is 50lsft/25sft for 144, and 60lsft/30sft for 170.

1 gallon for 144
2 gallons for 170

Their spray gun kit is around $90. It has a 90 degree nozzle. So I may use it, so I can maybe also undercoat the vehicle with an undercoat paint. It’s cheaper on Amazon than Lizardskins website: 2 gallon size of sound, 2 gallons of insulation, and kit is around $380. Did adhesive stick well to the ceramic for your thinsulate?

Click to expand...

1 gallon for the roof and sides of a 144 might come up a little short--I think you would end up in a car-wash scenario where you've got most of it done but end up with 10% uncompleted. Or maybe I'm the only one that happens to. I used 1.5 gallons on the ceiling (including over the cab area) and walls of my 144, keeping in mind I have windows in the middle and none in the rear. (I do have 10x36" slider windows in the rear now, but not when I sprayed.)

I did not spray below window level due to cabinetry I didn't want to remove and I did not spray the sliding door--too many cables, moving parts, latches, sensors, etc that I didn't want to risk damaging. Like many van projects, I think there are diminishing returns with trying to coat everything. Biggest gains, IMHO, is in the ceiling and upper walls.

I found the product cheaper on Amazon than Lizard Skin's own website: http://amzn.to/2ptbkHM