189 Holes and Counting - My 2017 170 2x4 Conversion Story

Thanks so much for such an awesome thread and amazing conversion. I know it's been months, but back to the floor, did you attach wood pieces to the bare metal floor and then attached the OEM floor to the this wood? Also, why 2 layers of ply instead of one? Regarding insulation, you used thinsulate on the floor, why not rigid insulation here. Although I would use only thinsulate in walls and ceiling, I'm open to rigid in the flooring.
Thanks again for sharing your journey
 

hambleton

Member
Thanks so much for such an awesome thread and amazing conversion. I know it's been months, but back to the floor, did you attach wood pieces to the bare metal floor and then attached the OEM floor to the this wood? Also, why 2 layers of ply instead of one? Regarding insulation, you used thinsulate on the floor, why not rigid insulation here. Although I would use only thinsulate in walls and ceiling, I'm open to rigid in the flooring.
Thanks again for sharing your journey
Thanks.

I used recessed L track in the floor, which requires at least 1/2" depth to mount. Since the OEM floor panels are only 1/4" thick, I added an additional 1/4" layer of plywood (plus 1/16" thick foam between the layers to prevent squeaking).

I chose to use Thinsulate because that's what I used throughout the van. It's also what a couple other reputable conversion shops use for floor insulation. You can spend weeks trying to discern the 'best' insulation for these vans, so I just went with what works for others. Once the insulation was laid down, the two layers of plywood were sandwiched and held in place by the L track.

If I had to do it all over again, I would have taken time to cut the Thinsulate into thin strips so it was only used in the recessed ribs of the floor. I just laid wide sections of Thinsulate over the entire floor, so there is Thinsulate on the raised ribs, which is pointless and a waste. This essentially gets sandwiched by the plywood layers and L track.

If you're not planning to use recessed L track, you can get away with using the OEM floor panels on their own. The only reason a second layer of plywood was added to my van is to accommodate the recessed L track.
 
Last edited:

gordstray

Member
Thanks.

I used recessed L track in the floor, which requires at least 1/2" depth to mount. Since the OEM floor panels are only 1/4" thick, I added an additional 1/4" layer of plywood (plus 1/16" thick foam between the layers to prevent squeaking).
Where did you buy your L track? Seem to be lots of vendors out there. (I'll add my voice to others thanking you for a thread with lots of great information).
 

hambleton

Member
Last edited:

hambleton

Member
Finally got around to finishing the cover for the audio amps. This was surprisingly a bit tricky since I want to be able to have the crew seat in the forward position. This leaves me with just about 2.50" of depth and the amps themselves sit 2.25" away from the wall. Uses a combination of 1" aluminum L channel, 1/2" baltic birch ply (covered in tweed upholstery fabric), and 1/4" rivnuts so the face can be removed to access the amps.







The 1/2" bamboo plywood lid uses a simple interference fit between the van wall panel and inside edge of the amp box:



I'd like to redesign this again some other time to have a cleaner interface with the upholstered B column pillar cover. I don't really like the open gap and exposed wires. Just want to be done with working on this van!
 
Last edited:

pfflyer

Well-known member
Nice work. If you ever find yourself in GA let me know. I will give you a slide that I made for a ARB fridge that locks into the seat track if you want it. You can see it on page 4 post 38 on my build thread. Link in my signature. I am not using it anymore you are welcome to it.
 
Last edited:

hambleton

Member
Nice work. If you ever find yourself in GA let me know. I will give you a slide that I made for a ARB fridge that locks into the seat track if you want it. You can see it on page 4 post 38 on my build thread. Link in my signature. I am not using it anymore you are welcome to it.
I appreciate the offer. I don't expect to be in Georgia any time soon, but do you mind if I steal your design? What you made is very clever.
 
Thanks again for the reply...and the awesome thread. Not to dwell, I just want to be clear as I am starting my own conversion...but back to the floor, Do I not see a plywood batten -on one of your photos - under the OEM floor? Or is the ply flooring resting right on the metal floor, or thinsulate as the case may be. Also, I think it was a good idea to put thinsulate over the whole floor and not just in the recessed ribs - kind of helps in decoupling the ply from the vibrating metal.
Thanks Again
 

hambleton

Member
No batten or firing strips on the floor. The floor is comprise of a layer of Thinsulate followed by the OEM floor panels (which has a 1/16" thin foam backing from the factory) followed by the additional layer of 1/4" plywood (also with a 1/16" thin foam backing). All of this is mounted directly to the metal floor and sandwiched together with the two strips of L track along with all of the OEM D rings.
 

mtncrawler

Active member
Took a slight detour to address some electrical concerns. Namely, the previous audio installer chose to put the amps under the driver's seat. In order to do so, they moved the auxiliary battery electrical connection to an unsafe location. I decided to move the amps behind the driver's seat along the wall, which is where I also plan to run my auxiliary fuse block (rather than underneath the passenger seat, where it was initially located. I have my subwoofer here as well).

First things first, I changed out the copper bar with an appropriate 100amp mega fuse at the auxiliary hookup underneath the driver's seat:




From this fused junction, I ran 2x 2/0 gauge positive leads for the 2 amplifiers and auxiliary fuse block out the side of the driver's seat and into and behind the B pillar column:




They exit at the lower-left panel behind the driver's seat. I'm planning to mount the amplifiers and aux fuse block on this panel then cover them with a low-profile, accessible hatch of sorts:
Very nice work! I’m just working out the routing of my 2awg lead to my house batteries (via charger) over drivers side rear wheel wells and looking at taking a path through the pillar from the start battery location through
Drivers pedestal. Do this cables run to the outside of the fuel filler neck then back into the lower wall? That’s the routing I’m still figuring out. I now have good holes entering the lower wall
 

hambleton

Member
Very nice work! I’m just working out the routing of my 2awg lead to my house batteries (via charger) over drivers side rear wheel wells and looking at taking a path through the pillar from the start battery location through
Drivers pedestal. Do this cables run to the outside of the fuel filler neck then back into the lower wall? That’s the routing I’m still figuring out. I now have good holes entering the lower wall
Thanks. These cables run across the bottom of the driver's seat pedestal, down into the step cavity and then back into the bottom of the b pillar column and then, with some magical painstaking routing, back into the lower sidewall behind the driver's seat. You can see the large rubber grommet in the lower B pillar column. I had to punch that hole using a step drill otherwise there are existing cavities and routes you can take to pass the cables through. Routing the two large cables through the bottom of the B pillar column was especially challenging. At one point I almost gave up. Very tricky. Wish I had some advise, other than use patience.
 
Last edited:

mtncrawler

Active member
Thanks. These cables run across the bottom of the driver's seat pedestal, down into the step cavity and then back into the bottom of the b pillar column and then, with some magical painstaking routing, back into the lower sidewall behind the driver's seat. You can see the large rubber grommet in the lower B pillar column. I had to punch that hole using a step drill otherwise there are existing cavities and routes you can take to pass the cables through. Routing the two large cables through the bottom of the B pillar column was especially challenging. At one point I almost gave up. Very tricky. Wish I had some advise, other than use patience.
Thanks, yeah it looks a bit tricky. I was able to fish a wire through the cavity the fuel filler neck runs through - kind of on the face of the pillar underneath the plastic pillar trim, but there were some fairly sharp bends to make it happen. I've dropped the tank before so I wanted to avoid that cavity in case I have to drop it again.

It's my weekend goal to get that routing figured out and done. At least from your good pics I know I have room underneath the pedestal in that little opening.
 

gordstray

Member
I also got a flavor for the upcoming paneling. This is 1/4" baltic birch ply covered in tweed upholstery fabric with 1/4" Low-E foam insulation glued to the back. I will ultimately use the Low-E Micro-E insulation which is only 1/8" thick. This was all I had for this first test. The panels fit a little too snug once the L track was fully bolted down, so the 1/8" Micro-E product will work a lot better. This little test got me excited to really get going on finishing this thing once and for all.



Great posts and great work. Thanks! I thought Low-E was reflective aluminum foil on both sides like relectix. Your picture looks like it is black. Where did you source yours?
 

hambleton

Member
Great posts and great work. Thanks! I thought Low-E was reflective aluminum foil on both sides like relectix. Your picture looks like it is black. Where did you source yours?
There is aluminum on both sides. The black you are seeing is the tweed upholstery (or just a poor photo).
 

Top Bottom