First legit Promaster conversion?

GeorgeRa

2013 Sprinter DIY 144WB, Portland OR
I thoroughly thought our the flex of the vehicle before committing to the stone. It's hard to tell in the photos but the stone is all resting on itself so the adhesive is only holding them to the wall. As far as the stiffness of the wall it's solid. If you look at the wall as a big wall it seems that it will crack, in all actuality there isn't much sqft of stone and the pieces are small enough. Time will tell. The mortar, if it falls out, won't effect the look anyway as the gaps are pretty small. I just wanted it to be unique.

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I am certain you considered the flexing of the chassis in relation of the strength of whatever is holding the rocks in place, but as Orion pointed to this safety issue did you consider the G force in the head collision with a potential of rocks flying from the back. I am not the hater of your concept but am truly concern about safety and just hope no one will follow you just for the sake to be different. These flying rocks could easily penetrate the windshield killing folks on their route. From you pictures I can’t see a retaining bulkhead stopping flying rocks which would be a good idea.

George.
 

RyanJNelson

New member
Thanks for the concern. I'm pretty sure that if I got into a minor accident the sone would not be dislodged, and if I got in an accident that would have enough force involved to rip the stone off the wall my concern at that point would not be the stone. I'm not entirely sure that everyone understands the stone install.

Each block weighs approximately 2 lbs (some are heavier). The stone I installed is about 20sqft. To attach that to the wood I used 8 tubes of liquid nails, a very hard but elastic material. As a test I glued one on and weighted a day for it to dry and to pry it off the wall. The stone was nearly impossible to remove. When I finally hit it hard enough the stone cracked but was still completely attached to the wall. Also, the moss in the cracks was applied with hot glue. This I'm sure adds additional holding power.

I looked at several $500,000+ motor homes before I started the build to get ideas. I'm sure you wouldn't belive the amount of real stone/marble in those. Their engineers don't seem concerned.

Lastly, have you ever thrown a rock through a car window? Impossible...

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GeorgeRa

2013 Sprinter DIY 144WB, Portland OR
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Lastly, have you ever thrown a rock through a car window? Impossible...

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In a head on collision travelling at 60 mph your van will stop in lets say a distance of 2 feet but potentially loose 2 pounds rocks will be flying at 60 mph, they will certainly penetrate a windshield.

George.
 

Graphite Dave

Dave Orton
Do not worry about the windshield. Doubt rock will damage windshield after it penetrates your head. Could be a bloody mess in there. Maybe a partition is required behind front seats?
 

pfflyer

Well-known member
They do make a foam like stack stone and river stone for wall applications that looks real and your whole install might weigh 10lbs total for the stone part. Not criticizing your design just that there is another product, same look but better suited for your application. Keep the updates coming on your install.
 

NBB

Well-known member
I dig the stone.

Looks like Liquid Nails is 240 psi sheer (no idea of pull, but probably higher), all this on a rather flexible wood frame mount. In contrast, the spec for the rear seat in a van, with seat belts, is 500 lbs pull-out. Therefore, a few f=ma calculations will likely reveal that flying humans with a seat attached are a considerably higher danger in an accident, in comparison. I don't see those little rocks going anywhere, actually.
 

GeorgeRa

2013 Sprinter DIY 144WB, Portland OR
Sheer strength of an adhesive not always corresponds to adhesion strength. Without running an experiment of and adhesive’s adhesion strength to a particular rock in a vibration environment it is taking a chance. I would not take this chance whatever Internet's opinions are.

George.
 

pfflyer

Well-known member
Sheer strength of an adhesive not always corresponds to adhesion strength. Without running an experiment of and adhesive’s adhesion strength to a particular rock in a vibration environment it is taking a chance. I would not take this chance whatever Internet's opinions are.

George.
You also have to consider the surface, surface prep and structure it is glued to as well. Lets say the glue holds, would the structure hold that force?
 

Graphite Dave

Dave Orton
They do make a foam like stack stone and river stone for wall applications that looks real and your whole install might weigh 10lbs total for the stone part. Not criticizing your design just that there is another product, same look but better suited for your application. Keep the updates coming on your install.
The fake light stone would have the affect desired without any downsides.
 

RyanJNelson

New member
Update, I now have 12,000 miles and no cracked grout or stone. Also, the adhesion seems to be as good as when I first put it on.

One note, I used a 1/8 inch sanded ply for the finish on the cabinets. I used a contact cement to glue that to the 3/8 ply. I'm now seeing a few areas where it's start to peel away. I'm guessing it's because of the heat? Anyone else experience any similar issues? I'm going to finish nail it then patch holes. No big deal just a pain in the ass.

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Woah. This might be the first time I've seen stone in a van install. Very unique that's for sure. Does look more like a home. Props for going with your heart. Would not have been my choice or look but hey it's part art too...:)

With 12k miles now do you ever wish you should have gotten the taller roof? I do like the look for the low roof much more.
 

surlyoldbill

Well-known member
Ryan, I've had trouble with regular contact cement in the past. It isn't strong enough to hold dissimilar materials in place during expansion/contraction. Too late now, but a urethane wood glue like Gorilla Glue and clamping works the best. You might consider a glue syringe to apply urethane glue or even the woodworker Super Glue (medium base available at Rockler) to the open spots and clamping before you resort to mechanical fasteners (screws, staples, nails).
 

RyanJNelson

New member
Woah. This might be the first time I've seen stone in a van install. Very unique that's for sure. Does look more like a home. Props for going with your heart. Would not have been my choice or look but hey it's part art too...:)

With 12k miles now do you ever wish you should have gotten the taller roof? I do like the look for the low roof much more.
Yes I do wish I had the taller roof, but only for my head. We have two bikes and a box on top and would have been near the 14ft mark. What's nice about the shorter height and length is the ease of parking. I reside mostly in beach towns so parallel parking is a must. This parks really easy. I never would have went with the long version and the shorter length and taller roof looks way goofy and I imagine that with the bike's and box on top the center of gravity would have been really high.

I weighed the van the other day. The Dry reported weight is 4800 and I weighed in at 6700 with a full tank of gas. We carry tons of climbing, scuba, and bike gear plus all of our clothes etc. And we didn't even hit 2000 additional lbs. The weight if the stone is definitely insignificant when you look at that. I am glad I went with it as it really feels like home. I sleep every night here and it's Important to me to be and feel comfortable. Just put a new queen sized 4in thick tempurpedic mattress in that's sweet. I have 4 rows of led lights in the ceiling that are as bright or dim as I need for any occasion.

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RyanJNelson

New member
Ryan, I've had trouble with regular contact cement in the past. It isn't strong enough to hold dissimilar materials in place during expansion/contraction. Too late now, but a urethane wood glue like Gorilla Glue and clamping works the best. You might consider a glue syringe to apply urethane glue or even the woodworker Super Glue (medium base available at Rockler) to the open spots and clamping before you resort to mechanical fasteners (screws, staples, nails).
I figured that. Hindsight is 20/20. Thanks for the info.

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jmgasior

jmgasior
I think it's so rude that several of you are actually arguing about the joined of stone,it was his decision and that shud be it,would have been different if he asked for advice before he started the job,the worry about the stones gg thru the windshield,give me a break ,are you a engineer?sorry as I read the posts I got aggrevated,the builder has a lot more patience than I do.
 

RyanJNelson

New member
I think it's so rude that several of you are actually arguing about the use of stone,it was his decision and that shud be it,would have been different if he asked for advice before he started the job,the worry about the stones gg thru the windshield,give me a break ,are you a engineer?sorry as I read the posts I got aggrevated,the builder has a lot more patience than I do.
Thanks. Yea it's a "take what you want and leave the rest" world on the Internet.

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