Fine Tuning The Bed Platform

Like many other van conversion folks, I am at the stage of building/planning where materials are bolted on, measured, then removed. So it goes with my bed platform.

Today I test fitted the rails, beams and bed supports together for the first time. The bed supports are for a full mattress, but my next step is to trim it down from 54 inches to 48 inches. The mattress side nearest the rear doors will actually have a couple angles at the back corners so the edge will be close enough to the door that no pillows or humans will drop to the floor. I have a 4th cross rail of 8020 aluminum that extends the 7-1/2 inches to fill and support that area.

Everything fit well, so I removed the strapping on the bed support and chopped all the boards down to 48-1/4 inches.

The mattress support is now the proper dimensions - 72” x 48”. This will allow for a decently sized mattress and also maximize for the forward area space for seating, cooking, hanging out, etc.

Making Design Decisions

Since I have only had my van a little over a month, progress on converting it from an empty cargo van to a recreational + functional van comes in fits & starts. While it is tempting to just start doing stuff, it is obvious that taking a moment to plan, research and test skills will lead to a better finished product.

Along those lines, I have been considering how to cover some of the lower wall panels. My van included black panel covers for all the lower and mid-height spaces. They are made of plastics. I could replace them with wood (using the plastics as templates) or I could try covering them with fabric. Some folks even use a fabric plus padding material.

Since I had already tested an upholstery + wood panel on empty upper panels, I have decided to cover the existing panels with fabric as well.

Color Scheme

I am using a gray tweed poly material for the upper (eye level) panels and a burgundy marine fabric called AquaTop Air for the lower panels.

My next step is to test adhesion on some scraps. I want to make sure the glue doesn’t push through the fabric and also test a couple different glue products. I have used 3M 90 and 3M 77 sprays, both of which work well. Depending on the substrate, you can spray both the panel and fabric, or just one or the other. The fabric is very smooth, so I’ll also need to make sure I can apply the material to the larger panels without any wrinkles. I would imagine some frustrations might emerge - and possibly new swear words could be created if this goes wrong.

The first area to be done is the back doors. Not much else to do back here except add shades for sleeping. The burgundy fabric was easy to work with and adhered really well with 3M 77 spray adhesive.

Will It Be Waterproof?

I am approaching most every element of my van build with the idea that all the materials should be as close to waterproof as possible. When I use lumber, there will be multiple coats of primer. When I choose fabrics they will likely be coverings designed for automobiles or marine crafts.

Condensation and moisture trapping can potentially lead to mildew or mold, so it is better to put up a good defense than to have to tear out or fix something later on. Interestingly, I’ve never heard of or been concerned with the same problems occurring in a regular passenger vehicle. My guess is that a big part of the problem may be the living-in and sleeping-in time. Adding an exhaust van prior to using the van for camping is part of my timeline. Additionally, my van won’t have a shower, bathroom and water systems beyond a portable/removable sink supply and gray water tank setup. It will be pretty simple to keep this leak-proof.

For the bed rails I’m working on now, after the initial bare wood fitting in the van, I have removed them for priming and painting. Hopefully this will also prevent twisting or warping, although I think the 7 mounting points will also hold these rails in place well.

Building a Bedframe

I have quite a few plans for things in the van I might do, but one thing I’ll need for sure is a bed platform. Today I began positioning the support rails along the sides, and establishing the locations for the three main aluminum cross beams. It will allow for a mattress that is 74” long x 48” wide, with an adjustable side that can increase the size to a full mattress (54”) wide.

For each side, the rails will be attached with 7 screws into rivnuts into the steel side rail. This will require a bit of precision so everything lines up correctly. Even a little bit of drilling and preparing the locations for each hole needs some careful work to catch all the metal shavings, which can cause surface rusting if not captured. It takes longer to tape in plastic sheeting and using magnets to clean up than it does to drill the holes.

Hopefully I’ll have the mostly done in the next couple days. It will be removable so I can still use the van to haul materials. Plenty of work to do in that part of the van so I won’t need the bed for awhile.

Always test your work. Is the 8020 aluminum 1515 frame going to be strong enough? Yes!

A New Beginning

Everyone needs to start somewhere; in my case this blog starts with the third van I’ve ever owned. It all started in college with a 1974 VW Bus which I owned in the mid-80’s. It had a poptop and a sofa in the back. And the longest manual transmission shifter of any vehicle I’ve ever owned. Groovy!

Later in life I bought a Ford Transit Connect cargo van, which was an interesting vehicle. I could haul quite a bit a stuff, tow a motorcycle trailer and even sleep in it, but it was not tall enough to stand up in. That was 7 or 8 years ago.

This time I took a larger leap: a RAM Promaster 136 High Roof. The consummate empty vessel. At least that is what we have today. Follow along as I add features and capabilities to the van, which I’m calling the Silver Goat. I’m sure I’ll learn things every step of the way.

Note: I am not going to live in the van. But it will be a comfortable means of travel and suitable for camping and off-grid exploration.