October 19 – November 17.
Remember when you and all your friends went off to college? There was the one guy who stayed with his parents, employable, but unemployed, tinkering with some dream vehicle in their driveway. Well, I waited until I was 57 years old to be that guy.
After spending the summer in Cabbagetown, Duwan and I went to stay with my parents near Charlotte, NC. They have lots of extra space and a big driveway. We thought we could make the van livable in a few weeks. It took a couple of months. Luckily, my folks were OK with us staying so long. We even found time for some fun activities.
Our first major project was attaching everything to the cargo van’s surface area. We made some videos. If you would rather watch than read, jump to the bottom.
First we cut a hole in the van roof and installed a Fan-tastic exhaust fan. Then we attached the solar panels from our boat. Next we put in flooring. After that we insulated using sheets of Thinsulate. We had a general idea where the batteries and lights would go, so I ran wires next.
By now you can see that there are no right angles or even straight edges in the interior. One of our biggest challenges was dealing with all the uneven surfaces. The van does have places you can directly bolt into the frame. We tried to take advantage of those.
We bolted furring strips for the walls and ceiling and added wall studs (sculpting some of them). Then we glued and screwed quarter inch plywood for the walls and ceilings. We put in some overhead lights, and Boom! Our van had an interior skin.
Next project is the bed and power station.
That is absolutely awesome! We enjoy seeing your progress. Peace!
Scott and Dana Munn
Thanks! It is amazing to look back on it and see all we’ve done. So glad you are enjoying it.
You should start a TV show: “This Old Van” Well done.
Thanks Robert! Great idea for a TV show!
It looks amazing! Can’t wait to see the next post.
Thanks! We are hunkered down in the middle of nowhere working on the next one right now.
You guys so smart!!!!! Me want one too.
Get you a van and we’ll build one this summer!
Hey there. Thanks for sharing! I know it is hard work! Hugs to you both…. Marty
Thanks for visiting the blog! Hugs to you too!
Wow, well done..???
Thanks!