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MermaidLili....The making of MERMIE
#1
Once upon a time at the Van Build in Arizona...…..Lilian arrived with an empty new 2018 Nissan Hi-top van

She had requested Insulation and a Maxifan install.....The lead carpenter said he didn't know how to insulate her van....so he put her down for ONLY a fan......WHAT....from Florida for a fan ?...….Assigned to install the fan our resident mechanic/"Pimp"..... Mike..... invited her to Pirate Camp

She had to wait ...we were busy......BUT we were able to look over the van and make a rough plan of attack.....and a shopping list from the Land-Of-Plenty…………..She made several shopping trips without any whining (and later she returned the overages.....thank-you)

The Nissan has a weird interior profile......The "planes" of the various walls don't line up with each other.....there's NO natural wall studs

The long driver's side wall has dealer installed windows....directly above them is a structural member with steel inserts for anchoring purposes...….Here's our first construction point...…..we stripped wood furring strips to the wall....building them out until we could insert 1" polyiso between them


Upper body openings were filled with a layer Reflectix over air and covered in sheets of foam then paneling......Lower panels were filled with multiple layers of foam pieces ….glued in place.....and spray-foamed in place later covered in paneling

The window "jambs" will always be a weak point.....the exterior and interior connect without a chance for a thermal break....we filled as much insulation as we could to HELP.....

The short passenger side wall has no window so it got wood strips/framed/insulated and paneled 

The ceiling got two layers of insulation and wood strips and paneling.....along with the fan install first thing

Lili has a Kodiak and portable solar panels to charge it ….so we didn't "install" an electrical system BEHIND the walls (just the fan wires)

A simple strong 48" wide bed platform is suspended between the two rear walls...….with a ventilated top platform and 18" clear space/storage beneath

Well.....what went WRONG...……

The paneling was Masonite......Brazilian  Masonite...….Paper !  We had 1/4" crown staples for the install ….the ceiling panels fell down with fasteners alone....NO to screws...…...We Gorilla Glued (construction adhesive)…….braced......and stapled

OMG....we couldn't find 1/4" lath to make up the difference between 1" insulation and 3/4" furring strips...…...we ended up buying molding.....it would have been cheaper to buy a cheap table saw

...........And DAMN that van kept getting taller each time this-old-man had to crawl in...………..

And Living-in and Building a van at the same time sucks...…..So Many steps to repeat for each new day...….Photos to follow......
PAULETTE and "Two Cats and THE DOUG"

Whereabouts unknown...……...
[-] The following 1 user says Thank You to Abnorm for this post:
  • Texjbird (12-21-2018)
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#2
NOW I know who to hire for insulation installation when I buy that new cargo trailer!














Just kidding!   Tongue
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Wondering about wandering
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#3
Hey Tx...…...We work for Skip Jack Tuna !!!!!!!!!
PAULETTE and "Two Cats and THE DOUG"

Whereabouts unknown...……...
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#4
As promised here are some photos

Here's the raw van...…………


   

And the drivers side window wall...……….

   

Here's the short passenger side wall...….you can see the Factory threaded attachment points ….we duplicated them with nutserts later

   


Here's the raw ceiling


   

Like MAGIC here's the next frame of film........

The ceiling......….Fan installed/wired......wood framed (I've got a "Nut-Sert" installation tool....sets threaded brass inserts into the metal for secure mounting)……..double insulated with Polyiso……..and Taped (to hide the messy seams)

   
PAULETTE and "Two Cats and THE DOUG"

Whereabouts unknown...……...
[-] The following 3 users say Thank You to Abnorm for this post:
  • rvpopeye (11-27-2018), MermaidLilli (12-21-2018), Texjbird (12-21-2018)
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#5
Looks good from here !
Should be a toasty (or cool) van as needed.
stay tuned 
popeye


 Weirdo Overlord : FMS Fleet Ops , Awards , Badges ,  aka Tamerlane the Impaler Mod.
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#6
More...……

Here's the window wall with some wood furring attached.....IN the cavities I put small blocks of poly glued to the van skin to keep the reflectix from making contact and possibly loosing effectiveness

   

More framing....doubled up to the required thickness.....and polyiso insulation...……..

   


O my......it's already time for the final photos

Here's that short TV wall...…..everything needs some caulk.....trim and paint

   

Here's the bed ….suspended between the van walls...……..18" of storage below......needs some trim near the mattress....


The paneling on the lower wall is screwed directly to the metal walls to maximize the living space.....the cavity is well insulated...….it actually extends below the floor level...…..the panels....sawn to shape with sanded smooth edges.....will REQUIRE painting 

   

Lili did theReflectix on the Wheelwells by herself while I was "busy"

   
PAULETTE and "Two Cats and THE DOUG"

Whereabouts unknown...……...
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#7
One more round...….the things that make you go Hmmmmmmm…………..

The side wall and the existing wiring harness...….we hid some of it under the paneling

   

And that (damn) ceiling in all it's imperfection...…………..Trim Hides the worst of the seams

   

and finally.....here's the waffle bed...…..dimensions changed so there's a "creative" materials usage...……...

   


Amen...…thanks for everyone who helped so much...…....see ya in the desert soon.....doug
PAULETTE and "Two Cats and THE DOUG"

Whereabouts unknown...……...
[-] The following 8 users say Thank You to Abnorm for this post:
  • rvpopeye (11-27-2018), Snikwahjm (11-27-2018), tx2sturgis (11-27-2018), S Cello (11-28-2018), Matlock (11-28-2018), Putts (11-28-2018), MermaidLilli (12-21-2018), Texjbird (12-21-2018)
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#8
(11-27-2018, 06:30 AM)Abnorm Wrote: Hey Tx...…...We work for Skip Jack Tuna !!!!!!!!!

Ya gotta eat the other two before you get the good stuff!

Tongue

   

Great job on the van...."NV" is right, "envy"....!


Looking forward to seeing everyone...my jobs and chores are winding down here, so I think I will be able cut loose fairly soon.

I took Cammie in to the groomer and wow....she looks like a little boy now! Her long hair and her tail 'feathers' are all gone!!   Undecided
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Wondering about wandering
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#9
Great waffle bed. Most people don't take mattress ventilation into account until after it gets moldy under there!
Brian

2000 Roadtrek 200 Versatile "The Beast" (it has been tamed hopefully)  I feed it and it doesn't bite me.   Angel
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#10
Great job Doug. I’m sure she’s pleased as punch! So she will head back to Florida?
monkeyfoot
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