11-26-2018, 11:10 PM
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......
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...……...
Whereabouts unknown...……...