I love projects and learning new things! This van build is the biggest project yet, and I have ZERO prior experience. Watch as I try, fail, learn, and try again. This channel is dedicated to documenting my progress and sharing my lessons to help others who want to take on a similar project with little to no experience. Please use the comments to share your experiences, struggles, tips, and more.
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Hey, you did phenomenal, not to mention you made it look super easy. Sorry about your window, people suck. Brw im going woth a max air fan in the kitchen area and a velvet 12V abocr my bed :) ill refer to this video when i do my max air fan lol. ❤
Your explanations are way more detailed than I have ever seen…and an amazing job…btw I noticed you pulled over on the side of the road…looks like Latigo or Malibu canyon…curious if I am right about that…
Thank you so much! There is still a part of me that thinks the promaster would be so much better in many ways. I like the look of them better, too lol! It literally came down to the towing capacity and a few tiny things like seat height and cup holders 😂😂 But boy do Promasters look easier to build in! Lol. I'm glad you got the easier and better looking van 😎❤️ I will live vicariously through you 😂
@kendall.vision I believe you made the right choice and at the end of the day a van is a van, and hahah don't day that I'm legit already losing my mind 😅 just to "clean" down the van made me realize how giant this project actually is and tbh I'm very terrified... the subfloor that you can get as an addon with the promaster.....oh my gosh, such a nightmare to remove that thing like, ugh....I was like yesh I'll get this finished by the end of this year..... YA RIGHT, not to mention I can only work on it om Saturday this is gonna take me years 🤣🤣🤣 anyways God bless you.
Thank you! I was lucky that they didnt take more than they did, AND that my dogs weren't in the van at the time. Dont get me wrong, lol, I was sooooo mad, but my excitement about adding more to the van outweighed the anger lol ❤️
Thank you! ❤️ And yeah, I saw the security footage and they did the smash and grab within 30 seconds of me leaving the van and entering the building. I'm just glad my dogs weren't inside. I hope they were so mad when they realized they stole cheap plastic and not expensive metal conduit. 😂
Thank you so much! I look forward to actually being able to use it lol (once i get my electrical in lol), but people seem to love them. I can't recommend it myself yet, but hopefully soon 🤞🤞❤️
You made a good choice. i went through the same thing and it took me twenty years and choose up with a slide in truck camper. i may be wrong but we are headed to big trouble it may be the climate the economy or war or all. for the people that are being nomads living on the move will far the best and they must be west of the Mississippi river. good luck
Thank you so much! I really like the idea of a truck camper. If I had a truck, I would have seriously considered one. They are small, but pack a lot of functionality and space - so they are almost deceptively small lol
Those inner support ribs are made of a hardened steel and will eat up some bits if drilled too fast . there are other areas with even harder grades, the harder steel means they can use thinner wall to save weight for better gas mileage . good job on your build👍🏻
Wow, thank you for that info! I had noticed that some areas were stronger than others, but didn't really think about why. That makes so much sense, and is super helpful to know 😎 Thanks!
After I install a plusnut or rivnut I run a tap into each one to clean up the threads. Most of the time the threads are fine but all it takes is one bad one to ruin your day.
Oh that's awesome! I didnt even know what a thread tap was until your comment. I just looked it up and that would have been super helpful! Maybe I'll go back and try it out with those bad plusnuts ❤️ Thank you so much!
The Lauren lawliss video is called “ furring strips w/ plus nuts”……. And she talks about Play-Doh about 12 minutes into the video…. It’s a great video she’s very thorough. She’s very good at explaining.😎👍
You don’t have to apologize it’s OK…. I’m just glad I got to see a new video……. FYI I’m behind on my videos too… my channel is my name….. I’m doing a Ford transit also…… don’t worry about it. Life happens.😊
Oooohhhhhhh! That never even occurred to me! Thank you! I will give that a shot next time. I might need it when I install my roof rack into the roof threads. Thank you!!! 🙏❤️
Lauren lawless has a van built series where she talks about plus nuts with Play-Doh….. she uses Play-Doh to find the plus nuts on the back of the board so that way she knows where to drill and they come out perfect every time it’s a really good video I’d highly recommend it👍😎 it’s how I did mine. Have a good day.
Omg, this would have been so much easier! And weirdly, I got play dough in my xmas stocking last December. So if I have to do this again, I'm prepared!! Lol Thank you!
My apologies for the gap between posting. I had a bit of a personal tragedy and it is taking some time to recover. I am hoping to get back on schedule, posting weekly or bi-weekly on Sundays going forward.
I think I would have concentrated the kilmat on the walls instead of the roof. You’re trying to dampen road noise and I feel you get very little road noise coming in through the roof. Insulation under your floor would be trying to quiet road noise also. You could also put some under the floor mats of the cab and up to the firewall. In my motorhome I removed the door panels and put some on the door, then re-installed the door panels. That helped a lot too.
If you haven’t already finished your framing yet, watch the you tube channel Our Thriving Life “How to frame a van to prevent squeaks and rattles.” Jeff recommends using Baltic birch plywood, either 1/2” or 5/8”. He says it’s more stable and won’t split or warp. Good luck with your project.
Thank you so much! I'll check out that channel. I do already have all my framing up, at least the basic framing, but that still sounds like great advice. Maybe i can use this for my window framing later, but either way, it will definitely also help someone else like me who is just getting started ❤️ thanks again! I appreciate you
@kendall.vision no it's great it's funny, I actually just got my van a few days ago... I've been wanting to a van conversion since 2016 I Failed woodshop 😭😂 so I'm terrified but I know i can do it.
Oh that's awesome!!! Congrats ❤️ and i totally understand that feeling of being terrified but also confident. I don't think I've ever felt that particular combination before this project lol! But yeah, you're gonna do awesome. 😎
Aw, my answer is so boring 😂 ...They were just on sale. It was a starter set with 2 drills, circular saw, multitool, and reciprocating saw with batteries and charger for like $130 a few years ago. Ended up being a good deal for a beginner like me 😊
@@kendall.vision Gotcha. The reason I asked is I’ve had sports wagers with some gals in the past and they would just take whoever had the best looking uniforms, regardless of how talented they were. One took a team who had powder blue uni’s (baseball) and she thought their butts looked good in that color!
Love this guy. Great to watch his videos on a "free" weekend night 😅But to answer your question about drilling... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-oxXxptSMCvc.html
That was a great video!! Thank you so much for sharing it with me. I will definitely check out his other videos since I'm about to start building cabinets ❤️
Holy moly, i had never heard of molly bolts. I just looked them up and they look super easy! A nice all-in-1 solution that looks like it doesn't require a special tool. Thanks for the info ❤️
I bought the pneumatic tool for the Rivnuts. It's a game changer. Putting the board's on the side of the roof ribs and using thicker boards is an easier way to install a ceiling
Ooo, that's an interesting idea! I bet that saves on headroom as well. Very cool. I'll research that, and even though it's too late for me on this van, maybe I'll try it on a future project lol. Either way, thanks for sharing. That may even give someone else something to think about on their build ❤️
Are you supporting the outer ends of the furring strips with some other support? I see you figured out the easier way to get leverage on the rivnut tool💪🏻 it makes doing many a lot easier. Looks like your figuring it out as you go 👍🏻 Nice job.
Good point! Maybe I should go back with the regular wood to metal screws for a bit of added support. When I did the wall framing (next weeks vid lol) i did add a long piece going down the top/sides where the ribs aren't covered yet, but that friction may not be enough. Thank you!! ❤️❤️
Hi, just wanna say you're doing a great job. As for the drill wandering, try using a punch or a nail to start the hole, then drill in the hole. It helps. Thanks for posting, I'm enjoying watching your videos.
I missed your comment so I shared a video above saying the same thing. She seems early in her project so she may find some of his other videos informative which will help her in future parts of her build.
I'm building a van out too right now. I'm installing furring strips in the same fashion. Cutting, opps, cutting some more. Opps, back to home depot for a few more pieces. "I'd rather waste a little wood and do it right." I get you.
Oh, never underestimate my power to lose a pencil LOL - I used to assign a person to keep track of my markers when I would do presentations back in the day hahaha. But seriously, though, thank you so much. It's amazing the simple things that feel like they shouldn't be difficult, but totally are when you are brand new. I'm getting there LOL
I really love your positive and cheery attitude. You're an inspiration. I'm enjoying watching your videos. I am also hoping to start my own van project soon, so thanks for being the ginny pig and letting me watch you tackle the hard stuff first before I try. lol. Thanks for filming and posting.
Omg thank you so much from the bottom of my heart. And so cool that you're wanting to start a van project, too. You're gonna do awesome. 😎 As you have seen, it's possible - regardless of your previous experience 😂 Thanks again! ❤️