Thinking about what it will be like to actually drive the van, with all the squeaks, is something that I think lots of people overlook when initially making these set ups. It's an interesting thing to highlight!
You Can't Eat The Grass I wouldn’t be able to cope with squeaky noises while driving, had a noise once and I couldn’t find it for a few days it was driving me crazy turned out to be the passenger sun visor not clipped fully in and I was convinced it was coming from the glove box
You're very talented. I lost my father in 2010 and regret, now that 30, never learning as much about this type of stuff as I should have. Keep showing your son! He may not like it not but he'll be thankful later on in life.
Joshua..... I empathize with your loss . Real fathers are a blessing . They can teach us so much . As you suggest , it's not WHAT we do with our fathers , it's HOW we have the opportunity to spend precious time with them . Cheers
I used to work on these vans directly from dealers. Everything from commercial to recreational. If you have any questions just get a hold of me and I'll help you out the best to my ability. I've custom fabricated door/wall panels, solid partition/bulkhead, shelves, cabintets, beds, retrofit windows, roof vents, inverters, you name it I've done it!
Dennis Alan City Boy Homesteader I'm just a humble commercial/industrial electrician now. Haven't worked on vehicles in awhile but remember everything. I haven't worked on an Odyssey but I have worked on Dodge Grand Caravan, Nissan NV, Chevy/GMC Express/Savana yada yada yada. First things first: if it's going to be a dedicated sleeper, you need a good solid floor (1/2 plywood is perfect for this). Then you can do a similar setup to Cody for an elevated bed. I don't have your can sitting in front of me to get measurements and whatnot. But if you have a solid base you can use that to build off of. As for the videos, I'm a gamer on my free time sooo ya lol But don't get me wrong, I'm very tool savvy and good with my hands.
I would love to help you out with this build so. In Australia if you are travelling around the country or camping people will always have a fridge, in either the car, camper trailer, van or even caravan. Now I'm not sure of what type of fridge you are going to buy, but you should really consider getting onto the good folks at Trailblazer on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland Australia and seriously consider purchasing one of their great custom fridges! If you think the quality on the Lucas sawmill was great, wait until you see a Trailblazer fridge freezer! Cheers, Jack! 👍
I fabricated a similar system on my motor home. I built boxes over my wheel wells out of sanded birch Plywood. The tops opened up for storage. Then I put one inch by one inch oak rail flush with Box height running around the sides and back of the motor home. Your doors could still open if you cut the rail in half in the back. Then I used one inch finished birch plywood in sections just like you have. I used a full size futon mattress (Bedding Barn). So I could use it as a couch during day and bed at night. Also made fold down tables on side walls. Total cost including mattress was $450.00 and 10 hours labor. Plus I had storage in the boxes. It held me and the wife no problem.
That vinyl edging you used for the aluminium: I use the same stuff to protect my axe blades. Just as effective as a leather sheath, and a whole lot cheaper.
The T-Nuts are a great idea, but if I may offer a tip, put a bit of glue under the T-Nut where it contacts the plywood, some glue that will stick to metal and wood, only need a drop per T-Nut. This stops the T-Nut from being pushed out of it's hole in the plywood if you push a bit hard on the bolt going into the T-Nut from under the panel. If you push one out, once the upholstery is done, you will not be a happy camper. Cheers!
With the bed panels, on a couple of them, if you weld on some legs that fold up out of the way, you can take them out of the van and use them as benches.
When are we going to get another update? I've ordered my own Transit and will be starting my conversion in February. You've definitely given me some good ideas. Keep 'em coming!
Not sure what you are using for a mattress but there are some exceptional air mattresses out there that are very comfortable and super light weight! Great build!
I was hoping we would get more of the actual building process with you on this. Not after the fact updates. Guess it would take much longer to do so though. Sure is looking nice though, great solutions to the issues. Thanks for sharing! Thanks for a new video, I was starting you think you really had left RU-vid! :)
Yes I agree but just how could this be done in a timely manner? And without him talking to himself and trying to explain something he has no idea how he is going to do the next step. Like he stated he had no idea how he was going to fix some of the issues to it was trial and errors to get him where he is. Then he has editing issues trying to figure out to add this or that. So I do agree but I would actually like to watch a video today and not weeks or how ever long it would take him to post one time wise. I hope a made sense my 72 year old brain is slow and lacking logic anymore. Thank You nice video showing nice remedies to your issues - Cheers
You are not wrong, there are definitely issues of timeliness and need to problem solve. He is doing a great job showing us the solutions to the issues he has faced/is facing. I just hoped when he started this project that we would get to see more of the actual doing of it, thats all I was saying. Editing and making a clear concise video is definitely another issue on top of the others. I'm always glad to see and appreciate that he takes us along as he does, just was hoping for a bit more of the actual doing.
I've been missing your videos Cody thinking you must have gone out a town. It's always great watching what you do next on your Van Build! I'm happy to see you came up with a solution to the racking noise that would definitely drive me crazy too! It's worth hours because this will be a wonderful fix and you and your family will appreciate your dedication to perfection and quality of doing the job well and it's very professional looking 👍👏😍🏡
Love the way you refuse to settle for half-assed workmanship or design. This is yet another good example of Paul Sellers' "It's not what you do, but how you do it." NON QUID SED QUO Also seeing considerable ingenuity. Truly a good engineer's perspective in your appreciation for for elegance in a solution.
Glen..... Hello Santa . Did you get my letter ? Hi Glen. Just saw your thumbnail photo and admire the beard . I've got one like yours and now I can't go to the mall without kids asking me if I'm Santa. Cracks me up . Have a great day and God bless .
Are you going to make the bed panels fold up to also use as a couch? Many seating, storage configurations and flexibility with that design. Love this project.
Keep having this idea of stretching a cargo net across, like made from 2" wide seat belt webbing, instead of the aluminium framing. Some anchor points in the bed of the van, for tensioning.
Ron Paulk is building out a contractor trailer on his channel, he is using this lightweight plywood from Lowes and is really liking it. Just a thought if you are concerned about weight.
Please make a video on the window installation, or just tips on making it turn out so nicely. There is little good info on the web about doing it right.
Can you make that bed into a couch? It looks like you have been using all the materials that it would take to do so. That rear panel needs to just stand up on its Edge and have two of those black handles to bolt into place and then your sleep panel could slide back to it and lock into place normally.
I've encountered a minor problem with the captive T nuts if used on something that is frequently assembled and disassembled, in my case a model railway layout taken to exhibitions. They showed a tendency to pop out if you spin out the bolt using a drill/driver. The solution I took from John Heisz was to use a small screw to lock the nut in place but now I've switched over to using threaded inserts instead, these also turned out to be quite a bit cheaper.
Nice work Cody. We're pullin for ya man. The School of Hard knocks teaches us that there's a direct correlation between time invested in planning and the quality of the result. Take all the time you need my friend. I'm so jealous right now I could puke. LOL Cheers and God bless to you and yours.
If this were my project id want at least a 2 inch support running down the middle of the bed. Sure it takes up a little space but it will probably prolong the life of the aluminum frame by years.
Thanks for the update Cody. I probably would have split the difference and gone with 5/8". Agree you can do a better job, and you know how to fix it, if need be.
I have a new, in the box Dometic CF80US refrigerator.It's probably too big for your application but if you can use it You'll save several hundred bucks.
I drive a white 2008 Chevy Service Van. I have tool bins full of parts, etc... It has so many squeaks and rattles, I usually have a headache, after about an hour of driving. I think it's interesting that the restroom divider walls were the solution to silencing your squeaks. Funny, the simplest of solutions. Oh, I like how you address Dynamic Fasteners, and why not to use screws in this application. I do have one question: Are you concerned with Galvanic Corrosion, between the steel t-bolts, and the aluminum frame? Great video series, so far. I am learning a lot!
I either missed some videos or you got busy doing a bunch of stuff and didn't make videos... a lot is different and changed...did you do the welding? how did you do it? really hate we didn't get to see the process more in detail...
Looks great! I'm a new Subscriber here and I'm loving the videos. One bit of advice with T-nuts, I like to run another small piece of wood over the top the T-nut to trap them in place. This can be shim stock that you glue and staple in place over it. Don't for get to chase the hole. Reason being is that you can sometimes push the T-nut out of the wood when trying to insert your nut in from the other side. Its not something that is easily done, but it can come back to bite you if you cant get back into your part to fix it.
Looks very professional. I'm with you on the wood screws. Wood screws into plywood may work in some applications, but I don't think it is ever the 'right' solution.
You could probably do the same with Unistrut, I have a military comms trailer that is equipped with the stuff and you can mount most anything, anywhere! Out of curiosity do you have a source for the aluminum track and the accessories to it? Keep up the great work and videos!
How come you guys are not DYI'ing the foam and upholstery? I'm not sure of the look, but I would not want carpet down low on those side carpet panels, something easy to clean like vinyl or bedliner.
no plan survives first contact, easy to plan how things are supposed to work, then when you get into the middle of the project, it never works out as planned, welcome to automotive 101
John T........ Better materials , stronger fasteners , modular design , endless future possibilities . Store - bought = non of the above and way more expensive . Cheers
