An Inspirational Journey
Finished up adding all the sound deadening mats all over. The insulation I’m getting will also help with sound deadening as well. I also used the templates and cut the sheets of plywood for the subfloor. Then I applied water sealant to the subfloor to help protect it from any moisture or liquids.
Next I need to get out some of the cargo hooks which are attached securely. They use a star bit and I already stripped 2 of them. I’m 1 out of 3 in regards to taking them out so I’m open for any suggestions on how to get them out. I’ve been marinating them all day with WD-40 so I’m about to give it another try in a little while. I also bot a set of bits that claim it can get stripped screws/bolts out so I’ll try that out too.
This morning ended week one of having the van so I’m happy with the progress thus far. I will be ordering insulation next and packing it in everywhere. The insulation will probably take a while to get here but I have a busy week of work ahead so that’s probably a good thing.
Also found a company who has a Ford Transit van bench seat for sale (fits 2 with seatbelts and tracks), so I’m discussing costs for shipping them since I don’t really feel like driving to Pittsburg to pick them up. The seats are the type that allow you to disconnect and take out. My goal is to get them and use them when travelling for 3-4 people. Then if it’s just a 1-2 person trip, I can remove them and use a different van layout for that. Getting the extra seats is delaying the progress of the van layout as I don’t know the exact amount of space it’s going to take up, which affects everything else when you’re trying to use every inch of the van space.
1st Reason: The designers of it built it where both sides are aligned and match up perfectly so you can cut out a template on one side of it and it fits perfectly on the other side (you don’t have to make a template for the entire van).
2nd Reason: With the 159 wheel base in the ProMaster, it’s long enough to add a shower/bathroom yet you can also park it in a regular parking space (which was definitely one of the main things I wanted). Take a look at the picture I took at Lowe’s today and you’ll see.
3rd Reason: The walls are more vertical while the walls in the Mercedes Sprinters are more slanted, so this makes it easier to customize the walls/cabinets and get more space to play with.
4th Reason: A reason I wanted a Ram over a Sprinter is that while travelling, it would likely be much more easier to find an auto shop who can work on a Ram/Ford van instead of a Mercedes.
5th Reason: The van is wide enough to have the bed lay sideways which gives you more space to work with.
There are other things too, but just thought I’d share a few of the main things why I wanted this specific van.
Today I hope to finish up the sound deadening and cut out the pattern for the subfloor, then water seal the subfloor.
After that I will be focusing on the insulation and trying to finalize my layout plan (which seems to be the most challenging part so far) as I want to make sure I don’t waste any space, while still being able to modularize sections so I can adjust for different trips (family trips which needs more seats/seatbelts, race trips, solo trips, work trips). I’m making progress on the plan, but just need to fine tune things and make sure things would work out and fit within the space.
