Before insulating the left rear door panel I installed a backup camera. I plan to hook it into my Magellan GPS unit. Here is a video on the installation of a similar camera.

I went to Seattle last week to pickup windows I purchased from Sprinter World. Sprinter World is in New Jersey but I picked up the windows at the C.R. Laurence facility in Kent, WA. I’ll need to cut out the factory stampings in 2nd row seating in the slider door and the opposite stamping behind the driver. The driver’s side window has a tip-out at the bottom so it can open for ventilation.

I found plastic interior wall panels on Craigslist for $125 dollars (SCORE!) and yesterday I installed the panels on rear doors and and passenger rear walls after I filled the wall cavities with Roxul insulation. In addition to keeping us cool I think it will help reduce the noise level. I installed a sound app on my phone so I’ll test the noise level when all the insulation and wall panels are installed but so far there seems to be about a 1.5 to 2 decibel decrease.

I used Roxul insulation that is 2 inches thick. The Roxul is non flammable and doesn’t hold moisture so it seemed like a good choice to put into a place we will be sleeping. The batts are also easy to work with and cut with a serrated knife that looks like a bread knife.

I still need to screw down the slats but I changed the center support system a little.

After a little redesign I cut out all the pieces at 27% scale (the difference between 3/4″ material and 1/5″ material). I have a lot of scrap “cabinet skin” I use for prototyping purchased at a local cabinet manufacturer as distressed material but it is great for prototyping. The prototype is pictured below sitting on my kitchen table. The front will have a hinge on the inside with fold down legs to make the bed 36″ wide, overall length is about 75″.

I have access to a CNC router and I’m pretty good at designing in 3D programs but I prefer to use Sketchup because it is possible to make things so FAST. I have started designing a bench seat that folds out into a bed. I know the van seems big now but will get small fast when I start filling it with beds and other furniture items. I designed a side panel for the bench that included an arm rest and I plan on a 3 to 4 inch cushion/mattress. I cut the side panel full size which I usually don’t do, I usually scale the designs to work in .2 inch material and then I make a small prototype and assemble it but I wanted to see how the side panel looked inside the van at full size. I took the panel and placed in the van approximately where the bench/bed will be and it looked too big so I went back to Sketchup and eliminated the arm rests. I then added a reverse side panel, bench seat, back and fold up bed platform. Shown below is a picture of the side panel. It is laying on an interior wall panel I cut out and material for the interior wall panels.

The painting process is progressing slowly as I am doing it outside and the weather doesn’t always cooperate. I wet sanded the primer pictured below and then I’ve put on 3 coats of Duplicolor paint. The paint isn’t a perfect match, it is a little yellower than the original paint. I purchased the 8 oz. Duplicolor rattle can paint at O’Reilly Auto Parts and Autozone for $7.99 a can and the 3 coats have taken almost 3 cans. I wet sanded with P1500 grit between coats.  I wanted a better paint match so I went to National Auto Body and Paint Supply in Hillyard (Spokane, WA) and purchased custom 12 oz. rattle cans for $21.95 each. Since the cans are larger that works out to about $10 more per can, but I hope it is a better color match. I don’t expect professional results but I want to stop the rust from progressing and make the van look better.

Hi, My name is Tress and I am really excited for my summer trip. I have never done anything like this so it will be very fun and interesting everyday. We just had our mini road trip to Portland in the Van and I absolutely loved it. The best part was probably laying down in the back on the bed while dad drove along, kind of felt like I was on an airplane. Well I just can’t wait for this road trip.  Family road trips are the best. –Tress