have done on pen n paper, layout for my van, but what type of wood and thickness?

cooljules

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hey ho all

spent the night sat in my van with pen n paper, measuring etc. im going with a layout simular to firefox's. so plenty of storage and a bed high up, but not too high up, but big enough for 2 :) :goodluck:

so when i open the rear doors, i have lots of storage space, place for gas bottles, water etc.

Cooker/sink area will be part under the bed(bed will overhang)

what type of wood do i need, and how thick should the boards be? i bought some wood last week to knock up the frame for the cooking area i did, but a lot of it split as i screwed it, even slowly.

I will get some wood etc bit by bit and work on it in a couple of months. as i still want to use the van when i can .

thanks :)
 
ah cool...whats a pilot hole? will take a look on youtube
 
A pilot hole is a hole you drill that is slightly smaller than the diameter of the screw. It takes the shank of the screw so that the threads of the screw bite but the the shank doesn't force its way in and split the wood.

A simple guide is 1 inch (25mm) screw 2.5mm dia pilot hole, 2 inch (50mm) screw 3.0mm dia pilot hole, 3 inch or bigger screw 3.5mm dia pilot hole. Strictly you should drill a bigger hole for the top part of the screw and a smaller one for the thread, but that's more important in hardwood and too much like hard work in softwood.

Typical sizes of wood and board thickness you need are on my you tube videos. I would go for planed all round softwood timber for a good finish, or if you want to finish it yourself you could use sawn softwood. Or you can scrounge wood second hand.

One word of caution, a fixed bed takes up quite a bit of floor space and with two dogs I guess that is important, but your van is bigger than mine and you'd still be OK I think if you don't have a separate shower room. Post up your plan if you can.
 
Firefox said:
A pilot hole is a hole you drill that is slightly smaller than the diameter of the screw. It takes the shank of the screw so that the threads of the screw bite but the the shank doesn't force its way in and split the wood.

A simple guide is 1 inch (25mm) screw 2.5mm dia pilot hole, 2 inch (50mm) screw 3.0mm dia pilot hole, 3 inch or bigger screw 3.5mm dia pilot hole. Strictly you should drill a bigger hole for the top part of the screw and a smaller one for the thread, but that's more important in hardwood and too much like hard work in softwood.

Typical sizes of wood and board thickness you need are on my you tube videos. I would go for planed all round softwood timber for a good finish, or if you want to finish it yourself you could use sawn softwood. Or you can scrounge wood second hand.

One word of caution, a fixed bed takes up quite a bit of floor space and with two dogs I guess that is important, but your van is bigger than mine and you'd still be OK I think if you don't have a separate shower room. Post up your plan if you can.
Click to expand...

ta.

will scan some pics tomorrow if i can. (or today lol).

the way i have the bed, means the dogs cant get up to keep me warm, which is a pity, for the odd night no girl is joining me.............

i like how much storage space you had at the rear. rather than having lots of drawers, wardrobes and cuboards everywhere, most of the stuff is all kept neat together.

i do need to put some more windows in, its totally dark in my van, i coudlnt really cook the other day, just too dark. but thats a job for another time.

i wouldnt mind a outside shower, been looking at them.
 
You can always put in rooflights for some natural light.

I have actually got 8 overhead storage lockers, 3 around the bed, 1 in the kitchen, 2 in the lounge, and a double over the cab. Plus 2 drawers, 1 low level cupboard, and 2 big underseat storages in the lounge. Plus of course the garage for bigger items.
 
Hi Jules,

If you are using steel screws rub a bit candle wax on the thread and will go in a lot easier and it will help stop them rusting. Dont use oil as it will stain the wood.

Richard
 
Tbear said:
Hi Jules,

If you are using steel screws rub a bit candle wax on the thread and will go in a lot easier and it will help stop them rusting. Dont use oil as it will stain the wood.

Richard
Click to expand...

hi, ta for the tip!
 
QUOTE=basildog;146255]I should construct the bed with 9 x 2 in case henry comes to play with veetman !!!![/QUOTE]

:lol-049:[:lol-049:[:lol-049:[:lol-049:[:lol-049:[
 
For building, take a look at caravans etc to see how they keep the weight down.

Mate of mine built his van out using kitchen units from B&Q etc it weighed a ton.

If you purchase on old caravan, you can remove all the cupboards, cooker, sink etc for a fraction of the price, then sell the body to a scrap yard and advertise the chassis on ebay, get some money back
 
Bigpeetee said:
For building, take a look at caravans etc to see how they keep the weight down.

Mate of mine built his van out using kitchen units from B&Q etc it weighed a ton.

If you purchase on old caravan, you can remove all the cupboards, cooker, sink etc for a fraction of the price, then sell the body to a scrap yard and advertise the chassis on ebay, get some money back
Click to expand...
yup, been looking at that, esp this time of year. watching some bits on ebay. those that are stripped down alreay are going for silly money, noticed some people are selling the items, say just the cushions etc for the same price as a old little touring caravan on ebay.

i have a towbar on my car which is good, just not on the VW
 
i went to our local double glazing outlet and bought some wide plastic boards normaly used for the sides of houses, easy to saw like wood but very lightweight, comes in woodlike patterns with matching beading, see link of inside of son-in-laws van for some ideas.

Orange Photos

great for building overhead storage.
 
donkey too said:
Hi Jules. I used this stuff when I converted my van. it is expensive but saves a lot of weuight.
Full Sheet- 2400 x 1200mm Vohringer furniture board | eBay

You might like to have a look at a web called convert your van in yorkshire. they are nice people but you can get some ideas of layout just by looking at their web pics.
Click to expand...

Hi, ouch thats very expensive, way outa my price range, about times 4 lol

been trying to email you the pics since yesterday...bah. will keep trying if you still have problems seeing them on my photobucket thingy page
 
I used 18mm Mdf for my main walls. But I used it sparingly. For cupboards and furniture I used mainly 6mm ply with some 9mm ply. Flooring 6mm ply over 25mm insulation, roofing 3mm hardboard covered with camping mat and leatherette. Cupboard fronts lightweight pine kitchen unit doors.

They say you should never use 18mm Mdf but I reckon that is crap. As long as you use it sparingly it's fine. I just used it for the shower room walls and the bulkhead between the raised bed/garage and the rest of the van. I had the van on a weighbridge last autumn fully loaded with water, 2 people, diesel, food, beer etc and it came to 2820 kg. Maximum is 3300kg so I've got 500kg to spare. My van could even be uprated to 3500kg if I wanted.

Voringher is the business but it is eye wateringly expensive. The main advantage of it apart from weight is that the finish is superb. Varnished ply can be little rustic in builds, but if you take care it's OK and you can add thin carpet or tiling on certain areas. My build philosophy has been to use cheaper materials you can buy in Wickes and B&Q as I just like to buy a bit at a time, and always have it available rather than waiting for the internet.
 
i bought my Voringher in Germany for about half the UK price. I liked it because you can get all the edging, corners and fittings specially for it.
I used 12 mm ply for my floor over the top of the insulation then stuck down vynil on to that. The walls are filled with sheeps wool. The only place that I couldn't insulate properly was the sliding door and that is soooo cold. But am getting rid of the bongo now and going for something bigger. So shall start all over again.
Anyone want my Bongo? It's up for 7 and a half but will let it go to wildcamp member for 6.
 
Yes, my sliding door is also cold. All the door mechanism gets in the way. I didn't do my back doors either, but I'm going to do the top panels in those before the winter comes as I got a bit of condensation round there last year. There's no door mechanism in those.
 
have got some long strips from wickes, should start the framing for the kitchen area later, once a mate turns up to lend a hand. get a fair bit done in the next couple of weeks so its usable for a few days away when i bog off to buy the sat dish system and head to the coast with the pooches, maybe go up to the n york moors if i have enough for the diesel. never been up that way before.

i really need to do the bed right, esp as i have a habbit of meeting nice girls on my trips, and the last thing i want is for it to break!!!

been reading up on the VW LT page on fb, lots of people have been doing mega long distance trips, with only little niggly breakdowns etc. im sooo getting exited about going around europe next year again. i think i might have to sell off my collection of plastic planes and tank kits. i mean, sat in the spare bedroom with glue and a airfix kit, or off around europe with hundreds of hot girls at my feet, oh man.................mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm :) i love the ladies so much.
 
Origionally I had used two 18mm MDF 1800x600mm to make my fold out double bed (because it was free) but last week i changed them to 9mm plywood. What a difference in weight! I can lift the whole bed unit myself now,and its just as strong as the MDF too. The kitchen unit was constructed of 18mm plywood (because it was free) with a 30mm worktop, again very heavy so ive pulled it apart and im hoping to buid a new lighter unit over the winter. So I will be looking around for some more 9mm ply to build a new unit. I'm thinking 12mm ply for the top this time and varnish it.

Anyone know if Formica still available?
 
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