No bulkhead or bulkhead ?

Moelfre

Guest
Hello in currently have a bulkhead in my self build van
My question is would you keep it or lose it ??
I have a side window and roof hatch so natural light isn't a issue
But think it would open the van up a bit ?
I'm happy that it's nice and private at the moment so maybe I may cut a couple of sliding hatch
Effergies in the bulkhead about 20 inch x 10 inch 2 off ?
Thus more light more views / nosy ness ! ??
What do you guys/ gals think
Any ideas/comments/suggestions would be gratefully received
Many thanks
 
I prefer not to have a bulkhead. If there's room between the seats, you don't have to go outside when it's wet. You can use the van radio and lighter socket and you have a bit of extra space to put stuff while using the living space.
 
No bulkhead or bulkhead.

As you're a 'self build' check your available / 'designed in' ventilation is sufficient for living / cooking in that rear space.

Opinion, I would loose the bulkhead, better ventilation, (+ less condensation), access, light, and ability to get to the drivers seat and drive off at night without stepping out, should the need ever arise.

Have fun with your conversion.

Rob H.
 
Another vote for removal.It would give the van a roomier feel.Important when you're in it for extended periods
 
No bulkhead in mine.

Best thing i did was put swivel seats in to make good use of the space for living.
 
I removed bulkhead too. I have a crew passenger seat so no walk through, but I can climb over seats if I need to, and I can just reach the radio on the dash, thats most important. :)
 
i would always take out the bulkhead,[sell it on ebay ]makes an enclosed space loads more open feeling with the light from the cab windows, you can curtain these ,or just have one from the front of the overhead locker to the headrests.
also,importantly, you can now look over your shoulder and look through the SLD window for pulling away at oblique junctions. if you haven't got a window here then i'd recommend getting one !
 
GRWXJR said:
No bulkhead in mine.

Best thing i did was put swivel seats in to make good use of the space for living.
Click to expand...


Ditto. We had a bulkhead in for a while and although we enjoyed the extra security, removing it and putting in a swivel passenger seat made the space more homely. We put a black curtain in place of the bulkhead so it looks from the outside as though the cab is closed off. We're planning to make the curtain thicker so it gives more heat insulation. We also have silver screens for insulation but using them depends on whether we want to draw attention to the fact we're sleeping in the van when in urban locations.

We also installed a large metal box under the main bunk for locking away valuables as we felt that there was less security without the bulkhead.

The only disadvantage we found was that the screen misted up overnight if we didn't get the ventilation right. Because of this we're going to put an extra roof light in.

Johnny A
 
At the risk of answering a question with a question, how do you propose to use your 'van?

The reason that I ask relates to the issue of insulation. The load/habitation space of a van is quite easy to insulate well, whereas the cab is not. The cab area can be improved with silver screens, and some thin insulation within the doors, more layers on the floor/bulkhead, but it will always be the weakest link.

We designed our van for cold conditions so we went with fairly heavy duty insulation and constructed a half-height bulkhead (with a double thickness thermal curtain above it - that sits behind baffles around the edges) between the cab and habitation areas. Essentially, we can still get from the cab to the habitation area through this for emergencies or if its peeing down outside but it allows us to control the heat loss better.

It's a trade off of poorer access against better insulation. The thermal screen can be stowed so it means that we can still get a lot of light through from the cab if we wish.

Horses for courses really.

So if you're not intending particularly arctic conditions then you may want to bin it and open up the front area a little - or if you are going to colder areas you could perhaps modify it by adding an access point to it then using it as a thermal screen.
 
Thermal curtain instead of bulkhead. One major advantage of this, because I have no heating in the van, prior to pulling up for the night I drive with the cab blower on max, when I stop I pull the curtain and this residual heat lasts for several hours due to the insulation and the fact that I don't have to open any doors.
 
One other consideration if you were taking the van to france one of the few requirements of use is that you can get from driving to sleeping position without leaving the veh just a req they use to stop caravans utilising Aires , so no bulkhead for me though it is noticeable how much heat is req'd to get the van warm for the whole van as opposed to the cab area
 
Thanks

Thankyou for your reply I think a access point in the bulkhead is the way I'm going here as we often wild camp in the winter thus insulation once again cheers
 
No bulkhead as I can walk straight from bed into driving seat, Handy not having to go outside. Have curtains to shut off for privacy and keep heat in.
 
The only consideration for keeping the bulkhead is safety from flying fittings in a rta.
 
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