Parts

• SPDT 12V Relay – $14
• In-Line Fuse Holder – $7
• Pigtail connector 3U2Z-14S411-JBA – $45
• Various Crimp Terminal Connectors – $17
• Electrical Tape – $8

Instructions

Most vehicles come with some type of engine on signal, I believe on the Sprinter it’s the D+ signal. The Ford Transit also comes with an engine on signal called the Vehicle Interface Connector, or C33-E, but it’s not a positive signal nor is controlled by the upfitter switches.

Vehicle Interface Connector C33-E

The Vehicle Interface Connector is available on all Transit models and provides the following signals: left turn, right turn, engine run, vehicle speed, switch illumination, and ignition. It is located under the driver’s seat near the front of the seat pedestal closer to the center console area. You must take off the front seat to get to the connector.

The Vehicle Interface Connector C33-E provides 6 signals.

Pin 3 on C33-E becomes an active ground when the engine is on but it will only sink a max of 250 mA. The signal is not active when the key is in Off (position 0), Accessories (position 1), Run but Engine Off (position 2), or Crank (position 3). But with the use of a normally open relay you can get a positive engine on signal that is controlled via an upfitter switch.

The house batteries are only charged by the vehicle electrical system when the engine is on and the upfitter switch is on.

To connect to the Vehicle Interface Connector C33-E I purchased a mating pigtail connector part number 3U2Z-14S411-JBA. Pin 3, engine on, coming out of the pigtail connector is then connected to pin 85 on the relay. Pins 86 and 30 on the relay are connected to an upfitter switch via a inline fuse. The output of the relay, pin 87, is now a positive engine on signal that can now be controlled via an upfitter switch and will always be off if the engine is off.

In a future blog article I will show how we are using this new signal to control the charging of our house electrical system.

For the type of adventuring we do, always on the move seeing sights, we don’t tend to set up camp in anyone spot for very long. And if we do park it for a few days, a quick deploying awning isn’t crucial.

At about $140, our DIY awning can be deployed in about 15 minutes and cost significantly less than the Fiamma option.

Parts:

• 2 to 4 Nite Ize Figure 9 Rope Tightener – Large: $16
• 100 feet of Paracord: $10.50
• Rubber Mallet with Tent Peg Remover: $5
• Tent Stakes for firm ground: $10
• Tent Stakes for sandy or loose ground: $27
• 4 carabiners: $10
• 10′ x 12′ Heavy Duty Tarp: $17
• 2 Tent Poles: $31
• 4 hose clamps if attaching to a tubular roof rack
• 4 D rings if attaching to a tubular roof rack
• Scrap pieces of rubber to protect roof rack

Instructions:

A carabiner is used to attached the tarp via a grommet to the roof rack (Aluminess). On the roof rack 4 hose clamps and small D rings, picked up from Home Depot, are used to make an attachment point for the carabiner.

By using carabiners we can quickly connect the tarp to the rack.

The tarp is attached to the roof rack with a carabiner.

From the underside of the tarp you can see the 4 connections points between the tarp and roof rack.

The other side of the tarp is help up by 2 adjustable tent poles.

Completed Awning

The tent poles are anchored to the ground using paracord guy lines, rope tensioners, and stakes. We have found that 1 guy line per pole is good enough if the wind gust never go over 10 MPH. If we’re in a windier location we will use multiple guy lines per pole. This technique means our DIY awning can withstand much higher winds than the Fiamma F45S awning. Worst that will happen is our $20 tarp will need replaced.

It’s not shown in the pictures, but we also carry stakes for loose ground like beach sand.

Cheap steel stakes will work for firm ground.

We use a rope tightener instead of knots as it’s much quicker and easier to disassemble.

A DIY awning like this is simple and can be deployed in about 10 to 15 minutes with practice. It’s affordable so if it ever breaks or needs replacing it’s not a big deal.

We may still get the Fiamma 45 S but for now we are happy with our DIY awning.

For a similar DIY awning write up check out our friends The Vanna Project. Their install covers more of the slider door opening.

When the awning is fully deployed it produces a lot of shade. But that only works for half the day or so. When the sun angle changes the awning will produces less and less shade.

The Instant Pot is numerous devices in 1. It can be used as a rice cooker, pressure cooker, slow cooker, steamer, sauté, yogurt maker, and food warmer. The mini size will make up to 6 cups (12 cups cooked) of rice at once, keep food warm for over 10 hours, and has a 24 hour delay start timer. Have I peaked your interest yet?

Instant Pot in the van kitchen. It takes up less space compared to the 2 burner camping stove.

Camp stove set up in our van kitchen. As you can see, it takes up a lot more counter space than the Instant Pot.

So what makes the Instant Pot my new favorite van cooking method? Well there are many reasons, but let’s start with ease of use. I have a stove top pressure cooker for our home that I used to love using, but it now basically a large hard boiled egg cooker. With a normal stove top pressure cooker, you need to constantly watch the cooker to make sure it is at your ideal pressure for what you are cooking. Which is a pain if your kitchen is in a cubby of your home away from say a seat and the TV. But with the Instant Pot, you just set the cooking method, set the timer, and just let it do its thing. No need to monitor the heat from a stove top or even turn the device off, when the timer finishes, it turns itself off. It will even keep food warm. In a van this is great, it means you can put everything in the cooker, then be outside enjoying the day, and come back into the van with dinner ready.

Clean up with the Instant Pot is a breeze. Instead of using numerous pots to make a dish, everything is cooked right inside the cooker. So that is one pot to clean up. And because of the way a pressure cooker cooks, you rarely have food stuck to the bottom of the pot.

The small 3 quart pot fits great inside the sink, making clean up a breeze.

The model I choose for the van was the Instant Pot Duo Mini 3 quart. The standard size is 6 qt and the large is a 8 qt. The reason I am telling you this, is because most recipes are designed for a 6 qt model, but I have only had to do slight adjustments since most of the recipes for the 6 qt don’t actually max out the pot. The mini size has successfully made enough for 1 meal and then leftovers, so 4 meals since I am cooking for 2. I have then used it to heat up the leftovers since we don’t have a microwave. Multifunction for the win!

I found this great blog post showing the difference between the 3 sizes. One of the things she did not mention was the reason the Mini Instant Pot takes longer to come up to pressure is because it is only 700 Watts compared with 1000 Watts for the 6 qt size and 1200 Watts for the 8 qt. Some people online have been complaining about this, but to me it is fine and to be expected. Spending an extra minute or 5 to get up to high pressure is no biggie in my book.

Size difference between the 3 qt, 6 qt, and 8 qt Instant Pots. Picture credit: MamaShire

We went on a week long trip over the holidays and I did not take out the propane stove top once. I cooked every meal in the Instant Pot. Now I didn’t cook every meal we ate since we were in urban areas and went out a few times, but we ate at least 1 meal a day in the van. I made chicken and rice, potato sausage soup, pasta bolognese, and okay I made chicken and rice twice, don’t judge. Water conservation in the van is always on my mind, and the Instant Pot is great at that. White rice cooks with a ratio of 1:1 instead of 2:1. Pasta cooked right in the pot, so 12 ounces of gluten free pasta only needed 1.5 cups of water and 1/2 cup of wine, instead of boiling a whole pot of water. Pressure cooking locks in steam/water/flavors/etc so nothing is lost during the cooking process which means less water.

When I bought the pressure cooker I also bought this book, The Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker Cookbook. There are no pictures which is always a bummer, but the book is super helpful. It has a wide range of dishes including labels to help you decide on timing of the recipes. Cooking with the pressure cooker is not always super quick, it does take about 10 minutes for the cooker to get to pressure, then cook time, then if the recipe requires slow release it can take another 10-20 minutes for that step. So labeling the time required is helpful for someone who is new to pressure cooking. I have seen numerous recipes online that say something like, “Only 5 minutes in the Instant Pot”, which is a lie. So don’t be fooled.

The Instant Pot Cookbook I purchased when I bought the mini Instant Pot.

For anyone who is wondering. We have a 2000 watt inverter, 400 amp hour battery bank, 270 watt solar panel, and can charge our batteries via the alternator while driving. We were up in the California bay in winter and had no issues running the Instant Pot with our set up.

Leave me questions or comments below if you need more help or advice.

There are some very expensive light bars out there and they are probably great but would be serious overkill for our needs. We just need a little extra light when traveling on dirt back roads, particularly in Baja.

So we found some affordable ones on Amazon that had decent reviews and so far we are very happy with them.

Parts

• 4″ Flood Lights – $16.52
• 52″ 300W Spot and Flood Combo Light Bar – $44.99
• SPDT 12V Relay – $14
• Line Fuse Holder – $7
• Ancor Marine Grade Duplex Wire 10 AWG Flat – $86.95
• Split Wire Loom – $21.99
• Zip Ties – $8.99
• Various Crimp Terminal Connectors – $16.96
• Electrical Tape – $7.99
• Dicor Lap Sealant – $10.62

Tools

• Automatic Center Punch – $5.14
• Drill and drill bits
• Wire stripper and cutter – $14.66

Instructions

When having the roof rack installed we added a front 3″ slat cross member so that we could mount a light bar, it was a $65 addition.

We choose the Nilight 52″ 300W spot and flood combination LED light bar because it has both spot and flood lenses in one bar, was affordable, and had decent reviews on Amazon.

Front Spot and Flood Combo Light

The bar was placed into position and centered. Once we were happy with the alignment we used a automatic center punch to mark spots to drill holes.

Matt triple checking the alignment of the front light bar.

We used a center punch to mark where to drill the holes for the light bar.

When drilling the holes use a shop van to vacuum the metal filings while you are drilling. For the first hole we didn’t do this and it made a mess on the roof.

Drilling holes on the front plate of the Aluminess Rack.

We ran the wiring for the lights outside of the rack but you could also run it inside the rack. The circumference of the rack consist of a hollow round bar so you could drill some holes into it and feed the wires through it. We ran it outside of the rack for easy access in the future.

Running the wiring from the light bar to the back of the rack.

Marine grade 10 AWG duplex wire inside of black wire loom was used for the wiring.

For the rear we added 4″ flood lights. One is angled down more than the other so that the maximum amount of area is illuminated.

Rear Flood Lights

The Aluminess rack already came with holes for mounting lights on the rear so no drilling was necessary.

Matt mounting the rear lights.

One of the rear lights is angled down and the other is angled further out.

The wires for the lights enter the van through a preexisting hole in the roof that is sealed up at the factory. We drilled out the plastic grommet and then fed the wires through the hole.

To seal the hole we used a gracious amount of Dicor Lap Sealant to ensure no water gets in.

Plenty of lap sealant was used to ensure the wire entry area is water tight.

Using relays we wired the front light bar to upfitter switch 2 and the rear flood lights to upfitter switch 3. Even though the lights don’t use much power and 99% of the time they will only be on while driving they are wired to the house power system. By wiring them to the house system we can comfortably use them when at camp without worrying about draining the vehicle batteries. Also, the front light bar could draw 25A which is more than the 20A supported by the upfitter switches.

Both the front light bar and the rear flood lights are connected via relays to the upfitter switches.

Hooking the lights up to the house power system.

All that was left to do was a night test.

Light bars illuminated at night

If your Transit only has 1 CCP you can add the missing 2 by ordering kit part number BK2Z-14S411-A. CargoVanConversions has a good write up covering the installation process.

Customer Connection Points diagram from the BEMM

For Gidget’s electrical system we are going to have a 1000W inverter (Magnum CSW1012 – Ebay affiliate link) connected to the CCPs. But this inverter has a maximum continuous current rating of 113A which is greater than a single 60A CCP.

According to the Ford bulletin, Accessing Battery Power on Transit, if you need more current than 60A you can connect to the 3 CCP. It’s not clear in this document if that means the 3 CCPs can be connected in parallel or not. But based on the back and forth in this forum post I feel confident that you can combine the 3 CCP to form 1 CCP that has more current than 60A. So for Gidget, the 3 CCPs have been combined into 1 CCP and a 150A circuit breaker was added.

You could also just connect straight to the battery. I choose the combined CCP route and have had no issues so far.

Completed install of circuit breaker and custom cable combining all 3 CCPs

Parts

• 3M VHB Tape
• 6 AWG flexible welding cable
• 6 AWG Heavy-duty Lugs with a 1/4″ Screw Size Ring
• 2/0 AWG Heavy-duty Lugs with a 5/16″ Screw Size Ring
• 1″ diameter heat shrink
• 1/2″ diameter heat shrink
• 150A Circuit Breaker
• Scrap piece of 3/4″ AC plywood
• Black gloss paint
• 3 wood screws
• 3 5mm lock washers
• 3 5mm hex nuts

Tools

• Hydraulic crimper
• Dremel
• Various wrenches and screwdrivers

Instructions

The first step was to cut out a square piece of 3/4″ AC plywood and paint it black. The 150A circuit breaker was then attached to the plywood with 3 wood screws.

Circuit breaker mounted to 3/4″ plywood

3M VHB tape was applied to the other side and then it was stuck on to the driver seat pedestal. VHB tape was chosen as there is nothing to screw into or bolt onto as all the fuses for the Transit electrical system are there.

3M VHB Tape was applied to the back of the plywood square

The plywood and circuit breaker mounted to the back of the driver seat pedestal

Next a custom cable was made to combine the 3 CCPs into a single connection point.

Custom 3 to 1 cable

Closeup picture of the side of the cable that connects to the CCPs

Closeup of the breaker side of the custom cable

The 3 lugs are attached to the CCP stud with a 5mm lock washer and nut. The studs seem delicate so I wouldn’t over torque them.

Cable connected to the CCP

Custom cable connected to both the CCPs and the circuit breaker

The CCP cover will no longer fit now that the cables have been connected. Using a Dremel I cut out 3 holes to allow the cover to snap back on.

Use a Dremel to modified the CCP cover to fit over the wires

CCP cover fits over the cables once you make a couple of holes

I’m pretty happy with the final install. It turned out pretty clean and is a very functional use of the space.

Completed breaker and CCP install

The switches are simple on/off style with an indicator light located in the center console between the driver and passenger seats. If the key is in the ignition or run position and the switches are turned on (flipped up), they provide a 12 V and 20 A max output.

Four (4) user defined switches can be added to a custom ordered Ford Transit

To order the switches you need to add code 67C to the order:

User-Defined Upfitter Switches (4). Requires Heavy-Duty Alternator (63C) and Dual Heavy-Duty Batteries (63E). Includes Modified Vehicle Wiring System (53K), Customer Connection Point and Auxiliary Fuse Box (87E)

Switch diagram from the Body and Equipment Mounting Manual (BEMM).

To connect anything to the switches you can find their output on connector C33-H under the driver’s seat.

The Switch Output C33-H connector (#4 in the picture above) is located under the driver’s seat on the right side of the pedestal.

Unfortunately Ford made accessing this connector very difficult. It requires removing the driver’s seat (4 T-40 Torx bolts), removing the battery box lid, and then a frustrating amount of time trying to fish out the connector. The connector isn’t just sitting deep in a crevice, it’s attached to one of the wire bundles with electrical tape.

We used a hobby knife to reach down and carefully cut the electrical tape. We then used 2 very long flat head screw drivers to wiggle the connector free and out from under all the stiff wire bundles. This is a practice in patience, don’t attempt this if you’re in a rush.

The connector for the switches is buried under the driver’s seat.

C33-H connector.

Once you have retrieved the C33-H connector you can plug in the pigtail EU2Z-14S411-XA so that you can easily connect accessories to the switches. The plug has bare wires so you can connect anything you want to them, we added quick disconnects for now.

EU2Z-14S411-XA connector with added quick disconnects.

We plan on using one of the switches to control the house battery charger and the others might control exterior lights, we’re not sure yet.

After watching a couple Youtube videos it was pretty easy to come up with the plan for Gidget’s surfboard rack. It’s basically just your typical wall mounted rack, but mounted to the floor. The boards are being stored horizontally under the bed, so we created 2 racks to keep them in place.

The setup can hold about 8 boards without fins or 4 with fins. Max length that can fit is about 6’6″. The vertical foam covered dowels are not permanently installed and can be moved around to accommodate thick boards or other items like camp chairs and tables.

Finished surfboard rack

Parts

• 2″x3″ piece of Douglas Fir wood for base – $5
• 3/4″ round dowels for vertical supports – $15
• 1/2″ inner diameter pipe insulation for vertical supports – $10
• Cross Linked Polyethylene foam to protect the surfboard rails – $0 left over from a previous project
• Wood screws to attached the 2″x3″ to the floor – $1
• Eye screws for bungee cord attachments – $2
• 48″ flat bungee cords – $6
• 3M 90 Spray Adhesive – $13
• White wash semi-transparent exterior wood stain – $0 left over from a previous project

Tools

• Drill and various drill bits
• Chop saw
• Orbital hand sander
• Utility knife

Video

Instructions

The first step was to cut the base of the racks to length. The length was dictated by the amount of space under the bed we were willing to allocate to surfboard storage.

Cut the 2″x3″ to length.

By drilling way more holes than dowels, it gives you flexibility in how you place them. Drilling holes every 1.5″ works well when using 3/4″ dowels.

Mark drill locations for the dowels every 1.5″.

Drill out 3/4″ holes for the dowels using a spade bit.

Cut the dowels to about 16″ long. This length seems to provide enough support for a typical shortboard.

Cut the 3/4″ dowels to length.

Cut pipe insulation about 1″ shorter than the dowels, so that the dowels can be inserted into the base.

Since the boards might be wet after a surf session when inserting into the rack, protecting the wood will help it last longer. Sand the 2″x3″ pieces before painting.

Sanding the wood before painting.

Paint the wood to protect it. We only painted the 2″x3″ bases as water could potentially sit on it. The dowels we left unpainted since they are covered with pipe insulation.

Since the wooden dowels are covered with foam you don’t need to paint them as they won’t be exposed to much moisture.

Insert the wood dowels into the pipe insulation.

Add 4 eye screws to the ends for the bungees.

Pre-drill and screw in the eye screws.

Installed eye screw. You’ll use the eye screws to attach the bungee cords.

Since the surfboard rails will be resting on the rack, adding foam will help protect them. We had leftover cross linked polyethylene foam (closed cell foam often called minicell foam) from a previous project that we used.

Cut foam to length. The surfboard rails will rest on the foam for protection.

Tape of the edges of the 2″x3″ so that when you glue the foam down it doesn’t get everywhere.

Using 3M 90 adhesive spray both the foam and the 2″x3″ base.

Attach the glue sides together.

Once the glue has dried use a utility knife to gut any excess foam off.

After the foam is attached to the 2″x3″ bases, drill out the holes for the dowels and for the screws to attach the racks to the floor.

Drill out the foam where the dowels will go and where the base will be screwed into the floor.

Screw the base into the floor.

After the racks are screwed into the floor you can add the dowels and bungees.

Insert the dowels into the holes.

Finally, add the boards to the rack.

Finished rack with surfboards.

We are happy with how it turned out except when driving. Every little bump in the road results in a squeak. It kind of sounds like the metal is flexing where the wood attaches. Maybe we should have put something like felt in between the metal walls and the 2×6 wood? Or maybe we need to take some of the load off of the van walls with a support in the middle of the platform? We’re going to do some experiments to see if we can get the noise down.

After driving it around for a couple of weeks the squeaks reduced somewhat as everything settled but it was still pretty loud. After much debate we stopped being lazy and decided to disassemble the bed and do something about the noise.

We purchased felt (35% wool/65% rayon) from the local fabric store and attached it to the backside of the 2×6 bed rails. Now instead of wood on metal contact there is a thin layer of felt between the wood and metal.

Now there are no SQUEAKS!!! We have learned our lesson, there should not be direct contact between wood and the van metal.

Gidget’s bed was awesome, except when driving around as it squeaked a lot. We removed the bed, added felt between the wood and metal, and then put it all back together. Now it’s quiet!

A video posted by Matthew and Tricia Morey (@moreysintransit) on Jul 3, 2016 at 5:17pm PDT

Rough cutting strips of felt on the back side of the 2x6s.

Cutting felt to the exact size.

Gluing the felt to the 2×6 with 3M 90 adhesive spray.

To save space we decided to install it width wise in the back of the van. In the side cutouts of the van, there was exactly enough room to install a full size mattress.

Bed finished and Tricia testing it out

Parts 

• Casper Full Size Mattress – $750
• 2 2″x6″x8′ pieces of Douglas Fir wood for supports – $9.78
• 6 2″x3″ pieces of Douglas Fir wood for slats – $12
• 2 11/32″ AC exterior plywood – $41.46
• 2 0.625″x5.375″x96″ pieces of Red wood for edge trim – $38.40
• White wash semi-transparent exterior wood stain – $37.96
• Pre-Bulbed 1/4-20 .280 Grip Plus Nuts – $55.86

Tools

• Drill and various drill bits
• Chop saw
• Orbital hand sander
• Plus nut installer tool – $59.00
• Spade bits

Video

Instructions

After making a few rough sketches we purchased all the wood we thought we would need. 2×3’s for slats, 2×6’s to mount to the van frame, and some plywood for the top of the platform.

Sketching out potential support structure

Side sketch of planned supports and bolts. We ended up only using the 2″x6″.

Hardware store wood haul

To support the 2×6 at the rear edge we installed pre-bulbed plusnuts into the existing holes.

Matt installing a plusnut.

Installed plusnut at rear of van to support the end of the 2×6.

Figuring out the bolt locations on the wood was the hardest part. We must have make a 1000 measurements and installed and removed the 2×6 about a dozen times to get it right.

Once we figured out the bolt locations we drilled the holes and used a spade bit so the bolt heads would sit flush.

2×6 support test fit.

The second side was easier since we had a template from the first side. Thankfully the bolt locations on both sides are identical.

Test fitting the passenger side 2×6.

2×6 showing the various attachment points.

Before we mounted the 2x6s for good, we sanded them and applied a layer of wood stain for protection.

Support stained and installed in van

After mounting the support pieces we measured and cut 2x3s for the bed supports. 6 seemed like enough to prevent any sagging of the bed.

Test fitting the slats.

Bed slats installed looking from the back of the van.

Because van bodies flex while driving we decided to only screw down the passenger side of the 2x3s and let the driver side float.

Slats screwed into bed frame

On the driver side we screwed in blocks between the slats so that they could move and flex as needed. The 2×3 slats are not screwed in.

Test fitting the blocks between the 2×3 bed slats.

Pre-drilling holes for the blocks.

We cut 2 pieces of plywood as the base of the bed. We decided to install the seam closer to where our feet would be. Our mattress is plenty thick to not feel it.

Clamping the plywood down to the bed base before we screw it down.

Plywood being screwed into bed slats.

We then installed an edge on the bed to prevent the mattress from moving. We used a 0.625×5.375 piece of redwood and screwed it into the 2×3 slats.

Adding the edge to the bed frame.

Edges installed on the bed frame.

Before installing the wood pieces they were all sanded using an orbital sander and stained.

Staining pieces of wood.

It was now time to install the mattress and test it out. We choose a memory foam so that it could be squeezed into the allowed space. After lots of research we settled on a Casper.

Ready to install mattress.

The installed bed all made up.

Installing the bed width wise saves us almost 2 feet of space in the galley and living room. But it’s a tight squeeze between the 2 walls of the van and doesn’t allow any room to hang a foot or hand off the mattress. We plan on doing a few test nights to make sure that we can sleep this way.

Another thing we need to figure out is how to cover the insulation. We can’t really put wood paneling up as the mattress needs all the space it can get.

We are happy with how it turned out except when driving. Every little bump in the road results in a squeak. It kind of sounds like the metal is flexing where the wood attaches. Maybe we should have put something like felt in between the metal walls and the 2×6 wood? Or maybe we need to take some of the load off of the van walls with a support in the middle of the platform? We’re going to do some experiments to see if we can get the noise down.

Update 2016-07-04: We fixed the squeaks with felt

Laying in the bed for the first time.

We went with a rather thin floor with minimal insulation so that the D-ring bolt holes are still usable.

View from the rear of finished vinyl floor.

View from the side of finished vinyl floor.

Floor layers: sheet vinyl, vinyl adhesive, plywood, underlayment, plywood strips, adhesive, and van floor all held together with wood screws.

Parts

We spent approximately $500 on parts:

• Vinyl sheet – $185.76
• Vinyl adhesive – $17.94
• Premixed patch and leveling compound – $9.97
• Plywood: 3 sheets 4’x8’x15/32″ exterior AC – $115.07
• Underlayment – $44.98
• 3M 4200 Adhesive – $25.08
• #8 3/4″ screws for plywood – $4.65
• #4 5/8″ screws for trim – ~$4.00
• #8 Countersink drill bit – $9.47
• Metal fluted carpet trim – ~$25.00
• White Caulk – ~$3.00
• Great Stuff spray foam – $3.98

Tools

• Socket set
• Razor blade
• Trowel
• Circular saw
• Miter saw
• Jig saw

Video

Instructions

The original flooring was removed, including the side step, back step, and floor mat. The side step and back trim have bolts and push pins holding them down.

To remove the side step trim you need to pop up the bolt covers. The tip of a razor blade works good for this.

4 bolts and three push pins hold the side step down.

Once the bolts were removed, some force was needed to actually remove the trim pieces. They’re held down with some plastic push pins. We broke 1 of the 3 during removal of the side step.

Rear entry without trim.

Side entry without trim.

We then laid out the 3 pieces of 4’x8’x15/32″ exterior AC plywood with the good side down.

3 sheets of 8’x4’x15/32″ exterior AC plywood is enough to cover the floor and only have 2 seams.

We took the mat off and laid it down on top of the wood. We put the front of the mat all the way to the edge of the wood since we wanted that to be a straight edge.

Laying the stock floor mat on top of the plywood gives a nice template.

We then traced out the mat. Having the mat made the job a little easier.

Tracing the mat onto the plywood.

Tracing around the wheel wells.

We then used a jigsaw and circular saw to cut out the wood.

Using a jigsaw to cut the plywood.

When we got to the front we decide to not cut out the step yet. The mat did not extend the whole way to the step because of the trim piece.

After tracing and cutting everything out except for the side step area we placed the plywood back into the van to test the fit.

We then tried our best to trace along the step to get a better cut.

With the plywood in place we traced out the side step entry.

At first we thought we weren’t going to use the stock trim pieces so we needed to get the plywood as close to the metal floor edge as possible. In the end this didn’t matter as we had to cut more off to make room for the stock trim pieces.

Test fitting the plywood.

The fit up was pretty good.

Test fitting the plywood.

Inside view of the plywood. It fits!

We wrote a little message in Gidget before affixing the floor.

Before we permanently installed the floor we wrote a little message.

Some of the valleys in the floor are rather wide, and we wanted to avoid bowing of the subfloor, so we cut some strips out of the excess plywood. This also made the floor more sturdy and will hopefully provide extra support for the bed and cabinets. This is also what we used to screw the subfloor down.

We cut strips of 15/32″ plywood and attached them to the low parts of the floor with 3M 4200 adhesive.

After we cut the wood strips and placed them where we wanted them we started gluing. We had some leftover 3M 4200 adhesive from the fan install that we stored in our fridge, there was just enough to glue down all of the pieces.

3M 4200 leftover from the fan install was used to attach the strips of wood to the van floor.

All the strips came from the leftovers pieces after cutting the floor out.

The strips of wood sit just above the high points of the floor.

We weighed down the floor with some glass desks that we had on hand and let the adhesive cure overnight. When we came back in the morning the wood was securely bonded to the floor.

Heavy glass desk tops were used to weigh down the plywood strips while the adhesive cured.

We didn’t want to raise the floor too much but we wanted at least something between the plywood subfloor and the metal van floor. We found very thin underlayment and used that as insulation. Label says it adds stability, sound dampening, and thermal insulation.

We decided to layer the floor outside how it would be installed in the van to hopefully not mess up any of the cuts. We had a painters tarp handy, so we put the underlayment on top, and then the plywood subfloor.

We used the plywood as a template to cut out the underlayment.

We cut the underlayment with a razor blade keeping roughly an inch around the wood.

We left about an inch of extra underlayment on all sides to account for any gaps on the sides.

We then rolled out the vinyl floor on top of the plywood and got to cutting. The vinyl comes in a 12 foot wide piece. We wanted the wood to run lengthwise in the van, so we purchased a 12’x12′ piece. We cut off roughly 6′ and rolled it up and set it aside as our, if we really screw this up we can start over piece. We then cut out the major pieces such as the wheel wells, leaving a few inches of wiggle room.

We laid the vinyl on top of the wood and cut the general shape out. We left at least 6″ around all the sides. Once we put into the van we did the final trimming.

If we were to do this again, I might consider cutting as close to the plywood edges as possible. The vinyl is pretty easy to cut and it is hard to cut around some of the edges of the van when it is in it. It is probably easier with a square room, but all of the curves made it pretty rough.

Rough cut of the vinyl.

We then rolled up the vinyl and started installing the pieces in the van. We started with the underlayment.

The underlayment was placed on top of the plywood strips.

Then added the plywood. We ended up marking on the plywood where the wood strips were so we knew where we could screw into.

The plywood was placed on top of the underlayment.

We then used the countersink drill bit to pre drill holes into the subfloor, spaced out roughly every 12′ – 16″. Then the #8 3/4″ screws for plywood were installed in the subfloor, attaching it to the bonded wood pieces. The screws and seams were then covered with a floor leveling compound to create a smooth surface under the vinyl.

Roughly every 12 to 16 inches the subfloor was screwed into the plywood strips.

The screw holes and seams were filled with floor leveling and smoothing compound.

After the leveling compound dried, it was time to install the vinyl. Half of the vinyl was folded out of the way. A felt vinyl adhesive was laid down on the plywood using a trowel.

Using a trowel vinyl adhesive was applied to the plywood floor.

After the adhesive covered the floor, we folded the vinyl back over a used and used a rolling pin to roll out any air pockets.

We used a dough rolling pin to get rid of any air bubbles.

Rear entrance showing the vinyl floor.

Side entrance showing the underlayment, plywood, and vinyl sandwich.

Looks pretty good doesn’t it! We went with sheet vinyl because it’s waterproof, thin, durable, easy to install, and looks decent.

Once the vinyl was down we added trim around the side and rear entrances.

Installed vinyl floor.

Side entrance showing stock trim and vinyl floor.

Close up of side entrance trim and vinyl floor.

Cutting metal trim.

Pre-drilling holes to screw in the metal trim pieces.

Close up of the installed trim.

Side entrance with finished trim.

Any of the large gaps around the edges of the floor were filled with Great Stuff spray foam.

We filled the larger gaps between the floor and the van walls with spray foam.

White caulk was used to seal the edges of the floor.

Finished edge after applying white caulk.

View from the rear of finished vinyl floor.

View from the side of finished vinyl floor.