2005 118" Sprinter Conversion for Alexander

[PaulJensen]

# 13


(above) Behind the driver seat will be another drop down table, this one will be wall mounted...To attach it securely, the 1/4" wall plywood was cut with a knife, then backing/mounting brackets were made...


(above) The van wall is not plumb and for the table to open level the plywood brackets are adjust to fit the wall...


(above) The grey stuff is epoxy...You can see behind the wall plywood the steel is stepped, not flat, so the plywood backing brackets are made to fit the metal...


(above) Captured in the plywood brackets are T-nuts...The plywood brackets are epoxied and screwed to the steel with six screws per bracket...I can fine tune the drop down table hardware with thin shims later...

 

[spressomon]

Great read...thanks for taking the time to post valuable and interesting photos along with description tags. As you obviously know...Festool tools are in a league of their own!

 

[PaulJensen]

# 14


(above) Looks like a good day to build some drawers...The shop got cleaned up and a new blade is in the tablesaw...


(above) The measurements have been made and the rough cuts are done...


(above) Drawer sides are rabbeted...


(above) All the drawer boxes are assembled before the bottoms are attached...


(above) Bottoms on, in place, waiting for drawer guides...


(above) Curb side...


(above) Next, the pine for the drawer faces was rough cut to size, then thickness planed to about 1/2"...

 

[southpier]

when the holes (throughout) are drilled into the body's ribs:

is there any type of primer/ paint introduced to retard rusting?

is there any consideration to prevent thermal bridging through the fasteners?

maybe these are moot points in the warm climate, but something I will need to incorporate in the Northeast.

 

[PaulJensen]

Holes get screws...Are you saying that it's important in your climate to prime where screws fill the holes...???...That seems like something an engineer would do...I'm not an engineer...

Are you saying screws should get rubber grommets...???...That would prevent a tight attachment, no...???...

I'm in a colder climate than Alex...He's in the Bay Area...Here in the PNW, our winters are very wet and often just above freezing...So far my 2006 hasn't fallen apart...I better double check that...(Paul runs to the window, looks out, then runs back to the keyboard)...Yeah, it's still in one piece...

I did go through the entire rear interior and coat any rust with the ************ stuff to kill any rust that was there...Then I put two coats of oil paint on everything...Then 90% of all that got covered...I'm trying to go beyond what's considered good...As good as what your climate calls for...???...Probably...But then again I don't wear a belt and suspenders...Heck, I don't even wear clothes...!!!...

Thanks for raising those points, I look forward to your reply...

 

[Overland Hadley]

...But then again I don't wear a belt and suspenders...Heck, I don't even wear clothes...!!!...

Be careful around those power tools!

 

[southpier]

if you drill a hole, is bare metal exposed? if bare metal is exposed, is it subject to moisture? if bare metal is subjected to moisture, assuming it is ferrous, will it not rust? aren't window & skylight apertures primed & painted (we know primer is porous) prior to the unit's installation to prevent rust streaks?

thermal bridging would be isolating the interior (in this case fasteners) from direct contact with the body shell. not knowing if the insulation and sound dampeners were tucked behind the body ribs, or if the ribs were foam insulated, I was curious if it had been accounted. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_bridge I've seen frost accumulate on fasteners which ran through a structure to outside temperatures.

I am not an engineer, just want to do the best job possible on my van when it arrives next year; no need to get defensive.

 

[PaulJensen]

# 15


(above) Before the drawers get installed, they get scuff sanded with 80 grit on the random orbital sander...Later I'll round off the top edges by hand...


(above) A couple hours in the van and they are fitted, shimmed and secure...


(above) The drawer faces are cut to length, then to width on the tablesaw...


(above) Next, the back of the drawer face gets multiple router cuts to create the wood slide bolt slot...


(above) Two simple router jigs make it easy...


(above) Some scrap walnut is cut to T shape...Those will become the slide bolts...


(above) One slide bolt is test cut and fitted to the drawer face...It's going to work great...

The wood slide bolts do not rattle, which is a huge plus compare to metal ones...Huge...I put them into that over-the-top Jeep I did for Mike Hiscox and he reports back that the work great and do not loosen or become unlatched while driving...Aesthetically pleasing and functional...What custom should be...

 

[PaulJensen]

if you drill a hole, is bare metal exposed? if bare metal is exposed, is it subject to moisture? if bare metal is subjected to moisture, assuming it is ferrous, will it not rust? aren't window & skylight apertures primed & painted (we know primer is porous) prior to the unit's installation to prevent rust streaks?

Sure...The skylight square hole and the bolt holes for the skylight and the L tracks all were caulked with underwater grade 3M caulking...Water and air tight...The other holes that were drilled through the wheel wells for wires and for the drain got a similar sealing...All the other sheet metal screws were just drilled and screwed...I'm not worried at all about interior sheet metal screws rusting out...Other things in the van will fail long before those lose their functionality...

I'm building this van given the expected conditions the owner gave me...If it was a project like that Jeep I did, sure I'd address the potential factors like you mentioned...On that thing, every bit of interior wood was waterproofed with two coats of epoxy...Build 'em to the anticipated condition or better...

This Sprinter is a well worn vehicle that has had a pretty rough life...You do the best you can to correct the abuses, but realize that you can't fix all the unseen damage that precedes your involvement....My scope of work is to create a functional living space inside and to leave the exterior mostly alone...Alex and I discussed that...If it was a new van like the one you will be getting, sure protect that sizable investment as it well deserves...

Thermal bridging condensation isn't much of an issue here...

Sorry you took my remarks as defensive, I was trying to mix in some humor at the end of another long day / week...Sometimes it's better to just stick to straight answers...Noted...

 

[grnhornetcustoms]

Hurry up and post more. I will be following this build to the end. Nice work.

 

[jiveass]

Wait, the thermal insulative bridging didn't get put in? Damn. =P

 

[southpier]

......mix in some humor...

well, it's not a perfect communication medium we have here, and I do tend to fester on minutiae. guess that's a volatile combination!

 

[southpier]

it's not needed. try and keep up.

 

[jiveass]

it's not needed. try and keep up.

Right. I'm too busy floating around all elated that I found The Master of Vans to work on my rig.

Paul has well more than exceeded my thoughts on this rig.. He'll do the same on your ride.

 

[southpier]

....well more than exceeded my thoughts on this rig.. He'll do the same on your ride.

I think that's incorrect, if only based on geographical location.