upsidedown2
Member
Looks good that is going to be a nice setup. I like the cutouts for the stovetop. Good work keep the pictures coming.
2005 Sprinter Van Low Top 118" w/b: Super-Custom Camper Conversion
- Thread starter G100
- Start date
G100
Adventurer
Progress
One last thing I did before I sent the pieces in for upholstery was I fabricated up some car seat anchor points out of 1/4" solid rod. I also setup spots for three sets of seat belts to bolt into, not pictured.
An this is what I got back from the upholsterer. Pretty happy with it, I told the upholsterer to try and match and the front seats as much as possible but don't go crazy with it. We went with 3" High density foam with a "firm" rating.
The back sliding platform will eventually have a 6" or 7" high headboard to strenghten the piece up so it doesn't bow with weight on it, even though as it is right now its pretty strong. It does have a piece of angle on the far edge that helps, it is also for the seat back to kinda rest on when folded down as a bed.
Fold up wall table:
I also worked on the fold up table between the bench seat and the drivers seat. I thought this was going to be a simple install of a couple hours at most . . . Nope!, It turned much larger project. I got these flip up brackets they are pretty nice I have used them before and they are surprisingly strong very easy to install and I like that I don't have to have legs or an angled support to get in the way.
Well when I went to fasten them to the wall, this is what it looked like.
not only was it at an angle but it also had a unacceptable amount of flex. I was worried it was the brackets and I was going to have to rebuild the whole thing over again, but upon more observation I noticed it was the wall that was flexing. I also realized that when it was in the folded down position it was perfectly flat against the wall (the way I want it), if I shimmed up the brackets so that the table would lock in at level, then when it was folded down it wouldn't be flat against the wall. So I needed to modify the brackets so that the table locks in at an angle much greater then 90 degress and I needed to reinforce the wall so that it doesn't flex when weight is put on the table.
how it came:
Modified for increased angle:
I just added about 3/8" of metal to the angled piece that locks in to the grove.
For the increased strenght on the wall of the van I welded a piece of 1/8" x 6" plate to the wall.
So then I put it all together, bolted it to the wall and it was perfectly level, sweet! so then I pushed down on it to see how the flex was. Well the wall didn't flex, which was nice . . . but the screws going into the table top pulled out. I had to use super small 1/2" screws because I inset the bracket into the table top so that it didn't stick out from the wall as much. This left very little meat for any screw to hold on to. So I had to switch to sex bolts and inset the threaded side and then I will put plugs over those when I am ready to finish it.
So no it didn't take 2 hours, its still not really done.
I also got around to working on some electrical and lighting. I made a LED light strip fixture out of some solid walnut and some plexi-glass. Pretty simple, the light strip has peel and stick tape on the back and the plexi is just fitted in the grove. I will screw the fixture on first then put the light strip in then cover with the plexi.
This is going to be the main switch box located on the side of the "side table" by the slider. It has 2 USB ports, 12v port, dimmer switch for the interior lights and then two switches for some outside LED strips that I am going to install.
More to come, more to be done.
One last thing I did before I sent the pieces in for upholstery was I fabricated up some car seat anchor points out of 1/4" solid rod. I also setup spots for three sets of seat belts to bolt into, not pictured.
An this is what I got back from the upholsterer. Pretty happy with it, I told the upholsterer to try and match and the front seats as much as possible but don't go crazy with it. We went with 3" High density foam with a "firm" rating.
The back sliding platform will eventually have a 6" or 7" high headboard to strenghten the piece up so it doesn't bow with weight on it, even though as it is right now its pretty strong. It does have a piece of angle on the far edge that helps, it is also for the seat back to kinda rest on when folded down as a bed.
Fold up wall table:
I also worked on the fold up table between the bench seat and the drivers seat. I thought this was going to be a simple install of a couple hours at most . . . Nope!, It turned much larger project. I got these flip up brackets they are pretty nice I have used them before and they are surprisingly strong very easy to install and I like that I don't have to have legs or an angled support to get in the way.
Well when I went to fasten them to the wall, this is what it looked like.
not only was it at an angle but it also had a unacceptable amount of flex. I was worried it was the brackets and I was going to have to rebuild the whole thing over again, but upon more observation I noticed it was the wall that was flexing. I also realized that when it was in the folded down position it was perfectly flat against the wall (the way I want it), if I shimmed up the brackets so that the table would lock in at level, then when it was folded down it wouldn't be flat against the wall. So I needed to modify the brackets so that the table locks in at an angle much greater then 90 degress and I needed to reinforce the wall so that it doesn't flex when weight is put on the table.
how it came:
I just added about 3/8" of metal to the angled piece that locks in to the grove.
For the increased strenght on the wall of the van I welded a piece of 1/8" x 6" plate to the wall.
So then I put it all together, bolted it to the wall and it was perfectly level, sweet! so then I pushed down on it to see how the flex was. Well the wall didn't flex, which was nice . . . but the screws going into the table top pulled out. I had to use super small 1/2" screws because I inset the bracket into the table top so that it didn't stick out from the wall as much. This left very little meat for any screw to hold on to. So I had to switch to sex bolts and inset the threaded side and then I will put plugs over those when I am ready to finish it.
So no it didn't take 2 hours, its still not really done.
I also got around to working on some electrical and lighting. I made a LED light strip fixture out of some solid walnut and some plexi-glass. Pretty simple, the light strip has peel and stick tape on the back and the plexi is just fitted in the grove. I will screw the fixture on first then put the light strip in then cover with the plexi.
This is going to be the main switch box located on the side of the "side table" by the slider. It has 2 USB ports, 12v port, dimmer switch for the interior lights and then two switches for some outside LED strips that I am going to install.
More to come, more to be done.
mk216v
Der Chef der Fahrzeuge
Only available in those 2 cities huh?
I learn new stuff here all the time; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_bolt. I've used those before but never knew the catchy name.
Last edited:
TrainingWheelz
New member
Sex bolts look a lot like chain ring bolts for bicycles. They come in various lengths and probably some xtra long versions too. Might be easier to source than your lewd sex bolts!
Sweet build too!
Sweet build too!
Outtahere021
New member
Cool build! I really like the seat/bed/drawer combo, I may have to borrow some ideas!
Amphibeast
Adventurer
Dude! aka master fabricator! This rocks.......
G100
Adventurer
Lets finish er' up
Thanks Amphibeast glad your stoked on it. Sorry for the long hiatus, but here how I wrapped up this build. So starting from where I left off.
The "side table" was removed and painted and all panels were clear coated which really started to make things look good. Before I put the front back on the "side table" I got all the wiring done on the "switch panel" while I still had easy access to it.
This area is going to be a large storage spot with access from the top so I had to make sure to cover it all up nicely. The "lid" drops into place and is held down with some recessed neodymium magnets. It has a flush ring pull as a handle to pull it up. The "lid" sits flush with the rest of the shelf. My idea is this storage spot will probably hold pillows and blankets stuffed down inside. The back half has the cubbie hole with a LED light strip tucked up inside that is used as a night light and so you can see down into the secret hidding spot under the shelf of the cubbie (not pictured).
So you can see on the switch panel I have on the top a 12v plug and USB plugs then below that the dimmer switch for the interior LEDs is in a 3 way switch circuit with the other switch on the rear end of the "side table." So this way you can turn the interior lights on and off from the side door as well as the rear door or when you are in bed. Below the dimmer switch are two rocker switches for exterior LEDs. One switch illuminates a LED strip above the sliding door and the other switch illuminates a strip hidden on the siding door. You can see the location of the lights here in this shot.
So you might be wondering how I got the power to the lights on the siding door. Well I ordered a set of door contacts just like the ones factory installed on the backdoors.
Then I fabricated a mount that goes right above the rubber door stop on the slider to hold the "plate side". The "pins" side of the set was installed into a hole I cut into the door frame. So the light only get power when the door is open.
I then got around to making the walnut headboard for the back sliding portion of the bed system. I installed some remote latches so that it securely locks into the forward position while the seat is up.
So thats about it. I also installed surfboard racks up on the celling and installed removable storage bags on the walls so there is a spot for everything. Pretty happy with how it all turned out very function-able family van that easily turns into a super comfy camper. I'll post some pictures of it all setup for you all to check out the finished product.
Thanks Amphibeast glad your stoked on it. Sorry for the long hiatus, but here how I wrapped up this build. So starting from where I left off.
The "side table" was removed and painted and all panels were clear coated which really started to make things look good. Before I put the front back on the "side table" I got all the wiring done on the "switch panel" while I still had easy access to it.
This area is going to be a large storage spot with access from the top so I had to make sure to cover it all up nicely. The "lid" drops into place and is held down with some recessed neodymium magnets. It has a flush ring pull as a handle to pull it up. The "lid" sits flush with the rest of the shelf. My idea is this storage spot will probably hold pillows and blankets stuffed down inside. The back half has the cubbie hole with a LED light strip tucked up inside that is used as a night light and so you can see down into the secret hidding spot under the shelf of the cubbie (not pictured).
So you can see on the switch panel I have on the top a 12v plug and USB plugs then below that the dimmer switch for the interior LEDs is in a 3 way switch circuit with the other switch on the rear end of the "side table." So this way you can turn the interior lights on and off from the side door as well as the rear door or when you are in bed. Below the dimmer switch are two rocker switches for exterior LEDs. One switch illuminates a LED strip above the sliding door and the other switch illuminates a strip hidden on the siding door. You can see the location of the lights here in this shot.
So you might be wondering how I got the power to the lights on the siding door. Well I ordered a set of door contacts just like the ones factory installed on the backdoors.
Then I fabricated a mount that goes right above the rubber door stop on the slider to hold the "plate side". The "pins" side of the set was installed into a hole I cut into the door frame. So the light only get power when the door is open.
I then got around to making the walnut headboard for the back sliding portion of the bed system. I installed some remote latches so that it securely locks into the forward position while the seat is up.
So thats about it. I also installed surfboard racks up on the celling and installed removable storage bags on the walls so there is a spot for everything. Pretty happy with how it all turned out very function-able family van that easily turns into a super comfy camper. I'll post some pictures of it all setup for you all to check out the finished product.
.An this is what I got back from the upholsterer. Pretty happy with it, I told the upholsterer to try and match and the front seats as much as possible but don't go crazy with it. We went with 3" High density foam with a "firm" rating.
.
Hi,
.
Can you, please, tell me what kind of upholstery you have?
Can you remove it and "throw" in the washer, or it needs dry cleaning.
.
Thanks
VanIsle_Greg
I think I need a bigger truck!
Nice and functional...I like it.