ramsey

A 1988 Quigley converted 4x4 Dodge Ram B350 

[retrovanderlust-blog]

Sealing:

For the sake of protecting the wood, we finished the floors with Clear Satin polyurethane ($11.98) which doesn't add too much shine. It took the floor from looking dry and dusty almost (see first picture) to having a consistent sheen that enriched the colors in the wood. 

[retrovanderlust-blog]

Pro Tip:

Listen to your boyfriend when he tells you dumping resin on the floor is a bad idea.

Impulsive Brantlee struck again. In an attempt to fill the bug holes in the wood, I poured resin into them and regretted it instantly. Not only did the resin seep to the plywood and merely gloss the holes, it was (obviously) a bitch to sand off, but really not as bad as one would expect. I used a 60-grit sandpaper belt (15 actually) to get the epoxy off, but at the end of the day, the resin characterized the wood in the most unexpected ways. All of the light areas you see are those that refused to relinquish their sealant, and the digs and dings in the wood are from the sander, making the wood appear more worn in once the stain was applied. So....you’re welcome..??

The meticulous, perfectionist side of Brantlee took more care with the rest of the process, being superfluous enough to paint every crack and slit with a darker stain, which she will attest was worth it. With the tongue-and-grooves coated and the bug holes stained to their cores, the floor looks more fulfilled than before, satisfying Brantlee’s OCD tendencies. 

Here are the steps we took/products we purchased to achieve the finished look:

2 Plywood Sheathings — $45.82

1 Kody bear to approve the stability 

7 .75′’ x 7′’ x 16′ pine boards from a local lumber yard — $100

32 Fluid Oz Provincial 211 stain — $7.98

8 Fluid Oz Dark Walnut stain — $4.98

Total: $165 after tax

Don’t be a Brantlee and get stoned off the fumes. Open all the windows and doors, wear gloves, and for god’s sake, wear a mask.

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INSULATION:

Despite the fact that #vanlife is so frequently adopted, we struggled to find tried-and-true ways to insulate in order to stay as warm as possible when traversing mountainsides in the deepest of pow. We saw some people gluing reflectix to their walls, which, as we came to understand, is ineffective (or at most, less effective) as you need space between the reflectix and the wall for it to do its job; saw some people lining their van with fiberglass insulation, which we didn’t feel comfortable being confined within, especially in such close quarters; and some people used spray-foam insulation, a more expensive route but definitely a viable option. However, aside from all the incongruencies, we found people were most consistently using furring strips as the base and styrofoam as the fillers, but the rest we had to improvise based on our cumulative little-to-no experience with remodeling.  

What we gathered from the diverse information online is this:

fiberglass insulation is more toxic than rewarding.

styrofoam is the easiest/cheapest/sensible way to go, and more heat/cold is barred with the radiant barrier side upwards.

reflectix (when used properly with an air gap) will do the work that the styrofoam can’t.

caulk is necessary to A.) reinforce the styrofoam panels and B.) seal the cracks that could become problematic drafts in the future.

This isn’t necessarily tried-and-true either (yet), but as we pieced together various tactics blogged by other vanlifers, styrofoam and reflectix seemed to be a good (and affordable) team.

Altogether, we spent roughly $100 on insulation at home depot for the following materials:

2 tubes of caulk — $8.24

1 roll of Reflectix — $38.95

2 styrofoam boards — $25.16

8 1.375″ x 1.375″ x 96″ furring strip boards — $15.68

Self-drilling screws — $10.26

Reflectix foil tape — free (they didn’t ring it up hehe) but originally $3.35 each (for patching up the holes from the previous owners of the van who mutilated the floor with screws)

PRO TIPS:

Don't ask your doggo if he wants to go to the dog park. Doggo will confuse van for Jeep. Doggo will jump onto the insulation and refuse to get out without a fight, will rip your handiwork and make you tape it all up. Or, just buy extra foil tape knowing that the aforementioned events will occur regardless.

Do mark your screw points so that you don’t drill into your gas tank (Who would do that? Not sure. Definitely not us). However, if you do drill into your gas tank, use epoxy to seal the hole. Or, you could spend hours in various junkyards searching for the perfect replacement tank.