Blank Canvas Camping Interior

Hoping someone can help me out here. I have a converted panel van with a blank canvas for an interior; no floor covering and only a 3/4 width bed frame. Want to keep the weight down as much as possible, so looking at ply, but what thickness for the floor? Thinking of overlying the ply floor using laminate flooring and underlay by the way...

 

Welcome. @?
I'm not sure if it really matters in a panel van?
Perhaps some of the other guys can confirm. I know that on the Westy there is a walk through heating vent which restricts the ply floor thickness to about 12mm.
Try & use the best ply you can afford, a WBP rather than a cheapo FEP from B&Q/Home Depot, it'll last longer. Seal the edges with a varnish or sealant before you finally lay it. Lets see some pics of your van...

 

I've got 12mm which is ideal if you ask me. As for weight, if your running a standard lump then don't worry about it. There slow as ***** anyway. A bit of timber in the back isn't going to do it any harm anyway. Peace

 

Ohh and marine ply if you can afford it?!?

 

If you're dead set on keeping the weight as low as possible, I suggest you use 10mm Kingspan insulation board and either, 3mm ply or laminate over the top. It should be solid enough, but not ideal if you intend screwing anything down to it. Not a problem if you are flooring up to the bed frame. If you intend to raise the bed frame and floor underneath, you'll definitely have to bolt right through....(best practice IMO)

For the units, in practice, the lightest option is to make 'traditional' carcasses from timber and use 3mm ply. Alternatively, lightweight poplar (very expensive but fantastic) or lightweight ply furniture board (Vohringer etc. ....more expensive than Birch, but about half the weight. you're looking at about £100 a sheet) If you're clever with your dimensions you should be able to get a basic 'twin unit' (sink/hob with fridge underneath and similar sized cupboard) out of one 2440 x 1220 board....12mm furniture board is fine, but 15mm is better for the uprights...make up the 'backs' (if you're doing them, with 3mm) Have a look at some of the Ikea designs (=least amount of materials to do the job)
A router or Dowelling jig will come in very handy, if you haven't already got them....have fun

 

Ta for the replies!
OK, looks like I'll compromise. Since I'm raising the floor, I'll do as suggested by Vanorak and bolt the bed frame through. I'll use 6mm ply as a sub-floor, which I reckon with insulation and laminate floorboards will bring the overall thickness of the floor up to about 12mm - neither too thick nor too heavy.
I'm guessing the units will have to be screwed through the floor as well? Also, is it an idea to screw the sub-floor down to the metal floor?

Thanks for the advice regarding sealing and going for best quality - I've seen marine ply or the ply furniture board suggested before; am I likely to get that from a builders merchant (Selco, Wickes or Jewsons) or am I looking at a specialist supplier?

 

Most timber merchants will sell WBP/marine ply/BS1088 and will cut it to an approximate size for you to transport it easier.. Ask for it or they will give you cheapo Far Eastern Ply (FEP). Some will also do a phenolic board or trailer board which is even stronger lb for lb. It's that brown/coloured coated ply you may have seen on event walkways. It comes in 6.5mm, 9mm, etc but is expensive.
http://www.advancedtechnicalpanels.co.uk/downloads/ATP-Commercial-Vehicle-Plywood-Guide--32.pdf

Just give your local merchant a buzz & he'll sort you out. Good people to know coz. they often let you have off-cuts free which do for the smaller trim pieces

 

That'll be today's job then; Timber Merchant Trawl!

Has anyone built an interior out of pine furniture board before? I noticed it mentioned as a really expensive home-build option and I'm under the impression that the interior trade people use solid wood for their creations. Ignoring the cost would this be a good trade-off between strength, ease of construction and weight?

Just a thought, before I start plotting the side cabinet...

 

most of the 'solid' woods you see in motorhome conversions are engineered board ie planked and machined, stabilized etc......you may struggle to do this at home without a planer/thicknesser, biscuit jointer and a nice big table saw....although buying secondhand solid furniture and chopping it to suit would be a much cheaper option.
Solid hardwood timber would be wasted on a door panel, for example....and may also be prone to twisting or warping....ordinarily you'd use a stabilized ply for the front, with a hardwood veneer, maybe a cheaper balance veneer on the non display side and then hardwood edging...it's much more work, but it depends on what you're after at the end of the day...If you could see your way to stumping up for some quality poplar 'throughout' ply then you'd have a nice looking timber that would be lighter and stronger than engineered board and easier to build units with...
the only problem being getting hold of it....these guys do it.....
pound for pound it's the best material for strong lightweight structures*.....thousands of aircraft builders and caravan companies can't be wrong....the reason most modern companies use furniture board and mdf profiles these days is because it's cheaper to produce, and can be vinyl wrapped (like kitchen doors)

*I used to make flight cases in a past life and while birch 'throughout' and 'diamond board' were the order of the day, every now and then someone would want something really lightweight....poplar was the material of choice...great stuff

re solid pine.....you may find that unless you design your units carefully and completely seal it, you'll end up with twisted doors and drawer fronts....pine is very porous and a bus isn't the greatest of environments temperature and humidity wise IMO

 

Thanks vanorak - I'll hold off on the side unit for the moment and look at the various options in more detail first.

OK so I'll hopefully be installing the sub-floor soon - daft question, but should I screw this down to the metal floor? I sense the answer will be yes, but I'm panicking that I'm going to mess this up!

 

I've seen quite a few screwed down, which I expect is the preferred choice - you could start a debate by asking screwing down from the top or underneath van up.

 

I'll screw down from above in that case then Anyone know if you can get countersunk self-tapping screws?

 

Yep and in stainless, whats your location BTW? someone will know a good timber merchants, i have one by me

 

There are no daft questions but I suspect this is one of those for which there is no right or wrong answer. As @Razzyh says, quite a few are & as @Keith.H says, use stainless if you do. I'm pretty sure our Westy sub floor was held down only by a trim strip across the slider opening and then just the weight of the "kitchen" cabinet on the opposite side. You can drill for self tappers above the slider rail without going through the floor to the outside.
The cabinet is bolted into some existing pressed fittings in the tin floor & screwed to the cross rails in the side panel, with access holes for the bolts cut into the sub floor. There were no other screws across the floor. The top carpet or vinyl is then trimmed around the cabinet. I may be wrong!

 

@DSbs

what sort of user name is that my friend...We cannot even tag ya..

 

There is a right answer. The floor is corrugated. Screw from below allows you to pick the spots where wood touches metal.

 

Heh. I'm useless at choosing usernames, so I combined the logo style of a favourite band with what will be written on the back of my van; "Die Schildkröte bewegt Sich!"

@Keith.H; I'm located on the north side of Birmingham. I was going to visit the local Selcos for this first instal...
@zed; That sounds like an excellent idea. It won't matter then if the screws aren't countersunk and an appropriate washer should prevent it pulling through the metal!

 

Hmm, this may end up being a build thread - should it be moved?

Haven't yet bought the ply for the sub-floor since I had a sudden panic about insulating the van. So far I've been sound-proofing as much of the back as I can using Dynamat (maybe not the cheapest option, but I felt it met my needs). I've nearly finished with the rear sound-proofing, so my thoughts have been turning to insulation and flooring, hence my next daft question; Should I insulate below the ply subfloor I'm intending to install?

Originally I was going to lay down a layer of laminate floorboard insulation on top of the subfloor, but having read the extensive discussion on insulation, I'm wondering if insulation below might be a good idea instead (prevent moisture build up between the metal and the ply or in the ply itself).

I am intending to follow @vanorak's recommendations regarding insulating the sides, since the idea is to use the van mainly for walking trips and surfaris - damp to soaking walking clothing and wetsuits to the fore!

 

definitely insulate below the ply....closed-cell foam, polystyrene sheet or Celotex. If you use the latter you can get away with thinner ply. I used 20mm closed cell and 12mm diamond board...Flotex directly on top of the board. 20mm insulation board (kingspan etc.) plus 9mm will be solid enough....don't forget to insulate the roof

 

In therory.... M6 bolts and nylocks....stuck wherever you like