Converting a 1999 Ford E-250 to a camper van

[WVvan]

Took some time off this week to go camping.


On Tuesday I'm biking on a gated closed Forest Road through the Cranberry Wilderness when I find my path blocked.


This one's slightly blurry (I was a bit psyched while holding the camera) but you can better see one of the cubs.


After a while the bears ambled off to the right. As soon as I lowered my camera another cub ran across the road. I quickly biked to the spot where the bears had walked into the woods. The land slopped away from the road so I had a pretty good view. I stopped and waited quiet as can be but neither heard nor saw anything. Like they were never there.

By the way I do carry pepper spray with me.

[WVvan]

From today.
Under van tire carrier after removal.


All the tools I used to accomplish the above.


Look at all that lovely empty space!


Full details to follow (eventually).

I wonder if I can relocate the charcoal canister?

[dave_in_delaware]

Wow! I'm VERY impressed with all the thought and work and engineering you've put into your couch/bed for your van. It makes my sofa/bed design seem like a cheap wooden chair.

Congrats on your project. You should be proud!

[WVvan]

Thanks Dave,
I don't know if it's pride or relief that I got it done. There were some days where I didn't think I could figure my way out of what seemed like a dead end that I'd gotten myself into.
And while you might feel it's a better design than your sofa/bed, I bet you got yours built in a lot less time.
Later,
Dave

[dave_in_delaware]

And while you might feel it's a better design than your sofa/bed, I bet you got yours built in a lot less time.

Heh, no, not really... since I'm still in the design phase of my RV. I don't even own the base van part yet.

[WVvan]

Hey Dave,
I'll make one suggestion if I may. Build it in stages. I'm continually taking the van and going camping as I make improvements. This is my first RV/van so I'm getting a much better sense of how the different elements will work together and what I can do to improve my layout. It also gives you an excuse to lay there a little longer on the van bed in the morning. With the morning sun shining through the penthouse top and the birds singing outside I'll spend time looking around the van and re-imagine my design. I'll tell myself that I'm not being lazy, just thorough .
Good luck,
Dave

[WVvan]

Sofa-bed continued :
I'd hammered the T-nuts into the right side of the Right End Piece. Before covering this side with Formica I used the wax block I had on hand to coat the ends of the T-nuts. This is probably overkill but I didn't want the T-nuts sticking to the Formica when I tighten the bolts.

Apply the glue to the Formica and the End Piece.


Use the same method as before for applying the Formica. Here it is after routing and sanding.


OK. One done.


Start work on the Left End Piece. I'll apply the edge trim first.


I've used up all the Original Formula Contact Cement (flammable) at this point so switching to the Non-flammable Formula.

Here I am applying the non-flammable formula to the edge of the End Piece.


Now here I am scrubbing off the non-flammable formula with a wet rage.


I found out that the non-flammable formula isn't near as sticky as the original formula. With the curved corner causing the laminate edging to spring outward the non-flammable formula wouldn't hold it. I didn't have that problem with the original formula. Back to the hardware store for "the good stuff".

continued -

[WVvan]

Sofa-bed continued:
After getting a new can of contact cement I glued on the edge strip.


Apply Formica to the right side.


Install the T-nuts.


There isn't enough Formica on a single 4x8 sheet to cover both sides of the two End Pieces. I was not going to cover the left side of the Left End Piece since the plan is to have it right up against a cabinet. Problem is I'm not sure how deep the cabinet will be so part of the End Piece might be visible.
I lucked out because I had a scrap piece of white Formica I got a few years back from a friend who didn't need it. Sometimes it really does pay off being a pack rat.


I'll use the scrap piece to cover the End Piece. Here I'm cutting the laminate using my table saw. You can see the table saw leaves a chip free edge.


Route the End Piece.


Left End Piece done.


Have to attach the slider hardware to the End Piece. I have to be careful because if the bolt goes to deep I'll crack the Formica.


Use the caliper to get the hole depth.


I'll use the 1" bolts.


To be sure that the 1" bolts would be safe to use I first used a 1-1/4" bolt since I knew it was too long. I slowly tightened the bolt into the End Piece while holding my hand against the Formica on the opposite side. I kept twisting the bolt till I could feel it under the Formica. This way I'd know how it felt if the 1" bolts were going too deep.


Carefully bolt on the hardware. If you remember from earlier in the build the sliders have to be attached in a certain sequence.


This should be the last time I'm attaching the slider hardware so I'm going to make it a bit more permanent. Use two nuts and a lock washer.


Then use a hand saw and cut off the excess machine screw threads.


Screws all done.


Finish up the Left End Piece.


Then the Right.


The sofa-bed parts all stacked in the garage.


This will finish the main construction work on the sofa-bed. I still have to sew together the cushions and come up with a way to bolt the sofa-bed to the van floor.

Once the sofa-bed has been bolted down I won't be able to lift up the wood flooring. There are two projects that must be done before that.

The heater fuel tank must be installed under the van and bolted through the metal floor.


The Undervan Storage Box (AKA "The Box") must also be bolted through the metal floor.


I'll start write ups on those two projects next.

[WVvan]

Back to work.
I'm going install a trailer hitch and then a bike rack on the van.

I'm using a Hidden Hitch Class III trailer hitch with a 2" receiver. I bought and mounted this hitch back in May. I used Model #87465. It's weight ratings: WC-TW: 600:6000 WD-TW: 1000:10000


I just checked the Hidden Hitch company site and it's no longer listed so I guess it's been discontinued.
I ordered it from etrailer.com for $184.95 (free shipping). They no longer list it either but I did a search and some other retailers still have it.

Here's the box after I opened it.


The box was damaged but the hitch was OK.


The hitch has a minimum of packing.


I was worried that the extra parts my have been lost with the big hole in the box but not to worry. The parts bag is securely taped to the hitch.


Once everything is unpacked this is what you get. The instruction sheet is one page.


Here's a closer look at the attachment hardware.


Notice there are three kinds of washers, three kinds of spacer blocks and two kinds of bolts. The nuts are all the same. The instructions read that drilling might be required but it wasn't.

Before starting the installation I suggest you crank down the spare tire. One reason is to get it out of the way.


Another reason being that you can use it to help support the hitch as you install it.


The hitch is about 36 pounds which makes it too heavy and cumbersome for me to hold in place with one hand while I bolt with the other. So some extra support is needed. I used a jackstand.


I could have used two jackstand but the tire and the one jackstand worked best. With two jacks the hitch would rotate. The tire is wide enough it stopped the hitch from rotating as I raised the other side.

There are holes in the frame that line up with the holes in the hitch so no drilling is needed.


When you start using the attachment hardware you have to closely follow the instructions. The different square spacers go between the frame and the hitch or the frame and the bolt head depending on the bolts location.


The washers are slightly concave so you need to place them with the bow facing upward.


When viewed from the rear I'm working on the right side first. Just get the nuts started. Don't tighten anything up yet.

After doing the right side I slide the spare tire out of the way and moved the jackstand to the left.


Attach the hardware on the left side.


I ran into a snag when I went to install the third bolt on the left side. The emissions canister (charcoal canister) is in the way.


At the time I was installing this back in May I didn't want to mess with the canister so I just skipped the third bolt. The trailer was only going to be used to support a bike rack so I wasn't worried. Since then I've removed the canister and found out it wasn't that big a deal to take off.

Look on the outside of the frame member and you'll see the two bolts that hold the canister in place. Just remove these two nuts and the canister can be moved out of the way.


I got around to putting on that final bolt today.

Tighten all the bolts in a alternating fashion. The hitch will bend slightly as it is tightened up against the frame.

That finishes up the trailer hitch. When you go to crank the spare tire back up you'll find it now rests against the inside of the hitch. You might have to give the tire a nudge or two as it raises so it clears the trailer hitch.


Next up is the bike rack.

[WVvan]

Two weekends ago.
Advantage of a "B" sized RV. Just keep moving it around till you hit a level spot.





Previously I'd installed a trailer hitch so I can haul my bike with me. Now for the bike rack.

I use a fold-down style bike rack with my other camping vehicle, Subaru Forester with the WVBIKE plates.


The fold-down rack wouldn't work so well on the van. I could open the doors with a bike on the folded down rack but couldn't safely climb in and out of the back of the van. Because of that I went with a swing-away style rack.
I bought the Surco DBR300 OSI Swing Away Hitch Mount Bike Rack, 2" Receiver, Up To 3 Bike Capacity.
It was $226.58 on Amazon ( free shipping).


There are a couple of design problems with this bike rack but nothing that can't be fixed.

The bike is secured in this top horizontal holder. There are spaces for three bikes. Put your bike into the "V" groove then just tighten down with the two threaded knobs. The round knob on the right has a lock. Once you have the bike tightened into place you can "unlock" the knob so that it spins free and doesn't loosen the bolt underneath.


Even secured by these two bolts the bike can still swing so I always add a strap wrapped around the bottom brace to keep it in place.


Here is how the swing-out part of the rack works.
There is a large bolt that holds the two halves of the rack together.


Loosen this bolt.


Then pull on the cable release.


That raises this spring pin which allows the front half of the rack to swing away.


The two halves pivot on this bolt.


As you swing the bike you'll quickly see that it can only go so far before the back tire meets the van.


Where the horizontal bike hold-down is attached to the bike rack is another pivot point. Pressing down on these two knobs allow the top to rotate.


You can rotate the top 90 degrees.


With the top hold-down in this new position you swing the rack until the bike is parallel to the side of the van.


That allows full access to the back of the van.


Now to the design problems with this particular bike rack. There are two. I don't like the locking knob as a security feature. It doesn't feel robust but compared to the second problem it's small potatoes.

Here's the main problem. The pivot bolt that secures the halves of the bike rack together.


All it would take is a thief and a wrench to remove this bolt then walk away with the front half of the bike rack with the bike still attached. Nothing to stop them.

Here's how I fixed it. Had a friend weld on two pieces of steel angle. One onto each half of the bike rack then drill a hole through both pieces.




Putting a lock through the holes secures both halves of the bike rack together so even if the bolt was removed the rack will stay together.


Adding a steel cable to the lock means I can run the cable through the bike which secures the bike to the rack without worrying about the quality of the locking knob.


There was one other modification that had made to this bike rack. I have a step bumper on the van which is wider than standard rear bumper. To compensate for this extra width the square tube part of the bike rack that slides into the trailer hitch had to be extended by 1-1/2". The local machine shop did it for $20. Good price.


To secure the bike rack to the trailer hitch I'm using Draw-Tite J-Pin Anti-Rattle Lockset for 2 inch Receivers. Currently around $26.


This J-pin is designed for 2" Receiver Style Hitches with 5/8" Pin Hole & 1/2" Pilot Hole.


The short leg of the "J" shape goes through the "Pin" hole and compresses the rack tube against the side of the receiver tube.


Once you tighten this nut enough (with included wrench) there will be no movement or rattle between the rack and the trailer hitch. It's like they are one unit.


When it's all tightened down, put the lock on.


I first read about this J-Pin lock on-line then went to a couple local RV/trailer dealers to buy it. Neither stocked it or claimed to know what I was talking about. That's odd. These thing really does the trick.

Some of these previous pictures are from this past weekend. After I took the bike off the van I headed for the West Fork Trail.




Work on the van or enjoy using the van? Tough call.