Covering wall panels continued.

Next day. Flip the panel over. Be sure to remove the plastic covering off the foam where you will be gluing.


Paint contact cement along the edge of the panel then on the back. Use plenty of masking tape to pull the fabric tight against the edge of the panel.


Worked my way around the panel. Since this is the back of the panel I didn't worry about using too much glue. If it showed through the fabric no problem. This edge is curved so to get the fabric to fit I had to make several cuts. Be sure to dry fit the material before you put down the contact cement.


That's it. I let the panel dry overnight before mounting. Since all the masking tape was holding the fabric in place I didn't use anything else to hold the fabric down while it dried. I removed most of the masking tape after drying. Some was glued down so I just left it.

 

Panel Installation

I've got a couple panels covered with cloth so it's time to install in the van. First check the weather.
Yep, still cold.


Take the first panel and screw it into place.


In the photo the fabric might look stained. It's not. This fabric has what I think is called "nap" so depending on which direction you smooth it with you hands it will have a slightly different look.

There is a metal ridge that runs horizontally along the van wall. I'm attaching the panel to that ridge with #8 1-1/2" sheet metal screws. At first I tried to use the same holes I used when I first test fit the panel before covering but it wasn't worth the trouble. With all the insulation on the wall of the van you either can't find the hole or if you do it's too hard to line up again with the fabric covering the old entry point on the panel.

Use a drill to create new small pilot hole through the panel and ridge and screw into that. I'm not using a powered driver to attach the screws. Just do it by hand. Any kind of a powered tool could drive the screw head right through the fiberboard too easily. That's also why I'm not using self-tapping sheet metal screws. Don't want to take a chance of going through the fiberboard.

Since I'm using #8 screws the pilot hole in the metal ridge isn't vary large. With the fabric/fiberboard/extruded_foam covering layer I sometimes had a problem finding the pilot hole I had just drilled. Had to drill through just the metal ridge again but not to worry. A few extra small holes can't be seen and won't cause any structural problems.

I present the Pillar Panel previewed in a previously post. Ready for installation.


Presto!


If you remember all the edging pieces I installed on the Pillar Panel this is the final results. Not bad.


Here's one mistake I didn't make, for a change.
I had cut, insulated and test fit the next panel in line and it was ready to go. The thing is it fit perfect BEFORE I fabric covered and installed the first panel. I was going to go ahead and cover this panel when I thought I should wait. Good thing I did. It was a close fit before but with the fabric and added fiberglass insulation in the back it's TOO tight. In the picture you can see an overhang along the lower left side.


Table saw works real good at slimming it down just a hair. Wouldn't have been so easy if it was fabric covered.


So Lesson Learned is complete and install one panel at a time to be sure of a good fit.

 

Battery and Biscuits

Time for some woodworking. I'll start with something simple. A battery box.
But before that a couple cautions.

WARNING: I'm not a carpenter and have had no woodworking training since 8th grade wood shop. I have no idea if I'm doing this the right way much less the best way. You've been warned.
WARNING: Power tools are way dangerous. You can't be too careful. Understand how the tools operate. Read all the literature. Be sure to wear your safety gear.

As you can see from this picture I always wear my safety gear whenever I'm using power tools.


Oh wait, wrong photo.

OK, this one is better. Be sure to wear all of the below gear. Your eyes, lungs, hearing and hands will thank you.


On with the project.
I'm building a box to contain my battery bank. They will be located inside the van. I'm using flooded cell batteries (AKA wet cell or Lead-acid battery) so this will have to be vented. Another design consideration is since it will be located under the sofa-bed it's overall height has be to as low as I can make it.

The batteries will be arranged in this fashion.


Mistake number 1. When you are sliding these 65 pound blocks of lead filled hard plastic around on the floor DON'T GET YOUR FINGERS BETWEEN THEM! Luckily this is not a audio posting.

I'm using furring strips as spacers between the batteries. Since batteries will heat up as they charge I wanted some space between them. Scrap furring strips happen to be the perfect size.
With the spacers the box will be 32" long by 11-1/2" wide and 8-1/2" high before I attach a base.
I'm cutting the box sides from 19/32" exterior pine plywood. The plywood I'm using is left over scraps from the sofa-bed I've also started building. Since it's scraps I won't charge the wood to this post.

After I've cut out the four pieces of wood that will be the sides of the box I have to join them together. I'm be using a biscuit cutter/joiner.
Here's what one I'm using looks like.


This is what the biscuits look like. They come in different sizes.


The way it works is you hold the cutter up against the wood. Then as you press it forward this circular saw blade extends outward and cuts a crescent shaped hole into the edge of the wooden piece.


Into this crescent shaped hole is placed one of the biscuits.

Since this is the first time I'm joining boards this size I had to adjust the joiner so it cut into the center of the board. A piece of scrap works best for this.


The next step is to figure out how many biscuits, what size biscuits and where you want to place them.
I'm thinking three #10 biscuits would be best centered at 1-3/8", 4-1/4" and 6-7/8" measured from the bottom.
This **** adjusts the depth of the cutter head. The deeper the cut the bigger the biscuit.


Since the biscuit cut-outs on each side of the joint have to line up be consistent with your measurements.
Measure and mark the board.


The biscuit cutter has a mark you line up with your mark.


After three cuts and inserting the biscuits it looks like this.


Now that I've made the cuts on the END of the board I have to make corresponding cuts on the SIDE of the other board that will make up this joint. The reason I've bolded the text for END and SIDE brings me to:
Mistake number 2. Don't get confused about which you should be cutting on the board you are working on. Should you be cutting the END or the SIDE? In my case it was back to the table saw for new board.

Here's the underside of the cutter. You'll see this when you cut into the side a board. There is a guide groove you line up with your marks


Here's what the two sides of a joint will look like if you do it correctly.


That's it. Do that again for each of the other three corners. Then just paint wood glue in the cuts, on the biscuits and along the edges where the boards will meet. One advantage of using biscuits is you have some "slop" so you'll be able to move the boards a bit if you need to make adjustments. Use clamps to hold it all together. The more clamps the better.


Be sure to check that all four corners are square. I find that a "speed square" does a great job at checking for this.


Let sit overnight.

continued -

 

Where is the battery box going?

 

from the posting:
The sofa-bed sits behind the drivers seat.

 

After the glue sets do a test fit.


Now I need to create a bottom. Since this box won't be used to lift the batteries, it will just hold them after I lower them into place, I'll use the 11/32” plywood for the base.
Plenty of scrap left over from sheets I used to create the van floor.


I've laid the box on the scrap to draw an outline. I've included 2x4's laid on end in the outline since a 2x4 is 1-1/2" thick. I'll be adding a 1-1/2" x 1-1/2" square block to each end. I'll use these end blocks to anchor the box to the van floor.

I'll also be using 1-1/2" x 1-1/2" size blocks on the sofa-bed build. Why 1-1/2" x 1-1/2" size blocks? Because I have a bunch of 2x4 odds and ends laying around and each one can be ripped to two equal sized 1-1/2" x 1-1/2" blocks. A good way to use them up.

After cutting the base and doing a test fitting I noticed the long sides of the box is bowed. To counteract the bow I added a section of wood. This will be used just for the glueing phase.


Draw the outline of the box on the base then use that outline as a guide for painting on the wood glue.


Apply glue to the bottom edge of the box then clamp them both together.


Let dry overnight.
continued -

 

How are you venting the batteries?

 

Covered in a future posting.

 

I studied the issue of interior and exterior battery storage....

And there were equally compelling arguments for both.

If I were to do it today, I would, with welding capability and metal working shop... do the battery in an outside rack under the body on the right side of frame.

Reason:

A) ease of service

B) ease to add insulation for winter which can be removed for summer.

C) relatively low heat from exhaust and cat on a Diesel there.

D) use up less of my interior space.



I would have opted for relatively larger truck batteries because I can buy reconditioned industrial deep cycle batteries used for a fraction of their original cost.

 

BTW, what are you doing about the fresh water tank?

That is a big one with me...

 

My freshwater tank will actually be three "tanks".





I'll built the "kitchen counter" so they fit below it. Here's the pump.

 

How are you dealing with the water container and freezing issue?

Are you just keeping it dry (or heated all the time)?

I am studying the use of collapse-able or rubber containers that will be resistant to damage.


How are you handling grey water? black water?

 

What about a plastic fuel tank for gray water, there are some used in certain vehicles, can be installed under the van, or even one for boating.

 

This is great info, thanks for cataloging it. Couple of questions. Why wet cells and not gel cells? How come you didn't have the whole interior sprayed with a bedliner material then build over it would deaden the sound and prevent moisture accumulation on the inside metal surfaces behind the insulation. also for a fold out bed maybe an "soft" type bed frame that can be stowed then pulled/folded out with an air mattress. It would take up less space and you could always sleep outside on a nice star filled night. For ventilation install 2 bilge exhaust vents, one down in the left rear lower corner of the back and one from the left up front, one pulling from the top corner the other from the bottom corner, anything that is in there would be expelled and help keep the moisture out. You guys are giving me great ideas, and the wife will shoot me when I come home with a van. thanks and keep up the good work

 

Gel cells generally cost more per kilowatt hour of capacity.

Interior use, that is a very good question.



Bedliner material is an interesting idea for sound, but for moisture, it would not work --- go back and look at the holes in the body --- they have to be covered in plastic vapor barrier to seal it from air / moisture.


Let me take a look at the bilge fans you are talking about.. post some pics.

One of my concerns is to minimally (or not) alter the appearance at all.