Can anyone point me to any sites that may have a tutorial on finishing the inteirior walls of a cargo van. I've got an 03 that I need to finish off with plywood and cover with indoor outdoor carpet of some kind.

I am going with vanrug for the floor and have a headliner out of a club wagon, so I just need to do the walls and doors.

 

I don't have a specific site, but if you search the Internet for "DIY van conversion" I'm guessing you'll get some hits. That said, I really like carpeting on the inner walls of a van conversion--we had a conversion shop redo our old '86 GMC with low pile **** carpeting on the walls years ago, and it was just the ticket for carrying bicycles.

Our current '02 Econoline is a D'Elegant conversion with the usual fabric walls, and these show some staining over the years. Good luck with the project,

George

 

Well, how I like to do it.

I weld a plate with a grade 8 bolt, 1/4" or 5/16", on it across a rib member. Ideally, plate has a bolt on each side of the cross member. Then attach the plywood through a counter sunk hole with a nyl-nut or metal nut anti-vibe (with squished sides - name escapes me at the moment).

Under the plywood you can use regular fiberglass bats as long as they are glued down. A vapor barrier for noise/heat would not hurt right under the plywood.

Then you can glue carpet right to the board. If you ever want to remove it you could install it with screws and button caps and use vertical wood boards or stainless to help hold it up.

One other thing to consider is removing the head liner and install something a little better and a heat/vapor barrier and expanding foam into hollow spots.

 

there is a book by alan girdler customizing a van. got mine thru either barnes and noble or amazon. nothing about paneling but everything else like portholes, windows, insuation wiring etc.

i used industrial velcro and put it near the roof then attached a layer of reflectix. over that i added a sheet of that insulating board with one silver side(it cuts down sound really. i cut it so the top layer rests inside the frame of the wall. i also screwed into each side of the van a 2x4 to attach the 1/4 one side finished paneling.

the po had installed a 1" sheet of fiber board. on top of that i laid snap together wood flooring.

i have not done the roof yet. need a power vent first.

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talked to another fella who did his van recently and he used self tapping screws directly into the ribs.