Rather than deciding on a final floor for the van, I decided on some cheap 1⁄4” Maple plywood from Lowes and remaindered paint. That will let me build a template floor and test it out before deciding on a final floor.
My plan for the floor is to build something completely removable. Many people will glue down their floor to ensure it’s secure, but I’ve decided to anchor the floor only at the 8 lashing points. Simple and easy to change out later if needed.
After reading many forum posts on insulation, I’ve settled on a hybrid approach. I’ve got 50 ft of SM600L Thinsulate for the walls and ceiling, and am using polyiso for the floor.
Now that we have our van, the process of conversion seems pretty overwhelming. It feels like a huge cavern, filled with options and possibilities. I’ve been reading and researching for a couple of years now, so now everything gets real.
After 14 weeks of waiting, our van finally arrived at the dealer. Longer than we had hoped, but it’s here, and in one piece. 31 miles on the odometer is pretty new. We took it for a test drive and got mildly spooked by the acrid burning smell coming from the engine compartment.
We don’t have our van yet, so for two weeks of camping, with some boondocking, we rented a converted minivan from Lost Campers. In order for Becky to sleep comfortably, especially at altitute, her CPAP with humidity/heat is essential. This means 300-350 Wh/day, with no other consumption. We decided to try out the Goal Zero Yeti 1000 Lithium from Costco, both for this trip and as a possible initial electrical system.
