Converting a 1999 Ford E-250 to a camper van

[WVvan]

Webasto heater install continued:

Before making a metal shield for the fuel pump I used my old friend posterboard to do a mock up.


I'll make the shield from this rusty piece of sheet metal I found laying around the garage. Except for the bottom edge it's a light surface rust. A quick measurement shows it to be 22 gauge.


You can see in the above photo that the sheet is laying on a metal table. I've not mentioned it before but the table is one of the things I recently inherited from Dad. Found that it's a necessity if you're taking up welding. Need to make an addition to the table for this project. Welded a 1" angle along the front edge of the table.


Used a grinder to remove evidence of my beginners quality weld and level out the joint surface.


The sheet metal wasn't large enough to make the shield without first some cutting and joining. Use a framing square as a cutting guide for the saber saw. Use the newly installed angle as a clamp point.


Need to put a bend in the sheet metal. Don't have access to a press brake so I'll have to make something up. I've not done this before but I thought this might work.
Sandwich the sheet metal between the angle I've added to the table and another on top. Clamp securely.


Use a rubber mallet to bang on the edge of the sheet metal and bend it down. Didn't try it to bend it all at once. Just kept tapping away trying to keep the bend even.


End on view. Not too bad.


The edge was a little wavy so some extra work was needed using the table angle like a anvil.


Put another bend in the other end.


Place the clamps so the metal will clear them as it bends.


Both bends done.


Test fit. Looks good.


continued -

[WVvan]

Webasto heater install continued:

Next piece of sheet metal will be attach to the bent upward section.


Cut off the next piece of sheet metal.


Setup the bending rig to hold the metal secure while using the angle grinder with a wire wheel to clean the rust from the edge.


Do the same with the first piece. Before welding the edges where they will be joined must be rust free.


Weld the two pieces together and do a test fit.


Need to create a bracket to hold the top of the shield to this underfloor support.


Also need to close off the front of the shield


Do the front piece first. Make, attach and test fit a posterboard mock up.




The notch is so I can just slide the shield into position without having to disconnect the fuel line. Since there was such trouble with getting a air-tight seal on the fuel line I don't want to mess with it if I don't have to.


Cutout another piece for the front using the posterboard as a guide. Weld it onto the front of the shield. Before welding I used a hole saw to create an opening for the fuel line.


Cut the notch after welding. Test fit. Looks good.


I'm leaving the back end of the shield open since It's to protect from debris kicked up by the front wheels.


For the upper bracket I cut, bent and drilled a piece of 1" x 3/16" flat stock. Note to self: Next time cut, drill then bend. The hole size is for a 1/4" bolt.


Find and mark a good position for the bracket on the shield.


Weld the bracket into place.


Fit and find location for the bolt hole.


Drill the hole. The undervan support metal is tough so this step takes some patience.


Drill holes for then temporarily secure the bottom of the shield into place with sheet metal screws.
The screws in this picture are what I had on hand. I'll use larger one's for the final installation.


Remove the shield then prime with some rusty metal primer


I've painted the shield yellow since I have a couple quart cans of this color Rustoleum laying around getting old.


Final install. Some newspaper got stuck to the paint. No biggie.




OK, that finishes this phase of the heater install. The heater started up perfectly the first time I went to run it after the rebuild. Started and stopped a bunch of times and let it run for a several hours non-stop. No problems whatsoever. I had originally thought about running just kerosene through the heater to cut down on possible coking problems but I now know how to do a complete tear down on the heater and clean it if needed. So I'm going to go ahead and use diesel fuel with the heater. Now I don't have to worry about the short kerosene fueling hose.

The heater is fully functional so if I want to use it while camping I just have to put a couple batteries in the van. Of course there is a lot of work before it's completely finished but that will have to wait until later in the build.

So it's dark outside and while I'm laying under the van doing the final shield install Tiger keeps looking down the street.


When I asked what he was doing he turned to me and said "I got your back."

[WVvan]

This posting concerns the fuel tank I installed for the Webasto diesel heater. The tank is made from spun aluminum and is so light you can pick it up with your pinky. With it installed under the van I'm worried about a possible puncture from road debris. Because of this I'm going to make a shield to protect the underside of the tank. I have no prior experience with spun aluminum fuel tanks so this might be overkill but better safe than cold at night in the van while camping.

When I climbed under the van to get take some measurements I find that there is already a good scratch along the underside of the tank and I haven't taken it off-pavement yet.


The radius is about 4.5" to the outside of the tank brackets that the shield must fit over.


The length to fit over the tank is 31".

I'm a little chagrined to admit I had forgotten the formula for a circumference of the circle and had to look it up in my Pocket Ref. It's 2(pi)r. So 4.5 times a rounded down (pi) of 3 will give a half circle circumference of 13.5". Cut out a section of posterboard 31" long by 13.5" wide and do a test wrap around the tank.


Using a divider to lay out a circle with radius of 4.5" then cut out a bit more than a half circle from posterboard.




Tape the circle to the first posterboard section and use it to do a test fit on the tank.


I found that the posterboard mock up fit better with the tank brackets if the width was cut down to 12.5". Making easy changes is the beauty of posterboard.

Now to transfer the design onto sheet metal.

Start with two sheets of 4' x 5' 16 gauge steel.


Actually it started as one 4' x 10' sheet but I had it cut at the local steel supplier so it would fit inside Hal.


This is more than I need but it's cheaper to buy more than needed from the steel supplier than exactly what is needed from Lowe's. I'll be using the metal on several other projects.

Cut out a 12.5" x 31" rectangle. I've previously been cutting pieces off this 4' x 5' sheet.


Here's where it gets interesting. I've been thinking about this shield project for sometime and knew the next step would be difficult. I need to to bend the sheet metal into a semi-circle that will fit around the bottom of the tank. A machine shop would have a device that does bends like this but I don't. In my planning I came up with four different ways I could do the bending. Unfortunately planning to bend 16 gauge sheet metal and actually bending it are two different things. The 16 gauge is a lot tougher that the 22 gauge I bent just the other day. I could bend the 16 gauge but not into a semi-circle

I'm hiding my shame but not showing any pictures of various bending rigs I came up with since none of them worked. After at least a couple hours of fruitless effort I was reduced to literally just standing in the garage and looking around for something to try next. Here's what I came up with.

Draw parallel lines spaced one inch apart down the length of the shield metal. Number the lines and write the numbers on each end of the line.


Take a length of 1-1/2" x 1-1/2" x 1/8" steel angle that is longer than the shield. Place the angle so it's pointed downward. Balance the shield on the upright ends of the angle. Using the lines and numbers on the shield metal as a guide to keep the shield parallel to the angle steel underneath.

Since the distance between the two upturned steel angle edges is close to 2" it's easy, in this example, to look to the left of the shield and place line #1 above the closest upturned angle edge then look to the right and make sure line #1 is above the same edge. This will also place line #3 above the farther angle edge. Line #2 is now suspended halfway between the two angle edges.

Now get a ball-peen hammer and use the ball end to strike along the length of line #2.
After doing this the length of line #2 shift the shield one inch so that lines #2 and #4 are supported by the angle edges and #3 is suspended in the middle. Hammer along line #3. Repeat. Nothing is clamped into place. You have to keep adjusting the shield to keep it aligned after every couple hits.


Believe it or not it actually works.

Use the posterboard cutout to check that I'm getting the curvature correct.


Hammer away until I have a semi-circle


Do a test fit.




Needed to do some more hammering in the center to tighten up the fit.


Ready for the end pieces. I'm going to cheat a little. Set the shield on end and trace out the shape onto a piece of sheet metal.


Each end is different so be sure to label. I've added about 1.5" to the top of the semi-circle tracing.


Cut out the end pieces. I'm not worried about being extremely accurate with the cutting.


Here's the cheating part. If I was cutting the end pieces so that they would fit inside the semi-circle I'd have to been really careful with the tracing and cutting. This is much easier. Place the shield on the end piece then slide it upward, to the right in this picture, so that the end piece extends below the shield. This give a margin of error to the previous cuts.


I added the 1.5" to the top of the end piece so there is room to move the shield upward.


Tack weld into place then do the same to the other end.


Test fit on the van.




Weigh it for curiosities sake. 9 lbs.


Complete the end welds.


Use an angle grinder to remove the excess overhang from the end pieces.


Drill a 1" hole in each end for drainage.


Clean up the end holes with a round file.


Apply a couple coats of Rust Bullet rustproofing.


Here's what I'm going to use to hold the shield into place. They are industrial strength cable ties. I had these laying around.


The ties aren't long enough so I'll have to double them up.


Use electrical tape to hold down the loose end.


Place the cable ties over the tank being very careful to route them so they don't cross over the fuel or electrical line.


Place the shield into place and snug up the cable ties.


Cut off the excess from the ties.


Almost all done. One more step.


Put a Tiger in your tank!

[Photog]

Very interesting project.

[WVvan]

I finally managed to go camping this week.


I really needed that. If you're in the market for a new walking stick I can personally recommend the 52" replacement shovel handle they carry at Ace Hardware. For me it's just the perfect height and has a nice heft to it. Would make a good Whacking Stick if need be.

Back to work on the van.
This next project will be a undervan storage box. I've been working on this one project on and off for months. I've not finished it yet but maybe by the time I get to the end of writing about it I'll have it completed.

As everyone with a "B" RV knows, space is a premium. Especially if you have a regular length van like mine. Sportsmobile offers a undervan storage as an option on their vans that will increase usable space. If you go to this web page you'll see the "XL Storage Compartment" listed near the bottom of the page. I've never seen one of the Sportsmobile versions in real life so I don't know it's dimensions or how it's attached. All I know is what you can see on their web page.

Since I won't be reverse engineering someone else's design I'll have to come up with my own. Luckily I'll gotten a lot help from several people at sportsmobileforum.com.

The undervan storage box ( AKA "The Basement") will be located under the van where the spare tire is hung. Once I cranked down and removed the spare tire this is how it looked under my van. This is looking from the drivers side towards the passenger side.


In the center of the picture is the Tire Carrier with the Tire Winch attached. In the center of the frame rail you can see a Exhaust Hanger which is attached to the Exhaust Pipe at a point just out of sight below the picture. Also visible is part of the Trailer Hitch.

Looking the other direction you can again see the Tire Carrier along with the Charcoal Canister and part of the Trailer Hitch.


All these parts I've mentioned will come up again later in the project.

First consideration is if the removal of the Tire Carrier will have an adverse affect on the frame. These following two documents indicate that the already installed trailer hitch should work as sufficient reinforcement to the frame.

https://www.fleet.ford.com/truckbbas.../Q-184e_5_.pdf

https://www.fleet.ford.com/truckbbas/non-html/Q18.pdf

I found this diagram from one of the documents to be most helpful in planning out a undervan storage box..

Trailer Hitch Crossmember (can increase protection area)

Need to take some measurements from the van.

Park the van on a level surface. Measure the distance from the bottom of the trailer hitch to the ground.


Close to 14-3/4". One problem with this measurement is it's taken with the van empty. Once the van is fully built out it will contain more weight and this measurement would change. The best way I can think of to compensate for this will be to load the van up and see how the rear height changes.

Need something to load the van down. Cement pavers should work.


Around 22 lbs each.


Start loading up the van. Space the pavers through out the van.






45 pavers x 22 lbs = 990 lbs. That should do the trick.

Measure again. 13-1/2" this time.


Distance from the center of the rear tire to directly below the rear edge of the trailer hitch is 39-1/2".

Next up the removal of the undervan tire carrier.
continued -

[WVvan]

Undervan Storage Box continued:

Before I cut out the tire carrier I have to remove the emission canister. This is also called the charcoal canister or vapor canister. The canister is bolted to the inside of the drivers side frame rail next to the tire carrier. In this picture you can see the purge valve mounted on the top of the canister.


I made a mistake in that I removed the canister from it's badly rusted carrier first.


Getting the carrier apart was a real pain. I should have removed the carrier from the van first. In this picture you can see the two bolts on the outside of the frame rail that are holding the carrier in place. Just remove the two nuts and the carrier comes right out.


Here's the canister after removal.


This "V" groove is where the purge valve is attached. The canister must be positioned so the "V" is at the top.


Purge valve.


There is another connection besides the purge valve.


With the canister out of the way I can get to removing the tire carrier. My main tool for this is going to be a sawzall. Since I'll be laying on my back and cutting above my head I need to support the carrier first. Use a wood beam to support a couple of jack stands.
Hopefully his will keep the tire carrier from falling on me.




Cutting the carrier out from under the van has been without a doubt the absolutely worst job I've had to do on the van so far. It's a uncomfortable position using a power tool in a confined space while cutting directly above my head. I'm wearing hearing protection and goggles but it's still very loud and debris is hitting you in the face. Just nasty. I was in such a hurry to get it done I wasn't as careful as I normally am and almost didn't even stop to take pictures!




I said almost didn't take pictures. Couldn't help myself.

Because of my haste some of these cuts are ragged.






I was also hard on the sawzall blades. I straightened these out later. They will be reused


Success.


After removing the tire carrier I went back and cleaned up all the cuts.


I tried with mixed success to remove the parts of the tire carrier still riveted to the frame rails. If I couldn't get them all the way out I did reduced them in size.


The sawzall wasn't the only tool I needed for this job.


For curiosities sake I weighted the tire carrier after removal. 29 lbs.


continued -

[WVvan]

From this past weekend. Harpers Ferry WV as seen from Maryland Heights.

John Brown's "Fort" is the building just above where the left set of tracks enters Harpers Ferry. It was originally located 150 feet to the right.

Undervan storage box continued:

With the tire carrier removed this is the view of the underside of the van floor. You can see that the floor is bowed slightly downward. No doubt caused when the original owner used it to carry heavy building materials.


Here is the area where I want to relocate the emissions canister. You're looking at the underside of the van forward of the rear axle on the drivers side.


There is a fair amount of room here but finding just the right place for the canister turned out to be harder than I thought it would be. Here was the main constraint. Near the top of this picture you can see a rectangular rubber bumper. Directly below it is the rear axle. Under extreme loading or hitting a bump at hight speed these two points could come in contact.


There is six inches between the two.


The problem with mounting the canister under the floor was to find a spot where it wouldn't contact the rear axle if that axle was to rise six inches. That greatly limits the number of places the canister can safely be mounted.

I couldn't find a good way to plan out where to install the canister but to just hold it up in there and keep moving it around till I thought I found the best spot. It's a cramped and dirty space and trying to maneuver and hold the canister while checking the measurements was a real pain. I ended up not being as careful as I should have been.

Found what I thought was a good spot.


Used a cardboard template that matched the bolts on the canister carrier and used that to mark the underneath of the van.


Removed the wood flooring and the insulating foam layer then pulled back the rubber mat exposing where I was going to be drilling. Some of the matting and insulation had been held in place by double sided tape. Will have to redo that when I'm done.


Drilled the holes from underneath and then did a test mount of the canister.




Measured the canister in relation to the rear axle and found out that I'd messed it up. I didn't have the six inches of clearance. Time to step back and regroup.

When in doubt, paint. Broke out my can of Rust Bullet rustproofing and got to work.




As a side note you can see in this picture that I've replaced the original rear exhaust hanger with a generic version from the local auto parts store.


Grind off the rust from the canister carrier then rustproof it.


The carrier had a hinged strap that held the canister in place. It was so badly rusted I removed it and replaced it with three screw clamps.


Find a new mounting spot for the canister that will clear the axle.


This new location is closer to the front of the van so both the electrical and vent lines that run to the canister have to be rerouted. The electrical line was fairly easy. Just used a loop to take up the extra slack and zip tied it in place.


The vent hoses took some more work. I replaced and shorted the vent hose.


With the hose rerouting I need to create a 180 degree turn. Took a piece of vent hose to the hardware store and asked that they had that fit it. Bought two brass elbows.


Used some sealant and screw clamps to make the 180.




Here's the 180 installed.




Be sure to install the canister so that the purge valve is at the top.


Hook everything back up.


Patch up the extra holes in the van floor with fiberglass reinforced Bondo. Didn't worry about smoothing it out since it's hidden.


I'd like to write that I didn't have to do anything else with the canister after this but I'd be lying.

continued -

[WVvan]

Undervan Storage Box continued:

UPDATE: This posting originally contained some bad information in regards to brake line repair. I've edited the post to remove the mistake. See the follow-up post for a explanation and correction.

While spending time under the van I couldn't help but notice that the steel brake line that runs between the two rear wheels was badly rusted. Looks like it needed replaced.


The brake line will be easier to deal with before the storage box is installed. I've never custom bent a brake line before but no time like the present to learn.

This brake line goes from this metal fitting between the differential and the drivers side rear wheel -


to the passenger side rear wheel.


I measured one of the end fittings and the length of the brake line. Mistake #1. I only measured one end. I assumed they would both be the same.

Went to the local auto supply store and bought a new brake line. It's longer than I need so I'll have to cut and flair one end. From Harbor Freight I also bought Tube Bending Pliers and a ( UPDATE: Don't buy this kit) [s]Tube Flaring Kit[/s].

Next up is the removal of the old brake line. Found it's easier if you remove the rear passenger side tire first.




Brake line off the van.


Using the tube bending pliers on the new brake line -


to replicate the profile of the original brake line.


For my first ever effort at this I don't think it turned out too bad.


The new brake line is longer than needed.


Use a tube cutter to remove the extra.


UPDATE: I used the wrong kind of flaring kit when I did this so I'm editing this post. See my following post for the correction.

[s]Here's a close look at the flaring tool. I'm using 3/16 brake line.[/s]

Time to install the new brake line. The first fitting worked OK. Take extra care not to cross thread the fitting.


It's when I went to screw the brake line into the wheel that I found the problem with the fittings I missed earlier. The wheel takes a larger size fitting.


I ended up cutting the flare end off the new brake line and reusing the bigger fitting from the original. Then used the flaring tool again.


Finished with the new brake line.


Put the tire back on and got my neighbor to help me bleed the brake lines. No leaks. Did a test drive and A-OK.

I might never need the flaring tool or the tube bender again but buying them for this single use was still cheaper than paying for a garage to do this work for me.

continued -

[Photog]

Nice work on the brake lines.

In your photos, I noticed the leaf springs appear to be in a reverse arch. Leaf springs do not last long, when they flex past the flat position. Either positive or negative arch, the full travel of the suspension should not cause the leaves to pass through the flat position.

If your leaves were designed to have a positive arch, then you need to add leaves or replace the spring packs, to support the final weight of your van.

I really like reading this thread, and following your thoughtful processes. Keep up the great work.

[WVvan]

Thanks for the heads up on the leaf springs. I'll keep my eye on them.

Undervan Storage Box:

Correction: In my previous posting I wrote about replacing the rear brake line. I made a mistake that needs to be corrected. When I flared the end of the brake line I used a single flare kit. This is wrong. I should have used a Double flare kit.
My thanks goes out to "Boomer2" at the Ford-trucks.com forum for bringing this to my attention.

Here is a picture of my single flare kit next to a double flare kit. The double flare kit was kindly lent to me by the owner of my local repair garage. (Thanks Gary!)

The main difference between the two kits is the double flare kit has a several round "adapters".

Here's how I used it. Cut the brake line like before.


Use the reamer on the inside of the brake line.


Rub the end against some fine sandpaper to smooth it out.


Do the same to the edge. Be sure it's clean when you're done.


Find the adapter that matches the 3/16" brake line that I'm using.


The divot on the end of the adapter will be placed against the tip of the flaring cone.


This is the other side of the adapter. Notice the small curve next to where the stem joins the adapter. This is what will form the first flare.


Place the brake line into the corresponding hole in the flaring bar.


Slide the brake line through the flaring bar till it extends a distance equal to the thickness of the adapter at it's first "step".


Use the cross-bar on the flaring tool to tighten down on the thumb screws on the flaring bar. If you try to just finger tighten it the brake line will slip out when the flaring tool is used.


Place the stem end of the adapter into the brake line.


Put the flaring tool on the flaring bar centered over the adapter. It's real important to keep the adapter and the flaring cone centered as they are being used.


Tighten down on the flaring tool until the adapter is flush against the flaring bar.


Remove the flaring tool and adapter. This is how the end of the brake line appears after using the adapter. This is the first flare.


Next center the flaring cone over the brake line.


Tighten down the flaring tool until it stops.


Here is how it appears after the tool has been removed. This is the double flare.


From what I've read the purpose of the double flare is to strengthen the brake line at it's seam. In the picture below look at the 12 o'clock position on the inside of the brake line. The visible line is the seam where the metal was joined to create the brake line. A single flared brake line is more likely to split along this seam. The double flair is actually folding over the end of the brake line which should reinforce the seam.


I practiced with the double flare kit on a new section of brake line before fixing the van.


While practicing I found that unless the flaring tool is well centered the flared end can be lopsided.


To fix what I'd previously done on the van I'd have to remove the single flare on the end of the brake line where it connects to the rear passenger wheel. After cutting off the single flare the brake line would no longer reach so I'll use a 3/16" union to extend it.

Since the fitting that secures the brake line to the brake cylinder was so chewed up I decided to replace it. The local auto parts store said the fitting was a 1/4" npt. They didn't had a direct replacement, even though the counter jockey told me they used to carry them, so I'm using a 3/16" to 1/4" adapter. In the below picture you can see both the old fitting and a union.


Here is the new adapter installed on the wheel cylinder along with the brake line and fitting.


This is the union.


After messing with the brake lines I had to flush them again. To flush I use a piece of vacuum hose attached to the bleeder valve.


Use clear tubing from the vacuum line to the waste container. Need the clear tubing so I can see if there are any air bubbles in the expelled brake fluid.


Sunset from under the van.


Not pictured: My neighbor who's working the brake pedal. (Thanks John!).

continued -

[WVvan]

Undervan Storage Box
continued :

Using the measurements I took when I loaded down the van with half a ton of blocks and the dimensions from under the van I came up with a preliminary plan for the "box". These will change.



Rough calculation of the inside area excluding a few important things like the thickness of the box metal.
Figure total box as if square.
28" wide x 20" high x 32" deep = 17,920 cu in
Calculate angled part
15.41 x 5.5 x 32 x .5 =~ 1,356
Calculate beam
2 x 3.5 x 32 = 224
Subtract
17,920 - 1,356 - 224 = 16,340 cu in
1 cubic foot = 1,728 cu in
16,340 / 1,728 =~ 9.5 cubic feet

Since the box will be made of metal I have to be sure of the measurements before it's constructed. I'll make a full sized mock-up from wood to check it's fit.
Here's a picture of the highly detailed plans I'll be working off of.


I dug into my bone pile of scrap lumber to make the mock-up. It doesn't look like much but It's outside dimensions are accurate to 1/4".


Beside checking how the box will fit under the van I'm also worried about ground clearance. Here's what I came up with to test the clearance.
Take four large binder clips. You can get these at an office supply store. I keep them around the house since they are perfect for re-closing potato chip/snack food bags.


Take off the handles and screw the binder clips to the four places on the wooden mock-up where I want to measure clearance.


Make up four plywood sticks. One for each of the binder clips. Mark each stick in one inch increments. I've marked each stick so that when the black line is even with the bottom of that binder clip, the number below the line shows how many inches the end of the stick is projecting below the lower edge of where the box will be.


The strings are in case the sticks are knocked free. Was too conservative with the amount of markings I put on. Should have added several inches. When I started testing ended up using a tape measure to supplement the numbers.

Mount the mock-up under the van. I could get it under the back of the van by using the little drop-off at the edge of my driveway and since it was really just a skeleton of box I could maneuver it around more. This won't work with the real thing.


Right off the bat I found I'd made a mistake in measuring the distance from the back of the van to the under floor beam. Some quick work with a saw will fix that.




Put it back under the van again. I'm using several claps to hold the mock-up into place.




if I make the box this size it will interfere with the charcoal canister. The stick on the right represents the most forward edge of the box.


Also the front passenger side corner is uncomfortably close to the exhaust pipe.


Here's the corner I just cut to clear the undervan beam. I took off and inch but I could get by with 1/2".


Enough of that. Let's do some road testing. Here's the basic plan. Find something that I might have a ground clearance issue with.


Climb under the van and set all the sticks so they project from under the mock-up the same amount.


Drive over the obstacle. Check the sticks. If they haven't moved or been knocked free, lower them each one inch and drive over the obstacle again.


Keep doing this until a stick finally makes contact.


Then I'll know my max ground clearance for that obstacle. Move on to some place different and reset the sticks. This time I'll try the most gouged up street intersection in town.


Perfect place for a test like this since the angle of the two streets is such that lots of vehicles bottom out. I drove this several time going both directions and different speeds.


Always changing the stick position until I got a result.


I'm doing these tests at first light on a Sunday so there is no one on the road but me. Otherwise it might have looked suspicious with me driving around the same neighborhood in a white van over and over again.

Since there was no one out (police) I started driving over curbs and other things just to see what kind of results I'd get.

When I as finally finished I found that there was never less then 5 inches of clearance at the point where the 20 degree angle starts and 7 inches at the rear most point on the box. Now these numbers are with the van not being loaded so if you take in consideration the cement block test that would reduce each of these numbers by one inch.

I'll still have to make some adjustments to the box size before I'm happy but ground clearance doesn't appear to be an issue with this design. Keep in mind that I don't plan to go off-road with the van. Off-pavement yes but not off-road.

continued -

[K-mann]

I think you're spending as much time documenting as you a constructing! Your details will only help others who venture down the road of DIY van conversions. Keep up the good work.

One critique, fewer pics of WV. I'm already missing Tucker Co and all it has to offer as it is!

[WVvan]

Hey K-mann,
I do love spending time in Tucker County. So many different outdoor things to do.

Undervan Storage Box continued:

Picked this up today from the local machine shop.


More details will follow, once I figure out how to get it under the van.

continued -

[WVvan]

Undervan Storage Box continued:

When I had the mock-up mounted under the van I saw that the charcoal canister would interfere with the undervan storage box is I originally planned it.


While I was deciding on the final measurements for the box I went ahead and moved the charcoal canister one more (and hopefully final) time. Moved it a couple inches forward.


Time to decide on the final design. I thought the front end of the box was too close to the differential so I shortened it by an inch. Here is the final size.
http://larry.wvnet.edu/~van/pics/Understorage_box-m.jpg

I used Google Sketchup for the first time to create the above diagram. Couldn't figure out how to draw the dimensions for the top ledge. It's 1-1/2" wide along the 2' 8" edge and 1" wide along the 1' 11 1/2" edge.

Spent a lot of time thinking about how to construct the box. Since I've recently taken up welding I thought about making it myself from angle iron and 16 gauge steel sheet. In preparation I practiced making angle iron corners.


Then I did some math and figured out if I made the box myself as planned it would weight 105 lbs. Decided I'd have it professionally made from aluminum instead.

Took my plans, wooden mock-up and van to the local machine shop to explain what I wanted. It's a fairly good sized business and my project was certainly small potatoes to what they normally do but they couldn't have been more helpful. They took my hand drawn plans and with me explaining with the wooden mock-up they seemed to understood what I wanted.


While I was there I asked the owner for and got a tour. For those of you who haven't been around a machine shop before here's what it looks like.


Milling Machine.


Lathes


Milling machines and lathes are what you used to need to create precision metal parts. My Dad who spend his professional life as a Tool and Die maker would have spend a great deal of his time on machines just like those. It took a a lot of training and work to learn his trade. The owner showed me his newer CNC machine (Computer Numerical Control). He told me that after three days training on the CNC machine a new employee could produce the same kind of parts my Dad would have made and could probably turn out twenty of them in the same amount of time. Didn't get a picture of the CNC machine.

Here is the water jet cutting table. This will be used to cut out the parts for my box.


Here's the job they had just finished on the cutting table. It's for the floor of a local high school. He showed me the drawing the high school had submitted for the design. They are able scan it in and with just a few tweaks to the design the machine is ready to go.


Metal shear.


This being West Virginia there was at least a couple pieces of mining equipment getting rebuilt. This is the cutting head of a continuous miner. As this head spins it is pushed against a coal seam and the hardened bits grind out the chucks of coal.

Tours over.

A couple weeks later and I got a call from the machine shop. My box was done.






It's 14 gauge thick. Had trouble weighing it when I got it home since it's so bulky. Then I realized it's also shiny. I couldn't see the dial on the scale but I could read it's reflection.
I call it at 43 lbs.


A few construction notes. I asked for 20 degrees and that's what I got.




I noticed the lower front edge is bent then welded farther back as opposed to being welded along the edge.


The mounting holes have already been drilled. This is a mistake but I'll take the blame. I wanted to show where the holes would go to make my drawing more understandable but didn't explicitly write "Don't drill these holes". My bad but not a big deal.


I was changed $503.50 for the construction of the box. Material costs where just about half of the price and labor was for 6 hours.

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[WVvan]

Undervan Storage Box continued:

Once I got the box home I found that an old creeper made a handy way to wheel it around.




Now I had to decide how to get the box under the van so to mount it. I'll use the term "driveway" to describe the space between the edge of the street and the door to the garage. It's really not much of a driveway since it's only a few feet wider than the van but it does allow me to work on the van and not be in the street. Owing to the slope on the street the back edge of my driveway is higher than the rest. I'm parking the van so the passenger side rear tire is on this high spot. That should allow me to only have to jack up the drivers side to get the clearance I'll need.


Started jacking up the drivers side. Used wood blocks and boards to support the van.


Since it's easier to move around than the metal box I used the wooden mock-up to check rear clearance.


Here's the funny part. After I got the van to the correct height and went to slide the mock-up out from under the van it total fell apart. I hadn't yanked it or treated it roughly.

It just came apart as if it knew it's work was done. It held up for exactly as long as I need it to and not one minute more.

Rolled the box under the van on the creeper then removed the creeper.


Now it gets interesting.


There a no pictures of the next few steps because it was basically just grunt work. Getting the box maneuvered into place then getting it up on a floor jack. Using the jack to raise it up until I could get a couple of jack stands into play.


I found that adding a 2x4 under the box helped with the balance. I kept raising the box while checking the alignment.


This is the view while looking up along the drivers side of the box. I want it as close to the frame beam as I can get it without actually touching it.


This is looking up from underneath at the front side of the box. You can see the underfloor cross beam and the charcoal canister. I'm pushing the box as far towards the back of the van as it will go.


Looking up at the rear of the box. It's all the way up against the back support of the van.


The reason I'm positioning the box as far as possible to the rear and drivers side is because of this. At the top of the picture is the box's front and passenger side corner. Below it in the picture is the exhaust pipe. I want to keep as much distance between these two as I can so as little heat as possible is transferred from the exhaust pipe to the box contents. The aluminum is shiny so it should reflect some part of the radiant energy that comes off the hot exhaust pipe. Since the box doesn't touch the pipe there should be no heat transfer by conduction but there is still convection to consider. I'm hoping that the entire box will act as a huge heat sink and stop the area closest to the exhaust pipe from heating up.


On the left in this picture is the rear exhaust hanger. The passenger side of the box is on the right. I think I've left enough room between the two so that I can work on the hanger if need be.


This picture, not very good, shows the gap between the rear differential and the front side of the box. I didn't try it but I believe that access to the fill hole on the differential might be tight but is doable.


Just to be clear, with this design the rear differential cannot be serviced while the box is in place. Seeing how I had a new limited slip differential installed just a couple years ago I don't think that will be an issue with me.

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[Photog]

That looks like a well made box. It should provide good service for a long time.

As for servicing the diff., you may be able to do it, with the van jacked up via the frame, allowing the axle to droop as far as possible. Maybe.

Our Roadtrek has a generator in that same location. I think it will cause the same difficulties with service. I am in the process of modifying the suspension, an I think I won't have any trouble after that project is complete.

Nice work.

[WVvan]

Thanks Brian!

Undervan Storage Box continued:

Now that I have the box positioned where I want it and securely jacked into place, time to do some damage. Use a drill with a hole saw. Just eyeball what I think is the center of where I want to put a opening into the box.


Drill away.


Next up the reciprocating saw. The hole I drilled was larger than the blade width.


Do some freehand cutting.


Use my drywall T-square to lay out a rectangle. I haven't decided on the final size of the door to my "basement" since I haven't finalized the layout of the van. I just eyeballed the floor and did some tests with the larger of the objects I'll be storing down there to find what was needed for a workable size. I've marked out 12-1/2" H X 16" W. This could be changed later on in the build.


Use my jigsaw for these more accurate cuts.


Tape up the edges of the hole to prevent any (more) cuts.


Measure from the inside edge of the hole to edge of the box.


Transfer those measurements to the floor of the van.


Use the outline as my guide for where to drill the mounting holes. I'm planning on using 5/16" bolts. The owner of the machine shop suggested 1/4" but no harm in going one step larger. Since the van floor has both ridges and valleys I only drill in valleys. Using eleven bolts. Seems like the right number.


With all the cutting and drilling done use a shop-vac to clean out the inside of the box.


Man that looks big inside.


Put a long 5/16" bolt in each corner.


With the bolts supporting the box remove the jacks.


Here's my first look at how this will appear from the outside when done.


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[WVvan]

Undervan Storage Box continued:

The box is now supported at each corner by long bolts.


Next step will be to seal the top ledge against the bottom of the van so no water or dust gets in. There are two problem areas. Above the front ledge of the box are the corrugations of the van floor. What I call the "hills" and the "flats".


Along the passenger side of the box the van floor is bowed down. You can see it in the upper left of this picture.


Before I get to the sealing have to take care of the bowed floor. To do that I'll need to lower the box.

True Story. I'm walking through Lowe's about three weeks ago and pass through the hardware section. I see a 3' section of 5/16" threaded rod and think to myself that one of those might come in handy sometime. So I bought it. Had no definite plans for it. Just that I might need it one day.


Jump back to now. I'm standing at the back of the van trying to think up some way to lower the box to the ground. Didn't want to use the floor jack again. Inclined plane? Lever? Block and tackle? Then I remembered the threaded rod. Here's what I came up with.

Take a scrap 2x4 and cut it so it will just fit width wise inside the box. Drill a hole through the center. slide one end of the threaded rod through the hole. Attach two nuts, a washer and a lock washer to one end of the rod.


Get a second scrap 2x4 long enough to span the floor opening front to back. Drill a hole through the middle of this 2x4. Install the two 2x4s and threaded rod into the van. Add a washer and 5/16" nut to the rod just above the second 2x4. Attach a drill to the top end of the threaded rod. The threaded rod fit just fine into the drill chuck. Tighten the chuck.


Remove the bolts at each corner. Now the box is supported by the two 2x4s and threaded rod. I'm standing on a 1/2" wrench that's used to prevent the nut above the second 2x4 from spinning. Run the drill in forward. As the rod spins it causes the 2x4 inside the box to lower away from the top 2x4. This works as long as I kep that top nut from spinning. As the 2x4 lowers so does the box.


The drill and threaded rod worked like a champ. In about 20 seconds the box was sitting on the ground. I used the sawzall to trim the rod once the box was down. Will make the box "elevator" a bit easier to use.


Fix the bowed floor first. Using a 2x4 as a straight edge you can see the bow.


Hammer time.


A few well placed blows and it's much better. The bow is all gone.


"Screw" the box back into place and check the fit. It's A-OK now. Lower it down again.


Next up is the seal between the box and the floor. From what I read butyl rubber would be a good choice for this type of an application. Never had any experience with using it before. Headed on down to the my local NAPA. I asked the guy behind the counter what he had in the way of butyl. He said that this 3/8" x 15' Auto Glass Replacement Kit ($21.29) was the only thing he carried. I went ahead and bought it.


It might have been all he carried but as it turned out it was exactly what I needed.

With the box on the ground get ready to apply a bead of the butyl along the top edge. This stuff is real sticky so I wore gloves.


Application was straight forward. Just stick it down as you slowly unroll it. Leave the paper tape in place.


Problem came when I tried to cut it. It would stick to the utility blade then s-t-r-e-t-c-h like Silly Putty when I tried to pull it way.


I unrolled a bead completely around the top edge of the box. For the driver's side ledge and rear of the box ledge this would be enough since where they mated to the bottom of the van floor it was on a "flat". This isn't the case for the front and passenger sides. The "hills" in the floor raise between 1/4 to 3/8" from the flat so a single bead won't be enough to close the gap.


Since the roll is 15' long I still have extra left over. Remove the top tape and run another bead on top of the first one. Do this just on the front and passenger side's box ledges.


Slowly raise the box. Make sure that the butyl doesn't contact anything on the way up. Raise the box with the "elevator" just until the long corner bolts I used before will reach. On the way up remove the tape from the top of the butyl bead. Attach the four corner bolts and remove the 2x4s and threaded rod.

This is the edge along the back side. You can see I wasn't careful enough while raising the box. A small section of the butyl was snagged and pulled away.


Not to worry since I still had a little left over. I'm getting the hang of the butyl. Cut down through the paper tape onto a piece of wood. Doesn't stick and stretch that way.


Easy repair.


After that I just started tightening up the corner bolts in an alternating manner to slowly raise the box keeping it level while completing the seal. Once I got the box high enough I started adding 1" long 5/16" bolts with washers.


Replace the long corner bolts with 1" bolts and continue to raise and seal the box. In this picture you see that the butyl has filled in the gap under the floor "hills".


I didn't have any 5/16" lock washers on hand while doing this tightening. I'll add them later.

Once I felt I had the box in place I tested it by add a lot of weight. Over 200lbs worth.


Jumped up and down a few times and it felt pretty sturdy.

One bit of cleanup. The butyl got squeezed into the threads of the long bolts.


Some work with mineral spirits got them cleaned up. Had to do the same with my hands.


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[WVvan]

Undervan Storage Box continued:

With the installation of the box complete move the rubber floor matting back into place.


Cut out a hole to match the box opening.


Start on the creation of an access hatch for the top of the box. I'll make the frame of the hatch from 1" angle iron. Cut out the two side pieces first then measure for the other two.


Cut out the other pieces and use welding magnets to square everything up. I tack welded the pieces together on the floor since it's flatter than my work table.


Finish the welding on the table. Use an angle grinder to level out my welds.


Cut out a door from 23/32" plywood that fit within the metal frame. To provide support for the door take a 1" wide piece of flat stock and cut it to match the width of the door. Then cut the flat piece down it's length so I end up with two 1/2" wide pieces. Flip the frame over so it's laying on it's top. Place the door in the frame. Since the door's thickness is less than the frame's there is an exposed edge of metal above the door. Slide each 1/2" wide metal strip so it's resting on the wood but up against the frame edge. Tack weld into place.


Remove the wood then weld the two metal strips in place. By doing it this way the door will be flush with the top of the frame when closed.


Add a handle to the door. The handle is spring loaded so it snaps back into place when not being used. Bought if from McMaster-Carr. #12315A51 $5.42


The handle will be recessed into the wood so I'll need to make a cutout. I happened to have recently acquired the perfect tool for this type of operation. It's called a mill.
It was shipped to me via freight in a wooden box. I've never had anything shipped to me in a wooden box before. And for you "A Christmas Story" fans, it didn't read "Fra-gee-lay" on the outside so it's not Italian. There is a loading dock where I work so I had the box shipped there. Otherwise I'd had to pay extra to get it delivered with a lift-gate truck.


Had help getting it into and out of the van.


The mill instructions warn that it's top heavy so you should bolt it down before using. So I made a wheeled stand for it.


Back to the door. Clamp it onto the mill bed than lower the cutting tool and start making chips.


Even with the mill I'll have to do some final work with a hand chisel to get the handle totally flush.


Time for a test fit. I was off by just a hair. Nothing I couldn't fix with a angle grinder.


Next up was hinges. I decided to use the European style or hidden hinge since I didn't want any part of the hinge visible when the door was closed. I've not used them before so I got online and read up on the subject. Went to Lowe's and good thing I'd read up ahead of time since there is no information at the hinge display. Lucky someone had pulled at least one of each kind of hidden hinge out of the little plastic bags so in each bin there was one I could play with. This seemed to be the right type.


Screw the hinge to the door.


Use clamps to hold the frame part of the hinge in place.


Check that it opens and closes OK.


With this style hinge the door swings open 90 degrees. I could have gotten other hinges where the door will open more than that but the part of the hinge that is attached to the frame is bigger and will stick farther down into the undervan box. The farther down it sticks the more likely I'll be banging into it when I'm reaching around inside the box. So this is a trade-off. Now to test if 90 degrees will be enough.


Set the door up and test putting in and taking out some of the things I'll be storing in my basement.


I also checked which side was best. Hinge towards the drivers side is best. The door at 90 degrees will work fine. Collapsing chair fits, just.


Next how to attach the hinge to the frame. Cut out two pieces of 1-1/2" wide flat stock.




Trim the pieces to match the profile of the hinge back plate.


Since I know sooner or later I'll be banging my hands against these supports carefully file them so there are no sharp edges


Weld the supports to the frame.


Drill the holes for the hinge plates.


Secure the hinges to the frame with #8 bolts. Screw the hinges to the door.


Check fit and operation.




I might be looking in the box when it's dark out so add a flashlight. Use one of the binder clips I had previously used on the wooden box mock-up. It works just perfect with one of these LED flashlights from Harbor Freight. You can get these on sale for around $1.50 ($2.99 a pair) and that includes batteries.




Now take the door off and seal and paint the wood.


When it dries put it all back together again and reinstall.


Check with and get the supervisor's approval.


There is still some more work to do on the hatch but that won't come until later in the build. The metal frame needs to be painted and the top of the door will be covered in whatever I cover the rest of the floor in. The hatch frame will also be secured to the van floor in the future. With the hatch in place I can no longer hear the metal tools bouncing around inside the undervan storage box.

This pretty much finishes up the work on the undervan storage box.

[Photog]

Very nice work, and good documentation.

Thanks