Building Bumble

Rattles that is.  We do want to hear from you. It's rattles, squeaks, and vibrations that'll drive us nuts though. One of the first things most people do to a new metal box of a van is to add "sound deadener".  You'll see them referred to as Rattle Trap, KilMat, HushMat, Noico, Siles, Dynamat, etc. These are rubbery, gooey, weighty panels that typically have a foil side and an adhesive side.  In between the two can be various products such as butyl rubber, foam, bubble wrap type plastic, etc.  They are also (unsurprisingly) one more van build controversy.   Ford actually includes some sound deadening material on (some of) the flat sheet metal in the van production.  The white rectangles adhered to the metal in the below image are Ford's sound deadening material.  This is a side wall, towards the back of the van.. The same material is used in some of the flat roof panels as well.   We see sound deadener (SD) as a way to cut down on the vi...

Right now, this van feels pretty huge.  And then we start thinking about that space being living space for 2 adults and 2 dogs...a bedroom...kitchen...bathroom...office...dining room...living space... How many square feet again?  But we think we've figure out the layout that will work for us.  The image below is done in Sketch Up, which is a somewhat annoying but fairly powerful (for a free software) 3D CAD software that is available for anyone to use (web version).  Another really good option, and more powerful software, is Fusion360, which I believe also has a free version.  We had used Sketch Up when we designed our master bath and found it really helpful in getting a feel for the space and how things would fit/feel in that space and we thought it was perfect to start working through our van design.  I believe there are one or two (paid) software options made just for van design, but the comments I've read regarding those weren't horribly favorable....

  Goal :   Add swivels to the powered driver and passenger seats.  This will make these seats usable while camped/stopped, adding to our living space.  A table/counter/desk top will be within comfortable reach of both seats. We used  Amazing Auto swivels  for powered driver and passenger seats. Reasons for choosing these over factory or Scopema swivels - Offset swivel means not opening the door when swiveling Only swivel that is designed to be compatible with powered seats. Half the cost of Scopema Factory swivels not available with powered seats Tools Needed : Jigsaw (cutting seat plastic)   Medium metal jigsaw blade (for cutting seat plastic) Pliers (to bend anchor?) Heat gun (others have reported using heat to help bend anchor) Shop Vac Straight Edge/Board Socket Set (7mm, 10mm, 13mm) Consumable Materials Needed : Painter's Tape Rustoleum (if cutting off tether anchor) Plastic (protect electronics when trimming seat plastic) Hardware : Driver a...

We've gotten a little hung up on our build with some health set backs.  Hopefully we'll be back on track soon, but until then I'll try to catch up on what progress we have made and a few more foundation details.  I'll also be posting our Sketch Up diagrams of our van layout sometime in the next week.   When researching different aspects of this van and the build out, we found it almost as helpful understanding why people DIDN'T do some things.  This is also for when I look back later and wonder why the hell we did/didn't get X when we purchased the van.   Things we didn't opt for when ordering our van - Dual alternators - while it would be nice to have even MORE power off the engine that we could use for charging our "house" batteries (these are the ones that will power all our "living" requirements vs the "starter" batteries that handle the van itself), there are a lot of questions on how well you can utilize this extra power g...

  We've watched a TON of YouTube van build videos since we've started this plan - maybe all of them. There are some really well done van build video series out there and I'd be happy to share some of these with anyone who is interested. One thing to note on these van build blogs and videos - they all show the build out, but mostly not what happens or how it's held up a few thousand miles down the road. There is no real "code" to build these vans out like you'll find for houses, though some do try to adhere to American Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC) codes for building out electrical systems. Beyond (and even including) that, everything is an argument - which van, which insulation, what brands to use, how to build your floor - your ceiling - your bed...with what seems like a lot of "because I saw someone else do it". Another thing we see often is people trying to build their van out like you would a house. We are trying to keep in mind that th...

  Time to get started turning this thing from a metal box to a home on wheels! Unfortunately, the first thing we thought we'd do to start the build has been bumped down the list a few spots. Mostly because of the weather (we need warmer temps for adhesives and such to set and cure) but there's probably a bit of a "nerve" factor that's in there too. The first thing we planned to do was install a fan and two bunk windows. Which means cutting holes in our van. In our brand new van. In our not cheap, brand new van. It's too bad it's too cold for some of the adhesives to cure. Luckily, we have lots of other things to do. We decided to knock an easy one out to get started - adding swivel seats to our driver and passenger seats. As mentioned in our order details, we opted for power seats, which removed the option for factory swivels. We weren't heartbroken over this though, as the Ford swivels mean having to open the door to swivel the seats. This s...

  I don't know how many people know this about me, but I LOVE options. I like to know my options and I like to keep them open. Which is the subject of a bit of ridicule from people over the years. I wouldn't say I have a fear of commitment. Some might. But I don't. Not really. I mean. No. Yeah, I can commit to that. Having said that, there are a LOT of options on a cargo van. Who knew? Somewhat unrelated side note: Last summer, coming back from Hilton Head, we totaled our Chevy Colorado. I won't bore you with the whole story, contrary to my reputation. As it was, we were ok, the truck was not, and having a sister like Anna (and brother in law like Matt, and ...in-law-inlaws? like the Hovekamps) is never something to take for granted. End result, we are not only buying a van during the worst time in our lives to buy a new vehicle, but we are also buying ANOTHER vehicle to replace our Colorado. What's interesting though (and the point to this side note)...