Sleeping Sidways- A Review

Now that we've been living in the new van setup for a few months I wanted to write down some of my thoughts about different aspects of the build.  I've been getting lots of questions about our sleeping arrangement.  In the Promaster, we are able to sleep perpendicularly (across the van width wise).  The van is about 6' across and at 5'4" (Laura) and 5'10" (Brian) it's turned out to be plenty of space. Here's how it has been working out:

Pros:

-More living space

-We both get to sleep by the window

-Space for the bench seat in front of the bed

Cons:

-Crawling over each other to get in bed

-Harder to level the bed while parking

-Less space for the dogs

-Less under-bed storage

Thoughts:

When I originally built out my Sprinter I had the bed set up this way as well.  I could just fit, but soon realized that no one else would be comfortable that way (same went for the short top roof in the van).  After a few trips with the perpendicular bed, I did some modifications and one of them was to make the bed run lengthwise.  It cut into the living space, but I realized that most of the time spent in the van was sleeping, so everyone might as well be comfortable.  The lengthwise bed worked out really well in the Sprinter.  

When we got the Promaster, we figured that's how we would set up the bed as well.  When we actually measured the interior space, we realized we would be able to fit across the van and our plans changed.  Sleeping across the van would open up a lot more space for us, which would be helpful given the large size of the side sliding door (lengthwise would put the bed almost out to the edge of the door) and the fact that wanted to have more space for cooking and other activities.

So far it has been working out terrificly.  It was a bit of an adjustment for Star and Titan who were used to having a bit wider of a bed and sleeping with a human or a wall on both sides of them.  Now they sleep on the open edge of the bed so if they get nervous about sliding off they scoot really close and we sometimes get squashed together against the back doors.  It is really nice that both humans can have their heads next to the window so we get fresh air all night.  We've found that if we set our fan to suck air out of the van rather than blow it in at night, it pulls a nice breeze through the window.  

The only downsides to the bed set up are that we have to crawl over each other to get into bed and that we have a lot less under-bed storage space.  I could fit an incredible amount of stuff under the bed in the Sprinter because it extended out so far into the van.  We are really happy with the storage we've designed in the new van though, and having the bench for storage in front of the bed really helps as well.  One other thing I've noticed is that it's hard to get a level bed when sleeping this way.  When your bed is lengthwise you can always park on a slight slope so that your head is elevated, but when you're sleeping sideways on an up or down slope you're going to be rolling off the bed or into the backdoors.

All in all, I'm really enjoying the new set up!  If you are thinking about sleeping perpendicularly in your van, think about how much time you'll spend sleeping vs. how much time you'll use an extra 1-2 feet of space in the van.  I think having a good, comfortable spot to sleep is incredibly important so I wouldn't jeopordize that for a bit more standing room.  If you have a wide van or are on the shorter side though, I highly suggest it! 

Promaster Build- Window Installation

Today we installed the windows in the Promaster.  Much to my surprise and delight, it was EASY!  We went back and forth between deciding to have these installed by a professional and trying to do it ourselves.  My mom pushed strongly for the professional route.  I emailed several van outfitters and got a reply from one who quoted me $495 per window.  That was a little out of the budget, so after watching some videos and reading up on window installation, we decided it seemed straight forward enough to do it ourselves.

Materials:
Ram Promaster 159-2 window from Motion Windows
Ram Promaster 159-3 window from Motion Windows
Exterior seal tape (included with windows)
Screws (included with windows)
Cardboard, tape, sharpie, measuring tape, scissors (for template)
White paint
Jigsaw with fine-toothed blade
Sander
Flathead screwdriver
Hammer
Drill

Steps:

1. Draw your template.  We found a big piece of cardboard and traced along the part of the window that had to fit through a hole.  Cut out the cardboard.

2. Remove support bars.  The Promaster comes with metal supports between the big panels.  They don't seem super important and were obviously in the way of the windows, so we took them out.  We used a flathead screwdriver and a hammer to kind of chisel them out.

Big thanks to my brother for all his help!

3. Transfer template to van.  We wanted our windows to sit as high as they could in the space we had, so we measured the interior clamp ring and positioned our window accordingly along the top edge.  We also measured the panel and marked the middle, and then it was easier to line our template up in the middle of the space, with equal edges on both sides.  We taped it on and traced around it with a sharpie.  We traced and checked our template a billion times for the first window because we were really nervous.  This is a good time to measure twice, cut once.  

4.  It is not possible to cut the whole window from inside the van because your jigsaw will run into things, so you will have to transfer your template to the outside of the van.  You can do this by drilling holes along your traced line, then going outside the van and lining your template up with the holes.  Trace it on the outside.

5. Protect your paint.  If you're not lazy, you will want to tape around your lines with painters tape so the jigsaw won't scrape your paint while you cut.  If you are lazy, you can just tape the bottom of your jigsaw and hope for the same effect.

6.  Drill and cut.  Drill a hole so you can get your jigsaw blade in there.  Cut out along the lines.  If you are cutting a big window, the piece will get really wobbly and you will want to tape it in place or have someone hold it steady.

7. Dry fit the window and trim any edges if necessary.

8. Paint any raw exposed edges to prevent rust.

9. Install your window according to manufacturer's instructions.  For our particular windows, we didn't need to build a frame or anything.  We just applied the seal tape to the edge of the window, and popped it into place.  Then had one person go inside the van and screw on the interior clamp ring.  EASY PEASY!

I am super happy with how the windows turned out.  They look AMAZING.  Both windows are sliders with screens so we will have awesome ventilation and no bugs.  They came with a really nice dark tint so people won't easily be able to look inside.  The sliders lock, and the windows feel really sturdy and durable.  The smaller window will be above the kitchen and the large window is in the bed area.  The large window is reallllllllly big, but I think we are going to be extremely happy with it.  These windows were pretty pricey, but it was definitely worth it!  Motion makes windows specifically for all different types of vans- Sprinter, Promaster, Transit, so you know they're going to fit.  They are slightly curved to go with the side of the van.  Keep in mind, these take 6+ weeks after ordering to arrive, so plan ahead!

Promaster Build- Insulation and Partial Siding

The next step after doing our floor was to begin insulation and siding on the van.  Again, we are going slightly out of order because of the timing and geographical locations of our build.  It might be more logical to do the electrical first, and we would have liked to cut the holes for our fan and windows first, but it has been raining and snowing, so we waited on that.

Materials:
2 rolls 2' x 25' Reflectix
1 roll 48" x 10' Reflectix
2 packages UltraTouch Denim Insulation (R13)
1 package 4mm plastic vapor barrier
1 4'x 8' sheet 1" Thermasheath Rmax Foam Insulation Board (better R-value than regular R-Tech foam board that we used on the floor)
2 cans 3M spray adhesive
2 rolls Gorilla tape
2 sheets 4' x 8' Tri-ply underlayment plywood
Some screws

Time:
Ehhh, maybe two full days worth?

Cost:
If I get less lazy, I will calculate this later!

Steps:
1. Reflectix!  Reflectix is basically bubble wrap with foil on either side of it.  It is a good insulator and vapor barrier, easy to cut and work with, and not that expensive, so I didn't see any good reason not to put it everywhere.  We cut shapes to fit all the various spaces in the van and spray adhesived them on.  If you're building a Promaster, be prepared to be wowed by all the ridiculous shapes and blobs all over the van; there are almost no straight lines.  We popped off the factory panels on the doors and Reflectixed behind those too.  After you're done the van will look like a sweet spaceship.  If you're using spray adhesive you'll want to make sure to have good ventilation and wear a face mask.

Working into the night

Turning into a space ship

Shiny!

2. Denim insulation.  I used this in Silas and really liked how easy it was to work with.  It cut down on sound/road noise a great deal as well as obviously keeping the van warmer in winter and cooler in the summer.  Ripping the denim and stuffing it in crevices creates a lot of denim dust, so you will want to again wear a mask and have ventilation in the van.  Having a vacuum or broom and intermittenly cleaning up during this process will make things happier.  On the large panels, we put a bit of spray adhesive and then stuck up square pieces.  We would cover large areas with duct tape to help hold the big pieces in place.  You will also want to stuff all the nooks and crannies and crevices- of which there are many!  I like using a long flat head screwdriver to jam bits of insulation in.  We used denim on all the walls and doors.  I used it on the ceiling in Silas because it has a better R-value than other materials but it was such a huge pain that I decided not to do that this time.  One more note on the denim- they used to carry it at Home Depot and you could buy it by the package- that's what I did last time, but now you can only order it by the pallet (which is way too much!)  I was able to get it at Lowe's in the quantity I wanted.

A really easy, mostly square section

Taping in large pieces to keep them in place

3. Vapor barrier.  We wanted to make sure our denim was protected from any moisture.  The Reflectix on one side protects it from outside the van moisture and condensation and on the inner side we covered it with a plastic vapor barrier.  This is pretty simple, just requires lots of tape and some scissors.

Starting in on the vapor barrier.

4. Ceiling.  As I said above, trying to use denim on the ceiling was really hard and annoying, so I opted for foam board this time.  We found a type board with R-6, which is better than the R-Tech board I've used in the past.  We used 1" but in retrospect I wish we would have gone with 3/4" because it sticks down just a bit below the cross beams in the van.  We used a knife to cut squares that fit in between all the roof ribs.  For now, we left off the square where the Fantastic will go so we wouldn't have to cut through it later.  We spray adhesived (sense a theme?!) them on and we put up temporary furring strips across the boards to hold them on while we drive around without our wood paneling on.  We got the feeling they might pop off otherwise.

Ceiling insulation going in.

5. Siding.  During this step we also put up wood siding where all of our cabinets will go.  This siding will essentially be the back of the cabinets, and because it will be covered, it doesn't have to look perfect (which is good because as I said before, the shapes in this van are unreal).  For the rest of the walls, we will do tongue and groove paneling.  We used 3mm (I think.  I'll have to double check on this) underlayment.  We painted it with a waterproofing stain before mounting it to add an extra layer of moisture barrier.  We used a combination of circular saw and jigsaw to cut the shapes to match the walls and screwed them in.

A couple of panels up.  The rear one will be under the bed, the one closer to the front will be the back of the kitchen cabinet.  The un-Reflectixed portion above it is where one of our windows is going.

IGNORE THE BED..  No really, please don't look at our sketchy temporary bed platform.  This picture is to show you more siding and the strips along the ceiling to hold our insulation in.  Obviously if we were putting our actual ceiling in before going on a 3,000 mile road trip this wouldn't be necessary.

Alright!  Next stage of the van complete!  We are looking forward to having a well-insulated van.  

Promaster Build- Floor

Today we put the floor into the Pedro.  We decided to do the floor first because we will be doing most of the build after ski season in April down at my brother’s house where we will have a smart engineer, lots of tools, and warm sunny weather at our disposal, but we need the van to be usable in the mean time and the dogs wouldn’t be able to ride in the van with the bare metal floor (how’s that for a run on sentence).  So, the floor was our priority.  Everything went really smoothly!  Here’s what we did:

Materials:

2 rolls of 10’ x 4’ reflectix ($21 each)

1 roll of Gorilla Tape ($5.50)

1 can 3M spray adhesive ($11)

2 sheets of 8’ x 4’ .5" foam board ($7.45 each)

1 sheet 12’ x 6’ plastic vapor barrier ($6)

3 rubber horse stall mats 4 x 6’ ($39.99 each)

2 wood strips .5” x 8’ ($8.99 each)

1 metal door frame threshold ($13.99)

Time:

5 hours

Cost:

$222.34

Steps:

1. Relfectix.  Reflectix is like magic!  I plan on covering the whole van with it.  It’s a great insulator.  We used spray adhesive and cut reflectix to fit the whole floor and the wheel wells.  We got it all stuck down and used Gorilla tape between all the separate pieces.  We were able to cover all the space with 2 rolls of 10’ x 4.’  It was about 40 degrees outside while we put the floor in and the metal was quite cold on our feet.  Once we put the reflectix down it was noticeably warmer, and a perfectly comfortable temperature to stand on in just our socks. 

I've seen some people put little wood strips in between the ridges on the floor to make the whole thing more level.  We opted not to do that to save some more time and money.

All the reflectix is glued in and all the seams are covered with Gorilla tape

2. Foam board.  Next we cut our foam board to shape.  We again used tape between all the seams.  I chose 1/2 inch foam board because that seemed plenty sufficient given all the layers we would eventually have on the floor.  We were just shy on having enough with the two sheets that I bought, so we will have a little gap to fill in when we buy more foam board for the ceiling. 

3. Vapor barrier.  I’m pretty sure this wasn’t necessary but I had it and decided to throw it down just in case our top layer wasn’t 100% waterproof.  We cut the plastic a little larger than the floor space so it came up the walls a bit around all the edges and then trimmed it down once we had our top layer in.

4. Horse mats.  We chose to use rubber mats because hardwood is too slippery for the dogs, the rubber seemed like it would not only insulate well but also be a great sound dampener, it would be easy to clean and it wouldn’t be a problem to get into the van with wet clothes or gear.  We bought our mats at Tractor Supply Co.  They come in 4’ x 6’ rectangles, which was great because the van is 12’ x 6’ so three mats covered the space perfectly.  The mats are heavy enough that they lay perfectly flat and don’t curl or move around, and there is no gap in between the pieces.  We trimmed them with a utility blade, which was hard work, but we got nice curves around the wheel wells and other features of the walls. 

The mats are dirty because we have already been using them in the van.

5. Doorways.  Because we didn’t frame the floor with wood or use a solid sheet of plywood before our mats, we wanted to make sure that our foam board wouldn’t get crushed on the edges when we stepped into the van.  We used .5” wood strips along the back door and the side door to reinforce the edge of the floor.  This went under the rubber mats, above the relfectix, and as a side edge to the foam.  For the side door, we also added a metal threshold, which we screwed into the wood strip to protect the edge further.

Layers.  The wood strip keeps us from crushing the edge of the foam when we step into the van.

Here's what all the layers look like from the side.  The foam board is behind the wood strip.

Here is the metal threshold which hides everything and makes it look clean as well as protects it.

The project was really fun!  The floor feels really comfortable to stand on and we expect it will insulate very well as well as quiet things down significantly in the van.  The van is about 6’5” inside, so we didn’t have to worry much about having our floor or ceiling insulation too thick.  All in all the floor was a little under 1.5” thick.