Van Build

It is important to insulate your campervan ceiling to maintain a comfortable temperature. On hot days insulation will help keep the heat out and you cool. Same goes for when it’s cold. Campervans are made up of very thin sheet metal which contain no insulation on their own. Therefore, the temperature outside is easily conducted and transferred to the inside of your van. Since the van walls are so thin, we also decided to apply a sound barrier to help with noise transfer. See below for the steps we took to insulate our campervan ceiling.

We chose to use Kilmat as the sound barrier because it was highly recommended in the #vanlife forums . To apply the sound barrier follow our steps below.

Step 1: Clean and Prep the Surface

Supplies Needed

• Simple Green
• Rustoleum spray paint
• Rags

Before applying the sound barrier, make sure you clean the surface thoroughly. I used Simple Green cleaner mixed with soap and water. After your walls are cleaned, examine and treat any exposed metal to prevent rust. We used Rustoleum spray paint for this.

Step 2: Apply Sound Barrier

Supplies Needed

• Kilmat
• Roller
• Razor Blade

First, cut each sheet into four sections. Once you have your all of your sheets cut, you can apply the sound barrier. Peel off the protective backing paper from the piece and carefully apply the Kilmat onto your wall. After that is complete, take your roller and roll your Kilmat until the bumps are flat. This will take some elbow grease so be patient and take your time.

Step 3: Repeat

Repeat steps 1-2 throughout your van walls and ceiling.

Once your sound barrier is in place, you can move on to the next step…

Step 4: Apply Foam Board to Ceiling

Supplies Needed

• Insulation Foam Board
• Aluminum Tape
• Razor Blade
• Measuring Tape

We left the ribs of the ceiling exposed to utilize them as furring strips for our ceiling and insulated in between.

First, you will you will measure the length and width of the ceiling cavities then transpose those dimensions on to the insulation foam board.  

Next, secure the foam board to the ceiling cavities with insulation tape. To secure, place the insulation tape around the perimeter of the your piece of foam board.

Repeat these steps until your ceiling is complete.

Step 5: Cover Foam Board with Reflectix

Supplies Needed

• Reflectix
• Measuring Tape
• Aluminum Tape
• Scissors

The Reflectix will be acting as a vapor barrier for the ceiling. Creating a vapor barrier adds an extra layer of protection and insulation to the foam board. To install the Reflectix, tape it over the installed poly foam board . The Reflectix will need to be slightly larger than the foam board to insure the entire perimeter of the foam boards is covered.

Once complete, your ceiling should look something like this.

Now that you know How To Install a Subfloor in a Campervan, you can move on to your next step: Installing the vinyl flooring.

Install Plywood Base Layer

Supplies

• 1/2 inch OSB Plywood
• Saw
• 1 inch screws
• Drill
• Liquid Nails

First, you will need to measure the perimeter of your floor. Some vans come with factory lined flooring that you can use as a template. Unfortunately, ours did not so it took some trial and error to get it right.

Once you have your template you can then cut your plywood to size. After you cut your flooring, dry fit it to ensure you have snug fit.

Now that your flooring fits, you can install it with a combination of liquid nail adhesive, screws, and nails. Apply the adhesive over your framework.

After the plywood is glued down, further secure it by screwing down through the 2×2 framework.

Mark the Center Line

Supplies

• Chalk line
• Rubber mallet
• Vinyl Planks
• Utility blade

It is important to mark the center line before you install your vinyl flooring in our campervan so that you know your planks will be straight and even. Measure the width of the area you will be installing the planks on and find the center. Next, mark the center line. We used a chalk line to achieve this.

Next, start on your first row. We started by splitting the plank in half with a utility blade. Then, we placed the tongue side of the plank against the wall. Below is the diagram from the instructions to give you a better understanding of what side is the tongue and what is the groove.

For each row, connect the tongue and groove together at a low angle. You can feel the planks lock together. Then use the rubber mallet to lightly tap the edge of the plank to further secure it. Repeat these steps throughout the van floor.

And just like that, you now have a solid floor and foundation for the rest of your build!

Check out our installation process on YouTube:

One of the first steps of converting a campervan is creating a solid foundation. Continue reading to learn how to install a subfloor in a campervan. Let’s get started.

Step 1: Prep the Surface

First, you will need to prepare the surface for the subfloor by giving it a good clean. Making sure all dust and debris is removed prior to building is important because you won’t be able to remove it once the subfloor is built. Give your floor a good sweep and mop down. If you bought a used van like us, you may have some scratches on your floor that will need to be treated to avoid them turning into rust in the future. I used Rust-Oleum spray paint to treat these areas. Once your floor is cleaned and prepped, you can move onto Step Two.

Step 2: Build Subfloor Framework

Supplies Needed

• 2×2 Furring Strips
• Liquid Nails
• Nail Gun
• Circular Saw
• Stainless Steel Screws

First, determine which areas of the van will have the most weight. This is usually the bedroom area, benches and hallway. In these areas you want to build additional supports within the subfloor framework. After you determine your van layout you will begin to take measurements for your framework. For this part, we decided to follow the ribs in the factory floor as a guide then added supports throughout. Check out below to get an idea of how we decided to place our 2×2’s.

Second, cut and lay out your 2×2’s and secure . We first laid out the 2×2’s vertically then horizontally. To see how we did so, click here. It’s important to make sure you evenly distribute the furring strips so your weight can be evenly supported.

Lastly, after your 2×2’s are cut and laid out, you will begin to glue them to the van floor with liquid nails. Depending on your van floor you may need to use shims to help keep your floor level. Once the framework is glued down you can further secure the floor using stainless steel screws. It’s important to use stainless steel screws to avoid creating rust. It’s even more important to review your van’s Body and Equipment Mounting Manual to know where are safe places to screw into your van’s floor.

Now that you have your framework secured, you can move onto the next step.

Step 3: Insulation

Supplies Needed

• Razor Blade
• Aluminum Tape
• RMAX Poly Foam Board
• Measuring Tape

This step is pretty straight forward and less time consuming than Step 2, yay!

First, measure the inside of the cavities and cut your poly foam board with a razor blade. The goal is to make sure the foam board fits snug into the cavity. See below.

Second, secure and seal the insulation by covering the cracks with aluminum insulation tape. We got this idea for the flooring from George V. on YouTube. He has many informational videos related to #vanlife that have been very helpful throughout our build.

If your van now looks like a spaceship….. then mission accomplished 🙂

Check out our post on How to Install Vinyl Flooring in a Campervan to learn more!

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We chose Flatline Van Co. because we love the low profile look of the ladder and roof rack. The ladder follows the curve of the van and the roof rack is sleek and has adjustable mounting bars. Another deciding factor was the price point. We could not justify spending $4,000 + on a roof rack when for $2,000 we purchased a roof rack and ladder that was DIY friendly. We knew this would be one of our biggest investments of the build so being able to eliminate unnecessary installation cost was very helpful. Lastly, the weight played another factor in our decision to go with Flatline Van Co. They use light weight aluminum which makes the total rack weight only 65 lbs! This is huge considering we have a high roof van. Since we have a high roof Ford Transit, the weight capacity is much lower than the medium and low roof vans. It’s important to save on weight whenever possible.

Step 1: Remove Factory Mounting Seals

First, you will need to remove the factory mounting seals. Be sure to check your vehicle’s owner’s manual to know exactly where your mounting holes are. I made the mistake of pulling all of the roof seals which was a pain to reinstall and plug back up. Save yourself the stress!

After the mounting seals are removed, clean the area then seal with Restoleum. Next, you are going to align the foam piece over the mounting hole. See below.

Place the Flatline Van Co. bracket on top of the foam piece then install the bolt and sealing washer. Repeat these steps for the rest of the roof.

Now you can move onto the next step.

Step 2: Seal the brackets

Apply a thick bead of sealant around the entire bracket. At the time, could not find a sealant recommended by Flatline in their manual so we used Dicor Self Leveling Sealant. Good news, it has held up so far. Flatline Van Co. now recommends Teroson MS 5510 for this step. Repeat this step for every bracket on the roof. Once the sealant is fully dry you can continue onto Step 3.

Step 3: Installing the Flatline Van Co. side rails

First, figure out the placement of the rails according to the manual. Next, place the rail on top of the bracket then install the bolt and lock washer. I used a wrench to hold the lock washer in place while I tightened the bolt. You can use whatever method works for you. Do not tighten the bolt all of the way yet; you will tighten them down fully at the end. Repeat these steps on every bracket.

Second, use the combiner bracket to join the two side rails together. This part is difficult to do on your own because you will need to hold the two rails and combiner plate together while inserting the bolt. Repeat this step on the other side.

Step 4: Install Cross Bars

Installing the cross bars is also a little tricky to do on your own. I suggest having something to prop the other end of the cross bar up while you are installing the bolts. Thee are two holes on the ends of the cross bars. Take the bolt, feed it through the outside of the rack and into the bolt hole. See below.

Tighten the bolt enough to where it won’t come out. You will tighten them down fully at the end. Do the same with the second hole, then repeat these steps for the other side of the bar.

Once you have all of your cross bars installed. Go around the entire roof rack and fully tighten down every bolt.

Now your roof rack is complete!

If you are installing the Low Pro Side Ladder, continue onto Step 5.

Ladder Install

Step 5: Combine ladder with couplers

The ladder comes in two main pieces that need to be joined using the couplers provided.

Once the couplers are installed, tighten all of the bolts using the provided Allen wrench.

Step 6: Install Mounting Bracket

Take the bottom mounting plate and loosely attach it to the bottom of the ladder. Next, attach the wings of the mounting plate to the lower body support of the van.

Move to the top of the van and make sure the ladder is straight and up and down then secure the ladder’s top mounting plate to the side rails.

Once the top of the ladder is fully secured, fully tighten the bottom of the ladder.

Now you have a full secured roof rack and side ladder. Happy travels!

Wanna learn more about the rest of our van build? Check out our blog ‘How to Install Vancillary Headliner Shelf Kit’

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A headliner shelf in our opinion is a must have when traveling in your campervan full-time. The factory headliner shelf isn’t very practical and leaves a ton of open space wasted. We decided the best way to maximize and utilize this open space is to install a headliner shelf above the factory one.

As a disclaimer, this is not a sponsored post, but we do have a coupon code for you. Use code: JJ10 for 10% off your order!

The Vancillary Ford Transit DIY Kit was purchased with our own money. At first, we thought $120 was a bit steep for brackets, bolts, and a paper template, but going this route saved us so much time and stress which made it well worth it. The brackets are sturdy and fit perfectly. When self converting a campervan you run into enough problems and obstacles as is, so why make things harder than it needs to be? Here’s how we did it.

Trace and cut the template for the headliner shelf

Supplies Needed:

• Vancillary Ford Transit Headliner Shelf Kit
• Something to trace with
• Plywood of your choosing
• Jigsaw
• Sand Paper

The DIY Kit comes with a template for the headliner shelf and lip. The first thing you will need to do is trace the template of the headliner shelf on a sheet of plywood of your choosing. We chose 1/2 inch birch plywood.

After the template is traced, cut it out using a jigsaw and give it a light sand. We decided to test fit the shelf to get an idea of what it will look like and to ensure it fits.

Prepare the headliner shelf for install

Now, on to finishing the shelf…

Supplies Needed

• Fabric
• Staples/Staple Gun
• 3M High Strength Contact Adhesive
• Scissors

This step is ultimately up to how you would like the shelf to look. You can paint it, stain it, or wrap it in fabric like we did. We found an aged faux leather fabric at Joann’s. Pro-tip they always have coupons available on their mobile app. We used one of those coupons to get our fabric 1/2 off!

Start by laying the side that is seen down on to the fabric. Next, begin to staple down the side with a curve since this is not to be seen.

To get a clean fold and get the fabric to lay flat, make sure to cut away any excess fabric. Secure the fabric to the plywood with 3M High Strength Contact Adhesive. Spray it, let it get tacky, then apply the fabric. Be sure to to smooth out any lumps and keep the fabric as tight as you can. Doing this will help prevent the fabric from sagging down the road. Once this side is complete, flip the shelf over and repeat the steps above for applying the fabric.

Attaching the shelf lip

Supplies Needed

• 1×4 inch wood
• Stain
• Nail Gun

The Vancillary DIY Kit comes with a template for a lip that is about 2 inches or so. The height of the lip was too short for our liking so we decided to replace this part with a 1in. X 4in. piece of wood that we stained. If you don’t want to DIY your own option you can simply glue or nail gun the template cut wood to the front of your shelf with the finish of your choosing. We placed 2x2in. supporting blocks behind the 1x4in. lip to help secure it to the shelf. See below.

Installing the headliner shelf

Supplies Needed

• Socket Wrench
• Marker
• Drill/ Drill Bits
• Right angle tool

The first step is to install the provided brackets. To do so, you must remove the existing screws from the factory shelf.

Next, slip the bracket in and loosely screw back in the factory screws. Repeat these steps for the bracket on the other side.

Now that you have your brackets installed, carefully place the headliner shelf on top of the brackets. Ensure the shelf is positioned to your liking then mark holes through the bracket and onto the shelf. Next, drill the pilot holes and place the shelf back on the brackets.

Align the holes on the headliner shelf with the holes of the bracket. Fully secure the factory screws in, then use the Vancillary provided bolts to secure the shelf to the brackets. The bolt closest to the back is very tricky and you will need some sort of right angle tool to properly tighten this. Tighten the bolts on each side and your installation is complete!

Finished look.

If you are more of a visual person like me, check out this video: Vancillary Headliner DIY Shelf to see our full process

Use code: JJ10 for 10% off your order!