Cleaning and Painting
The floor of the van was dirty and scuffed up pretty bad. After mopping and spraying with Rustoleum, it was as good as new!
Sound-deadening
I applied 100 sq. ft. of Kilmat to the bare metal. It is basically tar that has a sticky foil backing that is supposed to deaden any vibrations. I'm still skeptical that this does anything given the amount of other stuff is installed in the van, but it IS quiet while I'm driving. This was by far the worst job of the entire build. It was hard to cut and stuck to my scissors and hands for days.
Floor Shims
The floor of the Transit has ridges that are about a quarter of an inch tall. Where the ridges were far apart, I shimmed the space with plywood to support the weight of walking on it.
Floor Insulation
The next step was cutting poly-iso foam (3/4" thick) to the shape of the floor. It sat right on top of the ridges and was dense enough to not sag once I covered it with plywood. I taped over gaps in the foam with foil tape.
Sub-floor installation
My first screw up was not putting thick enough plywood over the floor insulation because it flexed too much when I walked on it. It also wasn't thick enough to screw anything into it. Oh well, it meant I had to do the job twice, and it ended up being about 3/4" think. Gaps in the plywood and around the edges I filled in with spray foam.
Wall Insulation
The walls are insulated with Thinsulate material made by 3M. It's great for covering curved walls and easy cut into custom shapes and cram in tights spots. You can also see the studs I used to hold the walls.
Vinyl Flooring
I went with vinyl flooring planks for the floor which look awesome! They are completely waterproof and don't need any adhesive to install. If I had to do it again, I'd probably opt for cheaper and lighter vinyl sheets. I've noticed after driving the van over some bumpy road, some gaps have appeared between the planks as well.
Flooring on the Step
After I finished the interior, I had a few extra panels so I decided to do the step as well. I needed to use adhesive which wouldn't adhere to the rubber bottom. After about an hour with the scraper and mineral spirits, I had the panels ready to glue! After a little staircase edging, I think it came out pretty good!
Finishing Touches
The last step was to cut a thin piece of flooring for the back step and tack on aluminum edging.
Insulating the Doors
Getting insulation inside the back doors required removing the plastic panels and shoving as much Reflectix inside as far as I could reach. The places I couldn't reach, I sprayed foam into the tiny cracks and crevices.
Carpeting
For a little extra insulation and a more homey look, I carpeted the inside of the door using 3M spray glue for adhesive.
Replaced Plastic Trim
Came out looking pretty good!