A few years back I posted here pictures of my 2000 Dodge 1500 van that I had as a dirt bike hauler. I kind of stopped lurking here as the passion faded with my rust bucket, until last fall when my wife told me it wouldn't be just the two of us going to the races in 2013. So the search began for an extended van. The goal was to keep the utility side, with added seating and a more finished look.
I saw an article in the newspaper lately about a van GTG nearby next week, and I found myself disappointed that I couldn't go. For some reason that made me think of this forum and decided to post a write-up about my most recent build.
I really like the look of 80's vans, but up here, clean ones are few and far between, and as I learned with my previous posession, I totally hate doing any type of bodywork, so I elected to choose a more modern option. I ended up finding an incredibly clean 2004 Express 3500 15-passenger which happened to be imported from Florida. I had never seen any kind of snow, and it had been rustproofed every year. I has power everything, remote start, independent rear heat, Class IV hitch with trailer brake controler (which I needed to tow the camper), and only 96k miles.
Here's how it looked when I brought it home. I'm sure you've seen plenty of those around. Nothing to make you feel passionate about it, but I was determined to turn it into a modern-day van that fans of the genre would enjoy taking a look at.
I didn't need more than a 5-seater, so the back 3 benches went out. Removing the rails from the floor was a pain in the a**, but worth it to have a nice clean floor. After coming home from a very difficult first trip with the van (I may make a new thread about this story) I took some measurements and tried to get a better idea of where I was going with this. I decided to build a partition wall behind the bench seat. The front section would feel like riding in a modern crewcab truck. The rear section would have everything you need to haul, repair and wash 3 dirt bikes, while looking nice enough to make you want to have a beer in there after a day of riding. The rear portion would be insulated and covered in carpet, and include a 54-gal. fresh water tank, pressure washer, air compressor with 5-gal. tank, tools, parts, riding gear, etc. Not an easy task let me tell you!
So after plugging the 32 holes in the floor from the seat rails, I went to work. Since everything is much more expensive in Canada than it is in the US, the first step was to order some stuff on the web.
Fresh water RV tank (for bike washing, but also to shower on hot summer days), VanTred carpet by Bedrug, and a JVC head unit with a backup camera to pin the camper by myself and help with parking.
Since I'm kind of a geek at heart, the first thing to come in was the head unit and camera
Even though the carpet came pre-cut, some trimming needed to be done around the rear heater blower and bench seat rail.
Then the water tank was pre-fitted. I decided to put it vertically behind the bench seat for more room in the rear section. The filler/breather tube would be on the passenger side in the front portion. Since I wanted to keep the access to the rear and side doors as clean as possible, I elected to have the drain pipe come out of the driver's side through an RV water pump controlled by a switch next to the driver seat on the B pillar for easy access. Coming out of the pump, water would flow through the floor and run along the rocker panel to a valve near the rear wheel well, where I would connect the pressure washer. When stored, nothing is apparent from the outside. There happened to be a free spot in the fuse box under the driver's seat for the water pump.
Next I took out the tank again and started fitting 1/4" plywood for the rear doors, walls and ceiling. I used a seat belt mounting hole on the frame to mount hooks for the tie-downs.
Took everything out once again and installed R13 insulation and vapor barrier.
I found some leftover carpet from a carpet store for cheap. Glued it to the plywood panels. and installed in the van using sheet metal screws.
As you can see in the last picture above, The ceiling panel doesn't go all the way to the front. I wanted to reuse the OEM head lining for the front portion so I cut my panel to stop where the partition would go.
Next up I built a box to go around the water tank. It will protect it against impacts, provide support for the bikes and be part of the partition wall. I used 3/4" plywood to build the box and partition.
I had to stop there last fall because the weather was starting to get cold and dark. I stored the van in the garage for the winter and resumed my work in March.
I started working on the compressor setup. This is a 12V compressor that I picked up at a 4x4 store. I connected it to a 5-gallon air tank and wired directly to the van's battery. I swapped the standard battery for a deep cycle setup that cranks enough amps to start the engine. I installed a pressure switch on the tank to automatically turn on and shut off the compressor when air pressure gets below 85 psi and above 105 psi respectively. Air goes out of the tank to a regulator near the rear doors.
Once I was able to move the van around in the garage, I finished the partition, added shelves above the water tank and built side boxes in the rear section. For cooling reasons, the compressor was mounted on top of the heating unit.
Painted the shelves with porch paint and carpet on the side boxes and in front of the partition wall
Installed shelves for my spray cans in the rear door
Now that it looks good on the inside, I wanted to make it look good on the outside, too. I painted the grille and bumpers matte black and polished the head lights.
After getting her real clean, I clay-barred, polished and waxed the paint. It looked as if the roof had never been cleaned.
I did some maintenance, changed the engine oil, air filter, tranny oil, differential oil and a few more things. The van also needed new tires, si while I was at it I thought why not get some wheels? I found a set of Moto Metal 951's in gloss black, mated to stock-size Nitto Dura Grapplers. They have an agressive, off-road kind of look, but are made for driving on the road.
And finally the weather got better and I was able to admire my work in direct sunlight.
I got to take it out 3 times now, and I really like the setup. I still have some bugs to work out but it should be all done in the next few weeks.
I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoy using this van!