Last night, I researched the correct method for attaching the fuel line from the heater into the auxiliary fuel port connection on the van. The two YouTube videos that I found on this operation let me astray. However, the Ford Transit Forum had some good information and when I went under the van I was quickly able to connect the fuel line. It is always a struggle to find good information on how to perform any task, and you need to evaluate if something sounds correct/best or not.
While I was under the van, I disconnected the fuel pump so that I could make the electrical connection to it. It was a blind connection that I couldn’t make work the night before. But, once I took it off the van, I was quickly able to make the electrical connections and reattach the fuel pump to the van.
My original plan for the day was to work on the lower bunk, so that I could finish the heater install. However, when I was thinking about that last night, I was worried the the lower bunk would be in the way for installing the ceiling and that the right order would be to install the ceiling before the lower bunk. So, I switched gears and started work on the ceiling. That meant that I needed lots of room in the garage. So, I put the materials from all the partially completed projects into the back of the van. This included the parts for the heater and the parts for the Thunderbolt locks. Also, I put the passenger side door panel in the back of the van, since I haven’t finished installing that lock and the door panel has been removed. I wasn’t happy about having all these half-finished projects and than starting another one with the ceiling, but that is the way it goes sometimes.
The ceiling that I was going with is a slatted ceiling. Here is the YouTube video that I was loosely following: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLyj8Rxyqjc
In the second week of July, I picked up the slats of lumber that I would use for the ceiling. I am using Pine slats for my ceiling, because that was the only type of wood that the lumber yard had that was over the 14 1/2 foot length of my ceiling. I wanted the slats to be long enough to cover the length of the ceiling with one board. In the Ford Transit, the roof curves down toward the front of the van, and I also thought that the Pine would work better to curve with that bend in the ceiling. The lumber yard had 16′ Pine that was one inch thick (called four quarters). I had them cut it down to 1/4″ thickness and 3 1/2″ width, so I received 20 slats to use on my ceiling. I only needed 15 or 16 slats, but I was happy to have a few extra, just in case. So, these slats have been sitting on my garage floor and I’ve been tripping over them for the last two weeks of work. I’ll be happy to have them out of the way and installed in the van.
There is a lot of work required to prepare these slats to go into the van. A lot of sanding and routering. So, I used all my PPE (personal protective equipment). I had a full face breathing apparatus to keep me from breathing in sawdust. I wore glasses to keep the sawdust and wood chips out of my eyes. I used hearing protection to cut down the noise of the power tools. And, I worked without a shirt, because it was a hot day in the mid 90’s. Here is what all that PPE looked like. I kind of look like a crazy scientist with all the long hair shooting all over the place (I really need a hair cut!)
Step one was sanding down the boards. I first compared both sides of the board to see which was the best side to use. I was looking for knots, saw marks, and any other blemishes or dents. Once I picked the best side, I sanded it down with 60 grit sand paper using an orbital sander. After I had sanded all the boards, I went through and marked them in three grade levels – Good, Questionable, Don’t Use. Of the 20 boards, I had two that I didn’t want to use. But, that was okay because I only reallly needed 15 or 16 boards for the ceiling. It also gave me two less boards that I didn’t have to take through the rest of the process. But that also meant that I may have to use some of the Questionable boards. I’ll put the Questionable boards in places where they won’t be as visible.
Then, I sanded all the boards a second time with 180 grit sand paper to give them a smoother finish. I liked the feel of the boards after this step. Next, I used a router to put a 1/8″ rounded cut on both lengths of each board. That made the edges less sharp and I also liked the look of it.
It was getting late by this time, but I really wanted to put a coat of stain on the boards before I finished the day so it could dry overnight. So, after dinner I went back out to the garage and stained the 18 boards. It was a process of using the shop vac to clean the surface of the board of any sawdust or debris, then applying the stain. I then set the board aside, so it would dry. I didn’t have a lot of space in my workshop for all these boards, but I was able to fit them in. I stretched the 16′ boards across the chop saw, work table, and the upper support of the lower bunk fabrication to obtain the length needed to support the boards. Here is a picture of all of them stained where you can see how crowded together they were.
I’m glad to have been able to stain all the boards before the end of the day, even though it took until after 9:00 to finish the staining. But clearly I can’t use my workshop for anything until these boards are completed and out of there. There is still a whole day of applying clear coats to these boards tomorrow before they are completed.