After being away from the van build for ten days, I’m back at it and have received lots of material to work with. One item I received was the custom cargo net for the storage area above the electrical cabinet. So, I hung that up to check it out. I plan to store larger items and bins of material here, so I thought I would use a cargo net to secure that material. We’ll see how it works out.
I then began work to install the upper bunk. First, I attached steel cable to the eyebolts that I had put in the ceiling unistrut channel. The blue painter’s tape in the pictures below just holds the other three fasteners that I need for the other side of the steel cable.
Then I enlisted the help of Elizabeth and Artie (who was home from college for fall break) to help me install the upper bunk. While they held the bunk in place, I bolted the hinges to the unistrut on the wall of the van. Then I used my digital level to get the correct length on the steel cable, so that the bunk sits level with the floor. Here are two pictures of the upper bunk. The first picture is in it’s shortened position and the second picture is extended to full width (30 inches wide).
The upper bunk will also fold up out of the way using the hinges. Now that I have it installed, I was able to take some measurements for the connectors I’ll use to secure it in it’s folded up position.
I spent some time in the afternoon reviewing my plans for the storage area behind the galley and creating a cut list for that work. After dinner, I spent a couple of hours cutting, drilling, and taping aluminum extrusions. I was able to get most of the pieces done and I should be able to start the assembly of the aluminum extrusion frame tomorrow. Here is a picture of the cut and machined pieces. It’s not much to look at, but it give you an idea of the amount of work I did. I am using the blue painter’s tape to label where each of the pieces go in the assembly.
