I have had the van a week now, but only started building it today. I have been driving it around a lot to make sure there were no issues with the van before I started working on it. I drove it to Williamsburg, VA last weekend to participate in a two-day charity bike ride I also drove it around town on errands. Overall, I put about 800 mile on it. I like driving the van, it’s big but easy to drive. I got used to the conntrols and read the owners manual to be sure I knew how everything worked.
Now that I have the van, I am also able to put a tape measure to it and order some of the components that I hadn’t ordered yet. I purchased a vented window for the driver’s side of the van. I also purchased the lumber that I will use for the subfloor and the framing. I bought the lumber from a local lumber yard and used the van to pick it up.
I also did some additional research on security systems and finalized my decision about what I am going to go with. I am going to put deadbolt locks on all the doors and a Viper alarm system. I purchased these items earlier this week. The alarm system will be installed on the 30th along with upgraded speakers, a front dash camera, and ceramic UV coating on the driver and passenger door windows.
It’s been raining since I returned from Williamsburg, so it was a good time to finish research on van security and purchase the above items. This afternoon, it cleared up a little and I spend about an hour applying Kilmat sound deadening to the inside of the van. Tomorrow, I’ll continue this work. Artie will help me for a while, which will make it go faster.
I was hoping to put on the roof rack first, but the rain has delayed that project. It’s supposed to rain tomorrow as well, so the roof rack may have to wait until Friday the 15th.
Here are some pictures of what the back of the van looked like to start.
Those black squares on the van walls and ceiling are the sound deadening that Ford installed during manufacturing. I’m working to cover about 40% of the exterior sheet metal with sound deadening to reduce noise and vibrations. In my next post, I’ll provide more details on my progress.