Floor and step

The floor consists of four layers:
  • Black foam underlayment  (Black Jack, 2.5mm, from Home Depot)
  • Rigid foam insulation (3/4", green, 2 sheets from Lowe's)
  • Plywood (3/4", 2 sheets from Home Depot)
  • Vinyl plank floor (two boxes from Lowe's)
  • Misc items (SS screws, wood planks)
I put a thin foam underlayment to provide some soundproofing and eliminate rigid foam squeaking.

Typically, people do the subfloor from three pieces using 3 sheets of plywood. However, since my design has the seat frame attached directly to the van floor,  I could not do it. Also, I did not need the plywood under the water and propane tank. Thus I manage to cut two sheets into pieces and cover all that I needed.

The plywood is attached to the van by multiple SS machine screws and nuts (about  two dozen).The space between van floor ribs is filled with 1/4" wood planks on top of foam under the rigid insulation. No glue was used in floor construction.










On the left, you see the cut for the Propane tank, on the right - the cut for the water tank, and by the side door - the cut for the furnace.

Initially, I planned to install permanent long steel step on the passenger side. However, as I was shopping for it I found Lippert Components Treadlite Power Step on Amazon. I put it mostly under the sliding door and a little bit under the front passenger door, so it an be used for both.

Installation was not easy. The bottom frame structure, to which I attached the step, is not horizontal, but slanted up. So each of 6 bolts that hold the step has to have individually sized spacer. Also, marking and drilling on a slanted surface is quite difficult - it never comes exact and requires tweaking the holes in the frame to match the holes in the step.

The step actually is very nice: opens and closes automatically with the door, has lights, retracts when you start the car, and has a switch to hold it permanently open if needed.





















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