Carpet lining a panel van

[mm289]

Gonna be putting some carpet in Myrtle to make it a bit more homely as a camper, although it still has to double as a utility van so can't go overboard on cupboards etc.

So have got some pre cut 4mm ply lining from e-bay - fit is OK in some areas and not great in others, and the panel opposite the sliding door is a non starter as it is in 2 pieces whereas my van just has 1 big floor to ceiling void!!

Have also ordered some megastretch carpet.

Will try and take a few pics as I go along as I can't find many examples of anyone doing it in a panel van (please feel free to post pics or links on here if you have found some )

Couple of questions:
1. Do people carpet over all the metal on the sliding door eg. the upper track cover and not just the inset panels? Opinions?
2. What have people done for the ceiling, 1 big bit of ply or seperate panels - fixing it is a bit of a chore cause of the curves - I am currently planning on gluing in battens longitudinally to fit the ply too. - any better suggestions?

Just got to get some welding done for MoT then off we go with interior resto

Cheers,

MM

[batesy44]

I have just recently carpeted my panel van and no I just did the panels in the side door
And I had a good chippy mate completely line the sides and roof.
I would also recommend you put some insulation in under the panels, I used this silver bubble wrap stuff off eBay





Sent from my SM-A500FU using Tapatalk

[JonB]

Just PM'd you

[mm289]

Thanks Batesy and Jon, much appreciated. Just replacing the calipers for MoT then will get onto interior

MM

[mm289]

OK, progress update - takes longer to upload pics to Photobucket than it does to do the jobs

Started with gluing some battens to the roof, want to make the lining follow the side to side curve of the roof but keep it pretty flat front to back. Used Sikaflex EBT+ available from Screwfix although a bit pricey there - seems strong just takes a bit longer to cure than i would like. Also put some flashband between battens to dampen the roof noise and will put in some foil insulation before final fit



Did this on and off over a couple of days whilst also sorting out new brake callipers and getting it ready for the MoT (which it passed )


Bought a 8x4 sheet of 6mm exterior ply, if you are curving the ply with the roof then 8x4 works out about 1/2" short each side, but that is something i can live with - will work out a way to cover the small gap later depending on how it looks. i would rather this than have to make the roof lining out of two seperate panels.

Plan was to start the roof lining from the rear and work forwards, so first off used some of the old lining to make a template for the rear, then clamp it too the new lining and cut.



Got it snugged in nice and tight at the back.


I am having to do this mainly on my own so having to make up some supports to hold it in place whilst I move and measure. At the back it is supported on a workhorse and blocks but at the front i deflated an old exercise ball and am using it as an air bag/jack Its great as it rolls so makes sliding the sheet in and out so much easier and when I want to fit it up to the roof I just inflate again!


With it in correctly at the back I then needed to cutaway around the sides round the middle cross brace. made a template, transferred to wood.


Could have been a bit closer tbh but will do something to cover the gaps.


Then inflated the "air bag" so i could see what it looked like fitted.....



Begining to look decent, now need to tidy up the cutouts a bit then can have a look at the front.

Cheers,

MM

[mm289]

Got a couple of hours to work on the van tonight when it wasn't raining

Did the final fit on roof panel and trimmed to size, no pics of it fitted yet but here it is ready to be varnished


Next step is to make the side panel opposite the door as none of the pre cut ones I bought even come close

Cheers,

MM

[Les Shoes]

Looks like it's going well. I'm only down the road from you and have the same job to do, shame I haven't got time to come down and draw round yours to cut mine!

[mm289]

Lol, its not too difficult just a bit of a faff, I bought pre cut panels for all the sides but am dubious of the fit quality....

We will find out later in the week

Cheers,

MM

[mm289]

Bit of an update, had a long weekend so cracked on. Started by test fitting the panels.

I bought a set of pre cut panels off e-bay seller customshop_designs_uk http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/302016469619? ... _cvip=true The lower panel set was £90 quid which seemed reasonable and you could extend it to include upper panels for another £25.

So a full set of panels for £115 seemed like a good buy and to be fair the service and delivery (incl) was very rapid, but the fit is a bit random!

First off went to work on the opposite side to the sliding door. Although this set was for a panel van the panels for this side came as two panels, this doesn't really work as the solid side is one big open hole , unless my van has been hacked about somehow.

So mocked up the lower panel and it was about 3 inches to narrow! Looks like it is expecting some sort of closure panel on the b-post behind the drivers seat.


To get around this I had to make up some brackets for the panel to fix too and then weld these onto the B-Post



The top panel was just completely wrong, way to small for the aperture. Also there is nothing to backup the gap between the two panels, so got a couple of battens and glued them between the B and C post and the brace. This meant I could then cut a completely new panel from 4mm ply for the upper section and test fit.


Mutter, mutter, mutter......

[mm289]

Next off started working my way round the remaining lower panels. These were all a pretty good fit to be fair, the only thing to be aware of is the panels are a tight fit in the aperture. This is because I think they are designed for someone wanting to just put one big piece of carpet down the side of the van.

I had decided I wanted removable panels as I know I will need to do some bodywork on the van at some point and I want to be able to remove the panels to get access without trashing the carpet lining. This means you will have to trim off about 4mm from the edge of all the panels to allow room for the carpet to wrap around and the panel to still fit flush in the aperture.

The rear upper panels were also useless, about 10mm too small all the way around. Also the air vent cover protrudes into the panel area so I ended up making completely new panels for these areas as well. Didn't take any pics, will get one when I do the final fit.

Also fitted up the sliding door panels which were an OK fit apart from the rear edge of the lower panel which protrudes about 15mm too far so needs trimming off. Again all panels needed about 4mm trimming to allow for the carpet to be wrapped around.


Next, some carpetting!

Cheers,

MM

[mm289]

So, on to the carpeting. Bought the kit of MegVanMats complete with 80-90 discount.

Followed the instructions and started with the sides, did the B - C post and top rail first, then down to mid rail, then C - D post etc.Ran it all the way upto and around the door frame having taken off the seat belt etc. Then trimmed off the excess where the panels will go and it looks like this.


I have a panel made for the upper rear area but it was easier to just carpet across the aperture and leave it there for the moment. You can heat the carpet with a hairdryer, but I found it stretched enough without tbh.

Next did the door side the same way, have decided to leave the door runner clean and also the door itself apart from the panels.


At the back I carpeted all the way back to the rear door seal and then fitted the seal over the top of the carpet so it looks nice and neat.



Also did the roof bar at the B pillar


Next job - move onto the panels

Cheers,

MM

[mm289]

So basic process for doing panels (at least how I did them ) is - lay panel on carpet, mark and cut round with about 1 1/2 inches to spare.


Then spray panel and carpet, leave for a min or two then place panel on carpet.


Turn over and smooth out any wrinkles then spray overlap carpet and same width of back of panel


Wrap overlap around back of panel and trim at corners etc


Fit "blind" fir tree panel clips (got mine from MVM as well)


It is worth checking panels for fit before carpeting and as mentioned before you may have to trim a few mm of the edge of the panels to allow for the width of the carpet when refitting.

The blind panel clips are great as you can fit after putting carpet on and they don't show. They also move around a little in the holes so if your panel doesn't align perfectly you do get a bit of wiggle room.

On some later panels I ran out of the blind clips so had to use normal fir tree ones. This is a bit more of a pain as you have to put them in place before fitting the carpet then glue the carpet over the top. Or at least that is the way I did it as I didn't want any panel clips visible.

Cheers,

MM

[mm289]

And here are some pics of the panels fitted






Looks really good - the carpet makes ahuge difference

Cheers,

MM

[mm289]

So, next up fitted the sliding door panels which were quite easy, and the opposite door panels which were a bit more fiddly!



And finished off by tidying up around the seat bases.


Whilst I was at it I fitted a leisure battery under the drivers seat and rigged it up with a 140A Durite split charge unit. Also made up and carpetted a new battery cover.

Whilst I had the panels off I also ran the wiring for the lights and made up a panel for charging phones etc. Fitted this into the upper off side panel and added volt meter so I can check the status of the leisure battery. All circuits are individually switched so I can isolate to stop any battery drain when the van is parked up.


Next up, the roof

Cheers,

MM

[mm289]

The roof had been cut too shape beforehand and then varnished. It has come up quite nicely although I have some further plans for it when I get time.

I bought some led downlighters that are 12v and are touch sensitive - this is brilliant as you can switch them on and off individually without needing additional switches

I didnt want to cut holes in the roof because of my future plans so cut out holes in some 20mm board, cut this into squares and then stuck these squares to the roof panel. This means I can then pop the downlighters in and just drill a small hole for the wire to run through.


Got all this done and also fitted some remote control mutli colour LED's just for a laugh - £6 for a 5m roll!!

Taped down all the cables and cable tied then pushed the roof into position and secured to the B, C & D post roof bars.


Really happy with the result complete with covers and cushions the wifey made





And thats it - one panel van carpet lined. Ran out of time to do a few other bits and pieces but is now fully functional, so we went on hols for a week - and enjoyed the interior (whilst the engine packed up ) so came home on a transporter - non VW type.

Cheers,

MM