In this article I go over how I framed out my van. Most spots I had to double up my 1/2” birch plywood to create 1” strips. In some places I used 3/4″ poplar and some places it was built up 2”. It really all depends on how you are trying to lay out your walls, what you want flush, what you’re doing with the weird awkward beams, etc. I had specific areas I needed flush so mine may be different than what you are doing.
Crossnuts/plusnuts are great when they work and horrible when they don’t! Make sure you double/triple check your installation before you put a bolt in them! The Astro 1450 Plusnut tool is well worth the money.
Materials/Tools Required
10-32 Steel Cross Nut Pre-Bulbed
1/4-20 Steel Cross Nut Pre-Bulbed
Astro 1450
Miter Saw
Kraft Paper
Circular Saw
Dewalt Safety Goggles
Ram ProMaster Framing Steps
1] Rip furring strips out of 1/2″ plywood.
2] Using the Astro 1450, install cross nuts throughout the van. Take advantage of the existing holes in the van, but drill new ones if you need them in a certain spot.
Make sure you get these installed correctly. Before attaching any plywood, make sure you can get a bolt in/out a few times without the cross nut spinning. If it’s spinning, it’s not installed correctly or tight enough.
3] Determine where you’re going to need studs for you walls/cabinets/etc, and install furring strips using bolts going directly into the cross nuts.
4] For the ceiling in the front/back of the van you have to get a little creative so that your ceiling isn’t just danging on the ends. In the front of the van, there is another stud you can hit. You can either remove the headliner and install a furring strip underneath like the rest of the cargo area, or you can hit the side with some custom pieces.
For the back, you can drill into the back of the van, rather than the ceiling. Just watch out for the light/rear camera wires.
I used a variety of wood in this part of the van, but mostly 1/2″ birch plywood and poplar 1×3’s.
In the next article, we’ll start putting up the walls in the van.