Van Build

In this video I go over how to make cheap drawers. Even with a really bad table saw you can make some decent looking drawers for your van. I don’t have the tools for doing dovetail joints, so pocket screws were the next best thing.

Push To Open Drawer Slides on Amazon
Centerline Push To Open Drawer Slides
VIGO Bavaro Stone Vessel Sink

In the next article, I’ll go over my struggles with the rear walls, so stay tuned. Yewwwwwwwww!

I finally got to the part of the build I was really looking forward to, building out my kitchen cabinet! The dream has always been to have an oven in the van so I can make pizza after some solid surf sessions and we are getting closer to that being real lol.

I’m building the cabinet to be about 56” wide. The depth of the cabinet will be about 24” with the face frame and 36” tall with the butcher block counter. I’m using 3/4″ Baltic Birch plywood for all of my lower cabinets, as well as poplar 1×2’s for the face frames, and poplar 1×3’s for stringers. I have a lot of respect for people who make cabinets, it requires a lot of patience and precision. I’m really stoked with how my cabinet is turning out given the tools I have available and with my limited knowledge.

I feel like I may have solved one of the issues that a lot of people struggle with; how to keep the drawers shut/locked when driving the van. Most people end up using the plastic RV clips or brass latches. With these push to open drawer slides, I think I may be able to get away from using those, at least for my drawers.

As you can tell, I have some electrical done and also did some work on the back walls. That stuff will be coming in future articles, so stay tuned. Yewwwwwwwww!

After finishing the upper cabinets, I took some time to figure out how I wanted to build my bench seats/convertible bed and got the measurements all squared away. I’ve got the bench seat frames all built out and painted, they are ready to be installed once the paint dries.

I was originally going to do a U-shaped bench, with the Lagun table in the back but I’ve decided to leave that space in the back open and build up a little platform instead. I’ll be able to run my wires and plumbing underneath the platform in a narrow channel, as well as have some additional storage for random things. Leaving the center open all the way to the front of the van will make it a lot easier for me to deal with longer surfboards. The Lagun mount for our table will be attached to one of the bench seats.

My bed will end up being about 53” wide. The bench seats are about 24” (depth) and that leaves me with a ~25” walkway. If you are going to go with this type of setup for your van, make sure to really dial in the height so that they aren’t too tall/short once you get your cushions. I’m stoked with how these turned out.

I’ll be moving onto my kitchen galley cabinet next, so stay tuned. Yewwwwwwwww!