Blog post #6

I get most of my construction materials from HOME DEPOT. I like to shop online and put things in my cart before I get there so I can find them easier in the store. They are pretty good about the materials in stock and also listing what isle they are in.  So after coming away with another couple hundred pounds of building supplies I set to work.  I added the new ventilation fan first, I bought a MAXX AIR mini fan.  The one was about $85 from RVUPGRADES.com.  I found them to have the best price for this fan and will buy more stuff from them in the future.  The fan I got moves about 200cfm and has a cool led light, it also only used about 2amps at 12 volts.  MAXX AIR also has rain covers on their fans so I wont have to worry about water getting in.  The fan is only an exhaust fan, but with the vent closed it should still move air if I want it to.  Since the camper top is mostly square and flat, and since I used 1" square tubing, the 1" pink insulation board worked perfectly. I used some construction adhesive on the back after cutting each piece. I ended up using all 5 of the 4x8' sheets I bought.  An unplanned result of the top dimensions (like with the wrap) worked out again with the construction materials since 4x8' is the standard size (in the USA).  Since the top is 51" wide, after taking away 2" (in some cases 3")  for the frame, it comes to 49" or 48"  wide which is the same width as the 48" sheeting, bonus!  Putting the foam pieces in remined me of Tetris and was actually pretty fun.  I had some .100" aluminum left over from the roof, so I decided to use that as the permanent floor for the top bunk.  I used rivets again and filed them smooth to finish.  Once the insulation on the top was in, I installed 3/4" boards to the roof with special wood to metal screws that were the perfect length as to not punch through the other side (1 7/16"). I used a little construction adhesive on the joints before screwing them in.  I chose to use these boards on the ceiling so that I will have a perfectly flat ceiling, it will also allow some room for wiring that will come next. I made sure to leave some gaps on the sides to that the wiring can go down the walls (also the boards were only 12' long).  I will be adding more insulation to the lower areas of the van after I configure some wiring and plumbing. I plan to use more of the pink insulation board and also spray foam for the not-so-flat areas.