With the walls and ceiling in, the wheel wells ensconced in Reflectix stuck out like sore thumbs on our Econoline camper. How we dealt with our Ford Econoline campervan’s wheel wells When closed, they made perfect bookshelves and side tables, but we could open them to access storage and electrical wiring. Rather than letting it be a problem, we seized that opportunity for extra storage by building cabinet doors that hinged upward to store extra things below each window. When we went to install the walls in the Ford Econoline, we realized the bolstering two-by-fours made a large gap between these walls and the metal walls of the van. We cut a large X into the square he’d made, slid the cabinet in, and screwed it securely into the wall. We left the fabric intact over the holes Rhody had made for shelves, cut an X in each, and tucked the fabric behind a beautiful panel of birch that backed the shelves.įor the medicine cabinet in our DIY camper, it was even more simple. We upholstered our Econoline campervan’s walls the same way we had the ceiling. While Catherine was sewing the pieces of fabric together, Rhody cut shelves into the walls, as well as a large hole to fit a medicine cabinet we’d found secondhand. Reinforcing the existing wood was much cheaper and faster than building walls from scratch. The existing walls on our Ford Econoline campervan were thin and frail, so we strengthened them by attaching two-by-fours that ran down the sides and along the center. We were one step closer to moving into our campervan! How we put in our Econoline camper’s walls Roof in, we were ready for the walls in our Ford Econoline camper conversoin. We screwed the ceiling back into its existing drill holes, cut Xes for the A/C vents and lights, and screwed those back in as well. We used a jigsaw to shave off the tighter corners at the top of the pantry, and with the help of friends, we managed to squeeze the ceiling board in while aligning the A/C hoses that the van came with. Originally, it had fit snug between the roof and the pantry above the cab, but the rigid foam had lowered the ceiling, giving us far less space to squeeze the ceiling in. Installing the ceiling in our Ford Econoline camper came first. The long stripes and bright white helped open up the space and kept it from feeling cramped. How we put together our Ford Econoline camper’s ceiling When the fabric was ready, we pulled it taut across both ends of the wood, then used a staple gun to attach it to the backside. Next, she sewed panels of the fabric together to create single pieces large enough for each wall and ceiling, then ironed the seams flat. She measured the width and height of the walls and ceiling, leaving plenty of room on each side. Our friend Catherine is a wonderful seamstress and helped us pull it off without a hitch. Instead, we decided to upholster the walls and ceiling with new fabric. We’d originally planned to paint or stain the walls, but the tackiness from the stubborn glue left an awkward texture. Using a grinder, we shaved off as much remaining foam as we could, but it still wasn’t looking pretty. Time was not on our side – and neither were our skills – so we were set on reusing the walls and ceiling that came with the Ford Econoline conversion, even though foam from the upholstery clung to it in pieces. Our Ford Econoline camper’s ceiling and walls
Once the wood was in, we screwed it into the raised ridges of our van bed, spacing screws every few inches and being careful to check under the van and make sure we didn’t accidentally hit anything crucial. The raised ridges of our campervan bed were visible from the back, making it easy to know where to screw in and catch the metal. If you also want a Ford Econoline camper – we recommend reading this: 3 Common Issues with the Ford Econoline for Van Life So with only a few thousand dollars and a few months til our lease ended August 1st, we went for #van life. We wanted to do a budget van conversion on our Ford Econoline camper and were pumped to learn how. How could we outfit our old $4,000 Ford Econoline into a livable DIY campervan?īy May, we knew we either had to give it a go or sign another year lease we couldn’t quite afford. I hadn’t touched a power tool since shop class in seventh grade. Theirs were all polished wood, custom futons, and beautiful cabinetry. People with six-figure incomes showing state-of-the-art Sprinter camper vans had me disheartened about hacking it full-time. So, we decided to jump into the DIY campervan conversion game. We’d been toying with van life for years after a two-month stint in a basic Chevy Astro van and a few months in a Ford Econoline E-250 with a bed platform in the back. Renting an apartment was swallowing most of our paychecks and we were both tired of hustling all the time just to break even. In spring 2017, my husband Rhody and I were aching for a change.