[Guide] How To Line Your Own Van.

[osman]

Rookie mistake on my part - thought I'd be smart and ordered the slightly heavier duty 5.3mm ply kit, hidden clips wont work with this thickness of ply...……. so now its either buy non hidden clips or get 3.6mm ply. I suspect it will be new clips

how did it turn out? I've also gone and bought 6mm pre-cut ply panels and I'm realising that the 3 packs of hidden clips I've also ordered are probably going to be of no use... are there not some bloody hidden clips available to use with thicker ply? jeez

 

[kiter]

how did it turn out? I've also gone and bought 6mm pre-cut ply panels and I'm realising that the 3 packs of hidden clips I've also ordered are probably going to be of no use... are there not some bloody hidden clips available to use with thicker ply? jeez

In the end I went for new clips and had to go none invisible, dont really notice them now.

 

[osman]

In the end I went for new clips and had to go none invisible, dont really notice them now.

I’m planning on using the invisible clips with original crappy panels with the 6 mm ply glued to the original panels .. in theory this way I get the invisible clips and stronger panels ... if anybody knows better and can avoid me making a big mistake then please shout out

 

[Yorkyrmcdo]

I’m planning on using the invisible clips with original crappy panels with the 6 mm ply glued to the original panels .. in theory this way I get the invisible clips and stronger panels ... if anybody knows better and can avoid me making a big mistake then please shout out

6mm ply plus original panels, plus carpet could make your panels over 10mm and I’d guess heavy,

just my thought, but how about 3.6

 

[osman]

6mm ply plus original panels, plus carpet could make your panels over 10mm and I’d guess heavy,

just my thought, but how about 3.6

Yes you are correct they will be thick and heavy but is that really that bad a thing ? I’ve ordered the 6 mm now so I’m trying to convince myself I can still use it rather than admit I’ve made a big mistake !!
Anyhow they will be thick strong heavy but will have hidden clips and could look great as a result of the extra mm thickness also provide improved insulation for heat and sound ... people with skinny panels will be envious ! Lol
I’m gonna give it a go with an experimental panel or two and if it’s horrible I will do it with the thinnest ply I can as the combination of the ply and hardboard plus carpet will be a nice thickness as you say ... but I’d like to see both idea side by side and make a judgment from there.. or just use the hidden clips with the 3.6 ply like everyone else ... as they should screw in to that I’m presuming with out much trouble ?

 

[kiter]

I’m planning on using the invisible clips with original crappy panels with the 6 mm ply glued to the original panels .. in theory this way I get the invisible clips and stronger panels ... if anybody knows better and can avoid me making a big mistake then please shout out

I ended up using the old panels for everything except the larger side panels and reason for this I have fixings for the DIY bike rack that go into this and the original panels just not up to the job. To be fair the old crappy panels look fine once covered. I glued the invisible clips in place before I covered the panels.

 

[osman]

I ended up using the old panels for everything except the larger side panels and reason for this I have fixings for the DIY bike rack that go into this and the original panels just not up to the job. To be fair the old crappy panels look fine once covered. I glued the invisible clips in place before I covered the panels.

Interesting so your attaching stuff to rear panels and the normal clip fixings are holding up to the weight ? Or did you attach the panels using screws into the framework

 

[kiter]

Bit off both, the grab rails I need for securing the bikes are held on with riv nuts into the metalwork but the luggage nets higher up are just screwed onto the ply which us held with trim clips. If I get home at a decent time tomorrow I will get you a pic.

 

[Yorkyrmcdo]

Yes you are correct they will be thick and heavy but is that really that bad a thing ? I’ve ordered the 6 mm now so I’m trying to convince myself I can still use it rather than admit I’ve made a big mistake !!
Anyhow they will be thick strong heavy but will have hidden clips and could look great as a result of the extra mm thickness also provide improved insulation for heat and sound ... people with skinny panels will be envious ! Lol
I’m gonna give it a go with an experimental panel or two and if it’s horrible I will do it with the thinnest ply I can as the combination of the ply and hardboard plus carpet will be a nice thickness as you say ... but I’d like to see both idea side by side and make a judgment from there.. or just use the hidden clips with the 3.6 ply like everyone else ... as they should screw in to that I’m presuming with out much trouble ?

They will look absolutely fine, on a side note I’m not quite sure why there is so much cloak and dagger regarding techniques for carpeting and ply lining

I don’t think it’s the techniques that’s the problem, it’s the skill and patience + practice to make a good job of it

 

[slidepods]

Great thread
Few questions.
On spraying the entire back of the fabric. When you then start at the back how do you not get the rest sticking to everything including itself when doing over the door to start? I thought you just sprayed the metal where you wanted to apply?

when your sticking to the sides you cover the whole side with fabric then trim the areas out where the soundproofing is in external panel?

finally. Are the panels and floors going up on your website?

thank you.

s

We obviously have the abillity to bring the carpet in between 2 of us and are just used to doing it.
We do cover the whole side but cut away the excess carpet where we install panels.
Not sure about the panels and floors going up on the website yet? Possibly in the future but we are just in the process of completely overhauling our website which is going to take a fair while.

 

[slidepods]

I would be careful using 6mm ply with stealth clips when bonding the ply to cactory panels. You may find that the clips wont stay engaged due to the plys extra thickness and resistance to being flexed.

 

[slidepods]

They will look absolutely fine, on a side note I’m not quite sure why there is so much cloak and dagger regarding techniques for carpeting and ply lining

I don’t think it’s the techniques that’s the problem, it’s the skill and patience + practice to make a good job of it

To a certain extent I think you are right however there are techniques when carpeting that I would discourage anybody from carrying out.
We had one van in last year that had what looked like a nice tidy lining job done by professionals where they had screwed 6mm jigsawed ply panels direct to the metal work and carpeted straight over the top of it with no soundproofing or insulation installed. Our customer wanted us to de-line the van in order to soundproof, insulate and run cables then re line the van with removable panels. What we found was that in order to achieve a nice smooth looking finish around the panels the origonal converter had smeared copious amounts of bodyfiller all around them which we had to laboriously chip off and sand back then paint the exposed metal work.
So as you can see there are certain techniques that should be avoided. Personally we would never ever line a van without removable panels.

 

[osman]

I would be careful using 6mm ply with stealth clips when bonding the ply to cactory panels. You may find that the clips wont stay engaged due to the plys extra thickness and

I would be careful using 6mm ply with stealth clips when bonding the ply to cactory panels. You may find that the clips wont stay engaged due to the plys extra thickness and resistance to being flexed.

totally agree I’m very much leaning towards using the fittings I’ve been given with the panels .. they are basically a screw receptor that clips into the standard holes and you just screw through I’m going for a dark grey flecked 4 way stretch fabric black screws fittings etc could look good .. but I will experiment to see what I prefer

 

[Yorkyrmcdo]

Well finally had time to make a start on some of the lining

Still some bits to finish of but it’s taking shape,

slight problem I’ve misplaced my rear seat belt factory panels so I’m a bit stuck at the moment looking for some more

going to cut some templates for the top part of the quarter panel and fit those next

 

[copa mick]

Looking great !

 

[lairdharkness]

Good advice so far.
Is there a recommended trim to finish the junction between a vinyl floor and the carpeted walls?
Thanks

 

[Higgidav]

I just took my time to cut the vinyl carefully and used the OEM rubber mat as a template. There is no need for any trim if you are careful.

 

[Davidh]

Once you have installed your soundproofing and prepped your van its time to add the first layer of insulation. At Slidepods we use DoDo Mat Thermo Vanliner for this layer. It should be applied everywhere you have applied your soundproofing with the exception of the wheelarches. I would also suggest applying 2 or even 3 layers of this material to the lower cavity of the tailgate, This is due to the fact that you really should not wad this cavity out with a fiberous insulation as a second stage.

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At this stage you can begin masking off in preparation for carpeting the metalwork in the rear of the van. This is a stage we absolutely never skip as it doesnt take more than a few minutes and ensures a nice clean finish between the carpet and the metal of the vehicle.

In regards to this post. See when carpeting do you need to cover the 8mm holes around the rear door with a tape in order for them not to show up through the carpet? Also I take it you cover the holes for the panel fixings then just cut out the hole again in order to put the panel clip through?

 

[osman]

Yes you are correct they will be thick and heavy but is that really that bad a thing ? I’ve ordered the 6 mm now so I’m trying to convince myself I can still use it rather than admit I’ve made a big mistake !!
Anyhow they will be thick strong heavy but will have hidden clips and could look great as a result of the extra mm thickness also provide improved insulation for heat and sound ... people with skinny panels will be envious ! Lol
I’m gonna give it a go with an experimental panel or two and if it’s horrible I will do it with the thinnest ply I can as the combination of the ply and hardboard plus carpet will be a nice thickness as you say ... but I’d like to see both idea side by side and make a judgment from there.. or just use the hidden clips with the 3.6 ply like everyone else ... as they should screw in to that I’m presuming with out much trouble ?

just noticed I never finished the story of my panels.. so, in the end, I used the 6mm ply with hidden clips with no issues.. I simply recessed each clip hole a little into the ply and they fit perfectly so i have strong 6mm panels and hidden clips.. it looks pretty good

 

[Farnorthsurfer]

In regards to this post. See when carpeting do you need to cover the 8mm holes around the rear door with a tape in order for them not to show up through the carpet? Also I take it you cover the holes for the panel fixings then just cut out the hole again in order to put the panel clip through?

Yes. If you dont tape the holes under the carpet it will 'breath' through the holes and the carpet will act like a filter. You woudl end up with dark spots where the holes are.
I used a quite thick alu foil tape but guess you can use anything to hand that will seal them up. I got this tip off another thread, maybe earlier in this one!