Framing Out the Camper Van

Fully framed out camper van

The next project to conquer in our camper van conversion is framing out the van. Just like you would frame out your house before building walls, you need to frame out the walls and ceilings in your van. However, we do not recommend using 2x4s to accomplish this like you would in a house. You want to utilize the width of the van as much as possible and 2x4s are big and bulky, and would add a considerable amount of weight to your van build. You always need to keep weight in mind when building out the van. Lets get into how we framed out our van camper.

We used Birch plywood to create the “studs” used to frame out the van. We choose to use 3/4 inch Birch. This thickness provides additional strength needed for all the things we will be screwing to the Birch. Others have had success using 1/2 inch Birch, but I would not go any thinner than that.

These studs (or furring strips as they are referred to in van conversions) are attached directly to the van’s structural component. Now, the simplest method is using self drilling screws to attach your furring strips. The disadvantage to this method is by adding multiple holes to your van, you are increasing the likelihood of rust. Self drilling screws also are not as strong as other options. For the method we used, you don’t have to add any additional holes to your van. If you look at your bare van, you will notice a bunch of holes are already in the ribs and structural supports which is super convenient. Let us introduce you to rivet nuts aka rivnuts. These are threaded inserts that you can use in the holes in the van. For the sizes we used in our van,  no drilling into the van was required which means less chance for rust problems.

The rivnut on the right is what one looks like straight out of the package, and the rivnut on the left has been compressed. On the compressed rivnut you can see that inside part of the shaft is expanded and all the ridges add grip, to help prevent spin out. The inside of the rivnut has threads that a bolt can screwed into.

Framing Out the Van

Kevin attaching a furring strip to the ceiling

Materials and Tools Used:

• 3/4 inch Birch Plywood
• Rivnut Tool (the rivnut tool we bought came with different sized rivnuts)
• Rivnuts
• Bolts
• Electric Screwdriver
• Drill
• Countersink Drill Bit
• Circular Saw or Table Saw
• Miter Saw

Placing the Rivnuts

First on the to do list is plan out where we are going to place the rivnuts. On the ceiling we used all the ribs that went across the van. These all had plenty of holes for the rivnuts. There were five holes that were the same diameter across each rib which are the ones we used. We placed M5 rivnuts in each hole with the rivnut tool.

To use the rivnut tool, first select the proper head. To load a manual tool, spread the arms, screw the rivnut all the way down on the head. Place the rivnut all the way into the hole in the van and compress the arms together. Use the knob to unscrew the head from the rivnut and you are done.

Cutting the Plywood

The next step is to cut up the birch plywood. Using a circular saw or table saw, cut the Birch into 4 inch strips. Cut the pieces to the correct length with a miter saw or circular saw. The length of each piece varied since the Sprinter is wider in the middle than near the ends, but they were an inch or two short of the van wall on each side.

Drilling Holes in the Furring Strips

Once your pieces are cut, you need to make a template to figure out where the holes go in the birch for your bolts. We used wax paper that we already had at home to make the template for the holes since you can see through it. We cut the wax paper to the same size of each strip, taped it to the rib, and marked where each rivnut was. We used this template to drill holes in the Birch for the bolts. Then we used a countersink drill bit to sink the holes for the bolt head so it didn’t stick out of the Birch.

Attaching the Furring Strips

Now that all your holes are drilled, all that is left is to attach the furring strips to the ceiling with a bolt. We tried to get the middle bolt threaded first. This allowed us to double check that the other four holes were lined up properly. To thread the bolt we used an electric screw driver that didn’t have much power or a drill on a very low speed. If using a drill, be very careful because to much speed can cause the rivnut to lose it’s grip and free spin. If one does this it’s useless and needs to be removed. Unfortunately they are a pain to remove. So be VERY careful as you screw in the bolts.

Once you have your ceiling furring strips installed, you are ready to move the walls. For the walls, you are going to repeat the same process. We used the ribs that were aligned with ribs on the ceiling. In total there were eight on the drivers side and five on the passenger side (because of sliding door). We now have points to attach tongue and groove to our walls and ceiling as well as our upper and lower cabinets.

Framed out van camper

Final Thoughts

We have been very happy with how everything has performed so far even with a few rivnuts spinning out and causing frustration during the van build. We can report after some overlanding that all the cabinets and still holding strong and the tongue grooved has not moved at all. We would definitely use this method again to minimize the amount of holes in the van.