straker101
Observer
After inspiration from a few friends with amazing vans, and then obsessing over the threads on this wicked website, I decided to trade in the Toyota Tundra and get into the 'van life' myself. Luckily, I was able to sell my pickup for significantly more than what I picked up the van for, which allowed me to spend a decent amount of $$ immediately on the customization in a short span of time (all within a few weeks). Super happy I went through with this as we now have a very capable vehicle for adventures with the family and dogs and I have plenty of room for storage and transport of gear for my stand up paddle business.
This was a super fun project, and I'm hoping this thread will help anyone out there looking to get into a Chevy or GMC 1500. I'm new to posting in forums, but will do my best with photos and explanations. So here we go...
Prior to selling the truck, I had done a lot of research on what type of van I was after. Originally I was thinking E-350, but decided I didn't want to do the significant work of a 4x4 conversion. I live in northern Canada, so AWD or 4x4 is a must. I also don't do any heavy off-roading so felt the AWD in the GM would suit me just fine. After selling the truck, I immediately started shopping around for a 2010+ AWD Express or Savana. After checking out a few with low mileage and good condition (hard to find as most of these used vans are fleet or work vehicles), I settled on the stock red 2009 Savana AWD. Aside from being pretty dirty, she was in great condition, mechanically maintained, and a very good driver. I named her 'Ruby'!
Here she is leaving the lot:
And in the driveway:
I should mention that before bringing her home, I dropped her off at a car audio store and had a 7" Kenwood touchscreen/DVD/Nav installed with all new Kenwood speakers (6 in total), Kenwood amp, and Kicker 10" Subwoofer installed. The sub went in an enclosure and installed under the front bench seat. I also had a Viper 2-way remote start/keyless entry/alarm installed, as well as a flush mount backup camera (flush-mounted beside the 3rd brake light) that works with the Kenwood screen.
Part 1: Clean-up, floor and passenger rear box
She was a mess so I pulled out the seats and all the rear plastics to clean up all the grease, saw-dust, etc. The van had a stock insulated vinyl floor which had some minor tears. I left the floor/insulation in.
My plan was to build a new floor on top of existing and build new boxes/supports on both the rear passenger and drivers side. After determining that I didn't want to mess with the venting/AC, etc on the drivers side, my plan changed to customize the passenger side only.
With the plastic out on the passenger side (and reinstalled on the drivers side, I custom sized a sheet of 3/4 plywood to fit from the rear door threshold to about halfway under the 2nd bench seat. I had to cut access openings so that the second bench could easily be removed/installed. At the same time, I started to build the wheel well box/support. Before building the box, I insulated around the wheel well for noise dampening. The box was not easy as everything had to be cut as I went. I basically used three 1x4 lengths to anchor the box the secondary sheet metal around the wheel well. From there I just eyeballed, measured and cut as I went. The box is flush with the wheel well and goes up to just und
er the level of the window. Its length runs from the rear door and stops flush with the trim at the side barn doors. I left an opening in the box behind the wheel well for storage and to access the stock jack and tool location. As I finished sections, everything was wrapped and stapled with heavy duty indoor/outdoor carpet purchased at a local hardware store.
Once my plywood flooring was level (I had to use timber shims in some places to level out) I installed heavy duty rubber click-flooring and cut to size. This just floats on the plywood and was super easy to install. Very happy with how it turned out. To make it all look clean I used 90 degree 3/4" length angle aluminum for all of the edges and a industrial aluminum door threshold to eliminate the gap between the new floor and the rear doors.
Sorry about the sideways photos. Not sure how to change that. They aren't sideways on my computer!
This was a super fun project, and I'm hoping this thread will help anyone out there looking to get into a Chevy or GMC 1500. I'm new to posting in forums, but will do my best with photos and explanations. So here we go...
Prior to selling the truck, I had done a lot of research on what type of van I was after. Originally I was thinking E-350, but decided I didn't want to do the significant work of a 4x4 conversion. I live in northern Canada, so AWD or 4x4 is a must. I also don't do any heavy off-roading so felt the AWD in the GM would suit me just fine. After selling the truck, I immediately started shopping around for a 2010+ AWD Express or Savana. After checking out a few with low mileage and good condition (hard to find as most of these used vans are fleet or work vehicles), I settled on the stock red 2009 Savana AWD. Aside from being pretty dirty, she was in great condition, mechanically maintained, and a very good driver. I named her 'Ruby'!
Here she is leaving the lot:
And in the driveway:
I should mention that before bringing her home, I dropped her off at a car audio store and had a 7" Kenwood touchscreen/DVD/Nav installed with all new Kenwood speakers (6 in total), Kenwood amp, and Kicker 10" Subwoofer installed. The sub went in an enclosure and installed under the front bench seat. I also had a Viper 2-way remote start/keyless entry/alarm installed, as well as a flush mount backup camera (flush-mounted beside the 3rd brake light) that works with the Kenwood screen.
Part 1: Clean-up, floor and passenger rear box
She was a mess so I pulled out the seats and all the rear plastics to clean up all the grease, saw-dust, etc. The van had a stock insulated vinyl floor which had some minor tears. I left the floor/insulation in.
My plan was to build a new floor on top of existing and build new boxes/supports on both the rear passenger and drivers side. After determining that I didn't want to mess with the venting/AC, etc on the drivers side, my plan changed to customize the passenger side only.
With the plastic out on the passenger side (and reinstalled on the drivers side, I custom sized a sheet of 3/4 plywood to fit from the rear door threshold to about halfway under the 2nd bench seat. I had to cut access openings so that the second bench could easily be removed/installed. At the same time, I started to build the wheel well box/support. Before building the box, I insulated around the wheel well for noise dampening. The box was not easy as everything had to be cut as I went. I basically used three 1x4 lengths to anchor the box the secondary sheet metal around the wheel well. From there I just eyeballed, measured and cut as I went. The box is flush with the wheel well and goes up to just und
er the level of the window. Its length runs from the rear door and stops flush with the trim at the side barn doors. I left an opening in the box behind the wheel well for storage and to access the stock jack and tool location. As I finished sections, everything was wrapped and stapled with heavy duty indoor/outdoor carpet purchased at a local hardware store.
Once my plywood flooring was level (I had to use timber shims in some places to level out) I installed heavy duty rubber click-flooring and cut to size. This just floats on the plywood and was super easy to install. Very happy with how it turned out. To make it all look clean I used 90 degree 3/4" length angle aluminum for all of the edges and a industrial aluminum door threshold to eliminate the gap between the new floor and the rear doors.
Sorry about the sideways photos. Not sure how to change that. They aren't sideways on my computer!
![FullSizeRender[1].jpg](https://expeditionportal.com/forum/data/attachments/285/285487-19bed25f6c875ec7eff081837605cb4f.jpg "FullSizeRender[1].jpg")
