DIY Custom Van Hightop Build Day 7 - We Have Walls!

[@KatyInNH]

The filming of the video is great too! Melanie is doing a great job filming- reminds me of This Old House! Great job!

[@RobertWitham]

Thank you @KatyinNH! We appreciate the kind words and encouragement :)

[@texaslady7630]

Following. Thank you.

[@snowvalley11]

Enjoying this step by step. Thanks for taking the time to document the process 👍👍👍

[@RobertWitham]

Thank you :) We were thinking that a lot of people might enjoy seeing this process (as well as some commentary on why we are doing certain things).

[@Greg_Jones]

Gonna need save the whales murals on each side!!

[@kathrynarnold1966]

Fascinating!

[@grandpasmountain]

I am looking forward to the high speed testing phase....

[@wandarogers5769]

You guys are killing it! Looks great!

[@RobertWitham]

Thank you :) It will look more "finished" when it is all done, including with some windows, trim, and a front fairing to help with wind drag. It's nice to see it coming along though!

[@barackmycat9448]

Kinda funny looking on the outside but the inside will be a cinch to remodel. I foresee a wind deflector on the front.

[@RobertWitham]

I fully admit that it looks a bit unique right now... LOL We are hoping to make it look a bit more attractive by the time we are done though with an exterior finish, some windows, and for sure a wind deflector on the front. I just decided that trying to build a curved from that was also structurally strong was more than I wanted to tackle with this project. We have a few ideas already for a fairing/deflector of some sort, but one way or another we will be adding one after we have the main build completed.

[@charlesvangorkom3628]

I’m impressed. Hoping it works out well for you!

[@earls5452]

Aerodynamic 👽

[@guydemers7607]

🤣

[@cuddlesanddaisy]

Looking great!

[@KatysCampKitchen]

Since it somehow reminds me of the Partridge Family Bus, I am voting for that color scheme- it was the structure on the back of their bus where they stored their musical instruments that reminded me of your van! I know we’re not voting, but I had to get it out of my head!!!! Moving right along! 🌸

[@RobertWitham]

Now there is a blast from the past! LOL

[@akmccue]

I love my ryobi cordless circ saw. I never get the big one out anymore.

[@RobertWitham]

I was mentioning to Melanie recently that I remember my first cordless saw that lasted for a few 2x4s before needing to be recharged ;-) Now they've come so far that this little saw has made hundreds and hundreds of cuts on everything from moulding to dimensional lumber to plywood.

[@nothere7198]

Oooh... one of those DIY screws ! You can custom cut whatever thread size you want on that ! Take it back to home depot in the box and tell them you want another box of "that" kind, complain when they bring you a box of all threaded ones. LOL

[@tripod4228]

I love it when a plan comes together. My closed captions like to call the noise from the circular saw “music”. :)

[@RobertWitham]

Well at least when I make a straight cut I suppose it is "music to me ears!" LOL

[@virginiajorgensen8614]

Yes, I think this interesting. Onward.

[@RobertWitham]

It is coming along nicely. We do look forward to being able to share the final results of this build project soon!

[@yorotirb3941]

Oughta get ya one of them lectric caulkers. Your arm will probably thank you, LOL!

[@RobertWitham]

You know, I never thought I would want one of those things - until this project! LOL

[@anns1921]

I admit I know absolutely nothing about this kind of build but I'm trying to understand why the top is so much longer than the original roof. Maybe I will understand better after the completion. It just makes me nervous since it seems that it would make it so much more top heavy.

[@RobertWitham]

We started out considering a more common-style 24" hightop, but after trying to plan an interior that would be comfortable for two people over weeks to months (sleeping, eating, work space, etc) we decided to opt for this style. It's inspired more by the older camper van designs and Class C RVs than modern van hightops that are sleeker, but also lose a ton of interior space - and roof space for solar - due to the curves and lines. The overcab area is boxy, but it provides a 5' x 6'+ sleeping area that does not interfere with the rest of the van interior. That design leaves us with a roughly 6' x 9' "living area" which still has to provide for kitchen, lounging, storage, work space (I'm a digital nomad), etc. We are being very careful with weight and literally every decision is a balance of weight (which affects center of gravity and more) with strength/structural integrity. So far I think we have hit that balance fairly well. It's probably not as heavy as it looks, but it does handle just fine on the road during our test drives. Fiberglass hightops are also probably a lot more heavy that commonly thought and do affect handling as well. Any heavy cargo will also be stored low in the vehicle to prevent increasing the center of gravity. This van also has a one-ton suspension so it is very stiff already. We would never attempt this on a 1/2 ton or probably even a 3/4 ton van.

[@noreenn6976]

How will you waterproof it?

[@dangeroustoman]

Did you pre weigh the van and are you going to weigh after?

[@RobertWitham]

We did have a weight after the section of factory roof was removed. Once we are completed with the build project we will have the van weighed again to see how much we added. We were so far below GVWR that we are not worried about being overweight, but do want to know where it's at when completed. I've had this van through multiple builds so I have a pretty good sense of the weights with different materials and contents.

[@arnoldpreece7804]

You should add at least one diagonal on each side… Just sayin'.

[@clarkleakins879]

​@@carefreehighwaythe outside plywood skin, with adhesive and screws will keep the walls stable.

[@RobertWitham]

We have added a couple of diagonal braces, but I think that might be included in a future video yet. We're borrowing from the ultralight RV world in terms of gluing and screwing lightweight plywood to structural members, but we've tried to overbuild in general while also being careful with weight - particularly at higher spots.

[@lindaalaniz7129]

Looking great. 😊