I put a rocking stereo head unit replaced all the stock speakers with some nice infiity's and kicker 6x9s in the rear.  Ordered a custom seat for the rear that folds down to a bed.  That will go here... This pic was before I finished it all off.  I'll post a nicer one when i get the seat all installed.  I made custom door panels for all, and the rear door has a cubby for putting some small items.  You can't see them well but have a Gladiator wall organizer on the wall so I can hang a shelf for boots and stuff but take it down when I dont need it.  Nice and clean.  I pretty set on putting two 24" cabinets on the front wall so I can store my boots, helmets google case and some back up parts in there full time.  Its a work in progress but this how much I have done in a month of owning it....

how much space do you need for bikes? I'm starting my partition soon. I have an Extended E350

General rule of thumb, a minimum of 7 feet is required. Put your bike in the van, with the other stuff you'll be carrying, and take measurements. Sometimes it's better to put the partition further up front and keep some room for shelves in front of the bikes. The main advantage of a van over a truck is the vertical space. Use it.

My measurements were that about 7' will get it done.  But when I went to build the wall you have to start looking at where it will be structurally sound.  i.e. close enough to a reinforcement to tie it to.  On mine I chose to go about 7'6" and with that I can fit 3 full size bikes in.  Two easily with lots of room for gear.  Also left me with just under 4' in the front, my bench seat will fold down to 44" wide so I just have to move my front seats forward a tad and it fits perfect.  I sleep diaganally accross it (I'm 511).  This is for extendeds only, std size van you'll have way less room up front, maybe some gear and thats about it.  Have a cpl buddies with this setup, the main reason why I went with an extended.

Where did you tie in.  I'm having a hell of a time figuring out how to do this.  Want to use some good bolts but heard a lot were using self tapping screws, is that even feasible?  If someone could put some pics up of how you started your wall and what you did that would be great cause I'm really thinking of having one fabbed out of tubing then skin it with plywood.

It doesn't need much really. In my Dodge I had two eye bolts (don't know what it's called) screwed (not even using nuts) in the 1/2" plywood partition wall. Had 2 bikes tied down on many occasions and never had a problem. The ride is pretty smooth in a van. Actually forgot to tie my bike down a few times and it didn't fall.

elroyona426, on 17 November 2012 - 03:39 PM, said:

I didn't take any real close photos of this but here are some pics of the framework for mine.  As you may be able to tell from these pics, the wall does not go straight across the van.  The support pillars on each side do not line up directly across from each other.  My wall comes accross and then jogs a bit.  You can see from this pic where I located it in relation to the wall supports. On the far side you can see it sits right in between two supports.  I decided it was more stable and stronger to attach the wall to something more stable than just one side support.  I measured and built the framework before attaching plywood to the wall.  Once the wall was covered with a single piece of plywood, I attached the wall to it.  This gave me far more secure area to attach to and was super solid.  Also you may 3notice at the base, the wall sits on top of a "base plate"  A strip of wood that is secured and bolted all the way through the floor.  I then used 3" lag bolts to secure the base of the wall to the floor.  This baby aint going anywhere.



This pic is the basic framework I was laying out.  You can see the base plate in this pretty clear.



This pic above shows the framework I built for the little jog in the wall I needed.  You can't really see the detail but this is 3 separate parts, the wall main portion then the first angle and then the second angle are all separate.  This makes it easier to install and remove if I ever choose to do that.  You can also see that base plate thing I discussed above, my clamp is holding it in place while I measure and make adjustments.  By the way, its important to note that I used a good wood glue and screwed every joint you see in this wall.  Screws alone are not sufficient.  The glue is actually way stronger than the screws.  When it dried up, this frame was freakn solid!!



Another view from the garage angle.

I didn't take any close up pics of where I secured the wall to the sides and roof. but from this pic you can barely make out the steel plates that are secured to the top of the wall and go forward to bolt to the roof rail.  I decided it would be more stable if the straps go forward and the wall pushed against the joint in the event of an accident, rather than be holding it from behind so to speak.  Hopefully I never get to test that design decision



The framework of the wall is secured to the base, the wall on the driver side in about 4 places and then at the very top where that big framework is at the top of each side of the van walls.

That helps but i think I'm still going to have my buddy weld me up a full tube frame.  I think it'll be super clean.  I'll be sure to put some pics up.

Those walls look to be to complicated to make.   I know i tried to make one in my standard length van and the 1/4 inch plywood that I was putting up for the sides that was going to be placed on each of the van sides just wouldnt work. The ply wood wouldnt contour with the curved sides of the van and there wasn't anyplace to drill a screw in to hold it up.

As you can see in this pic there is not enough ribs in the standard length vans like they are in the extended ones and nowhere to drill a hole in to put a screw in to hold the plywood up.






So I just went with this

I did my inside walls with 1/4 plywood and it worked well. However there's a trick. As you can see in the first picture below, the framing looks to be the same in a cargo and passenger vans.


What I did is this. I started by cutting out the plywood so it didnt snag anywhere and fit below the roof beams. Then I screwed some 2x4 I had laying around (2x3 or 2x2 will do) horizontally at the top and bottom of the sheet. Then I screwed the sheet in place on the middle rail using 1 1/4 self tapping screws. What happens is the 2x4s sit on the body of the van. You really need to push hard on the panel to make it conform and put the screws in (I used some 2x4's to hold it in place while I put the screws in). Once that's done, what happens is that the plywood pushes on the 2x4's trying to spring back to its original shape, eliminating the need for screws elsewhere.

Here's the finished product with and without carpet.



As you can see in the top right corner of the last picture, I cut the ceiling carpet wider than the panel itself. I put the flap behind the side panel to hide the roof beams.

Edited by Sheriff245, 26 November 2012 - 10:46 AM.

Sheriff245, on 26 November 2012 - 10:45 AM, said:

Did you just screw crpet to the cross beams or did you use some sort of plywood on the roof first?

6 Riders, on 28 November 2012 - 08:20 AM, said:

The carpet is glued to 1/4" plywood which is screwed to the cross beams.

You gotta be careful though screwing through the carpet. I used a small soldering iron to burn a hole through the carpet where I wanted to put the screws. Otherwise you ruin the carpet.

Thanks, I need to redo my wifes van and your headliner looks really clean.