ryancallowayart

@Fifty150 This is really helpful, thank you so much. Also, “mobile glory hole”, thanks for that too, what a great idea. As if having a van that I sometimes sleep in doesn’t make me weird enough ? I hear what you’re saying about the plywood, I guess I was envisioning strapping it to a roof rack and loading the cargo with smaller pieces. Thanks for pointing that out. Hadn’t thought about priming the floor, but that seems like a really smart thing to do. It hasn’t shown any signs of rust, and I’d like to keep it that way. Super excited to pick it up in a couple of weeks and get cracking on things. Mechanical updates are certainly on the list, however, my list was quite a bit less thorough than yours so it’s good to get your perspective and I’ll probably end up doing more than I was originally planning on based on your advice. Thanks a lot for taking the time to write such a thoughtful response. I’ll post updates as I make them and will probably have some more questions ?

Hey folks, looking forward to joining the community. I recently bought a no frills 2012 FTC (96k mi), and am looking for ideas and suggestions as far as how to make it more functional, comfortable, and just overall badass ? It's primary uses: Hauling gear: I'm a working musician so I'll be hauling some light gear in it pretty regularly (small piano, drum kit, PA, other various instruments, etc). Hauling materials: I'll need it for picking up lumber for woodworking projects; things like, a handful of 4'x8' plywood sheets (at most), various sizes/lengths of boards, and materials for a variety of projects and possibly home repair stuff. Travel: I would like to have the option to take road trips and sleep in it comfortably, but don't want to turn the entire cargo space into a tiny home...it's tempting, but not as functional for me. Misc: I'm often parking in areas where theft is an issue, so I'd like to keep a low profile (ahem, yes, I know it's bright red...). At some point I might replace the back doors with ones that have windows, or just instal windows. I also might instal windows on the sliding doors. I currently live in Oakland, CA where the weather is (usually) moderate, but will be spending some time in parts of the country with actual winters, so I'm worried about the fact that it's currently just a metal box with an engine + wheels. Looking for suggestions on:* Back up camera Stereo - I really would like something with bluetooth (like, good functioning, where the connecting process doesn't suck), or at very least, AUX, to play music through my phone. Front floor coverage - Thinking I'll buy some carpet to lay down in the front, under the driver/passenger seats. You'll see currently there is none. Do these come pre-cut, or should I just get remnants and cut them to size? Or, is there a floor mat that would suffice? I'd like to have complete coverage up there for warmth. Cargo floor coverage - thinking insulation + plywood floor cut to form fit to the cargo space. Goals here would be to insulate for warmth when using it to sleep in, but also have a sturdy floor (not carpet) that can be wiped/swept, when loading/unloading materials and gear. ...what am I not thinking of?! *Feel free to drop ideas, names or links to products; no such thing as a bad idea! Some of these could be their own threads, I'm sure the floor alone could be done in many different ways. Thanks in advance for any guidance and time/thought put in here. I'll gladly be sharing progress and contribute once I start to get my hands dirty ? Ryan