KevinRollin

Not my style, but Slamsit you do impressive work! ?

Using the trim ring, trace the portion that corresponds to the window that will penetrate through the plastic panel. Honestly I did a poor job of this and had to go back a few times to enlarge the hole. Though that’s better than the opposite, I guess...

Using the same holes, I lined up the trim ring on the outside of the door and taped it in place.

I put the trim ring in the spot where I wanted it and masking taped it in place. Then drilled holes through four of the mountain holes through the plastic door panel.

Windows came well packed in a sturdy box with lots of bubble wrap.

Windows have arrived. Vintage Technologies shipped the day I ordered (Friday) and they arrived Tuesday. I should be able to start the install on Saturday.

I bit the bullet and ordered a pair of 24”x15” windows. Should be here next week! ?

Awesome! Thanks for posting the video. Any chance you took some stills while you were fabricating / installing? looking at my seat, it seems like the easiest was for a commercial product to work in there were for it to be made to somehow fit in between the existing rails. As in, slide the seat off, slide (or bolt) in a swivel module with a rail on the bottom of the bottom, and on the top of the top, and then slide the seat into that. One complaint I’ve read with with the commercial swivels for full-size vans, especially the Promaster, is that it raises the seat up too high. I have the vinyl seats with no vertical adjustment, so an inch or two of added height would be a bonus for me. As for having to open the door to swivel, meh, not a big deal.

Mine just came on at around 2300 miles. Have definitely not be doing “extreme “ driving. I bought it used at 600 miles, and judging by condition the previous (brief) owner had not either. But, it had sat on the dealer lot for a while. Is there any “time” component to the IOLM?

I tried putting my mind to how one would do it in an FTC. But with the front and rear seat “legs” spaced differently, and in different planes, I think it would require a lot of fabricating. Basically two bars to span the width of the wider points, with holes for the narrower points, made of different thicknesses to account for the height and keep things level.

Per 5150’s idea that it was flipped, if it was possible to turn the seat around in the same mounting points, that would be useful for a solo camper, and the fold-down seat it would be possible to see the passenger mirror and airbag-safe. Nissan NV200 seat flipped around: (from http://odysseycamper.com/nissan-nv-200-camper-build/the-first-nv200-camper-mod-reversing-the-passenger-seat/)

Driver outer rear mounting point. Bolt is outboard of the rail, closer to the door.

Front driver outboard mounting point, inset from the door. Bolt is inboard of the seat rail.

I climbed around my seats the other night, poking around at the mounts. I don’t think it’s just flipped around. At least not the whole seat. The front two mounting points are spaced differently from the rear ones, and they’re not in the same plane. Rear mounts are taller. If its flipped, and not swiveling, it was done by sliding it off the rails and turning it around.

Would love to see it if you could take a photo the next time you’re in your van!

That might be looking laterally through a pickup truck extended cab, with suicide rear doors.

Here’s where I found it: Grandpa’s DIY 2016 Ford Transit Connect Camper Van Conversion

"One of the things I like most in full-sized camper van conversions I’ve checked out is swiveling front seats. Versions exist for the Transit, Promaster, Sprinter, and I’m sure others. With much less space in the compact cargo vans, and often hip-height consoles, it seems like it would be difficult for sure. The only swivels I've seen frequently are for Euro-spec compact cargos, which generally have less space taken up by the airbags and more spartan seats. But a week ago I was looking at modification ideas and I stumbled onto a For Sale post online and it was an FTC with a swivel front passenger seat! ? This is not my van, so don’t ask how they did it, I have no idea! Noteworthy in the phot though is that the center console/armrest is removed when it is reversed. So maybe the swivel is off-center. Has anyone else made this work?

Torx M10, so T50 driver bit, which I need to go buy. Once I pull one out I’ll get the length.

Unfortunately, I haven’t progressed past the cardboard template yet! The silver van is mine. The photos of windows of white vans are from here on the forum, or Instagram. I’m going to try to get the exterior dimensions of the interior trim ring, and make one more template to make sure it’ll fit. Anyone else install a window?

Cardboard mock up of the required cutout. Actual window will be a bit larger all around, due to the clamp ring on the inside, and rubber gasket on the outside.

I envision a semi-fixed half-width bed for one that will be installed the majority of the time. The other half will be internal space for one or two bicycles. But, I also want the option for a full-width bed sometimes, at the expense of full-height storage. I like the idea of the pull-out slatted bed that I’ve seen in van builds and youtube videos, but that may be beyond my construction abilities. Near-term will likely be a plywood platform bed, half-width, that’s installed and tied down with turnbuckles or cargo straps. Tonight I mocked up a platform with milk crates and two 2’x4’ Masonite project panels. Half of the width above the wheel wells is 25.25”, but close enough. I slid one panel on top of the other and adjusted until I got the max length, with the driver’s seat in my preferred driving position (all the way back, slight recline). (Sorry for the weird angle, the other photos came out underexposed!). Max for me looks like about 76” at ~13 high, to clear the wheel well humps (passenger side is higher), and allow standard milk crates and totes to fit underneath. Fits a 75”x25” three-panel trifold mattress from Amazon.

I made some Reflectix covers for the windshield and front windows. Just reflectix for now, eventually I’d like to cover one side of each with black fabric so I can pick (by swapping left/right) reflective for daytime heat or blackout at night.

My first trip out with the van was a hasty one. A triathlon for which I had not trained fell into my lap on short notice, so I decided to drive there the night before, stealth camp nearby, and then finish the drive to the race site early. I put a folding camp camp bed and my road bike in the back, and a couple milk crates and duffle bags held my stuff. Some reflectix-like packing materials blocked out the rear and side windows, and a cheap WalMart blackout curtain hung on a rod just forward of the sliding doors blacked everything out.

First mod I want to do is windows in the sliding doors. I know there are tons of work vans prowling the city streets, but I hate not being able to see other vehicles and pedestrians. And cyclists, and the tiny electric scooters that we still haven’t decided if they belong on the sidewalk or the road! So I made a template to see if a Vintage Technologies WD2415 window will fit: