Let’s talk struts
We mentioned last time that with the new appliances we needed to make some changes to the layout. This section of the build started with the frantic rehashing of the layout in SketchUp. With some minor adjustments made to our original layout, we have now reached the stage where we can start to build the skeletal frame of the furniture. It’s exciting to reach this phase, I’ve been looking forward to starting on the furniture and seeing the van come to life on the inside.
Struts
With the rejig of the layout complete, it was time to start building! In most cases this would now be the time to order a bunch of wood and begin battening out areas, however we had other plans…. Back at the beginning of the build when we researched other builds and came up with our own plans, we became aware of the potential use of aluminium extrusion for the framework of the furniture within the van. It was obviously too early for us to consider anything properly back then but we did keep hold of our research, putting it to one side and not thinking any more of it.
It was during a conversation with John (Ben’s dad) that he mentioned the use of aluminium to us, which reminded us of the possibility of using this material over wood. Our previous research showed that there was a considerable weight saving to be had by using the aluminium versus wooden battens, and an obvious increase in strength and stability. The only downside that we could find with using this product was the potential cost. It is a tad more on the pricey side than wood, but with some digging around I managed to find a company in Germany that would cut and ship the struts at a very reasonable price and within a good time scale.
Once again drawn to the idea and now with a solid supplier in mind we decided to go ahead and use the strutting rather than wood. On paper the idea really seemed to check out. For instance, we knew that we needed a good strong solution for building a sturdy kitchen unit and bed in the van, (after all we may need to climb onto the kitchen unit to get through the hatch in an emergency), and the use of struts for this application seemed to make a lot of sense. I then spent more time in SketchUp drawing out the framework and painstakingly measuring out each strut within the front half of the van (the kitchen unit and shower). Ben was tasked with purchasing the appropriate parts to connect the framework together and our first order was placed! We look forward to all the bits arriving, fingers crossed!
