Installing plywood walls into a van can seem a bit difficult. A van’s walls usually have curves, which make it hard to drill in something straight. On top of this there may be windows and insulation to work around. It can also seem confusing where the walls meet the ceiling and the floors, if they don’t line up properly.
My partner and I’s Ford Econovan 1999, has curved walls and two windows in the back, both on one side. The curve on the other side is more exaggerated, it’s as if there could be a window there, but instead it’s a metal panel. The focus of the walls is a barrier to hold back to the insulation.
For building the walls, we used a thinner plywood than with the floors at 3mm compared with 7mm.
This is because there’s less pressure overall on the walls, versus the floors. The 3mm is also slightly flexible, which allows to work with the curves of the walls—slightly.
The plywood we used was a project panel from Bunnings (an Australian hardware store), it’s full measurements are 1220 x 2440 x 3mm. Just like our flooring and ceiling, we chose to paint the walls. This adds protection against mold and general spills or messes. This comes in handy for killing mosquitos on the walls in the middle of the night!
For covering the van’s walls, we only completely covered one wall. For the other wall with windows, we left the windows available and functional. Where the plywood walls meet the ceiling, we added a trim as the two didn’t meet completely.
With the trim, the walls looks great. They’re light blue like our ceiling, and the trim is a brown matching the floors. They’re stable and durable, it stays in place and the paint doesn’t scratch off. The colours also also allow us the most flexibility for customizing our van life. Here’s how it was all done.
Installing Plywood Walls into a Van
Materials
- Two – 1220 x 2440 x 3mm plywood sheets (or any other plywood sheets that fit well in your van)
- Jigsaw with wood blade (or metal blade*)
- 4L White undercoat paint**
- 500ml coloured paint
- Battery Drill
- 100 40mm Metal screws
- PPEs (safety glasses, dust mask) (optional)
- Extra flat pieces of wood (at least 1cm thickness) (optional)
- Measuring tape
- Pencil
*We used the metal blade to cut the wood, this is because of its thickness. If we used the wood blade, it looked rougher, but the metal blade gave it a cleaner cut.
**We used the entire 4L undercoat to cover all the wood paneling in our van.
Method
- Measure out wall space
Start by measuring out the wall space where the plywood will be affixed. For our van we measured about 260 x 100 cm. This was placed in two sections on our wall with windows. For the opposing wall we needed about 160 x 130 cm for a single placed plywood section. Everyone’s vehicle will be different so just try to figure out the best way to arrange the plywood.
- Clean the area
It’s always a good idea to clean up excess dirt, dust and grime. Inevitably dirt and dust will get under and behind the walls after installation, but giving a good clean first is best.
- Remove unnecessary panels and install insulation (optional)
Not everyone chooses to install insulation or remove panels, but it’s something we chose to do. Check out my guide for installing insulation if it’s something you’re interested in. Otherwise remove extra panels if you want.
- Measure and cut plywood
To measure and cut our plywood, we made small notes with a pencil then cut. We then went back with the pencil and cut to make small adjustments, until it fit well. Some people use cardboard cut outs which is also effective, it just depends on what works best for you. As mentioned above, we cut the plywood with the jigsaw with the metal blade, because it gives a cleaner cut than the wood blade.
- Paint the undercoat on both sides of the plywood
Paint both sides of the plywood at different times, according to the paint’s label. We only had to do one layer of the undercoat because the plywood was pre-treated.
- Paint coloured paint on side facing inside the van
If you’re using coloured paint, now is the time to paint just one side of the plywood. You can paint both sides, but it’s not necessary. Wait until paint is dry, according to the label.
- Install extra wood to level (optional)
This is something we did to level out the curves in our walls a little bit more. Another reason was that the floors and ceiling would properly meet up with the walls. What we did was install extra wood of varying thickness into the walls, it was mostly done at the bottom. Once deciding on placement, drill the wood into the van walls in an area where it won’t appear on the outside.
- Install the plywood walls
Finally it’s time to install the actual plywood walls, once the paint is dry. If using insulation make sure it’s tucked in before moving on. Otherwise just drill the walls into the van’s walls in an area where the screw won’t appear on the outside. If using the extra wood to level, the plywood walls can be drilled into these.
If installing the walls is the final step to your van build then you’re good to go. Otherwise it may be time to install a functional bed frame with drawers.