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Made up a couple of these fixings. It's a large washer with a rivnut fixed. The thumb bolts are from eBay.



Drilled through the two panels and put the fixing in.



Added two to this panel.



This method of fixing two sections together works really well and is tool free.

How does the washer fix to the rivnut ?

stu_b wrote: ↑Sun Feb 09, 2025 6:39 am How does the washer fix to the rivnut ?

I'll put a full description in case anyone else is interested.

The washers are the largest M10 ones that Wickes do.
I expanded the hole to 11.5mm with a drill, inserted the rivnut, and as I don't have a rivnut setting tool, I used the bolt method to set the rivnut.
https://youtu.be/u4huFzeQIgw?feature=shared

I drilled a couple of 3mm holes either side of the rivnut into the washer for wood screws so that the washer won't spin on the wood when installed.

I then clamped the two wood panels together and drilled a 11.5mm hole through both and then inserted the washer fitting. It sits proud at first due to the flange created on the rivnut but sets itself when the thumb bolt is fitted.
Then screw in a couple of wood screws into the washer and it's done.

Add a smaller washer to the thumb bolt before fitting. It stops the bolt from seizing against the wood over time. Which is what I discovered happens. Possibly due to the paint I used.

Ahhh so basically the rivnut is fixing down on the washer as your substrate as such
Smart move
Must have been quite tricky / fiddly to get that to work
The result speaks for itself tho

Actually I was just practicing setting the rivnut into metal before trying on the van.
Had these washers that I had bought for another purpose and used these for experimenting and therefore had these attempts lying about in the garage.
I then later realised that they would be useful for fixing the units together. So kind of a happy accident.

You would have had to put the washer in a vice or something

stu_b wrote: ↑Sun Feb 09, 2025 9:05 am You would have had to put the washer in a vice or something

Spot on. Though I've got a torn thumbnail to prove that I should always put the washer in the vice before drilling.

Yikes
Take care
Always think of safety
Hope you had your safety boots n googles on !!
I did something silly like that as a kid trying to skewer a concur for battle

Cheers Stu.
Plaster has done the trick to keep it from splitting further up.
But yes safety is important and the inclination to take a shortcut reminded me that I need to be more careful.

I should know better I'm a technology teacher and constantly assessing the class for dangerous situations.

Bed all but done except some sort of feet that will take the weight of the slide out. Most likely a cut down panel screwed to the front.

Access to storage beneath. The panel in the middle marks the place where the slide out draw will be positioned at the back of the van.

You could devise a little latch to hold the bed top open with a simple hook style

With the tie down point in the rear of the "slide out drawer" area, won't that reduce the length or width of the actual drawer because the supporting rain won't be able to extend past it ??

stu_b wrote: ↑Tue Feb 11, 2025 10:59 am You could devise a little latch to hold the bed top open with a simple hook style

With the tie down point in the rear of the "slide out drawer" area, won't that reduce the length or width of the actual drawer because the supporting rain won't be able to extend past it ??

Sorted a fold away arm that keeps the bed top open. Will put another pic.

Yes the tie down does impinge a bit on the width of the slide out tray but not by that much when the slide rails are already 20mm wide so most will be an extra 10mm on that side.

These door storage boxes are a great idea!! Might have to nab this for my conversion : )

Only recently joined and reading through your conversion so not finished the last page but the vans looking great

The rear bed section which will have a slide out draw fitted taken out for painting.



Fridge slide draw being painted the battleship grey. This is the interior colour. It's a Cuprinol wood stain that goes on beautifully and retains the grain affect.
The outside will be a combination of natural timber and white to match the kitchen units.

Not shown here yet but I'm now cutting the wooden beam so that the two bed sections are fully independent of eachother. The aim is for a fully tool free fitment of the entire furniture system.

As it is currently all the furniture can be removed in a couple of minutes leaving the floor unmarked and van empty. The furniture could in theory fit straight into another van with the standard lashing points without needing to do any additional work. Though would need some power for the kitchen unit, but that could just as easily be a smaller power bank in the cupboard.