The first item of business was to install a floor in the van that would add some insulation and be both durable and easy to keep clean. We looked at every option at our local Lowe’s and Home Depot (more than once) but finally decided to go with a solid roll of vinyl flooring that would end up making the van pretty waterproof too. Since we do so much hiking, we can get pretty dirty, muddy and wet from time to time. So while it isn’t quite a pretty as some of the other options, it made sense to us.

Step one was to fill in the van’s metal corrugated floor to add a little more insulation, some sound baffling and make an even, flush surface for adding the next layer of insulation. We cut strips of 1/2″ foam board and glued those down in sections with an adhesive caulk.

Step two, we made a template of the van floor using kraft paper. Then we used the template to cut out the next layer of 1″ thick foam board. It was a close fit, but we still had to do some trimming to get it just right. But before we glued down this layer, we used the foam board to trace out our pattern on the next layer, the plywood. Then, we glued down this layer, again using an adhesive caulk, weighing down each section with plywood and whatever we had handy to get a good bond until it dried.

Step three, we used a jig saw to cut out the plywood subfloor, using a substantial 5/8″ plywood. Again, it was a close fit, but we had to trim and sand each piece a couple of times to get it to fit just right. Before we glued down this layer, we used the plywood layer as the template for marking and cutting the final layer of vinyl flooring. We glued down the plywood using construction adhesive and weights to get a good bond until dry.

Step four was fairly straightforward. The vinyl flooring fit well right off the bat. So then we poured and troweled the vinyl floor adhesive and carefully laid out the flooring, using a rolling pin to push any air bubbles to the edge. We used more plywood and weights to let our new floor bond over night.

Finally, we used a good quality silicon caulk to seal the edges all the way around to help prevent water from getting to the metal walls or compromise the layers of our new floor.

It’s been 2 1/2 years now and it’s still performing well. Yeah!