The best way to tie all your hard work together and to get a more finished look to your van conversion camper van is to add walls by installing wall panels. In this Van Conversion Walls – How To Guide we will cover everything you need to know about how to build walls in a van.
Van Conversion Walls How-To Guide
Scroll to the bottom to see how we did our walls.
Van Conversion Wall Ideas
First thing is to lay down some Van Conversion Wall Ideas and think about it a bit before you get started. Things like the type of material you plan on using? How will you secure these wall panels in place? To use furring strips or not to use furring strips? How to incorporate tie-downs into your wall panels. Do you want your panels to be easily removed for inevitable future updates and changes? How will you properly secure cabinets and wall fixtures to prevent flying objects in the event of an accident?
Okay, so now you have a few things to think about, let’s go into Van Conversion Walls a little deeper.
Camper Van And Conversion Van Wall Materials
There are many options to choose from when planning what materials to use for your Van Conversion or Camper. Including, but not limited to:
- Plywood
- Finished Hardboard Sheets
- Tongue And Groove Planks
Here Are Some Of The Pros And Cons Of Each
Plywood
Plywood is one of the most common materials used as wall panels in Camper Van Conversions. It’s low cost and relatively simple installation makes it a popular choice.
Pros
- Easy to install
- Lightweight (depending on thickness)
Cons
- It needs to be painted or covered.
- Low-cost options only come in a 4×8 sheet.
Finished Hardboard Sheets
Another one to think about is Hardboard Sheeting. Being super thin makes them light and easy to work with.
Pros
- Easy to install
- lightweight
- Prefinished means no painting or covering needed.
Cons
- Less durable
- Not strong enough for direct mounting of fixtures
Tongue And Groove Planks
Tongue and Groove Planks are the only choice for anyone looking to give their van that log cabin feels.
Pros
- Thick enough for surface mount fixtures.
- Rustic and unique, log cabin look.
Cons
- Harder and more time consuming to install.
- Not easy to remove If you need to make changes.
How To Build Walls In A Van
There is no one way to build walls in a Camper Conversion Van, how you do it will change depending on your design and requirements. Now we have covered some different materials you can use for walls in your conversion van, next we will look at the different ways to fasten your wall panels to the frame.
Conversion Camper Van Wall Panel Fastening Options
The following are the most common fastening systems used when installing Conversion Van Walls
- Rivet Nuts
- Self Tapping Metal Screws
- Wooden Furring And Wood Screws
Here Are Some Of The Pros And Cons Of Each
Rivet Nuts
Rivet Nuts are perfect for use in Van conversions as they allow you to install threaded bolt holes in a variety of locations and in materials that would otherwise be too thin for thread tapping.
Pros
- Best choice if you plan on removing panels at any time.
- It allows you to use existing factory punched holes.
Cons
- Time-consuming installation.
- Requires specialized tools.
Self Tapping Metal Screws
Self Tapping Screws are widely used in van builds. The beauty of self Tapping Screws is not needing to drill a hole first.
Pros
- Quick and easy to install.
- No lining up holes or pre-drilling panels
Cons
- Leaves more bare metal, increasing chances for rust.
- Smaller size screws can strip out easily.
Wooden Furring And Wood Screws
In a Conversion Van, wooden furring strips are used to lift the wall panels away from the metal frame. This helps to level out the surface, make more room for insulation and lessen the number of screws drilled into the metal frame of the van.
Pros
- Minimizes the number of holes drilled into the metal frame.
- Screwing into wood is much easier than into metal.
Cons
- Adds to wall thickness, Increasing loss of living space.
Key Requirements For Our Campervan Conversion Walls
- No, Or Minimal Loss Of Living Space- We want to keep our living space as large and uncluttered as possible. No unnecessarily thick walls.
- Removable- Again, we want to make sure all wall voids are accessible fo potential troubleshooting and future changes.
- Lightweight- Added weight means lower fuel mileage and decreased handling. We want to keep the weight as low as possible.
- Low Cost- Material costs quickly pile up! We want to keep the wall panel costs as low as possible.
- Easy To Work With- Ideally, most of the cutting will be done on the panel saw by the wood supplier.
Our Conversion Van Wall Material – 5’x5’x¼” Baltic Birch Plywood
Just like the ceiling panels in our van, we used 5’x5’ Baltic Birch Plywood, except this time we used ¼” instead of ⅛”. The beauty of Baltic Birch panels is it is super strong, lightweight and it comes in 5×5 foot sheets.
Home Depot doesn’t carry Baltic Birch plywood, but your local specialty wood supplier should be able to get it. We got ours from Windsor Plywood. Also, your local custom metal shop should be able to cut the galvanized sheet metal to size for you. We got our sheet metal at Metal Supermarket. Most of the remaining materials can be sourced from your local hardware store or online.
Our Choice Of Fastening System – ¼-20 Rivet Nuts And Machine Screws
For a few different reasons, loose metal swarf/ filings being the main, we wanted to keep drilling to a minimum. For this reason, to fasten our wall panels, we decided to use RivNuts in the factory trim mounting holes, as well as using RivNuts in pieces 18 gauge sheet metal framing metal.
Campervan Wall Coverings
You are only limited by your imagination when it comes to wall coverings in your van conversion. At some point in the future, we plan on installing some type of decorative wall coverings. Until then, we decided to protect the van panel material with a coat of polyurethane stain.
Van Tie Down Rails – UniStrut Strut Channel
I had originally planned to use airline-style l-track along the sidewall waist rails and upper rails. But at $10 per foot, I decided against it. Instead, we used Metal Framing Strut Channel as Tie Down Rails. It is just as versatile and one-tenth the cost.
Now we have given you some information, you can make an educated decision, how to install the wall panels in your van. Now let’s see….
How We Install Wall Panels In Our Ram ProMaster Camper Van Conversion.
Step-1 Collect all Tools and Materials
Tools and Materials List
- Baltic Birch Plywood
- 18 Gauge Galvanized Sheet Metal
- Galvanized Strut Channel (UniStrut)
- Sikabond polyurethane adhesive
- Light Solvent
- Scotch Pad
- Rust Paint
- ¼-20 RivNut Inserts
- RivNut Tool
- ¼-20×1/2” machine screws
- Jigsaw With Wood Blade
- P60 Grit Sandpaper
- Varithane Wood Stain (Carbon Grey)
- Urethane Wood Sealer
- One-Step Stain and Polyurethane (Classic Black)
Step-2 Install RivNuts In Factory Punched Holes.
The factory punched holes have to be drilled out slightly to fit the ¼-20 RivNuts. We caught the metal swarf using a vacuum cleaner, then painted the bare metal with rust paint. The RivNuts were installed using the Astro Pneumatic RivNut Tool.
Step-3 Preparing The Sheet Metal Framing And Uni Strut Tiedowns.
First, we ordered some pre-cut pieces of 18 gauge sheet metal from our local Metal Supermarket. Then, we installed RivNuts into the metal and bonded them into the desired locations.
For the Strut Channel Tie Downs, we cut to fit the waist rail and upper rail. Then bolted into place using the existing factory punched holes.
Step-4 Cutting Out Cardboard Templates
For the more intricate corner details, we cutout cardboard templates. 
We cut holes for the main breaker and fuse panel of our minimalist Conversion Van Electrical System. As well as a small control/ switch panel behind the driver’s seat.
Step-5 Cut Out The Conversion Van Wall Panels
On all of the panels, most of the hard work was taken care of by our local wood supplier on their panel saw. Which left us to use the jigsaw to trim the panels to fit. 
Step-6 Mark Out And Drill The Holes
I can’t remember where on YouTube I saw this, but using lipstick to transfer a mark is genius! Also, to prevent blowout on your hole, pilot drill from the mark side then flip the panel over and finish with a step bit. ProTip- Mark your step bit so you don’t drill the hole too big. 
Step-7 Stain And Seal The Panels
We wanted to simple and durable covering to start with, so we stained and sealed the outdoor wood staining products from Varathane.
Step-8 Installing Radiant Barrier
Each panel is backed with the same Thermal Acoustic Insulation from eBay, this is Heat Shield and Sound Proofing Insulation in one. The glue will not stick to bare wood, so we gave it one coat of clear polyurethane before installation.
Step-9 Installing The Panels
To install the panels we used ¼-20 countersunk machine screws and Finishing Washers.
Van Conversion Walls – Job Well Done
The addition of wall panels have started to tie the Van Conversion together, There are still a lot of trim panels that will need to be built and installed to give it that clean, finished look. Also, we plan on sending the UniStrut Tie Downs to the powder coaters. But otherwise, we are happy with how it turned out.
We learned Some Good Tricks Installing The Ceiling
- Campervan Conversion Ceiling Installation How-To Guide
Before you put up your Conversion Van Walls, you should think about Soundproofing your van
- How To Install Sound Deadener In A Van
- Installing Sound Absorbing Heat Shield In our Promaster
- Everything You Need To Know About Soundproofing A Van
Need some simple tricks for installing a floor in your Campervan Conversion?
- Tips For Installing Campervan Flooring
- Conversion Van Carpet Installation Made Easy!
- The Easiest Way To Add A Floor Covering In Your Conversion Van
Thanks for reading, and remember to always take the road less traveled!
Weekender Van Life – Van Life Blog – weekendervanlife.com
