Updated on October 15th, 2024
The scariest part of a van build has to be holes into the body of the van. It isn’t particularly hard, but the consequences of doing it wrong are VERY high. And on top of that, it happens super early in the build and so you haven’t quite gotten into the rhythm of the work yet. We knew we had four major holes we needed to cut and they all should be done before we insulate, but some shipping delays meant that we could only cut three of the holes before we started on the interior.
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Cut 1: Bunk Window Install
Cutting a hole for our bunk window was probably the most nerve-wracking hole we had to cut. Without the bed being built yet, it’s pretty hard to figure out the placement of a window that is supposed to be above the bed and centered. We had to rely on our taped-out measurements, the placements of the ribs in the wall and just a dash of gut feeling.
We decided to go with a Van Window Direct Awning Bunk Window. The awing style bunk window was important to us because we wanted to be able to keep it open in the rain. We’ve had a few thunderstorms catch us by surprise on the boat, and a wet bed is the worst. An awning style window would allow us to keep it open to allow a cross breeze even when it was raining. If rain gets inside with this bad boy, we have bigger problems.
The other positive of the Van Window Direct version was how easy it was to install. Campervan HQ provided us with a very helpful installation video and it was as simple as cutting the whole, painting the edges, and screwing the window in place!
Cut 2: Roof Vent Fan
During our last van conversion, we thought we didn’t need a roof fan and quickly learned that it is an essential piece of kit. That meant that we had to cut through our insulation and ceiling in order to install it much later in the build. We learned our lesson this time and cut the hole of our fan very early this time!
We have also decided to upgrade our fan to a model that is able to operate in the rain, is multidirectional, variable speed and remote controlled. This led us to purchase the MaxxAir MaxxFan Deluxe 7000K.
Our Promaster has a corrugated roof and Vanlife Outfitters actually throws in free shims to fill the gaps and make installation a lot easier! Kudus to them for being so thoughtful!
Cut 3: Cassette Toilet Door
We are installing a Thetford C223 Cassette Toilet in this van build. I’m going to talk more about the decisions we made regarding our toilet for a later post, but we did have to cut a hole for the cassette to exit the side of the van. This was by far the hardest hole to cut because we had plastic trim on the outside of the van in the way and we had to preserve the sheet metal to be used in the door itself. They only provide a frame for the door. Andy did an awesome job with the jigsaw to keep everything clean!
We also had to have the placement pretty exact for the layout of the interior. There was only about 1.5 inches of wiggle room with the design. So we used the tape out we did during the planning to make sure that the toilet would sit in the middle of the cabinet it will live in. We also had to miss the structural support ribs. We even brought in cardboard to double check that there was enough space on either side of the toilet before cutting the hole. This also led to us having to shorten the width of our bed by about three inches to make it all work!
Once we cut the hole, installing the door itself was easy and we are excited that we will be able to empty the cassette without having the risk of spills or leaks in the interior of the van!
Tips for Cutting Holes in Your Van
- Measure three times, cut once! The old saying is measure twice cut once but the consequences of cutting wrong in this case are a lot higher so we typically have one of us measure and mark, the other one of us verifies that measurement/markings and then we measure a third time together. Using multiple sets of eyes has caught more than one issue for us in the past!
- Using a step drill bit to make your pilot holes can be really helpful and will give you more control over the size of the hole than a hole saw might.
- Use a sharp jigsaw blade! We suggest starting with a new metal cutting blade with fine teeth.
- Cut from the inside when possible to protect your exterior paint.
- Use tape to keep your saw from scratching paint if you can’t cut from the inside!
- Make sure you wear safety glasses or face shield and ear protection! It’s very loud! Also long sleeves are a good idea because those metal chips will be hot!
- Don’t forget to debur, sand and paint your cut edges! This is a great way to get rust if you forget!
We will have more holes to cut in the van, including one more large hole for our slider window but shipping delays have us waiting! No big deal though, it will be easy enough to do later on in our build.
Running Cost Breakdown
Note: All Costs are as of April/May 2024
- Bunk Window: $269.00
- Maxxair Roof Vent Fan: $309.00
- Thetford C223 Cassette Toilet: $728.23
New Costs: $1306.23
Total Cost: $14,655.67
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