The first challenges

The day started out with a trip out to HD & Lowe's in the newly insulated van. It was noticeably quieter but still getting some road noise. Could be from the doors, which we still need to insulate. I am picking up some more insulation tomorrow to finish off the door panels and add some to the side channels.

Aft nailer in place

Today was mostly prep work for installing the ceiling. I hung 1x4 nailers on the 3 main ribs, a 2x2 on the aft end and a 1x2 on the front. The front and aft nailers did give me some headache. Neither could be secured upwards into a rib, as there isn't one in the rear and up front the obvious rib to use is where the factory headliner for the over cab storage is secured. I asked for some guidance on promasterforum.com and Gary, who's website is a really great tool, suggested I look at his installation photos. It doesn't quite go all the way across but I think it will do... fingers crossed. I drilled through the 2x2 into the back channel that runs above the doors. I had to make a notch for the rear door cargo light but my cheapo  harbor  freight jigsaw did the trick.

The front nailer took a little more thought and several attempts. Initially I thought I would have to bevel the edge to match the edge of the rib, but I don't have a saw for that, at least I didn't think I would be able to pull it off. So I cut a 1x2 to length and went about attempting to hang it. Initially I tried screwing the ends in to the ends of the rib, which sorta worked but the mid section was hanging freely and I wasn't happy with how insecure it felt. So I cut the length in two, which made fitting the bend in the ceiling much easier and I  was able to secure it fairly squarely to the rib by drilling through the width of the board into the predrilled holes in the rib. Its not super pretty but it will do the trick of securing the ends of the ceiling boards.

Front three nailers in place

Rear section hardboard panel

The next challenge was how to secure anything between the back of the fan and the back of the van. Now I understand why several people suggested framing around the fan opening... live and learn. I thought through several scenarios, including removing the fan and building a frame but settled on cutting a piece of hardboard to fit between the last rib and the aft nailer. I'll fix it in place then panel over the top, and just glue the few pieces of paneling between the rear of the fan and the aft nailer. Its not perfect but it will work. The paneling is very flexible, at 3/16", which should make installation easier.

Rajo prepping the panels

I picked up a pneumatic stapler and a variety of staples. I am hoping it will be sufficient for securing the panels along with some adhesive. Rajo spent
the day prepping the paneling with a water based Poly coat. I didn't want to use oil based due to the off gassing and the water based stuff dries pretty quickly sans odor.  If all goes well, tomorrow I'll finish insulating, hang the rear panel around the fan, and start thinking about the installation of the ceiling panels.