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Another Little Van

Building the Van Ceiling

With diffused RGBW LED strip lighting

Difficulty:

Labor:

- hours

Cost:

$0

Campervan

We recommend completing the prerequisites before continuing your journey through the steps:

Lights/lighting is planned and wired accordingly
Fan is installed
80/20 ceiling rails are complete. If they are not, you can reference the guide [here]

CREATING CROSSBEAMS:

Starting at the back or the front of the van, measure the distance from one 80/20 ceiling rail to the other
Cut a wood crossbeam that will sit on top of the 80/20 rails, perpendicularly
Repeat about 7 times so you end up with 8 ceiling attachments (this can vary, but be sure it's enough to be able to securely hold your ceiling material since it's what it will attach to)
Do not screw these in yet! You'll want to measure, cut and test fit the ceiling to them first.

MEASURE and CUT:

Measure the length and width of your ceiling area taking into account the fan or any other ceiling cutouts. This step will vary depending on the layout and ceiling style you've decided on, but the overall process is the same no matter what you're going with. For more details on our ceiling specifics, see our blog post [here]
Cut your material to size
Test fit your cut/s to the ceiling attachments

FINALIZING CROSSBEAMS:

Once satisfied with the placement, use a [x size] drill bit to create pilot holes in 8020 and the wooden crossbeams
Screw the crossbeams into the 80/20 rails using self-tapping screws [x screw] and drill

MOUNT THE WOOD SLATS and LED CHANNELS:

Fit the ceiling cutout to the ceiling again, and mark the areas you plan to screw into
As you add the ceiling slats, also figure out where you want the LED channels to be located and take that into account when placing the slats and channels
Once everything is marked, pre-drill the holes into your ceiling material and LED channels so the holes are going through the material and the crossbeams that were placed
Optional: Use a countersink drill bit to drill a hole that allows for the screw to sit flush with the ceiling slats
Fit the ceiling cutout to the ceiling again and drill pilot holes into the attachment rails making sure they are aligned with the previously pre-drilled holes in the ceiling material
Screw the ceiling in to the wooden crossbeams

Get assistance from another person as the wooden slats are long and awkward to hold and attach to the ceiling crossbeams by yourself.
You'll be holding your arms above your head for a long time as you're working on the ceiling, take breaks so you don't tire out
Be sure to wear safety eyewear since gravity is not your friend in this install guide (lots of particles falling down into your eyes)

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