A couple of weeks ago the new custom rock and roll bed arrived for the fire engine conversion.

Before I could move it into place I needed to finish the work on the floor, fitting a few extra sections of 12mm plywood with the help of some Sikaflex 221. This finishes the centre section of the floor, there are some areas that need finishing at each side but as they will both have different functions I need to finish those in a different way.

I have installed some bubble insulation on the rear walls, here I used non-adhesive insulation, it works quite well and is easy to push into the more tricky voids, some is stuck on with aluminium insulation tape. Most of the areas have two if not three layers of this stuff, should keep the temperature up or down depending on the outside temperate, will also reduce the general ‘rumble’ of the metal panels.

The rear walls, new partition and sides to the kitchen are 9mm ply, spent some time measuring and cutting the sheets to fit the angles of the bodywork, this proved to be quite easy and then became much harder. Cutting with the circular saw, finishing and varnishing the ply is straight forward, cutting and fitting around the numerous bits and bobs of roller shutters, metalwork and straps is something else, this will surely be a longer job that I though, more on that in the next video.

With all of the major messy work in the fire engine complete I cleaned it up, swept out the dust and accumulated other crap from the grinder, saw, drill and sander then washed it all.

Time had come to get the new rock and roll bed into the back, it’s quite heavy and reasonably awkward to move, not to mention that it had to be moved inside while in the ‘flat’ position. We decided to take the upholstery panel off, that was a great idea, with some cardboard and blankets on the floor the bed frame was soon inside, a few screws replaced and the bed in there. The seating position is perfect, just the right height, same as the front seats, and the view out of the panoramic front window is great..

Watch the progress here….

This last weekend was spent with a roll of self adhesive insulation, heater and worklight to insulate the many voids in the roof of the rear section, not a spectator activity really, just repetitive measuring, cutting and sticking, a few clips of that in the next instalment…

Now for more painting, cutting and fixing plywood here and there, probably a bit more cleaning too.

Although it’s been referred to as a Fire Truck I think it’s time to use the English description for it, it’s Fire Engine, so there we are, a new name.

Last week I got hold of the plywood for the floor and other dividing walls, spent some time measuring, cutting and sanding the boards to fit the forward section of the living area.

The original floor in this area was mostly made from 12mm plywood anyway, no sign of a metal sub floor, the smaller area to the rear where the partition wall once stood was only 5mm checker plate, so it all had to be levelled and insulated.

I chose the aluminium bubble insulation for the job, seems to offer some good insulation for the minimal thickness. I used some aluminium tape to secure the edges, a good staple gun to fix it in place and some careful trimming to make it fit. The smaller area was raised a little with some off cuts of 9mm ply and secured with Sikaflex EBT+, solid but slightly flexible.The same treatment to the wheel arch to make an insulated secure base for fix the furniture to.

Once it was all fixed I gave it a light sand and a cost of Ronseal exterior varnish for a real watertight seal.

Watch the progress here….