Converting a fire van into a camper (4) | A new floor

Converting a fire truck into a camper is quite a job. Earlier we wrote about all tax authorities requirements that a motorhome must meet, but of course we also have a number of wishes. For example, we found it very important that Brumm is well insulated. Starting with the floor! Before you read on, watch the video above! In this we take you completely in the process.

Also read: How to: Buy or convert a campervan

Remove the old floor

Brumm had a wooden floor. Because here and there some worn pieces were visible, we chose to remove the old floor. A floor is of course the basis on which all furniture will be built in, so it is important that it is sturdy and also thick enough so that all the weight can be supported.

Also read:

Converting a fire van into a camper (1) | The Backpack Pick
Converting a fire van into a camper (2) | Buy a suitable bus
Converting a fire van into a camper (3) | RDW design requirements and job plan
Converting a fire van into a camper (4) | A new floor
Converting a fire van into a camper (5) | Insulating the bus
Converting a fire van into a motorhome (6) | Raising the roof
Converting a fire van into a camper (7) | Installing walls, vinyl and windows
Converting a fire van into a camper (8) | Arranging and installing furniture

The old floor was well attached and because Brumm has probably been used intensively over the years, it was a challenge to remove all the screws. These were full of junk. In the end we were able to remove all the floorboards and decided to save this wood so that we could reuse it if necessary.
Without the floor, the chassis was clearly visible and luckily we also saw that it still looks very neat. Of course we cleaned the chassis well before we started laying the new floor.

Installing the new floor

We have seen other motorhome builders treat the chassis of the bus with tectyl. This is a protective layer and ensures that any existing rust does not get worse and new rust is prevented. In the end we didn't do this because the Brumm chassis looks so neat. If you decide to do this, now is the time because it is quite difficult to get to the chassis once a floor has been laid.

After cleaning, we immediately started building the new floor. The first layer consists of aluminum. We have managed to acquire a large role of this material at a caravan company. This material is used, for example, for caravan roofs. It is light, thin and waterproof. The Brumm chassis consists of all compartments and we have cut the aluminum to size and attached it to these compartments with sealant. For the second layer we used 5 cm thick PIR insulation material. We confirmed this on the aluminum after cutting it to size.

We laid the final floor on this layer. The wooden plate we used for this is Betonplex 16 mm thick. Because we have to take into account the final weight of Brumm, it was a difficult choice which wood to use for the floor. As described earlier, it is important that the floor is sturdy and can take a beating, but this also means that the wood that is suitable for this is somewhat heavier.

Cut the floor to size

The large plank of wood had to be made to measure, of course. We measured and sawed 3 different floor parts. One for the front and the back and a shelf in the middle. For this floor part we had to take the wheel arches into account.

The floor parts overlap and are attached to each other in this way. To achieve this, we had to mill the planks. In an article it all seems a piece of cake, but in reality this kind of job takes an enormous amount of time. It took a while before the new floor was completely ready, but the result is impressive!

If you have become curious what this all looked like, take a look at our video! on Youtube we have many more videos about our process and on Wereldreizigers.nl we have already published a few articles in which we tell about the previous steps in our conversion process. All our items are here to find.

We hope you enjoy living our adventure with us. In the next article we will discuss raising the roof of Brumm. Until then!

Also read:

Converting a fire van into a camper (1) | The Backpack Pick
Converting a fire van into a camper (2) | Buy a suitable bus
Converting a fire van into a camper (3) | RDW design requirements and job plan
Converting a fire van into a camper (4) | A new floor
Converting a fire van into a camper (5) | Insulating the bus
Converting a fire van into a motorhome (6) | Raising the roof
Converting a fire van into a camper (7) | Installing walls, vinyl and windows
Converting a fire van into a camper (8) | Arranging and installing furniture