Van Ceiling Panel – Part III

I continue where I left off in the previous article Van Ceiling Panel Part II. As a reminder, I use an automotive tweed protected against daily wear and UV, very similar in color and texture as the front seats of the van.

Before I can install the ceiling panel, I still have to finish and attach this black foam block above the sliding door, as well as a small cabinet that houses two switches and the gas heater control knob and a top cabinet.

Pre-Installation

The black foam block is covered with a grey automotive tweed fabric with spray glue as described in the previous article/video and installed over the passenger door top air bag. Then the small cabinet with switches is installed with a couple of plusnuts. Finally a corner top cabinet found its final place on the wall.

With all these cabinets installed, I was able to continue and fit the ceiling panel with the four puck lights into the van.

Installation

The puck lights have long wires included that I guide to one side of the panel. From there, I can attach the wires to a central hub, hidden in the insulation of the van ceiling and connected to my 12V Fuse block.

Now I lift the ceiling panel up, while hiding the extra wiring above the panel. Meanwhile I have made four temporary blocks, that will hold up the sides of the panel. The center of the panel will be pushed into the 3M Dual Lock (type of heavy-duty Velcro), that was stuck to the ceiling cross members previously.

The temporary blocks will be replaced later with 2″-3″ wide boards that run along the sides of the panel. The front will be held up by the cabin curtain header. Where the rear of the panel comes together with the vinyl covered ceiling panel above the kitchen, a narrow and thin board will hide the transition.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t make the Dual Lock (Velcro) push together.

See what solution I found, next time.

TOOLS & MATERIALS*

Automotive Tweed Fabric
3M Dual Lock
12V LED Puck Lights
3M 90 Spray Glue
Chalk
Thread Locker
Aluminum Angle 1″ x 1/16″ x 96″
Pair of Scissors

*Some of the links above and in the video, are affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.

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