After the interior floor is finished, the right time has come to develop and install our own partition walls to the driver’s cab as well as an additional shelf above the driver’s cab.

Partition walls to the driver’s cabin

For our van we want to leave the driver’s cabin as original as possible so that when stealth camping in cities as little as possible points to the living space in the back of our van. This also means that we want to separate the “living space” in the back from the driver’s cabin. However, a passage from the driver’s cab to the living area should be possible. Precisely because we are planning a passageway, and thus perhaps also bump into the partitions when passing from the front to the rear, we have used particularly stable 21mm thick birch plywood panels here. We can also not fix the partitions very strongly because we have only a few holding points available, so it is ideal if the partitions bring an inherent stability. Here perhaps we need to say that we avoid drilling into the car body to avoid possible rust problems. This means that we only have the substructure prepared by us (see post VC #7: Supporting construction) for fastening.

The direct passage from the driver’s cab into the living area has more than proven itself for us. This way, in bad weather or when we don’t want to allow people to look into the living area, we can comfortably enter and exit via the driver’s cab. This type of access also allows us, despite light in the living area, to take only a few mosquitoes inside when we enter and exit via the driver’s cab in the evening at dusk.

With jigsaw and accurate measurements, the wooden panels are easy to cut. For fastening we take metal angles. The upper edge of the partitions is stiffened by the additional storage above the driver’s cab.

Storage space above the driver’s cab

We have long thought whether we should install an additional shelf above the driver’s cab at all. Unfortunately, our Mercedes Sprinter did not come with a storage tray from the factory. The exact measurement of the shelf has turned out to be difficult and for a long time we had no suitable idea for the attachment.
After a lot of online research, we finally found the solution. We found a manufacturer in the USA who sells four custom-made angles and a template for cutting the shelf to size. We gladly buy these products there, although the price is rather overpriced. The choice is thus reducible to an overpriced possible solution or no storage above the driver’s cab. The shelf wins and it continues to prove its worth. It is only suitable for lighter things, but we often store used clothes and small, light objects above the driver’s cab.

Our vanconversion continues with the completion of the preparations for our electrical installations and the installation of the definitive wall coverings!