Building wheel well boxes is a crucial step in any van conversion project, offering both practical storage solutions and a foundation for essential systems. These custom-built structures can create a multi-functional area that supports a bed frame, conceals wiring and plumbing, and offers convenient storage for frequently used items.

Wheel Well Box Design

For my DIY Adventure Van design, I am planning to build a foldable queen bed in the rear that splits in the middle allowing me to transport larger equipment in the garage space such as my Paramotor. The box outs around my wheel wells need to be able to support this from both sides. This leaves a lot of usable space in the boxed areas.

• Drivers Side - On the drivers side I will hide my electrical system. My Inverter Charger should be able to mount to the floor just to the rear of the wheel well. A shelf above that will hold the rest of the components such as; Batteries, DC Charger, Solar Controller, Fuse Block, and Breakers. Their will still be a lot of remaining space above the components that I would like to use for a slide-out workbench. That will be determined in the future when I get to the build of the rear bed.

• Passenger Side - The passenger side wheel well box will conceal my plumbing system. The Water Tank will wrap around the wheel well to maximize space. The Water Pump and Water Heater will be to the rear of the wheel well. This should leave a lot useful space above the water tank for extra gear storage.

When designing and measuring the boxouts, keep in mind how they will mount inside the van and make sure it aligns with structural support areas that can be anchored to. My boxouts will be tall to align my future bed with the Flarespace flares and to maximize garage space so the top framing will parallel the horizontal structural support of the van and work out very well.

Fabrication

After contemplating different materials and approaches, I decided to frame my van’s box outs with 1 inch steel square tubing. It is heavier than aluminum and requires some type of finishing, but I valued its strength and durability for my use of holding the weight of a folding bed. I am using quality plywood to cover the sides, shelves, and tops of the boxes. These will be secured with pan head sheet metal screws. For a nice aesthetic, I chose to cover the boxes with Grey Coin Mat. The Coin Mat is pleasing to look at, water and moisture resistant, and extremely durable. At the very end of my van build, I will trim all the edges with aluminum trim, and place L-Tracks where they will be most valuable.

To fabricate the boxouts, I teamed up with my buddy Josh. I made a list of all the pieces needed for the project. I measured and cut all of the pieces one by one from 20ft sticks of tubing using a band saw. We then organized the pieces on Josh’s workbench and laid out the boxes. Once they were laid out it was easy to put together. Using a square to keep things true, Josh tack welded each joint one at a time until the boxes were assembled. We did a quick test fit to ensure everything was correct. Once we were satisfied, all the seems were welded closed and we grinded the the welds smooth with an angle grinder. Last, we coated the entire boxouts for corrosion protection.

Install

Before installing the boxouts, I test fit both of them again and took measurements for the outer walls and shelves. I cut the pieces from quality plywood I picked up from the local lumber yard and covered the outer faces with the grey coin mat which I glued using flooring adhesive. The drivers side shelf will hold the battery bank and some electrical components so I finished it in the grey coin mat to match the walls. I covered the passenger side shelf with speaker box carpeting as it will be an additional gear storage and I felt it would be nice for additional noise abatement. I glued the carpet with 3m spray adhesive.

Installing the boxes is pretty straight forward. I set the boxes into their places and selected and marked the locations for the bolts. I drilled through the 1 inch square tube frame members of the boxouts first. Once they were all drilled, I placed the box frame in its appropriate spot again for a final evaluation. I then marked each bolt location and began drilling the van. After the holes were all drilled, I secured the boxout in place with grade 8 bolts, washers, and locknuts snugly, and then tightened everything down at the end.

After securing the boxouts to the van, I placed the shelves, and fastened the outer walls of the boxes to the frames with pan head sheet metal screws. The screws are temporary until after the bed is constructed and final final finishing and trimming is done. For now though, the structure is in place, and things are taking shape!

With the boxouts fabricated and installed, its on to the fun part of building out the main functional systems of the van; the electrical and plumbing! The box outs are a big step. We can now see things starting to take shape and can lay out some of our systems components in projected locations to start creating plans such as the routing of wiring and/or plumbing.