I’ve a question about builds.

Obviously, a lot of builds on YouTube or whatever have wood or other rigid siding inside to make it look nice.

But I was thinking–why not, like, put rugs against the wall? Or fabric? Over your insulation? Why not some sort of cheap board that has wallpaper with a nice design pasted to it? Seems like a bunch of drapey fabric would both be lighter weight, and just as pretty. And some hard backing with wallpaper would be lighter and pretty too.

Is there a downside that I’m too much a newbie to get? Fire hazard? Moisture-trapping? Would it get dingy with dust or something?

(I could see wallpaper un-sticking with time, I suppose, moisture messing with the glue and making it all moldy, and perhaps that’s why nobody I’ve looked at has done that idea.)

Or is it simply a cultural thing where everyone does wood because they saw it elsewhere and it looked nice, so everyone copies and doesn’t think of alternatives?

I’m just trying to brainstorm here and figure out if there’s a hazard I’m unaware of or not.

  • HaphazardFinesseMEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    I’ve certainly seen some vans that were mostly tapestries covering the interiors, don’t think it would be inherently disastrous. Here’s my thoughts:

    Pros of textile coverings:

    • Cheap
    • Easy to install
    • Few (if any) tools required
    • Lightweight
    • Could easily be removed to clean/replace

    Cons of textile coverings:

    • Will absorb moisture and odors (not to be underestimated how smelly it can get in a van lol)
    • Fire hazard (somewhat more so than wood)
    • Has to be removed to be cleaned properly (tapestries), or hard to clean in-place (glued fabric)
    • Can easily be damaged
    • Doesn’t provide opportunity to mount anything else to walls

    Pros of wood walls:

    • Durable, can be cleaned easily
    • “Cleaner” looking
    • If properly sealed, resistant to moisture/odor
    • Can mount stuff (hangers, nets, outlets, switches) directly to wall

    Cons of wood walls:

    • Heavier (though if you use 1/8" plywood like I did, relatively inconsequential compared to the weight of other stuff, like the water tanks, batteries, cabinets…my fridge alone, while loaded, weighs almost as much as all of my walls)
    • More expensive (I had the misfortune of having to buy all my wood at the peak of pandemic wood price inflation lol)
    • Requires tools and some woodworking skills to install
    • A lot of work to install furring strips, cut/sand/stain/seal panels
    • Blocks access behind walls

    As far as why everyone seems to use wood…well it’s one of three materials most commonly used for walls, with the other two being drywall and plaster. Which both make pretty poor choices for van interior walls; They’re heavy, brittle, inflexible, and hard to cut into intricate shapes. Plywood (especially the thin stuff) is easy to contour to the frame of the van, as is shiplap/tongue-and-groove. And it stands up to the abuse of off-road driving (ask me how I know).

    But yeah, the VanLife community is certainly susceptible to the whole “I’m going to copy that one guy because I don’t know what I’m doing” thing. Go look at the subrexxit for a few hundred examples of people not knowing how Reflectix works haha