Renovating an old van

[Dexter&Echo]

Hi guys not sure if this is in the correct area so forgive me if it's in the wrong section.
We bought an old bailey beachcomber 500/5 caravan as its size is ideal for our dogs and its old enough that we don't have to worry about dog slobber. We have already replaced flooring and painted the woodwork but that got us thinking about what else we can do. There's only myself, hubby and the 2 dogs so we are debating taking away the 2 large seating areas and unit at the nose end and replacing it with a small sofa bed but we are worried about weakening the structural integrity. It would give them a lot more room and they are out main priority after safety that is. Another thing we considered was instead of 2 seats either side having an L shape seating are installed instead. Would removal of the bench seats affect the structural integrity ? Is there a way around that or are we better to leave it as is.

 

[Mel]

Hi. Welcome to the forum. I am not technically skilled but it is often quoted on here that the fixtures and fittings are part of the structure of the van. If you watch any videos of vans being constructed, you will see what I mean. Others will have more wisdom, but my two penny worth is to proceed with extreme caution and it is probably best not to. Buy an awning instead 😀.
Mel

 

[Damian]

All the furniture has two jobs to do.
One is providing you with seating, cupboards etc, and the other is providing structural rigidity.

Taking them out would allow the body to flex too much and then that leads to leaks and possibly the van falling apart.

The centre unit between the current sets can be removed and replaced with a seating unit which would give you a U shaped seating area.
If you dont mind losing space the replacement cross seat can be any width you want it to be just build it to fit.

 

[Dexter&Echo]

The problem with an awning is Dexter the brown newfie is only a puppy but at 69kg at a year old a rather big powerful pup, he loves people and other dogs so would take outmost awnings.
I wouldn't dream of taking the seats out or moving them to an L shape without asking people who are a lot more knowledgeable than I am. This is our first caravan and initially bought it simply to take our other newfie down to Fitzpatricks while he was undergoing treatment but decided we and the dogs actually enjoy being away in it.