Recommended Fasteners for 80/20 Van Building
Fasteners and Extruded Aluminum Van Building One of our main goals of this blog is to simplify building camper vans out of extruded aluminum so that more DIY-ers can do it! We have tried a lot of techniques, fasteners, and tools, over the course of our van builds, and want to distill it down to what works and what doesn’t. This week, we are honing in on FASTENERS as there are countless options; however, you only really need a few. The Basics In this guide, we will address: Tools needed for fasteners install Roll-in vs Slide-in T-nuts Hidden vs Visible Fasteners Recommended Fasteners Additional 80/20 Camper Van Build Resources Tools Needed for Fasteners You can complete your extruded aluminum camper van conversion with a few tools: Hex Keys (these will be your BEST friend) Dedicated Metal Cutting Saw, or saw blade End Tap Tool Threadlocker For installing fasteners you should only need hex keys, and an end tapping tool! You should also absolutely threadlock every single bolt you have used once you are finished. A drill press is optional. Roll-in vs Slide-in T-Nuts Most fasteners require bolt and t-nut assemblies to secure them. When this is the case, you need to choose the proper t-nut. There are two options: slide in, and roll in. Slide-in T-Nuts Slide-in t-nuts will make up a majority of your van build. They are the cheapest option; however, they can only be inserted when the t-slot is open. This is one of the reasons we recommend planning your campervan through the finish line. If you can pre-load the t-slots of your extruded aluminum (80/20), you will save some money, as roll-in t-nuts are more expensive! We recommend trying to utilize these as much as possible. Roll-in T-Nuts Roll-in t-nuts are the more expensive option; however, they can be inserted into any channel that is captivated. “Captivated” means that the end of the t-slot is blocked. When it is blocked, you have to “roll” a t-nut into the channel. We recommend to use these only when you need to due to their cost. Top: Roll In, Bottom: Slide in Hidden vs Visible Fasteners for Van Building As we begin to dig into the fasteners we recommend for van building, it is important to think about if they should be hidden, or can be visible. This is a functionality, and design choice. Hidden fasteners are often smaller and common on the fronts of modules that show Visible fasteners are often more hefty and more common on the backs and insides of modules Recommended Fasteners for 80/20 Van Building The following are the fasteners we recommend for your DIY van build. These are simply our recommendations, and you can choose what you are most comfortable working with, that’s why we loving building with extruded aluminum! We once completed an entire van build with two hole corner connectors. But, we have also completed one with 10+ different ones. Tri Connection Corner Connectors Our favorite fastener, the Tri Connection Corner Brackets!
