Rules for Using Aluminum Extrusion (By Priority)

You won’t be able to follow all these rules all the time. That’s why they are listed by priority.

1. Do not buy 80/20 brand Aluminum Extrusion or accessories #

• 80/20 is extremely overpriced. Using it in your build will cost you THOUSANDS more vs. the other brands.
• You pay 10 times (or more) as much for the same length of 80/20 Series 10 as you do for 2020 European Standard Aluminum Extrusion.
  • The 80/20 is slightly larger at 1″ x 1″ with the 2020 at 0.78″ x 0.78″.
  • You can easily make up for this difference in size and strength by putting more framing in your build. You will end up with a much stronger frame and much less money by going with 2020.
• The difference in the strength of the actual aluminum used in 80/20 is nominal compared to other aluminum extrusion brands.
• You can easily find everything you need on Amazon with the 2020 aluminum extrusion. For 80/20, you have to buy most, if not all, of it from their company website.

2. Always connect the Aluminum Extrusion directly to the rivet threads on the van wall/ceiling -OR- to another beam that is directly connected them #

• All vans come with pre-drilled holes in the walls and ceiling from the factory.
• On the Ford Transit, some of the factory holes are pre-threaded at the factory, and some holes need rivet nuts installed to be threaded.
• The connections of the extrusion to the pre-drilled pre-threaded holes are the strongest connections in the van. The connections to the pre-drilled holes with rivet nuts you install yourself are the 2nd strongest connections in the van.
• Thus, for the strength of your framing, you must always connect every beam of extrusion either directly or indirectly to a threaded hole in the van walls.

3. Use gravity and the beam’s mass to secure loads #

• General
  • Remember that a beam lying on top of another beam will be stronger than most brackets used. The brackets can rip off and/or the screws can become loose over time. However, only the most extreme force would topple the beam below, especially if all beams are bracketed together well.
  • Gravity is also pushing down from the top beam to the beam underneath, which adds reinforcement to the joint.
• Figure 1 – Blue Square: Side by side beams
  • This reinforcement is not present when beams are bracketed side by side.
• Thus, you can use gravity and the mass of the beam should be used to your advantage.

• Figure 1 – Red Square: Deciding which beam to put on top
  • When deciding which beam to put on top at this 3-way joint, we have to consider which beam will be holding the heaviest load.
  • It would be easier to continue the beam on the blue axis (See Axes Legend on Bottom Right of Figure 1), as currently shown, as this removes one cut that has to be made. But, the beam on the red axis is holding the cabinet, all items in the cabinet, and the stove.
    • The beam on the blue axis only has another beam on top of it further up out of the picture.
    • The green axis beam is important, but it is not holding the stove, which is a heavy item compared to the cabinet.
  • Thus, it makes sense to change this joint so that the red axis beam is on top instead of the blue axis beam.

• Figure 2 – Blue Square: Load bearing beam is now on top
  • As you can see, we made a cut in the blue axis beam and then extended the red axis beam.
  • Now the beam bearing the load of the cabinet and stove is on top.

4. Show the Aluminum Extrusion if it can be seen #

• There are two reasons for this:
  1. I personally prefer the aesthetic when you can see the aluminum extrusion vs. when it is hidden. I also prefer the black extrusion vs. the bare aluminum extrusion.
  2. When you show the extrusion, the integrity of the framing is stronger because you are required to use more extrusion if you want to show it.

5. Make as few cuts in the Aluminum Extrusion as possible #

• As we can see from Rules #3 and #4 above, we often have to break this rule to meet those rules. That is why this Rule is #5.
• The only purpose for this is to save on the labor time that it takes to cut the extrusion. Following Rules #3 and #4 increases the strength of the framing but also increases the amount of cuts to be made.

5. Drill through the van floor to secure your Aluminum Extrusion framing system #

• The van manufacturers advise against drilling through the van floor. In addition, and many people building vans become hysterical when you present the idea to them.
  • What’s strange is that these same people will pay four times the money for their electrical system by only buying brand name components (Blue Sea and Victron EVERYTHING) and say “it’s better to be safe than sorry” and “your electrical system is not where you want to save money”.
  • These cautious people will install wood or aluminum extrusion framing in their van, but not secure it through the van floor.
  • One of the safety benefits of using aluminum extrusion for framing in a van is that it will stay in place and not splinter in case of an accident like wood will.
    • This increases safety because the items in the van do not collide with the occupants of the van in an accident.
    • If you’ve ever seen a mass produced RV from a major company, you see how thin and weak the materials they use are.
    • Go take a look at the website of your local auto auction company under the RVs section. You will see RVs that got in accidents with the inside furniture and components ABSOLUTELY DESTROYED and thrown about everywhere.
  • Here’s the problem these people face:
    • When you don’t bolt your framing through the van floor, can you really rely on it staying in place in case of a bad accident?
    • Do you really think that at 60 MPH, when your van stops unnaturally and abruptly due to colliding with another vehicle, that anything not bolted through the floor is going to stay in place?
  • Guess where everything in your van is going when you get in an accident? FORWARD!
    • Your seatbelts are designed to keep you from going through the windshield in an accident, but what do you have in place to keep everything inside your van from going forward and colliding with you.
• Drilling through the floor of the van is no different than drilling through the walls or roof.
  • I have about 100 holes in my roof from when I had to repair it, and I’ve never had any problems.
    • I sanded the edges, primed, painted, sealed, fiber glassed, and sprayed bedliner on it. No moisture is going to get through all that.
  • I also drilled two massive holes on the sides of my van to install the capsules, and I’ve never had any leaking problems and that’s only secured by windshield sealant.
• When you drill through the floor to properly mount your aluminum extrusion framing system, just follow this procedure and you will never have any problems:
  1. Consult your vehicle manuals to only drill in places where you won’t destroy crucial parts below the van floor.
  2. Get under the van and take pictures so you are 100% positive you are not drilling in the wrong parts.
  3. Drill through the van floor.
  4. Use sand paper or metal files on both sides of the hole to smooth the edges of the drilled hole and remove any stray pieces.
  5. Clean the hole area on both sides.
  6. Prime the hole area on both sides.
  7. Paint the hole area on both side.
  8. Install your bolt, nut, flat washer, and lock washer through the hole and your aluminum extrusion.
     • You will have to drill a hole through the middle of the extrusion for this step.
  9. Seal the area around the bolt on both sides of the hole.
  10. Optional – Apply epoxy around and in the hole to provide another waterproof layer.
• I also recommend removing the D-Ring Cargo tie downs on the van and using those holes to further mount your aluminum extrusion.
  • These D-Ring Cargo holes are in the sides of the van, not the floor.