I will be picking up a brand new van in a week and a long term project will then be fitting it out for windsurfing. My first question is about rust prevention on the cargo floor knowing there will be wet sails and boards going into it.
What have most of you punters done regarding this?

Thanks

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mr love said..
I will be picking up a brand new van in a week and a long term project will then be fitting it out for windsurfing. My first question is about rust prevention on the cargo floor knowing there will be wet sails and boards going into it.
What have most of you punters done regarding this?

Thanks

I put a rubber mat ( Bunnings) over the existing lined floor.. Wet sails/ booms go on a carpeted shelf with layers of canvas and plastic underneath. I also put towels around / under the wet ends to catch drips.
Plastic tub for wetsuits , harness etc . They are first put into a garbo bag then the tub..
Never had any issues with water getting into the van.. I place a towel along the doors to catch any drips when I reach into the van.
My last van had 6 or 7 years of solid sessions and not a sign of rust ( even under rubber edges etc).

Hey mr love , I used a two pack industrial coating (Durabuild) from Dulux i applied two coats .I applied with small roller .You have to get good film build for product to work best not sure how many microns , but being a flat surface very easy to apply a thick coating .then i have rubber matt over this .Try not to leave wet stuff in overnight remove matt occasionally to remove trapped sand etc and check for rust spots .

Thanks Clarkee. You went straight over the factory painted floor? Just a degrease of did you sand it?

I gave the floor very light sand van was pretty new existing coating had some worn areas , but to big a job to sand all the nooks etc , make sure it has no greasy areas etc , the coating has excellent adhesion.
Its designed to have a top coat but if not in uv light the coating doesnt need it .can be tinted if required.

Hello, Mr. Love.

Congrats on the van purchase, buy please tell us which van you are acquiring.

To protect the load space, you might consider deodorised fish oil, available in bottles and spray cans (www.bunnings.com.au/search/products?page=1&q=fish%20oil&sort=BoostOrder&pageSize=60). Use the bottle and a brush to apply the liquid to floor and about 50mm up the walls. Lay the load area mat that came with the van onto the dry fish oil. Use the spray can and long nozzle to squirt into areas in doors, tailgates etc, where you generally have to remove rubber grommets to get access.

If you are going to keep the van for a long time, suggest you ventilate the load area by using a ram air vent (www.uesint.com/product/muller-vent/) at the front of the load area and a rotating vent at the rear (www.uesint.com/product/rotary-vent/). Use only stainless steel screws and metal-compatible silicone sealants when affixing components. When the van is stationary, the vents allow air circulation and reduce salt-laden air from wet sails, board foot straps, wet suits, etc. If you are camping overnight in a windy area, you can use cloth to stop the rear vent from rotating.

Unless the load area of the van roof is lined, you will get rivers of condensation/rain from the metal roof during winter. You can line the roof using marine carpet: https://www.bunnings.com.au/ideal-diy-eildon-denim-flat-marine-carpet and Selleys contact cement.

You might consider using clear plastic to seal the area between the driving compartment and the load compartment like this: www.clarkrubber.com.au/products/242p-general-purpose-clear-plastic. Clarks should be able to cut size to suit. In summer, the air conditioner will be keeping the humans cool, not the stuff in the load space.

Finally, but not finally, you need to protect the load area lip at the rear door and the sliding door from water drips off your gear as you load it into the van. See Jerry's VW T6 van, Bondy's HiAce van and the Ford Transit van for ideas on how to accomplish this (and many of the suggestions above). I'll send you some photos by PM of load lip damage.

Suggest you allow at least 3 weeks to protect the van, allow the fish oil to dry and build your racks, etc. As we are coming into the Victorian wind doldrums of Autumn, there should be plenty of time available for your fit out.

Hope this helps.

I wouldn't worry. Modern cars have pretty good rust prevention out of the factory. And the inside of a van is not the most rust prone part of it. My old van had some rust patches on the inside where paint had chipped off. Previous owner lived by the sea. After 7 years of wet sails it wasn't much worse on the inside. Not so the outside. What does rust is under the guards, behind window rubbers. Places where dirt and moisture can sit. If you park by the beach it'll rust from the spray collected in corners exposed to the outside rather than what drips off a sail on the inside.

But vacuum out the sand and dried salt from the inside corners every now and then. It'll last well into the age of battery powered vehicles .

Mr Love
I have had at least 4 windsurf vans.
What works for me is to buy a pail of tile shower waterproofing membrane. Strip everything out of the van and paint the floor and 100mm up the sides. 2 or 3 coats. it is waterbased so easy and non toxic. Usually around $80 from Bunnings for a small pail.

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TerryA said..
Mr Love
I have had at least 4 windsurf vans.
What works for me is to buy a pail of tile shower waterproofing membrane. Strip everything out of the van and paint the floor and 100mm up the sides. 2 or 3 coats. it is waterbased so easy and non toxic. Usually around $80 from Bunnings for a small pail.

Yep, a reasonable fix. The other product is X-Line. Bulletproof, used for tub liners and repairing water tanks. No rust ever

The last couple of transporter vans I have owned I've got sprayed with rhinolining. Its two pack polyurea. Ends up about 3mm thick. Basically indestructible. Up the sides by about 100mm and a small rubber extrusion from clark rubber at the front behind the seats to make a lip.

The back is then basically like a giant bathtub. Every couple of months I park it on a hill and wash out all the salt and sand. No rust in the last one for 10 years and I don't even let the sails or gear dry. Just make sure the application goes over the edge of the metal lips on your door trim.

Has anyone got a windsurfing van, less than say 15 yrs old, that has rusted out from the inside?

A colleague of mine was a paint chemist at bluescope. I heard all about how good modern paint is. The holes for fasteners are a weak point. More of a problem for colorbond as people put in their own holes after painting and maybe use incompatible fasteners.

Don't know any auto paint engineers but I'd guess that's just as refined. They can punch the holes for all the attachments before painting. I don't think throwing a mast extension in the back is going to take off the factory paint, House bricks maybe.

I also was going to say Rhino lining.
Expensive but the only true way to be able to do anything in the back of the van

My second choice would be anything 2 pack that can go on thick.

BUT those two aren't much good if you have floor hatches for fuel tank access etc that might need screws removed one day. If that's the case, then my vote is a crapload of fish oil

Plus, get a DampRid container. You will be surprised how often you have empty it out.

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AUS4 said..
Plus, get a DampRid container. You will be surprised how often you have empty it out.

Good idea..

Am I the only one who'll admit to racking out a van for windsurfing without first applying goop to every low level visible surface?

But now that I sail out of a hatchback (foiling has advantages) I do wonder about all that salt water being absorbed by the carpeted floors.

Thanks for all the suggestions. Sounds like an epoxy bed liner paint is the way to go.

For my next van i'm going to spray rhino tub liner on the whole back floor and about 300mm up the walls, so its basically a plastic tub in the whole back of the van, salt water cant rust what it cant get too..

Raptor liner is equivalent of rhino but cheaper. Can roll or spray and tinting.
Used it for my trailer inside and out. No rust. 10 y/o. Metallic charcoal and orange.
Another alternative is Penetrol. Paint it on, is very thin like water and gets into every nook and cranny.
I put it on steel I have laying around outside and it doesn't rust.

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P.C_simpson said..
For my next van i'm going to spray rhino tub liner on the whole back floor and about 300mm up the walls, so its basically a plastic tub in the whole back of the van, salt water cant rust what it cant get too..

It's not quite a bathtub though. It's got front and side doors. If my old van is anything to go on the only bits prone to rust on the inside were the entrances. The lowest points where dust and water collects, under rubber door seals, the plastic kick plates, the cavity for the door sliding track..

So do you dismantle all those bits before spraying rhino liner? If so, with that extra thick layer on, do the rubber and plastic bits all still line up nicely on re-assembly?

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Ian K said..
Am I the only one who'll admit to racking out a van for windsurfing without first applying goop to every low level visible surface?

I haven't used a goo-flooring - I wanted insulation so that it was quieter and warmer-in-winter.
I used a plastic-vinyl rolled up the sides 100mm (not "good vinyl" as it is porous).

I use a 6x8 heavy duty tarp in 100series cruiser. Chuck the tarp in over folded down rear seats. It folds up the sides about 20cm. Everything beneath stays dry. Easy to clean. Just pull it out n shake. Cheap at around $15

Van, about 2 years old, loading lip not protected.

Back in the day, when all cars started rusting from day one, impermeable rubber mats were not recommended. Once moisture condenses or dribbles underneath it may not dry. Did those mats come with the van? Even so, 2 yrs! that's bad, worse than that corner of my old van at 20 years. And T4s weren't renowned for the quality of rust proofing.

Take it back for warranty.

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WindmanV said..
Van, about 2 years old, loading lip not protected.

My iload is not protected, 9 years on rust happening in same corners but not nearly that much.

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WindmanV said..
Van, about 2 years old, loading lip not protected.

I checked that corner of a 10 yo old Iload parked out the front. Still pristine. But I can see if any water collects in that corner it will seep under that plastic loading lip and remain forever wet. You won't know about it until the rust creeps out from under. Yours might have been continuously wet for 2 years? If you lift the loading lip is it wet underneath right now?

If so you've got to figure out where it's coming from. As they used to say back in the days of shoddy motor cars " divert the leak and the rust will stop". Could water that falls on the mat on the main floor get over that little weir stamped into the door sill if you accelerate or park on a hill? Without the mat the weir is high enough to keep a moderate amount of water on the corrugated floor side until it evaporates.

Alternatively the door seal may not be seated correctly. Rain water that should flow down the outside might find a capillary under the rubber that brings it to the inside. Check if it's wet after rain.

Once a year dab fish oil over any areas that are showing signs of corrosion. Only takes a few minutes and is extremely effective. Just make sure you don't keep putting it off. It's especially effective at stopping corrosion around a window, just run it under the rubber and let it penetrate.

I did 3 coats of waterproofing membrane

The underbody, floors and door sills of all my beach cars and vans (6 total) rusted out way before the interiors were even showing more than very light surface spots..

One old Falcon, which had been driven through hub deep salt water (I dont do that anymore!) eventually sagged in the middle after hitting a large bump and I could not open the doors to get out, had to climb out the window! LOL. The interior and tailgate were still virtually rust free. We took it to the tip the next day.

You are one of the best at killing cars with salt water and sand. My 06 Mitsy 4x4 is still in a rust free condition , except the running board mounts. Need to make some new ones, there stuffed

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kato said..
You are one of the best at killing cars with salt water and sand. My 06 Mitsy 4x4 is still in a rust free condition , except the running board mounts. Need to make some new ones, there stuffed

Perhaps you are right about the 'Bitaremissin', but maybe you should not look too closely elsewhere.

Floor latches on rear doors rust out in 3 months, migrates to it's upper mates,
I spray chain lube on fittings every week.