Making the first move is never easy. As Ody patiently waited in the driveway, I was researching, figuring out logistics, and struggling with my electrical plan. But there’s only so much planning one can do before you just gotsta go for it. I decided I could get the base of the floor done. It seemed like a simple enough task in my mind. Unscrew the floor that came in the van, add a layer of rigid foam insulation, add a layer of plywood on top. Boom. I got my supplies, woke up bright and early, and got to work. How naive was I to think anything about this would be easy.
Damn those screws. These weren’t your standard old screws. These screws were embedded into the floor of the van. I got 11 of the 12 out and stripped the last one. If you’ve ever encountered a stripped screw, then you understand the frustration. Sitting in the van with this screw that was literally impossible to budge, I momentarily thought “This is it. I tried.”
But then I tried harder…
I made a trip to Home Depot and got a screw extractor. No luck.
I tried harder…
I read online about the “rubber band method”… no luck…
I tried harder…
I went back to Home Depot and got a penetrating catalyst… nope. (@HomeDepot want to sponsor me?)
I tried harder…
I called the only open car shop on the 4th of July and they said “flame torch it”. I got a lighter and tried to flame torch that freaking screw that I had just put flammable oil on…. you guessed it.. that darn screw did not move a literal inch and I burnt myself.
Two days. I spent two days on that one screw.
Monday morning. 8 am. I took Ody down the street to our local garage and my man Paul got that screw out in under 10 minutes.
Thank you, Paul and Buck. With that friggin’ screw out, I got to work. I readjusted my expectations of how challenging each task would be after this screw debacle. However, I found myself pleasantly surprised with how smoothly the next steps for the flooring went.
I have no doubt I will have more moments similar to the one with the stripped screw throughout the build. It’s all about problem solving… and knowing people with the right tools. I’m closing up shop for the week and gearing Ody up for our maiden voyage. Updates to come.
ABLAZ 