Ceiling Support & Structure Install
You can watch our original ceiling structure support install video, but a few things have changes since then so we are documenting some of that here. We do our best to try to keep these pages up to date, but we are very small team (just me right now) so if you have any questions please reach out.
Ceiling Structural Support Change Log
- REV1 - Septmember 2025 - Present - First Release!
What's in the Box
Depending on the configuration, you'll have some or all of the following parts
- 5x or (7x for 170 vans) Center Ceiling Rib Supports & associated Hardware (M6 Rivnuts & Fastensers)
- Wall Ceiling Transition Supports (3x pieces per side for Sprinter 144) and associated Hardware (Rivets & M6 Rivnuts & Fasteners)
- Front & Rear Transition Pieces for the Headliner Rib and D-Pillar Rib & associated mounting Hardware
- Aluminum Extrusion Cabinet Support Brackets for 3030 Metric Extrusion. You can see the cut sheet for a 144 Sprinter van here.
Tools Required
- Fine Tip Sharpie or other fine tip marker
- Centerpunch
- Power drill with sharp drill bits/Step Bit for M5 & M6 Rivnuts.
- Torx Drivers to install the low head hardware.
- Marine Grade Anti-seize for rust prevention when installing rivets and rivnuts. Our preferred type is here.
- Isopropyl Alcohol to clean off excess anti-seize
- Paper towels or shop rags for cleaning excess anti-seize
Locations For the Center Rib Rivnuts
The new designs are equipped with a ton of holes all at 1.25" (31.75mm) spacing so you can pick and choose how you want to layout your ceiling and attach it. You should pick your bolt pattern first, then put in the assoicated M5 rivnuts (sold seperately) in that pattern.
Once you have the rivnuts loaded and your panels cut you can populate some of them with pointed M5 set screws. We use McMaster PN: 91210A235.
Then we will get our ceiling panels in place and "push" it up against these set screw points. This helps orient and get a reference location for the rivnut centers on the panels by leaving a set of marks behind. You can see an example of this below.
Then when you have a set of these marks spaced out far enough you can use one of the center support ribs to align to that grid and then mark all the other locations you need to use and drill them out.
We reccommend giving yourself a loose fit hole somewhere in the 6-6.2mm range since you have to line up so many of them.
