Fitting a ply lining kit yourself is a perfectly manageable weekend job if you take it in the right order. Because every panel we cut is made from CAD drawings for your specific van, most of the hard work - the cutting, the fiddly bits around wheel arches and D-rings - is already done before the kit arrives. Here's how to make the most of that.
What you'll need: A cordless drill/driver, a pack of self-tapping screws or rivets (whichever suits your van's fixing points), a tape measure, a marker pen, and an extra pair of hands for the roof and larger side panels. A sealant gun is handy too if you want to run a bead of sealant behind panels in wet-prone areas like the rear doors.
Start with a dry fit: Before you drive a single screw, lay every panel out in the van and check it against the space it's meant for. Kits are labelled, but vans of the same model can have small variations year to year - trim levels, optional ply already fitted, aftermarket racking - so a five-minute dry fit up front saves you from fixing a panel in the wrong place and having to unpick it later.
Work floor first: The floor panel is your foundation, so get that down and secured before anything else. Clean the van floor properly first - any grit or old sealant left underneath will stop the panel sitting flush. Fix it at the points provided in your van's floor (most vans have pre-drilled fixing points or ply-mounting rails from the factory) rather than drilling new holes into the steel unless you've got no other option.
Then the sides, then the doors: Once the floor's down, move to the side wall panels, working from the back of the van forward. Save the rear door panels for last - they're usually the easiest, and doing them last means you're not squeezing past finished panels while you're still working.
Check every fixing point before you commit: It's worth double-checking that any screw or rivet you're about to put in isn't going to catch a wiring loom, brake line, or fuel line running behind the van's skin. On most panel vans these run in fairly predictable places, but "fairly predictable" isn't the same as "guaranteed," so a quick look with a torch before drilling is time well spent.
Don't overtighten: Self-tappers into thin steel can strip out if you go at them with too much force, especially with an impact driver on a high torque setting. Get a feel for how much resistance is normal before you're halfway through the kit.
How long it takes: Most people fitting a kit solo for the first time will take a full day; with a second pair of hands for the bigger panels, it's often done in half that. It's not a race - a lining that's fitted properly will outlast one that was rushed.
If anything about your kit doesn't seem to match your van when you're doing the dry fit, get in touch before you start cutting or forcing anything - it's much easier for us to sort out a fit issue before a panel's been drilled than after.